Backyard terrorism seems to be acceptable

I don't get it. I have to take off my shoes every time I want to board a plane. But pretty much anybody on Oahu can set off bombs in the street. And they have been doing just that for weeks.

Act now to keep traditions alive

Sunday's article about Kauai "Salt Pond in Trouble" means that a tradition, probably at least 1,500 years old, could vanish. Act now, legislators. Don't let months pass while damage increases beyond hope of salvaging a critical situation. Precious ancient traditions can disappear in no time, and then Hawaii will resemble just another part of America with sand and sun: Florida, Southern California and lots of new residents. We are very different and should remain so.

Leaving is difficult but staying can be worse

Star-Bulletin reporter Alexandre Da Silva's Dec. 27 report on the mass exodus from Hawaii really hit close to home. I grew up in Hawaii, left to go to college and returned during the late 1980s to become a public school teacher. My wife, born and raised in Hawaii, was a registered nurse working at a local hospital for nearly 20 years. All three of our children were reared in Hawaii and living, with the help of my parents, in a beautiful home in Kailua. In addition to our full-time jobs, both my wife and I had part-time jobs to help pay for private school tuitions, mortgage payments, transportation, utilities and so on.

I contemplated taking on another part-time job to make ends meet, but our mental, physical and emotional health was quickly becoming an issue. The decision to leave our home was heartbreaking to say the least. We have been on the mainland for four months, and even with our tough transition, we are now able to enjoy and reflect on life rather than having to react to it on a continual basis.

Don't give thieves more copper to steal

The copper thieves are at it again! I think we can categorize them with drug traffickers, bank robbers and drunken drivers. There seem to be no solutions to these crimes. The state should not replace the stolen electrical lines until a method to deter the situation is developed. Total control is not possible since people plus money equals pilferage inherent with the populace.

With today's modern headlights and the luminous marking of the traffic lanes, visibility on the freeways at night appears better without the glare of the street lights. I think most motorists will agree with this. By not replacing the stolen copper lines, the thieves will have less and less to steal, become more daring and eventually get caught.

Highway patrol could free up HPD officers

The Honolulu Police Department might do a good job of reacting to crimes, accidents and incidents, but is it doing an equally good job of being proactive in preventing crimes, accidents and incidents? The recent fatal traffic accident with a drunken driver going the wrong way on the H-1, the theft of more than 30,000 feet of copper wiring from the H-1 freeway streetlights (more than $120,000 loss to the county) and the ridiculous rash of illegal aerial fireworks events, just to name a few things that could be prevented, show that HPD could be a little more proactive. How can the police be more proactive? First and foremost, they can present a presence in the community by conducting roving patrols instead of standing by in a parking lot somewhere waiting for something to happen to respond to the call. I feel that the mayor and/or governor needs to look into the formation of a highway patrol, separate and distinct from HPD, just to patrol our very small freeway system (small compared with other states).

Many accidents or other incidents (such as copper theft, graffiti and other forms of vandalism) could possibly be prevented by an active, vigilant, policing force. A highway patrol could free up HPD to be more proactive to other types of crime/incident prevention. Please consider this.

Cartoon was insulting to New Orleans

You did the good people of New Orleans a great disservice with David Swann's very ugly editorial cartoon on Sunday. Don't you know that the good people of New Orleans are bending over backward to welcome the Hawaiians to their city? You need to publish an apology to the people of New Orleans!

Swann gave the people of Hawaii a huge "black eye" for talking "stink" about New Orleans in your newspaper for all to see.