Letters for Dec. 13, 2015

Letters for Dec. 13, 2015

Insane ramblings not worth opinion page

I am disappointed TGI editorial staff allows the paper to be a venue for dangerously false propaganda such as the recent letter about gun control. The email quoted was “written” in 2012, “12 months since” the law went into effect, which actually occurred in 1996.

Homicides and suicides in Australia really declined twice as fast after the law than before, and gun-related deaths in both Australia and Britain are a fraction of the rate in the U.S., which are higher than war-torn areas such as Sierra Leone and the Gaza Strip! I hope in next week’s TGI Forum I don’t see white supremacist propaganda about the inferiority of nonwhites, or a letter from ISIS spreading “facts” about how women should not be allowed to vote. I respect freedom of speech, and everyone has the right to buy a web page to spread nonsense or print insane ramblings on a piece of paper, but I hope the paid staff at TGI respects those of us who pay for the paper to verify Forum pieces to have some factual basis.

Hawaii has the lowest rate of gun-related deaths in the nation and the lowest rate of gun ownership. However, those who want to own a gun can. That’s a fact. Finally, the pregnant woman recently stabbed would probably have died had her attacker used a gun.

Graham Chelius, M.D.

Kekaha

County plans won’t solve traffic woes

“Other Voices” writer Kathy Sheffield (TGI Forum, Nov. 25) does an outstanding job of enumerating the multitude of problems facing our island.

Her plea for no increase in the excise tax is valid since it is regressive and hurts those in the struggling class of our population far more than it does those who are doing well. Yes, cities like Los Angeles have higher sales tax rates than Kauai but, as she says, they do not tax professional fees, rent, medical expenses and groceries as we do which probably brings our rates near or above theirs. And she makes another truthful statement that everyone knows but no one in power wants to admit to.

The infamous “bike path” was built for alternate transportation (later changed to a “multi-use” path since it was never used for transportation to lessen traffic). And the bike routes along our highways and streets maybe have one or two riders on them each day while traffic is bumper to bumper on roads that need widening.

Also, we are going to spend $12.5 million to beautify Lihue — proposing to again make Rice Street two lanes from the four lanes it is now only to exacerbate our traffic problems. From two to four and back to two — planning?

To do this the “planners” are proposing to put bike lanes on each side of the street (for phantom bikers) and making 12-foot-wide sidewalks for the phantom walkers who want to see the beauty along that street! Who are these planners that don’t have a clue to what this island needs for the long term? Are they the same ones who we have paid huge dollars to that have gotten us into the mess we have today? How hard is it to prioritize our needs before spending millions on projects that are worthless?

Now that Councilmembers Chock, Kualii and Kaneshiro along with Council Chair Rapozo are working hard to push this manager issue forward, there is a good chance that Kauai will finally have a council and a manager who are responsible and accountable for all actions taken on Kauai.

Glenn Mickens

Kapaa