A bill passed the Legislature this session that would make it a little easier if my mother is admitted to the hospital.
House Bill 2252 would make it possible for me, as her caregiver, to get oral and written instructions in what to do for her when she’s discharged. Not all acute care hospitals in Hawaii consistently do that now.
This is especially important because my mom has dementia. I’m responsible for taking care of her at home, and I can’t count on her to tell me what she needs.
I know there are many like me, caring for aging parents who can no longer make decisions for themselves. Hawaii has the highest concentration of residents age 85 and older. As our population ages, we should do everything possible to support our families.
On behalf of caregivers and their family members, I urge Gov. David Ige to sign HB 2252 into law.
Yuriko Vaughn
Liliha
Let’s rely more on hydroelectric storage
Renewable energy efforts should focus also on storage as well as generation.
Given the intermittent nature of solar and wind power, pumped hydroelectric storage is an old technology where excess electric-grid energy is used to pump water from a lower to higher elevation.
When needed, the water flow is reversed to generate power.
Hawaii’s island geography provides the water and mountains that are fundamental to utilizing pumped hydro storage.
Tied to a smart grid, multiple hydro storage-generation sites, geographically distributed around the islands, could store excess, normally wasted, grid energy and reduce transmission-line losses.
Irv Miyamoto
Aiea
Rail projects a case of no pain, no gain
In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state in the Union. Thus the expansion of Honolulu began its progress for the future.
The Pali Highway and the Likelike Highway and their respective tunnels were completed connecting the Windward side to Honolulu.
In the 1960s and ’70s, federal freeways like the H-1 and H-2 linked Oahu. The H-3 freeway opened in 1998, some 30 years from its start because of archaeological obstacles.
The Honolulu Airport viaduct connecting Nimitz and Kamehameha highways made driving to catch a flight at faster.
Citizens, realizing the need and expansion of our beloved island, voted to build the rail transit system. Not only for ourselves, but for our keiki and grandchildren.
Progress equals pain-sharing. Our kupuna sacrificed so much so we all could have and share a brighter future.
Paul Hatae
Mililani
Implement alternatives to rail and save money
With the mounting costs of the rail project, here are things we can do, and cheaper:
>> Consider a busway.
>> Stop construction at the Middle Street transit hub, but extend to Makaha, where the majority of working people use public transport.
>> Change the steel wheel-on-steel rail system to a cheaper magnetic levitation system. As it stands now, it will not be operating on time, and the cost will climb way over the estimated $8 billion by the time it is completed. We have not forgotten the cost and completion time of the H-3 freeway.
>> While waiting for the “who knows when” completion, extend the Zipper lane to Kapolei and open it in the afternoon.
>> Increase buses during rush hours to every 10-15 minutes to attract more riders.
Rosita R.Sipirok-Siregar
Kapolei
Price tag for cooling classrooms excessive?
Wow — a $100 million initiative to cool approximately 1,000 classrooms. That equates to $100,000 per public school classroom. Really?
I’m no air-conditioning expert, but I know people who could install energy-saving window units for under $1,000 per classroom. Oh, wait, I forgot, we have unions and governmental red tape to deal with.
Richard Ornellas
Liliha
TSA rules sometimes don’t make any sense
At the Maui airport, when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has no PreCheck lines set up, it gives PreCheck passengers a card with instructions that tell them to not remove their belts, and has them use the primary lines.
Yet, if their belt buckles set off the alarm, they have to remove their belts. And although PreCheck passengers may keep their shoes on, other passengers and flight crew personnel cannot, leading to confusion. Why not simply suspend PreCheck perks if there are no PreCheck lines open and the only difference is keeping your shoes on?
In some airports on the mainland, TSA may take up to two hours to pass, as many hundreds of passengers amass in front of these checkpoints. Is there anyone who doesn’t see what an attractive target these areas are to would-be terrorists?
Why do many of the rules and procedures we put in place make no sense to the average person — but seem perfectly reasonable to the bureaucrats who implement and enforce them?
Robert Griffon
Moiliili
From the Forum
“Potential contractors picked before AC project is funded” Star-Advertiser, May 16:
>> Of course the $100 million classrooms air-conditioning project has already been awarded to political supporters. What else is new in Hawaii?
>> Notice how Donalyn Dela Cruz, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, failed to say what the prequalification process entailed or where on the internet it was available for public viewing. As it always has been in Hawaii, money talks.
>> The state is saying you still may become a subcontractor under the right conditions, if you know what I mean.
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“For a desperate few, crime is their ticket ‘home’” Star-Advertiser, May 16:
>> This is another reason that prison life should not be good. They should take out all forms of recreation — no TV, radio, game rooms, phone calls, computers and internet. Prisoners should be given hard labor every day; dirty jobs; very minimal visitation (like one visit per year); cheap, tasteless food; no air conditioning; and no gifts from the outside. That is the only way people will think long and hard before committing a crime.
>> Regular, law-abiding, working citizens can’t afford all the stuff prisoners get.
>> Here is perfect example of someone who could go to a low security facility and work on a farm or something. He’s just looking for a safe place to sleep and three meals a day.
>> I hope this is not the latest trend to fast track for the homeless because the state and county are taking sooooo long.
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“Plan would shift jurisdiction over rail” Star-Advertiser, May 17:
>> The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation was made semi-autonomous so that city officials would be shielded from the inevitable and predictable outcomes of budget shortfalls and construction delays. $10 billion dollars and 10 years later, they can blame the “other guys.”
>> Placing the rail under the city Department of Transportation Services would ensure that the city would divert huge amounts of money to operate and maintain the rail system from TheBus and HandiVan operations without any real oversight. You would definitely lose any transparency as to what the real costs of operating and maintaining the rail system would be. As it is, DTS is barely able to manage TheBus and HandiVan operations, let alone having to manage the rail system. This proposal by the Honolulu Charter Commission is a very bad idea and should be rejected by the voters.
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“Add 5 years and $1B for rail, federal agency says” Star-Advertiser, May 17:
>> Wow. Is rail news ever positive?
>> We all need to be more positive about rail. We need to focus more on the long-range future need for rail infrastructure. It is decades from now that rail will absolutely be needed to solve the ever- increasing traffic congestion from overpopulation. Like it or not, with all the hi-rises coming up we are literally getting to be like Hong Kong.
>> I’m positive that the Oahu rail project is the biggest boondoggle in U.S. history on a per capita basis. I’m positive that that HART’s ridership projections will fail. I’m positive that my property taxes will get raised to subsidize this mess. I’m positive that the rail will cost more than $8.1 billion. See how positive I am about rail?
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“Orlando yanks Pro Bowl from Hawaii” Star-Advertiser, May 20:
>> After the traffic debacle from the previous Pro Bowls, probably best to have this thing somewhere else, especially with the rail project taking a chunk of parking away from the stadium.
>> Traffic for the last Pro Bowl was an absolute disaster. I can’t believe we’ve been hosting the Pro Bowl from the 1980s and still couldn’t hammer out the traffic issues.
>> If Florida pays $3 million and we paid $5 million to host the event, were we suckered or bad deal makers?
>> I hope the Pro Bowl returns to Hawaii. Having the NFL and Pro Bowl has been good for the state and the community. Every year NFL Charities has given thousands of dollars in grants in Hawaii. Including the Friends of the Library, Big Brothers and Big Sisters in Nanakuli, the Roosevelt High School sports complex and the Oahu Interscholastic Association.
