Injunction should be sought to halt closure Governor Cayetano, Attorney General Earl Anzai and our congressional delegation have wisely and quickly moved to call for a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the imminent closure of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. We must remember that the Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 (NPA) was passed by Congress under very effective pressure from the American Newspaper Publishers Association because without the legislation dozens of American cities would lose one of their two newspapers. Honolulu is one of 14 U.S. cities that have managed to maintain two separate editorial voices, in spite of a struggling market, thanks to joint operating agreements formed in accordance with the NPA. Now we find that the same public interest that motivated the NPA is being ignored and the Star-Bulletin is closing to allow the Honolulu Advertiser greater profits as our only newspaper. Until we know all the facts to make a final decision, there should be an injunction obtained from the courts or a stay issued by the Department of Justice to prevent the Star-Bulletin's closure. Certainly, the people of Honolulu will be better served with the preservation of two newspapers. A pure profit motive should not be cavalierly allowed to close the Star-Bulletin in a short number of days from now. Cec Heftel Former Hawaii Congressman and broadcast media owner Star-Bulletin closing Oct. 30, 1999

Demand standard English for keiki

For years many have cited the shortcomings of allowing pidgin in the classroom, only to be called anti-Hawaiian or worse. Yes, it's common practice to speak pidgin here but, no, it doesn't make it right, wise or beneficial.

Let's face it, in spite of how we defend our multicultural community, Hawaii is but a small spot on the map in comparison to the world. If our most precious resource, our children, are going to be prepared to realize their dreams, their command of standard English must be paramount.

Reuben Banks
Via the Internet

Quotables "After I fix their smiles, they have no words. They just stare in the mirror and can't believe the transformation." Dr. Wynn Okuda HONOLULU COSMETIC DENTIST Who created the "Give Back a Smile" program to provide free cosmetic dental work to survivors of domestic abuse "When I looked in the mirror, I was speechless. I looked like me, instead of the woman with the big gap in her teeth." "Bella" 37-YEAR-OLD MOTHER OF THREE CHILDREN WHO LOST HER FRONT TEETH AS A RESULT OF DOMESTIC ABUSE After completion of her reconstructed smile, courtesy of Dr. Wynn Okuda "If I was the shark, I'd be scared." Lokelani McMichael KAILUA-KONA TRIATHLETE Who doesn't think sharks would be attracted by the mob of people swimming in the Oct. 23 Ironman Triathlon World Championship, despite recent shark attacks and sightings in island waters

Good libraries are at heart of great societies

That the state of Hawaii is starving the modest budget of the library system is almost criminal. The libraries, even more than the public schools, are the true learning centers available to all citizens, young and old.

Benjamin Franklin, who founded the first public library, educated himself by reading and discussion. President Abraham Lincoln, with only a meager formal education, did the same. Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Angela's Ashes," acquired his literary education in the New York public libraries, enough that he was able to talk his way into a university, graduate as an English teacher and eventually become a major author.

In the libraries I see students gathering material for school projects, entrepreneurs mapping out new ventures, citizens researching matters of law, investors studying the markets and novices learning their way around the Internet. Many patrons are reading current newspapers and magazines, or books written in their native languages.

The libraries are clean, safe and helpful. But they are woefully underfunded.

The state library budget for new books is not predictably funded, even though acquiring new materials is at the heart of any library's quality.

Is it too much to hope that our lawmakers will commit themselves to funding our libraries at a level greater than bare survival?

Loren Ekroth
Kailua
Via the Internet

EWC has always had State Department ties

A Sept. 30 letter by Mark J. Valencia expresses concern that oversight of the East-West Center by the U.S. State Department will somehow "unduly influence the EWC's intellectual agenda."

Valencia need not fear. His premise is based on an ignorance of the facts.

A State Department task force formulated the details of how the EWC would be created in the first place. The original appropriation and all the federal funds thereafter were in the State Department's budget. The Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs was the key player for the EWC in Washington and an ex-officio member of its board of governors.

USIA also played a longtime role in promoting the EWC's scholarships and programs in Asia and the Pacific. All the students attended University of Hawaii classes and, believe me, the professors and instructors never once lectured from State Department manuals.

Ask those grantees who were enrolled in the UH political science department, especially during the Vietnam War.

James V. Hall
Via the Internet

Hanauma fees should be used for its upkeep

After reading your Sept. 14 article about how fees to Hanauma Bay are being spent elsewhere, we feel that tourists have been misled. We have come to Hawaii 15 times during the past 15 years, and Hanauma Bay is always a must for us.

When the fee was started, we felt that it was right because we understood it was to be used for the upkeep of the park and nothing but the park.

Charles and Mary Carnahan
Mascoutah, Ill.
Via the Internet

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