April 1 is coming soon and it will be no joke when a lot of us come up short for rent, especially as many of us will not be able to work in April at all.

A moratorium on evictions is helpful, but what about rent relief? Could the city do something creative, like require landlords to reduce rent by 20% in exchange for a 20% reduction in property taxes?

Perhaps all those hyper-rich people who own expensive property here, like Oprah Winfrey and Mark Zuckerberg, could set up a trust to help those facing houselessness?

A lot of us would sleep better if there was a plan to address everyone’s loss of income because of COVID-19.

Pualani Ramos

Kailua

Show neighborhoods where infections found

Will the state please provide to the public a map showing which neighborhoods throughout the state has COVID-19 infected people and if they reside in a community center or not? Knowing where they were diagnosed would help, too.

We can all start to avoid the areas or be more cautious. Also, knowing if the affected residents had traveled outside or contracted the virus locally would help identify “hot” spots.

Maria West

Makiki

Restaurants take care to protect customers

Regarding “Hawaii restaurants face heart-rending decisions amid coronavirus outbreak” (Star-Advertiser, March 19), I say God bless Zippy’s and God bless other restaurants trying to keep their staff employed through their take-out service.

When I go to Zippy’s for takeout I recognize a lot of the restaurant-side staff — the restaurant side is closed — and they are opening the door for me (so I don’t have to touch it), helping inside and wiping down surfaces. Plus, they will come out to your car or let you sit on chairs outside when they relay your order inside and bring you your food. All of these jobs are very necessary for health and the speediness of getting our food.

I know other restaurants are also working very hard to keep as many of their employees as possible.

God bless them all.

Bob Stauffer

Waialae-Kahala

Tourists should return only when it’s safe

In response to Doug Rinehart’s comment about Hawaii canceling the aloha spirit (“Some have canceled aloha spirit as well,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 22): Perhaps educating those who don’t understand what the aloha spirit is will help them to understand why islanders are behaving in ways that puzzle tourists. Those who live here and carry the aloha spirit with them always would not:

>> Put anyone else’s life in danger by allowing your possibly deadly disease to be transferred by casual contact.

>> Insist on coming to someone else’s “home” and possibly killing someone because you want someone to service you by cleaning your room and serving you meals while you are on vacation.

>> Insist on disobeying laws to stay off beaches, trails and anywhere else that would require a healthy islander to possibly infect himself keeping you away from healthy individuals or rescue you if you carry this deadly virus.

We need all non-islanders to leave our islands so we can heal. Please show us the aloha spirit and leave so we can get well to serve you once again when this deadly virus no longer exists.

Pamela Nakagawa

Papakolea

Complete the Census to help Hawaii get funds

Where are we in the response rate to the Census 2020? As of March 23, we were at 19.4%. The national rate is at 23.6%. We can do better and should.

Now more than ever, we need federal funds. By completing the Census, you will be helping our state to receive what we should be receiving based on our actual population.

Go to www.mycensus.gov, to complete the survey. God bless you all during this unprecedented time.

Georgette Stevens

Nanakuli

Let’s unite to fight global warming, too

The current times have been very challenging and dangerous. But people across the U.S. and the world have responded incredibly well. People are making sacrifices to protect themselves and others from the virus, while medical and emergency professionals are risking their own safety to help others. All the while, very few people are complaining. In fact, most people think we should be doing more to save more lives.

So, why can’t we put in that same effort to save our planet? While the coronavirus is tragic, it’s nothing compared to global warming. People are willing to quarantine themselves to save some lives, but they won’t give up gas-guzzling cars to save the future.

Steve Bilan

Mililani

KINDNESS GOING VIRAL

Even in these days overshadowed by the coronavirus, bright spots exist. If you see kindness or positivity going on, share it with our readers via a 150-word letter to the editor; email it to letters@staradvertiser.com. We’ll be running some of these uplifting letters occasionally to help keep spirits up, as we hunker down. We are all in this together.

EXPRESS YOURSELF

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser welcomes all opinions. Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor.

>> Write us: We welcome letters up to 150 words, and guest columns of 500-600 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Include your name, address and daytime phone number.

>> Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Advertiser 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 210 Honolulu, HI 96813

>> Contact: 529-4831 (phone), 529-4750 (fax), letters@staradvertiser.com, staradvertiser.com/editorial/submit-letter