It’s pitch black outside at 6:40 a.m. as I drink my coffee on the lanai. Thousands of half-asleep workers are risking a car accident as they drive to work in the pitch dark. My lovely neighbor walks her dog — yup, in the pitch dark. School kids: Don’t get me started on them.

Let’s bring Daylight Savings Time to Hawaii and put a little “light” on the subject.

Marcia Del Mar

Kailua

Very little trash after this year’s marathon

Mahalo to the volunteers and organizers of this year’s Honolulu Marathon (“Honolulu Marathon was a win for all involved,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 13).

After past marathons I noticed quite a lot of trash left on the roadways, yards and medial strips, even after the street sweepers were done.

This year was much different. As I rode from Kahala to Hawaii Kai along Kalanianaole Highway, I saw only one paper cup and maybe a dozen of the little packets that have some kind of ointment in them.

It wasn’t perfect, but considering there were about 9,000 runners, it was very good and much appreciated.

Natalie Iwasa

Hawaii Kai

Black Americans in isles need more than holiday

Hawaii’s Black Americans have not completed a prioritization of our list of needs. Absent from the list is another “Black” holiday (“Local leaders, officials push for Juneteenth to become state holiday in Hawaii,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 13).

Black Americans should not seek to impose our history and culture on others. If Juneteenth was not recognized by other American racial and ethnic groups for 156 years, then why should they care now? Let us not expend our valuable requests on a holiday lest we be seen as a people who do not want to work.

Rather, let us request something of material value, such as 3% of the higher compensation jobs in Hawaii’s state and local governments and at the University of Hawaii, or accelerated housing placements for homeless Black Hawaiians. Like other wise ethnic and racial groups, Black Hawaiians should remember, acknowledge and honor our important historical events, but we should focus intensely on our most important future.

Dr. Brooks Robinson

Kakaako

Red Hill tanks vital asset for military operations

Can I offer a Red Hill counterargument? It is so amazing to me how people think that a multibillion-dollar complex can just be scrapped. What economic fantasy world do they live in?

If pollution is an issue, those same people need to take their CO2-emitting cars straight to the scrap yard, and we need to demolish their houses that also have cesspools and septic systems that dump sewage into the ground.

Water is the most abundant resource on the planet. It is far more logical to pull a half-cent-a-gallon retail supply from other locations than kill a vital military asset.

If I were head of the military, I would close up all operations and move them elsewhere. Who wants to deal with such an ungrateful and noncooperative bunch when the military provides so much for us?

Ryan Routh

Kaaawa

No guarantee Navy’s fuel tanks won’t leak

Mahalo to the Navy divers for trying to remove jet fuel from the aquifer, once again risking personal harm for the sins of command (“Navy divers work to remove fuel contaminants at Red Hill water facility,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 13).

This is exactly why you do not allow single-wall fuel tanks to sit above the aquifer, much less buried under the ground closer to the aquifer. There is no 100% guarantee that operator error would never happen, nor can you trust single-wall tanks, even in the best condition, not to have any leaks.

With the Red Hill fuel tanks deteriorating with rust and failing concrete, all the patching in the world won’t 100% guarantee there will be no leak into the aquifer. Lining does not do anything to stop the rusting process, but only hides it so you can’t see the steel liner to fix it.

Enough money has been wasted in propping up this black hole of antiquated, rusty fuel tanks.

Empty and shut down the Red Hill fuel tanks now, not tomorrow. It’ll be too late next time.

Lois Berger

Aiea

Dillingham plan means rail will go to Ala Moana

Does anyone remember that Lori Kahikina was head of the city department that was charged with coordinating with the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) to allow rail to run through Dillingham Boulevard? That never got done under her watch; she left that city agency and became acting HART CEO.

Currently neither the Dillingham nor the Ala Moana portions are firmed up with plans, let alone completed costs or contracts. However, Kahikina is presenting drastically reduced numbers without any visible proof of same, trying to dazzle us with fancy footwork and distractions. Now that she’s won the coveted CEO position, she’s come up with a fix for the Dillingham problem, which to date has no reasonable, cost-effective or operational plan.

She wants to start working from the Ala Moana end, hoping to meet at Dillingham. Sounds plausible, doesn’t it? That’s until you realize that once we buy into that plan we are finally, royally and permanently screwed. There is no longer any out, no way to end it at the stadium or downtown regardless of costs, material problems or errors.

Andrea Bell

Kailua

HOPES AND DREAMS

It’s time to reflect on the past year, and to share some hopes and dreams for 2022. Time to wish for better — whether it be in community spirit, public health, policy issues or personal growth.

In the spirit of the season, we are accepting letters (150 words max) and essays (500-600 words) with uplifting or hopeful messages to share during this holiday season; the deadline is 5 p.m. Dec. 21. A collection of them will run on Dec. 26.

Email to letters@staradvertiser.com; or send to 500 Ala Moana Blvd. #500, Honolulu 96813, care of Letters.

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