Intersection danger Intersection danger ADVERTISING Improvement possible It has come to my attention that the intersection at Puuloa Road and Highway 11 is jeopardized by the 55 mph speed limit. There are many times when the fire trucks and paramedics
Intersection danger
Improvement possible
It has come to my attention that the intersection at Puuloa Road and Highway 11 is jeopardized by the 55 mph speed limit.
There are many times when the fire trucks and paramedics are forced to wait for the traffic to slow down in order to be on their way to care for emergency needs.
I spoke to state and county officials recently and all think that the speed limit should be lowered. A caution light would be a good consideration.
State District Engineer Sal Panem agreed with my suggestion completely and told me he would submit the request.
However, he did encourage me to not give up hope, there could be improvements made in the future. I learned improvements to state highways are federally funded.
Barbara Fessenden
Holualoa
Cursive writing
A sad change of policy
It was like a piece of art, my grandfather’s handwriting. I recently found a letter he had written and marveled at the artfully penned words. Not only what the words were conveying, but in how they were written: not by an emotionless block lettered machine that offered countless fonts; but in his own identifiable beautiful script.
His hands had touched the pen, his heart and thoughts had been laid down for me on paper. I held the letter to my chest, hoping that somehow up there in heaven, he could feel my heart beating for him.
Sadly, 100 years later, our children have been told in school that cursive writing is a “dead” language, no longer being taught. I am shocked. We must rely on machines now. Or in their absence, print like a first grader. The “thumbprint” of our signature is no longer required.
Many things have improved in the last century, but writing skills are not one of them. West Hawaii Today’s Sept. 20 editorial from the Columbus Ledger Enquirer confirms this reality.
I can see it now, my grandchildren and great- grandchildren, holding the letters I have written to them, with puzzled faces, thinking, “What is this?” I write notes on their birthday cards and they can’t read them — because they are written in cursive.
I’m thankful for my grandfather’s letters. His art of writing has given and continues to give me countless hugs long after he has gone.
Judy Harrison
Kailua-Kona
License process
Why is it so difficult?
Why is Hawaii making it so difficult to renew a driver’s license?
I researched this to find out why Hawaii has much stricter requirements than other states. Here is what I learned: Act 38 Session Laws of Hawaii 2010 authored by Blake K Oshiro (Rep) Oahu says “S.286-104 Which persons shall not be licensed. …. The examiner of drivers shall not issue any license to any person: Who does not submit proof, satisfactory to the director, that the applicant’s presence in the United States is authorized by federal law. The director shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 91 that provide for standards of proof and for exemptions from this requirement.”
So, who is nameless “The Director?” Mr. Glenn M. Okimoto director of Transportation.
In short, it’s not the law; this entire fiasco is the workings of one man who is himself unaffected by the rule he is imposing upon everyone else.
Ken Obenski
Kaohe
