Letters 10-20-13

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Looking at the positive side of tobacco bill

Looking at the positive side of tobacco bill

Although Dennis Brown in his Oct. 15 letter to West Hawaii Today says he doesn’t smoke and doesn’t believe anyone should, he has nothing to say about raising the age to buy tobacco products to 21, except negatives. It makes him sound like he is receiving a paycheck or contributions from a tobacco related industry.

As a mother, I see the biggest advantage that he completely missed: Teenagers would now have a legitimate reason to say “No” to their bullying peers — the ones who usually entice them to smoke. The same reason a teen without a driver’s license refuses to hop behind the wheel of a car could then say: “It’s against the law and I don’t want to pay the consequences.”

If this law gives young people the power to say no, then this law will not only save lives; it will also save ill-spent dollars and give parents fewer worries about their children’s health.

Joan Sheldon

Kailua-Kona

There is Ironman volunteer parking

This letter is in response to Debby Green’s letter in the Oct. 17 West Hawaii Today suggesting parking for Ironman volunteers. For four years now, Big Island Honda has opened up not only our storage lots but also our main display lots for volunteer parking and also parking for the employees of King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. We do this for free each year to help make the event a success.

Several of our employees are triathletes and we strongly believe that all of us should do what we can to make this event the premier sporting event in Hawaii.

Debby, please volunteer next year and you can park on our lot.

Marty Barger

General Manager

Big Island Honda