Construction amounts to island desecration

The ongoing development and desecration of Oahu is a disgrace to the inhabitants of this beautiful place we call our home.

Those responsible for the rape of our lands should be looking over their shoulders and up to the heavens; there is not one ounce of justification for what they are doing.

From Honouliuli to Kakaako, the shores of Waikiki, and all along therail path,construction isdestruction of our beautiful island and will be forever on the shoulders of our local leaders who are giving permission to the developers to build.

Mary J.Culvyhouse
Kaneohe

East Kakaako is what future will look like

If you want to get an idea of what Kakaako will look like in maybe 20 years, have a glance at the jumble of buildings now standing on what decades ago was the location of building materials purveyor Lewers & Cook.

This east gateway to Kakaako has been in creation since the Nauru Tower went up many years ago, and now has the final buildingunder constructionnear the mauka boundary of Queen Street.

I characterize the unremarkable architecture as the "blue-green glass ghetto," and just as they overwhelm the now-ancient 1350 Ala Moana, the future 700-foot towers in the heart of the district will overwhelm everything around them.

I suggest that because of the nature of land ownership in the district, the likelihood of any other outcome is slight.

Edward L. Bonomi
Waikiki

Build skating rinks to lessen accidents

A few years ago I wrote a letter to the editor about building skating rinks, so that the youth as well as adults could enjoy skating there instead of on the streets.

It appears that since then there have been several accidents resulting in severe injury or death.

I believe that if there were skating rinks available around the island, this would surely help prevent injuries or deaths. My grandson has hurt himself many times riding his skateboard, and I’m sure others have experienced the same.

During my youth, I roller skated with the Hawaiian Warriors Roller Derby Team in competition with other teams from the mainland in the Civic Auditorium on King Street. It was an awesome experience that I will always remember! It was inspiring, exciting, and kept me off the streets and in shape.

Let’s work to keep our youth off the streets and in supervised places of enjoyment. Skateboarding doesn’t bring revenue in but roller derby skating would.

Richard Lee
Diamond Head

Let off-duty police behave as they wish

I am outraged over the fourfold increase we are going to have to pay off-duty police officers to adhere to a "code of conduct." We can’t afford this.

Let’s save the money and let off-duty police officers behave any way they want. And if their off-duty behavior gets too rowdy, we’ll call the police.

Richard Manetta
Wilhelmina Rise

Defensive missiles have a good purpose

Jonathan Norris said that "America does not need to grandstand," (Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 15).

Nothing is farther from the truth than Norris’ premise that America’s grandstanding on our missile defense systems is not needed.

Nuclear weapons are offensive and kill people and destroy things. Missile defense systems are defensive and kill only incoming enemy missiles. Proliferation will occur by letting Iran and North Korea develop nuclear weapons. Further proliferation would occur if nearby countries and possible enemies perceived a need to have their own weapons. By developing an effective missile defense system, the U.S. could negate nuclear proliferation.

Proliferation may also result from U.S. reductions of nuclear weapons, which could be perceived by U.S. allies that the U.S. will no longer protect our allies under treaties that prevented their need for their own nuclear weapons.

I hope the administration considers this potential consequence of further U.S. nuclear force reduction.

Russel Noguchi
Pearl City

Greenwood should just retire from UH

As a guest here for only a short time, I was dismayed to read about the long-term consequences of a supposedly brilliant woman, outgoing University of Hawaii President M.R.C. Greenwood, who seems to care only about amassing wealth and status, and all her cronies trying to do the same ("Greenwood could earn $293,640 as faculty member," Star-Advertiser, July 13).

Whatever happened to retiring and making room for new blood? As a medical professional, she of all people should know the importance of introducing new gene pools for the healthy survival of a group.

Susan Pareto
San Rafael, Calif.

Brooks correct about theocratic rulers

I very seldom agree with David Brooks, but found myself nodding my head as he wrote why radical Islamists are incapable of running a modern government ("Radical Islamists incapable of real-world governance," Star-Advertiser, July 8).

I would have expanded his thesis somewhat to say that radical religious or political groups in general make for bad governance.

The reason, as Brooks points out, is that any idea different from the radical position is subversive and must be suppressed. But in the last paragraph, Brooks reverted to form and started Obama bashing, which really spoiled the whole article. He accused the Obama administration of being too close to the Muslim Brotherhood, but as the democratically elected government then in power, the U.S. had little choice but to talk to them.

Jim King
Hawaii Kai

Most of us cannot ‘enhance’ our income

I read with interest Nelson Koyanagi Jr.’s commentary on the right balance of revenue and services, saying that the city must either tighten its belt or enhance revenue (I love that euphemism for taxes) ("City must strike the right balance of revenue and services," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, July 18).

