Feds should be barred
from dictating state waters

I am vehemently opposed to the federal government Hawaiian Humpback Whale Sanctuary. I have written to Governor Cayetano about my opinion and truly pray that he considers what I have said.

My opposition is shared by all boating and fishing related people and businesses.

The federal government should not be given any opportunity to dictate and micromanage state waters. We all know how they have failed in the past.

April Romero
Mid-Pacific Hawaii Fishery Inc.
Hilo, Hawaii

Don't rap teachers
until you've tried to teach

With respect to Jack Suga's May 22 letter, the reason he doesn't see unemployed teachers is because there is a great need for them. They are the ones guiding us kids in the right direction -- well, at least, they try.

I strongly disagree with the idea of enlarging the number of students in classes. That would be a wrong move. It would cost more to make bigger classrooms to fit all of us, there would be more books to buy, and more fans or air-conditioners would be needed.

It's hard enough trying to learn in a class with 29 other kids; some don't want to be there. In college, it's different because those students want to be there. Also in college professors get paid more. Public school teachers barely make enough to survive.

Teachers' jobs don't end when the dismissal bell rings. They have to prepare for the next class, get all the worksheets ready, and correct papers. They also have to put up with all types of characters.

Maybe Jack Suga should go to a classroom, sit in and find out what being a teacher is all about. Before anyone talks the talk, he or she should walk the walk.

Donald Crichton Jr.
Senior, Kailua High
Kailua

Hawaii Supreme Court
doesn't deserve criticism

Contrary to state Rep. Colleen Meyer's May 16 View Point, the Hawaii Supreme Court's rulings on cases involving privatization of the Puuanahulu Landfill and on same-sex marriage show that it is searching for the public policy expressed by either the Legislature (as in the case of Konno vs. United Public Workers) or the drafters of our state Constitution (Baehr vs. Miike).

The court's methodology in researching the law is conservative. In particular, the Supreme Court took pains in the Konno decision to point out that it was applying statutory law as it exists and noted that legislative action was necessary if the law was to be changed.

Meyer also cited, as an example of nullification of public policy, judicial rulings on tort claims.

Tort law is a means by which individuals harmed by others may be compensated and has been a part of English and American common law jurisprudence since before the United States was a nation.

Legislatures have exercised their authority to modify court rulings on this subject. The court should not be criticized when it applies the law as it exists where a legislature has been unable to reach consensus on a bill to modify it.

As the chief justice noted in his State of the Judiciary address, the Legislature holds the trump cards with regard to the law.

If some members of the Legislature are unable to secure a majority, or develop a consensus to change a policy of particular concern, then the problem is political and not a legal one.

Alan Van Etten
President
Hawaii State Bar Association

Roller hockey players
need court to play on

Roller hockey has become popular among boys and girls of all ages on Oahu.

Players and coaches in Mililani Town formed a league known as the Mililani Inline Hockey Association, which has even sent players to compete at the national level.

Although MIHA has grown to 300 members, no league on Oahu has a regulation court. Can you imagine several hundred tennis players without a court to play on, or the same number of baseball players without a diamond?

Thanks to Mayor Jeremy Harris, $250,000 has been allocated for a regulation roller hockey court. Although 10 acres of land have been set aside in Mililani for a court with borders, hockey players have waited three years for funds to be released.

Roller hockey is a positive extracurricular activity that keeps kids out of trouble.

It's good news that the Council approved the mayor's budget proposal to provide roller hockey players on Oahu a much-needed court.

Adam Burke
Grade 9, Mililani High

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Same-sex archive

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