Rail spending needs oversight

How can the taxpayers on Oahu get through the PR firewall that surrounds the Hannemann administration's rail project?

What has caused the delay in the final environmental impact statement? Why will it take months to finish the final EIS?

How much money is needed to fix the problem or problems? Did the city make early mistakes that now have to be corrected?

There is no oversight built into the laws that allowed the Hannemann administration to tax us for 15 years. My family and yours will pay approximately $400 per year in transit excise tax for 12 more years. The city has spent more than $100 million on rail.Was the money well spent?

Can't some government agency force the mayor to tell us how he is spending our taxes?

Public option needs to be implemented

I am fully insured with what anyone would consider an excellent health care plan, and still I am jerked around by the insurance company. I am just tired of being treated like a dollar sign and not a human being. Please bring back the government option; health insurance today is run in a manner contrary to human decency and to any moral code I've ever been taught.

Thoughtfulness would be nice to see

The 2010 state Legislature is now in session and focused on solving Hawaii's financial and other programmatic issues.

It occurs to me that concurrent with the state administration and Legislature's efforts, there are some things that we as individual citizens can do in our daily lives that can help make Hawaii a better place to work, play, visit and live. Wouldn't be nice if:

» Shoppers at Costco and Sam's Club returned their shopping carts to the designated cart return stations and picked up their beverage wrapping and merchandise boxes, instead of leaving them in the parking lots?

» People took the time to notice and help elderly citizens and mothers with children in carriages with opening doors to shopping malls and other establishments?

» Drivers used their car signals to provide advanced warning to other drivers of planned lane changes and waited until the lane lines changes from solid to dashes before executing the lane change?

» Drivers kept a safe distance between themselves and the car ahead and did not tailgate?

» Drivers came to complete stops at stop signs and at red lights before turning right on red?

» Drivers avoided blocking busy intersections by being considerate and not entering the intersection without adequate clearance?

Does anyone believe we can afford rail?

With all the talk of rail, does anyone believe that the City & County government can pull this off without going way over budget and running the project way late?

There have been numerous nickel-and-dime projects in comparison to the $5.3 billion rail project that have run way late and very much over budget, such as the police shooting range in Waipahu, the sewer project throughout Kailua and the renovations at the Honolulu Hale complex.

I am worried that, down the road, we as property owners and residents alike will pay through higher property taxes and any other way that government sees fit.