Letters to the Editor
Tuesday, August 20, 1996

Waikiki is monument to greed
of big business

The mayor, Lawrence Johnson of Bank of Hawaii, and the Waikiki Improvement Association are trying desperately to convince citizens and the City Council that Waikiki cannot be renewed without amending the building moratorium.

Commercial interests have the audacity to blame Waikiki's shabbiness on building restrictions rather than their own reluctance and inability to police themselves. They would like us to forget that it was their own overdevelopment and crassness that led to the need for a building moratorium.

While citizens worry whether Waikiki can survive today's overburdened infrastructure and congestion, business interests insist on adding more tourists and hotel rooms, and drowning current problems in a river of rhetoric.

Their proposed amendments claim to ask for a mere inch for renovation, but actually sanction a mile of new development in the form of greater heights, densities and planned developments. All of this would culminate in the next hidden, logical step: a proposal to lift the hotel room cap.

Richard Y. Will


Mission not accomplished
even after match is found

Thanks for the great articles on Chris Pablo. As one of his co-workers and a sometime volunteer for bone marrow donor drives, I feel the need to keep the topic of transplants at a high level of awareness and understanding in the minds of Hawaii's people.

But I also worry when I see the number of new registrants dropping and the issue depicted as "mission accomplished."

Now if we could only get every person who registered for Alana Dung and Chris Pablo to talk just one of their friends into registering, too.

Bruce Behnke
Pearl City


Aloha is sadly lacking
in so-called Aloha State

The Aloha Preservation Association is always seeking ways to improve the spirit of aloha. Recently, we attempted to bring that spirit into the airport by means of live music in the arrival areas. The response we got was, "We are not here to sell aloha."

That anyone in Hawaii would think that "aloha" is a marketable commodity is a saddening fact.

This association is still looking for support. It hopes to find it before the aloha spirit, or whatever is left of it, sinks below the emerald waters of the deep, dark ocean that surrounds us.

Lloyd LaRue
Director
Aloha Preservation Association


Parent of asthmatic child angered
by camp's razing

As a mother of two asthmatic children, I pleaded with the City Council to keep Camp Kailua. Before it was closed, the camp offered asthmatic children a chance for overnight outings. Its closeness to emergency medical facilities made it the ideal location for both children and parents.

The tent camping sites offered by the city in various areas of the island are also not a substitute for Camp Kailua. Many of them are far away from adequate medical facilities that could handle a severe asthma attack. Also, where would she find an electrical outlet to plug in her ventilator?

For my children, and all others who suffer from the same asthmatic condition, I express my outrage at the injustice of taking Camp Kailua from them.

Laureen Bowles
Kailua


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.



Text Site Directory:
[News] [Business] [Features] [Sports] [Editorial] [Community] [Info] [Stylebook] [Feedback]