Don't close libraries to balance budget

Victoria G. Dworkin's March 10 letter that the state should not close libraries to balance the budget said it all regarding the need for libraries in tough times.

Unfortunately, the public's need seems to always wind up last. Weekends, holidays and evenings are times when busy people need to use library services. Surely something can be arranged to make this vast resource readily available.

Evelyn S. Pacheco
Hilo, Hawaii

Private coverage best for long-term care

More than a few questions have not been asked or answered about the proposed CarePlus program.

One in two will need long-term care at some time in their life. Forty percent of all those who will require it are under age 65. Ninety percent of all nursing home residents are on Medicaid and the average stay is two and a half years. Medicaid pays $140 a day per resident in private nursing homes, $240 a day in state-run facilities. Most Medicaid costs are borne by the state.

As proposed, CarePlus will tax each working person in Hawaii from age 26-92 at the rate of $10 a month, with annual inflation increases. It will take 10 years to become vested in the program.

Where will these monthly tax revenues be held for 10 years, before the first person becomes vested? What qualifiers will be in place to determine who will be able to receive the inflation-adjusted $70 a day for up to one year? Will the tax stay flat or will it become progressive, with those earning more paying more?

Probable answers: The tax revenues will go into the general fund to offset Medicaid costs starting immediately. Only low-income individuals over a set age will be eligible to receive benefits, which will essentially only supplement Medicaid costs. The tax will become progressive.

We need to address the financial burden of long-term care to Hawaii residents. CarePlus is not the answer, nor will it be an effective stopgap until something better is thought out. The only way to maintain personal control and prevent becoming a ward of the state is to purchase personal long-term care insurance coverage.

Brian Winter
Pearl City

[Quotables] "I guess they'll teach them under the trees in the park. Unfortunately, the trees aren't grown yet because the parks are too new." Mark Moses Republican state representative from Kapolei, on the exclusion from the House budget of construction money for the 12th-grade building at Kapolei High School. "We beat an unbelievable basketball team." Thad Matta Xavier basketball coach following his team's 70-58 victory over Hawaii in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Dallas.

Stricter laws needed to protect pedestrians

Comments by Maj. Robert Prasser of the Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division, ("Waimanalo death renews calls for pedestrian safety," March 6) led me to believe pedestrians and vehicles must both yield to the other. Our Hawaii traffic laws and those of all other states that I'm familiar with are very specific. It is the pedestrian who has the right of way -- not the vehicle.

I live in the congested area of Ala Moana. Too many times I have had to jump and even leap out of the way of motorists who turn into me when I'm walking on a well-lit walk sign, bear down on me when walking across well-marked pedestrian walkways or don't see me because they are too busy talking on their cell phones.

What is really needed are stricter traffic laws and aggressive enforcement to ensure drivers are smart about pedestrian safety. Many states have violations for pedestrian endangerment, with hundreds of dollars in fines and points against violators' auto insurance. Flesh and bones stand no chance against the steel of cars and trucks.

You're darn right I am cautious, but too often drivers are acting like it is their right of way, not mine. It is time to enforce the law and ticket the drivers who fail to yield the right of way and threaten our pedestrians.

Charlie Colburn

More studies needed on pet quarantine

Once again, the Star-Bulletin has provided inaccurate statements in defending its position on animal quarantine.

Contrary to your March 4 editorial, the proposed legislation is not consistent with the "pet passport" system adopted in Great Britain. Most important, dogs and cats from the U.S. mainland and most of the world are not allowed to participate in the passport program and are required to remain in quarantine for six months when entering the British Isles. Only pets from specified rabies-free or near rabies-free areas -- like Hawaii and specific European countries -- are allowed to participate in the passport program. The exclusion of U.S. pets from the program is due to the high incidence of rabies on the mainland.

The theory that loosening of quarantine laws would encourage significantly less smuggling is an assumption that has no basis in fact. Those who do not obey the laws now will likely not obey the laws, period.

The Star-Bulletin is premature in concluding that the information provided by the "coalition" is accurate. It would be prudent to await the outcome of all scientific studies before deciding on an appropriate course of action.

In this regard, the department is completing a comprehensive scientific study and risk assessment to determine if we can further reduce the confinement period without opening the door to rabies.

James J. Nakatani
Chairperson
Hawaii Board of Agriculture

Happy Birthday Starbulletin.com

Aloha,
Well, another year has successfully passed and on the 18th Starbulletin.com will be 6 years old.

Congratulations!

And a wish for many more prosperous years ahead!

I still enjoy my copy of the Star Bulletin every evening & Sat & Sunday mornings.

Paul F. Minczer

Traffic cameras create ill will at high cost

The traffic camera program is a loser simply because the costs exceed the benefits.

Supporters cite safety as the bottom line. Drivers will indeed slow down, but whether that results in fewer accidents is speculative, with a high probability that any reduction will be marginal at best.

The program could possibly yield a limited benefit, but at what cost? While the dollar costs are not insignificant, the intangible costs are much greater.

Snapshots can reveal that a car exceeded the speed limit, but they don't tell us if safety is compromised. After all, safety -- and not the rate of speed itself -- is the real objective. Assessing the safety question is best done by a person on the ground at the time and place of the violation using human judgment. Police officers can and do make those judgments and are best equipped to determine whether to cite an errant motorist; the public accepts this.

A second major cost is the loss of privacy. The program is a quintessential tool enabling the government to play "gotcha" on the generally law-abiding public. Such a program breeds a visceral resentment towards that government and fosters an adversarial relationship between the government and its citizenry. It's the very antithesis of the spirit of aloha.

Is it really worth it? Are the alleged benefits really worth the very real costs?

Don Painter

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