Chinese could raise costs of housing

Not long ago, Genshiro Kawamoto came to our state and started buying houses. At this time our leaders were courting Japan to come and visit. Many came and our housing costs started escalating. Local families lost out and moved away.

Now, Gov. Neil Abercrombie feels we should court China. The rich (and there are many) will come with pockets full of cash and will begin to buy our land. If we think it’s expensive now, hold on, the escalation will blind us. For the initial visit we will see some growth, but in the long run our local families will be run out of town.

It has happened before. If we are greedy in the short term, we will lose in the long term. Then where will we go? Seattle? Las Vegas? Arizona? Do you know of any other country that sells its land to non-citizens without repercussions? We love our home and don’t want to leave.

History has already shown us. It’s time to pay attention.

Mike Lyons
Haleiwa

Our troops deserve a smile, handshake

It seems to me that after having engaged in two decade-long wars, the American military would be taxed beyond capability. But we are not because we have enough patriotic volunteers to compose our armed forces.

I make it a practice to thank soldiersI encounter for serving, and offer a handshake. Through the years, I have never been denied. I figure that’s the least I can do for American military members who put their life and limb on the line in thisera of terrorism.

All Americans should likewise show gratitude to members of our 21st century military. It’s really easy. Just say, "Thank you for serving" with a smile and open hand. I bet you’ll get a smile and handshake in return.

Stuart N. Taba
Honolulu

Green energy must be affordable

Gas prices all over the country have been down at least 50 cents a gallon and our prices actually went up. The oil companies actually believe that the public is naive. Do we have other options? Let’s all go green.

Who has an extra $40,000 to install a solar system at your home or buy a new electric car, when most of us are barely keeping our heads above water?

The meaning of green is money. If the government really wanted all of us to go green, then pass some of that green our way. Make it affordable with a major tax break, not the manini tax break. It’s called an incentive. It seems that the normal Joe is getting the short end of the stick. Either way, we are at the mercy of our politicians.

Rex Kamakana
Kailua

Use Kahoolawe for nuclear power

Hawaii’s government-subsidized clean power proposals hardly dent future energy needs. A nuclear power plant is the answer.

The 45-square-mile island of Kahoolawe, currently wasting away, is the perfect spot for it, if placed at high elevation to avoid tsunamis.

Nuclear power can be safe. Lloyd’s Register estimates there about 200 nuclear reactors at sea. France derives 75 percent of its electric power from accident-free nuclear plants.

Nuclear power is practically inexhaustible. On nuclear ships, refueling is needed only after 10 or more years, and new cores are designed to last 50 years in carriers and 30-40 years in most submarines.

Power could be transmitted by undersea cable to all islands. Such a cable has already been proposed by Hawaiian Electric Co. to export relatively miniscule amounts of land-robbing wind power from Molokai to Oahu.

Ray Graham
Waikiki

Rail won’t create long-term jobs

Toru Hamayasu of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation wrote a letter attempting to defend rail on the basis of job creation as an economic stimulus ("Rail means jobs for struggling economy," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Oct. 23). His argument stems from a misguided theory that government creates new jobs and boosts economies.

This is rubbish. A project like rail is not long-term job creation. The implication is that 10,000 people are all out of work right now and will soon be employed because of HART. Hamayasu claims that half these jobs will be "indirect jobs in other sectors." So, we are to believe that there are 5,000 more jobs, not in rail construction, that don’t exist now but will be created by the 5,000 people working on HART? Even if this were true, what happens after the project is completed? Sounds to me like 10,000 people will then quickly be out of work again.

Brian Barbata
Kailua

Dying may choose only how they die

I would like to thank the Star-Advertiser for the article on aid in dying ("Doctor says 1909 law allows assisted suicide," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 23). As a resident of both Hawaii and Oregon, and one who has witnessed death in hospice in both states, I can tell you that Oregon is much further advanced with end-of-life care.

My experience was watching someone endure horrible pain and agony in Hawaii for hours. While in Oregon, the experience was quite peaceful. After the deaths, there was far less grief involved with the Oregon experience. Opponents seem to imply that a candidate has a choice between life or death. It’s just not true. As a supporter of the aid-in-dying laws, the real truth is that these poor souls have only one choice to make, and that is how they die.

Michael McGuire
Honolulu