Honolulu Airport like Third World terminal

We recently traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the embarkation point for the U.S.’s largest cruise-liner port.

Fort Lauderdale’s airport, the arrival and departure point for these hundreds of thousands passengers annually, gleams. Its floors sparkle, its bathrooms are immaculate, it’s brightly lighted, and everything works.

Honolulu Airport, supporting our No. 1 Hawaii industry and product, tourism, is a disgrace.Paint peels off walls, concrete is cracked, mildew stains, floors are uneven,roofs leak and escalators don’t work.

Will our state significantly invest in improving this facility, instead of letting it look like a Third World "wannabe"?

On a positive note, our airline employees (especially the ramp and bags team), sheriff’s deputies with new K-9 units and TSA agents who keep us safe, and the cleaning and maintenance staff who make the best of a lousy situation deserve our highest praise.

Tom Bellit
Kailua

U.S. military in Pacific plenty strong already

As a former kamaaina, I was disappointed with the U.S. Army thinking it needs another way to "beef up" the military, given that the military has already gone way beyond self-defense in its budget ("Military beefs up Pacific readiness," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 17).

For the only superpower in the world today, this sounds like overkill, figuratively and literally.

David Starr
Derby, Conn.

GMO debate could be improved with civility

The uncivil debate concerning farmers, GMO and pesticides continues to fester.

The Star-Advertiser’s special report suggests that rancor and character assassination have hijacked the conversation in Hawaii ("The Seeds of Division," Dec. 15).

We can be better than that, if — and it is a big "if" — all parties agree to afford each other mutual respect, mutual rights and choices and consequences. One of the consequences of choosing to see "no goodness" in the other side is to abandon mutual respect and deny the possibility of mutual rights.

Could we step back and extend mutual respect as "dialogue partners" and acknowledge the right to be heard and taken seriously?

Could choosing to restructure the debate as open and respectful dialogue realize different outcomes including compromises?

Winner-take-all tactics will fail and not serve our state or our citizens well, now or in the future.

Daniel Benedict
Waialua

Some sacrifice needed to fix national budget

Some $17 trillion in debt requires remedial action.Set aside the poor fiscal management and embarrassing incompetence that got us here.

Congress is finally desperate to stop the madness of sequestration and government shutdowns that do no more than widen the gap between the otherwise intelligent adults we hope are representing us.

As a veteran, I think it entirely logical that our Congress would ask us to take on some of the burden, to continue to sacrifice.Through our selfless service, we have demonstrated a propensity to do just that, faithfully.

Can we honestly be enraged by a nominal reduction in a cost of living allowance when the country is in dire straits?As always, let’s lead by our example and love of country. Perhaps others enjoying the largess of the government will follow suit.

John Hansen
Waipahu

Let political parties hold own primaries

The Democratic Party has lost its challenge to Hawaii’s open primary system, which allows anyone to pull a Democratic ballot in the primary, regardless of party affiliation.

A simple solution to the problem:

» Get the state out of the primary election business.(Save the state some money.)

» Let political parties vet their candidates in a private primary. (Guarantee Republicans won’t vote for Democrats.)

» Move all nonpartisan elections, e.g., County Council, to the general election. (After all, we are a republic, not a true democracy.You don’t need 50 percent of the vote to win.)

» Put all candidates on the general election ballot who meet the present candidate criteria.(Give people more choice at the polls and increase voter turnout.)

Of course, political parties don’t want to do anything that threatens their power — and therein lies the rub.

Fred Fogel
Volcano, Hawaii island

More information needed about rail

The change from a two- to a four-car train ("Rail agency alters train design," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 15) was obvious from the initial pronouncement by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation that each train would carry 400 passengers.

Using U.S. requirements for passenger capacities — a maximum of 3.5 people per square meter (compared to five in Italy) — Ansaldo has not yet built a train car that can hold 200 (local) people.

The typical graphic seen in articles resembles Ansaldo’s Copenhagen or Brescia car, which could handle 100-plus passengers here; therefore, the four-car train.

Presumably, the new train configuration will not require any station design changes for length.The new between-trains wait time, however, may not meet rush-hour passenger requirements.Another article with additional detail is needed for public comprehension of rail.

Frank Genadio
Kapolei

Ads on buses could fund better service

Yes, allow advertising on buses. It would help return the system to its former excellence.

I’ll bet the opponents — The Outdoor Circle, et al. — never ride the bus. We who do use them exclusively, or even periodically, would be so grateful.

Kudos to Mayor Kirk Caldwell for doing his best for the carless people. Cars bring far more pollution than bus ads ever could.

