Can anyone explain why the newly opened right lane of the H-1 freeway between Waimalu and the H-2 is already falling apart?

For at least the last eight days, large potholes have developed in that lane. Did a government employee write the wrong specs? Did the contractor use inferior materials and/or workmanship? Once again, it seems that we taxpayers have been “taken.”

Hugh Hazenfield
Mokuleia

Motorists disrupted, with shoddy results

Regarding highway projects in Hawaii, the following rules seem to apply: Use five times the number of people necessary; build it slow; build it wrong and, finally, build it over. To those rules, I could add: Build it with problems built in, thus prolonging any job, the commensurate traffic frustrations and of course, creating job security.

On the newly opened far right exit lane on H-1 westbound from the Pearl City on-ramp to the Waipahu exit, one notices that on this brand-new stretch of highway, there are defects in the cement, already causing holes in which one can see the rebar reinforcement. This lane was created with a lot of traffic disruption and it was opened for traffic less than six months ago. It seems to have been built with problems built in. So it is already in need of serious repair.

Poor materials? Poor workmanship? Probably both.

Dave Verret
Mililani

Don’t be too quick to judge HPD officer

Officer Bobby Harrrison was doing his job (“HPD officer accused of arresting lesbians kissing in store,” Star-Advertiser, Oct. 28). If you were not there to witness what he witnessed, you should not be so quick to judge (“Harassing women in store an insult,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Nov. 5).

When I saw the first story, I was sure there was much more that had not been made public and I was right. Get all the facts before making a judgment.

Would you want your child subjected to lewd activity in public? I think not. It does not appear to me that the officer took action because of the gender of the participants but, rather, due to their public display of lewd behavior.

Patti Adolphson
Wahiawa

Eyewitnesses don’t agree with accusers

I am so glad we live in a democracy, where we are innocent until proven guilty.

Carolyn Golojuch’s letter chastising the police officer and demanding Foodland train its employees to be more diverse and respectful shows her lack of knowledge of what really happened (“Harassing women in store an insult,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Nov. 5).

On the news, one female eyewitness described just the opposite of what the two accusers said happened. We spoke with another female eyewitness who said the two accusers were wrong.

The need to wait and get all the facts obviously is not in Golojuch’s nature. We must wait, listen, gather and then proceed. All are innocent until proven guilty. Furthermore, we find all the Foodland Pupukea employees are helpful, respectful and show the aloha spirit all the time!

Sharon Rapoza Bruffey
Haleiwa

Non-teachers ignore evaluation studies

The editorial in support of teacher evaluations (“Learn more from teacher evaluations,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 1) is just one more piece of depressing testimony to the fact that state Department of Education officials, Board of Education members, and the editors of Hawaii’s most prominent newspaper have chosen to remain blithely clueless.

There is a tremendous amount of research pointing first to the futility of attributing to teachers primary responsibility for student performance on standardized tests, rather than socio-economic factors; and second, to the false claims of current teacher evaluation systems, which above all assess teachers’ willingness to comply with the latest bureaucratic measures and to devote their spare time to producing documents and artifacts that are generally unrelated to what their students are learning.

How refreshing it would be to witness this complacent myriad of non-teaching educational arbiters retire from their pseudo-scientific evaluation jargon and begin to read bona fide educational research that would allow them to support rather than hinder teachers and their students.

Andy Jones
McCully

UH has little to offer football recruits

Everyone expected University of Hawaii football head coach Norm Chow to come in with this magical game plan and rock the world with Warrior football again. Wrong.

With nothing to offer the top local athletes, do you think they wanted to stay? Chow had three or four locals committed last year, but other schools offered something different and they went elsewhere.

Another thing: It is not easy to get into the university academically. SAT and ACT scores must be high, as well as a student’s grade point average. That is another reason why players go to other schools.

Thanks to Chow for all his hard work and dedication. He gave it his all with not much to work with.

And last but not least: No June Jones. No black uniforms.

Whoever takes this challenge will have to have some magic. Recruiting in Hawaii is a very hard thing to do. Good luck to the next coach.

Shad Hussey
Waimanalo