Good public policy addresses the root of a problem. Nobody will defend pedestrians using cell phones. But Hawaii has the most senior pedestrian deaths in the U.S., per capita.

Many victims are advanced in age, or speak English as a second language. Anyone with common sense knows those kupuna weren’t texting or playing Pokemon Go. People get struck crossing mid-block, rushing to bus stops, even lawfully crossing intersections.

At signaled crosswalks, you only have the right-of-way for a moment before the signal countdown begins. Then you’re liable for jaywalking. Rushed drivers are turning simultaneously, frequently illegally.

Recently, I was nearly hit in the middle of a crosswalk, in broad daylight, no cell phone in hand. Hawaii has a bad driving problem, too.

Talk is cheap. Fixing traffic signals, building crosswalks, and stopping bad behavior are hard.

Dylan P. Armstrong

Manoa

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Not much happening at Barbers Point

Richard Morris’ suggestion that the state move the University of Hawaii’s main campus to West Oahu is spot-on (“Move campus to West Oahu,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 26).

When the Navy gave Naval Air Station Barbers Point to the state in 1999, I also wrote a letter to the editor suggesting that it be turned into a university site. The infrastructure was already there (though a bit old), and it would have allowed for expanding the state as a profit center for Asian students who crave an American education.

What did the state do with that land? Virtually nothing. It sits fallow while a housing crisis grows and the only real investment was a multi-million dollar FBI building 20 miles from where it should be.

Creighton Goldsmith

Puunui

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Obamacare gave me health insurance

Obamacare allowed me to purchase health insurance for the first time in my adult life. At age 26 I had a melanoma scare. From that point forward, for 10-plus years, I was denied insurance. I paid for cancer screenings with a credit card. I felt like a second-class citizen. Now I have insurance. The Republicans want to snatch it away.

The U.S. medical industry is bloated and greedy. It profits on people’s worst nightmares. Drug companies wield too much power. Fight with all your might to protect regular Americans’ access to health care.

Resist the Republicans’ craven attempt to trade in our well-being in tax breaks. But don’t stop there. Keep pushing until we have a health care system as good as those in other countries. Americans shouldn’t have to go to Thailand to get their teeth fixed.

Shannon Wianecki

Paia, Maui

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America must help middle class, poor

Jesus healed the sick, without a profit motive, and our government has helped the needy and mentally ill who couldn’t afford to take care of themselves.

Then government decided that they were freeloaders and forced them out of mental institutions into the growing homeless population.

America needs to be aware of the signs of citizens in distress, suffering from mental health disorders.

Able-bodied slackers who use government assistance are the ones we should be denying. And our leaders who call themselves Christians need to pause before taking away health care assistance for more than 20 million citizens to create billions of dollars in tax breaks for the wealthy.

America was founded to escape oppression of the poor and middle class by the wealthy, but it appears a dictator or a king is in charge again.

Smoky Guerrero

Mililani

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Let Kakaako Park serve homeless

Let’s just call Kakaako Waterfront Park what it is — a homeless refuge.

Constantly sweeping it isn’t changing that fact. Treat it like a refugee camp for displaced immigrants — an imperfect but temporary option. There’s a lot of space and bathrooms, and it’s relatively unobtrusive. It’s not a solution, but a realistic way of dealing with things.

Dumpsters and showers could be added. Social services could better coordinate with a non- mobile population. Policing could limit illegal activity, kicking out the noncompliant (if you are receptive to social services, you can stay).

Waiting for homeless villages only addresses a small fraction of the population. Converting Kakaako more aggressively helps a larger segment now. It is a pipe dream to think the public will flock back to a cleaned-up Kakaako Waterfont Park. Let’s be realistic and use it as a resource: a vehicle for trying to help people, not a target for fruitlessly harassing them.

Steve Dang

Kaimuki

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Safety, not money, should come first

It saddens me to see that three people died and dozens were injured in the Marco Polo building fire. But what upsets me is that it could have been prevented.

On several occasions our elected officials did not pass a measure to make it mandatory for all buildings to have a sprinkler system. On top of that, friends in the building told me that residents wanted a sprinkler system installed, but were told by management there was no money to install one.

Why is it that we finally take action only after someone dies? We have to err on the side of what is right. This is a sign that we are getting apathetic in Hawaii.

Alan Kim

Moiliili