Marco Mangelsdorf and Mina Morita said that Hawaiian Electric Co. made the right call in terminating SunEdison’s utility-grade solar projects, but they didn’t tell the whole story and were disingenuous (“SunEdison’s woes reflect trend in solar energy business,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, March 2).

HECO got special authority from the state Public Utilities Commission to fast-track the selection of SunEdison, waiving the normal procurement rules. HECO picked SunEdison. SunEdison was highly leveraged with debt then, too. HECO can’t say now it was a bad choice. SunEdison was performing.

It is not unreasonable that in bankruptcy, a creditor like DE Shaw might trade assets like these HECO projects to settle SunEdison’s debts.

Finally, the state and federal solar tax credits are integral to the financial viability of all solar projects, including Mangelsdorf’s. Shame on him for slamming other solar firms for relying on the same credits he does.

R. Erik Soderholm

Nuuanu

‘The Eddie’ was worth every penny

The cost to taxpayers of the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau surf tournament was $6,000 (“City’s Eddie expenses near $6,000,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 27).

It brought joy to the hearts of tens of thousands of locals and visitors while creating a slight inconvenience for a day to North Shore residents.

The taxpayer cost for President Barack Obama’s holiday vacation was in the millions of dollars, bringing joy to a handful while paralyzing residents wherever he chose to go with his entourage.

The true cost of the “Eddie” surf competition: priceless, and worth every penny.

Rick Ornellas

Liliha

Best voter option is to be independent

Columnist Thomas Sowell stated it politely (“Election news in U.S. sadly mostly about personalities,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 27). The GOP election campaign has deteriorated into name-calling sessions, which the TV media coverage seems to relish.

What we viewers are subjected to is how a candidate sweats or how he spells words. Meanwhile, other candidates who possibly have something positive to contribute are left completely out of view.

I have voted in every presidential election since 1948 and I’ve witnessed nothing like this campaign.

There is little one voter can do other than become an independent, withhold contributions and ask Heaven for help, for at stake is selecting the right person for the most demanding job in the world.

Bob Henninger

Foster Village

Florence at Waimea was awesome photo

It was an awesome photo of young waterman John John Florence, 23, “flying” down a huge wall of water covering all of the front page of the Star-Advertiser (Feb. 26).

Waimea’s Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big-wave surf event is unique to Hawaii and so rare — a viewing of sports with nature at its best. It remembered late watermen like Eddie Aikau, Brock Little, Andy Irons, Mark Foo and others, inspiring youngsters like Florence to carry on this tradition.

As a retired educator, I recall that when teaching at Waialua High School, most of Waialua’s student surfers would appear on the school’s absent list when the surf was up.

With champion Florence roaring down a massive wall of water, and the Sunset Beach Elementary kids looking on in awe, certainly Eddie, Brock, Andy and Mark were smiling from above.

Frank Terrazas Jr.

Salt Lake

Is it time to put surf contest to rest?

For years, “The Eddie” (along with the “might be good enough for The Eddie,” the “almost Eddie,” and the “non Eddie”) has created chaos on the North Shore, negatively affecting residents and businesses, and benefitting only the news media and contest sponsors.

It’s gotten so bad that Eddie would not go. He would go somewhere else.

Then came last month. The Eddie went, seemingly flawlessly, and it was awesome. Eddie was most definitely there, and the entire world was treated to the event. The 2016 Eddie will be remembered as one of the greatest sporting spectacles of all time.

So now what? Clyde surfed (and charged) his final Eddie. John John won well-deserved recognition. Everybody, competitors and audiences alike, was stoked. Is this the right time to let The Eddie rest?

Thornton “T” Dilcher

Haleiwa

Ivory ban in Hawaii doesn’t make sense

Ivory? Do we really want our legislators to enact new laws when law enforcement doesn’t have the personnel to enforce the laws already on the books (“Ivory sales ban eyed,” Star-Advertiser, March 3)?

The slaughter of elephants for their tusks is a horrific situation, but Hawaii doesn’t have a dog in this fight.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Customs and Border Protection already enforce federal laws on ivory and endangered species.

We can’t control China, the No. 1 market for this illegal trade.

If these silly laws pass, will the Honolulu Police Department be arresting Auntie because she’s wearing an ivory necklace? Will they be entering our homes to pry the white keys off the piano Grandma left us?

Legislators should tackle the real issues, like ethics, in their own house.

Creighton Goldsmith

Nuuanu

FBI makes mistake and blames Apple

In the case of FBI versus Apple Computer, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that if the FBI had not tried to break into the cellphone of a terrorist by resetting the password, Apple could have backed up the cellphone’s information to the Cloud.

The FBI’s mistake caused the cellphone to lock. Now it wants to make Apple look bad for not writing software (that does not exist) to break into the phone.

It’s sad that when the FBI screws up, it has to cry to the public for sympathy to fix its mistake.

Jeffrey Ung

Wilhemina Rise