City is serious about repairing the streets

In response to Cynthia Oi’s column ("Caldwell’s political theater won’t smooth out our roads," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 28), we’d like to remind you that the city has recently launched initiatives to begin pavement preservation in addition to standard road repair.

The Department of Facility Maintenance Division of Road Maintenance will be implementing pavement preservation work this year using a slurry seal process on "satisfactory" roads, which will make them last longer before they need full resurfacing.And we are using a range of treatments on recently repaved or reconstructed roads to lengthen their life.

The city, following federal recommendations, started researching pavement preservation several years ago, and in 2011 we applied for an Oahu Metropolitan Planning Grant to develop a pavement-management system that would assist us in developing short- and long-term strategies for pavement preservation.

Ross Sasamura
Director of facilities maintenance, City and County of Honolulu

Plan to hike gas tax came at a bad time

Is this guy kidding? On the day of sequestration, our brilliant mayor of Honolulu wants to raise our gas tax? Give me a break!

Kalalena Ako
Mililani

1-party dominance causes fewer to vote

Your editorial laments low voter turnout, attributing it to difficulties in getting out to vote and searching for ways to make it ever easier ("Bills would help turn out the vote," Star-Advertiser, Our View, Feb. 28).

Perhaps the more realistic reason is the perceived non-necessity to vote in a predominantly one-party state where results are largely a "safe" given — a definite non-incentive for needing personally even to bother.

Under the guidance of a one-major-newspaper state, there is little likelihood of change resulting in any more than higher tallies of the same.

Until constructive ideas from challenging voices can gain equal exposure and perhaps even occasional endorsement, your "View" won’t have the good result to which you say you aspire.

Jane Hays
Mariners Ridge

Obama to blame for sequestration

As we stand in long lines at the airport, we may ponder the origin of the federal budget sequester.

Who came up with this brilliant idea? President Barack Obama, says Bob Woodward, the legendary Washington Post reporter of Watergate fame.

Meanwhile, in a series of campaign-like speeches, Obama claims no paternity for the idea and blames the Republicans for the mess the sequester will create, a mess the president describes as having catastrophic consequences — all from cutting the equivalent of 1.4 percent of the 2013 federal budget.

Interestingly, Woodward reports that a senior administration official warned him that "you will regret doing this." Could this threat be aimed at keeping him from further reporting that the administration’s sequester is aimed at maximum political impact rather than minimum disruption of the country? We may never know, because Woodward has been "warned."

Jeff Pace
Kapahulu

Hanohano rant revealed true self

State Rep. Faye Hanohano revealed her true self when in her moments of anger she ranted against ethnic groups, including "haoles," "Japs" and "pakes."

She is not fit to represent Hawaii as a state representative and every vote she makes is suspect. She should resign.

Her apology is politically correct but we all know we can no longer trust her. Her actions hurt Native Hawaiians more as they perpetuated the wrong image of them as being ignorant and intolerant.

Many of us are of mixed heritage. The early Chinese intermarried with Hawaiians and, of course, every other ethnic group intermarried as well. That’s the melting pot we have and we all share in the sacred aloha spirit.

Our beloved U.S. Sens. Daniel Akaka and the late Hiram Fong were of mixed Hawaiian and Chinese heritage.

Chu Lan Shubert-Kwock
President, Chinatown Business and Community Association

Racial slurs were hurtful to kamaaina

I just read about state Rep. Faye Hanohano’s racial slurs.

As a haole born and raised in Hawaii and Hawaiian at heart, that was hurtful. My family is a mix of many cultures, including Hawaiian, Chinese, Korean and Portuguese. I am proud to have such a diverse racial family and am proud to be a kamaaina.

What a sad day when we have to read such hate from our own elected official.

Maile Au
Kaneohe

Put tracking devices on court defendants

The escape of Teddy Munet and the ensuing 12-hour search before he was captured could have been avoided if a tracking device was placed on him before his transport to court.

Liane Wong
Kailua

Don’t go halfway with pot legalization

I am for legalizing marijuana.

Hawaii could benefit from setting up plantations of marijuana. This new industry would be green and would add jobs to a place with a great reputation for high-quality marijuana.

The recent article on decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana is despicable in that it preserves the $1,000 fine, despite abandoning the jail sentence. Our Legislature needs to abandon these half-measures that preserve funding sources but absolve the state’s responsibilities of incarceration. Get rid of the fines and incarceration.

Alan Loo
Pearl City