Posing a question
for NYT columnist
I have a question for Paul Krugman’s gloom-and-doom editorial on Nov. 12 (“Why deportations will drive up grocery bills”).
That question is this: “If we abolish slavery, who will pick the cotton?”
Peter J. Braun
Hilo
Highway reflectors
are lacking in Puna
I have a growing concern about the highways in both upper and lower Puna.
I drive both regularly. I am wondering about why there is a lack of quality or quantity of reflectors on Highway 11 and Highway 130.
I didn’t really know how bad it was until I was driving home from Waimea recently. The reflectors are so bright that it looks like a runway! One can see for miles on that side, but in Puna … not so much.
Driving on Highway 11, especially between the 16 and 22 mile markers where the road is in atrocious condition, one can hardly even see the white line on the outer side of the lane, let alone there be reflectors.
The center line is better, but that is not saying much. On Highway 130, it is just as bad. The reflectors on the roads in Hawaiian Paradise Park are better than on the highway.
On such dark highways, it is especially necessary to be able to see the outer reflectors, as the headlights on some cars are so bright that one needs to look down and away. (A quick reminder, if you can see someone’s headlights, please dim yours. Same goes for tail lights. It is equally as blinding if the lights are in your rear-view mirror).
I get that Puna is the neglected step-child, but please, before people start dying, let’s maybe do something about the roads.
Suzi Bond
Hawaiian Paradise Park
Too much dark tint
on car windows
How dark is your car window tint? When you’re at an intersection or encountering another vehicle, all of your friendly gestures, shakas, waves or even a nod of the head are useless because no one can see you.
And since I can’t see you then, yes, I will wait until you roll your window down and I can see your eyes. In the meantime, as long as there are no enforced tinting laws in Hawaii, please use your turn signal.
And guess what? I’ll probably still wait until I see you turning.
Patrick Bodell
Papaikou
