Protect Hawaii, not corporate interests. The decision by the counties of Maui and Honolulu to sue fossil fuel companies who have thrown our future and welfare under the bus for the sake of profit is reasonable.

The state of Hawaii spends, in total every year, about $15 billion. In comparison, Exxon alone generates about $50 billion a year in profit. A single corporation in the energy sector makes more profit than our state spends.

Not only do these Big Oil companies have lots of money, if these corporations don’t help to pay the billions of dollars in damage that we will suffer in the face of climate change, then guess who does? Us. Taxpayers are going to have to cover the costs of our infrastructure being gobbled up by rising seas. The taxpayers should not have to bear the burden alone.

Dyson Chee

Kaheka

‘Rethink’ at Kaiser must retain top-notch care

Kaiser Permanente’s decision to “fundamentally rethink” medical care delivery is alarming (“Kaiser president bemoans insolvency in memo,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 1). Having raised third-generation beneficiaries of Kaiser’s plan and having experienced care for a recent illness, we deeply appreciate the top-notch medical care and responsiveness of Kaiser’s physicians, nurses and support staff, and its support for training on communication and leadership skills.

Ensuring Kaiser’s “sustainability” for future generations makes sense. This, however, must not come at the expense of the quality care provided by such amazing physicians as Dr. Sharin Sakurai-Burton (neurology), Dr. Siting Chen (oncology), Dr. Dardo Ferrara (cardiology), Dr. Timothy Skovrinski and others (nurses, therapists, pharmacists, physician assistants).

We hope the Kaiser president’s “rethinking” the delivery of medical care will not adversely impact the extraordinary medical care Kaiser presently provides. Please remember that ensuring high-quality health care is the goal and funding is the constraint, not the other way around.

Presley Pang and Susan Pang Gochros

Nuuanu

Cellphone users need to pay attention on roads

I was finally able to loudly yell “move!” toward a hell-bent, head-drooped-over-the-cellphone user who could not ascertain her surroundings. A wheelchair was 2 inches in front of her. She kept walking forward, blindly.

Once, I saw a cellphone user walk in front of a moving ambulance with sirens and lights blaring. Once, I saw a man stopped in the road, to check his cellphone while we drivers waited until he could manage to look up and see our cars driving toward him. Once, I saw a female pushing a baby in a stroller walk against a “don’t walk” sign, while staring at — guess what? — the darned cellphone while walking.

Message to cellphone users: Please stop! Yelling might alert you, but it won’t stop you. Please stop your ignorance.

Margaret Ho

McCully

Loss of integrity, respect calls for new leadership

There is the movement to impeach President Donald Trump. There is also an effort to impeach City and County of Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro. Our past Honolulu chief of police, Louis Kealoha, and his former deputy prosecutor wife, Katherine Kealoha, were found guilty in federal court of corruption.

Rising crime rates, protests and urban decay are some of the results of our current leadership. Our basic foundation for responsibility, respect and integrity have been lost.

In 2020, we have an opportunity to voice our opinion, and to move in a new direction. Changes begin with new leaders who have fresh ideas, hope and a vision for the future. Leadership comes from the top.

Scott Kamiya

Chinatown

Call tried to link Biden to corruption, not stop it

Letter-writer Ruben R. Reyes does not seem to realize that the phone call he refers to was devoted to asking the leader of a foreign country not to begin an investigation of corruption in his country, or even to investigate Joe Biden and his son’s connection to it (“It was a phone call to root out corruption, after all,” Letters, Star-Advertiser, Dec. 18). The favor the president asked for was that the Ukrainian leader make a statement suggesting that the Bidens were complicit in corruption, thus crippling Donald Trump’s leading political opponent.

Only after this quid pro quo was made public, did the president state that “there was no collusion,” and only then did the president release the aid. Please note, after the aid was released, there was no investigation into corruption in Ukraine.

Marc Gilbert

Downtown

Partisan politics infect holiday gatherings

It is a good thing that family Thanksgiving gatherings are past. That is because after Wednesday’s impeachment of President Donald Trump, I can easily see turkey legs and mashed potatoes being slung across the table.

Such polarization! The vote was purely driven by political-party dictate. I am not saying Trump should have been impeached or not. But as I try to wrap my mind around this, I cannot understand how on Earth so many can be absolutely right, when so many are absolutely wrong? Seems to me that ideology should be driven by collective, honest, personal and professional beliefs, not what some party leaders may dictate.

On such a critical matter, such party unanimity disgusts me. So many say we need change. We need change, all right. We need representatives who will be free to vote as they honestly feel they should. Now, where are those potatoes?

Jim Kennedy

Ewa Beach

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