Your article on illegal drag racing at an historic site is mostly shibai (“Authorities struggle to curb drag racing at historic site,” Star-Advertiser, May 3).
Besides the questionable emotional response over the supposed desecration of remote pavement, you miss the pertinent point: Since the closure of the racetrack at Campbell Industrial Park in 1996, there has been no outlet for car and race enthusiasts. Efforts of the Oahu Motorsports Advisory Council to reopen a new track have been stymied.
I believe it is a matter of “land and power in Hawaii.” The big landowners and powers-that-be have determined that a race track is not in line with their development plans and stonewall any such ideas. We are left with almost no venue for motor sports, not even a go-kart track.
There is no benefit to be had with continuing to tilt at this windmill. Nonetheless, it is a sad and tragic commentary on life in Hawaii.
Ron Kienitz
Kailua
More must be done to make TROs work
Temporary restraining orders (TROs) rarely protect victims from harm.
Too many people are still being harmed even when a TRO has been granted. The names of people cited with a TRO should be posted for public viewing so friends of the victims can better help them when a situation arises.
Police protection is never available. Victims get the TROs but don’t receive the protection they deserve.
The workplace of individuals with TROs should be notified, as well as the victim’s workplace.
A recent killing of a TRO victim could have been prevented.
Philip Ascuncion
Mililani
Hawaii losing its charm for visitors
My wife and I love Hawaii and visit here every year and stay in Honolulu for several months.
However, I’m very disappointed and saddened by the many changes. Waikiki looks like any mainland city with its high-end shops and restaurants.
The traffic everywhere is terrible and will get worse with condos coming up in Waikiki and Kakaako, and homes in rural areas. What is the city planning department thinking when permits for these developments are approved? City officials are not looking at the big picture and must not mind being stuck in traffic. All this is taking away the beauty of the islands.
In addition, the increase in crime is frightening and the homeless situation depressing. Hawaii is no longer the paradise it used to be and will soon lose its place as a top destination for visitors. Hawaii residents need to wake up before it’s too late!
Dave Wonderland
Zion, Ill.
Outsiders should not screen test requests
Hawaii Medical Service Association’s pre-authorization requirement for patient testing is ridiculous.
The premiums we pay for come from our pockets, not HMSA’s. The money is ours, so why put restrictions on any diagnostic testing whenever a physician requests one?
Isn’t it better to be safe than sorry and avoid being liable for malpractice?
If HMSA continues to provide less than what is expected, our health will definitely decline. It takes money to stay healthy, so give us what we pay for.
We didn’t subscribe to HMSA so it could just hire an outsider to get its authorization. Leave that to our own physicians. We don’t need their permission to dictate what is best for us.
Fran Tomi
Nuuanu
Obamacare hurt by compromises
I agree with Francis M. Nakamoto’s assessment (“Health care system still seriously flawed,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, April 5).
We need to remove the profit-making from health care.
President Barack Obama originally wanted a single-payer system, but the Republicans pushed back as they get campaign contributions from HMOs and health insurance companies.
The result was a compromise that resulted in the Affordable Care Act, which has helped millions of Americans.
However, we are faced with problems such as pre-authorizations.
It’s time that single-payer or Medicare for all be considered and become part of the conversation regarding universal health care as experienced in developed countries throughout the world.
Alan Okamura
Pearl City
Rail work lacking good management
The manner in which the rail is being built is thoughtless and wrong.
The executive director of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, who is collecting more than $250,000 per year, seems to be unable to manage the business/money end. The costs seem to just escalate, with no end in sight.
The physical blight the construction is causing is equally unacceptable. Our roads are torn up and lanes closed through what was once-tidy Pearl City. It looks as though it has been bombed.
It seems to me a knowledgeable, experienced leader would not allow construction crews to keep tearing up new areas when the areas they just completed are not finished properly.
Barbara Williams
Haleiwa
Let counties keep their share of TAT
I guess since the City and County of Honolulu imposed on its constituents the general excise tax surcharge for rail transit, the state thought it was a good idea to allow the neighbor island mayors the same opportunity.
This is disgraceful. The state allocation of the transient accommodations tax (TAT) to the neighbor islands is theft. The money earned on the neighbor islands through the TAT should remain there. Instead all the Legislature can come up with is raising the GET and other taxes and creating or increasing user fees for anything that moves.
It’s robbery on the backs of taxpayers, often on those who can least afford it. And it’s lazy.
Get down to the hard work of cutting spending and waste.
Michelle Kerr
Waikoloa, Hawaii island
