Cayetano is threatened by Lingle's popularity
Passage of HB 1160 by Rep. Terrance Tom's committee is a blatant attempt to stifle free speech and the two-party system in Hawaii. The bill severely reduces funding to local candidates for office.When Governor Cayetano calls this bill "great," what he really means is that it's great for his re-election chances.
Why he is so concerned by his greatly underfunded challenger, Mayor Linda Lingle, boggles the imagination. Cayetano recently held a fund-raising dinner that garnered $1 million for his campaign coffers in a single night.
Are the Democrats so fearful of a fair challenge by an underfunded candidate that they feel they must abuse the legislative process to boost their chances for success? I guess so.
Garry P. Smith
Ewa Beach
Tom Gill's long career inspires island Democrats
In your March 3 story about Tom Gill, who is running for chairman of the Democratic Party, only one part of Tom's work and character was discussed.He is a civil libertarian. He has worked for many years to see that no one, popular or not, loses his rights and protections as a citizen.
He is a local boy who grew up in Honolulu, attended Roosevelt, went away to college and war, and came home to join the Democratic Revolution in the early '50s.
I first worked with Tom in the late 1960s to end the Vietnam War. He was the first elected person I knew of who considered the preservation of our island environment to be so important.
He has practiced labor and environmental law, reared a good family and has been a voice for fairness and reason in our world.
Marilyn Bornhorst
Chairwoman
Democratic Party of Hawaii
Somebody is screwing up Nimitz Highway road work
Who is the genius who organizes roadwork traffic flow? This past Saturday, we spent an hour in traffic driving from Kalihi to Pearl City via the Nimitz viaduct.What was really irritating was having to first merge right, due to a left-lane closure (but no work being done in the left lane), and then merging again due to work being done in the middle lane.
Needless to say, traffic was a mess. Assuming state planners are qualified, perhaps random drug tests are in order.
Ann Muramoto
(Via the Internet)
Story didn't give details of candidate's platform
In your Feb. 24 story, "Still king of the Hill," about U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, the paragraphs about my candidacy were incomplete. My platform calls for:
Abolishing the IRS and replacing the Tax Code with a simpler system.
Also in your story was the statement that I faulted "Inouye...for running on his record as a World War II hero." That portion of the quote came in the context of discussing a war record as a campaign issue, when George Bush and Robert Dole were also war heroes and likewise served their country well.
My position was not an attack against Inouye personally or against other wounded veterans.
Eugene F. Douglass
Republican candidate
U.S. Senate
Library services increased despite budget cuts
Pamela Smith of Ewa Beach, in her Feb. 25 letter to the editor, is certainly allowed her opinion as to whether the Board of Education was right to fire me. However, her facts are wrong.On Jan. 1, 1996, the days, nights and hours of public service were increased 19 percent by re-engineering the system and redeploying non-public service positions into public service. In addition, new services such as free Internet access and online access to 1,000 magazines completely indexed with full-text copy were added in July 1996.
All this was done while cutting the library system's budget $2.6 million (a 13 percent cut) as ordered by the governor. It was the fifth straight year of budget cuts.
Public service days, nights and hours are determined by each library staff based on its personnel and usage patterns.
Bartholomew A. Kane
State LibrarianIf trustees are doing such a great job, show us the money
The House Judiciary Committee heard several bills relating to the compensation paid to trustees of charitable trusts.Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate trustee Henry Peters testified in defense of the trustees' position. Peters likened them to underpaid magicians that could do nothing wrong. They were guided by his excellent management style. His record of achieving a 17 percent internal rate of return, compounded annually for the last 10 years, is remarkable if not absolutely astounding, he said.
Five billion dollars invested at 17 percent for 10 years compounded annually would amount to $24 billion. Adjusting that result for $300 million in annual expenditures would result in a reduction of the total by $1.442 billion for the 10-year period. Therefore, Peters should have an estate value of approximately $22.6 billion. Where is it?
As a direct beneficiary of estate, I am asking Peters to show some accountability in his public statements.
Mervyn C. Thompson, CPA
Golfers and nene share desire for similar habitat
A round of golf at the Volcano Golf Club or the newly opened Big Island Country Club on Hawaii Island includes the opportunity to visit with the nene bird in a happy habitat. We counted 18 in a pond at the Kona layout last time out.Therefore, my thought for the Sierra Club of Hawaii: Do away with your legal defense fund. Instead, spend the funds productively by developing more golf courses in the state. Do it for the children.
Carl Thoene
Kona, Hawaii
(Via the Internet)
Massage therapists need public's lobbying support
According to administrative rules developed since the passage of Act 251, as of Jan. 1, licensed massage therapists in Hawaii can no longer provide service to the no-fault system.This is because Act 251 requires benefits to be "substantially comparable to the requirements for prepaid health-care plans." HMSA does not recognize licensed massage therapists as providers.
While a physical therapist's evaluation may sometimes be appropriate and even helpful, it is not necessary in every instance. Physical therapists, their aides, nurses or licensed massage therapists working in physical therapy offices typically provide massage treatment at a higher cost than individual licensed massage therapists on referral from physicians.
The Legislature has already dealt with the primary cost driver of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits, the tort threshold. Readers should contact their legislators and request that service by licensed massage therapists under referral by physicians be returned as a PIP benefit.
Support your right and your doctor's right to determine who provides treatment of an accepted benefit.
Thomas Langenstein
Director, Kona Shiatsu Clinic
Captain Cook, Hawaii
Clinton's scandals show definite lack of integrity
From Whitewater to the campaign contributions to Paula Jones, President Clinton is always dealing with a scandal. These problems overshadow his job performance. Clinton has been forced to spend time dealing with these accusations, instead of focusing on our nation's problems.Can we trust Clinton? He has been proven to lie about his affairs. What's stopping him from lying about our nation's affairs? He is a convincing speaker and could have been a good used-car salesman.
Hopefully, this will send a clear message to voters about integrity before the next presidential election.
Marcus Nakamura
Pearl City
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