Assemble task force on homelessness

It was the late George Carlin who said the reason homelessness remains unsolved is because "there’s no money in that problem."

According to some reports, the homeless in Waikiki are driving away tourists. Since tourism brings in about $300 million a year, even a 1 percent drop in that income greatly reduces our tax income, not to mention the income of all businesses in Waikiki.

We can prove Carlin wrong, and make money, when we solvethe homeless problem in Waikiki.

It’s time for the mayor and/or the governor to assemble a task force of business, civic and government leaders to come up with a solution to the homeless problem, instead of everyone blaming each other for why nothing is being done.

Wim Blees
Mililani

Homeless won’t simply disappear

In the throes of ongoingnoise and chatter about homelessness in Honolulu, it is rather refreshing to have Mayor Kirk Caldwell call a time-out so we can sort through the wheat and the chaff.

Yes, there should be zero tolerance for and strict enforcement against public urination and defecation, personal property piled in parks, human beings sprawled on sidewalks and rising crime endangering our everyday walk of life.

No, we cannot simply wish away individuals who are down and out physically or mentally — many would argue some from choice.

And perhaps we need to take time out to think anew about how we think about our fellow beings, who are someone else’s father or mother or brother or sister or son or daughter or uncle or aunt or niece or nephew or cousin or friend.

Only then can we collectively and, hopefully, once and for all, address the challenge of this intolerable situation.

Wylma C. S. Robinson
Kakaako

Kauai father victim of overreaction

I was dismayed upon reading the article about Robert De Mond from Kauai, the father who was arrested for "abandoning" his son ("Boy’s discipline saga brings lessons for all," Star-Advertiser, May 31).

We parents should have the freedom to discern what we believe to be safe or unsafe for our children without involving the police.

There are exceptions to this, for sure.But in my experience as a parent being around other parents, I have found that most of us are thoughtful, conscientious and, all of us, human.

Parenthood is a most difficult journey.We are all bound to make mistakes. (Not that I necessarily see what De Mond chose to do as a mistake.)

If the neighbor truly had the child’s welfare in mind, he or she might have walked with the child to his home and shared his concerns with the father.

Are we that disconnected that we can’t assist our own neighbors in a difficult moment?

Let’s give each other more of a break — especially parents of young children.

Caryn Diamond
Kailua

Spend money now to save UH athletics

The annual deficits of up to $2 million at the University of Hawaii athletic department provide more reason for an investment at UH.

To avoid UH athletic deficits, the football program must generate more income.

To generate more income, attendance must be increased.

To increase attendance, a consistently winning program is needed.

To develop a consistently winning program, UH needs to recruit better athletes.

To recruit better athletes, facilities must be improved.

To improve facilities, at least $40 million must be appropriated by the state Legislature to build a new facility.

Spending now makes fiscal sense. An increase in average attendance at football games by 10,000 would generate $300,000 at an average price of $30 per ticket. That would generate $2.1 million in annual revenue given seven home games. Over 30 years that would equate to over $63 million.

Not appropriating that money would lead to continued deficits of up to $2 million per year.

Someone said insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Dennis Enomoto
Mililani

Cots for UH athletes seemed overpriced

If I correctly interpreted Stephen Tsai’s article on the University of Hawaii football team staying at UH’s dance studios, Hawaii taxpayers paid $90.91 to rent a cot for each player for 19 days ("Studio rental," Star-Advertiser, The Warrior Beat blog, May 30).

Are these cots made especially for football players and therefore cost so much?

Most cots (per the Internet) cost about $40 to $60. Could Tsai expand on his article and get more information on the cots? The price paid seems to be a bit extravagant.

Tom Uechi
Hawaii Kai