Repaving of zipper lane causes highway gridlock

Here I am in Waipio, on Monday evening at 9, looking out my window onto the H-1 freeway. Ewa-bound traffic is creeping along at a snail's pace. Kamehameha Highway through Pearl City is still in gridlock.

Earlier, the H-1 and Moanalua freeways were backed up all the way to downtown. Hours were stolen from the lives of commuters.

Are the decision-makers in Hawaii ever going to be held accountable? A middle-school poetry class could have thought up a better way to repave the zipper lane during the holiday season than the brain trust at the state Department of Transportation.

Well, Kazu Hayashida, it's about time you took blame for all of the road rage we feel. And Governor Cayetano, your lame appointments and their lack of accountability are issues, too.

Eleanor Kitsu
Waipahu
Via the Internet

Why is fireworks madness allowed?

A month before Christmas, fireworks lovers are blasting away in their mindless pursuit -- including setting off aerials for everyone to see, including police. They have no regard for the holiness of Christmas Eve and even Christmas Day.

I haven't had a night's sleep without being rousted awake by the noise of fireworks. In the late afternoon, my animals run and hide under the beds until late the next morning.

It seems that our leaders and protectors are supporting this anarchy and saying to hell with the long-suffering citizens of Hawaii.

There must be a reason they have ignored our pleas for years. Could it be that many of them have friends and relatives making huge amounts of money importing and selling these fireworks? I wouldn't be surprised.

Art Todd
Kaneohe

Blasting firecrackers at Christmas sacrilegious

There were fireworks in Makakilo on Christmas Eve. The sparklers were OK. They could be seen as a reminder of the light born into the world two millennia ago. But the bombs were not cool.

I can imagine nothing less fitting for the birthday of Jesus Christ than the detonation of bombs in neighborhoods. It almost would have been better if those detonating the fireworks had been demonically inspired to desecrate Christ's memory.

Oahu is the only place on Earth where parents are so blind, the law is so powerless and government is so self-absorbed that children routinely detonate bombs in residential neighborhoods on Christmas Eve.

Mike Keolomakapu'u Pettingill
Waipahu

Scofflaws will lead to banning of fireworks

As a longtime supporter of keeping traditions in Hawaii, I thought that banning fireworks was too extreme.

However, after reading the polls, listening to family discussions, receiving telephone complaints about illegal fireworks in neighborhoods and observing the multitude of aerials throughout Oahu, I can see the end coming.

Unless the people of Oahu wise up, lawmakers and outraged citizens will be justified in banning fireworks completely.

Rene Mansho
Honolulu City Council District 1
Via the Internet

Quotables "When I was a young boy, if someone drove by you with surf racks on their car, you either knew them or ran after them to find out who they were. Surfing was an insider sport then." Fred Hemmings 53-YEAR-0LD FAN OF RIDING THE WAVES Reminiscing about the 1960s in Hawaii "For me, personally, it's the old hair of the dog. Beer, a Bloody Mary or a Ramos Fizz." Jonathan Schwalbe BARTENDER AT MURPHY'S BAR & GRILL IN DOWNTOWN HONOLULU On the "hair-of-the-dog theory" -- that a moderate amount of alcohol will be able to cure the hangover of the century

More compassion is needed for homeless

I generally agree with Charles Memminger's opinions. But his Dec. 27 column, "Putting everything in its place," was an exception.

Characterizing Hawaii's homeless as "criminals, drug addicts, lazy, out of their minds" and (my favorite) "down on their luck" was a gross misrepresentation. The homeless include many once-stable, highly educated and hard-working people who may have experienced disabling illness or job loss.

Considering our decade-long recession, it is not only the above-mentioned groups that have comprised the homeless. As noted last month in a report by the State Homelessness Forum, "tens of thousands" of "hidden homeless" are either being cared for by friends or family, or are literally one paycheck away from losing their homes.

In his Oct. 15 column, Memminger described what it felt like for Star-Bulletin employees, during the paper's anticipated shutdown, to lose their jobs.

Had the paper closed, and the ensuing job loss prevented Memminger from paying his mortgage, could this not have potentially landed him among the ranks of those he so coolly criticized?

Cinde Fisher

Handi-van has honest, exemplary employees

Kudos to the Handi-van and its employees, from someone who has been disabled for 12 years.

On Dec. 19, I lost my billfold on a van. Upon returning home and discovering my loss, I immediately reported it to the service's "lost and found" department. No luck! I prayed about it for two days.

On the third day, one of the Handi-van drivers, Duke Stark, called me. He said that another driver, Betsy Poepoe, had found my billfold and had turned it in. Stark said he'd be happy to bring it to me after he got off work.

I'd like to recognize Poepoe for her honesty, Stark for his service, and the Handi-van for driving us door-to-door, 365 days a year. They are truly a blessing for us and at such minimal expense.

Chuck Smart

Thoughts of Hawaii cheer up mainlanders

The weather outside our home is a freezing nine degrees, so our thoughts for the New Year are of visiting our son and daughter-in-law, Rich and Cindy, in Hawaii sometime in June. What a joyous reunion it will be after all those online conversations.

On Christmas night, we watched TV and cheered on our adopted team, the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, envying the glorious warm weather at Aloha Stadium. Happy new year to all, and see you soon!

Dave and Patty Searfoss
Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Via the Internet

---

Legislature Directory
Hawaii Revised Statutes
Legislature Bills

---

Write a
Letter to the Editor

Want to write a letter to the editor? Let all Star-Bulletin readers know what you think. Please keep your letter to about 200 words. You can send it by e-mail to letters@starbulletin.com or you can fill in the online form for a faster response. Or print it and mail it to: Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or fax it to: 523-8509. Always be sure to include your daytime phone number.