LAGOON SHOULD BE FREE OF LARGE CRAFT

I agree with Malia Flynn (Letters, June 1) that the use, weight, operation and speed of a paddleboard are more like a boat than a surfboard and should be so regulated by DLNR.

What has characterized Ala Moana lagoon is its simplicity. Not only swimmers will be impacted by the proposed solution by DLNR, other beachgoers such as snorkelers, fishermen and families will be impacted as they too enjoy access to the deeper, clearer waters off Ala Moana lagoon.

Ala Moana lagoon should not become commercialized and should remain a lagoon without large craft such as stand-up paddleboards or kayaks — a place where all beachgoers can enjoy the simplicity of the lagoon.

Jeanne Ferrari-Amas | Lihu'e, Kaua'i

BELLOWS

MARINES HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO PROTECT LAND

About Bellows and the Marines (Advertiser, June 2): Whine, whine, whine! Next year is an election year, and all those politicians on the Windward side are looking to reelection. They have buried their heads in the sand along with common sense.

What our mayor and those whiners should do is follow Kalaupapa's mandate. "No bring 'opala!" If you do, take it with you when you leave. The Marines have every right to protect the land and the beaches. Something we should all be doing.

With all the illicit and negative activity going on at Bellows, if there is an accident, shooting, injury or killing, guess who is going to be blamed?

I am a kupuna, and it irritates me that so many uninformed and uncouth are using our Hawaiian culture to excuse their bad behavior. Ho'ohilahila. For shame!

Margaret Mary Kauakahi Boyd | Honolulu

RAIL TRANSIT

COUNCIL DECISION ON START IS DANGEROUS

Honolulu's City Council is about to grant the authority to the city administration to start rail without environmental approvals and without federal monies. They plan to approve the float of $1.1 billion in bonds which must be paid back by the O'ahu taxpayer, plus interest.

Responsibility, due diligence and common sense are lacking in this process. The city and its consultants have a cost contingency plan but it'll evaporate by this prolonged recession.

This project assumed that there will be many more residents in leeward O'ahu and many more jobs all over O'ahu that 738,000 more daily trips would occur in 2030 than in 2005. Does this seem correct now? Updated cost-effectiveness estimates could disqualify it for federal funds.

Starting construction without a specific funding agreement with the Federal Transit Administration would qualify City Council actions as reckless and contrary to the best interests of the O'ahu citizenry that they represent.

The FTA faces several hundred billion dollars of necessary maintenance of existing transit systems, thus billion-dollar allocations to new systems are unlikely. Expect heavy and prolonged taxes in order to finish this system.

How much taxation escalation and irresponsible decision-making is enough before a tipping point is reached and life on O'ahu becomes unbearable?

Panos D. Prevedouros, Ph.D. | Professor of transportation engineering, UH-Manoa

ECONOMY

RAIL MONEY SHOULD BE PUT TO BETTER USE

With the economy being as bad as it is, instead of punishing the public by cutting back on so many existing programs and departments (and now furlough), why don't we just use the rail money that is sitting pretty and waiting to be spent? It would be irresponsible and ridiculous to build such an expensive project during our time of need. Is having a rail transit system really worth all this sacrifice?

Jessica Pacheco | Pearl City

STATE UNIONS

PROBLEM: LEGISLATORS WHO KOWTOW

As a now retired former union employee, I feel people are unfairly castigating state unions, except for the HSTA, which evidently feels it can ignore agreements reached in collective bargaining.

The problem is not with unions, it is with the state legislators who kowtow to those unions at the expense of the rest of their constituents. Sen. Hanabusa, among others, accused the governor of bargaining in bad faith. Has she or any other Democratic legislator castigated the HSTA for failing to abide by the collective bargaining agreement they voted to accept? Besides the dire economic situation, maybe the governor is going by that old saying: Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice ...

Peter Chisteckoff | Mililani

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

RECOGNITION WOULD HELP OUR ECONOMY

State taxes rising and services cut. Mandatory furloughs for state workers. UH-Manoa slices $50 million from its budget. Had enough?

What's the fastest, easiest way to relieve this crisis? Recognize same-sex marriage.

Currently, the only states recognizing same-sex marriage are cold-weather places. Yet, according to UCLA's Williams Institute, same-sex marriages have brought $111 million to Massachusetts alone since 2004. That's just for ceremonies, receptions and lodging of guests. The Institute also found that more than half of the same-sex couples who married earned more than $100,000 a year.

In short, some of the tourists not here are in New England, spending thousands for their special day. Some even live here — jetting off to have their marriage recognized in someone's state.

Since voters gave the Legislature the power to define "marriage" in 1998, it could repeal the ban now and make us the first warm-weather and Western state recognizing same-sex marriage, ahead of California.

Whatever you think of same-sex couples, the "gay dollar" spends just as good, and nothing says "Aloha Nui Loa" like legal recognition of your marriage. Can Hawai'i afford to miss this wave?

Hannah Miyamoto | UH-Manoa sociology graduate student