School outreach deters meth use

It was a pleasure to hear that the Hawaii Meth Project attended my daughter's school and presented information about the effects of crystal meth.

In my day-to-day work as a juvenile probation officer, I see firsthand how “;ice”; destroys young lives and families, and I highly support the method of deterring ice use with realistic TV spots backed up by school outreach. The Hawaii Meth Project has not only provided vital information for my daughter and her friends, but it has given me hope that the children of Hawaii are learning that meth is not a way of life.

From my experience in law enforcement, I can say that ice is the most addictive and destructive drug out there. If we are going to save the next generation from a life ruined by ice, teens need to know about the realities of ice addiction before they are presented with the opportunity to try the drug.

Homeless kids living in filth

They came energized from afar to help clean up Keaau Beach Park in Makua and beyond. The cleanup took groups along Farrington Highway, the seashore and into bushes where the homeless families resided. The outpouring of volunteers for “;The Great American Cleanup,”; which took place the morning before Valentine's Day, left me speechless. Mahalo nui aloha a hundred times over to them.

But what I saw next I was totally unprepared for; it was revolting and repulsive. The homeless children's living conditions in the bushes were inhumane and unsanitary, like the living conditions in Haiti. In short, horrible and stinky! Then I came across an “;earth toilet”; as I was pulling tires from the bushes. The smell was so atrocious that I became nauseated.

No running water, no electricity, living in makeshift shacks and empty beer bottles scattered around. It's repulsive to think what happens to little girls living in this environment. Is it legal to have children living in these inhumane and unsanitary conditions and environment? Where is the enforcement? Who will rescue these children?

Kudos for special on homelessness

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin deserves reader thanks for its focus on the crisis of the homeless in Oahu.

Gov. Linda Lingle appears to believe it's their own fault. Like former President George W. Bush, she has ignored the effects of serious economic troubles.

The outcome has been rising unemployment, poverty and other social problems. As a sociologist (long retired), I have taught and authored textbooks about social problems, dealing with their rising rates for decades in the United States: homelessness, school dropouts and crime. We have the highest rates in the modern world on virtually all of these.

Unfortunately, President Obama has retained Bush advisers Ben Bernanke, Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers. After approving billion-dollar bailouts to banks responsible for the economic crash, Bernanke declared the recession over, despite high unemployment at about 10 percent.

Hopefully, the Star-Bulletin will continue its reporting on important social problems on Oahu.

Gov. Lingle right to not rush rail

Gov. Linda Lingle is correct in saying that she will not be railroaded into signing off on the environmental impact statement for Honolulu's rail project until she has fully vetted it. The New York Times reported that on Feb. 16 the Federal Transit Administration pulled $70 million in stimlus money from a planned expansion of commuter rail service in San Francisco because the rail agency did not properly study the project's impact. Better we do it right the first time than risk having funds yanked later.