to the Editor
Take uninsured cars off the road -- period
Regarding your Jan. 24 editorial on uninsured cars:I have been told that California has a very effective method of reducing the number of uninsured cars. When a car is stopped by a law enforcement officer for any reason, and the driver cannot show proof of insurance, the car is impounded. On the spot. Immediately. The driver walks home.
I understand that getting your car back is a major hassle -- expensive and time consuming. I have to think that would be a powerful incentive to insure your car.
Dennis Anderson
Kaneohe
Repair crews roost during election season
It's a sure sign that it's an election year when they start fixing the potholes.
Barbara Hanson
Honolulu
Temporary signs disappear in Kailua
Kailua residents have thoughtful neighbors! They've been doing a fine job of showing their aloha for the town by being careful about prompt removal of their signs advertising garage sales, craft fairs, party locations and other functions of a temporary nature. The town looks terrific!Thank you, neighbors! It's especially important to show our pride in the community now that traffic is so slow.
Win Bennett
Kailua
Waikiki should ban audible car alarms
New York City will soon ban ear-piercing car alarms, according to an article in the New Yorker magazine. Waikiki must join the many cities across the nation considering bills banning and possibly ticketing cars with obsolete car alarm systems. Most cars alarms are triggered by rumbling trucks and loud motorcycles.Research has shown that audible car alarms are totally useless in preventing car theft. Any thug knows how to disable an alarm in seconds. Most insurance companies stopped giving discounts for alarms. A brake lock ($60), silent alarms that page the owner, and the Immobilizer that requires a key to start the car are all effective in preventing theft.
Audible car alarms harm public health, decrease worker and student productivity and erode urban civility. Smarter police work and locking up repeat offenders stop car thefts; blasting car alarms do not. In many cities, if a thief drives away a wailing car most people would cheer.
Please go to www.silentmajorityny.org for additional reasons why audible car alarms must be banned in high-density cities. The site mentions a priest coming out with a baseball bat to attack a car. Lack of sleep causes deep anger. Who will propose this bill to ban car alarms that can bring in new revenue with car fines and improve life in Waikiki?
Tom Sebas
Waikiki
Bush's has right idea about drug-testing
Regarding President Bush's State of the Union address:He said he would provide funding for drug-testing in schools. Many people disagree with this idea, but I believe otherwise. Illegal drugs should not be brought to school or be in the possession of a student or an adult.
Those of us who choose not to do drugs have nothing to worry about. It is those involved in illegal activities who oppose this. Though privacy is an issue, all students who participate in a school activities should be tested. By participating, these students are saying that they will abide by school rules, one of which prohibits drugs.
If the state does not test for drugs it is not upholding the law. The state has the responsibility to enforce this law, and I feel it should do so.
Darren Ibara
9th grade
Honolulu
Finally, a leader who cares about the land
Gov. Linda Lingle joined the ranks of noted environmental Republicans, such as President Theodore Roosevelt, as she laid out her environmental program in her State of the State address this week.Showing true environmental leadership, Lingle declared mandatory renewable energy standards. By the year 2020, utility companies shall obtain 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources, such as wind, wave, solar, biomass and waste-to-energy. This will set up Hawaii as an international leader in conservation.
After years of disrepair in our state parks and small boat harbors, we now have a governor whose budget will fund improvements to these facilities.
Lingle also pledged to spend $40 million (nearly half in matching federal funds) during the next four years on invasive species control and eradication and to prevent new invasive species from landing in Hawaii.
As another Republican who supports the environment, I applaud Governor Lingle.
Rep. Cynthia Thielen
Assistant GOP floor leader
R, Kailua-Kaneohe
An act of aloha creates a lasting impression
Reading the Jan. 26 letter written by a mainland tourist whose car was broken into and robbed has nudged me into writing about my experience several years ago on the Big Island.A large group of us were cruising the islands. At our stop at Hilo we rented cars and took off for the lovely Queen's Bath. There were a couple of ladies there having a nice break cooling off in the water.
After a relaxing time wading and enjoying such a peaceful place, we decided to go get a hamburger at the drive-in nearby.
One man in our party reached into his pocket to pay for his lunch and discovered that he had left his wallet with all his cash back at the Queen's Bath. Poor guy was nearly ready to have a stroke!
He turned to get into his car when the two ladies who had been at the Queen's Bath came up to him and asked if he had forgotten something as they presented him with his wallet. He was overjoyed and tried to give them a reward. They refused and said that it would not be right to take his money when they were only doing the right thing in returning the wallet to its owner.
I've never forgotten the wonderful spirit of aloha that I witnessed that day.
I thought your readers would like to hear something good.
Alison Agins
Corona, Calif.
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[ BRAINSTORM! ]
Can you design a quarter that represents Hawaii??Some states have issued collectible quarters that commemorate their entry into the union. The front of the coin looks the same but the eagle on the back has been replaced by something that represents that state. For example, Georgia's quarter has a peach on it. If you could design Hawaii's quarter, what would it look like?
Send your ideas and solutions by Feb. 17 to:
Or mail them to:
Brainstorm!
c/o Nancy Christenson
Star-Bulletin
500 Ala Moana
7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813Fax:
Brainstorm!
c/o Nancy Christenson
529-4750
