EMERGING TECH

WIRELESS IS IMPORTANT IN BROADBAND PICTURE

Thanks for Sean Hao's recent article that proved Honolulu's place among the nation's elite cities with widespread broadband usage. While he looked at cable and DSL, it is worth noting that 10 percent of Honolulu adults who accessed the Internet in the past 30 days did so through wireless means.

This is interesting because with 10 percent of the market, it proves wireless broadband, and WiFi in particular, reaches a key segment of users in Honolulu. More important is that the 10 percent is rising. This means the rapidly growing market for wireless broadband is in a much earlier stage of development than cable or DSL.

However, even at this early stage, leaders are emerging. Mayor Hannemann has already made all City and County services available free on a WiFi network. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Hawai'i is giving free one-hour WiFi access passes with beverages. The Shidler Group has a "Smart Building" initiative that puts WiFi in lobbies and other common areas.

Wireless broadband represents new opportunities for Hawai'i organizations to offer new or complementary communications services to clients and employees, and as they do, Hawai'i can take even more of a leadership role in this emergent technology.

STUDY IGNORED

WHY DID STATE ADOPT FORMULA FOR GAS CAP?

In searching for the justification of using New York/Los Angeles/Gulf Coast as the price-comparison locations in our gas cap law, I found a document buried deep in the state Web site (www.hawaii.gov/budget/puc/ dockets/05-0002_ICF_2005-04-15.pdf).

Regarding the three gasoline markets identified and currently used by the legislation to calculate the baseline price, the study by ICF Consulting says:

"Use of these prices is, in our opinion, inconsistent with the intent of the legislation to use competitive market prices" (page 17).

Instead, ICF clearly recommended using the Caribbean and Singapore markets as the source (see section 2.2.3 on page 19). This location recommendation and the reason behind it was stated right in the executive summary on page 1: By using the Caribbean and Singapore markets as the source, an 8.5 cents-per-gallon lower baseline price can be realized.

I wonder why Sen. Ron Menor did not follow ICF's recommendation when pushing the legislation through last September. Now he wants to just add Singapore into the formula and do a three-out-of-four type of multiple choice.

Why doesn't he just drop the current formula and adopt the one recommended by ICF in the first place?

DEVELOPMENT

WE NEED TO BALANCE ISLE CIVIC INTERESTS

Dean Uchida (Letters, March 14) needs to revisit his civics lessons, perhaps starting with a good read of the letters to the editor.

The "political science" of letters will instruct him that there is no single civic interest but rather many special interests, such as fishermen's rights, tax refund rights, North Shore traffic rights, over-70's rights, even charter school and spaceport rights.

Neighborhood boards are full of developers who don't want "it" in their backyards, and they are entitled to that view.

But, Mr. Uchida, just keep in mind that politics is about policy, about brokering between all of these diverse interests through charters, councils and even legislatures.

Sure, get involved, just don't get miffed if you don't get "what belongs to you."

OPENNESS

INITIATIVE WOULD LET THE 'SUNSHINE' IN

It is not at all surprising that lawmakers resist any form of the sunshine law. They clearly don't want us to see what they're doing and not doing, and how they go about it all. Allowing legislators to decide the extent of "sunshine" is a clear conflict of interest.

Laws on legislative openness and campaign contribution reform have to be put forward by citizens if anything meaningful is ever going to happen.

Why don't we have initiative — the process that allows citizens to propose a law to be put on the ballot for a vote — in Hawai'i? Other states have it.

Initiative should be required by the Constitution. Without it, we don't have democracy.

SAFETY

NU'UANU RESERVOIR MONITORED BY THE CITY

A March 17 letter to the editor entitled "Users should pay for Kaloko dam work" mentioned the Nu'uanu reservoir being used for drinking water. To clarify, the Nu'uanu reservoir has not been used as a drinking water source since 1919.

O'ahu's water supply is made up entirely of groundwater sources. Although the Board of Water Supply owns the reservoir and dam, it is used by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources for recreational game fishing and serves as a flood-control feature.

Also, the state of Hawai'i owns the Nu'uanu watershed lands above and below the dam.

As the owner of the Nu'uanu dam, we understand our responsibility to ensure the dam's safety, and will continue to work to ensure that it is properly and proactively monitored.

RESPONSIBILITY

STATE SHOULD PROTECT US FROM PERILOUS DAMS

The state government should take responsibility for keeping streams clear and making sure that dams are safe.

It's obvious that private landowners can't do it. I don't understand how elderly homeowners who live along a stream are supposed to move huge boulders and fallen trees.

Even if they do, if their neighbors don't, they could be out of luck. Everyone downstream is affected — including, at times, government properties and innocent people who are injured.

