The Joseph P. Leong Highway (aka Hale'iwa bypass) has a stop sign that juts out nearly into the north-bound lane. This sign has been run over by vehicles at least six times. Yet the state Department of Transportation continues to put it back in the same place (apparently hoping for different results). Is this the best spot?

Is my family the only one noticing this? Thankfully I, or anyone I know, have not hit it, but this last time the sign wasn't even up long enough for DOT to get reflective tape on the post. Run down in less than a week.

Grab a calendar, it's the 21st century. I thought we learn from our mistakes. Lives are too valuable.

RED-LIGHT CAMERAS

DO RESIDENTS REALLY NEED TO BE SPIED ON?

Jay Fidell (Feb. 22) gave plenty of statistics about pedestrian and vehicle accidents as a reason for installation of cameras, but he did not say how many people in Hawai'i have been injured by people who ran red lights. My guess is it is a relatively small number and that's why he did not use it.

And the real elephant in the room is not the budget crisis: Once you get the red-light cams, the next step is speeding cams. I don't like being spied on.

I can envision the camera reporting cell phone usage, cheating on spouses, skipping work, etc. etc. Do we need a big brother? I don't. Finally, who keeps pushing this idea? According to Fidell, the people who produce the cameras. Enough said.

SAFETY MEASURE CRITICAL FOR SAVING ISLAND LIVES

Red-light cameras are operating in more than 200 communities and in 22 states in the U.S., as well as 21 foreign countries. What is wrong with our state Legislature that they don't think the people in Hawai'i are capable of handling this? Do they think we aren't as smart as all the others in 22 U.S. states and 21 foreign countries?

Each year I visit the Phoenix, Ariz., area and never see anyone run a red light, nor hear brakes screeching because of yellow lights. But when I come home, I usually see at least two vehicles run red lights every day!

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 22 percent of traffic accidents in this country are caused by drivers running red lights. These cause 800 fatalities each year.

I urge everyone to write or call their state representative and state senator to bring House Bill 145 and Senate Bill 216 to the floor for a vote. This is too important to let die with our state Legislature. Remember, the life you save may be your own.

DEPLETED URANIUM

POHAKULOA RESTORATION MUST BE DONE RIGHT

More than 2,000 radioactive spotting rounds may be left scattered on the ground at Pohakuloa under current Army and Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans.

Some may be hit by one-ton inert bombs dropping from three miles up, and by live-fire explosions. Some are fragmented. All are weathering.

No one knows exactly where all the depleted uranium rounds are. Fewer than 1,000 of the 50,000 acres of the Pohakuloa impact area were surveyed. Survey locations were chosen based on records that may be incomplete. DU fallen into lava fissures is hidden from sight and from radiation detectors.

The air sampling is the wrong kind, says Dr. Lorrin Pang of Maui. He's not welcome on the Pohakuloa Advisory Council — though he's a former Army doctor and adviser to the World Health Organization, and despite urging by state Sen. Josh Green and the Hawai'i County Council. The public's not welcome either. And PAC hasn't met for five months.

DU stays radioactive more than 4 billion years. How many years will funding come through to test for DU in our air, water, and soil?

The Sierra Club calls for:

1. Army cooperation with county DU resolutions: no live-fire and inert bombs at Pohakuloa until assessment and cleanup are completed; effective air sampling; citizen participation in monitoring; and more.

2. Army participation in a future Sierra Club DU forum, with Dr. Pang.

3. A Hawai'i County Council invitation for Dr. Pang to speak.

4. A Nuclear Regulatory Commission visit to Pohakuloa — not just O'ahu DU sites.

5. DU evaluation of the entire Pohakuloa impact area, plus all current and former military sites on Hawai'i Island.

6. Posting of a bond by the Army for future DU cleanup at Pohakuloa.

We must take the time to get this one right.

BOARD OF EDUCATION

MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION BY STUDENTS IS IMPORTANT

Thank you, Honolulu Advertiser, for standing up for the students of Hawai'i. The editorial (Feb. 19) gives compelling reasons to address one of the many challenges facing our state's education system.

Having a student member of the state Board of Education merely attend meetings, but be given no tangible value as a board member, greatly diminishes the incredible value he brings to the board. If the purpose of including a student member is just so the board might look good, we should be ashamed of the image this portrays and, more importantly, the fact that we are wasting the student's time.

Many years ago, as a high school senior in Illinois, I served as the chair of the Student Advisory Council to the Illinois State Board of Education. In this capacity — at just 17 years old — I, along with my fellow council members, developed a comprehensive, statewide school safety program.

Because I was on-the-ground as a public school student, I was able to see firsthand the systemic problems facing students statewide and represented their concerns on a variety of issues to those responsible for educating the state's future leaders.

Our student member of the BOE brings this same invaluable perspective, and his voice should be heard — loud and clear — through formal voting rights.