Plastic bag ban likely will backfire

So the common, thin, slowly degradable plastic bags are banned July 1.

Despite how useful they are — from closetand workshop to kitchen scraps and animal waste — they’ll be pau. Auwe!

In the sun, rain and soil, they very slowly decay into compost.

My grocer has begun providing larger, thicker, reusable bags that will last forever. So, if discarded, they’ll float for eons on the sea, whilemy neighbors’ dog poop will now be eternally preserved in the landfill.

Does anybody think these things through?

John M. Corboy
Mililani

Promote literacy by reading to your kids

Yes, poverty contributes to underachievers, but we need to promote the positive message from current research: Daily reading to youngest keiki raises vocabulary faster than other activity — true for all income levels.

Start borrowing board books from your nearest library. Do it for the fun of it. Do it for higher test scores in the future.

Preschool teachers should ask about the book cart program at Liliha Library — three weeks worth of books with one quick checkout. They can settle their classes by starting each day with a story.

Sylvia Mitchell
Liliha Library branch manager

Is A&B sabotaging its Kailua tenants?

"Keep Kailua Kailua" may be a community theme, but Kailua seems to be changing rapidly and becoming less and less a unique seaside suburban town.

The Target store already has a big footprint, and it seems that Alexander & Baldwin "loses" unique local stores — for example, Pepper’s, Muumuu Heaven, Mary Z’s — to lease disputes.

A&B is the biggest lease holder in Kailua.Is this landlord deliberately reshuffling so that small unique businesses can’t compete for space and rent in Kailua?

Will a Victoria’s Secret (a chain store) move into the Muumuu Heaven space (a locally owned store?) Will local owners of stores be ousted or forced to vacate because of gigantic rent increases and the hefty commissions they pay to A&B?

The Kailua community should be asking these questions.

Constance Oliva
Kailua

Congress seems too attached to Israel

Thank you for informing us of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu’s plan to address a special joint session of Congress on March 3.

Apparently Netanyahu will be trying to persuade Congress to torpedo President Barack Obama’s policy of negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program, and support Israel in bombing Iranian nuclear facilities.

It will be interesting to see whether his March 3 speech will break his prior record of the 29 standing ovations received the last time he addressed Congress, in 2011. Wouldn’t it be nice if our president was so well received by Congress?

One thing we can be sure won’t be in Netanyahu’s speech is a quote from President George Washington’s farewell address in 1796 — that the United States should not develop a "passionate attachment" to any other nation and should "cultivate peace and harmony with all."

Peter Knerr
Kailua

Loyalty to Obama can be a drawback

It is appalling that U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz decided to boycott Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress on March 3.

This is a critical time for Israel to give the U.S. its understanding of how negotiations to stop Iran from building a nuclear arsenal will affect the balance of power in the Middle East and the world.

Shouldn’t our congressional representatives and senators hear all points of view so they can make informed decisions?

Loyalty to President Barack Obama and his disdain of Netanyahu should not trump their responsibility to represent the people of Hawaii.

Netanyahu dares to say what Obama does not want to hear: that negotiations are merely an appeasement to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and destruction of Israel.

Shirley L. Gibbs
Kaneohe

UH sports programs keep kids in Hawaii

Everyone is always talking about losing the best young people to the mainland.

How are we going to keep them in Hawaii if we remove so many sports programs from the University of Hawaii system?

Many cannot afford college on the mainland. Getting an athletic scholarship allows them to receive a college education, while still being home with their families.

Many top athletes are also top scholars.

It’s a sad day if welose more bright kids who may never come back.

Lizette Haneberg
Hawaii Kai

Practice aloha by respecting kupuna

The unique spirit of aloha is a gift that can be found nowhere else but home.

Aloha embodies respect​ and ​love for family, friends and visitors. It reaches beyond ourselves and into a dimension that allows us to be others-minded, to care for those who cannot care for themselves, regardless their circumstances, who are truly marginalized.

There are many kupuna who daily live in fear and isolation in our islands. Many, surprisingly, have no one close to check in on them. These are "our" kupuna who have helped instill the very foundation of aloha that have made Hawaii a world-class destination.

Let’s all take a few minutes to visit with our kupuna in our condominiums and neighborhoods, ensuring that they are aging safely in place with hope and the feeling that their ​legacy of aloha will never be forgotten.

Janet Grace
Waikiki