Edith Prussman
Waikiki

The Outdoor Circle defending isle beauty

The Outdoor Circle is to be commended for continually trying to keep our Hawaii unencumbered by signs. The mayor’s plan to plaster our buses with signs is terrible.

Thank you, Outdoor Circle.

Dorothy Farmer
Waikiki

Give the gift of life by donating blood

During this season of gift-giving, please consider donating a pint of blood — the gift of life.

This most valuable gift can help save the lives of up to three individuals — people who have a serious illness or who are undergoing major surgery.

The wonderful thing about this gift is that not only will it cost you nothing, but it will give you the greatest satisfaction of any gift that you can give this season. The reward and gratification that come from donating a pint of blood to help people who desperately need it are just incredible.

Because of the tremendous need for blood during the holiday season, and because many regular donors are away on vacation or busy shopping for gifts, the Blood Bank of Hawaii desperately needs new donors.

Please consider starting a new tradition in your life by becoming a blood donor.

As for me, I am scheduled to donate my 130th pint of blood on Dec. 24 — my Christmas gift to the Blood Bank of Hawaii.

William T. Kinaka
Wailuku

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.

"Stalled remedies vex homestead residents," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 16:

» This is about government bureaucrats with little or no accountability. They have few skills for the jobs they are in and are there to earn credits for a comfortable retirement.

» The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is the trustee and the administrator, not the landowner. That distinction belongs to the homesteaders, and these beneficiaries need to accept the responsibilities and obligations that come with their $1 per year "leases."

» Not exactly. As long as DHHL is the agency responsible for home design and layout on the land, they are solely responsible for damage done by flooding, shoddy construction, anything. When you are in charge, this is what you do, take responsibility for your actions.

——

"Tourism not menaced, officials say of sharks," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 16:

» Regardless of what the spin doctors at the Tourism Authority and similar organizations make of all of the shark attacks this year, I would no more go into the water near Maui any time soon than I would expect there to be no traffic jams on H-1.

» What about the vog factor? It doesn’t get as much publicity (as the shark attacks) but it surely is a downer for the tourists, too.

——

"Spaghetti ID’d as source of illness at school," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 17:

» All the public school cafeterias should be inspected, not just when someone gets sick.

» Cafeterias serve hundreds of thousands of meals per year. Is this the only time in recent memory of a cafeteria-related illness? Let’s overreact. It’s the new local way.

» How many kids will never eat spaghetti again in their lives?

——

"Audit hits rail spending oversight," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 17:

» Just like we’ve been saying all along. The amateurs at Honolulu Hale with dreams of governorships and congressional seats traded what could have been a great project for political support from developers and construction interests.

» Let the fleecing of taxpayer money begin. I like the rail idea, but it will cost three times more than what was estimated. Of course, it is nobody’s fault.

——

"Deal aims to preserve 610 acres," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 18:

» Merry Christmas, middle-class taxpayers. Your hard-earned tax dollars will be gifted to fund the special interests of a vocal minority! Ho, ho, ho!

» I have areas where I live that I wish the state would buy to preserve, but it won’t happen. Let the county raise the money and buy the land, if they want, or else rezone it.

» Didn’t former Gov. Linda Lingle propose to buy Turtle Bay? And where did that idea go? I see a lot of smoke ‘n’ mirrors playing out.

——

"State raids public charter school," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 18:

» Get rid of the principal and you get rid of the problem. The school or the charter system is not the problem here. More oversight is needed.

» If the charter schools want independence and no auditing, they should not obtain state funds. If they don’t take state funds, they can do anything they want. If they cheat, they need to pay the price — go to jail, pay a fine 10 times larger than they took, and never be allowed to run another charter school. All charter schools should be audited and anyone involved in crimes should be jailed for a long time to deter others.

——

"Shrinkage: UH is ‘seriously’ considering closing the upper levels of Aloha Stadium," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 19:

» Shutting down the upper sections? That looks logical at first glance, but really it’s capitulation. It’s saying we cannot induce bigger crowds to come watch football games at the stadium on a routine basis. Why? Higher prices for seats, concessions and parking; stupid security searches; and drunks spilling their beer all over the place. Not the least culprit: pay-per-view, that wonderful cash cow that nearly single-handedly evaporated the willingness of the football junkies to brave the traffic and the above-listed obstacles to game enjoyment.

» What a sad and sorry state the University of Hawaii athletic program has fallen into. Might as well abandon the stadium and build a 25,000 capacity at the old Cooke Field.

» The last time UH had a winning season, in 2010, attendance averaged 37,311 (with some games exceeding 40,000) and no one was talking about closing down sections of the stadium. The problem is losing and the solution is winning, not taking away a third of the seats.