Shapiro distorted words
of commision director

Dave Shapiro's Aug. 2 column, "Ethics is knowing right from wrong," indicates that he himself doesn't know right from wrong. Shapiro wrongly accuses me of saying, in my July 30 letter to the editor, that the Bulletin needs to fine-tune its thinking on ethics. What I wrote was that your paper "needs to fine-tune its thinking regarding the work of the State Ethics Commission."

Later, Shapiro pens in his column an imaginary dialogue in which a bank lobbyist pushes a banking bill with a legislator, who simultaneously begs for a bank job and loan. Shapiro then states that such conduct by the legislator is fine by me.

I never said this. I said our ethics laws do not bar mere solicitations without evidence of a misuse of position. Shapiro's fanciful dialogue exceeds a mere solicitation.

Daniel J. Mollway
Executive Director
Hawaii State Ethics Commission

Loss of community leads
to unbridled development

Diane Chang can answer her own question, "Where are the letters to the editor? Where is the outrage?" (Changing Hawaii, "Hawaii is paradise -- for shoppers, that is,'' Aug. 1) She should know best the reasons that developments don't receive the type of criticism that they deserve in the paper. Why can't the Star-Bulletin publicize these projects more, spelling out the dangers for the unsuspecting public?

I have always been amazed at the ease at which developers get their way in Hawaii, especially on Oahu.

It isn't just small magical communities that are famous for opposition to slick developers. San Francisco is close-knit for a city. Many projects must face a strict review there, and many don't pass for the same reasons you mentioned: loss of community, open spaces, places for locals.

There is only one Las Vegas. Let's leave it that way.

Mike Peters
(Via the Internet)

Union leader looks like
he has won the crown

There's good news and bad news for the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. The good news is the monarchy has been restored. The bad news -- our new king is Gary Rodrigues.

John Sender

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Thumbs up and down
on economic task force

Panel appears just in time
for election campaign

The Economic Revitalization Task Force should be named FOB (Friends of Ben) for the Re-election of Democrats! The members all represent the status quo. These firms and organization are reactive, not pro-active.

All are dependent on the government: unions, quasi-public firms, regulated utilities, regulated industries, developers, Democratic activists, and Democrat fundraisers.

The engine for change and new ideas is small business. Why exclude advocates like Bette Tatum, George Mason, Lex Brodie, and Sens. Norman Sakamoto and Sam Slom? Why exclude successful small businesses like Hilo Hattie's, EK Fernandez Shows and Maui Divers? Why exclude landlords like Victoria Ward Ltd., Dole Cannery and Campbell Estate?

Jay Bauckham

Let's give the governor
and task force a chance

As an independent-minded Republican small-businessman, I would counsel others not to criticize the governor for trying to do his best with his Economic Revitalization Task Force.We should encourage him in his efforts to focus on serious economic problems.

Unfortunately, it will take more than smooth media-events to improve the economy. This state has been out of responsible control for much too long, thanks to one-party rule, union dominance, high taxes and political cronyism, for any gubernatorial task force to do much good, one way or the other.

Good luck, however, to the esteemed members of the "dream team," not all of whom are major campaign donors.

The message to the task force from overlooked and forgotten "little people" such as myself and most of your readers, ought to be: cut taxes, and change your attitude, through real tax reform, real school reform and real campaign spending reform.

Ken Harding
Manoa Neighborhood Board member

We need something better
than past 'thumbs up' idea

Governor Cayetano, having correctly realized that the only nongovernment people with a say in how things get done in Hawaii are big business and union interests, has formed a blue-ribbon economic task force of business and union players to solve our state's economic woes.

Formed behind closed doors with closed-door-deal specialists Joe Souki and Norman Mizuguchi, this high-flying group, with salaries exceeding most small businesses' total turnover, will put their heads together and recommend how to boost our economy.

It's nice to know this esteemed panel of government, corporate and union managers are prepared to stoop to conquer in this way. Hopefully, their new ideas will be better than their last "thumbs up" approach. I know my small business certainly doesn't have room for another thumb up it.

Mike Colgan
Kapolei

Cayetano could get
better advice off the street

Scrap the task force, Governor, and consider some ideas heard on the street, not in ivory towers. To spark Hawaii's economy:

A) Abolish the confiscatory excise tax and establish a true sales tax.

B) Privatize, wherever feasible, to encourage fresh ideas.

C) Cut the layers of red tape that strangle productivity and boost costs for nearly everything done in Hawaii.

D) Reduce the bloated state bureaucracy to pre-Waihee days, if not further; think lean and efficient (note: accomplish b and c and d must follow).

E) Build and support a public education system that is second to none.

F) Get labor unions out of Washington Place and back into the workplace.

G) Reform practices, policies and politics-as-usual.

Kerry A. Krenzke

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Same-sex archive

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