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Thursday, September 24, 1998

Closing adult video store gives Blockbuster an edge

It would appear that Andy Mirikitani's bill would essentially take most of the bread and butter away from locally owned video stores and give the pie to Blockbuster.

Mirikitani appears to be listening to a different drummer but that drummer doesn't seem to be the real economic needs of his constituency, where small businesses dominate.

There are many people with a need for more literary and artistic diversity than Mirikitani would allow.

Scott Griffiths
(Via the Internet)

Trustees are breaching their fiduciary duty

The Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate trustees are demanding that the financial reports of '93-'96 not be published in a daily paper, as required by Pauahi's will.

She wanted her true beneficiaries to know what the trustees were doing, so she had that clause put into her will, requiring that the results be published annually and read by the true beneficiaries. This is so we can read about the annual results and hold the trustees accountable.

Is this not a breach of the trustees' fiduciary duties and responsibilities?

Mervyn C. Thompson

It's mercenary mentality to kill medical school

The proposal to eliminate the UH medical school is the old routine of cutting the other guy's department and not mine. The argument for eliminating the med school is that there are already enough physicians in Hawaii. Well, aren't there also enough lawyers, businessmen and English majors? So why not make cuts in those areas?

What other UH department has as much impact on the well-being of people than the med school? How many lives have been saved by physicians trained at UH? In addition, few other departments bring in as much research money as the med school.

It is obvious that the faculty members proposing this idea are trying to save their own departments and jobs.

Marshall Kim
UH Medical Student
(Via the Internet)

Incumbent shouldn't be surprised by endorsement

Apparently, Governor Cayetano was quite surprised to hear that UH faculty members have voted overwhelmingly to endorse candidate Lingle. This just shows how badly out of touch the governor is with the dire situation at the university.

This lack of understanding is apparent by his continued endorsement of an ineffectual university leadership which:

1) Worries more about beating Guinness Book records for Volkswagen-stuffing than the erosion of faculty and staff moral.

2) Has faculty members wasting their time on committees to identify programs that are weak or not central to the UH mission without having the spine to implement their recommended vertical cuts.

The faculty are well aware that a Republican endorsement sends a very unfortunate and unintended message to Senator Inouye, who has always been an excellent advocate of the university mission and people. That this fact has not deterred us from endorsing Lingle shows how desperate we are for a change from the status quo.

Jill Karsten
Associate Researcher
University of Hawaii-Manoa
(Via the Internet)

UH faculty should have endorsed Ben Cayetano

Contrary to the assertion of the UHPA, Governor Cayetano has been very supportive of the UH system. He has championed autonomy for UH. Furthermore:

Next to the Department of Education, the UH budget had been reduced the least amount of any other state department.

Cayetano's innovative approach

to financing resulted in the development of UH-West Oahu without reducing the funding of other parts of the university.

Cayetano's stewardship has led to the expansion of our delivery of educational services to the neighbor islands and outlying areas on Oahu.

Cayetano has made a commitment to invest in the UH infrastructure - for example, the completion of the Stan Sheriff Center, the Astronomy Center in Hilo, Molokai Educational Center and Windward Community College facilities.

During Cayetano's tenure, the UH has been able to increase its research capabilities. The amount of grants for research has been on the increase and the results of said efforts have been well publicized.

If one looks at what has occurred at the UH from a statewide perspective, rather than the limited view of the UHPA, Governor Cayetano should receive the endorsement of the people.

Lee A. Ohigashi
Former member, Board of Regents
Wailuku, Maui

Council will re-evaluate street widening efforts

In response to Richard Y. Will's Aug. 31 letter, the Kalakaua Avenue demonstration project was done at the request of the City Council to see if three lanes were adequate to accommodate traffic on Kalakaua Avenue, between Kaiulani and Kapahulu avenues.

The proposed elimination of the makai travel lane on Kalakaua will allow for widening of Kuhio Beach by adding 43,550 square feet of landscaped area and 14,520 square feet of sand.

We agree that there should be no cluttered sidewalks. Therefore, we have instructed our consultant to make unimpeded pedestrian travel a top priority in his design of the promenade and meandering sidewalk.

We are tabulating the vehicular volume counts, travel-speed data and video observations that we've collected before and during the demonstration period. These results will be compiled into a report and be presented to the Council in about a month. At that time, the Council will decide whether to proceed with the project.

Cheryl D. Soon
Director, Department
of Transportation Services
City and County of Honolulu

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