People should be open to anti-drug programs

After reading the editorial about the credibility of anti-drug programs in the Feb. 27 Star-Bulletin, I find that the community should be more open-minded to this new program that Narconon is trying to establish. The information they give could have a positive influence on present and future generations of Hawaii. If they need more credibility to prove their position on drugs, perhaps the government would be willing to back research-based programs for the group.

Also, I've always had the belief that drugs are poisons. That's not to say that they are lethal, but they are still toxic. We should support this new program and not judge too quickly.

Why copy a system that doesn't work?

As Pearl Johnson (Letters, March 7) so aptly pointed out, the Republicans are trying to destroy Social Security. But will Americans with children and/or grandchildren stand by and let President Bush and Karl Rove unduly burden future generations by destroying our present Social Security system?

Will liberal Republican members of Congress, who don't have to worry about their own Social Security system, vote to destroy the system upon which our masses depend? Or will they side with the more fiscally conservative Democrats to protect the system for all Americans, today and in the future?

Would new government controls dictating how younger Americans may or may not invest their own money be acceptable to a population already fed up with more and bigger government?

Now, we learn that the Bush/Rove plan copies one that has not worked in Britain during the past 20 years and that the British are considering copying our present system.

We have lots of questions; Bush has few honest answers.

Neuter Now program prevents pet suffering

I must give a big mahalo to the city and the Hawaiian Humane Society for its Neuter Now program. I paid just $40 for a certificate and a few more dollars for post-op medication to have my male cat neutered. Without the certificate, I would have paid more than $300!

I love animals and I have seen how irresponsible breeding leads to the suffering and death of unwanted kittens and puppies. If you love your pet, have your pet neutered -- the city makes it easy with Neuter Now.

Beach-access bill deserves support

When I moved from Hawaii to Florida, I was shocked to find that the right to beach access -- universal 15 years ago in Hawaii -- existed only in theory in my new home. Local landowners and beachfront communities here regularly limit public access by restricting parking and using other regulatory mechanisms to deny true access to the few legally mandated access points that exist.

House Bill 760 recognizes that this threat to access to the sea exists on Hawaii beaches, as well, and it mandates a first step toward effective preservation of the right to use beaches and the ocean. I urge support of HB 760.

Improved freeway is answer to congestion

I am saddened to see that our government is trying to push though a light-rail transit line for Honolulu. These have been the major boondoggles on the mainland. They enrich contractors, provide a source of campaign contributions for politicians, provide high-paying jobs for Teamsters, and will do nothing to solve our transit problem.

The solution that people will use that really solves the problem are better use and extension of our freeway system. The first step is to better regulate the use of our freeways during peak periods by banning heavy trucks.

The second step is to widen and double-deck our freeway system. If our senators did their job in D.C., they could get exemptions that would allow us to get federal funds to help pay for it.

People love their cars and want to use them. They don't want to ride railway cars. Quit fighting the public and give them what they want. And remember, freeways don't go out on strike!