Letters to the Editor
Friday, June 14, 1996

Create subsistence zone
for destitute at Makua

Your June 7 headline made me shudder - the one that read "MAKUA" in brown Desert Storm-font lettering. Below that was "June 15" in red highlighted letters, the words "a line has been drawn in the sand," and a photograph of a military helicopter flying over a woman, her dog and a child making dribble castles on the beach.

What are you guys doing? Please tell me it is just to sell newspapers, because I cannot think of any other good reason to sensationalize such a tragedy. Why don't you ask the public for some positive solutions and then print some of them?

How's this for one: Turn Makua Beach into a subsistence zone. It is no secret that our economy sucks and a lot of people are having hard times. If we can have enterprise zones - where business ventures are encouraged with tax incentives, zoning variances and subsidized government marketing - why can't we have a zone for those in our society who are down and out?

Maybe I am in the Twilight Zone, but at least I'm thinking positively.

Herbert J. Almeida
Kaneohe


Voters should clean house
to improve government

We should not be pointing fingers of blame at the Bishop Museum. The burden should be placed on state government for its stupidity.

Here the state threw away $17 million foolishly, and let's not forget the millions spent on the H-3 freeway project, which seems to be going nowhere.

In the same breath, government officials tell us that there are no funds for the Kamehameha Day Parade, a cost of only $150,000.

Where is the Office of Hawaiian Affairs concerning the parade? It asked the Hawaiian people to help rally for it, and then turned around and spent $20,000 on a media blitz. Where is OHA now for the Hawaiian people?

Let's not forget all the state workers who had families to feed, mortgages, car payments, insurance, babysitters, school supplies, clothing, food and gas. They were laid off because there was a lack of funds in the state treasury.

Also, let's not forget all the money spent on the state Capitol refurbishing.

When voting rolls around, we should vote all of them out of office - from the governor on down to the janitor. Clean house!

Robert P. Kanealii
Kaneohe


Humility not top trait
of KHON-TV's Joe Moore

After repeated reminders of why he's so good, and the fact that he chooses not to enter the Emmy award scenario, we can assume that FOX2 anchorman Joe Moore will remain at the top of his egotistic news heap.

With that satisfying and restful knowledge in mind, we can now concentrate on the other underprivileged participants and/or competitors in broadcast journalist. We can begin to appreciate their humble talents, even though none of them seem to rehearse their presentation or pronunciation, and project flawless continuity.

They are, after all, quite genuine and level-headed - like most of us in the viewing audience.

John L. Werrill


Coverage of GOP convention was
biased, in error

The Star-Bulletin's coverage of the Republican State Convention does not earn very high grades for objectivity and relevance.

The June 1 headline ("Isle GOP have unusually secretive assembly") was, at best, misleading. It in no way illuminated the essence of what was happening but instead displayed the reporter's petulance at being excluded from private committee meetings.

If your reporter truly wanted to know what was occurring, he should have asked those of us who were there rather than seeking out the biased quote from the leader of the opposition party.

Also, the summary box in the June 3 paper indicated that the Republicans are "for a proposed constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman." This is inaccurate. Our platform states that the people of Hawaii should decide this issue; we are for having the issue settled by the exercise of our direct votes.

With all of the excitement generated by a host of excellent candidates and the good work accomplished at our convention, it is disappointing to witness this kind of reporting. This product merely adds another log to the burning concerns regarding accurate and legitimate journalism.

Richard S. Morris


City should offer golfers a
choice - ride or walk

There are six municipal golf courses operated by the Parks Department and they do not apply the same policies. Ala Wai, Pali, Makalena and Kahuku golf courses give golfers a choice whether to walk or ride carts. West Loch and Ewa golf courses have a ruling that all golfers must ride.

But many golfers walk to maintain their health as recommended by doctors. Golfers with limited incomes, including junior golfers, can't afford to pay the extra costs to rent a cart.

Since the city administration reports a surplus of $11 million, there is no need for additional income from renting golf carts.

Harry Choi


Want to write a letter to the editor? Let all Star-Bulletin readers know what you think. Please keep your letter to about 200 words. You can send it by e-mail to letters@starbulletin.com or you can fill in the online form for a faster response. Or print it and mail it to: Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or fax it to: 523-8509. Always be sure to include your daytime phone number.



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