Honolulu will get chance to vote online

Mark Ida (Letters, Nov. 10) asked why online voting is not an option. He referred to bill paying, ATM withdrawals and gas purchases all done electronically. Why not voting?

His question will be answered in the 2009 Neighborhood Board elections. The Neighborhood Commission has developed a comprehensive and secure system to be available to all registered Oahu voters. For those who are unable or unwilling to use a computer, a telephone call-in venue run and monitored by the highly respected and neutral League of Women Voters will be available. Kudos to Mark Ida for his forward-thinking thoughts.

Short-term rentals stress infrastructure

It was interesting to find the “;Gathering Place”; piece by Tom Berg and a letter from Will Page of Kailua regarding restrictions on short-term rentals on the same page of the Nov. 13 Star-Bulletin.

Page argues for short-term rentals, while Berg's article (although in a totally different context) sets forth the most compelling and dispassionate argument against relaxing restrictions on short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, and that is one of inadequate infrastructure. Berg rightly states “;that the current practice of building the houses first and then the roads and schools last is crippling us.”; Allowing more short-term rentals will essentially increase population density, especially in areas more desirable for visitors. An already creaky utilities and road infrastructure will be rapidly overwhelmed. The City Council should reject additional short-term rentals, especially considering the state of the economy. We do not need additions to the backlog of infrastructure projects.

Lottery is bad solution to state’s problems

Whenever the state faces a budget crunch, letters appear proclaiming gambling would be a magic source of revenue. A Nov. 11 letter urging legislators to enact a lottery to compensate for public education cuts, repeats popular misconceptions and ignores the downside of legalizing gambling. Let's look at some facts about lotteries, as contained in the report “;Governing Gambling”; issued by The Century Foundation.

» “;Most states (substitute) revenues from the lottery for revenues that otherwise would have been spent from the general fund.”; (page 27)

» Lottery players disproportionately come from the poorest and less educated groups in society. So lotteries function as a highly regressive tax on low-income people.

» “;With few exceptions, lotteries ... advertise their games misleadingly, creating the impression that the odds of winning are good. (page 25)

» “;Lotteries place the state into the business of persuading people to gamble ... (encouraging) not hard work and saving as strategies for success, but luck.”; (page 25)

» “;Lotteries contribute to gambling disorders and gambling among teenagers.”; (page 20)

In sum, lotteries are bad public policy. This is true for casinos, shipboard and slot machines as well, which have other harmful impacts on the local economy and create serious social problems as well. For further details on the “;Governing Gambling”; report and other research, go the Hawaii Coalition Against Legalized Gambling Web site at www.hcalg.org.

Delfs can attract world-class talent

I recently moved back to Hawaii from Madison, Wis., and was so happy to learn that Andreas Delfs, previously with the Milwaukee Symphony, was now the new artistic director for the Honolulu Symphony. Milwaukee is mourning its loss, and I thought that if Delfs, an internationally acclaimed conductor would sign on with the HSO, this orchestra must be good! And excellent they are, both as musicians as well as community citizens.

Honolulu drew me back because it is a beautiful, friendly, cosmopolitan city, uniquely situated to benefit from the economic and cultural dynamism of the West and the East.

One key strength of great cities, and I think Honolulu is a wonderful city, is the quality of its cultural institutions—its orchestras, museums, theaters, schools and universities. They are called pillars of society for good reason, because they reflect our histories, teach our children, build community pride and cohesion, open up new worlds of experiences, and inspire us to think broadly and to become citizens of the world.

On a practical level, they are also vital to keeping Hawaii's economy strong and vibrant by creating an environment where people want to live, work, play, and raise their families.

Maybe that's what Maestro Delfs saw as well, and why we have to do all we can to sustain the HSO by buying tickets, making donations, and asking the our public officials to do their part to strengthen their support of the world-class artists of the Honolulu Symphony.

There is so much good will and economic benefit to be gained if Honolulu's public officials would get behind the HSO's renaissance, and allow the HSO to make multi-year schedule commitments for the Blaisdell Concert Hall. His international prestige and reputation can attract major artists, whose schedules are booked years in advance.

Don't the citizens of Hawaii deserve the best?