Ka Loko disaster calls for state action
In view of some of the seemingly substantiated allegations against the state of Hawaii and the county of Kauai, should Gov. Linda Lingle publicly address Hawaii residents to explain the state's involvement in the
Ka Loko Dam tragedy?
Should the state attorney general appoint a special prosecutor with the power to convene an investigative grand jury?
Should our Legislature, with its infinite wisdom, do something?
Kenneth L. Barker
Honolulu
Young surfer deserves Moore coverage
I was so terribly disappointed for
young Honolulu surfer Carissa Moore that her elimination of seven-time and reigning world champion Layne Beachley of Australia in the top-rated World Championship Roxy Pro event
barely mustered three sentences in the March 3 Star-Bulletin.
At 14 years of age, Carissa has been marked as a future world champion of her sport -- like Michele Wie in the sport of golf. I can only imagine the kind of coverage we would enjoy if Wie were to actually defeat her sport's all-time champion, as Moore did Friday.
This is Hawaii's own sport and these islands are bringing forth some of the hottest talent in the world. It has been 26 years since Hawaii produced a female world shortboard champion and there is an incredible crop of young women just like Moore, now on the rise. Please give them the support they deserve. Three sentences?
Jodi Wilmott
Haleiwa
You should pay more if you make more trash
My response to Marshall Rieth ("Don't charge more for basic city service,"
Letters, March 4) is: It's about time those people who generate more garbage pay more. By charging an extra fee, Mayor Mufi Hannemann creates an incentive for people to recycle and a disincentive to create more garbage.
We live on an island, and each one of us needs to take responsibility for our impact on the environment. Our family of four would find it easy to have only one pickup every other week. One pickup per week is reasonable. I would even go so far as to say there should be an extra charge for bulky item pickups for those people who line the sidewalk with their stuff. Many times the items are reusable -- people simply don't bother to take the time to give it away. Perhaps if an extra fee were charged, they'd make more of an effort to use resources such as www.freecycle.org or the free pickups offered by charitable organizations.
Designated sites already are available for recycling. Many times these bins are overflowing, even though pickups are several times per week. The city brings in about 2 million pounds of recyclable material via these sites each month. Imagine the resources we could save by offering curbside recycling to all residents! I bet we wouldn't have to try to find a place to ship our trash to, and our landfills would last longer as well.
Natalie Iwasa
Honolulu
Use the right bags and just keep walking
Regarding Joe Thompson's
letter to the editor on Tuesday ("Airport security stops grocery-bag threat"), please inform him that instead of using Foodland plastic bags on his feet when going through the airport security check, I've always used ABC plastic bags and had no problem. ABC stands for Already Been Checked. No problem!
Jon Farmer
Portland, Ore.
Police should ticket more traffic scofflaws
I traveled to Makaha the other day and it was like entering the Wild West. Not only did the pedestrians cross when they wanted to, but the cars didn't stop at red lights. The speed limits were not observed and, to make matters worse, there wasn't a police officer to be seen. I saw the station but not one police car on the highway. Is it any wonder people are getting hit by cars? The police have to be more vigilant and start handing out tickets.
Andrea Peters
Waimanalo
What is real story behind Libby case?
On Tuesday, jurors convicted I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby of lying and obstructing an investigation into a CIA leak involving the Bush administration. Big question is, who was Libby protecting? How come this question was never answered? Instead, they focused on convicting Libby of lying. How come Vice President Cheney never testified? Libby was Cheney's chief of staff. Is this a coverup? Does Karl Rove know anything? Cheney said that he is disappointed in the verdict. Why? Should Libby be innocent of lying?
Something smells fishy. Perhaps this is a big plan: They convict Libby, sentence him to a long jail term and before President Bush leaves office next year, he uses his pardon power and frees Libby. Our government is so corrupt most of the public is brainwashed. Can we get honest answers and do things right?
Francis K. Ibara
Kahului, Maui