Aloha Stadium worth fixing

Work at the Aloha Stadium should continue. The $59 million price tag includes complete renovation of the mauka sideline stands and a tower in one of the wedges between the sideline and end zone stands to provide passenger elevators and additional toilet facilities. The renovation of the sideline stands is absolutely health- and safety-related, even if the tower might not be.

All of the seats and the seating plates on the mauka sidelines need to be removed to get to and treat corrosion on the steel beams the seating plates rest on.

The beams or connections can be reinforced to bring the mauka stands in compliance with the state’s current building code, as has been done with all of the repairs to the stadium so far. After that, new seating plates and seats can be installed. This work on the stands can be done for less than half the $59 million price tag.

A new stadium cannot be built within the next few years, which is when the refurbishments on the existing stadium must be done for health and safety reasons. A logical approach would be to completely refurbish the stadium and to use the next 20 years to plan, design, finance and construct the new stadium.

Pensioners here taxed already

The discussion regarding the proposed state taxation of pension income has ignored a very relevant fact: Hawaii residents currently covered under a defined-benefit pension plan contribute to their plans on an after-tax basis.

While there may be justification for taxing retirees who moved to Hawaii from states with no income tax, there is no justification for placing that burden on people who have already been taxed on the income set aside for their retirement.

Defined-benefit pension plans for federal workers were discontinued in 1983; state workers saw theirs ended a few years later, both being replaced with versions of 401(k) plans, which are funded with pre-tax dollars and will be subject to state taxation upon disbursement. To group all Hawaii residents under the pension-tax umbrella and attempt to mollify its effects by imposing income caps would be grievously offensive to those who have already given the state their due.

Fish farming is vital to Hawaii

I strongly oppose House Bill 221, which would slow down or stop the growth of fish farming in Hawaii.

I have been an active scuba diver for more than 45 years and have observed the great depletion of the reef and offshore fish populations. Eighty percent of the worldwide fisheries are either endangered or depleted to the extent that several may never recover.

As the world becomes more conscious of the importance of fish as a necessary nutrient, we are destroying this resource by overfishing.

Ocean-caged farming provides a safe, clean and valuable seafood that is furthering the resource. Properly placed and managed ecologically, this type of farming is absolutely necessary to the world’s food supply. Hawaii can and will continue to lead the way in this vital industry.

C&D landfill will be critical soon

As Honolulu agonizes over where to put a new landfill for municipal waste, it’s instructive to consider the long-term future of Oahu’s only landfill for construction and demolition (C&D) debris.

The city is attempting to revise the Waianae Public Infrastructure Map to designate land that had been set aside for expansion of the C&D landfill for a regional park. Unbeknownst to many, the new designation would result in the removal of an earlier regional park designation for land near Waianae High School. Oahu’s only C&D landfill could reach capacity about the time rail construction is producing copious amounts of C&D debris. Designating land already identified for a C&D landfill for a park that wasn’t needed may have made sense for political purposes but falls short of serving the best economic interests of Oahu.