SEWERS

MANY AGREE SECONDARY TREATMENT UNNECESSARY

I was quite disturbed to read Stephen Holmes' March 24 letter criticizing the city's efforts to retain permit waivers from expensive secondary treatment for its Sand Island and Honouliuli wastewater treatment plants.

Holmes spent eight years on the Honolulu City Council, then worked as former Mayor Jeremy Harris' "sustainability coordinator." Environmental groups sued the city over sewage problems during their tenure, but even that didn't prompt them to upgrade to secondary treatment.

In fact, the city's position for decades has been that secondary treatment would be unnecessary and even harmful. This position is solidly supported by the technical community, which has thoroughly studied the issue and analyzed decades of monitoring data associated with the treatment plant deep ocean outfalls.

This was evidenced at EPA's March 12 public hearing on the Sand Island plant's permit waiver, as 57 of the 60 speakers testified that secondary treatment was not necessary or desired.

Holmes didn't even show up for this hearing, yet he throws a late barb from the sideline. It's far easier to be an armchair quarterback in Kona than to address O'ahu's sewage issues responsibly.

TRANSIT

GIVE WEST O'AHU FOLKS THE HELP THEY DESERVE

So if you don't benefit from mass transit, then you shouldn't have to pay for it?

You live in East Honolulu and through our taxes that we all paid, you got your beautiful three lanes going in and out of Hawai'i Kai. Pretty nice sidewalks, too.

You live in Kailua and Kane'ohe, and my tax dollars paid for your three different tunnels to get you in and out of the Windward side. Lots of rain on the Windward side and of expensive flooding, too. But through our taxes, city government comes in to clean up those messes.

And now that West O'ahu has double-digit growth on the island — because the people living in East Honolulu and Windward O'ahu have said "no" to new development — we don't deserve the right to improve our transportation infrastructure? We don't even have three lanes going in and out of 'Ewa Beach, yet the area with the most concentrated growth has a more dense population than that small sliver of coastline called East Honolulu.

Oh — by the way — my sewer bill went up. I'm paying to have your sewers repaired, but the sewers out here in Kapolei, Kunia and 'Ewa Beach are brand new. It's going to be a long time before we need any repairs.

What about that bypass road into Wai'anae? There's only one way in and one way out. I suppose the folks in Wai'anae should just suffer the next time some catastrophe cuts off the road and they have to pay to stay at a hotel because they can't get back to their home for 48 hours.

It's our turn. You don't get to vote on whether or not you want to pay for mass transit, because I never got to vote when you got your improvements.

HONOLULU SYMPHONY

MUSICIANS AND STAFF DESERVE TO BE PAID

I am trying to understand the problems of the Honolulu Symphony Society and its employees. The musicians are working and displaying their incomparable talents. They are seven weeks behind in getting paid. The office staff is not getting paid. Almost 100 well-educated people from all over the world continue to do their jobs in the hope that some day they will be reimbursed for their efforts. Their bills and mortgages and rent are consuming their savings. They have to eat every day.

The state has granted $4 million to the Honolulu Symphony Foundation to cover the mounting debts of the HSS. However, such strings have been attached to the grant that it is either illegal or difficult for the foundation to disburse much of this cash.

Members of the foundation board are protective of this hoard and do not want any changes in the rules that will cause them to expend any money. It is very noble of them to diligently oversee the assets of the foundation, but in the meantime 100 employees are running deeper into debt. What is wrong with this picture?

MAHALO

ALOHA AIRLINES A GREAT COMMUNITY PARTNER

On behalf of the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, we extend our deepest appreciation to the Aloha Airlines 'ohana for all that they have done for us over the last 30-plus years.

From the first day we opened our doors in 1976, Aloha Airlines has been a tremendous supporter of our organization. Aloha's contributions have made it possible for our youth to participate in neighbor island leadership programs, cultural camps, and character-building activities. For many of our keiki, these trips were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Aloha's community partnership with us has extended beyond air transportation to include event sponsorship and volunteerism by many Aloha employees who donated hundreds of hours to serve as Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii coaches, instructors, and mentors.

