Brainstorm! Challenge
Final Day!

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Makakilo and Kapolei can't take much more

During the last two years, I've seen a traffic situation turn from tolerable to intolerable in Makakilo and Kapolei. I watched a fire engine, sirens blaring, trapped in stopped traffic in the town center in the middle of the day. Traffic is pouring down Makakilo Drive in the morning and up in the afternoon. Many residents are taking their lives in their hands trying to get into this traffic deluge.

Fifteen hundred new homes are planned during the next two years, with several hundred now under construction. We are looking at more keiki, 3,000 or more cars and more water usage, with no infrastructure to support this avalanche.

The dead end of Makakilo Drive should be extended to a second H1 interchange. Schools should be expanded and built as some students are already being bused to Barber's Point, even before the influx of new keiki.

I don't understand this planning process, which seems to be to build as much and as fast as possible without necessary infrastructure, leaving the residents to scream for relief that will be slow in coming, if ever. We need a moratorium on home construction until the infrastructure problems are addressed.

Hank Reider
Makakilo

Is the war worth another $87 billion?

The past year has been an exciting one for the United States. We have gone to war and shouted in glee as the bombs were dropped. Now, as the reality has set in, the question in most of our minds (my circle of friends, at least) is, is this a worthwhile cause or was there a hidden agenda?

>> Eighty-seven billion dollars is a large chunk of money and since every dollar will end up in someone's pocket, how closely are these funds accounted for?

>> Will it be another $87 billion next year?

>> It might not have been so hard to take, if President Bush took a lesson from our own Gov. John Waihee, who after taking office gave back $2 billion in excess funds to the people and then saw our local economy collapse just when we could have used the buffer. (I lost my teaching job from cutbacks due to the shortfall.)

>> The U.S. economy is doing OK, but the tax cuts and promises of the White House coupled with a war that will benefit so many businesses aligned with Presidents Bush and Vice President Cheney make me wonder, are we the people really in charge here or has our government been hijacked by a bunch of insider fund-raisers?

>> The $87 billion is just the tip of the iceberg when you begin to understand the full costs to our country and our hearts.

Douglas Schott
Waianae

Real patriots should protest Bush visit

With President Bush stopping in Hawaii to grease his political pockets with more money from his wealthy Republican donors, it is an excellent time for every freedom-loving, real American patriot to let him know what we truly think of his right-wing policies.

The Bush administration is leading an unprecedented assault on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution with an unending "war on terrorism" and Patriot Acts I and II. Since new U.S. citizens are required to "defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic," real American patriots know that the Bush regime is the greatest threat against American freedoms.

Bush and his CEO cronies are not only launching unprovoked wars on Arab nations but also are assaulting the environment, international treaties, Head Start school programs, affirmative action, and every positive progressive federal legislation passed in the last 50 years.

I hope thousands of freedom-loving patriots are there to protest Bush when he makes his pit stop in Honolulu on Oct. 23. Since I live on another island, will someone on Oahu bang a drum or hold a sign for me?

Jeffree Pike
Hilo, Hawaii

Do Teamsters care about regular people?

As a monthly bus pass user, the strike was difficult for me. I spent time walking, catching rides from friends and taking taxis. I didn't want to buy this month's bus pass because I'm going to be off the island for the last part of the month. After much prayer, I did buy the pass.

I kept up with the news on this issue and noticed that the city is worried about the drop in ridership. I wonder if the Teamsters Union members care about the riders. If they do care, there is no proof of it. I also ask the union, what you think about what the general public thinks about you? How are the Teamsters going to persuade the public to start riding the bus again?

Philip Imamura
Honolulu

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[ BRAINSTORM! ] What can be done to disguise or beautify those hulking steel utility boxes found in parks and other locations around town? Send your ideas, drawings and solutions by Wednesday, Oct. 15 to: brainstorm@starbulletin.com Or mail them to: Brainstorm! c/o Burl Burlingame Star-Bulletin 500 Ala Moana 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Fax: Brainstorm! c/o Burl Burlingame 529-4750