DeAmond sentence was an injustice

Justice took a holiday when Petty Officer David DeAmond killed his wife, mother-in-law and then sexually assaulted the wife's dead body.

If that wasn't enough, justice assaulted the women when DeAmond was given only 22 years for his gruesome criminal acts.

In 22 years, he will be free to assault women again.

Carolyn Martinez Golojuch

Bus riders help keep traffic flowing

Hurray for Russ Lynch! He is right on in his comments that bus riders help reduce traffic, not add to it ("Raising the bus fare is just goofy," Editor's Scratchpad, June 14).

He did fall a bit short though in his estimation of how many cars would be eliminated from our parking lots, er, roadways. I catch the Ewa Beach Express No. 91, and it is standing room only every morning and afternoon, so a better estimate would be 70 cars, not 50.

The City Council is looking at this situation backwards. Instead of penalizing the bus riders who help reduce traffic, why don't they increase vehicle registrations by $1 or so per car? I have two of them myself, so I'm not just trying to pass the buck (no pun intended!).

Oh, and did I hear correctly that the city is reducing the number of express buses at the same time that it is raising fares? Tell me it isn't so ...

Susan Ramie
Ewa Beach

There's no virtue in riding the bus

Save all the virtuous propaganda about commuters who take the bus (Editor's Scratchpad, June 14). The vast majority of bus riders are people who are no longer able to drive or can't afford a car. It's a taxpayer subsidized form of public transportation used by those in the lowest-paying tax brackets.

That's OK, but don't make it into something that it is not. If the bus was as convenient, efficient and cost effective as the writer states, do you really think that many people would drive a car?

Bus riders should be able to hold up their financial end of public transportation just like car drivers do when they pay for gasoline and annual vehicle registration fees.

As far as keeping so many cars off the road, this what I see on a daily basis: In the quarter mile from the Ewa-bound exit of Waialae there are six bus stops! The bus stops every two blocks backing up traffic and making a busy Waialae Avenue into a one-lane road. The frequent stops continue through Kaimuki and traffic backs up with every stop. There are buses that have to wait for buses in front of them! Those 50 people on the bus might as well be in cars for all the good they are doing alleviating traffic.

Here is the kicker. The city took away the lanes the buses used to pull into for stops at Kokohead and 11th Avenue.

And since when does anybody cheerfully let bus drivers into their lane? I rarely get the chance because they nose right into the lane in the cars in front of me. Gotta keep that traffic flowing!

Pat Kelly

Waianae counselor should stay there

The Waianae community has been challenged again in the pursuit to advance our educational position in the larger community.

Leeward Community College-Waianae's coordinator of the last year is being reassigned back to the LCC-Pearl City campus as a student counselor. Although many of us in the community agree Lucy Gay would be a great counselor, we believe Waianae is best served with her talents as a coordinator for LCC-Waianae.

In the last year Gay has doubled the student enrollment from 161 to 344, almost doubled the number of courses offered at the Waianae campus, increased the educational fields supported from three to nine and has reached out to people who otherwise would not be going back to school.

She has instilled vibrancy and vigor to education that has not been seen for a long time along the coast.

Gay also was instrumental in going to Kamehameha Schools to bring the plight of the cost for educational assistants and substitute teachers to return to school for their degrees so they could continue teaching under the No Child Left Behind program. This resulted in the Kumu Kokua Scholarship program.

Why was Gay reassigned to LCC-Pearl City? If her work is successful, we would hope that her talents would be used to further higher education along the Waianae Coast. If her work is perceived to be not successful enough, we will happily take her "as is" to continue working with students who are striving for a better life.

Cynthia K.L. Rezentes
Waianae

Hawaii is a turn-off to savvy travelers

I am an ex-professional athlete who has traveled the world and reads the Star-Bulletin online every day. There is a real reason that tourists are avoiding Waikiki and no one is addressing it. Does the word rip-off get anyone's attention here? That is the reputation people on the mainland have of Hawaii, and especially Waikiki.

This comes after years of outrageous tourist-gouging. People go back to the mainland and tell other people and they tell other people. I hear it all the time: "Oh, don't go to Hawaii, it's too expensive!"

Travelers aren't as naive as they used to be. There is a lot of competition for the travel dollar: hotels that don't nickel-and-dime you to death; restaurants that don't charge you two bucks to refill your tea; merchants who actually smile and say thank you.

It is Hawaii's own fault for the mess it is in. Times are tough all over and mainlanders are opting for other destinations that are perceived as a much better value.

I am saying this because I love Hawaii, especially the magic of Waikiki. I am lucky to have friends who helped me avoid all the tourist traps and showed me the true aloha spirit that few visitors really see. I have made eight trips, and lived in Honolulu for 10 months. I have seen the other islands. Hawaii is definitely the most beautiful place on Earth and should be the No. 1 tourist destination.

Edward Griffin
Bunkie, La.

More guns isn't the answer to rising crime

Hiding guns will solve crime? Yeah, right.

In a June 14 letter, Arthur Sprague wrote that with violent crime, burglaries and all crimes increasing, carrying concealed weapons would be the answer. With the majority of crimes being done by drug-addicted individuals, you're telling me that the presence of a firearm is going to bestow reason on those who commit crimes?

The United States has more guns than the rest of the world's nations combined, so obviously guns aren't much of a deterrent. I'm not a genius, but maybe there's a connection between the epidemic level of "ice" use and crime.

If you think more guns are the solution to violent crime I have to say your wrong. That's like saying jet fuel should be used to fight fires.

Ted Obringer