Evidence supports Housing First plan

Thanks to City Council Chairman Ernest Martin for his concern for the homeless ("Put city’s housing assistance where it can do the most good," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, March 4).

Unfortunately, there are some factual inaccuracies in his commentary.

First, the annual cost for the state’s Housing First program per individual is $14,000, not including administrative costs. The monthly cost per individual is less than $1,200 for housing and services. Those served include children of chronically homeless adults.

Second, Housing First stabilizes them through housing and then provides the supports they need.

Third, affordable housing is in short supply here. Regardless of how many affordable units we have, the chronically homeless will never qualify for housing under the traditional approach, which is to get clean and sober and resolve any mental health issues before being deemed to qualify for permanent housing.

Our rates of chronic homelessness are the highest among the 50 states. We need this national evidence-based practice to reduce it.

Greg Payton
Chairman, Oahu Partners In Care

Teacher evaluations meant to aid teachers

Alan Isbell’s commentary on teacher evaluation was missing a critical word: children ("Current teacher evaluation system incredibly faulty," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Feb. 27).

He misses the point. The evaluation system is designed (in Hawaii, without federal intervention) to improve the very best resource we have teachers.

Professional feedback stimulates conversations about improving classroom practice. That’s why Dr. Linda Darling Hammond of Stanford’s Graduate School of Education publicly praised Hawaii’s evaluation to department staff and the Hawaii State Teachers Association. The system is research-based, with classroom observation designed by noted expert Charlotte Danielson.

Change is hard.There are cheaper solutions that won’t coach teacher improvement and are not teacher-supportive. The result of the evaluation is better outcomes for keiki. We must do this for Hawaii’s children. They deserve nothing less.

Mitch D’Olier
Kailua

City center parking is good role model

I agree heartily with your editorial about rebuilding the Neal Blaisdell Center and particularly agree that "we should skip the movie theaters, retail shops and huge residential towers that developers crave. We need a community arts and culture hub, not another live-in shopping mall" ("Don’t overbuild Blaisdell complex," Star-Advertiser, Our View, March 5).

If I may be so bold, as a retired architect with no profit motive, I suggest that we use as a prototype the city center region between Honolulu Hale and the main police building.Build a green level starting about a half-floor above street level at King Street with parking below that meets street level at Kapiolani.

We would achieve a huge, out-of-sight parking facility under a large open green space for the new Blaisdell Cultural Center 100 to 160 feet high. This would enhance and extend to adjacent Thomas Square and produce a worthwhile and grand city center experience.

William Kibby
Makiki

Police here demonize medical marijuana

I have taken the time to write my legislators, asking them to please pass House Bill 2092 immediately.

As a medical marijuana patient on the Big Island for the last three years, with a degenerative condition for which there is no cure, I have found it impossible for my primary-care physician to recommend cannabis because the Bay Clinic is federally funded and does not care to go against the laws of the federal government.

I was forced to find a doctor knowledgeable in the uses of cannabis, and who was not afraid of the local narcotics enforcement division, which does its best to demonize any doctor who dares recommend cannabis to his or her patients.

We have been waiting since the year 2000 for meaningful legislation and protection. There is overwhelming evidence that cannabis is a useful plant for numerous ailments.

The archaic prohibition-for-profit stance taken by law enforcement, the prison industrial complex and the pharmaceutical companies can no longer stand the test of truth.

Sara Steiner
Pahoa

Walmart does well by its employees

Dorothy Trinidad Hunt is incorrect ("Raising wage floor honors aloha spirit," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Feb. 27).

Not only does Walmart hire full- and part-time associates on an ongoing basis, but Walmart provides a benefits program to eligible full- and part-time associates. In addition, the average hourly full-time wage for our 4,000 associates in Hawaii is $15.08 as of October 2013.

As Walmart’s human resources manager for Hawaii, I’ve seen firsthand how supportive our company is to associates. Walmart’s benefits program provides a variety of affordable health and well-being benefits, including health-care coverage with no lifetime maximum. Walmart also offers eligible associates matching 401(k) contributions of up to 6 percent of pay, discounts on general merchandise, an Associate Stock Purchase Program and company-paid life insurance. Additionally, eligible associates receive a quarterly incentive based on store performance.

We’re currently hiring 150 positions for our new downtown Honolulu store via our Kakaako hiring center at 627 South St. or online at http://careers.walmart.com.

Rosemarie Cacho
Waipahu

Waianae Coast needs more highway access

Regarding "Makakilo access still a headache" (Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 5), the Waianae Coast has more than 60,000 people.

We have only one way into the coast and one way out.

We have had numerous water-main breaks, hostage situations, road construction, hurricane or tsunami warnings and other challenges along Farrington Highway.

The military no longer opens Kolekole Pass. More than a decade has passed since the federal, state and city governments did expensive studies for a mauka highway and an emergency access road, but they have not managed to get this going.

