Government unions
are cause of state's downfall

As politicians debate the high-three and auto insurance reform, I urge them to reform the system under which Hawaii has deteriorated into a government of, by and for the public-sector unions rather than the people. Just consider the irrational union response to a pay lag, which simply means public workers would be paid after they perform their work, like everyone else, and not before.

Political largess already gives government union members vacations, holidays, benefits and job security far superior to the private companies. The beleaguered private sector can no longer tolerate the disparity between itself and a coddled public sector. Intransigence and political intimidation by Hawaii's public unions are impeding the state's economic recovery.

The unions should remember that the private sector can and does vote with its feet. If our economy continues to stagnate, if families and businesses continue to leave, jobs will disappear.

The public sector prospers only if the private sector prospers; the reverse is never true.

Kerry A. Krenzke

Three-time murderer
may have possibility of parole

Eugene Barrett kills three women, has served two previous prison terms, and now is convicted of the third and is sentenced but with the possibility of parole?

I'd like to believe that when Barrett gets out, he'll be too old to kill again. But having murdered his third female victim when he was 65 years of age, it seems entirely possible that he has time to do it again.

I hate to cry feminism in a crowded theater, but I do wonder if he had killed three men ... well, you know the rest.

Phyllis Hanson
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
(Via the Internet)

Ward's Rafters is treated
outrageously by the city

The recent accounts of the settlement between the city and Ward's Rafters have left me somewhat dismayed. As a loyal supporter of local jazz, I've been following this farce for several years and find some disturbing implications in the terminology attributed to Loretta Chee of the city Department of Land Utilization (DLU).

Ward's Rafters is a private home. Ward is a private citizen. She entertains guests in her home. After two years of legal negotiations, the city has graciously agreed that she may do that.

But, in your article, Chee stated that, "The number attending ... the frequency of gatherings ... the regular or scheduled nature and purpose of the gathering ... are factors to determine how it (Ward's home) is being used."

Are we regulated as to how many guests we may entertain in our homes, how often we may entertain, and what we may do when we gather at each other's homes?

Another interesting question is raised in the discussion of Ward's private mail. Chee is quoted as saying there may be a "subtle line between what is advertised and what goes out in a mailing list."

Beware, citizens of Honolulu. If you send out a photocopied Christmas letter, Chee may consider it a "public flier" and you may find yourself on the wrong side of the DLU. Apparently, fines are levied when government doesn't approve of your behavior.

Charlotte Hunter

Homesickness cure
can be found online

Since joining the Internet, this local boy has come a long way in mending some of the sadness of being so far away from home.

Sure, the phone calls with friends and relatives, the island magazines, the special newspaper editions and the ono "care" packages sent in times of need have all helped to assuage the bouts of melancholy.

But these things have only served to underscore just how far away home really is.

Even our yearly get-togethers -- bringing together hundreds of stray local folks living up and down the East Coast with music, hula and da best kau kau east of Kapoho -- provides only temporary respite from homesickness.

But now, every morning, first thing: starbulletin.com. Local news, sports (Go Leilehua High!), local politics (surprisingly similar to Boston politics), island images and my favorite, Kokua Line.

The only thing missing now is the plate lunch.

Don Sugai
Harvard, Mass.
(Via the Internet)

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