Columnist's bias shows again
in Clinton tirade

Once again, Diane Chang is showing both of her faces regarding President Clinton, Democrats and feminist issues. In her May 30 column, she wrote about being ticked off that one of her newsroom associates found some credibility problems with Paula Jones' lawsuit against President Clinton.

Where was this outrage before the elections? If Chang is so steamed, why weren't there banner headlines on every column about the alleged misconduct of candidate Clinton?

Oh, I forgot, Clinton is a Democrat. Only after he was elected, did Chang's outrage spill over into the Star-Bulletin's editorial pages.

If Maui Mayor Linda Lingle gets the Republican gubernatorial nomination, it will be interesting to see which face Chang will wear. Will she repress her feminist side to push through the Democratic candidate, or will she support her sister in gender?

Jay O. Floan

Librarians are very brave
to tackle mismanagement

I am frankly amazed that any letter writer would refer to librarians' concerns as "whining" (May 30, "Librarians should stop whining about their work"). Yes, they're still employed. That's hardly the point. Clearly their work means much more to them than pay checks and benefits.

If it didn't, they would never have taken the risk of publicly pointing out the serious mismanagement of the state librarian Bart Kane. They have gone public because they care deeply about library patrons, about the quality of their collections, and about their professional standards.

Nothing frustrates librarians more than being unable to respond to patron needs. The environment the writer praises in the libraries has nothing to do with Kane.

It has everything to do with the dedication of his staff, despite his and Penebacker's open disparagement. They struggle every day to provide an atmosphere in which all library users, including abused and neglected children, can find respite in culture and education.

Frances Enos
Head Librarian
Legislature Reference Bureau Library
(Via the Internet)

Where is the 'justice'
sending Richie to Texas?

What kind of message is being sent when Carl Richie is among the inmates shipped off to a Texas correctional facility for at least two years on the same day that we read John Murakami is in a residential program that allows him to work days and spend nights in his residence with an electronic bracelet?

Richie is the African American with no prior felony convictions. He received a 10-year sentence from Judge Masuoka for operating an openly advertised exotic dance business on Kauai, similar to those still flourishing throughout the islands and on the mainland. He declined a plea bargain offer on lesser charges of promoting prostitution because of a misplaced confidence in the system.

Murakami is the former Maui union leader, also facing 10 years, who pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. He received a one-year sentence he completes in August.While many inmates, including Richie, speak highly of the Texas atmosphere, we can only hope the reported racial animosity that led to an inmate death has been resolved.

Cynics might suspect an out-of-sight, out-of-mind component to Richie's transfer. It may be the result of the business-as-usual attitude that ignored his efforts to get a new attorney and new parole hearing while awaiting his approved transfer to Oahu's minimum security facility at Waiawa.

Whatever the case, the broad spectrum of citizens seeking his release pending appeal will continue this struggle for justice.

Faye Kennedy

Hawaii hasn't lost pity
for those who need welfare

Pam Smith's May 21 letter oversimplifies the welfare reform measures that the nation is experiencing. She cited the falling welfare roll of another state, reported in your newspaper, but not the rise of homelessness also reported in the same article.

In Hawaii, our welfare reform program is not designed just to "force people off welfare" as suggested in Smith's letter.

One of the questions she raised is whether Hawaii is, by comparison, more compassionate and willing to let people become dependent. Yes, Hawaii is compassionate. We must protect families while they transition from welfare to work.

The sensible thing to do is discourage dependence and to encourage self-sufficiency. To this end, our Pursuit of New Opportunities (PONO) program discourages dependence by reducing cash benefits.

Recipients will see a reduction of cash benefits by 20 percent two months after they come into the program. At the same time, they are given incentives for pursuing earned income and attending training.

We have programs such as the Transitional Opportunities Program and the Work Plus Program, which place recipients in real jobs with private- sector employers and in training activities in the public sector.

Our goal is to help able-bodied adults leave the welfare rolls forever, because they are self-sufficient.

Susan M. Chandler
Director
Department of Human Services

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Same-sex archive

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