Why is Hawaii publication
being printed in Canada?

Having received clippings from Honolulu newspapers reporting that the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau has awarded a contract to a Canadian firm to publish its official guide, "Islands of Aloha," I am confused.

Why would Hawaii ask a foreign publisher to produce a travel guide that already ranks as a leader among state-developed travel publications?

As the former travel editor of the Los Angeles Times and a frequent visitor to Hawaii, I refer to this guide frequently. The guide is a winner, Davick Publications is a local business, and publisher Rick Davis is highly regarded.

But now the "Islands of Aloha" is to be produced in Canada? Excuse me, but I always thought you didn't fix something if it wasn't broken.

Jerry Hulse
Studio City, Calif.

Unisyn does a great job
getting rid of wet waste

Truly, someone should look at what Unisyn Biowaste Technology in Waimanalo is doing. In previous Star-Bulletin articles, only one side of the story was presented. Your reporter only presented the opinions of a few opponents of this company.

Yet virtually every major grocery store, hotel and restaurant on Oahu has its "wet" waste handled by either pig farmers or Unisyn.

With the landfills on this island already burdened beyond capacity and the governing agencies advocating recycling, why are the voices of Unisyn's few opponents printed without noting the many people who support its purpose?

We should be proud that this company helps curb waste on this island, and also puts Hawaii on the leading edge of recycling worldwide.

S.V. Alexander

UH has stellar reputation
throughout the world

During the past few weeks, the University of Hawaii-Manoa has been in the news. It was ranked among the nation's top universities in terms of education value. It is to receive more than $100 million in federal funds in the coming year. And I have been told that substantial cash grants are being given to UH by a private university in Japan to develop an undergraduate curriculum in conservation biology.

While an earlier article referred to UH as a pork-barrel institution, I believe that the flow of federal and Japanese funds to the university is a sign that it is conducting good and worthy research and other programs.

In fact, Dru Gladney was featured in a 20-minute interview on CNN International recently. Gladney is not from Stanford or Harvard, but is a professor of Asian studies at UH. Gladney was interviewed on the implications of ethnic separatism in Xinjiang and Tibet for China's international relations. He was interviewed because of his expertise in this area.

As a scholar and practitioner of Asian research, I have closely followed the development of countries in this region. The extent of knowledge that Gladney exhibited in his interview with CNN is cause for us to be proud of him and UH.

Seiji F. Naya
Director, Department of Business,
Economic Development & Tourism
State of Hawaii

Here's an idea to save
library system money

One way to save more than $175,000 in the library budget is to get rid of both State Librarian Bart Kane and his assistant, John Pennybacker.

We need open libraries and materials, not two warm bodies who continually make unpopular decisions which outrage the taxpaying public.

Lynne Matusow
(Via the Internet)

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