Put statue of Opukahaia
in front of Capitol, too

The statue of our stately Hawaiian queen, Liliuokalani, should be "in front" of the state Capitol as expressed in the May 10 View Point by writer Peggy Hickok Hodge.

So, too, should Henry Opukahaia (Obookiah) be "in front."

Opukahaia, trained in the rituals of a kahuna, went to New England in the early 1800s and lived with Americans. He learned English and was converted to Christianity.

During his short life, he urged the American Board of Missions to provide for the spiritual needs of Hawaiians and was instrumental in having the board bring the word of Christ to the islands.

Truly, Henry Opukahaia, along with the small party of native sons of Hawaii, should be "in front" at the state Capitol building.

Paul Yasuda
Pearl City

Contrary to one opinion,
Koolau trek was a success

The Trans Koolau H-3 fun run was a "magnificent way to spend a Mother's Day," as my friend stated. The entire community is applauding its success and congratulating the race organizers for their three years of hard work.

Only Star-Bulletin sports writer Pat Bigold is still heaping his same old criticisms.

Get with it, Mr. Bigold! I haven't met one person here who cares whether "prize money" is offered to professional runners. This is old, old news. The run was totally supported by the people of Hawaii.

The 3,000-plus volunteers were terrific. Now let's see if your writer can handle the criticism as graciously as Dr. Jack Scaff and Alan Sunio have.

Dottie Sunio
Pearl City
(Via the Internet)

Lanai public beach
is too commercialized

Since my husband and I are great fans of your state, we chose Lanai to get back to the "real" Hawaii. On April 17, we headed to Hulopoe Beach for a gentle rest in the sun. What we found instead disturbed us: a public beach half-populated by fancy umbrellas and deck chairs from the very posh Manele Hotel.

Not to worry, we and many other just plain folks headed to the other half of the beach - until 200 young adults from L.A. arrived by ferry from Maui for an organized party. There was a volleyball court in the sand, all of the public picnic tables set up with their lunches and snacks, a treasure hunt course set up around the area, water games, etc.

There was also a loudspeaker megaphone used to keep them all hyped up. When someone was not yelling on it, very loud music was being blared.

What a tragedy when commercial ventures are allowed to totally dominate public facilities and international attractions at the grandest beach on Lanai.

Since arriving home, I have seen many dollars being used to try and bring tourists to your grand islands. But if we find that we cannot use the public areas, we will not be coming again.

Dr. Inge Andreen
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada

Hilton 'sweetheart' pier deal
needs close scrutiny

Reporter Ian Lind and the Star-Bulletin are to be complimented for exposing the Hilton's "sweetheart" pier lease deal (May 8). More questions need to be asked:

How does a state agency rationalize not responding for more than three years to companies willing to pay far more for this lease?

What more do we need to know about the land agent, Cecil Santos? What was his motivation and/or incentive to ignore the potential of substantially increased income for our state?

What is this agency's rationale for perpetuating this malpractice?

With upward of $3 million lost to our state and to taxpayers over the past three years, who is to be held responsible for this abuse? How do we recover our losses?

Please do not let this duplicity get swept under the rug like so many of those from the past. Continue your good work.

Richard S. Morris

Chun is great president
of Kamehameha Schools

I was saddened to learn about the internal problems between the president and the trustees of the Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate.

I have known Mike Chun since were were both freshmen at Kamehameha School for Boys and find him to be a person of high integrity and sincere loyalty.

He has also been a father-image to hundreds of students. His openness and candor are valued qualities that many people admire, but which few possess.

My daughter (Kamehameha '89) and many of her classmates have spoken highly of Chun's sincerity and ability to communicate. This attests to his continued care and concern for all students, then and now.

Mike Chun is one of the best things about Kamehameha Schools' ohana. I can tell you this: His presence is not the cause of the "low morale" at Kamehameha.

Harry L. Moleta
Waipahu

Who's the ding-a-ling
who shrank phone book?

Just over a week ago, we received the new phone books and were shocked at their reduced size, especially the fine print in the white pages.

We have asked dozens of people for their opinions and have yet to find anyone who believes it was a good idea to reduce the size of the print.

We submit that permanent damage has been done to the reputation of the local telephone company, regardless of how many awards are presented for saving a few tons of paper.

Surely the yearly cost of phone service in Hawaii is sufficient to cover the cost of a phone book which can be read without the use of a magnifying glass!

Don Burger
(Via the Internet)

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