Homeless, crime repulse visitors

My family is one type of visitor I would think Hawaii would want to have: We have visited many times, spend lots of money and leave.

As much as we love the Hawaii we have known over the years, your homelessness and crime problem in Waikiki is way, WAY out of control. We simply can no longer justify spending that much money for a consistently declining experience.

I know it must be a tough problem to solve, but it seems like you could make significant improvements by just enforcing the laws you have on the books. If you don't get the homeless out of Waikiki, it seems like the whole state will suffer, homeless included.

Until then, we will go somewhere else for vacation. Best of luck.

Barrel tax would free Hawaii from oil yoke

The U.S. military is taking the lead in renewable energy in our state.

They are going to carpet Ford Island with photovoltaics and get off of HECO's grid.

They are also leading the way in the development of biofuels right here in Hawaii. Clearly, they can see what is coming.

Meanwhile Hawaii's civic and business leaders fiddle while Rome burns.

They whine against passing a barrel tax that would fund development of clean energy resources and jobs for the people of Hawaii, all for the price of a large cup of store-bought coffee per person per month.

We, the people of Hawaii, demand that action be taken. Pass the barrel tax, earmarking it for clean energy development, and emancipate us from our dependence on imported oil.

Do something before the lights go out.

Special interests bleed taxpayers

While the Legislature is considering to raise the general excise tax (GET) for the benefit of the shortfall in state revenues, the taxpayer is struggling to make ends meet.

Instead of raising the GET, it should be considering lowering the GET on groceries so people can save money on their already outrageous food bill.

One in eight people go to bed hungry every night. The teachers and the unions should suck it up and go back to work on Fridays and deal with it, just like the rest of the majority does.

Special interest groups and progressive Democrats run this state, and it is time for them to start thinking about the people of Hawaii and not the people that put money in their political pockets.

Rail transit stations will revitalize Oahu

The Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) success stories that were highlighted at the city's town hall meeting jibe with my own experiences as a transit professional.

In addition to relieving traffic congestion, rail systems have delivered new jobs, new homes and more economic opportunity in cities such as San Diego and Houston.

In San Diego, I saw a bustling shopping center come to life around a rail station in the middle of what was an empty field because of TOD. I saw new homes and condominiums spring up next to rail stations, offering residents easy access to affordable transit. The same holds true for systems I have visited in Dallas, Phoenix, New Jersey, Sacramento, San Jose, Los Angeles and many other cities.

Houston's downtown was almost deserted before the rail line was built. Today, with rail as its centerpiece, downtown Houston has been revived into a thriving business district and visitor destination. TOD has also brought new condominiums to Houston, with more planned.

I hope that Honolulu will reap similar benefits from TOD