Leave Kakaako park just the way it is

Did you really mean to say in Monday’s editorial that "having more active uses (atKakaako Waterfront Park) could help deter loitering" ("Waterfront park needs ‘active uses,’" Star-Advertiser, Our View, Feb. 10)?

I have to assume that you’ve never walked around Waikiki. Kalakaua and Kuhio avenues are teeming with people and that does not deter the homeless from loitering, panhandlingand even sleeping on the sidewalks.

I don’t see any need to change Kakaako Waterfront Park. It’s being described by some as "underutilized." But that’s precisely why the people who do go there enjoy it. It’s a quiet, serene escape from the noise and ceaseless activity of the city, whether it’s a couple enjoying a picnic on the expansive lawns or kids sliding down the hills on cardboard.

Please leave Kakaako Waterfront Park exactly as it is — a beautiful green oasis.

Roger Garrett
Kapahulu

CVS could carry new policy further

I think it’s great that CVS Caremark is dropping tobacco products from its shelves in the pursuit of promoting health, but I question why other products aren’t being eliminated.

Why not drop all alcoholic and sugary beverages? Why not drop all candies, cookies, chips and snack foods? Why not drop all hair and skin care products that have harmful chemicals?

Why stop at dropping tobacco products?

Debbie Miyake
Nuuanu

Tobacco ban will make us healthier

Mahalo to CVS Caremark for being a true leader in improving the health of our nation.

Its plan to stop selling cigarettes and tobacco products in all of its stores, including Longs Drugs stores throughout Hawaii, is proof of its commitment to the communities it serves.

Smoking is one of the most difficult habits to break and a major contributor to rising health care costs. We offer our members many tools to quit smoking at no cost, but how many times have we heard people say, "I wish I’d never started." CVS Caremark’s decision will help us accomplish that.

This decision strongly supports HMSA’s vision of a healthier Hawaii. Working together with partners like CVS Caremark, we’re confident we’ll improve the health and well-being of not only our members but everyone in our state. We applaud CVS Caremark and look forward to seeing others follow in its footsteps.

Michael A. Gold
HMSA president and chief executive officer

E-cigs more friendly to the environment

Electronic cigarettes are much more environmentally friendly than tobacco cigarettes.

You don’t have the litter, the odor or the secondhand smoke produced by tobacco cigarettes.

E-cigs are the wiser choice for all concerned.

Luis Navarro
Palolo

Pot and tobacco barely comparable

In response to Art Todd’s question, "Is smoking pot any less harmful than smoking a Marlboro?" ("Will marijuana be next health hazard?" Star-Advertiser, Letters, Feb. 10):

Cigarette smoking causes about 1 in every 5 deaths in the United States. That’s approximately 440,000 deaths a year, including from secondhand smoke. Yet, there is not a single death attributed to marijuana use alone.

Chris Rossell
Manoa

Fuel storage sites could be dangerous

Water contamination at five wells around the Navy fuel storage facility at Red Hill from Halawa to Fort Shafter is bad enough, but what about an explosion occurring someday from one of those seemingly endless multi-thousand gallon fuel leaks going back six decades ("Fuel leaked dozens of times over 6 decades, Navy says," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 9)?

Is an explosion, even at one tank, a possibility?

What about a flash flood of oil going through that 2.5-mile tunnel from Red Hill to Pearl Harbor, and the unimaginable fire that would ensue?

If each of those 20 fuel tanks off Red Hill contain 12.5 million gallons, that’s 250 million gallons of fuel. And if one tank exploding isn’t a big enough bang, imagine a chain reaction of all 20 tanks in a double, vertical row exploding two at a time times 10. Well, 250 million gallons times 8 pounds per gallon equals a 2 billion-plus pound fuel bomb.

Auwe!

Zario Zolo
Pearlridge

Engage community rather than talk to it

Hawaii Community Development Authority officials may feel frustrated about community opposition to the various plans for the development of Kakaako, but they only have themselves to blame.

In my limited experience with community development, it is essential to engage the community up front when discussing visions, needs, preferences and plans. To hold a meeting with ready-made plans for major redevelopment is doing it completely backward.

Landowners have certain rights to develop their property, and Kakaako should be an area for increased density of housing, shops and commercial space. However, if HCDA doesn’t want to see itself legislated out of existence, it had better take one deep breath, two steps back, and get serious about engaging with the community, rather than just talking to it.

Travis Idol
Downtown Honolulu

Wall Street bailouts preceded Obama

Gary Pardy writes: "Obama could have (denied) bailouts of negligent large banks and corporations" ("Obama missed reset moment," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Feb. 7). One can blame President Barack Obama for bailing out General Motors and Chrysler. But the bailout of the Wall Street banks was done by the George W. Bush administration.

Peter Chisteckoff
Mililani Mauka