Meanwhile, Frank Fasi and Arnold Morgado want to expand the police force without proper review, psychological profiles or training. They must think that officers are a dime a dozen. What they propose is no different from what Hitler did in Nazi Germany - increasing the police state for political reasons.
The problems of our society should not rest on the shoulders of the police. The increase in crime should not be a reflection of its performance.
The answer is more prison space to put away the criminals. The number of officers required should be directly related to the amount of prison space available.
Benjamin T. Toyama
2) Take open bids to surround area with fatal electric fencing already effective in some states.
3) Obtain surplus military tents and other useful equipment free or at best price.
4) Have criminals erect their own tents and dig hygenic toilets. Good enough for our fighting men, surely good enough for criminals!
5) Make criminals dig and produce vegetables for their own consumption and for sale.
6) No TV, no telephone, in fact no electricity, except to power fatal fence and small administration building.
7) Save salaries by stationing minimal number of guards by fatal fence.
8) Have criminals pay minimal fee for accommodations and food, as in Florida.
Wake up, Hawaii. Get cracking!
Babe Woollett
Waimea High School's rule barring seniors who have 14 or more unexcused school absences from marching in graduation is eminently fair. To recommend, as DOE policy, the elimination of these school-established requirements is ludicrous.
What is an unexcused absence? It's a cut. It's truancy! Is the committee saying that there should be no punishment for this blatant violation of school rules?
To adopt the committee's recommendation would send the wrong message to our young people. They must learn that there are consequences for their actions.
We are preparing our children for the real world - and the real world will not be as forgiving. If we took off two weeks from work without permission, we'd be fired!
Michael D. Clark
After the verdict, Ikei self-righteously lamented how the jury's verdict sends the message that rape victims "will not be believed."
My husband and I are in complete agreement that rape is an extremely serious crime, and that the reporting and prosecuting of it can be traumatic and humiliating in itself.
However, the greatest damage to the credibility of rape victims occurs with the false accusation of rape.
Every "cry of wolf" creates skepticism in the public and trivializes the pain and suffering of true victims. False allegations make it more difficult for victims to come forward.
Ikei would like people to believe that the four-woman, four-man jury unanimously sided against Gretzinger because she is a woman, that they were biased against her sexual orientation. He is conveniently remiss in addressing that no evidence supported most, if not all, of her allegations.
In addition, when confronted with evidence to disprove her claims, Ikei rarely challenged them but presented smoke screens to distract the jury from Gretzinger's lies and glaring inconsistencies.
As a woman, I resent Gretzinger's portrayal of women to be powerless, irrational beings who, in the presence of men, lose all sense of moral integrity and common sense.
As a taxpayer, I am enraged at the blatant abuse of the legal system, and that my tax dollars were spent on a malicious and frivolous lawsuit.
As a private citizen, I am sorely disillusioned with the media for presenting many inaccurate and misleading stories to the public, and for providing a forum for unscrupulous lawyers to try their cases on camera and in print.
Lastly, as a member of this community, I am deeply hurt and saddened that there is a perverted consciousness out there that revels in the exploitation of other people's pain, with callous disregard to the truth.
Clayton Ikei and Michelle Gretzinger owe deep apologies to all of us - especially to the members of the jury, and to the dignity of those who have suffered the trauma of rape.
Susan Lamb
Wife of Ramdas Lamb