It’s not often I disagree with Richard Borreca, but his recent column missed the mark (“Caldwell wants it both ways on rail transit construction,” Star-Advertiser, On Politics, Sept. 29).

It is possible to speed up construction while doing a better job of mitigating business interruption, including traffic impacts. The two are not mutually exclusive, and requiring rail contractors to mitigate impacts and work directly with affected communities has worked well in other cities. In fact, one rail agency set up community advisory boards along its route, volunteer boards that met monthly with the contractors and evaluated their performance in the community.

As for speeding up construction, perhaps we drill more shafts, pour more columns and tension more segments into spans between columns along corridors already impacted by lane closures.

To a driver stuck in traffic, being told congestion would have been worse had we not delayed the project one year is of little consolation. Likewise, to a business whose revenue is negatively impacted by construction, delaying the project only delays their full economic recovery.

Let’s fight to keep this project on schedule.

Michael D. Formby
Director, city Department of Transportation Services

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Build bridge to link to Arizona Memorial

I reside on Pearl City Heights, overlooking Pearl Harbor and our beautiful Arizona Memorial.

Recently, tourists traveled thousands of miles for their once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii to view this beautiful memorial, only to find it closed for some reason.

First it was the tour operators, taking most of the shuttle-boat passes and selling them to other tourists, which should have been free on a first-come, first-served basis.

Next, thousands more were blocked because a vessel struck and damaged the ramp to the memorial.

Finally, our beloved honu decided that they wanted to visit the memorial, too, thus impeding the docking procedure to the ramps.

If they can build a bridge from Kamehameha Highway to Ford Island, why can’t they build a walkway from Ford Island to the memorial? Then the tourists could also visit the Missouri and no one would miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime visit.

Emil Canencia
Pearl City

Libraries are ‘secret homeless shelters’

Where I live, the libraries have turned into free computer rooms, cheap DVD rental stores and a haven for the homeless to wash up and get rest.

Plus, librarians no longer tell people to “shhh”; everyone seems to be talking in loud voices, not whispers.

Many homeless get shut-eye while burying their head in a newspaper and pretending to read. They need a place to wash and go to the bathroom. Since shelters are few and far between, libraries have become pseudo homeless shelters.

I like to call libraries “secret homeless shelters.”

There is not the need for the average citizen to do research at the libraries. Most have Google at their fingertips. The Internet can deliver books, music and movies directly to our mobile devices.

Everything changes. There is nothing wrong with what libraries have become, but it’s a far cry from what they once were.

James “Kimo” Rosen
Kapaa, Kauai

Don’t deny military religious expression

Since you first covered the controversy over the sign outside Marine Corps Base Hawaii (“‘God bless the military’ sign on Hawaii base is questioned,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 24), the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) has demanded that the Marine Corps erect signs devoted to other religions and beliefs alongside the original.

This ridiculous demand demonstrates a complete ignorance of the law.

In 2009, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that when the government accepts a permanent display with one religious message, it is not required to accept displays with other religious messages. In other words, just because the Marine Corps allows a “God bless our military” display, the Marine Corps need not accept displays devoted to every other religion or ideology.

The MRFF seeks nothing less than to deprive Americans of their fundamental right to religious expression. Members of our military should be able to keep their own freedoms as they steadfastly protect ours.

Mike Berry
Senior counsel and director of military affairs, Liberty Institute

Change law to fix mispricing of drugs

It seems to me that the headline on the front page of the Star-Advertiser (“Hawaii Obamacare rates to jump,” Oct. 6) could well have read, “Drug prices have skyrocketed in Hawaii and elsewhere in the U.S.”

My source? The column by Froma Harrop in Saturday’s Star-Advertiser (Oct. 3). One example may suffice: A young hedge fund manager bought the marketing rights to a drug called Daraprim and proceeded to raise the price from $13.50 to $750 per pill. It used to cost $1.

The impact of this sort of pricing can have a profoundly negative impact on the health and well-being of our nation.

One has to wonder why, when Medicare Part D became law in 2003, it contained a clause that prevents Medicare from negotiating prices for drugs.

It is time to revisit that law and modify it as needed to properly serve the American people.

Ed Sullam
Aina Haina