Killing bats, nenes is high price to pay

If having 100 percent oil-free energy in Hawaii at the expense of a few more nene or hoary bats that can be killed is the price of being self-sufficient, then I feel sorry for the people and islands of Hawaii (“Maui wind farm owner wants higher limit on bat, nene kills,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 9).

Those big mainland energy companies are just waiting to swoop down on us and suck all our energy up. Our local politicians and CEOs seem more than willing to grant them free rein. Once we let them raise their quotas of the “expendables,” then it’s ridiculous to appear to try to save these two endangered species now or in the future when we really have become dependent on these newer sources of energy.

Cassandra “Sandy” Aoki
Kaneohe

It’s great Cataluna is back in print

One of the really good things about Hawaii?

Lee Cataluna is back in print.

Hooray, whoopee and hot dog!

Frances Maier
Makiki

COFA agreement needs amending

When U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono was asked what the federal government was doing to assist in the homelessness situation in Kakaako, as 30 percent are migrants under the federal Compact of Free Association, she blurted out that they were trying to get Medicaid reinstated for them.

That’s it? This is a federal agreement, being administered by the federal government. The state and city should be getting better answers from our congressional delegation than that.

Part of the COFA agreement is that people from Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau may come here to live and work, with work being the operative word.

How about our delegation working to get a solution or an amendment written into the agreement to require that these migrants have jobs, a place to stay and at least a means of supporting themselves before being allowed to come to Hawaii?

How well are these migrants being screened and monitored?

Do we even know who is here, how many are here and where they are?

It is my opinion that our congressional delegation is clueless in this matter, and as long as tourism is not being affected, do not expect that to change.

James Roller
Mililani

Charity does not require notification

Kawaiaha‘o Church has been helping the poor and homeless for many years (“Churches could do more to help poor,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Sept. 8).

The church’s outreach ministry is even serving the highly publicized Kakaako homeless.

Kawaiaha‘o Church has been in existence for more than 195 years, and even helped the residents of Chinatown during the Great Chinatown Fire.

It is unfair to say that Hawaii’s churches are not helping. Christian charity does not require a bandstand notification to the general public.

Keoni R. May
Kawaiaha‘o Church deacon
McCully-Moiliili

Don’t sell Kailua site to homes developer

I thank City Councilman Ikaika Anderson for soliciting community feedback at the Sept. 9 community meeting on the city’s proposed sale of 10 acres of land in Kailua, and I hope he will accurately represent the community’s consensus position that the city not sell the property for housing development.

This position is simple: Environmental liability and infrastructure limitations of Kalaheo Hillside make future housing development irresponsible and unsustainable. The soil is highly unstable, creating foundational problems for existing homes, and the sewage treatment facility is over capacity with ongoing hazards for current residents.

Budget and Fiscal Services Deputy Director Gary Kurokawa said a new owner would be responsible to deal with such problems.

If Mayor Kirk Caldwell and the Council ignore the community, sell the property, and defer its responsibility for public health and safety to the fragmented permitting process, it would be like putting a leash on a fox after it has entered the henhouse.

Jackie Lasky
Kailua

Iran deal doesn’t bode well for future

I sincerely hope Hawaii’s members of Congress completely understand the proposed nuclear pact with Iran to which they’ve pledged support, as well as the nuances of the side agreements regarding self-inspections of nuclear sites.

Iran has clandestinely operated its nuclear weapons development program for years under the guise of a nuclear energy program for domestic energy.

There are suspicions that Iran already has built nuclear warheads, with the ultimate goal to fit them on long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles. Not a comforting thought as Islamic masses parade through the streets of Tehran, shouting “Death to America,” and mullahs openly vow to obliterate Israel.

Once the nuclear deal is implemented, economic and weapons sanctions will be removed. President Barack Obama said the deal “is not built on trust; it is built on verification.”

With Iran’s reputation for cheating, what possibly could go wrong here?

Jim Kyle
Waikiki