ELECTIONS

VOTERS IN DISTRICT 5 DESERVE A CHOICE

I am shocked and upset that we will not have a chance to vote on who should represent Manoa and the rest of District 5 on the City Council.

Duke Bainum may be qualified on paper, but he is far from qualified in spirit. He flew in from the Mainland and rented a condo in the district on the same day that Ann Kobayashi gave up her seat! Smells like a conspiracy to me.

BRIAN WILSON

PERFORMER CONTINUES TO CONTRIBUTE TODAY

After picking up the newspaper at Kalapawai Market Friday, I was delighted to read Mike Gordon's article on Brian Wilson. As both a family friend and professional colleague of Brian and his family, I was happy to drive around O'ahu all summer listening to an advance copy of this "That Lucky Old Sun." Sometimes it made me cry, sometimes laugh.

The music and sentiment are pure Brian, wistful, uplifting, poignant, harmonic, insightful, beautiful, rocking, creating pictures all the while in your mind as you listen. Brian's story is the rare one in rock-n-roll.

Not only did he survive personal turmoil, which literally no one would have predicted, he went on to have a brilliant, astonishing second act. Now in his mid-60s he is not only creating superb music he also has the acclaim and recognition throughout the world by fans and artists alike that he so richly deserves.

Of most importance, Brian Wilson is in a place in his life where he can accept the love, acclaim and acknowledgement with enormous gratitude.

Almost no rock-n-roll story turns out like this. It is a privilege for me, as a fan, to listen to Brian's new work and know he is not only contributing more to his enormous, influential musical body of work but he is still with us, healthy and happy, to enjoy his work and life with his friends and family.

'IOLANI PALACE

TAKING 'HOURS' TO RESPOND IS SHOCKING

I was shocked to hear HPD Chief Correa state that it took HPD "a couple of hours" to assemble a sufficient force to respond to the takeover of 'Iolani Palace by Hawaiian activists.

Seven years after 9/11 and thousands of dollars spent on "homeland security" (out of billions of dollars spent at the federal-government level worldwide), and that's the best they can do? I'm wondering if the palace appeared on the terrorist target list drawn up by the Department of Homeland Security a couple of years ago.

God help us if there's a terrorist attack in Hawai'i. We'll just have to vote for Republicans again to take all our money and protect us from those bad men who hate us, those "evil doers."

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

MCCAIN'S NOTION OF 'RICH' OUT OF TOUCH

Is it true Sen. McCain stated he did not know how many homes he owned and that he said anyone making less than $5 million a year isn't rich? Wow! The rest of us are just grateful that Democratic presidents and Congresses provided seniors Medicare and Social Security.

RAIL

CITY'S ABILITY TO GET JOB DONE IS THE REAL ISSUE

The question is not "Do we need rail?" The question is "Do you believe that the city will deliver what is promised?" That's why we need to vote.

Based on the city's track record, the answer is no. The budget talked about is meaningless, as it uses 2006 dollars; since then steel and fuel have doubled!

The city knowingly using obsolete numbers worries me. We have to look at the performance over many administrations to make a judgment about what to expect in the future, and as we know, history is not on the city's side.

Are you pro-rail? Write and explain why you think the city will pull this off, on time and on budget, or what is the level of overtime and over-budget that is acceptable, and why you think the city will bring this project in within those limits. Is it worth it if it takes five years and $5 billion? Twenty years and $30 billion?

This is the heart of the matter — faith in the city and its elected leadership to get the job done as promised. This is what a vote is truly about, and why it's needed.

BULKY-ITEM REMOVAL

SPECIFIC PICKUP POINTS NEED TO BE ESTABLISHED

I agree with the recent letter to the editor concerning the growing problem of bulk item pickup. I run a small hotel in Waikiki and have noticed that the area fronting our property has become an open dump for any and all trash, whether it is true bulk pickup or not.

It has become a daily eyesore because people leave rubbish from the moment the city makes a pickup until the next pickup a week later. Needless to say our guests are both surprised and disgusted that a premier visitor destination would allow such visual pollution.

The city needs to establish specific pickup points for bulk items and communicate them to all residents. This fouling of our own nests must stop.

ROAD REPAIRS

IS THERE A COMMITMENT TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE?

Have you driven lately on Kapi'olani Boulevard, between Ward Avenue and Kalakaua Avenue? There's enough steel on the road to build a small army of tanks. Nineteen steel plates, to be exact, just on the side heading east.

The warning signs shouldn't say "Steel Plates Ahead," they should read "Small Patches of Asphalt Ahead." And the asphalt patches are as rough, if not rougher, than the steel sections.

Is this indicative of an administration that touts its commitment to improving the infrastructure? The only Mayor Mufi Hannemann ad I've seen on TV addressing a specific issue depicts him as having done the most toward improving the city's infrastructure, citing the money spent on repairing the sewage problem along the Ala Wai canal in 2006.

I would argue that that money had to be spent, due to the disastrous spillage problem, and the correction of that problem was required by the EPA. It wasn't a choice, it was a demand driven by a catastrophe that occurred during Mayor Hannemann's term.

If it had happened earlier, it would have had to have been addressed by previous administrations. It was just a question of timing, not a display of commitment toward improving a faltering infrastructure. That contributed to the city having to allocate much of 2006's construction budget toward sewer repairs.

Another question should be raised about what is actually getting accomplished when crews are supposedly working on a road repair project for years — but that's another subject.