If we are to be serious about reducing congestion on our roads, reducing the use of fossil fuels, then let's get real about our "award-winning" TheBus service!

ZIPPER LANE

MONITOR CARS FOR NUMBER OF OCCUPANTS

Concerning Pat Smith's comments on the zipper lane (Sept. 18), and his desire to keep the minimum number of two people per car: What time and what zipper lane is he using?

Can't possibly be talking about the same zipper lane we use at 6 a.m. from Waikele.

We have been tracking our travel time and now it takes us an additional 10 minutes since they implemented this.

What was the zipper lane intended for in the first place? To encourage carpooling and get cars off the roads.

Since there are only two people in his car, why can't he utilize the HOV lane instead of the zipper lane?

Careful monitoring of both these lanes is crucial as I must have noticed numerous cars with only one occupant.

VACATION RENTALS

REAL ESTATE TIES BRING SLANTED VIEWPOINT

I read with amusement Peter Osborne's letter of Sept. 16.

Speaking of average occupancy rates on vacation tourist rentals, he stated: "That means that the home is vacant for five months out of every year."

I live across the street from a vacation rental that has never, in the past three years, ever been unoccupied for more than one month in any year. Average just doesn't cut it when you live next to it.

He also stated: "Furthermore, with just one rental car per three people, there is a net decrease in local traffic."

Just last month 13 people arrived in three large vans at this unit. One car went in the garage and two were parked on the street. Somehow, we didn't get a "net decrease in traffic."

However, we cannot fault Mr. Osborne for his views. A check of his Web site reveals the following:

"With over 28 years experience in Hawaiian real estate ... in ... quality, investment residential properties, my focus has primarily been on real estate that has the potential of generating both above average returns and capital appreciation."

When seeing a viewpoint in letters to the editor, please consider the source.

My viewpoint is being sick and tired of living next to and near several tourist vacation rentals. If we had wanted a resort atmosphere, we would have purchased in Wakiki.

SAFETY

WHITE LIGHTS WOULD BE BETTER AT CROSSWALKS

The lighting at intersections and crosswalks should be changed to a white light from the current yellowish lights.

The current lighting leaves the areas dimly lit and unsafe. I think for the benefit of all who live here, paying a little more for their safety would be well worth the cost.

Make the change before someone else is hurt. Please call your local representative if you feel the same way.

AIRLINES

HIGH AIRFARE COSTS DETER INTERISLAND TRIPS

Concerning Rick Daysog's Sept. 18 article "Local carriers feel squeeze":

I'm always amazed that while working on the Mainland I pay $200 for a five-hour roundtrip flight from L.A. to New York on Jet Blue and when I come home to Hawai'i, I pay the same $200 for a 30-minute roundtrip flight from Honolulu to Kona.

Hawaiian and Aloha need to realize that the more they have raised fares, the less locals have flown. It's reached a point that a family really needs to think about taking that fun interisland trip and question if they need to take out a loan to do so.

Maybe if the major interisland carriers lowered fares for kama'aina and loosened up on the rules and regulations of changing a ticket, more people would fly.

I especially like when you get to the airport early these days and Hawaiian or Aloha want to charge you even more money to get on an earlier flight that has empty seats on it. Now that's real "Aloha Spirit."

Simple low fares and passenger-friendly service seem to work for Jet Blue quite nicely.

AKAKA BILL

HAWAIIANS PLAYING CATCH-UP

Those who colonized the Americas, who benefited from the sweat off Native Americans' backs and who brought some Native American bloodlines to extinction are still alive and operate in Hawai'i.

They say anything the government does to help Hawaiians is unfair. They say if the lazy Hawaiian got off his fat buttocks, the Hawaiians would have the same things they have.

When I was little, I played tackle football with bigger and older kids. Rules were established for the appearance of fairness. However, we repeatedly lost due to our lack of size and what proved to be unfair rules.

Initially, we didn't understand the rules, so we agreed to everything. When we complained, they said, "You agreed to the rules!"

After countless injuries and games lost, we got smarter. We didn't lose to the older boys because we didn't get off our fat and lazy buttocks. We lost because they were bigger and the rules benefited them more. Eventually we got together and insisted on two-hand touch football, despite the older kids' complaints. We lost some and won some, but the main thing was ... we won some!

Maybe the Hawaiians didn't understand the rules before, but we're getting smarter. The older kids are still saying the rules are fair because they apply to everyone.
But because of these written and "unwritten" rules, their forefathers benefited from the sweat off our forefathers' backs, which forced us into socio-economically disadvantaged positions.

Why would they want to dictate a private school's admission criteria and the use of willed assets from Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop? Why would they oppose OHA and Native Hawaiian programs to help level the socio-economic imbalance their forefathers created?

Don't they care we might be like the Timucua Indians, extinct? They want what the older kids I used to play with wanted: advantage.

I support the Akaka bill because the larger goal is worth it. It's better to be federally recognized as a Native Hawaiian using Native Hawaiian programs than to be recognized in the annals of extinct cultures.

In many ways the Native Americans are like us. But I envy them because they got together and are now playing two-hand touch.

POST-KATRINA WORK FAR FROM FINISHED IN DAMAGED AREAS

I recently traveled to the southern states with a number of pastors to serve the people there and survey the far-reaching devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

With winds over 160 mph, numerous trees came down, but the real damage was caused by the tidal surge. Like a slower version of a tsunami, it reached its watery grasp miles inland.

Driving up and down the Gulf Coast from Slidell, La., to Biloxi, Miss., our team was able to work, sweat, bleed, cry and pray with the victims who lost everything.

I spoke to one man by the name of Brian Mollere who lives in Waveland, Miss. He decided to ride out the storm, remembering how he survived Hurricane Camille in 1969. He was 14 then. He and his dog Rocky survived, but shouldn't have stayed.
His story is compelling in light of the way Waveland turned into a wasteland.

The main tidal surge was well over 30 feet high and carried him and his dog nearly half a mile before it set him down amid strewn houses and stacked vehicles. Brian's mom was moved to higher ground in Bay Saint Louis, but she perished in the storm.

Others reported to me that Katrina was 10 times worse than Camille. Terry and Mary Kapulski, who own Dixie Signs, lost everything. We helped them move a trailer out of the rubble. Terry pointed to a pile of steel beams wrapped around some trees and told me it was all that was left of their shop.

Much of the work is as simple as clearing yards, removing trees, towing cars, pulling up water-ruined carpet, gutting flooded homes, delivering supplies and serving food.

Having visited numerous aid stations, feeding centers and mobile medical units, I have yet to see any place where the work is even close to being finished.

In the months to come residents will be rebuilding their homes. They will be rebuilding their lives for years to come, and I pray you will join those supporting them in that.