For the past two months, the city has been resurfacing back streets in Haleiwa and Waialua where there is only traffic from the local residents. Meanwhile, the main roads, Kamehameha Highway from Haleiwa toward Sunset Beach, are terrible — pot holes galore and rough driving conditions; Farrington Highway from Waialua High School to Dillingham Airfield is full of pot holes and in terrible condition. Waialua Beach Road from the Haleiwa Circle westbound is a disgrace.

I recommend that Gov. Davd Ige and Mayor Kirk Caldwell come out to Oahu’s North Shore to see these deplorable road conditions. I would be glad to give them a personal tour of these roads.

Ken Zitz

Waialua

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Group’s meddling put Galera out of mix

It is troubling that the Castle Foundation chose to interfere with the selection of a new schools superintendent by withdrawing its offer of a grant merely because Darrel Galera resigned from the state Board of Education to apply for the position. Galera’s application should have been considered on its merits along with those of all other applicants.

Wray Jose

Manoa

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Is ‘Focus on Poland’ page coming soon?

Regarding your weekly section, “Focus on Japan”: Why does your newspaper discriminate in posting articles from only one country on our globe? Do you think Japan is the only interest to the residents of Hawaii or to our many visitors?

My spouse and I are of European descent — Polish, German and Italian. And while we have traveled to Japan on vacation, there are many other countries on our globe we would love to read and learn about, in addition to the countries of our ancestry. Say Greece, Iceland, Samoa, Egypt, South Korea, Turkey, Chile, New Zealand, Argentina, Kenya, Canada, Mexico … the list of countries goes on and on.

Wake up, Honolulu Star-Advertiser. It is year 2017 and everyone should be treated fairly and equally. Your “Focus on Japan” weekly articles does neither.

Gail Marotta

Hawaii Kai

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Muslim remarks in letter raise ire

I am an ardent supporter of free speech. Peggy Regentine has the right to express whatever unfounded fears she has about Muslims, though I find her words offensive and racist (“Homeless immigrants could mean trouble,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, May 1).

But I must object to the Star-Advertiser acting as a megaphone for her rant about hypothetical Muslims. Would the Star-Advertiser have published a similar letter if the target were Mormon, Jewish or conservative Christians who hold to certain restrictive dress standards?

Garnett Howard

Ewa Beach

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Middle Street should be new transit hub

Imagine climbing on to the new rail cars equipped with iPads displaying a variety of transportation options, including driverless pods, buses, shuttles or private cars congregated at the Middle Street transit station. Students could see if others were willing to share a ride to save on cost. Anyone could reserve a pod or shuttle with a credit card while en route to Middle Street or simply transfer to an express bus to, say, downtown or Ala Moana.

Tourists could arrive and immediately see the expansive views of this great land. Upon entering the train, a pod could be programmed with their destination. Just think of that experience. Local high schools could engage with their robotic programs to compete for the best ideas. In addition this would be revenue generating.

One needs only to look back to David Kalakaua’s meeting with Thomas Edison bringing electricity to Honolulu. We need that sort of forward thinking now.

Matthew Walker

Punchbowl

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Caldwell would rue property-tax hike

Every action develops unintended consequences. If Mayor Kirk Caldwell continues with his concept of raising real property taxes by 10 percent to pay for the rail, it will result in a rent increase for all renters as well as an increase in the number of homeless for those who cannot afford the higher rent. This group represents a substantial number of voters.

I highly recommend that he pull the plug on the rail instead of kicking the can down the road for his successor.

Bob Stengle

Aina Haina

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Trump’s actions a call to action for isles

President Richard Nixon took years to instigate a crisis; President Donald Trump took four months. We have been tested since the bigoted, anti-Arab travel ban.

An emotional sadist, Trump fired deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and FBI Director James Comey when they were giving public speeches to maximize the public humiliation he intended for them. Hobbling an independent legal system sends a clear message: shut up and do what the president wants, or he will hurt you.

We in Hawaii can resist. The late U.S. Sens. Dan Inouye and Spark Matsunaga built peace and opposed Watergate and Iran-Contra. Our officials must stop trying to beat @therealdonaldtrump at his own game on Twitter, and instead do the hard work of forging bipartisan relationships that will put the fear of the Lord into an unaccountable president.

Dylan P. Armstrong

Vice chairman, Oahu County Democrats

Manoa