Governor needs to declare emergency
The electrical power dilemma facing Hawaii island could have been prevented if the state embraced all forms of electricity generation, including the burning of trees. We could have had power generation redundancy in cases where a plant or plants went temporarily offline due to unexpected reasons. It is unconscionable for the electric company to subject consumers to rolling blackouts or mandated reduction of power consumption.
On Oahu, power production at the AES coal-fired plant ended on Sept. 1, in compliance with a legislative mandate. We do not have adequate surplus power resources to offset the loss of up to 20% of HECO’s power supply. It would be prudent for the governor to declare a power emergency and delay the closure of the AES plant until the replacement resources are in place and ready to go.
The Hawaii island electricity challenge is a red-flag warning for the governor and all green-energy proponents. People will suffer and may die without a reliable electricity power grid.
John Tamashiro
Pearl City
Rising electricity costs will hurt many families
Hawaiian Electric is hoping you didn’t notice its daily kilowatt-per-hour charge has been increasing by a penny or two each month for the past year — a 41% increase versus 12 months ago.
Oahu’s August residential rate (all inclusive) was 0.45 per kWh. HECO recently announced we’ll be seeing a $9 increase (4% increase) for 500 kWh effective October. Unless you’re living solo in a cave with candles and cooking on a hibachi, the average family will exceed 500 kWh easily.
The average October HECO bill for families could approach $500 to $600. Rents and condo maintenance fees will skyrocket if electricity is included.
The first creature comfort to go will be air conditioning. “Slider” windows restrict passive cooling by 50%. Complain to the state Public Utilities Commission. HECO has no competition. Woe is us. One day, our electricity bill could be as high as a mortgage payment.
Lisa Adlong
Hauula
Hawaii proud as can be of Little League champs
Every year I watch the Hawaii Little League baseball team to see if it will make it to Williamsburg, Pa.
This year I was pleasantly surprised by the Honolulu Little Leaguers. They not only made it to Williamsburg, they won the U.S. and the world championship titles. I have never seen a team with so many good hitters and pitchers.
I am elated and so happy for the Hawaii boys. Thank you to the coaches, parents, volunteers and players for their dedication, endurance and sportsmanship. Hawaii couldn’t be prouder! You are awesome!
Meryle Hirotsu
Wahiawa
Busy Monsarrat Avenue traffic a real nightmare
A nice lady was holding a sign on the corner of Monsarrat Avenue and Leahi Street that said, “Share the Road.” It’s too bad that many drivers who use this corridor every day don’t adhere to this motto.
The traffic (vehicular and pedestrian) coming up and down Monsarrat Avenue from both directions has become a nightmare — even more so in the early mornings and midafternoons, now that school is back in session and parents drop off and pick up their children.
Add the walkers, joggers, families with dogs and babies, tourists going to and from Diamond Head, mopeds, bikes of various sorts, skateboarders, those going to Kapiolani Park and the beach and the farmers market on Wednesday — it makes for a serious accident just waiting to happen.
Impatient drivers flipping the bird and yelling obscenities to those who don’t turn when they think they should has become commonplace.
Where are the police when we need them? Just their presence would be good, but their help in keeping the flow of traffic and pedestrians in check would be even more helpful.
Margy Behling
Diamond Head
Student loan forgiveness sets a bad precedent
What are we trying to teach our young people starting off in life who took out a loan to get ahead through higher education (“Tens of thousands in Hawaii will benefit from federal student loan forgiveness plan,” Star-Advertiser, Aug. 25)?
It is a good idea, but they should make sure their degree is in demand and they will have income to pay off the loan. They got free government money, not only for school tuition but for living expenses.
They should not expect the government to bail them out of this and other responsibilities (rent, car and credit card payments). Not a good precedent to be setting.
Ernie Itoga
Waialae
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