A bad idea
I noticed recently that there are signs on Waianuenue Avenue in Hilo advising that speed tables are going to be installed. I would like to ask county officials to rethink that idea.
I was under the impression that evacuation routes, such as Waianuenue Avenue, are not supposed to be restricted in terms of traffic flow because that might hinder a swift and organized evacuation from downtown in case of a tsunami and from upper Hilo in case of oh, for instance, lava.
In addition, Waianuenue is the primary path for emergency vehicles to access the hospital.
Yes, I recognize that there are multiple schools in the vicinity, but they are hardly new to the area, and I don’t understand who thought that speed tables are needed or would be a good way to improve traffic for the people of Hilo.
County officials, please consider another option, if one is actually needed.
Jane Hoff
Hilo
Plan for Red Hill
Regarding the wonderful engineering feat of the underground tanks at Red Hill, I have a possible win-win solution for the U.S. Navy and the City and County of Honolulu: Fill the tanks with fresh water.
As a Navy veteran and sailor of the Pacific and Asia, I can tell you all that fresh water is one of the most vital needs of our ships at sea.
In addition to water for drinking, bathing and food preparation, it is also used for waste disposal, cleaning and, most importantly, operation of the boiler systems, without which ships don’t move (steam turns the propellers/screws) and aircraft don’t fly from the aircraft carriers (steam propels the system that throws the planes off the deck and into the air). Fresh water is necessary for all of these systems.
Consider this: The U.S. Navy has the ability and the capability to clean the tanks of oil and repurpose them as magnificent containers of some of the Earth’s freshest and best water — that from the Oahu aquifers. If a leak were to occur, only water would impact the aquifer below the tanks.
I see this as an important positive factor for our society facing a troubling future with many problems to solve. Please give this idea some serious thought.
Steve Nemeth
Hilo
Regarding billionaires
Billionaires have a new term to justify their focus on making lots of money (“Billionaires didn’t save the world,” Tribune-Herald, Nov. 23).
“Effective altruism” means you can be more effective at doing good things with your individual lots of money than thousands of people donating small sums.
I think the term “effective altruism” is better expressed as “affective altruism.”
William Mautz
Kurtistown