I can understand that because I am in the same situation, except in my case, I cannot enhance my revenue. You see, I retired 27 years ago on what was a more-than-adequate income at the time. That income has stayed flat ever since, while the cost of the services that Koyanagi alludes to have steadily increased. The city wants more, the state wants more, the federal government wants more, Hawaiian Electric Co. wants more, the Board of Water Supply wants more — everyone wants more.

My belt has been tightened to the point where I am punching more holes in it. Maybe the city needs more income, but just maybe it can tighten that belt by one hole.

Arg Bacon
Kahala

People carrying guns need higher standard

Whenever you carry a lethal weapon, whether you are a special agent like Christopher Deedy or a vigilante like George Zimmerman, you should be held to a higher standard of conduct.

You should accept the responsibilities and the consequences that accrue to that standard. Period.

Joseph Uno
Manoa

FROM THE FORUM

"Officials contemplate weekend harbor hours," Star-Advertiser, July 15:

» This is so ridiculously overdue it is insane. And for the Department of Land and Natural Resources to assert that the weekdays are as busy as the weekends shows how utterly out of touch they are. If you thought the roads were bad, just look at how the harbors are managed.

» Heaven forbid that state workers should have to work on weekends !!!

"Legislative immunity blocks gay rights complaints, lawmakers say," Star-Advertiser, July 15:

» Now is not the time to be picking fights with legislators. We only need a simple majority to pass a bill. Not everyone is going to support our just cause for equality. Unfortunate but true.

» I believe that House Vice Speaker John Mizuno is spot on in his assessment of the same-sex marriage issue as it relates to Hawaii. Mizuno does not attack the GLBT community, nor does he attack the churches. In fact, he doesn’t even seem affected by the Democratic Party complaint. Mizuno seems focused on doing the right thing. He simply reviews the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling and is seeking to make a determination, in accordance with the court’s ruling. Great job, Mizuno!

"Measure urges city to set up public hygiene centers to aid homeless," Star-Advertiser, July 16:

» If you build it, they will come, by the thousands. The city doesn’t know what it’s doing. This facility will turn into a city- and taxpayer-subsidized magnet for the homeless.

» As usual, the city operates with the wagon in front of the horse: Introduce a bill, vote on it and have it approved, then try to figure out how to fund it. Oh well, another day dealing with another bright idea from an elected official.

"Education website revamped for $1.7M," Star-Advertiser, July 16:

» Using federal tax dollars for an administrative purpose does nothing to help educate the kids. Revamping the website could have made a nice project for some students aspiring to careers in IT, and, chances are, they would have done a better job.

» I wanted to give the Department of Education the benefit of the doubt with regard to how a website can cost anywhere near $1.7 million so I went to their new website to read their explanation and didn’t find the answer there either. Surely they don’t expect us to believe that a "custom content management system" justifies such an expense!

"Big Islander’s fiery photo becomes a hot topic on Internet," Star-Advertiser, July 17:

» There goes the neighborhood! Now every thrill-seeking tourist is going to want to do the same thing and the state will get sued for not posting sufficient warnings of the dangers of standing on an active lava flow.

» This photo takes a lot of imagination. But you lose your shoes and tripod.

"Water-propelled jet packs draw concern from state, public," Star-Advertiser, July 17:

» Why doesn’t government ban sky diving while we are at it? Isn’t there any activity that is free from government interference?

» It’s only a matter of time before there is a serious injury or death as a result of this unregulated, dangerous toy.

» We should not allow them on the beaches so Hawaii can continue its status as the least business-friendly state. We’re No. 1! We’re No. 1!

"Ewa Beach homeowners sue over scrapped marina," Star-Advertiser, July 18:

» Haseko inflated the price of homes, telling the homeowners of all the amenities that would be built for the project. Well, the project was canceled, so the homeowners have every right to sue Haseko and have it buy back their homes.

» Are you aware of the fact that Ewa Beach has a new fire station, preschool and soon-to-be-huge community park all built by Haseko, on land it donated?

» I pretty much agree with the consensus that the politicians and developers are crooked. However, this marina should not be built there would be too much environmental damage and aquifer loss.

"Development in Kakaako does not account for schools," Star-Advertiser, July 18:

» No parks and no schools. A developer’s dream.

» Mahalo to the state Department of Education. It’s great to see that its leadership has the kind of focus we need to guide our future educational needs.

» The plan is to send all the kids to schools in Kapolei by rail.

» Well, that’s one way to guarantee ridership for the new rail system.