We plead that our elected officials talk to each other and stand up for the people of the Waianae Coast. U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, City Councilwoman Kymberly Pine, Mayor Kirk Caldwell, Gov. Neil Abercrombie, state Sen. Maile Shimabukuro and state Reps. Jo Jordan and Karen Awana could push funds for this high-priority and public-safety need for the people of Waianae Coast.

Patty Kahanamoku Teruya
Nanakuli

Google Glass wearers need to be cautious

Nadine Kam’s story on Google Glass was interesting and informative, but she neglected to address two important issues: etiquette and privacy ("A glance through Glass," Star-Advertiser, March 6).

When someone wearing the glasses looks at you, you can’t be certain that the wearer is not recording you on video.

In San Francisco recently, a social media consultant wore her glasses into a bar and was not well received. One of the patrons grabbed the glasses and ran outside. She pursued him and retrieved the glasses, but upon returning to the bar discovered that her purse had been stolen. This incident was big news locally, compounded when the woman wrongly labeled it a "hate crime" and posted a video revealing that she indeed was video-recording the patrons of the bar.

Wearers of Google Glass need to be sensitive to the privacy of others.

As people are cautioning its users, "Don’t be a Glasshole."

John Wythe White
Haleiwa

FROM THE FORUM

Readers of the Star-Advertiser’s online edition can respond to stories posted there. The following are some of those. Instead of names, pseudonyms are generally used online. They have been removed.

“Breadfruit bill would nurture industry’s growth,” Star-Advertiser, March 3:
>> Why should the government get involved? If it’s such a good product let the free market determine.
>> It’s not just “young Hawaiians” who are taking interest in the fruit. Transi-
tionsOahu has been pushing for food sustainability in Hawaii for years now, and ulu is just one way to do it.
———
“Bottle disposal fee increase falters,” Star-Advertiser, March 3:
>>  We are shipping empty glass containers to the mainland? Where’s the environmental benefit of recycling if we are using fuel to ship the glass to the mainland?
>> “I can’t imagine customers would notice 5 cents added to a bottle of wine or gin,” said Suzanne Jones, Honolulu recycling coordinator. And there you have it in a nutshell — the literal nickel and diming of the populace.
———
“Construction cranes alight atop Honolulu,” Star-Advertiser, March 4:
>> The state bird!
>>  And look at the size of the droppings they’ll be leaving behind.
>> This is a bad sign for Oahu. Overdevelopment will turn Oahu into just any other congested city.
>> It’s all cyclical. Like the kolea each year. During boom periods the cranes appear and then go away when the bubble pops. The question — as always — is how long the current high times last.
———
“Goodbye to International Market Place,” Star-Advertiser, March 4:
>> A sad day! As a teenager I wandered this amazing place with a new wife. It gave us someplace to go as we had very little extra money. I know we were intruders in the wealthy tourist area, but were treated so kindly.
>> Its time has come. Thirty years ago, it was special. But as time went on, it lost its flair. But I still have fond memories of it.
———
“Honolulu traffic is second worst in U.S.,” Star-Advertiser, March 5:
>> It takes me over an hour to get from Kailua to Sand Island. That’s less than 18 miles per hour. Pathetic! Rail will do nothing for the Windward or Hawaii Kai areas.
>> Rail will take Leeward drivers off the road, which will relieve congestion in town. This will help Kailua and Hawaii Kai commuters.
>> Traffic will not get better, period. There are just too many cars on the island. They need to offer people better
incentives to ride public transportation. There are a lot of places on this island where people don’t have access to TheBus. For that matter, even the rail, when it eventually is in motion (will be hard to access for some).
———
“Army will cut forces and retire choppers,” Star-Advertiser, March 5:
>> Another example of President Barack Obama making our nation look weak by downsizing our armed forces.
>> Cutting back our forces does not make America look weak. America currently has a military budget greater than the budgets of the next 16 highest military budgets of countries combined, America has room to shed a few dollars.
>> These tiny cuts have zero effect on the political military industrial complex.
>> This is a mistake. Cut the military budget, but not boots on the ground.
>> With news recently that 1 in 5 U.S. Army recruits were mentally unstable before enlisting, I would rather see more selective screening of the recruits. Quality over quantity.
———
“Carnival planned for Hawaii Kai draws opposition,” Star-Advertiser, March 6:
>> This is a pilot project to see if an event like this works. Comparing Punahou School, which is surrounded by narrow city streets, to the Maunalua Bay site, which is surrounded by Kalanianaole Highway, is apples and oranges.
>> It’s actually worse for Hawaii Kai than Punahou. The carnival grounds are along the one road that takes people in and out of Hawaii Kai, unlike Punahou, which is a nexus of dozens of smaller streets. People coming and going to Hawaii Kai will have no choice but to deal with the traffic.
>> (Carnival operator) E.K. Fernandez will make the majority of the money spent. Kaiser High School should just sell pancakes like they always have.
———
“Abercrombie vows to fight to ease taxes for kupuna,” Star-Advertiser, March 6:
>> Yes, there are poor seniors, just like there are poor college students. But as a class they should not be receiving across-the-board tax breaks. Any tax break should be targeted only towards the truly needy.