HOV land rules often ignored

Every morning I sit in traffic from West Oahu to Pearl Harbor and wonder why we have an HOV lane for two or more occupants when half (if not more) vehicles have only one occupant.

Either eliminate the requirement and open the lane to all drivers or enforce the law.

It’s frustrating when you observe the laws and others have total disregard for them.

Sandra Richardson
Ewa Beach

Kudos to Flores for public gift

I hope everyone gave Eddie Flores of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue a great mahalo for giving back to the community for his anniversary 76-cent plate lunch at Walmart on June 13.

Ono!

Enjoyed the taste and the price!

Dolores Bellas
Waikiki

Beleaguered firm deserves praise

I am an educator in Waianae and have personally seen the dramatic difference high-speed broadband access can make for our keiki.

The Internet opens up a world of possibilities for both teachers and students unlike anything else I have seen.

President Barack Obama launched a broadband-for-schools project, calling for the Federal Communications Commission to ensure wider access to broadband in schools.

So why is the FCC tying the hands of the one carrier that has consistently invested in Hawaiian Home Lands?

Say what you will about Sandwich Isles Communication, we at Ka Waihona o ka Na‘auao Public Charter School are proud to be loyal customers, having received nothing but excellent telecommunications and broadband services from SIC for the past nine years.

The affordable and reliable services that SIC provides our school allow us to maximize our limited resources and focus on bringing innovative learning opportunities to our 600-plus keiki.

Alvin N. Parker
Principal, Ka Waihona o ka Na‘auao Public Charter School

Impulse to ban seems rampant

When some people used illegal aerial fireworks, we banned all fireworks except firecrackers. When some people illegally littered at the beach, we banned smoking at the beach.

Now Sens. Mike Gabbard and Will Espero look to ban riding in the beds of pickup trucks because of a crash that killed one person and injured others ("Ban truck-bed riders, officials say," Star-Advertiser, June 18).

Apparently, instituting a ban for the nearly 1 million citizens on Oahu is only contingent on the irresponsibility and lawlessness of the very few.

When such automobile, moped or motorcycle accidents result in a fatality, which occur far more often than fatalities from riding in the bed of a pickup, legislators don’t vow to ban those modes of transportation.

We feel for all the families touched by this incident, but banning people from riding in the bed of a pickup does nothing to prevent such accidents from happening.

Jeremiah Hull
Wahiawa

Truck beds not place for riders

I have written many times about riders in the beds of pickup trucks. Just recently, a young teen was killed and four other teens were critically injured in an accident near Makua Cave in which most of the riders were thrown out from the pickup.

What have our caring lawmakers done about this insanity? Absolutely nothing.

Our governor makes it a law to buckle up riders in the back seats of cars. That’s great, yet he does not mention pickup bed riders. Even the mayor is silent on this issue. Even animals and cargo in pickup beds are supposed to be secured, to keep our highways safe for everyone. But not riders in pickups.

Our lawmakers need to wake up and save lives by banning this pickup bed riding or more fatalities will happen. Click It or Ticket — how ironic is this?

Eugene Cordero
Pearl City