Mahalo to all who aided
victim and his family

My appreciation and regard to many people must be expressed in spite of the sad and disappointing results of the attempted murder trial (of one of my son's alleged assailants).

We did our best to hold these people accountable for their actions, but the system seems stacked against the victim. There are no hard feelings, though; hopefully they'll have to answer to a higher authority and justice will be served in the end.

My appreciation goes out to:

The police and emergency medical workers, whose teamwork and quick response saved Jay's life.

The trauma team and support staff at Queen's Medical Center.

The police and detectives who worked tirelessly to get an arrest.

The prosecutor's office, which tried to get a conviction.

Everyone (from the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, friends of friends, virtual strangers) who visited, offered prayers and gave us support. There is a special place in heaven for all of you!

It is this spirit that I choose to take away from this nightmare. I hope that our inability to convict those responsible will not sentence some other young man to the same fate as my son.

Sydney Ann Clark Waller
Jamestown, R. I.

Editor's note: This letter was written by the mother
of beating victim Jay Waller, whose experience in Hawaii
is recounted in A.A. Smyser's column in today's issue.

Hawaii is falling apart
because of voter apathy

Gary Rodrigues plays God with taxpayer money. The Bike Way on Ward Avenue calls it quits. Property values are crashing. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs wants taxpayer millions for ceded lands. The Legislature approves the governor's $l billion give-away to the construction unions to be paid for by our children. Our young brains are draining to the mainland. Legal immigrants from the Philippines are rushing to Hawaii to take low-wage jobs our people don't want.

And now the city says that taxpayers may have to pay the $65.5 million debt on the Ewa Village redevelopment project. The taxpayer is broke. The liberal, elitist ideas are bankrupt. The government unions haven't figured it out yet!

Wake up, Hawaii. We must be vocal. We must work to elect a different kind of politician. We must work to elect a different kind of union leader. We must vote in union elections and in legislative elections.

James A. Bauckham

Protesters got too much
coverage during H-3 race

My wife and I went to Honolulu specifically to walk the Great Trans Koolau Trek. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The race was well-organized and the course was spectacular. While there were lines at the port-a-potties at the beginning of the staging areas, those located closer to the start and on the course were readily accessible. Most mile markers were called out by the course crew.

The only negative note was having to walk through the gauntlet of protesters. We apologize if we offended anyone by doing this race. As a Kittitas Indian raised in the Pacific Northwest, more than my ancestors' bones have often been "walked on." Our feeling was that the structure had been built and the opportunity for protesting had passed. Time to move on.

In your paper's efforts to be fair, we think you erred on the side of the protesters. Our heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful volunteers we encountered in participating in this event.

Gary George Belanger
Santa Barbara, Calif.

There's no need or desire
for strong unions any more

The 1997 legislative session is over and the labor unions are elated at the results. These labor leaders have given legislators an "A" for effort.

Hawaii is one of the most pro-union states but it has the slowest economic growth in the nation. The correlation is obvious. If we continue to promote and encourage pro-union policies, we will eventually cut off the hands that feed us -- employers and their businesses. Without employers there will be no need for employees and unions.

The era of the late 1800s and early 1900s, when unions were needed and essential to bargain with employers against their abuses (i.e. poor working conditions, child labor, low wages), are long gone.

Arguments for the existence of unions are no longer valid, and they could be considered detrimental to the economic well-being of employers, including the state.

Toshio Chinen
Pearl City

Bataan didn't justify
rapes on Okinawa

Let's see if I have this straight: According to Donald Barnhart (Letters, May 7), it's OK for American servicemen to rape Okinawan school girls because the Japanese Imperial Army killed American soldiers during the Bataan Death March in 1941.

Am I crazy, or is something wrong with that logic?

Bob Biggs
Mililani

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Same-sex archive

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