Passive smoke isn't such a menace

In 1963, dense pollution blanketed the city of London -- a mixture of smoke from home chimneys burning coal, steam trains and vehicular carbon-monoxide spewing from gridlocked traffic, sealed with a heavy cloud cover that remained for five days. People literally asphyxiated on the streets, with a resulting death toll of more than 3,500.

And guess what? None of them smoked cigarettes. How do I know? Because I was there and I smoked -- still do, in fact, with practiced lungs. At the same time I drank a bottle of liquor every other day, so I guess you could say I had a practiced liver, too.

Going back as far as Sir Walter Raleigh, smoking has been a pleasure even as people died in the thousands of the plague, smallpox, whooping cough, diphtheria, influenza, you name it. I can't imagine they were squawking about secondhand smoke, as people do today.

So leave us alone, and levy a heavy tax on contraceptives to avert the evil spread of AIDS.

John L. Werrill

Late ballot stymies voter's intentions

I can give you one explanation for low voter turnout ("State's voter apathy zooms to worst in U.S.," Star-Bulletin, Feb. 27). As an absentee voter, I attempted to send in my vote. However, I did not get my ballot until the day before the election and I had to send it overnight mail to get it there on time.

I debated whether my vote mattered so much that I should spend the $30 to send in my vote. In the end, I decided it did and I should participate in the democratic process. Unfortunately, election day is a holiday and the office of elections is closed as are all state offices. Perhaps if they remained open to receive ballots, they may get a higher voter turnout.

Lori Hashimoto
Pittsburgh, Pa.

[Quotables] "I think Hawaiians would be better off if they worked and saved and bought their own lands like everybody else." Sandra Burgess Plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in federal court challenging the constitutionality of OHA and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act because they use taxpayer money to unequally serve only people of Hawaiian ancestry. Burgess, who is part Hawaiian, is one of 16 plaintiffs named in the suit filed by her husband, H. William Burgess, and attorney Patrick W. Hanifin. "They'll be taxing my underpants next because they're not white enough." Brendan Quinn Dublin shopper, on Ireland's new 13-cent-per-bag surcharge on plastic shopping bags. The measure, applauded by environmentalists, is intended to address one aspect of the growing garbage problem in Ireland, where multitudes of plastic sacks can be seen flapping along fences and hedgerows in the countryside.

Place cameras so they protect pedestrians

I support the traffic cameras for their intended purpose -- to slow down drivers and ticket those who violate the law.

There have been several demonstrations in various areas urging drivers to slow down -- in Kahala, Palisades, Kalihi and along Farrington Highway. Relocation of the cameras to areas with a high number of accidents in which speeding was a factor and to areas where a large number of tickets have been issued for speeding is justified. I am sure that the technical reasons given for dismissing tickets can be resolved so the program can continue.

The question for legislators is, "Do you condone speeding or not?" If so, let them state it before this year's election.The elderly and young retirees -- who number approximately 200,000, including myself -- are not the type to complain, but we do vote.

Richard Sasaki
Kaneohe

Stockpile oil reserves to avoid Alaska drilling

With low crude oil prices, now is the time for the United States to buy and put the oil in the emergency stockpile instead of drilling for oil in Alaska, which would cause environmental problems.

Moreover, the federal government should encourage auto manufacturers to step up fuel efficiency and develop an oil substitute.

The residents of Alaska generally are in favor of oil drilling; oil revenues pay for their education and other expenses. There is no state income tax.

Now is the time for the government to stockpile oil against the day of rising prices.

How Tim Chang

CarePlus proposal is viable approach

The proposed CarePlus program being considered by the Legislature as HB 2638 and SB 2416 relating to the Hawaii Long Term Care Financing Act, provides a dedicated revenue source for long-term care which will reduce the growing burden on Medicaid.

It is a sensible approach, allowing an affordable premium by spreading participation over the entire population, from ages 25 to 99. At the same time, the private insurance industry should be able to market affordable supplementary plans for individuals to purchase from their own pocket. Many families will be able to avoid dependence on the welfare system and Medicaid.

Experience in Japan and Germany shows that such a social insurance approach is fiscally viable. This bill promotes individual responsibility for contributing to long-term costs, as opposed to dependency on welfare.

Eldon Wegner

Leave hurricane fund for future disaster

This is in partial response to Rep. Joe Gomes' commentary Feb. 24, in which he states that moneys in the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund should not be left "intact for a natural storm that may not come for decades hence."

Meteorologists familiar with hurricanes will tell you that Hawaii faces a persistent, long-term risk from hurricanes. No one can say when the next hurricane will hit or how severe it will be -- but we can say with certainty that there are hurricanes in Hawaii's future.

The fund was designed as a long-term entity that would come in and out of the market whenever private insurers generally failed to provide coverage for hurricane losses. This failure can happen following a hurricane, as it did after Hurricane Iniki. However, market failure also can occur as the result of other events affecting the worldwide reinsurance market, or affecting Hawaii's local insurance market.

If we remove money from the hurricane fund for refunds or other purposes, we jeopardize the interests of the future policy holders of the fund. You could be among those policy holders.

We must all think long term about the fund and the hurricanes that science tells us will continue to threaten Hawaii.

Lloyd Lim
Acting Executive Director
Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs

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