FEDERAL FUNDING

CITY'S TRANSIT ACTIONS NOT UNUSUAL OR RISKY

This is to clarify several issues raised in The Advertiser's March 2 article regarding funding for Honolulu's fixed-guideway transit project.

It's important for your readers to understand that Mayor Mufi Hannemann's plan to move forward with the project while awaiting a final decision on important federal funding is not unusual or unduly risky.

Similar projects advanced the same way in New York, Charlotte, Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh.

We have fully apprised the Federal Transit Administration and our congressional delegation of our intent to pursue this approach, and have received no negative feedback.

The major upcoming milestone for this project is the record of decision, which we expect in September 2009. Mayor Hannemann has made it very clear that we will not begin construction before reaching this important goal.

We are moving forward aggressively with this project to ensure its timely completion and to minimize construction costs, but we are carefully following all federal requirements.

As Mayor Hannemann has repeatedly warned: "The longer we delay, the more we're going to pay." The people of O'ahu are tired of studies and traffic congestion.

Our goal is to provide Honolulu's citizens with new transportation options and choices. We're confident this project will receive federal assistance, and we're not going to jeopardize that.

EGG THROWING

LET'S NOT BLAME SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS' BEHAVIOR

With several family connections to Saint Louis School, I feel it is unfair that the community appears to be associating the actions of the four students who egged Gerard Jervis' house so closely with the school.

Numerous commentaries and letters to the editor imply that the school is ultimately to blame due to its inability to properly discipline or develop the characters of its young men or that the school's football players receive preferential treatment by faculty and staff.

In all the commentaries and letters that I have read, it doesn't appear that anyone is associating the actions of these four young "men" to their parents.

Although high school is instrumental in developing children into adults, shouldn't parents be, first and foremost, the ones responsible for developing the character of their children?

Rather than blaming Saint Louis in this case or the state Department of Education for the overall poor academic results that our state's children are achieving, isn't it time that parents took responsibility for their own child's moral development and academic progress?

Just because parents are paying tuition or state taxes to fund their child's education does not absolve them of their ultimate responsibility of ensuring that their children are decent and productive members of society.

Let's stop blaming the schools, when the majority of the children they educate are hardworking and law-abiding citizens.

PARENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR TEACHING CHARACTER

I'm very surprised by the community's response to the egg-throwing incident in Lanikai. I cannot understand why so many are holding Saint Louis School responsible for these boys' actions. Where were the parents?

The Las Vegas incident of several years ago was a school-sanctioned activity, and the school should have disciplined the students.

This incident happened on a Saturday night, not following a school function, not even in the Saint Louis School neighborhood.

I am a public school teacher and it scares me that I may be held responsible for my students' actions when they are away from me.

I have an advanced degree in education and am trained to guide students in learning. And while I do teach character and citizenship at school, the greater responsibility lies with the parents.

MORE SERIOUS THINGS GOING ON IN LANIKAI

What's the big deal? Something so common, so haphazard and so utterly benign has become front-page fodder! These egg-throwing miscreants wound up on a utility pole guy wire. Had that not happened, it would be business as usual here in Lanikai.

This kind of mischief has been part of this community for years, despite what local police have stipulated. Don't buy the official response from HPD. Many residents have spoken up about it.

What's not been mentioned are all the other, far more hazardous, activities going on in Lanikai that endanger residents and visitors alike.

And as with egging, these matters have been brought to the attention of Kailua police.

I am not deadset on dinging the local gendarmes, but I find it ironic that an egging incident and one resident's poor judgment trump far more important matters of concern.

Too bad that such activities, unchecked and unremarked, will one day result in the tragic death of a totally innocent child under the wheels of some beach-bound SUV because the traffic laws here are never enforced. Maybe such a tragedy will make the front page, too.

TRAFFIC

KUDOS TO KAILUA POLICE FOR JOBS WELL DONE

Road and sewer repairs are a fact of life in Hawai'i.

I don't know how many times I've been frustrated by police assigned to these sites for traffic control who just stand there doing nothing, talking story to the workers or on their cell phones and ignoring the traffic snarls.

It leaves the drivers not knowing how to proceed at times, and, frankly, can be downright annoying and even dangerous.

Well, kudos upon kudos to the police in Kailua.

We have a nightmare myriad of sewer, road and construction projects going on simultaneously, and these police have our traffic moving smoothly, even on the two-lane roads.

They're well-coordinated, courteous and alert to everybody's situations.

Kailuans thought these projects were going to snarl this town for a good long time and never expected things to go this smoothly.

Thanks, Kailua police, for a job well done. The entire department should send their recruits (and existing officers) to Kailua to see how it's done.

TURN SIGNALS

DRIVERS NEED TO KNOW INTENTIONS OF OTHERS

I applaud Robert A. Wolf in his March 11 letter regarding vehicle drivers not signaling their intentions.

One refinement in reference to that lever on the steering column is not to refer to it as a turn signal, but rather as an intentional signal.

Drivers changing lanes on the freeway could argue "I'm not turning, merely moving over to another lane."

Drivers share the roadway and need to know the intentions of others, otherwise we may think they are unaware of surrounding vehicles, may be heading for some point off the roadway like the shoulder or barrier, or are in such a hurry that they are recklessly putting themselves and other in danger by their lack of awareness. Some drivers change lanes as if there are no lanes at all dividing the roadway.

Drivers, please signal your intentions and I will accommodate you, thus making the roadways safer for all.

HIGH SCHOOL

TWO DIPLOMA TRACKS WILL CREATE PROBLEMS

As a teacher, I learned through experience and through reading that children achieve what is expected of them.

Setting up two tracks of study for high school students will certainly help to better prepare students for college, but it will also create a second class who will not only feel socially inferior but will also be less employable.

What will happen to those who do not elect to work for the "super diploma?" There will be problems for them and for the larger community.

It would be far better to have high expectations for all students, and to provide tutoring for those who need extra help.

LEADERSHIP

UH VERY LUCKY TO GET JIM DONOVAN AS AD

I have had the privilege of working with Jim Donovan on a project, and I can tell you he is a first-class individual.

He is a "giver" who wants his partners to be successful in whatever endeavor he undertakes. He is smart, talented, extraordinarily well networked and, most of all, a heck of a nice guy.

The University of Hawai'i is very lucky to get this man to run the Athletics Department. Look for great things under his leadership. Go Warriors — Go Jim!

HEALTHCARE

PEOPLE DESERVE EXTRA EFFORT FROM LEGISLATORS

The increasing problems with access to medical care in Hawai'i became very real for our family on a recent weekend.

Our 11-year-old son sustained a skateboard injury and fractured his thigh bone. He was taken to Kapi'olani's emergency room, where they brought the pain under control and provided excellent care.

However, with no orthopedic surgeon on call to care for our son, the emergency room staff had to seek out and persuade one of the orthopedic surgeons to come in on his day off. He did a wonderful job of fixing the bone with a plate and screws. Had it not been for the willingness and compassion of this physician, our story would not have such a happy ending.

I believe the lack of availability and willingness of many doctors to accept on-call duty is undeniably related to the tort reform issues we face in Hawai'i. To be sure, it is a complex issue with valid concerns on both sides.

Rep. Tommy Waters' refusal to hear the bill in his committee because it was "similar" to one defeated last session is lame. I'm sure that with all its "similarities" it was not "exactly" the same bill.

I think the people of Hawai'i deserve the extra effort from our elected representatives to at least hear a bill before deciding it is "similar" to something that did not make it through the legislative maze.