Why can't Oahu roads be like Big Isle's?

We visited the Big Island recently and I was struck by how nice the roads were. The 40-mile stretch up the Hamakua Coast was smooth as silk. Highway 11 up to the volcano was equally smooth. Smaller roads in Hilo town also were in great shape. We didn't see a single pothole anywhere. On Oahu, we are told that heavy rains caused the potholes. Does that mean it never rains in Hilo?

We were also amazed at how clean and trimmed the road shoulders and medians were. No opala. No weeds.

Driving on the Big Island was a real pleasure. I guess, living in Honolulu, I forgot what normal roads were like.

Lingle elected to serve all residents of Hawaii

Regarding Richard Borreca's April 3 column, "Left-leaning Lingle picks up speed," whoever is elected governor is governor for everyone; Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Greens and Independents alike. Gov. Linda Lingle just happens to be the first governor in a very long while to take that responsibility seriously. The legislation she has proposed will benefit the state as a whole and will benefit all of us in the long run. The governor has a long-term perspective that has been lacking in the executive office until now.

Legislators should stop taxing and conserve

Government leaders who want to help Hawaii citizens keep our own hard-earned money by imposing a cap on the price of gas ought to look to their own house for a solution.

Many legislators want to revoke income tax cuts and raise the general excise levy. We are told sewer fees must rise dramatically. Property taxes are going up.

Officials should realize that a better way to help us is to put a cap on government and not attempt to manipulate markets, something that backfires with unintended consequences more often than not.

Anti-fluoride bill would protect our water

The move in the March 16 story "Move to ban fluoride founders" is actually a move to prohibit adding any unnecessary substance to our drinking water, which includes fluorides. It's a move favoring pure water.

Your readers are entitled to facts. Rep. Dennis Arakaki is single-handedly killing Senate Bill 15, SD1, which was unanimously passed by the Senate. People who believe that adding fluorides to our water will reduce tooth decay need to know what it is not doing elsewhere. Cities fluoridated for many years, such as New York, Boston, Cincinnati, Washington, D.C., and Detroit, are reporting tooth decay rates as high, or higher, than claimed for Hawaii.

Contrary to what Arakaki reportedly has said, this bill is not negative legislation. Although, presently, there may not be any measures "proposing or advancing fluoridation," there have been many in the past. Without passage of SB15-SD1, there will be more.

Passage of SB15-SD1 would assure Hawaii residents and visitors that unnecessary chemicals are not added to our drinking water.

Pope was steadfast in his principles

The pope made himself many critics with his unflinching stand on abortion and other controversial issues. But the one thing he was, he was a man who lived by unswerving principle and he was steady as a rock. His personality reminds us of "He is Peter, and upon this rock, he had built a strong church."

Many who are old and sickly derived from the pope much inspiration. He lasted physical limitations and controversies and completed his apostolate and his mission as he saw it. When people lose hope and find no purpose in life, they only have to look to him who gave his daily example of physical courage and fortitude.

The pope had himself suffered an attempted assassination, and yet was unflinching in his advocacy for peace, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Once in a while God sends us individuals who, by their mere presence and their lives, serve as reminders of the nobility, the compassion, the selflessness and the grandeur of humanity.

Newspaper headlines scream about the low-born and the ill-bred and the greedy, but then there are people like the pope who tell us humankind is far from hopeless. Such a man was Pope John Paul II, who was truly a man for all of the human race.

How to write us The Star-Bulletin welcomes letters that are crisp and to the point (150 to 200 words). The Star-Bulletin reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length. Please direct comments to the issues; personal attacks will not be published. Letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone number. Letter form: Online form, click here E-mail: letters@starbulletin.com Fax: (808) 529-4750 Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 210, Honolulu, HI 96813