Keep gates away from public beaches
Rich Figel's column
"Kailua-Gate affects us all" (Star-Bulletin, Sept. 16) was right on. Erecting gates on "private" beach lanes serve only to keep neighbors and other Hawaii residents from using the beaches in front of these multimillion dollar homes. L'Orange Place and the few remaining private roads without gates have been open to public passage for more than 40 years. Now other homeowners associations in Kailua are talking about putting up gates, too.
One day all of these beachfront roads will be closed to the public, unless the people of Kailua -- and Hawaii -- let their feelings be known. The residents in the Kuulei tract of Kailua were successful in keeping the access open there. Also, residents of Hawaii Kai fought the gate in Portlock and won. If we come together like they did, we can ensure that Kailua Beach will be kept open to all of us.
Please voice your concerns to our government officials, and ask them to do something before more gates go up!
Dan Hickman
Kailua
Cabbie saved tourists from gang beating
I would like to thank the cabbie who interrupted an assault of three young white males by a group of 10 local thugs on the evening of Aug. 10 off of Front Street in Lahaina.
His timely appearance and assistance of the victims to the hospital saved their lives. One of those young men is my son. They all sustained moderate to severe injuries. Fortunately, they were not robbed or worse.
To the residents of the islands: You have reached your goal. I will never set foot in your islands again, as long as you never come to the mainland.
Rob Campbell
Tucson, Ariz.
Even nice areas have prison escapees
I read with some amusement Royle Kaneshige's letter (
"Less wealthy stuck with results of NIMBY," Sept. 18). Maybe needs to do a little more research before pointing fingers and laying accusations. I grew up in Kailua about 1.5 miles from the "boys home" (Koolau Youth Correctional Facility). There were times when "some bozo" or other would escape every weekend. In fact, one of them found his way to our back yard one Saturday morning. My dad had no idea who he was, but managed to chase him out. Only later did we find out he was an escapee.
We had police helicopters buzzing our neighborhood in early mornings, and sometimes into the night, with their bright lights scanning the pine trees in our backyard (and spilling into our windows), searching for these fugitives. And just like old times, there was a police chopper, buzzing my parents neighborhood, not more than two weeks ago. So please, Mr. Kaneshige, as Mark Twain said, "Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."
Joseph Holtzmann
Pearl City
Check the facts before you take a stand
It is time to end
this Superferry nonsense. There is a lot of disinformation circulating, most of it stemming from emotion rather than fact. How many of you have visited the Superferry Web site and read the sections addressing the environmental concerns we say we care about so much (whale avoidance and invasive species)? Have we taken the time to educate ourselves on the issues? Did we listen to the rationale behind the decision to exempt the project from an environmental assessment?
Do you really think that the individuals behind a project of this magnitude would sink their money into this venture without first taking into consideration the sensitivities of operating responsibly in our waters?
I urge all of us who call Hawaii home to review the facts before getting swept away by the frenzy that has taken root in our island home. For those of you who missed the National Geographic special "Building the Hawaii Superferry," watch it at 9 a.m. Sept. 27 on the National Geographic Channel (channel 73 on Time Warner Cable). Let's become better informed before we draw conclusions.
Travis Mount
Honolulu
Governor shouldn't try to change the law
Gov. Linda Lingle's support for the Superferry is so keen, she advocates changing our state's environmental law.
She obviously does not accept the unanimous decision of the Hawaii Supreme Court. It seems ironic, if not hypocritical, for the governor to announce that anyone demonstrating in an illegal fashion will be swiftly prosecuted when the demonstrations are in response to the illegal operation of the Superferry. As troubling is the fact that the governor does not acknowledge the numerous concerns that have been raised about the Superferry and its operations by many citizens. Her hard and fast stance makes her incapable of resolving this conflict.
A true leader would not be working to subvert our state's environmental law and the Supreme Court's decision.
Kili Namau'u
Kula, Hawaii