What do they think car ashtrays are for?

In addition to the commentary on cigarette litter (Letters, July 26), I would just like to remind smokers that their cars probably came with an ashtray as a standard feature. My recommendation: Stop throwing your cigarettes out the window of your car and use that ashtray for what it was intended!

Las Vegas isn't all it's cracked up to be

Have you thought about moving to Las Vegas? Have you researched the cost of living and the median home prices lately?

Well, I've been residing in Las Vegas for 12 years; the cost of living at that time was fairly low and the homes ran a very decent price in the low $100,000s, gas was about $1.15 per gallon. Today, gas average price is $2.40 per gallon, new homes sell for an average of $290,000-$300,000, and the median income is about $22,0000 year with the cost of living skyrocketing with population growth.

We might not be paying state income taxes, but this state surely takes it out some other way you would never imagine. You might as well stay in Hawaii and enjoy the beauty and the common sense and courtesy of its people, which you will never experience in Las Vegas. What would you be running away from? Southern Nevada will become, if it hasn't already, another California. Do your research before moving to Sin City because other than gambling, there is nothing but the desert.

Attorneys make things hard for volunteers

Regarding the July 26 article "Tam clarifies role in memorial park," it was a wise decision on the part of Honolulu City Councilman Rod Tam to ask the state Attorney General's Office for an investigation. The Attorney General's Office should make a thorough investigation of all documents and make an audit of all finances, going back five to eight years, of all the for-profit and nonprofit corporate entities involved.

The allegations against Tam by various people, especially certain attorneys, who, in my opinion, sought free publicity in their attack against Tam, should be a warning to people with good intentions to consider very carefully before volunteering for an officer's or director's position in a nonprofit organization. Officers and directors are faced with fiduciary responsibilities and may be involved in lawsuits for alleged negligence or omission. There are a lot of hungry plaintiff attorneys in our small community.

Why not simply cut the property tax rate?

Mayor Mufi Hannemann and the City Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi have a very interesting solution to the increase in property tax (Star-Bulletin, July 27). This turns out to be a means test that one has to meet in order to get any relief. This will work for some, but how about those who rent? If the owner of a rental unit paid a $580 tax in 2002 and in 2005 finds the tax to be more than $1,000, that amounts to $420 more. So what is the landlord to do -- increase the rent about $35 a month to cover the tax increase. And don't forget that the landlord also has to pay the general excise tax on the $35.

Would it not be more reasonable to just cut the tax rate? Why would it take until 2007 to implement a rate change?

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