This is a note to update our generous local community on Blood Bank of Hawaii’s recent efforts to expand the donor pool in alignment with Food and Drug Administration changes.

We are grateful for all donations, including our first-time and newly eligible donors, and we are now focusing on internal processes to reinstate many who were previously deferred from donating.

With that said, this reinstatement process is comprehensive and can be time-consuming — understandably frustrating for those who are excited to give the gift of life. For those who would like to start the process, a reinstatement request form is up on our website, bbh.org. Our staff will contact each individual who submits the form, but it may take up to eight weeks to gather records and complete the reinstatement process, due to high volume.

Thank you in advance for your patience.

Thank you again to all donors for your lifesaving gift.

Dr. Todd Nishimoto

Medical director, Blood Bank of Hawaii

Explanations for high electricity bills shibai

Joey Ayres is right on about how things “don’t add up” with a 77% rise in electric bills when he has decreased usage by 9% (“Electricity bills go up even if usage goes down,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Oct. 4). Our family has experienced the same thing.

Ayres credits Hawaiian Electric’s “spin” on “fuel cost, inflation, whatever,” but what he fails to mention is that this is just another example of what a previous generation would call good old-fashioned shibai.

In addition, he failed to point out that Hawaiian Electric is a public utility, whose rates are controlled by state government, and in keeping with this august body, the electric company has gotten near-perfect its own art of obfuscation in explaining its actions to the public.

Chip Davey

Downtown Honolulu

Coal plant’s closure happened too soon

Well, I opened my October electric bill, and it was $422. I have to wonder how many other residents are considering the error of closing the AES coal-fired plant before an alternative source of energy was found (“Hawaii quits coal in bid to fight climate change,” Star- Advertiser, Top News, Sept. 1).

Perhaps a truer monopoly doesn’t exist here on the islands. Perhaps the plant should be reopened and used until something is actually in hand to replace it. It should happen.

Jacob Vinton

Foster Village

Public has weighed in on Red Hill situation

Rear Adm. John Wade’s recent comments about the necessity of seeking public input on Red Hill would be laughable if they weren’t so maddening (“Red Hill leader vows community inclusion,” Star-Advertiser, Oct. 4).

Public input? Since the 2014 spill, there have been two standing-room-only public meetings at Moanalua Middle School; a contested case hearing run by the state Department of Health; constant alarms raised by Board of Water Supply chief engineer Ernie Lau; and mass demonstrations on Honolulu’s streets. Every one of our public officials — city, state and federal — has weighed in on the necessity of draining the Red Hill tanks, now.

Wade is either completely uninformed on Red Hill (very possible, given the Navy’s track record on this critical, life-threatening situation), or he is stalling for time — once again. The residents of Oahu deserve better, but experience tells us it will just be more of the same.

Auwe!

Kevin O’Leary

Kalihi Valley

Student loan, EV help not fair to most people

Most people agree that life is not fair and question why certain college loans should be forgiven (“Tens of thousands in Hawaii will benefit from federal student loan forgiveness plan,” Star-Advertiser, Aug. 25). Many high school graduates could not attend college due to financial or other reasons but will now pay for the education of affluent and privileged students. College graduates are expected to earn lifetime incomes far greater than high school graduates. How is this fair?

The Biden administration seems to favor the rich and privileged with government-funded benefits such as tax credits for electric car purchases, while others must pay more for gasoline due to energy policies that restrict oil production and refining. Taxpayers are expected to subsidize electric car owners by building thousands of EV charging stations nationwide. EV drivers do not pay highway taxes that are levied on gasoline sales and pay nothing to maintain the roadways. How is this fair?

Elections have consequences and every voter will have one vote to choose political leaders that will best represent their interests. Now that is fair.

John Tamashiro

Pearl City

Limit elected officials to two terms in office

Doing the same thing and expecting different results: We vote for the same politicians in office and expect a clean and efficient government. I really believe if we set term limits, we will have a government that will try to put the people first and not itself.

Let’s try something different and not vote in the incumbent, but vote for new people in every election until politicians set term limits on themselves. Let’s have people serve for two terms and then elect new people with new ideas and energy to serve.

David Shapiro’s column showed that having new representatives won’t be too bad, considering what we have now (“Ige gets it right on new Aloha Stadium in his final days,” Star-Advertiser, Volcanic Ash, Oct. 2).

We need to do something different and not just vote the same people into the office. But we all need to do it together to avoid insanity.

Ernie Itoga

Waialae

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