More Condos

Tyrannical madness driven by self-righteousness

This is an interesting story which illustrates how ideology can pervert rational civic planning (“Two More Condo Towers Proposed Near Ala Moana Center,” Oct. 25).

The parking limitation insisted on by city officials is impelled by the anticipated completion of the poorly planned and problem-plagued rail system. Officials are demanding that concrete structures be built today for a system that may or may not come into existence by 2025, a date that is a pipe dream according to experts not on the payroll of HART.

The structural flexibility proposed by the developer is highly appropriate given the uncertainty of rail’s completion (if ever) date. The idea that higher-income condo owners will hike over and back to the rail station while carrying full shopping bags just to take the train to wherevah’s (Kapolei? Aiea? downtown?) and forgo the use of their private vehicle is laughable to say the least.

The continued insistence of ideologically driven public planners to compel people to give up the convenience, comfort and safety of personal vehicles is a tyrannical madness stimulated by a self-righteous perception that only they know what’s best for all the rest of us.

— Lono Correa, Honolulu

Hawaii’s Election

There must be a better way to track ballots

I always vote in person, but this year I thought I would be out of town in early November, so I requested an absentee ballot (“Election Day Is Already Over For Almost 80,000 Hawaii Voters,” Oct 26).

Yesterday, I was ready to mail my ballot back to the City Clerk’s Office and realized I there was no information on how I would be notified that they received the ballot and that my votes were counted.

This led to many frustrating phone calls to the State Elections Office and the City Clerk’s Office. There is no automatic system to inform the voter of the receipt of absentee ballots. I Googled this question and it seems that some states do have an automated system, but without more sleuthing I’m not positive about this.

It seems that the only way to find out is to call your county’s clerk’s office. There must be a better way.

If a snail mail or email notice of receipt is not possible, couldn’t they publish the ballot numbers on their websites of ballots received and counted so that voters could confirm this?

How else will we know how many ballots got lost in the mail (very small, I imagine) or discrepancies in the number of absentee ballots received and counted?

— Roger Komori, Wahiawa

Prescription Privileges

Psychiatrist scarcity is bad for patients

I enjoyed the article in regards to where Hawaii is at right now with granting prescription privileges (“Should Psychologists Be Able To Prescribe Drugs?” Oct. 3).

I’m going to college to become a psychologist. My dream was always to help my patients to the best of my ability. From what I’ve experienced or have heard, there is a scarce amount of psychiatrists.

This might not sound bad when I just said it, but for the patients it’s bad. A patient spends the majority of the time in therapy building a connection with the practitioner and as well as building trust. Unfortunately, when our patient comes to us with more severe symptoms (possibly needing medication) we are left stuck.

Very few states in the United States can prescribe. Because of this, not many patients have access to the proper care they need.

We are not trying to take over the world of primary care. We are trying to increase our knowledge to help the patients. I think that if a psychologist could prescribe, and take insurance, this would help the gap we have right now. If nurse practitioners can  prescribe, and physician assistants, why can’t we?

I think prescription privileges are a benefit. There are plenty of patients to go around. It’s not about who makes the most as a medical doctor or even a medical psychologist, but how many patients we can save altogether. We are treating this as a rivalry rather than being a team and collaborating.

It’s about patient care, not about who has the largest patient load. Mental health matters. And granting prescription privileges with proper rigorous training should be just fine.

— Megan Miller, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania