Mayor shouldn't make fuss about HPD overtime
Mayor Harris' response to police overtime is no surprise to anyone in law enforcement. While it's true that Harris opposed the 1994 early retirement package, it's also true that he has failed to negotiate pay raises in good faith while he was managing director and currently as mayor.How much did Harris offer in 1994 to police and dispatchers? A zero percent increase! How much in 1998? Again, zero percent! With the mass exodus of Honolulu police officers to mainland departments, it's only a matter of time before dispatchers are recruited, too.
As far as having more recruits than vacancies, this is just another "spin doctor" fallacy. Services in the police department are being drastically cut due to a critical shortage of manpower. DUI arrests are already down 16 percent, and criminal investigations and arrests are being jeopardized as a direct result of Harris' ludicrous budget cuts in public safety.
Rather than attempting to chastise employees who are forced to take hundreds of hours away from their families, the mayor should be commending them for the sacrifice they make in the interest of public safety, despite his own incompetence.
Alexander Garcia
Mililani
Tongue-in-cheek reasons for HPD officers to stay
There are 200 openings and 200 more expected at HPD as mainland cities lure away its highly (and costly) trained veteran officers. HPD pay and benefits include:
20 percent less pay than similar mainland cities, higher taxes and higher cost of living; overtime is discouraged.
Please form an orderly line to the right.
David Eber
Fasi betrayed those who believed in his ideals
I am 18 years old and voted for the first time in the primary. I supported Frank Fasi because of his strong positions against abortion, homosexual marriage and domestic partnerships.Now I find out that, after losing the GOP gubernatorial nomination, he has endorsed Cayetano and the liberal Democratic Party, who I know want to legalize same-sex marriage.
I am betrayed and angry. Yes, I was naive to believe Fasi but I know one thing for sure: I will never vote for him again, not even for dogcatcher.
In November, I'll be voting "yes" on the marriage amendment and for Linda Lingle, the next governor of Hawaii.
Jasmine Sarns
Political signs are being torn down and vandalized
I decided to help my friend Brian Schatz run for the House of Representatives by putting up yard signs in his district. Little did I know how busy I would be, because my job has gone beyond repairing wind and rain damage to include regularly replacing signs that have been vandalized and removed.Last Sunday, instead of watching football, I spent the morning putting up signs. By the time the afternoon game had started, two had been broken and another was removed. Each sign costs about $15, and takes me about 30 minutes to build.
This kind of blatant disrespect does nobody any good. Where is the aloha spirit?
Woodie Milks
Lingle, Koki disagree on issue of abortion
Stan Koki, although reluctant to talk about abortion (he's strictly a "businessman" now), is aware that Steve Forbes -- the founder of Americans for Hope, Growth & Opportunity -- is coming to town to assist Koki and Lingle's campaigns.Koki will be pleased to know that Forbes stated that "banning partial-birth abortion is the first step toward the extinction of abortion in the United States of America." (Quoted from the September Christian Coalition's Road to Victory shindig in Washington, D.C.)
It would be a good idea for Koki to sit down with Lingle beforehand to work out a united front on this issue. She is, after all, advertising herself as pro-choice.
Grant Peters
Democratic values have deteriorated
Today's Democratic Party is no longer the instrument of change that it was in 1954. Its leadership only cares about the "little guys" when it needs their votes. The governor's war chest is filled with contributions from big business, political appointees and those favored with large non-bid contracts.Under this administration, the rich have become richer, while the rest of us have suffered financially. During the last legislative session, public workers were told there was no money for a pay raise, but as soon as it ended the governor's budget director announced a surplus and promised these same workers a pay raise if Cayetano is re-elected. Is this a party of values?
That is why lifetime Democrats like me have said enough is enough, and have joined the Republicans. That's where you'll find the "Spirit of 1954."
Larry Nelson
(Via the Internet)
How is Lingle going to pay for programs?
I was looking at Linda Lingle's website, particularly the section about her economic plan if she is elected governor. It fails to answer the most critical question: How is she going to pay for all of her tax incentive and economic stimulus programs?Being positive has its merits, but it will definitely not help Hawaii's economic crisis. This point was proven when the "Thumbs Up, Hawaii" campaign failed.
Therefore, it would be shortsighted for anyone to vote for Lingle without knowing how she is going to accomplish her goals without raising taxes, drastically cutting state jobs and funding, or eliminating badly needed social programs. The people want answers.
Ivan Freeley
(Via the Internet)
Use phone to report cases of abandoned animals
We would like to correct an error in the Star-Bulletin's Sept. 25 article regarding feral cats at the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus. To report a person abandoning an animal or improperly caring for an animal, call the Hawaiian Humane Society or the police department. We may be reached at 946-2187, ext. 285. Or if you have a GTE cellular telephone, a free call may be made by pressing (star) PAWS and extension 285.Rebecca H. Rhoades, DVM
Director of Shelter Operations
Hawaiian Humane Society
Pupil doesn't have to pull himself upstairs anymore
Your Sept. 18 article featured Keolu fourth-grader Mark Gross, who won gold medals on the mainland in the Wheelchair Olympics and took second place in a national essay contest. Mark had written about how he often pulled himself upstairs to our second-floor classroom to attend his computer class, because our buildings are not equipped with lifts. Some of your readers called and wrote to ask what could be done to help Mark.It is true that while he mastered the skill of pulling himself upstairs last year, the DOE has provided our school with a mechanized stair climber. It enables Mark to remain in his wheelchair and to go upstairs with the assistance of an adult. Also, our computer lab has now been moved downstairs to the library, so Mark doesn't have to climb to the second floor this year.
Thank you to all the sensitive people who volunteered to help this resourceful youngster. Mark has shown us that he will find a way to do what needs to be done, and will carry this determination throughout his life.
Christine Urban
Principal, Keolu Elementary
Kailua
Controversy over dress code makes Campbell look silly
What's it going to be, students of Campbell High School: to better your looks or brains? It's disappointing that this has been made into such an issue, for all to see (Star-Bulletin, Sept. 24).As a Campbell High alum, I am ashamed that my alma mater should be the focus of such bad publicity. I know that there were more serious incidents, but what is this? School should have an atmosphere conducive to education, not for students and their parents to complain that there's nothing decent for their daughters to wear.
Whatever the excuse, school is not a fashion show. If you ask me, bring on those uniforms. That way, there will be no complaints on what clothes to wear!
Derek Hiroki Funayama
Kapolei
(Via the Internet)
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