Communities should support homeless
During the past several months there have been a number of stories focusing on the City and County of Honolulu's endeavor to clean up our parks. A similar story was printed
Wednesday, about the removal of cars from Mokuleia Beach Park. While this seems like a worthwhile and friendly community cause, the motivation of this effort is suspect. Every renovation is followed by the closure of parks in the evening hours, suggested by the City & County as an attempt to maintain safety.
In reality, this effort seems more focused on removing the ever-growing homeless population from the beach parks, in an attempt to make us forget the ways in which our society has failed some of its people (in this case many Hawaiians). Moving homeless people from the beach to shelters is like putting a Band-Aid on a gushing wound.
There are not many options for the homeless, who are facing issues like affordable living, unemployment, access to education, transportation, health care and so on.
Instead of removing these people, we should begin to focus on the ways in which we can create healthy, thriving communities that are able to support all people, not just the ones living in houses.
C. Kii Kimhan
Kailua
Why would anyone want rail line nearby?
Question to the residents of Salt Lake ("No airport rail line for now, mayor says,"
Star-Bulletin, June 21): Why would you want an elevated transit line to come through your neighborhood? It will be dusty, noisy and an eyesore. City Councilman Romy Cachola's not doing you a favor.
Vern Okada
Honolulu
Killing fetus should bring murder charge
Our state needs to have a law that makes it a felony, a murder charge, when a person kills an unborn child.
The violent killing of Cheryl-Lyn Saniatan's unborn child (Star-Bulletin, June 13) on the Big Island should make it perfectly clear to all rational individuals that our law that considers an unborn child merely a fetus and not a human being is totally ridiculous and unacceptable.
According to reports, Cheryl-Lyn's was going to deliver her unborn child any day. How can anyone logically declare her unborn child was not a human being?
No doubt, changing our law now to affirm a fetus is really a child, a human being, is a reaction to this tragic event. Nevertheless, it is time we started protecting our unborn children as well as we protect our wildlife.
We have laws at the national and state level that protect endangered species of wildlife, but we don't have a law that protects unborn children, because they are not classified as human beings. What kind of society are we going to have if we continue this mockery of inhumanity?
There are 36 states that have fetal homicide laws, with at least 15 states having fetal homicide laws that apply to the earliest stages of pregnancy. Our state needs to be added to this list.
I urge all readers to contact our state representatives, senators and governor to pass a Hawaii state fetal homicide law. Our unborn children need our help. Please, do your part.
James G. Borden
Hilo, Hawaii
Job in Iraq is done; let's get troops out
We have done our job in Iraq. We dethroned Saddam Hussein. We need to get out of Iraq as soon as possible. Our young men are getting killed doing a referee's job in their sectarian squabble since a long time ago -- the Kurds in northern Iraq (an off-shoot of Turkey), the Sunnis in Central Iraq and the Shiites of Southern Iraq (an off-shoot of Iran). If I have my guess, the Sunnis are the rightful ruler of Iraq.
A presence there by American troops is no longer valid. Regardless of our motives, being there is killing our young men and placing our country in a major deficit. The U.S. military has done its job. Let's not get involved in another quagmire like Vietnam.
Let them settle their differences. We have to stop meddling in other countries' problems unless it threatens our way of life. We have better things to do in our country with our troops and money.
Geraldo Gapol
Pearl City
Bad roads take toll on wheelchair users
I'm appalled, outraged and disgusted that as I drive myself around in my wheelchair I've noticed for too long that our streets and sidewalks are like those in a Third World country!
Wherever I go, sidewalks are broken up and streets have potholes for years. I have to be so careful that I'm not thrown out of my chair at times due to this damage. Trying to cross Richards Street to go into the downtown post office I'm thrown about, as well as any cross street along Kapiolani Boulevard. Each crosswalk is marked with white strips of paint, over and over again for years. It has built up and become so thick it makes my ride even worse in those painted areas. Next time, the painting in these area needs to be reversed, so in time all those areas will become smooth.
There is one problem after another. By the time I arrive home from shopping or wherever I go, I need a chiropractor, which the city isn't going to pay me for, and I'd love it if they would buy me new tires when they wear out from our bad roads. How are we on a limited income going to pay for these things? It's not our fault! It has become outrageous. This has been going on too long and something needs to be done.
Elizabeth J. Anderson
Honolulu
You say 'e-woh-toh,' I say 'i o u to u' ...
In Wednesday's Associated Press article regarding the "change" of the name of Iwo Jima to Iwo To, it's hard to tell whether the AP is just plain wrong (again) or just making the news confusing again.
It would not be hard to believe that the government has made the old, and still commonly used, name of the island, Ioto, official for Japanese consumption, but that is a far cry from making it "Iwo To" and pronounced "ee-woh-toh."
The only ones who could pronounce it "ee-woh-toh" are non-Japanese. "W" is pronounced only when followed by an "a" in Japanese words, and although the Japanese spelling was "i wa u ta u" or "yu wa u ta u" until the middle of the last century, when it was changed to the "i o u to u" above, the "w" wasn't pronounced in the major dialects for hundreds of years.
So the only way to interpret the article is that the Japanese government has laid down the law on how foreigners are to pronounce the name of that island. Do they have the authority to do that? Is the German government going to insist that we call their country "Doychlont" (Deutschland) next?
Bart Mathias
Honolulu