Clubbing peacocks is shocking behavior

I have been a resident of Makaha Valley Towers for 18 years. I have enjoyed the beautiful environment here, including the peacocks.

Granted, their mating calls can be very loud at times, but because I am a civilized, mature 84-year-old, I find clubbing a peacock shocking and irrational ("Slayer of peacock decided not to sue condo association," Star-Advertiser, Whatever Happened To … , Feb. 13).

My visitors remark how lucky I am to have them, and laugh at their noise.

I applaud state Sen. Maile Shimabukuro’s "peacock bill." I wish Sandra Maloney had used ear plugs, not a club.

I find the comments by her attorney that peacocks are "pests and vermin," that the state "has to do something to exterminate them," and that "an approved method is a sharp blow to the head," as shocking and irrational as were his client’s actions.

Dudley Maynard
Makaha Valley

Mandates and taxes aren’t helping much

A new minimum wage, new garbage pickup fees, extension of the .05 percent general excise tax surcharge beyond its planned sunset, bailout of the Health Connector, versus increased homelessness, blight from rail construction, the Kakaako nightmare …

Hawaii residents are treated as cash cows, always available to fund what? Paradise lost?

Kathy Novak
Moanalua Valley

Property tax already pays for trash service

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell has proposed a fee to pick up our trash ("$10 monthly trash pickup fee proposed," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 13).

I always thought our property tax funded this necessary function, in addition to police, fire and ambulance services.

When Caldwell’s proposed tax increase on gasoline failed to win approval last year, he must have been looking for another revenue source.

Maybe our mayor is not on a fixed income like many of us. He needs to hear what the public thinks of this matter.

The mayor should give us a break and look for money elsewhere

Roy M. Chee
Moanalua Gardens

Little fire ants need to be exterminated

The article on the fire ant threat to the islands prompts me to share a painful experience with the critter ("Measure in state Legislature targets alien little fire ants," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 13).

A few years ago on a trip to northern Florida, I visited a state park after several days of rain.

We decided to rent canoes to explore the river and, while unlocking a canoe, I stepped into a fire ant nest. Believe me, they are well named. In a few seconds, my feet felt on fire.

The nearby river saved me, but these very aggressive ants caused more than 50 bites on my feet. The ugly red, pus-filled welts took about three weeks to go away.

I can only imagine what could happen with a small child.

Aggressive legislative action to rid Hawaii of these dangerous aliens is definitely warranted.

John Corbin
Kaneohe

Step up inspections to keep out new pests

In the debate over the use of pesticides in agriculture, we fail to consider that we have been inundated with crop pests that began when the islands were "discovered" by the outside world.

Since that time, the accidental introduction of alien pests into Hawaii has occurred at the rate of about five to seven new pest species per year.

Pesticides are used to produce a crop that meets the high quality and yield standards of consumers (no blemishes or pest damage).

We need to consider this as we legislate tighter pesticide regulations that put our local farmers at a competitive disadvantage with farmers in other parts of the world who ship their produce to Hawaii.

Perhaps the single most important thing we can do to protect our local agriculture, then, is to elevate our quarantine inspection to the same level that our plants are subjected to when we take them out of Hawaii.

If we keep the exotic pests out, then the need to spray pesticides will be reduced, if not eliminated.

John McHugh
Mililani

Help kolea shape up before shipping out

As former Honolulu Advertiser columnist Bob Krauss would have reminded us, it is past time to stop feeding the kolea birds bread and other tidbits and let them forage for the bugs and insects their bodies need to prepare them for the long flight to Alaska next month.

Paul K. Funkhouser
Wahiawa

Ceiling fans would help cool classrooms

After reading the editorial, "Think creatively for cooler schools" (Star-Advertiser, Feb. 3) and the article, "Funding for cooler schools advances" (Star-Advertiser, Feb. 4), I am surprised that no person or organization mentioned the most basic way of keeping cool: the electric fan.

Really, how many of the preschools and day-care centers who cater to our most vulnerable ones are air conditioned?

How many of the homes here are air conditioned?

The weather here is usually mild and breezy, and if it is warmer, all you need is an electric fan with choices such as circulating, mild, moderate or maximum speed.

Strategically placed ceiling fans will cool a whole classroom. Since they are fixed to the ceiling, they won’t get lost.

Also, unlike expensive air conditioners,hardly any maintenance and repair is needed and they are not expensive to replace.

Finally, regarding the testimony that some classrooms have inadequate windows, the solution is not air conditioning but properly designed classrooms and electric fans.

Antonio Tan
Waialae Iki

Homeless have right to go where they want

The letter, "Quit coddling these squatters" (Star-Advertiser, Jan. 22), was dismaying, to say the least.

