It’s easy to get used to reusable bags

People need to accept the new plastic bag law and stop their whining. There’s been plenty of time to make the change and get ready.

It took me a while to get used to sturdy reusable bags. Now that it’s a habit, it’s so much better than the plastic bags.

Most of the plastic bags I got ended up with lots of holes and I just recycled them. And everything falls over and the bags don’t stand upright.

I buy bags from the pet store now for the cat poop. No more free ride.

Stores all sell great reusable bags now. You can buy them cheaply and even get some for free with store promotions.

I have a bag for refrigerator and frozen items, too. I love not using plastic bags.

So stop whining and get with the program. This is for our planet and its inhabitants. They’re worth it.

Jan Adam
Maili

Rail proponents should be ashamed

Shame on everyone who believed Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation Executive Director Dan Grabauskas and the HART board Chairman, Ivan Lui-Kwan, who publicly stated on television that rail would be completed on time and within budget.

Shame on the Legislature, which recently vowed to closely scrutinize HART’s request for more funding, but instead favored extending the excise tax to keep funding the project.

Shame on the board overseeing the rail project, which unanimously renewed Grabauskas’ contract with a raise and bonuses for reaching performance goals.

I fail to see what deadlines and goals have been met.

For those who continue to believe that rail is worth funding, I have property in the middle of the Pacific ocean to sell.

Michael Young
Mililani

Vacation rental laws not being enforced

Tourism is a wonderful industry, but it does have its occasional serious downturns.

If we want a diversified economy, if we want knowledge workers — the kind of people who start and grow new high-margin enterprises — to live in Hawaii, we should guard the integrity of our residential neighborhoods because that is where such people live and raise their children.

Accordingly, I strongly favor the passage of Honolulu City Council Bill 15-22 to improve illegal vacation rental enforcement, and think it ought to be signed into law before Bill 15-21 (which allows accessory dwelling units) is seriously considered.

For similar reasons, Resolution 15-72 (to permit more bed and breakfast operations), introduced by Councilmember Ikaika Anderson, should not be considered until Bill 15-22 is passed and the resulting enforcement regime has been shown to be effective.

Neil Frazer
Kailua

Ala Wai Canal could be tourist attraction

Our Ala Wai Canal is a perfect tourist attraction.

From Ala Moana Boulevard, access to the canal leads to a beautiful walk along the canal. If flowers were planted along the walkway, with benches for relaxing, and maybe even some vendors for snacks and treats for children, it would be well-used.

Add a dock with boats to ferry tourists down to Kapahulu and back, and it would even be a Waikiki tourist attraction. Imagine: A boat ride down to Kapahulu, some shopping and lunch there, then down to the beach or back up to Ala Moana via the Ala Wai boats.

I have spoken with tourists and found some who are not interested in returning here for vacation because there is too much concrete. Let’s keep tourists here and give them a touch of Hawaii right here in town.

Inga Blume
Waikiki

Hawaii already has diagonal crossings

Connie Jean writes that Hono-lulu crosswalks should have periods where people can cross straight or diagonally across the street and periods where only cars can run ("Change how crosswalks work," Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 18).

Well, there already are several intersections where that is done, including on King and Kekaulike streets in Chinatown and on Kalakaua Avenue.

This method is known as the diagonal crossing, pedestrian scramble, or "Barnes Dance," after Henry Barnes, the traffic engineer who promoted it as a way to improve flow through crowded intersections. The most famous intersection using this method is outside Shibuya Station in Tokyo.

Dexter Wong
Waialae-Kahala

Military budget huge for a reason

Oliver Lee says that the U.S. spends more than the "next eight biggest spenders combined" on its military ("U.S. military budget not about ‘defense,’" Star-Advertiser, March 24).

Three of those eight countries have intercontinental missiles with nuclear warheads. They can threaten their regional neighbors without fear of U.S. intervention. The other five countries cannot defend themselves.

Lee says the U.S. has added protection from the enormous oceanic distances of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Japan attacked Hawaii in the Pacific; German submarines sank U.S. commercial ships in the Atlantic; the 9/11 terrorists entered U.S. air space through Canada; and drugs, potential terrorists and criminals are entering our southern border in droves.

Lee finally says, "The U.S. wants to intimidate (other countries) into compliance or submission." This is deterrence. And, if deterrence fails, the U.S. needs to be able to destroy any attacker on the U.S., its citizens and its allies.

Russel Noguchi
Pearl City