Funding Rail, Not Pothole Repair
Del.icio.usUnbelievable: With summer long gone and the rainy season nearly upon us, major city and state roads are still in urgent need of patching/repaving. Come the first big rains, the potholes will quickly get bigger, deeper and more dangerous. Kaneohe Bay Drive is so bad, I’d be afraid to drive a motorcycle on it. Walking through my Kaneohe neighborhood, there are a couple of streets where you can sprain an ankle if you’re not paying attention. Kapiolani Boulevard, as a major urban thoroughfare, is a disgrace. Likewise for Ala Wai and Ala Moana. And it’s hard to imagine that the mayor’s and governor’s bones haven’t been rattled while transiting the Punchbowl-Beretania intersection ...
And if we don’t have funds to adequately pave our roads, which obviously we do not, how can we possibly afford to build - and maintain - a multibillion-dollar rail system? I just don’t get that one. Is there a physician who can prescribe some reality pills for the mayor, governor and city council? ...
Conspiracy theory: Maybe our “leaders” are hoping that by letting our roads fall into such dis-repair, we’ll surrender to rail? ...
Then again: Just heard about a Jaguar driver who sued the city because his car was so badly damaged by a pothole ...
There’s good news to pass along: MidWeek columnist Katie Young recently received the Hawaii Psychological Association’s media award. The citation says that her column, The Young View, “explores the hows and whys of life, relationships and other topics often backed up by expert advice from local psychologists. Her column has helped erase the stigma that can sometimes be associated with seeking mental health treatment in Hawaii.” Congratulations, Katie, the award is well-deserved. Thanks for adding to our trophy case, and for making us proud ...
Barack Obama: the Michelle Wie of politics ...
I recently happened upon some wise words from the late Rev. Paul Osumi, whose old columns have been published in book form. It’s amazing how timeless the good rev’s words are: “Many people try to run away from their inner loneliness. They do not know how to be alone. They do anything to escape being alone. They are always on the go; they are always doing something. To live meaningfully, we must master one of the fine arts of life - learning how to be alone without being lonely.” Sound like any cell phone/video game addicts you know? ...
I was saddened to hear of the passing of state statistician Bob Schmitt, but am grateful to have known the man. Back in the days when I was writing a daily column for the Advertiser, he was the instant cure for a slow news day. A call to Bob always produced a fun fact, a surprising statistic and usually a good chuckle. As a guy whose interest (and skill) in math is ridiculously limited (there’s a reason I work with words), I was gratefully impressed at the way Bob somehow turned cold statistics into fascinating stories ...
Go figgah ...
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