Adding a lane was a great idea

We should have the name of the person or persons responsible for the idea of making three lanes into four on the H-1 Freeway near Makiki.

Making the change is one of the best ideas that work. He or she should receive an award or money.

Patrick Carvalho
Honolulu

Start ‘Easy Rider’ for older citizens

One way to help take the heavy senior citizen load off TheBus would be to let seniors roll on a trolley.

These trolleys would travel a loop around densely populated senior communities and grocery stores, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, City Mill, Longs, the mall, movie theaters and places of worship, for instance.

Seniors would be able to bring larger purchases on board than are allowed on TheBus, such as air mattress or microwave ovens. This would make it easier for them to live without a vehicle.

Of course, "Easy Rider" would not be as comprehensive as TheBus, but would do fine for running errands.

Seniors would need an ID to show their age. The operating aim of Easy Rider would be to provide several trolleys at a cost far below the expense of adding just one bus.

Also, advertising could be sold on the outside of Easy Rider.

Cullen Wortham
Waikiki

Fund foster care up to age 21

The transition for teens to adulthood can be very scary, even for those with a stable family/home environment. To just tell any child at the age of 18 that they are on their own is cruel.

These are very formative years for young adults and for those that have been in foster homes it could be even more unstabilizing.

Extend foster care benefits up to age 21.

Margaret M. Giles
Waikiki

Don’t ignore medical issues

The drowning deaths that have occurred in local waters in recent weeks brought back memories of a cousin who took a vacation trip to Florida.

My cousin, 50, was active and in good physical shape except that he was a diabetic and undergoing insulin treatment.

He decided to enroll in a scuba-diving class even though the application stated that persons with certain medical conditions, including diabetes, would not be allowed to enroll.

The session began and all were in the water. Suddenly, my cousin went below the surface. He was brought to the surface unconscious and was rushed to the hospital, where he was placed on life support. In accordance with his living will, he was taken off life support and passed away.

How many of those who drowned here had medical conditions? Those coming to Hawaii should be cautioned about going into the water if they have a medical condition, such as those that would prohibit them from enrolling in a scuba-diving class.

Harry H. Matsuno
Honolulu

Windward road owned by city

Mahalo for your special report on road conditions in Honolulu.However, there has been a major oversight because the route from Hygienic Store in Kahaluu to Burger King in Kaneohe is the only section of Kamehameha Highway that belongs to the City and County of Honolulu.

This section of Kamehameha Highway is regularly assumed to belong to the state.It is also in a very bad state of repair, shared between "failed" and "serious" on your conditions graph.That five miles of damaged road significantly skews the graph results for Districts 2 and 3.Fortunately, it is scheduled for repair.

Kenneth LeVasseur
Transportation and safety chairman, Kahaluu Neighborhood Board

GMO origin not a selling point?

When you have a good product or service, you want to advertise it so consumers will know you and buy what you have to sell.

If you are growing GMO (genetically modified organism) produce and think it is a great product, why would you not want to label it? That way consumers would buy it because they agree with you that it is a good thing for their families to eat.

If it’s not labeled, how could I purchase your produce when I want it? Is there some other reason you wouldn’t want me to know it’s GMO?

Judy Mick
Kailua