Hawaii tenants need rent controls

If state legislators are interested in helping the consumer, they should look into rent control. I believe landlords in Hawaii are price gouging.

The Legislature might examine why rents have continued to rise even though many landlords have been able to refinance their mortgages and save hundreds of dollars a month. How many of them have passed any of those savings on to their tenants?

The dirty little secret in Hawaii is that whoever owns the land has all the power. Hawaii provides few rights to tenants. For example, tenants here do not even receive interest on their security deposits.

William Kester

Hawaii consistently ignores criticism

Why Governor Cayetano finds fault with Forbes magazine's article that depicts Hawaii as a socialist state de-fies logic.

Honolulu magazine in September 1998 did an excellent cover story titled "We Were Warned," but obviously our current leadership continues to refuse to listen. As far back as 1981, Inc. Magazine graded all 50 states on their small-business climates. Hawaii was one of only four states to get an "F".

In January 1983, Forbes wrote, "The Paradise State is a veritable purgatory for business." Shortly after, Governor Ariyoshi appointed a 23-member blue-ribbon panel to determine whether Hawaii really had a poor business climate. The panel's report, delivered nearly a year later, drew the same conclusions as the 1983 Forbes article. The panel's report was ignored.

In February 1985, the Governor's Committee on Hawaii's Economic Future said basically the same thing. After the yen bubble burst, U.S. News & World Report ranked Hawaii's economy 51st out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. A 1993 survey of local businesses by the National Federation of Independent Businesses found that 70 percent felt Hawaii's tax and regulatory climate was hostile toward business. In November 1993, Forbes said, "Innovation is dead in the warm, blue water here."

So the current Forbes article isn't saying anything new. It just substantiates that Hawaii's business climate and the attitude of its leaders has remained unchanged through the years.

Kimo puts on a classy show in Waikiki

At the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Kalaimoku Street in Waikiki, a class act is performed by a man smartly dressed in the uniform of the hybrid Royal Hawaiian garb, complete with white helmet with a gold spike on top.

The man's name is Kimo and he wears a different combination of colors daily. The colors include red, white, purple, yellow, black and green.

Kimo is a real show-stopper. Passing trucks honk and Kimo snaps to attention and salutes. The Waikiki Trolley loaded with visitors passes and Kimo waves and sings to them, and the visitors applaud. Taxis, limousines and tour buses take note of Kimo as he plays to his passing audience. Pedestrians take his picture.

Kimo also serves as an information center, giving directions and answering all kinds of visitors' questions.

I suggest that the mayor's office present a certificate of appreciation to Kimo. He certainly deserves it.

Robert M. Lowe

Why put up with noisy, useless car alarms?

One of the major irritations of our society is car alarms. They don't serve any purpose except to cause more noise.

Nobody pays attention to them. When an alarm sounds off, no one bothers to check because car alarms are sounding off everywhere.

Along with so many of the noisy inventions of our modern-day society, car alarms should go.

Anne Graven

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