TRAFFIC

STATE'S ZIPPER DECISION WILL PENALIZE MANY

Once again, the state has seen fit to dictate how and when drivers shall traverse our roadways to participate in the "reward" of a faster commute.

By dictating that three is the magic number of riders in a car, as many as 300 cars will be eliminated from the Zipper Lane, supposedly reducing travel time by 20 minutes.

Pity the poor mother who must now find another passenger to tag along while she drops off her infant at the sitter before she drops off her other passenger, on the way to her job. Despite the fact that she also pays vehicle taxes for the privilege of driving on our roads, she becomes one of the 300 unfortunate drivers who must drastically change their lifestyle to appease the masses and partake of the "reward" of a "faster" commute.

Shame on you, state of Hawai'i.

GOING TO 3-PERSON MINIMUM A MISTAKE

The Department of Transportation is making a huge mistake by changing it back to a three-person minimum for the Zipper Lane.

When we had the bus strike, Rodney Haraga changed it to a two-person minimum, and that was the best thing that ever happened to ease our traffic.

Now, Brennan Morioka wants to change it back to the way it was. Mr. Haraga lives in Mililani, so he knows what works and what doesn't.

I'm not sure where Mr. Morioka lives, but he seems to be clueless about the traffic from the west side.

If you want a compromise. I would say to keep the two-person minimum but do away with the H-2 access onto the Zipper Lane so that there is no backup in the Zipper Lane at the H-2 merge. People coming from the H-2 can access the Zipper Lane at the airport if they want to.

ENERGY

AMERICANS DIDN'T LEARN OIL LESSON OF EARLY '80S

Reading your June 22 front-page headline on the sagging demand and values for large trucks and SUVs takes me back to the first Arab oil embargo of the early '80s.

Gas hit $1 a gallon, and the American public was shocked and aghast.

American car manufacturers were selling inefficient, gas-guzzling "boat" sedans, the original symbol of good old American conspicuous consumption.

We were, and still are, ignorant of what the rest of the world has known for decades. It was then that the Japanese auto manufacturers first made significant inroads into the American landscape because their vehicles were much more fuel efficient.

So what have we all learned nearly 30 years later? Apparently, nothing. A new generation of foolhardy consumerism has emerged, believing it's cool to drive three-ton vehicles that get single-digit mileage in the face of shrinking domestic reserves and increased dependence on foreign oil.

While basically every other country in the world has sought fuel efficiency, Americans have countered with their arrogance.

What did we all expect? The oil crunch has come full circle, this time with $4-plus gasoline. American auto manufacturers now build oversized pickup trucks and SUVs instead of sedans, and we once again are at the mercy of foreign manufacturers.

Arrogance is bliss, until reality hits the fan.

OTEC BEST ANSWER FOR THIS ISLAND COMMUNITY

I was delighted to see John Harrison's June 20 letter about OTEC ("OTEC could be viable energy source for O'ahu").

This is the exact renewable-energy technology that Hawai'i needs to remove itself from dependence on imported oil.

OTEC supplies not only electricity, but also desalinated water and aquaculture products.

Honolulu — the most remote metropolis in the world — can no longer be so dependent on foreign oil. The future is very grim for the economy of these islands as the price of oil continues to take off for the stratosphere.

We do not have nuclear or coal to provide energy like many Mainland states. But we do have our wonderful ocean — ready to support us.

What we need are leaders of government and industry who have the courage and vision to see and accept that Hawai'i could become a model of energy independence through OTEC.

We need to invest in all forms of renewable-energy sources, and meetings are being advertised to get public input.

The time for such meetings is long past, however. It is like inviting people to the beach to watch a tsunami. There is no time to waste, and OTEC is the best answer for this island community.

LITTER

CIGARETTE BUTTS TOSSED WITH CARELESS ABANDON

While driving to work today, I noticed many people throwing cigarette butts on the roadways and shoulders. Does anybody care about the environmental and aesthetic effects of this disregard for our microcosm of an environment?

Do police ever give citations for this activity, which I consider blatant littering?

What can we do to put an end to this? What happened to car ashtrays? I guess people don't want to soil their vehicles, but have no problem trashing the environment.

Next time you stop at an intersection, take a look down and try to count the myriad butts around you.

LAUPAHOEHOE

TECHNICAL ACADEMY WOULD BE WIN-WIN

Perhaps it is time for the Department of Education to think outside of the box and develop a productive alternative to the possible closing of Laupahoehoe School.

Laupahoehoe has incredible facilities, including full metal and wood shops, large areas for agriculture education, a certified kitchen, new band room, a community pool, a great library for such a small school, but it is obvious that enrollment has declined. It is not realistic to continue to operate as it now does with such a small student population. Fiscal responsibility must be a focus of the DOE.

However, all does not have to be lost. If the DOE would consider changing Laupahoehoe from a K-12 school, and instead develop what I like to call an "East Hawai'i Vocational-Technical Academy," this would benefit students from the Pahoa, Kea'au, Hamakua and Hilo-Waiakea complexes.

Currently, each high school has to scramble to obtain certified vocational education teachers. Some schools had to cancel programs, such as auto shop at Hilo High, because there weren't available teachers.

It would behoove the DOE to consider developing a true vocational-technical academy at Laupahoehoe and bus students. Much-needed technical and vocational instruction would benefit East Hawai'i communities.

Let's not bog ourselves down with "it's too far from Pahoa to Laupahoehoe," because these arguments only serve to stagnate growth.

This type of school would be a win-win arrangement and could indeed become a model for vocational and technical education in the state.

TRIBUTE

HERE'S HOPING THERE'S A LITTLE CARLIN IN ALL OF US

I may have disagreed with some of George Carlin's politics but he was good for comedy, and his ability to look at the accepted and reveal the absurd was deft.

Back in the summer of 1982 or 1983, I was celebrating my birthday in Westwood, Calif., at what was then the Moustache Cafe. My buddies were getting a bit loud. As they sang an almost-unrecognizable "Happy Birthday" to me, I felt tiny thuds on the back of my head and neck. One landed on the tablecloth and rolled to a stop next to my plate. I turned around to see who was pelting me with dessert blueberries.

It was George Carlin, eating alone.

He was 45 at the time, my age now. Shortly after hearing of his death Sunday afternoon, I reflected upon that weird little memory.

I asked myself, "Would I fling blueberries at a noisy college punk in a trendy restaurant today?" There must be a little George Carlin in me, because the answer was an unequivocal "Yes!" That makes me glad. I hope there is a little George Carlin in all of us.

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

STOP ALL DISCUSSION OF CANDIDATES' RACE, CREED

I quote the Constitution of the United States of America, the supreme law of our land:

Article 2, Section 1, paragraph 5: No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, shall be eligible to the office of the president, neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of 35 years and been at least 14 years a resident within the United States.

The Constitution says nothing about color, race or creed. Therefore, will all talk about color, race or creed about any and all of the presidential candidates stop already!

Time and again, as a nurse at the University of Chicago I was asked by patients, "What is your nationality?" I would patiently answer, "I think you want to know my ancestry because my nation is America and my ancestry is Japanese. Please ask me what you really want to know."