On my recent visit to Hawaii, I was surprised to read about the dengue fever outbreak (“New cases on Big Isle lift tally of ill by 4,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 5).

Thanks to your paper, I have a better understanding of the disease and know that this is not the first time it has been a problem.

The key is to fund the fight against disease. Modern times of convenient airline travel make it easy for disease to move globally. We have seen this with ebola, AIDS and tuberculosis. Thankfully, there also has been a global response to battle these pandemics.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has helped save millions of lives over the past 10-plus years. Our opportunity to help bring these diseases under control is to make sure our government continues to robustly support the Global Fund.

Willie Dickerson
Snohomish, Wash.

State needs subsidized interisland transport

While I agree in principle with the letter about not having affordable inter-island travel, the tone was rather snarky and divisive (“Kauai whining about air fares,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 6). It was not “a few people” on Kauai who stopped the ferry, just as it was not just poor revenue that stopped Aloha Airlines.

It was something much bigger, richer and more powerful, and which, I strongly suspect, is now the monopoly that is Hawaiian Airlines. The airline jubilantly reports ever-increasing profits as it continues to increase fares and other expenses, giving no concessions to the people who live here, and who have family and businesses on other islands.

This is an island state, and should have public state-subsidized transportation from island to island at prices kamaaina can afford. We are traveling to Kauai for our daughter’s birthday. As seniors on rather fixed incomes, the price of two round-trip tickets on Hawaiian Airlines is almost out of our reach. We have no other choices, however.

Barbara Mullen
Waimanalo

Stop litterbugs who drop cigarette butts

Smoking cigarettes is a choice.

Disposing of the cigarette butts on sidewalks, out of your car window, in parks and on beaches should not be.

Jeri Janssen Steiner
Kailua

Raising GET could help UH athletics succeed

University of Hawaii President David Lassner has said that if we want to keep UH athletics in Division I, the whole community needs to get involved.

We all enjoy living in the middle of the ocean with clean air and water, but travel expenses and subsidies for visiting teams are the biggest drain on the athletic budget. One way would be to raise our general excise tax — gasp! — to 4.6 percent. 0.1 percent is only one dime on $100 and tourists would be paying a big share of it.

Should it go away, I would sorely miss UH sports. Call it the UH Sports Travel Subsidy Tax.

Paul Gundlach
Pupukea