‘Hygiene centers’ just more welfare

Honolulu City Councilman Joey Manahan has proposed the city establish "hygiene centers" for the growing homeless population in Honolulu to allow them to shower, toilet, wash their clothes and take care of other personal hygiene needs.

The placement of these centers should beon the lawns of City Hall and the state Capitol andon the lawns of any politicianwho votes for this insanity.

These people have their assistance dogs, free food cards, free medical and now this.Maybe we should consider becoming homeless; it doesn’t sound like a bad idea.I pay for any of the above that I want or need.

Diane Tippett
Waikiki

Pedestrians have better vantage

Amarjit Singh makes a good point about clueless pedestrians’ risky habits, but there’s still plenty of blame to go around among rude drivers and pedestrians alike ("Now it’s time to rein in arrogant pedestrians," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, July 21).

I walk daily in Honolulu and I can answer Singh’s question: "Would any car dare to cross a red light?"

The answer is a definite yes, some drivers do dare to run red lights; I see them do it nearly every day.

Especially on foot, pedestrians have a sort of observational advantage over drivers: On just our two feet, without a 2-ton vehicle to manage at driving speeds, we have more time to observe traffic around us.And pedestrians really need to use that advantage and keep their attention focused on our situation.

When we walk or drive with our eyes on our phones, music turned up to cover the noise and "distractions" from traffic, we put ourselves and others at risk.It’s about everyone paying attention to the main job on the roads and sidewalks: Get there alive and healthy.

Dean Hoofnagle
Moiliili

In a collision, automobiles win

Though some pedestrians violate laws when crossing streets and should be cited, there were two points missing from the diatribe by Amarjit Singh ("Now it’s time to rein in arrogant pedestrians," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, July 21).

First, in a competition between automobile and pedestrian, the automobile will always win. Drivers sometimes use their vehicles as weapons against defenseless pedestrians. Just saving one life by forcing drivers to recognize the dangers of aggressive and inattentive driving outweighs alleged "lost productivity" by having drivers wait for pedestrians to safely cross.

Second, while walking Honolulu’s clogged streets, I thought how more productive and attractive to visitors it would be to ban automobiles from portions of the city and encourage alternative, healthier transportation, such as biking and walking.

The "lost productivity" is more due to congestion of too many vehicles on a tiny island rather than clueless pedestrians desperately navigating around them.

Michael Pravica
Henderson, Nev.

Honolulu cops worth their pay

The Honolulu Police Department is the 20th-largest police force in the nation. It is also one of the lowest paid.

It is a known fact that Honolulu is the safest city in the nation in which to live, work and play. We didn’t get that way by accident. Our police department is a major part of that equation.

I am a taxpayer and have no qualms about them receiving a 16.9 percent increase over six years. Yes, six years, because they haven’t had a raise in the last two years. So it’s not spread over four years, it’s actually six. That equates to 2.82 percent a year — no big deal.

I’m not a police officer or a former police officer. No one I know is in law enforcement. I have been stopped for speeding a few times but I deserved that. The officers were always polite and professional.

I’m proud of our police department.

Jack Niendorf
Waialua

Black-on-black crime ignored

Last Friday, President Barack Obama gave a very poignant speech about what it means to be black in America, and eloquently explained how that experience accounts for differing racial perspectives in the Trayvon Martin shooting verdict.

A cynic might argue that Obama, having been raised in Indonesia and Hawaii before earning degrees at Columbia and Harvard, actually shared few of the hardships of which he spoke. The future president spent only three years, from 1985 to 1988, in Chicago as a community organizer, before beginning law school in Cambridge. Nevertheless, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

The president’s words were healing, but he missed an opportunity to bring attention to the very real tragedies happening in cities such as Chicago, where hundreds of black youths are murdered each and every year. Some 93 percent of these black victims die at the hand of black perpetrators, yet we hear little about this ongoing crisis.

Bernard J. Wilson
Laie

Zimmerman was not a ‘vigilante’

Someone should explain to Joseph Uno that volunteer members of an established neighborhood watch organization recognized by local police — hence operating according to lawful protocols — are not taking the law into their own hands ("People carrying guns need higher standard," Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 21).

Whatever his failings might have been, and contrary to Uno’s baseless assertion, George Zimmerman was no "vigilante" on the night he was beaten and compelledto defend himself.

Thomas E. Stuart
Kapaau, Hawaii island

Kailua changed a long time ago

In the recent article regarding the sale of many commercial properties in Kailua, several comments were made about keeping Kailua Kailua and not turning it into another Waikiki ("Sellers anticipate taking in $600 million," Star-Advertiser, July 16).

Well, anybody who has grown up and lived in Kailua for 55 years like I have knows that Kailua is not the same and we have already become a mini Waikiki.With all the bed-and-breakfast rentals, the tourists who are bused into Kailua every day and the change in the business mix that now caters to the tourists instead of the residents, this is no longer the Kailua of the past.

I fear a new owner will just accelerate the changes.

John Stewart
Kailua

Rep. Gabbard making history

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is a great ambassador for Hawaii.

I happened to catch Tulsi on "CBS This Morning" with Charlie Rose. What a positive spokeswoman she has become, sharing her aloha and even getting Charlie Rose to say "aloha" on national television!

Gabbard represents the new generation of Hawaii leaders. As the caption under the interview read: "Rep. Gabbard of Hawaii making history in Congress."This is positive publicity for Hawaii and showcases the quality of our young leaders today.

Aloha Ke Akua, Tulsi.

Danny Kaleikini
Hawaii’s Ambassador of Aloha
Kahaluu