Letter to the Editor by OL Member

[Kat]

Congratulations, Stuart for having your Letter pubished - The Star Bulletin on March 2, 2006.

Here is the text of the letter in case the link stops working.

Will homes be torn out to make room for rail?

Pablo Wegesend raised an important concern in his Jan. 28 letter to the editor, but we have yet to see anyone address it.

Wegesend said, "With all the talk about light rail, there is one question that needs to be answered: Who's going to be forced out of the way to make room for light rail infrastructure?"

Good point. What assurance do we have that the City & County of Honolulu won't exercise eminent domain after selecting a route for the fixed-rail system? I find the very idea that the city might have to resort to condemning people's houses far more unsettling than any increase in the general excise tax.

We shouldn't rest easy until the City & County publicly promises us, in this newspaper's op-ed pages for everyone to read, that it won't forcibly confiscate anyone's private land when the time comes to construct the rail.

Stuart K. Hayashi

Mililani