HOSPITALS

STATE IGNORING WISHES OF NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Local rule is a cherished part of government. Despite this, our state officials have been regularly ignoring the wishes of Maui's representatives and that of the other Neighbor Islands.

The state Department of Transportation ignores the desires of the Neighbor Islands when it decides which roads will be built and where.

That same DOT, with the support of the governor, imposed the Superferry on the Neighbor Islands.

The latest insult is the refusal of legislative chairmen to hear much-needed bills to reform the state health system and give more deference to the wishes of the Neighbor Islands to build their own hospitals.

Government that is no longer responsive to the people becomes irrelevant.

If O'ahu doesn't begin to respect local rule for the Neighbor Islands, then perhaps the Neighbor Islands should go their own way so that they get the respect they deserve.

TORT REFORM

ISLES NOT ATTRACTIVE TO YOUNGER PHYSICIANS

Regarding your March 2 editorial in favor of medical tort reform, one aspect that has not been highlighted is the fact that Hawai'i's physician specialists are aging, and the prospect of attracting younger physicians is bleak.

Hawai'i's citizens should ask themselves if they would recommend that a member of their own family should return to Hawai'i after he or she has worked very hard over 20 years to attain a medical degree, followed by three to six grueling years of internship and residency and now, at almost 30 years of age, is deeply in debt. Physicians in Hawai'i are underpaid, compared to almost anywhere else, and risk being sued for an unpredictable amount for an injured patient's "pain and suffering," not true medical and economic losses.

All economic losses, medical and surgical care, equipment, all future medical and nursing care, physical therapy and all lost wages, past and future, would continue to be covered under the bills that Rep. Tommy Waters would not even hear.

TURTLE BAY

DEVELOPMENT WILL ONLY COMPROMISE LOCATION

We just returned from a wonderful week at the Turtle Bay Resort and followed with interest the news regarding the state proposal to buy the property.

The resort is a spectacular location — we would happily recommend it to our many friends in Seattle who visit Hawai'i yearly.

However, we feel any plan to add further resort development to the property will compromise the environment we feel is so special — we would be very unlikely to return if the coastline becomes dotted with towers.

General Manager Bob Boyle should keep this in mind when he complains about being "severely impacted" by the state proposal (Island Voices, March 4).

He may lose some types of business, but he will definitely retain those of us who value the environment, and can develop a new business in the growing environmental tourism sector.

IRAQ

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE OVER OTHER ATROCITIES?

I understand the sadness of the death of the puppy in Iraq, but the outpouring of emotion is what bothers me about popular culture and the media overreaction.

We are outraged about this video, but we no longer care that Islamic radicals are sending not just men, but women and children, and possibly mentally challenged people as suicide bombers into crowds going to markets, on buses, into schools and the religious going to pray.

If we are going to get upset about a puppy, we should really get upset about these mass murders, but we don't. Let's have a sense of proportion here.

While the puppy is innocent, so are these others, and our military is over there and doing a good job, risking their lives, to protect the innocent.

We should never forget that, even when the media plays up things like this.

ELECTION

GOP'S STRATEGY WILL ONLY HELP DEMOCRATS

I hope Republicans make the same mistake during the general election that Hillary Clinton has made this spring. By putting all of their eggs in the experience basket, they are essentially assuring a landslide defeat in November.

As an educated voter, I don't care about experience. We have a corrupt system of lobbyists buying our government and ignoring the will of the citizens of this country. Who cares how much experience you have in corruption? The other ploy Republicans will use is fear-mongering. They will say it's a dangerous world and people want to kill us.

To me, that's just an excuse to keep funneling our tax dollars into an obscene defense budget that is crippling our ability to take care of real issues.

We missed a golden opportunity during the Bush disaster to reach out and educate much of the planet. The Internet and other forms of communication have raised awareness in every corner of the globe and instead of taking the lead, Republicans isolated this country and started wars for oil.

So, good luck, Republicans, with your experienced 71-year-old white guy talking about war for decades. That sounds like a winning strategy — for Democrats.

