Save Traditional Marriage members aren't extremists
Our organization's one and only goal is to pass the traditional marriage question on the Nov. 3 ballot. Yet supporters of same-sex marriage are trying to convince the general public that we are a bunch of extremists.The fatal flaw with this strategy is that we are not extremists. We are the general public. We have thousands of members from across the state, representing diverse ethnic, religious and social backgrounds. They represent the 70 percent of residents who oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage.
It is not intolerant or narrow-minded to believe that marriage is a privilege that should be reserved for one man and one woman.
Noelani Foster
Spokeswoman
Save Traditional Marriage '98
Taking away rights poses question of who's next
Many of those who support the constitutional amendment that would take power away from the courts and give it to the Legislature do so on religious grounds. Is there any reason to create an exception to our Constitution's system of checks and balances other than to impose one's personal religious convictions on all others?When Islamic legislators in the Middle East pass laws restricting the rights of their Christian minorities, it is correctly viewed as human-rights abuse. When those in Hawaii attempt to pass legislation targeting an unpopular group, they call it "saving traditional marriage." I call it hijacking the Constitution.
It sets a bad precedent. What will be next? Will those who don't like the PASH decision honoring Hawaiian gathering rights decide to "save traditional Western property rights"?
Larry Baczeski
Mentally challenged can be productive citizens
People with mental illness are consistently having difficulty in our community. Many are unemployed and cannot find work. Their physical health statistics are poor. Yet Hawaii prides itself on its spirit of aloha, the concept of ohana (extended family), and lokahi (working together).There are some fine programs to help these folks, but community resistance has been causing difficulty in locating a Clubhouse on Fort Street Mall. Another good program in that area, Safe Haven, may have to relocate because of harassment.
Clubhouses stress a work-ordered day and encourage members to enter the work force, if they so desire. The Safe Haven program reaches out to the homeless and mentally ill, and provides housing and rehabilitation.
If we treat our citizens with mental illness fairly, we will strengthen our society. If we treat some people poorly, we diminish our society and ourselves. Let's do right by all our people and practice what we preach.
Randolph Hack
Executive Director, United Self-Help
Now Dems have fouled up new convention center
Our Hawaii Convention Center needs work? It would seem to many sane people that, the convention center being new, the powers-that-be would have put in enough electric lines and power to to handle anything, gambling included.Congratulations, mighty Democrats, you've fouled up again. This center will probably bleed our tax dollars.
When I go to the voting booth this year, guess what party I will NOT be casting my votes for?
Bruce Tetreault
Trash from fishing boats needs to be cleaned up
The washing up of "exotic" trash onto Windward beaches is disturbing. This has become a huge problem to the residents of the North Shore.The large nets and other fishing debris that continue to litter the beaches are coming from outside our island (from boats). This trash is coming ashore at a volume never before seen.
The powers-that-be do not seem willing to look at the possibility of this being an entirely different problem from the usual trash handled by individuals who already volunteer to clean the beaches.
When property owners are faced with trying to remove hundreds of pounds of fishing nets with ropes as large as three to four inches in diameter, and officials claim that the problem is one of local creation, there is justifiable frustration.
North Shore residents are simply looking for some acknowledgment of the "exotic" trash situation they are facing, and for some action by city and/or state officials to assist them in alleviating this problem.
Colleen Meyer
Representative, 46th District (R)
Companies have no choice but to sue Big Isle utility
In your July 29 article about Helco's unpermitted construction activities at Keahole, Warren Lee implies that Hilo Coast Power Co. (HCPC) wants to sell additional power to Helco at excessively high costs. This is untrue.The Hawaii law governing purchased power contracts specifies that independent power producers are entitled to receive Helco's avoided costs -- no more and no less.
HCPC has been trying for over two years to negotiate a new power contract with Helco with increased power deliveries (32 megawatts instead of the present 22 megawatts) at a substantially lower price than its current contract. Helco's unwillingness to negotiate in a timely fashion has forced HCPC to seek relief from the Public Utilities Commission, the same as Encogen and Kawaihae Partners.
Our docket is now waiting for a decision from the PUC. Of all the proposed power plants (including Keahole), HCPC is the only one already in existence. We have a proven track record, producing reliable power from a source other than petroleum fuels.
Richard Hill
President, Hilo Coast Power Co.
Hilo, Hawaii
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