Judge gave assailant mere slap on the wrist
We, the family of the victim in the Shane Hirakawa attempted murder case, are appalled by Judge Dan Kochi's decision. He has sentenced an innocent 13-year-old girl to a life of fear, and made the penalty for her excruciating pain and time of terror amount to 10 lashes with a wet noodle.In spite of the testimony that three years of intensive psychiatric treatment could, at best, be only 50 percent effective for Hirakawa, he will be released at age 19 to prey upon the community, whether or not he is ready!
Does the victim now need to become a prisoner for self protection? How much personal responsibility will Judge Kochi take if anything should happen to her or to anyone else?
To the idiot lawmakers who dreamed up this juvenile justice system, how can we justify that a underage attempted murderer is automatically forgiven and rehabilitated upon reaching the age of 19?
How can we give one person like Judge Kochi so much power without giving us the recourse of appealing this decision?
Norma Parado
Pedestrian walkway would be ill-spent money
It's not too late to stop the unconscionable waste of $5 million to build a pedestrian bridge across the Ala Wai at Kalakaua Avenue. Supposedly, this bridge will make it easier for convention goers to walk from their hotels to the Hawaii Convention Center.The few scattered pedestrians who actually walk that route can be served by the existing sidewalk. The new bridge would bring no benefits to the citizens who will pay for it.
Common sense -- supplemented by an expensive survey, if necessary -- will tell us that the convention center will be used fewer than 180 days a year. Even if utilized at a180-day rate, the actual numbers of attendees per day who would walk an average mile to and from their Waikiki hotels would not justify this terrible waste of taxpayer money.
Art Freedman
UH mustn't leave empty ethnic studies position
Like many other organizations, the University of Hawaii is going through difficult economic times, necessitating a pruning of the budget.However, given the contributions of Japanese Americans to the growth and prosperity of modern Hawaii, a successor to Dr. Franklin Odo, an expert on Hawaii's Japanese community, needs to be selected as soon as possible.
Budgetary restraint is an inadequate reason for not filling Dr. Odo's position, especially when Japanese Americans represent one-third of our state's population.
Bill Sharp
Race for Congress hinges on ideas, not good looks
Regarding the report that some Republican Party officials are urging my exit from the congressional race, Mark Twain said it best: "Reports of my recent death are greatly exaggerated."If Hawaii residents want money and good looks to be the most important qualities in the person representing them in Congress, then Republican officials who want me to exit the race should turn up the heat and get me to quit.
But, if they believe -- like the majority of the people of Hawaii -- that this race is about ideas and experience and getting Hawaii's economy moving again, they should back off.
A contested Republican primary can only help to strengthen a strong candidate or weaken a weak candidate, so why should either of us be afraid of a contest? The bottom line is that one of us will come out stronger and better, with a solid grasp of the issues and ammunition to beat the incumbent.
State Rep. Gene Ward
Local GOP doesn't respect person's right to choose
During the recent state Republican Convention, a platform was passed that proves political blackmail is alive and well in Hawaii. The Platform Committee was hijacked by members who hadn't attended the scheduled committee meetings.These members called a last-minute Platform Committee meeting at 8 a.m. on the day of the platform vote. The result was a 10-7 vote in favor of adding these sentences to the plank on family, social and housing issues: "We support the requirement for parental consent so that alternative solutions to abortion can be considered. In the interest of humanity, we oppose the medical procedure known as partial-birth abortion."
By inserting these sentences, Hawaii's Republicans voted against the widely held GOP concept of honoring the individual's power over his or her own life and destiny.
This plank increases government control over the individual's life, something that Republicans frequently claim separates them from other parties.
Carolyn Martinez Golojuch
Makakilo
Making fun of racism is not humorous at all
I'm normally a Corky admirer, but I didn't think his front-page May 21 cartoon on the UH basketball fan's complaint was funny.I'm sorry that letter writer Gordon Chung did (Letters, May 28).
I wonder if he would have been so amused if the "N" word had been replaced by one of the racially derogatory terms used to insult members of his own ethnic minority?
I think not, especially if there was also a threat of violence toward him and no real apology during the three years between the event and the Civil Rights Commission's ruling.
Pat Daly
If something's missing, Auntie Rose must have it
Corky Trinidad's front-page May 27 cartoon depicting the University of Hawaii's athletic program being "given away to Auntie Rose" was brilliant. He took two unrelated news stories and wove them into a parody that is both eye- and mind-catching.I predict that, from now on in Hawaii, whenever anything or anyone is lost, missing, orphaned or just plain "gonzo," people will say, "It was given away to Auntie Rose!"
William Moore
Kailua
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