TRANSIT

BAD MEMORIES OF NOISY ELEVATED TRAIN

I thought surely the option of steel-on-steel rail was just a bad joke — and here it is in the paper again.

I grew up in New York City as did John Faris (Letters, Feb. 29).

I can remember as a kid being jarred awake all night long by the screech of the elevated train stopping and going on "the avenue" — many blocks away from our apartment.

I can even remember in high school walking for miles to see if I could get away from the nerve-racking sound of the train. I couldn't.

So when I had a choice, I chose peace and moved here.

GOVERNMENT WORKERS SHOULD ALL RIDE THEBUS

I agree with Rike Weiss (Letters, March 5), suggesting that the bus be free for a year. I would take it one step further and have all state and city employees ride the bus. That could be done by closing government parking areas, thus making it mandatory to ride the bus.

This mandatory bus ridership would include our legislators, judges and even the mayor.

Let's have our elected officials be examples to all of us.

We could even have them put their kids in public schools. I bet then we would see a change!

HAS NO ONE THOUGHT OF USING OLD OR&L ROUTE?

With the estimated $3.7 billion price tag for a new mass-transit system on the table, I have not seen much written about using the railroad track route used by the O'ahu Railway and Land Co.

The rights of way are still in place after 61 years. The line ran from Wai'anae/Ma'ili to 'A'ala Park.

The railway station is still there. It should not be too far-fetched to imagine that money could be used to upgrade the route, the track system, and still be under the existing price tag for a new mass-transit system.

Boarding stations could be built along the route for passengers to use the system and the country folks would be able to access Honolulu easier than now. Too, it would be steel-on-steel.

COORDINATE SCHEDULES TO EASE O'AHU'S TRAFFIC

The traffic on O'ahu is caused by everyone wanting to commute at the same time.

Until work and school schedules are coordinated, the traffic will continue to be difficult.

No amount of roads or rail can handle the daily surge.

Steel on steel for the light rail at twice the price ignores the lessons we should have learned from the rust at Aloha Stadium. All that steel will be bare in the salty sub-tropics. The noise will be awful, too.

Probably rubber tires would be best.

WAIKIKI, UH MUST BE ON INITIAL TRAIN ROUTE

Stephanie Roberts' Feb. 21 letter ("Rail fare will be same as TheBus, TheBoat") highlights the lunacy in the current plan for Honolulu's planned 20-mile transit train from nowhere to nowhere.

She writes, "the system will have a top speed of more than 55 mph and an average speed of 30 mph including all (19) stops."

This plan is like having a high-speed elevator in a 20-story building but you have to stop at every floor in each direction on every trip even if you are the only person on the elevator and want only to go from the first to the 20th floor.

When the University of Hawai'i is on vacation, freeway traffic is much lighter. Therefore, to get any measurable relief on the freeway requires that the entire 30 miles of proposed track be installed now all the way through Waikiki ending at the university so that 20,000 Waikiki workers and the more than 20,000 university people can use it from Day 1.

Build only the amount of major stations that the remaining budget will support, perhaps only eight or 10 major stations initially. Bus hubs radiating out from the stations to the areas between stations would easily cover the entire line using buses already in the city's inventory.

The result of this plan would be real relief on the freeway — not years more of freeway gridlock as the city's proposed system to nowhere would produce.

The quietest technology available should be used, and the line should go through Waikiki, then up to the university, eliminating the now-planned east end spurs that would cut train frequency to each major destination in half thus discouraging ridership.

INSENSITIVE

UH AD WITH ITS GREEN MICE IS 'APPALLING'

I was appalled at the advertisement the University of Hawai'i is running, and at The Honolulu Advertiser for running it.

The text at the top of the ad reads, "who'd have ever thought there would be glowing mice," below that is a picture of a mouse with a green glow effect around it. Below that are the words, "Obviously the people at UH Manoa did."

It now seems obvious to me that UH is a cruel school. What is to be gained by harming mice by injecting them or subjecting them to experiments that make them glow? How is this good science?

In a culture that I've learned has much respect for all creatures and life big and small, I didn't think UH could be so insensitive.

I ask that the university or The Honolulu Advertiser pull the ad.