Letters: The restaurant menu won’t help the Hawaiian economy; Don’t let rich, famous people break environmental laws; Welcome Obama to his retreat in Waimanalo

The state of Hawaii is billions of dollars in debt, so what is the state doing? It sends out $500 credit cards to unemployed people who spend them in restaurants, pretending to boost the economy.

Sure, restaurants might see a small bump in their COVID flatline, but it’s a false positive.

The state just throws them a bone and it’s not a very meaty one. For people like me who have had the rug pulled out from under them, going out to dinner a few times is like putting a band-aid on a severed artery. Are we supposed to feel better because the government takes on more debt so we can go out to eat?

Well I don’t.

What would make me better would be if the state opened up for business and let everyone go back to normal. Yes, people get sick. Yes, some people can even die. But most will recover. Life is not without risks. How long can we hide from a virus?

Janet Eisenbach

Kilauea, Kauai

Mahalo for elevated crosswalks in Pali

About seven years ago, I had a shocking experience while riding my bike into Honolulu on the Pali Highway. Two small shoes sat perfectly near an unsignalled crosswalk.

The shoes were a light cream color. The owner of the shoes was thrown into the air by the impact before falling to the ground and dying.

The driver who hit the owner of the shoes sat head down in her car while police completed their investigation. An unspeakable tragedy for all.

Thanks to Ed Sniffen and the State Department of Transportation for lowering the speed limit to 30 mph on the Pali Highway residential area in Nuuanu (“Pali Highway in Nuuanu to get lower speed limit, increased crosswalks,” Star-Advertiser, October 13). This area has been a killing zone over the years, especially for the elderly living out their years.

The forthcoming installation of two elevated crosswalks is a proven engineering countermeasure to force drivers to slow down. Many people routinely disobey the speed limit. Why do people cross the street? To get to the other side of the street – not to the next world.

Chad Taniguchi

Attorney, Hawaii Bicycling League

Kailua

Don’t let rich, famous people break environmental laws

I read with dismay about the Marty Nesbitt/Obama affair (“Oceanfront Property Tied to Obama Grants Exception to Hawaii’s Environmental Laws,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 18).

What’s going on with the City Planning and Permissions Department? This permit to rehabilitate a dyke should be revoked immediately. This opens the door for any beachfront property owner on Oahu to request a waiver to build a new seawall to protect their home.

How can we do that? It is well known that seawalls cause sand erosion. Hawaii’s beaches are for all of us. This is a first step towards privatizing the beaches; Ko Olina has recently tried to lock out locals by shutting down parking and beach access.

We can’t allow any derogations for the rich and rich and famous as Nesbitt builds private beach houses for Barack Obama, Nesbitt and other friends.

Pat Buckman

Palolo

Welcome Obama to his retreat in Waimanalo

So the restoration of a Hawaiian fish pond celebrated up in Kaneohe is a scandal in Waimanalo? Lucky for Hawaii, a stretch of coast is apparently being protected as a future retreat for President Barack Obama and his family.

He and his foundation are rich enough to do the job right and famous enough not to do anything wrong. Also, the keiki o ka aina from Punahou is a really decent guy. And one of the reasons he’s a good guy is because he was raised in our beautiful home where aloha still means something.

Yo, Barry O, e komo mai!

Walter Wright

Kaneoh

Facilities need to provide test results faster

My wife and I live on the west side of the island of Hawaii and have been residents for 18 years. Our son and his family recently had the COVID-19 test with CVS for $140 each, 70 hours before their flight departure time. CVS would not test its twin girls who are 6 years old; They have an age limit of 10 years. The two girls had to be tested at Walgreens.

CVS refused to guarantee results within 72 hours and the recent sudden change in the law required the family to delay their flight. There’s still no sign of the results from CVS or Walgreens, and the family opted to retest and hope to fly to Hawaii a day later, cutting their trip from five to four days.

I’m a strong supporter of testing, but approved testing facilities must have the available capacity to allow passengers, especially during holidays, to get their results within 72 hours.

Clive Davis

cameuela

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