It's kind of nice without all that noise

As residents of Waikiki, living on the 12th floor above Ala Moana Boulevard, my wife and I have found at least one thing to appreciate about the bus drivers' strike: The daily traffic noise has been appreciably diminished in the absence of the steady stream of buses that are usually roaring by.

R.K. Pendleton
Waikiki

Would a bus driver risk his life for yours?

I have a brother who is a police officer, and his wife is a special-education school teacher.

Tell me, which of the striking bus drivers would risk their lives for my brother? Who would teach their special children and be underpaid and overworked?

TheBus drivers should be taken out of the private sector and become public employees.

Welcome to the real world, people. Let's get back to reality.

Arnell Trani
Honolulu

Cyclists should make their intentions known

C'mon, you cycling enthusiasts. Just as the use of turn signals on a car is vital for communicating one's actions on the roadway, so are verbal communications between cyclists. As a regular commuter cyclist, I find it unnerving when another cyclist zooms by without warning. What if I had to swerve to avoid an obstacle, not knowing the cyclist was passing? A simple phrase such as "passing on your left" is all it takes and may help prevent collisions.

Let's all kokua and be safe out there.

Licia Lau
Honolulu

Focus conservation on big water users

Since the Board of Water Supply called on residents to voluntarily conserve water I have noticed a continuance, and an increase in some cases, by non-residential users. I drove through Kapolei one evening and was shocked at how much water had run onto the streets from the grass watering. This arrogant waste of water has been a concern of mine for quite some time. It is now even more serious since we are facing water shortages.

Why does Kapolei get away with watering the streets every night when we are supposed to conserve? There are a number of new developments along Fort Weaver Road in Ewa Beach and they all water outside the recommended times. I think the BWS should start to get on those non-residential users before we in the residential communities face restrictions that could cause us to be fined for over-use. These businesses and developers are wasting water daily by watering the streets as well as their manicured lawns.

Ken Rossi
Ewa Beach

City squanders money on park sprinklers

Every day in the news, the city reports that there is not enough money to do the things that should be done. Also, it is reported that our water usage is up and we must conserve. Our city streets are full of potholes, and the patches have potholes. The new period street lighting in Waikiki has been finished for some time but still some of those light standards do not have the decorative bases installed.

Now I see that Kuilei Cliffs Beach Park on Diamond Head Road is having sprinklers installed. This park was built at a cost of several hundred thousand dollars a number of years ago, with a path to the beach, automatic sprinklers, two water fountains, four showers and more than 50 palm trees. Except for the path, all of these improvements have been vandalized. Only three of the four showers and one of two water fountains remain and much of the sprinkler system is gone.

Now, with a water shortage and limited funds, someone decided to re-install sprinklers. Do we not have a better use for our money and water?

John Laughlin
Waikiki

Why do we pay more for mail-order items?

It appears massive mail fraud is being perpetrated against residents of Hawaii by retailers on the mainland who levy a "Hawaii surcharge" on shipments outside the continental United States that would cost the same whether shipped to Portland, Maine or Hawaii.

I have canceled numerous purchases when retailers wanted to add to shipping charges because I am a resident of the Aloha State.

In fact, it costs the same to mail a 10-pound package by priority mail from California to Maine or from California to Hawaii ($19.20), yet countless mainland retailers try to add on shipping charges. I have no way of estimating the cost of the bogus surcharge to Hawaiian consumers, but it's dollars out of our pockets and into theirs. For what? Consumers would be well advised not to do business with mainland retailers who attempt to collect a "Hawaii surcharge" on shipping.

Tom Dolan
Honolulu