There are things government could do better than private parties, such as building and maintaining roads.

Keeping streambeds clear and checking on the safety of dams seems like something the government should do. If need be, it should fix dams or help the landowner fix them.

I'd like to see money spent on graft and unnecessary roadwork and construction projects going to this instead.

When we fund questionable pet projects, down the line we will need that money for something lifesaving like this, which is what government should be doing.

FLOODING

READ INSURANCE POLICY TO ENSURE COVERAGE

Even at the national level, everyone knows that here in Ka'a'awa we had a terrific rainstorm recently with all kinds of damage from closed roads, mud, rocks, closed school and dampened spirits.

At least one thing good came from it — that rain is giving me an education about water, flooding and my insurance carrier.

The heavy rain caused a slide on the mountain behind our house (which luckily stopped about 15 feet from our property line). Water coursed down our sloping property, moving mud, gravel and rocks in and under our house, weakened some footings and flooded a lower room and saturated its walls.

I contend that the moving water was what did the most damage, but then maybe it is just semantics for flooding. What is flooding? It is neither covered in our homeowner's insurance policy, nor is it considered earth movement.

The insurance carrier contends that the damage is all from flooding and earth movement and has tentatively rejected our claim.

It is too late for us, but all should not only reread your insurance policies but have the fine print interpreted by the insurance agent.

COSTS, TRAFFIC

LIGHT-RAIL TRANSIT SYSTEM IS ESSENTIAL FOR HONOLULU

I can't believe how many people have written to The Advertiser about how light rail will not work and how it is too expensive. Have any of those people ever lived in a city with a subway?

I have lived in four cities with subways and never felt a need to own a car. Subways supported by a good bus system are much more convenient and faster than driving a car through traffic and trying to find parking. You don't have to worry about accidents on the freeway slowing you down, and there are no red lights to worry about.

As for the cost, has anybody considered how much you spend driving to work? My co-worker lives in Pearl City and she spends $100 a week on gas and $40 a month on parking. Parking downtown can cost as much as $175 a month. So if a couple lives in Kapolei and one works downtown and the other in Waikiki, they could save $215 on parking and $400 on gas a month if they both take their cars. That's $7,380 a year.

If they spend $140 for rail and bus passes a month, that's $1,680 a year. And with the $1,800 a year for the tax increases for a family of four, that's still only $3,480 a year. They save $3,900 a year by taking the rail.

I've also seen many letters saying that rail will not solve our traffic problem. The traffic problem in Hawai'i has been getting worse for over 40 years. Why do people think we can solve it so easily in just a few years and so cheaply?

Rail will help to ease the traffic congestion better than a bus system can alone because, as I said, rail isn't affected by traffic congestion and therefore is much quicker than a car during peak traffic hours, unlike the bus.

COOPERATION NEEDED

STATE CONFRONTING HOMELESSNESS

I need to respond to the March 15 letter from Leiali'i Nae'oleon on the homeless problem in Wai'anae.

There is no question that the homeless situation along the Wai'anae Coast is worsening. Anyone with a heart cannot help but be deeply worried for and saddened by the sight of families exposed to the elements, ravaged by abuse, crime, poverty and unsanitary conditions.

No one should have to live like this.

But to say that government is doing nothing is just not true. Is it fast enough? Absolutely not.

But government, in partnership with nonprofit organizations and private developers, is doing everything it can, given the resources, the complexity of the issue and the sheer numbers of the homeless.

For example, we are proposing $20 million for homeless services and transitional housing programs, $10 million to repair and modernize vacant units in federal and state public housing projects, and $400,000 for interim construction loans for up to 10 homes to be developed as self-help ownership homes (House Bill 2176, HD2).

We are looking to develop a homeless veterans Kalaeloa shelter. This involves the renovation of existing barracks and other structures at Kalaeloa to provide shelter for homeless veterans (House Bill 2934).

We propose the building of temporary emergency shelters for the homeless and would request the state, in cooperation with the counties, to identify locations and designate and maintain them as shelters (House Bill 2066, HD2).

For the Leeward Coast, there is a bill to develop Nanakuli public housing. It proposes the appropriation of funds to acquire, through eminent domain, land in Nanakuli for a public housing project (House Bill 1852).

I can only speak for what is moving through the Legislature this session, but as chairman of the Committee on Housing in the House of Representatives, I can assure you that unless everyone joins the effort to take better care of the homeless, we will fight a losing battle.

Awareness is a great beginning, but people should not stop there.

I hope compassionate folks like Ms. Nae'ole will be moved to channel their energy and frustration into joining this effort, helping us to reach our goals much faster.