Beware of gambling industry promises

Rumblings of possible casino gaming in the Island State is heard in Osceola County, Fla. Casinos are an excessive form of gambling as well as being the most efficient "machine" to separate people from their money.

The casino industry catches people and governments with its hooks -- money for education, the elderly or an ailing economy.

Rub the "pixie dust" from the eyes and say a loud "no" to casino gambling. Good luck, beautiful Hawaii.

Gene Marciniak
Kissimmee, Fla.

Honolulu could be a Pacific Monte Carlo

Those who speak of the criminal element and adverse side effects of legalized gambling should sidestep the sleazy examples of Reno, Las Vegas and Indian reservations and take a look at Monte Carlo, Monaco, where gambling and tourism are the only industries.

A pristine harbor surrounded by world-class hotels second to none, elegant apartment buildings, immaculate boulevards, no homeless people, zero unemployment and no criminal element, all supported by a magnificent casino atop the hill.

This world-renowned principality works extremely well as a unique example that Hawaii could follow. Monte Carlo does it right, with strict dress codes and high security that deter undesirables and those who can't afford to gamble.

Once again, it's not what you do, but how you do it. Hawaii could become world famous, as is Monte Carlo, reaping incredible revenues from the idle rich.

John L. Werrill

[Quotables] "The filth was just pervasive. This house needs to be condemned." Aimee Anderson Maui Humane Society animal control supervisor, describing the Haiku home where a woman lived with 82 dogs and 14 cats. When humane society officials got to the home, they found one of the dogs dead in the hallway, walls smeared with feces and areas where standing puddles of urine had dried. Many of the animals were malnourished, dehydrated, sick and covered with sores, lice and bite wounds. Most of the animals have since been euthanized. "I just can't believe it. It just floored me. I recruited him for the military. I thought it was the best chance for his life." Bob Williams Retired Army colonel and Pahoa High School guidance counselor, on the arrest of Damien Kawai, a 19-year-old Air Force F-15 mechanic from the Big Island, on suspicion of killing a fellow airman at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.

Do camera lasers endanger drivers?

The flash units used by the the speed-control cameras are now responsible for at least one accident on the Likelike Highway. The Honolulu Police Department has six other driver complaints on file about the blinding hazards caused by these same flash units.

This week we also were told that of more than 900 possible citations accumulated the first day, all but 158 were tossed because of operator error. This leads to me to ask: How are we to be sure that operator error while using these lasers won't eventually cause eye injury or blindness to innocent drivers?

Is the CEO of Affiliated Computer Services willing to stand in front of his own cameras to publically demonstrate the camera laser's safety? Until such a demonstration is performed with the news media in attendance, I will have serious concerns about the safety of these lasers and of the safety of my own eyesight while traveling on city and state highways.

We've all read stories about eye injuries caused by laser pointers and we've all read about the horrors of botched laser eye surgeries. What makes the lasers used in conjunction with these cameras any less dangerous? What happens when an expertly aimed speed camera laser is refracted off a chrome bumper or shiny car hood into an unsuspecting driver's eyes? Does anyone really know?

How can the public be assured that these lasers are absolutely, 100 percent safe?

Robert "Rabbett" Abbett
Kailua

Passing rules make roads more dangerous

I've notice a few signs around Oahu which state: "Slower vehicles keep right."

Could someone explain just what that means legally?

If I'm on a freeway, for example, and traveling the speed limit or perhaps 3-4 mph faster, almost all vehicles are passing me. Often it is a police vehicle or other government vehicle not on an emergency call.

Should I be in the far right lane because I'm a "slower vehicle?" Can I legally travel at the legal speed limit in the far left lane, even though I'm a "slower vehicle" in comparison? And would that be safe, since those exceeding the limit would be forced to pass on the right?

I used to work in Germany, where I learned that German law requires passing on the left only, and a driver would be required to move out of the far left lane if someone wanted to pass. It is legal there to flash your headlights to indicate that you want to pass.

The German passing law seems to me to be a safer way than the U.S. way of passing either left or right, because passing on the right means moving at a higher speed into a usually slower speed lane.

Bill Russell
Kaneohe

National budget must be balanced

When it returns to session on Jan. 23, Congress should not raise the national debt ceiling. Businesses and families have to live within their means. Why not our nation?

When expenses exceed income in government, spending must be curtailed, tax cuts must be deferred, or taxes must be raised. There is no other way to live within our national means. I favor the middle alternative. Deficit spending in our national government must be verboten.

E. Alvey Wright

Fireworks permits cut down on abuse

I'm glad to see that the $25 permit on firecrackers is working. Fewer people are buying firecrackers and no one died this past New Year's Eve.

Let's put a $25 permit on every case of beer and every carton of cigarettes and save more lives. I'm sure drunken driving and lung cancer kill more people every year than the firecrackers.

Then the state could use that money from beer and cigarette permits to pay for the pay raises for public school teachers -- raises we still haven't gotten yet.

Robby Higa

---

Letter guidelines The Star-Bulletin welcomes letters that are crisp and to the point on issues of public interest. The Star-Bulletin reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length. Please direct comments to the issues; personal attacks will not be published. Letters must be signed, must include a mailing address and daytime telephone number. Letter form: Online form, click here E-mail: letters@starbulletin.com Fax: (808) 529-4750 Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813