Although Aloha Airlines has ceased its operations, we will never forget the generosity, support and the true "aloha spirit" that embodied the organization. On behalf of the 20,000-plus youth we serve each year, our staff, volunteers and board members, mahalo for all that you have done to help change the lives of Hawai'i's youth.

CON-CON

OPPONENTS TRYING TO INFLATE COSTS AT CAPITOL

Some Democrats in the Legislature are trying to torpedo the Con-Con vote before it even leaves the dock. Witness what occurred last week at the Capitol: Rep. Della Au Bellati introduced a measure establishing a task force to determine the costs of a Con-Con using members of the private sector and heads of relevant government agencies. Rep. Kirk Caldwell introduced and won a vote mandating the Legislative Reference Bureau estimate the costs. Since when is the LRB equipped for such a task?

Polls have shown when the cost of a Con-Con exceeds $10 million, citizens tend to discount its value weighed against potential benefits — and they are many. There are multitudinous ways to plan and account financially for a Con-Con — the cost of which could easily be saved by streamlining of government functions. Beware those against a Con-Con creating a Cadillac budget.

We only get to vote once every 10 years for a Con-Con. And we haven't had one for 30 years. What is the Legislature afraid of? Is it that people might want to directly make changes to Hawai'i's most important legal document resulting in some dramatic improvements to state government?

CITY SALARIES

DJOU SHOULD REFUSE HIS PAY RAISE, REGARDLESS

City Councilman Charles Djou was recently quoted in your newspaper objecting to the city Salary Commission recommendation to grant raises to various city employees, including City Council members.

If Djou is so bent out of shape about this, he should do the right thing and refuse to accept any raise for himself or his staff, regardless of whether the commission approves the raises.

For someone who receives paychecks from the city (as a council member), from the state (as an instructor at the University of Hawai'i), and from the federal government (as an Army Reserve officer), Djou sure spends a lot of time complaining about the public employees who only get one check.

This seems to be a disturbing pattern with Djou, the same way he calls for city spending on sewer repair projects and recycling services in his well-to-do East Honolulu district, then always votes against the city budgets that provide the money — and even crows about it while pretending to be some kind of vigilant anti-tax watchdog.

The media need to stop giving him a free pass.

KUDOS

SINCLAIR DESERVING OF JEFFERSON AWARD

Congratulations to Ivalee Sinclair for being awarded the Jefferson Award for Public Service. The award is for ordinary people doing extraordinary things for the community.

However, there is nothing ordinary about Ivalee Sinclair. She doggedly fought for the rights of children with learning disabilities and helped their families cope with problems, and she has never given up.

I first met Ivalee more than 30 years ago when she began "educating" the Legislature about the needs of the learning disabled. She never cajoled or raised her voice, but with a twinkle in her blue eyes and always a smile, legislators listened and learned. She has been advocating and lobbying all these years.

When she confronted the DOE, it was like David and Goliath: She did not slay them with a stone, but worked with them to develop programs for special education. That took sheer determination.

I am so happy that Ivalee Sinclair was selected to represent Hawai'i at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C. She is truly deserving of the award.

ENERGY

GREEN CONDOMINIUMS DESERVE TAX INCENTIVES

As a resident and director of a 204-unit high-rise condominium, I recently learned that condominiums in Hawai'i do not qualify for tax credits or depreciation on photovoltaic installations and operations. Private and corporate businesses qualify for both and single home residencies qualify for tax credits, but condominiums qualify for neither.

I'm at a loss as to why, in this day and age with energy costs going through the roof, condominiums with thousands of individual residences do not qualify for the same benefits enjoyed by others in this state.

Our condominium operates one of the largest rooftop solar panel farms in the state (217 panels), which supplies hot water to the building at a significant savings in cost and energy usage. Our board has investigated the installation of a photovoltaic 100-kw farm to cut our dependence on commercial electricity, but found that the state would allow us "zero" incentive in the form of tax credits or depreciation for a $500,000 to $750,000 commitment that would not only benefit us, but the entire community.

It seems to me that the governor and the state Legislature need to take a hard look at this. Two hundred and four condo units amount to a large community; if Hawai'i is committed to renewable energy, this inequity must be addressed.