Some who receive state aid have jobs

I am sick and tired of reading about the people who are on welfare, who get food stamps or Medicaid. Not all people are offered something for nothing, because I am on the system, and I have always had a job.

The economy has changed; Prices have gone up. Hours at work have been shortened, and yes, times are hard for some.

I honestly don’t know where my family and I would be without the extra help that I have so greatly appreciated — maybe homeless and out on the streets.

Instead, we have a place to live, we have food and my children have always had medical. And every day — God willing — I will be at work to do my best for my family.

So thank you, Hawaii, for your help and all your support for those who really need it.

Annette Rivera
Salt Lake

Pedestrian deaths related to visibility?

The story “Seniors at risk on isle roads” (Star-Advertiser, May 25) points out that there have been many unfortunate pedestrian accidents, and a lot of them happened in the evening.

I would like to point out that our streets are not very well lit. Way back when, we changed over from the older bright light bulbs to energy-saving, orange street lights. It’s really hard to see if it’s a dark night, especially if the pedestrians are dressed in darker clothes. If it drizzles a little, it’s much worse. Additionally, a lot of the white lines that mark the roads and crosswalks are worn and hardly luminescent anymore.

Because of the rising number of pedestrian accidents, the state Department of Transportation should assess visibility under varying conditions and look at periodically checking out our streets and roads. Maybe we should go back to those older bright light bulbs so that drivers will be able to see better.

Ted Kanemori
Kaneohe

Entrepreneurs are the real leaders

I share Marco Mangelsdorf’s discouragement with the governor’s disinterest in small business and innovation (“Governor not being responsive,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, May 25).

But then, I’m not surprised. Government is usually the last organization to embrace entrepreneurs. Its people are busy creating a planned economy, like the many failed ones before, while oblivious to basic economic principles.

Ignore the governor. He is increasingly irrelevant and is not, nor ever was, the leader of a market economy. The many people who run businesses to make products and provide services are the real leaders. They have never needed a governor who believes he is in office to orchestrate their efforts. A true public servant would step aside and let the wisdom of the market determine value.

Guy Monahan
Honolulu

Homelessness can’t be solved in 90 days

I am terribly disappointed in our governor, his homeless coordinator and your editorial position when you state that church groups feeding the homeless are enabling them to do nothing and we are not solving the problem.

You folks just don’t get it. First, we feed their souls with the word of God. We serve them Holy Communion and pray for their survival in this ungodly world, and then we feed them with a simple nutritious meal to get them through hard and difficult times.

Let’s be honest: Can existing shelters, with their limited budgets and personnel, take in and feed the estimated 6,000-10,000? I think not. And why and how did the governor and his team arrive at the 90 days to force the homeless into despair? Does APEC have any bearing on this decision?

Are we turning the wheels of progress, or are they turning us into being poor stewards and models for our young people?

Wendell Ching
Honolulu

Teach the homeless how to help selves

Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. — Luke 5:1-11.

Driving through downtown, it is heartwrenching to see the tents and shopping carts. It feels like a Third World country rather than our beautiful Hawaii.

We applaud the givers of time and food. This is pono. However, we were given two ears, two eyes and just one mouth. I hope we can listen to each other and see the long-term problem before we speak.

There is a difference between enabling people to help themselves and disabling people by creating an entitlement third-class society.

All of those who care need to come together for a common long-term solution. Teach our people to fish, we’ll feed them for a lifetime.

Chris Nakamatsu
Honolulu

Maunalua Bay group works to preserve

We at Malama Maunalua are gratified that you included several column inches of material from our website in a story about us in the Travel section (“Maunalua ideal for water sports,” Star-Advertiser, May 22). Unfortunately, the story about our conservation efforts in Maunalua Bay was placed immediately adjacent to a story promoting battery-powered submersible scooters in the bay. This could easily lead the reader to assume that we support the activities described — we do not.

As the story about us noted, Malama Maunalua is a community-based organization working to restore and preserve Maunalua Bay. We are working to make the bay a healthy resource for all and for future generations. We do not endorse any particular commercial use of the bay.

Alyssa Miller
Coordinator, Malama Maunalua

Make sure students aren’t wasting time

High school teacher Caroline Steele highlights a very disturbing situation, which clearly explains why, in part, Hawaii’s students are so poorly educated (“Students need more class time,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, May 26).

If it’s true that students spend critical classroom time performing extracurricular activities — e.g., “practice to take part in assemblies,” etc., when they should be doing such activities after the day’s classes — it’s no wonder their national standings are so poor.

Shame on the state Department of Education. The state and its DOE need to ensure that students are educated fully, not wasting vital class time playing or doing nonessential tasks during classroom hours.

Jon von Kessel
Honolulu