Mililani needs more road improvements
Despite all the havoc the construction in Mililani creates, the project is going very well and the improvements are welcome. I would like to ask if there will ever be a dedicated onramp for H-2 northbound traffic coming from Mililani town side.
It's a shame to spend $16 million and not make the major modernization to improve traffic flow. This one change would eliminate the need for the left-turn lane that backs up morning traffic coming from Mililani Mauka. Dozens of cars are delayed and the smooth flow of traffic is broken for the two or three cars that need to turn left in the morning.
As an alternate, the left-turn lane could be closed from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and those few cars directed up to the U-turn lane at the next intersection, Ainamakua Drive. Traffic coming off H-2 north for Mililani town would be either coned into one lane with a flashing yellow yield in place of the light during that three-hour time frame or directed to use the Wheeler AAF interchange.
These small changes would make traffic flow a lot better for the majority and eliminate the dangerous and frustrating lane cutting that seems to get worse day by day.
Mike Hanson
Mililani Mauka
Radio commentators distort Obama’s stand
Hawaii's most popular morning radio show is taking the lead from Sen. John McCain in distorting presidential candidate Barack Obama's tax policies.
Are both simply foolishly ignorant or cleverly distorting some pretty simple facts? We can't know. What we can know is that Obama as president would repeal the Bush tax cuts on those individuals making more than $250,000 in taxable income. (Despite slogans to the contrary, only 15 percent of the Bush tax cuts have gone to those in the bottom 60 percent income brackets, all while spending has soared in the last eight years.)
Do the McCain people and Hawaii's lovable "News and Comment" radio personalities really believe that businesses would be taxed on their gross incomes and not their taxable profits after deductions that are over $250,000? That would be silly. Candidates and radio shows are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts!
The mistaken information was delivered by KSSK's Michael W. Perry at around 7-7:30 a.m. Sept. 18.
Daniel Laraway
Honolulu
Next president will face the echo of history
The next president of the United States will be facing what Franklin Delano Roosevelt faced as he took office in 1933, somewhat different in kind, but potentially equivalent in scale if not, all things considered, worse. Roosevelt had no foreign war to deal with in '33. Nor was anyone worried about global warming. Depression or no Depression, the United States was a stable petroleum exporter, not a drunken importer.
In fact, the next president will probably be facing the absolutely greatest combined challenges in modern U.S. history, coming as he will on the heels of the worst president in modern U.S. history.
So who will be the next FDR and who might need to be his Harry Truman? John McCain and Sarah Palin? Or Barack Obama and Joe Biden?
Stephen O'Harrow
Honolulu
Which candidate can reverse U.S. decline?
Who is to say who is qualified to be president of the United States? George W. Bush appeared to be qualified when he was elected, and look what a mess he made of things. Whoever gets the cleanup job is going to be confronted with a terrible state of affairs, none of which can be resolved to hardly anyone's satisfaction.
There is the war, for which it appears there is no immediate solution that does not threaten the physical security of the 50 states. There are the recession and unemployment, which pick up momentum daily, and show no signs of abating. Observe the real estate market as the number of foreclosures rises, and the power of the federal institutions such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were designed to deal with these problems, disintegrates before our very eyes, leaving the taxpayers holding the bag.
Then, there are many infrastructures that are in desperate need of repair or replacement. The list of work needed on our old dams, bridges, sewer lines, transportation systems and housing projects for homeless and unemployed, is endless.
We live in a very dangerous and hostile world! Most experienced military planners agree that the best way to avoid a new shooting war is to possess the world's strongest, best-trained and best-equipped military force. Spending money to be super prepared for war should take precedence over spilling our country's blood.
How are we going to pay for cleaning up this mess? It can only be accomplished by either enacting new taxes, and/or with new borrowing, which will further devalue the dollar, whose decline is already leading us toward national bankruptcy. Does anyone running for office have the guts and integrity to tell it like it really is, and to deal with this dilemma?
Jack Telaneus
Honolulu
Hongwanji Mission students promote peace
Friday was Peace Day at Hongwanji Mission School. Our students and teachers joined together with the reverends from the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin Temple to celebrate peace. Our preschool students sang a peace song complete with sign language! Our kindergarten students and fourth-grade students teamed up to sing "Voices of Peace." Our eighth-grade drama students performed a skit titled "Candles for Peace." Finally, our fifth-grade students lit candles and sang "Candles for Peace."
Next spring, Hongwanji Mission School will be celebrating its 60th birthday. A part of that celebration will include the installation of a Peace Pole. The purpose of the Peace Pole is to promote the message "May Peace Prevail on Earth."
Carol Riley
Head of School
Hongwanji Mission School
Honolulu
Keep driver’s licenses available at age 16
This is in response to the Sept. 9 article "Group floats older driving age to save teens." The issue here is whether the driving age should be raised. I don't think that they should raise the age. Even though 16 is a fairly young age to be driving, it gives us freedom to be able to be independent. Many teens who will be turning 16 soon (such as myself) would be upset if the we weren't eligible to get licenses until age 17 or 18. It wouldn't be fair if the driving age goes up a day or two before a birthday, for someone who has been waiting to have his/her license.
Being driven all over by parents puts a burden on their shoulders because of the constant outings teenagers have at this age. If parents aren't available to drive their children, imagine how overcrowded city buses will become - a lot more crowded than they are now! Driving is a part of growing up, and it's one of the biggest times of a teenager's life. It frees us from relying on parents all the time, and gives us responsibility and the ability to be self-sufficient.
Lauren Shin
Kailua