City government shows ineptitude

Work started in November at Wailupe Valley Park to replace a wall and ramp. The community was told it would take about three to four weeks to complete. It is now April, and work seems finally to be nearing completion. If a small project such as this one takes several months, how can we trust this administration with building a rail system?

Next to the park is the site of the former Wailupe Valley School. The city administration has known for a year that the property would revert to the city. It still sits empty, and because of vandalism the city now provides 24/7 security.

When the closing of the school was announced, there were several private educational groups that were interested in renting the facilities. In these difficult financial times, the city has chosen instead to leave the property empty and to spend thousands of dollars for security. Again, can we trust this administration to deal with a budget of over $5 billion for construction of the train?

Lost learning costs students

I was a student during the teachers strike back in 2001 and as a result, it limited my potential to learn more in the classroom. If the state of Hawaii continues to have furloughs, it puts all students at a disadvantage for several reasons:

» Students who want to pursue higher education might have a difficult time getting into college because the student might lack important learning skills required for admission.

» Hawaii has the nation's lowest number of instructional days.

» Not all families have the privilege of paying for someone to watch their children or finding programs to keep their children occupied.

Furthermore, the real cost is how much money are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of our public school students. The parties involved must come to an end to these furloughs.

Drivers in control of own speed

I must take respectful exception to one assertion in Chuck Prentiss' letter about the recent fatality caused by someone speeding on Wanaao Road in Kailua (”;Kailua road puts everyone at risk,”; Star-Bulletin, April 13). In analyzing who is at fault for this (and other) tragic incidents on this road, he said, “;It is not even (the fault of) the speeding drivers themselves, who become victims of a street system that encourages speeding on residential streets that can accommodate 60 mph speeds.”;

Well, no. I believe in personal responsibility. No one grabbed all those speeding drivers' feet and forced them against their will to mash down on the accelerator pedal. These drivers did not “;become victims”; of a “;system,”; they chose to behave irresponsibly and paid the consequences.

The solution to kids speeding isn't for parents to offer up excuses and rationalizations about how “;the road made them do it”; — the solution is for the parents to take away the car keys.

No wasted effort at helpful event

Thank you to everyone who came and brought your ewaste to Leeward Community College on Saturday. It was a resounding success as David Smith and crew from Pacific Corporate Solutions collected 126,500 pounds of electronic waste filling four Matson containers.

The Hawaii Foodbank also received over 610 pounds of food collected on site (and 575 pounds collected pre-event day) as well as $787 cash. Your generosity was overwhelming. Thanks to the student government and business student volunteers for their hard work.