Letters to the editor:

Maximum disruption roadworks puzzling
It is difficult to understand the thinking behind the "hour- glass" alterations that have been made to Duke St and Lumsden Rd in Hastings.
In the case of Duke St it would appear to have been to cause the maximum inconvenience to the road users for as long as possible. I have been told that its purpose is to slow down the traffic and make it safer.
There are road rules that quite adequately deal with road safety, ie, the Highway Code.
The sheer time taken must have cost a mint. In these days of shortage of funds for road maintenance, one would think that the patchwork quilt of tarmac on the surface of Townshend St from Southampton St West to Heretaunga St West would (should) have taken precedence over the above.
That there is a roundabout at the junction with Heretaunga St West is testimony to the fact that it is a much-used road. The time to resurface it with the hot-mix machine commonly used by a local contractor would cause a minimum of disruption, a matter of a few days.
GE WILLIAMS, Hastings
Major asset
HB Today, May 4: Keith Newman has got it exactly right. The authorities seem to find many reasons not to do some- thing and not one reason to do something.
I can't believe the thinking that took away the concrete at the road entrance to Clifton No 1 camp, someone obviously had no local knowledge.
The authorities are at the gates of destruction and loss forever, or it's their last chance to get it right before it's gone.
This area and Cape access point is a major asset and deserves not to be lost. Also generations of campers have enjoyed Clifton camps, the next generations should be allowed the same privilege.
DAVID WALKER, Hastings
Well done
Way to go, Ant Phillips and Hawke's Bay Today.
This is a real example of why amalgamation is in the best interests of Hawke's Bay. One region, one council, one voice.
ANNA LORCK, Hastings
Misanthrope
If John Key or Barack Obama were to describe Osama bin Laden as a freedom fighter, that would certainly be news. When a loopy misanthrope such as Hone Harawira pays tribute to an evil mass murderer, it isn't.
Editors do their readers a disservice by giving free publicity to the odious opinions of someone who instead needs therapy, preferably in a secure environment.
BRIAN MACKIE, Napier

Climate change
Bruce Bisset cuts a broad swathe with his latest musings:
People who deny climate change are nutters. The public are now omniscient thanks to improved intelligence which allows us to foretell trends before science can confirm such with empirical evidence. And, right-wing agendas are at work within education and the media. A few years ago Mr Bisset demanded media stop publishing opposing views to climate change. The science in favour was overwhelming, he stated. Since then we have witnessed the fraudulent email fiasco.
False temperature and satellite readings have been reported. The polar bears aren't endangered and many scientists are wanting their names removed from lists of people purporting to support climate change theory.
All this before the science is even debated. Surely only a simpleton would believe in man-made climate change?
Yet many folk do.
Yes, the public is far more intelligent and informed. But that only relates to the Baby Boomer generation and back.
Following generations have already been dumbed down by a left-leaning education system. Hence many climate change faithful come from these younger generations.
That includes scientists. The only true scientists left are those who work for the military. Public sector scientists are hidebound by dogma and budget restraints. Yet these are the people Mr Bisset hopes will confirm what an increasingly dumbed-down public believe will happen in the future. Frightening.
As to our media being right wing, a simple experiment will allay Mr Bisset's fears.
Write to media expressing both right and left wing sentiments.
He will be pleased with the three-to-one response in favour of left-wing sentiments.
KC WELLWOOD, Hastings