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Letters to the Editor

Letter: Emergency road access vital for West Maui

All the needs following the Lahaina fire have come and gone, and still nothing has been done to prevent the same disaster from happening again. There are no escape routes suitable for evacuation. There are no routes suitable for emergency vehicles. They cannot use the same two-lane road at the same time. Improving the road around North Maui would be a good start. After the fire, I am sure there may have been federal funding available for improving access/regress to and from West Maui. Just like fire safety laws require more than one fire exit from any building, there should be ...

Letter: Appreciating every time bicycling lane cleaned

This week, the state’s landscape crew has been clearing weeds and road debris throughout the Honolua Bay area. This makes cycling through the area and anywhere so much safer and much more pleasant. As a cyclist, we appreciate every single time the bicycling lane is cleaned and cleared by our government maintenance crew. Every. Single. Time. It helps us ride safely and makes it easier for vehicles to pass us. Kelli Lundgren Kā‘anapali

Letter: Trump assault on rights starts with immigrants

Our basic legal rights are being eroded as you are reading this. One of those rights is Habeas Corpus, the right to challenge the legality of detention or imprisonment. Habeas Corpus, which appeared in the Magna Carta in 1215, is fundamental to English Common Law. It is Latin, meaning “produce the body.” Legally, it means that everyone detained by the state has a right to a hearing before a judge, to determine the legality of that detainment. The Trump gang is ignoring that pesky concept when handling immigrants. In March, the U.S. government declared 238 migrants as dangerous ...

Letter: Wailuku Mill Street work outcome fantastic

Mahalo Department of Public Works/Highway Division for the quality, beautiful work done in Wailuku on Mill Street. The crew directing traffic were calm, polite, friendly and patient as they guide vehicles away and around their fellow workers. They kept at it in the heat, finishing each section then reopening the road as they moved on to the next. The outcome is fantastic. Anna Barbeau Wailuku

Letter: Reject bloated budget for defense spending

President Trump, who calls himself a peacemaker and unifier, has announced he will seek a $1 trillion budget for the Pentagon, a record-setting number that would mark the highest level of U.S. defense spending since World War II. Flaunting his military might while referring to the plan, Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, “You are really going to like this,” and “We have never done this before.” Trump recently sent $4 billion in weapons to Israel to wage unprecedented aerial and ground attacks on innocent people in Gaza. This massive budget increase would reward ...

Letter: Support House Bill 2653 to do away with estate tax

My wife and I opened our family business 44 years ago. Hawaiian Carpet One, Hawaiian Ceramic Tile is still operating in Kahului. Someday I hope to pass the business to the next generation of my family. I support House Bill 2653 because family-owned companies like ours are struggling to stay in business in Hawaii. Hawaii’s estate tax makes it even more difficult. Our state is one of the only ones that forces family members to pay up to 20 percent of the value of the business when the owner passes away. For a small business like mine, often the only way to do that is by selling or ...