Brainstorm! Challenge

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Tourists, renters pay property taxes, too

Here's a quick "true or false" test regarding who pays property taxes in Honolulu County. Answer true or false to these questions.

>> Renters don't pay property taxes.
>> Tourists don't pay property taxes.
>> Military members don't pay property taxes.

The answer to all of the above is FALSE. Anyone who lives in or visits Honolulu County (with the exception of some military members who live on base in military housing) pays property taxes.

The renter pays property taxes as part of the rent charged for their house or apartment, the tourist pays as part of their hotel bill and large numbers of the military rent or buy homes. All property is taxed. Whoever occupies that property is paying taxes either directly to the county or through their rent.

The next time a politician tells you that someone doesn't pay property taxes, set them straight and tell them to find another excuse to raise our taxes.

Pam Smith
Ewa Beach

With growth, will we have enough water?

You ran a small piece, "Oahu residents cut water consumption," in the Nov. 21 Star-Bulletin. The story points out that Honolulu Board of Water Supply officials ask that residents continue to comply with voluntary restrictions but that lower consumption figures were in place at this time last year.

Economic indicators announced this week that we are in the midst of a building boom on Oahu. People are moving into our state by the thousands. Homes are sold as fast as they are built. Agriculture is in a development and growth phase, the sport of golf and Hawaii courses are at the top of the list of promotions this year, so more courses will surely be built. All of this needs more water.

I asked my Board of Water representative at a recent Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board meeting, "Is anyone at the board measuring the amount of projected growth to the levels of our water tables to see how we would fare a couple years from now?" He told me in a "don't let the cat out of the bag" irritated tone, "No!"

Who is looking out for us? It is evident there is a great deal going on in the Aloha State, many agendas, concerns and priorities. But we certainly do not want to live with more water restrictions, which are inevitable, and we unquestionably cannot live without water.

Our politicians need to tackle this challenge immediately.

Jim Cone
Honolulu

No surprise that drunk football fans boo

Sportswriters and fans are shocked at the booing of University of Hawaii football player Timmy Chang. You have to believe that drinking alcohol at tailgate parties before the game as well as drinking during the game are large contributors to fan attitude. I'll venture to guess that most of these boo-birds are well oiled by the time the game starts.

On the one hand, sportswriters and fans are shocked at the booing, yet the consumption of alcohol in public at tailgate parties and during the game is tolerated as part of the game.

George Hao
Honolulu

Whieldon is good but support Chang, too

Have some class! Do not boo Timmy Chang. Granted, this season has not been his best. But along with the problems he has been having on the field, we have to remember that he has also led our Warriors to many victories, and is on his way to setting many quarterback records, not only for the University of Hawaii but for college football.

It may be the wisest choice at this point for Coach Jones to leave Jason Whieldon as the starting quarterback. He has proven to be a very good quarterback for our Warriors, but this does not diminish the effort that Timmy has put out for our team or how much he cares and wants to lead our team to victory. He is a young man working as hard as he can to win games. He deserves our support and respect, not booing and jeers.

Jennifer Hartl-Davis
Kahaluu

Airline's surfboard fee should be lower

As much as possible, I fly Hawaiian Airlines. I have on several occasions experienced the pain of flying Hawaiian Airlines with surfboards. Their $80-per-surfboard fee is unreasonable, especially for smaller boards that weigh less than a set of golf clubs or are no bigger than a bicycle. The fee is outrageous when multiplied by the number of boards in one bag!

This came to my attention on a surfing Web site and I instantly remembered my frustration and anger over this surfboard policy. Surely, there must be a reasonable way to modify the fee structure, if not drop it entirely like many other world-class airlines. Perhaps all items larger than suitcases (or larger than golf clubs, if you do not want golfers to riot) could be assessed a fee based on size and weight, not by the number of items within a package.

Surfboards can be rather large and cumbersome for baggage handlers, but the current policy is obscene for a company called Hawaiian.

Gil Riviere
Let's Surf Coalition
Haleiwa

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[ BRAINSTORM! ] Dirty gutter talk Those orange rolls that highway engineers have been shoving into storm drain openings -- there must be a more efficient or practical or attractive way to filter out road debris. These things are about as useful and pleasing to the eye as huge, discarded cigarette butts. Send your ideas, drawings and solutions by Thursday, Dec. 17 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