The state is deliberately adding to our unemployment by failing to fill 122 authorized and funded positions in the Department of Agriculture — one-third of the department’s 360-person staff (“Agriculture director grilled over jobs, food goals,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 8).

Didn’t our governor pledge to double our agriculture by 2020, presumably through the expertise and efforts of his DOA?

While the Hawaiians were 100 percent food sustainable, most of it stored growing in the ground, we are now perhaps 5-13 percent food sustainable.

We also have, perhaps, a two-week supply of food on hand, not growing in the ground but in containers and freezers. Our next nearest food source is more than 2,000 ocean miles away.

It almost seems that, by holding back agriculture’s recovery, government ensures more “unused” land and water for developers and tourism.

Perhaps the time has come for more of us to start thinking about the connection of local agriculture to Hawaii’s food security, and how this relates to our personal security.

Bob Martin

Paia, Maui

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Elevated rail needed to allow for big rigs

Transportation from Honolulu Harbor and Kalihi Kai is the lifeblood of Oahu, delivering food, supplies and construction materials from the container yards, storage depots, warehouses, factories and quarry.

Forcing the drivers of big rigs, concrete trucks and contractor pickup trucks to sit and and wait for the train to go by will definitely increase the cost of goods and services for all on Oahu. Container trucks have too wide a turning radius to be able to make a right turn without crossing an at-grade rail line in the middle of a street. In addition, residential Kalihi traffic has a history of having long wait times for the sake of outside traffic and this would be yet another example of this unfair treatment.

Considering these difficulties, why was it so important to have grade separation through large open country and now not in Kalihi Kai?

Kent Bennett

Kapalama

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Travel restrictions needed in wartime

Actually, we are at war.

Temporarily banning certain foreigners from our country while Americans have been murdered in this war is reasonable. How many other countries have open borders while fighting a war?

The Obama administration had previously designated those seven Muslim-majority countries as security risks. Europe is very much regretting its previous open border policy because they paid for it with various devastating terrorist attacks on their citizens. Do we really want to resort to security routinely patrolling the streets with automatic rifles as they do in Europe?

The temporary ban is actually compassion for the families of the thousands of victims of 9/11 and other terrorist attacks within our borders. It is not un-American to take reasonable steps to protect us. There is no inalienable right to enter another country simply because you want to. Normally, nations do have the right to refuse entry to foreigners.

Leighton Loo

Mililani

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Protect rights and the environment

Hawaii should follow California’s lead in publicly denouncing the Trump administration’s regressive and divisive agendas against the environment and the rights of minorities, women and immigrants.

We are the state of diversity in America, and it is important to let the rest of the country know that we will not stand for xenophobia, and that real strength and progress comes from a diverse, culturally conscious homeland.

Even more important is the fight against Trump’s obvious ignorance of dire issues of the environment. Aside from all the irreparable damage that will be done to our reefs, coasts and tourism industry, our No. 1 concern as a species should be toward the Earth, parent to us all, and, God help us, to our kids and their kids as well.

Our philosophy of aloha is under threat. We cannot be soft or sidelined. Let’s step up.

Thad Higa

Makiki

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Student fees could pay for teachers

The Hawaii State Teachers Association wants a state surcharge on investment homes and visitor accommodations to aid in hiring and keeping educators.

Instead of tax, tax and more tax, how about each child being assessed a partial tuition fee?

There are more than 180,000 public school students, with about $11,000 spent on each pupil. There are about 11,000 teachers.

If each child pays $500, for example, it would raise $90 million, or about $8,000 toward paying each teacher.

The tax surcharge on hotels would raise additional revenue for the general fund and help cover salary increases for all workers.

Paul Hatae

Mililani

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Vote for the person, not political party

Let’s face it: Our new president, Donald Trump, won fair and square, so let’s move on. Thus far in his few days in office, he is working toward his goals. He has given our country a wake-up call.

I was sad to see our U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono oppose the nomination of U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general. I found Sessions to be highly qualified. He was very humble, and answered those harsh and good questions to the best of his ability.

Regardless of party affiliation, we should vote effectively for the people, not the party. After all, I voted for Hirono, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, U.S. Reps. Tulsi Gabbard and Colleen Hanabusa, and Trump. Plus Obama, twice.

Ethel Lundberg

Kaneohe