I was a champion of City Council Bill 59, which was intended to simply ask people not to lie down on sidewalks.

It was deferred because of election-year politics.

However, since then I have had a change of heart.

The letter was filled with anger and hate and, frankly, was scary.

This is America. People have a constitutional right to be wherever they want to be. The writer needs to reread our Constitution.

And Councilman Ikaika Anderson’s Bill 3, the sidewalk-nuisance bill, won’t work either. It’s a campaign stunt.

We need sensible, affordable and alternative housing solutions that the city seems incapable of creating.

Dave Moskowitz
Waikiki

Enforce laws to rid island of graffiti

Over the last 25 years, as I returned yearly to my home here in Hawaii, I could not help but notice the increase in graffiti throughout the island.

They are decorating our island and it looks cheap.

Enforce quickly with cameras and large fines before it is too late.

Wilma Boudreau
Kailua

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.

“Vandalism harms Iolani Palace,”

Star-Advertiser, Feb. 10:

>> I am not a resident of Hawaii, but I take this as a personal affront. I feel the Iolani Palace is … is the heart of the native Hawaiian people and all citizens of the islands. I am very happy that the palace guards were able to catch the vandals.

>> Can’t believe the suspects were just released. All a policeman would have had to ask her is, “Why did you break this door?” And she would have responded the same way with, “This is my house,” and that could have been taken as a full confession. Now, they are released, “pending an investigation.”

>> Security at the palace has been too lax for a long time. It is a treasure, and needs to be protected as such.

———

“Comparison to tobacco not valid, e-cigarette proponents say,”

Star-Advertiser, Feb. 10:

>> As long as you are not infringing upon the rights of others with the e-cigarette, what you put in your body should be none of the government’s business. How they doing on that war on drugs?

>> Yes, it’s his/her body, but the air quality belongs to all of us.

>> You better stop driving your car while I go round up some virgins to toss into the volcano to appease the goddess and stop this vog.

>> It’s not about the product. It is and always has been about power and control. Control Freaks never have enough control. They are as addicted to it as these people are addicted to nicotine.

>> The tobacco industry once said that smoking was safe. Until it is determined if e-cigs are safe, restrict them in public places the same as cigarettes.

———

“10-foot shark seen near Waikiki shore,”

Star-Advertiser, Feb. 11:

>> It doesn’t matter whether this is a tracked tiger shark or not. Just quietly and without fanfare cull out this shark. That is what Australia is doing after shark attacks at their beaches. People need to stop being overly politically correct and over-analyzing the situation.

>> Leave the poor little fishies alone; they have been here a whole lot longer than us. I can remember surfing at Tongg’s and Rice Bowls as a kid and seeing sharks. They just did their own thing.

———

“Bill targets home births,”

Star-Advertiser, Feb. 11:

>> This is another example of government sticking its nose into private lives. This bill needs to be defeated. Has there been a rash of baby deaths due to improper midwifery? No. There is simply no need for this bill, other than a money grab by government.

>> I see nothing wrong with home births but the midwife should be qualified. This is a cultural thing that should not be taken away, but it needs to be safe.

>> Home births were the way to go for many years using midwives. I think we should encourage it and not discourage it because it’s cheaper to have your baby at home than in the hospital.

>> All those folks who constantly cry about their “freedoms” being taken away would probably be killed off by natural selection if it weren’t for the intervention of government.

>> Someone needs to check the Obamacare law. There could be a hidden tax in there for having kids at home.

———

“Panel shelves plan to kill HCDA,”

Star-Advertiser, Feb. 12:

>> The lawmakers should at least force the Hawaii Community Development Authority to follow existing laws and ordinances, no exemptions allowed. If the HCDA wants to grant exemptions (like to the height limit) then the law should be changed to allow it.

>> HCDA scores a big win with minimal impact on its processes and procedures. The NIMBYs got slapped bad. Maybe now they will pipe down and let good development go forward.

———

“Suspended officers’ records must be released, judge rules,”

Star-Advertiser, Feb. 12:

>> “A city spokesman said the city cannot comment on the ruling because the case is still in litigation.” That’s certainly an odd thing to say, seeing as the headline says that the judge ruled on the matter already. You would expect the anonymous city person to say something like, “We intend to cooperate fully with judge’s decision.”

>> Who is appealing it? The City and County of Honolulu? Why would they be spending our tax dollars on such a foolish appeal? Who in the city is appealing it? The mayor? There is also no mention of an appeal by the anonymous city spokesman. If the city is never going to comment on something that might be litigated, then we don’t need to be paying a city spokesman, do we?

>> There is no accountability within the city.