We should be able to defend ourselves

The incident at Koko Head illustrates the need for our legislators and governor to pass Senate Bill 327, related to concealed carry. If Hawaii citizens were not barred from carrying a firearm, unlike 40 of the 50 states, the scenario might have gone something like this:

The lowlife might have been deterred from attacking because of the possibility that the potential victims could defend themselves, or he might have changed his mind when the victim brandished a firearm or, as a last resort, he might have been the one injured.

The requirements that many other states use for CC are already in force in Hawaii just to obtain a firearm. CC has proven successful at reducing violent crime in many other states for more than 20 years. No state has ever rescinded its concealed carry law.

'Flyover' will destroy beautiful views forever

The governor's proposal to build the controversial “;Nimitz flyover,”; is a terrible idea. The Star-Bulletin's endorsement of this idea, (Editorial Jan. 30), is equally shocking.

With plans under way for a transit project that will decimate substantial portions of our island's beauty and create permanent structural intrusions into our communities, how can we create, in addition, a huge, behemoth highway? This flyover will dominate the view plane for tens of thousands of people and be the first thing millions of visitors see as they arrive in Hawaii. And just how will this flyover overcome the backup when it arrives in downtown?

We live in an age when progressive cities such as San Francisco and New York City have torn down the ill-conceived highways that block invaluable views and create community eyesores. It is beyond comprehension that our leaders won't insist that transportation planners propose alternatives that solve our traffic problems without destroying the state's single greatest asset, the beauty of our islands.

Act 221 is Hawaii's best economic stimulus

As an economic stimulus, there is none smarter than Hawaii's eight-year-old Act 221. It is “;shovel ready”; as it encourages those who have money to invest now in Hawaii companies that are ready today to commit to the discipline of innovation. The state does not start to see the cost (in the form of loss in revenue from the credits) until a year later. Even then, this cost is spread out over five years while the companies receiving the investment start to generate income and become self-sustaining, resulting in tax revenues that will more than offset the credits. In the worst case, if a company fails, we still get an immediate stimulus benefit today without having to start paying the cost for a year.

As someone who has worked in economic development for 30 years, the last 20 on Maui, I can easily say that Act 221 has had the greatest impact on quality job creation and innovation. We need to build on our strengths and invest in the future and not feed the gloom and doom downward spiral.

We should save and extend Act 221.

Accurate to call Obama 'Afro-Euro American'

Toshio Chinen suggested in Monday's Star-Bulletin that President Obama be called “;hapa.”; Because approximately 50 percent of Obama's ethnicity is African in origin and approximately 50 percent is European in origin, I maintain that it is more accurate to refer to him as an “;Afro-Euro American.”;

While we have Afro-Americans and Asian-Americans in North America, we also have Euro-Americans, although one rarely, if ever, reads or hears this term.

The label “;Afro-Euro American”; acknowledges 100 percent of our new president's ancestry by the continental origins of his ancestors while listing his roots respectfully in alphabetical order by the continents of his ethnic origins.

If Obama had Asian blood in him, he could be referred to as an “;Afro-Asian-Euro American.”;