$7 billion. And that was the easy half of the rail project.

Now looking down the barrel at the more challenging sector, our mayor says funding is “a puzzle” (“Getting rail to reach Ala Moana is a funding ‘puzzle’,” Star-Advertiser, July 31).

Watch your wallets, because the one piece that will solve his “puzzle” is the government’s ability to raise taxes. Kirk Caldwell won’t be around to face the music, just as Mufi (Mr. $3.6 billion rail project) Hannemann isn’t facing much criticism for his role in this political boondoggle.

The only sane thing to do at this point is to stop it at Middle Street and make use of the transit hub that is already there by expanding it and converting select lanes on the H-1, Dillingham and King streets to express buses only.

Joseph Uno

Manoa

Trump candidacy causing nightmares

It really is possible Donald Trump could get elected.

I’m taken back to my elementary school days when many were digging bomb shelters. Then, in middle school, we watched videos about how to be safe from atomic bombs. I had nightmares then and I am having them again.

If people choose not to vote because there is no good choice, I am afraid. I’m very afraid.

Jennifer Story

Kualoa

Trump liked because party elites hate him

I’ve read all the letters about Donald Trump being a racist, a 1 percenter, et cetera, et cetera, and realize some people still don’t get him.

Whether Democrats or Republicans, people are leaning toward Trump because they are sick and tired of the status quo.

They are sick and tired of the half-truths and inaction by both parties.

Just look at our own state.

We’ve been putting up with the same old problems for decades — homelessness, bad roads, bad infrastructure, bad schools. Doesn’t anybody have a fresh idea?

People like Trump for one reason only: because the Democrats and the Republican elite hate him.

It’s time for a fresh idea. We should vote everyone out, start over and get some fresh ideas.

I vote Trump.

Bill Tildsley

Salt Lake

Researchers bring prestige to UH

Congratulations to University of Hawaii astronomer István Szapudi for his cover story in the July edition of Scientific American magazine, “The Emptiest Place in Space.”

He and his colleagues have documented a “supervoid” in space with much less matter than other spots. The discovery may lead to the proof of the existence of dark energy or new theories of gravity.

The research involved both the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope on Hawaii and the Pan-STARRS telescope on Maui.

UH neuroscience researcher Christine Wilcox authored, in the same issue, an article about a wasp that enslaves cockroaches with a brain-targeting venom.

Both interesting, significant stories in such a prestigious science forum are indicators of the diversity and quality of research at UH.

Daniel C. Smith

Pearl City

Keehi Lagoon mess needs attention

Keehi Lagoon has become a bacteria-infested mess primarily because of long-term neglect by government agencies.

Congested streams have not been maintained. The result after Tropical Storm Darby, is a cesspool of dangerous toxicity.

Canoe paddling is our state sport, yet when Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association asked for help, authorities played the “It’s not our responsibility” game (“Paddlers pull as 1 to clean filthy lagoon,” Star-Advertiser, July 29). The community took action instead. The city dropped off a couple of dumpsters and quickly disappeared.

Finally, the state Department of Health showed up and declared a brown-water advisory. Did this happen to prevent lawsuits? If the Hawaii Canoe Racing Association holds the state races and 10,000 paddlers get exposed to disease-ridden waters, it won’t be the government’s responsibility?

Mahalo to our dedicated volunteers. Shame on the bureaucrats who should have helped and did not. Remember them and the Keehi Lagoon disaster of 2016. This is an election year. Get out and vote.

Maralyn Kurshals

Waianae

Obama reneging on ‘no nukes’ pledge

As we approach the 71st anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was disconcerting to read that the “Air Force aims to rebuild nation’s nuclear arsenal” (Star-Advertiser, July 30).

How can this be reconciled with statements by President Barack Obama? In 2009, he received the Nobel Peace Prize and promised to work to “rid the world of nuclear weapons.”

Earlier this year, in a Hiroshima speech, he called for a “moral revolution” to create a nuclear-free world. Unfortunately, his actions belie his words.

While the article speaks of “hundreds of billions of dollars” for two Air Force projects, Obama also plans to spend more than a trillion dollars to “modernize” our already outsized nuclear arsenal.

Our outgoing commander-in-chief should leave a more peaceful legacy for his successor. He should heed the words of Adm. Noel Gaylor, former CINCPAC chief in Hawaii: “Dropping an atomic bomb on Japan made us completely insecure. The only defense is to stop building them.”

Wally Inglis

Palolo Valley