CITY COUNCIL

LET DUKE BAINUM SHOW HE CAN DO THE JOB

I'm one of the 57.2 percent of City Council District 5 voters who chose Duke Bainum to represent me.

And while I'll admit that I wasn't pleased with the circumstances of his filing, I know this much: Duke Bainum is qualified, he has the heart and he is dedicated to public service.

How about we all take a step back and give him the opportunity to show us he has what it takes to do the job? Isn't that the right thing to do?

CONSERVATION

SAVE MONEY, REDUCE STREET LIGHTS ON O'AHU

If, as your article of Nov, 17 says, "Reduced lighting saves $15,000 a year at UH building," think how much could be saved if the state and city were to reduce some of our needless street lighting — millions.

Do we really need to see every branch and twig on the Pali and Likelike highways? Surely we can reduce the light spacing on H-1 Freeway between the University of Hawai'i and Downtown. Why do cars have headlights?

Wouldn't you like to be able to see the night sky from at least some part of O'ahu? Let's save big bucks and get to see those beautiful stars as a bonus. Turn off some of our excessive street lighting.

LED TRAFFIC LIGHTS WILL USE MUCH LESS ENERGY

I recently spent 10 days vacationing on O'ahu. There were a lot of stories in the media about the increased cost of energy, reducing carbon footprints and saving energy.

I was surprised, therefore, to see that O'ahu still uses the energy-wasting conventional light bulb traffic lights, rather than far more energy-efficient light emitting diode lights. Nearly every major city on the Mainland converted to LED lights years ago.

LED traffic lights are somewhat more expensive to buy, but use only 10 percent as much energy. The LED lights also last much longer, which would allow the public works department to reassign workers who spend all day replacing light bulbs, reducing hiring needs.

This is a "green" solution, which would save O'ahu municipal budgets millions of dollars over the next 10 years.

PEST INFESTATIONS

CONTROLLING COQUI FROG NOT A WASTE OF MONEY

The O'ahu Invasive Species Committee disagrees with Soma Grismaijer's Nov. 17 commentary stating that coqui frog control is a waste of money.

The majority of Big Island residents have made clear that they are unhappy with coqui frog noise. It is therefore our responsibility on O'ahu to prevent them from establishing here.

O'ahu previously had a naturalized population of more than 125 calling frogs in Wahiawa, but with adequate funding and interagency cooperation, that infestation has been eradicated from the area.

Coqui frogs do arrive on O'ahu quite frequently, but with the public's help in reporting coqui frogs to the pest hotline (643-PEST), they have been caught before they could become established.

Prevention and rapid response to small infestations is the most cost-effective way to deal with coqui, and that is exactly what is happening on O'ahu.

O'ahu's Coqui Frog Working Group, made up of the O'ahu Invasive Species Committee, the Hawai'i Department of Agriculture, Department of Land and Natural Resources/Division of Forestry and Wildlife and O'ahu Army Natural Resources Program, cooperatively monitor for coqui frogs across the island, respond to coqui frog reports and conduct joint control operations.

WAIKIKI

SUNSET ON THE BEACH SHOULD BE A PRIORITY

How fortunate we feel to have experienced Sunset on the Beach Saturday night. What a treat to hear Ho'okena, Na Leo, Na Palapalai and see the beautiful hula under the night sky.

The best part of the evening, however, was seeing all of the local people who attended; those with smiles and nods to all; the girls next to us with clear voices who sang along with their favorite Na Leo songs; those who danced hula in the area where we were sitting, looking as professional as the ones on stage; and the keiki of Hawai'i playing on the beach, a joy to everyone. Aloha was felt everywhere.

Sunset on the Beach is a wonderful, inclusive program. It should be a priority for funding for all to enjoy.