Animal quarantine change
could be a fatal mistake

In response to John Topolinski's May 1 letter, I agree with him on the financial disaster that the Waihee (Burns Machine) administration has brought to the people of Hawaii. This state is in such a mess that it will take the next millenium to get out of it.

Now Governor Cayetano is creating his legacy. He is in the process of creating another mistake that will be a health disaster for all the people of Hawaii. If this animal quarantine bill is signed, it will be another screw-up by this current self-serving and shortsighted administration.

Also if Cayetano was unaware during the Waihee administration of what was going on as lieutenant governor, we should save funds by doing away with that job. That would help some of our budget woes.

Lloyd Yamasaki
Wahiawa
(Via the Internet)

Caucasians are treated
worse than Hawaiians

In his letter published April 21, Charles Kaaiai of Kailua wonders what the outcome regarding Gabriel Kealoha would have been "if this had been a white kid." If Kaaiai would stop to think for a moment, the answer would be obvious:

If it had been a white kid, he'd have been handled as an adult and would probably be facing trial at this moment for murder. And judging by the results of trials for "non-white" kids who have beaten "white men," or even killed them, during the past couple of years, you can bet your bottom dollar that the "white kid" would be found guilty and sent to prison for 50 years or so.

R.W. Parkinson

Hawaii Kai is not pawn
in political chess game

Your May 5 editorial on Hawaii Kai's ambulance service opens with the conclusion that "East Honolulu residents evidently are pawns in the gubernatorial election." You then go on to quote two Republican legislators - hardly objective commentators - to further fuel this speculation.

Why don't we at least start with the facts which have led to the current shortfall in funding part of Hawaii Kai's ambulance services?

During the 1996 legislative session, as part of the budget cuts imposed on the Department of Health, the Legislature reduced the department's emergency medical services (EMS) budget by $650,000. This reduction was meant to eliminate state support for aero-medical services on the Big Island.

However, collective bargaining agreements covering EMS personnel on the Big Island required an additional $300,000, so the Big Island's EMS budget was reduced by only $350,000, leaving $300,000 to be found elsewhere in the EMS system.

After reviewing all EMS districts in the state, my department determined that Hawaii Kai was the least vulnerable in terms of available backup from adjacent districts. With Kalanianaole Highway under construction, the backup response time for Hawaii Kai was 11 minutes. Other backup response times ranged from 13 minutes for Aiea, to 28 minutes for Kahuku.

When our proposed reduction in funding Hawaii Kai EMS services was announced, I was invited to attend a Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board meeting, where I explained the department's reasoning. At this time, Mayor Harris, who also attended the meeting, offered to fund the shortfall.

Entering the 1997 legislative session, the governor's Executive Budget proposed to restore funds for both Hawaii Kai and the Big Island 1997-1999, with the assumption that the city would either provide the funds or approach the state Legislature for the shortfall in the current 1996-97 budget.

As you know, in the midst of the 1997 legislative session, additional reductions had to be made in the overall state budget because of revised Council on Revenues projections. One consequence is that the budget for my department that was finally enacted by the Legislature eliminated our proposed restoration of funding for Hawaii Kai and the Big Island.

So we are back to the same situation we were in last year. The issue will be resolved. And it will be done so in a manner that leaves all EMS districts, including Hawaii Kai, with appropriate ambulance service.

It is not the policy of this administration to use the health and safety of Hawaii residents as a "pawn" in a political chess match.

Lawrence Miike
State Director of Health

Hawaii legends
dictated H-3 route

What increased the cost of the H-3 freeway from less than $500 million to more than $1.3 billion, more than tripled the time for construction, eliminated one travel lane in each direction, increased the tunnel lengths and increased the number of Hawaiian cultural sites it affects?

The original Moanalua Valley alignment was litigated. Dr. T. Stell Newman, the state's archaeologist, concluded that archaeological remains in Moanalua were generally too sparse, damaged or poorly constructed to warrant their preservation as examples of Hawaiian culture.

U.S. District Judge Sam King upheld the position. The Hawaii Historic Places Review Board found that Moanalua Valley did not have sufficient local significance to be eligible for the National Register. Yet the state lost the case because of a collection of Hawaiian legends, one of which described how Moanalua is the Hawaiian Valley of Eden.

The impact of this decision is described in the first paragraph of this letter. The danger of this decision is that Hawaiian legends will be recognized in law equally with archaeology.

E. Alvey Wright
Kailua

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Same-sex archive

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