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Listen to pleas of Pearl City residents

I am a recent Pearl City High School graduate attending school on the mainland.

I am one of many who oppose the state's plans to establish a juvenile sex offender facility in a residential area near the high school and Momilani Elementary School.

Governor Cayetano has asked for our understanding, but this is one time we must demand understanding on his part.

How would he have felt if this facility had been put next to his house when his children were younger?

Justin Yoshio Yoshida
Monterey, Calif.

Fluoride in water would be wasted

In the debate over fluoridation, commitment of resources should be seriously considered.

Fluoridation of the entire municipal water supply makes little sense since each person consumes less than two gallons of water per day for drinking and consumption in food.

Of each million gallons of water, probably less than 5,000 gallons effectively go to the prevention of tooth decay, assuming that half the population are adults, whose teeth structure is already fixed.

On Oahu this means about 150 million gallons of water would be treated unnecessarily every day.

Good dental hygiene -- including regular visits to the dentist, fluoride in tablet form, fluoridated dentifrices and topical applications by dentists -- are simple and more effective methods to reduce tooth decay among children.

The addition of fluoride to soft drink syrups could also be very effective, because our warm climate promotes greater consumption of these products.

Chester Lao

Wild cats are natural vermin exterminators

Another good reason to trap, neuter and return feral cats to their public locations is that neutering will not affect their ability to hunt the vermin that will surely begin to plague the islands if these wild cats are removed.

They are doing a good job. Let's just keep them from reproducing. Their populations will always get new additions from uncaring owners who desert them before moving away.

Kaea NiMarion
LaVeta, Colo.

GOP is real proponent of civil rights

In his Feb. 12 letter, Jonathan Peterson castigates Republicans and glorifies Democrats for their records on civil rights for the past 50 years.

I don't support either party but, as a historian, I am interested in presenting information based on facts rather than than rhetoric.

I challenge Peterson to check the historical records of the U.S. Congress, especially with respect to civil rights legislation and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He will find that, without the support of Republicans, there would not have been any civil rights legislation.

This check will also show that a higher percentage of Republican lawmakers voted for civil rights than did Democrats.

Bill Maness
Huntsville, Ala.

Quotables "A challenge in Hawaii is the idiosyncrasies of the music industry. It's a Jawaiian and reggae- based market." Eric Gilliom ISLAND RECORDING ARTIST Who has used the Internet to introduce songs from his first album, "Like Chow Fun," to a larger audience "We'll wake up one morning and it'll have been decided." Jon Van Dyke UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII LAW PROFESSOR AND ONE OF THE HAWAII ATTORNEYS FOR THE STATE IN THE RICE VS. CAYETANO CASE On how an opinion on the issue could come from the U.S. Supreme Court as early as tomorrow. Big Island rancher Harold "Freddy" Rice has charged racial discrimination in elections for Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees

Hanauma development won't cost taxpayers

Mark Terry's assertion (Letters, Jan. 26) that the improvements planned for Hanauma Bay are "intrusive" and "opposed by the community" are, quite simply, false. Moreover, the project will cost taxpayers nothing, as income from admissions and concessions will cover the cost of improvements and maintenance.

Members of the community have actively participated in developing the Hanauma Bay Improvement Plan.

Moreover, the plan emphasizes education as a means of preventing further damage to the bay's fragile ecosystem.

Great care has been taken to return Hanauma Bay to a more natural state, to make it more available to local families, and to create a nature learning center where visitors and school children can learn about the geology, marine biology and cultural history of our islands.

The obtrusive food concession and restroom structures will be demolished and the new facilities will be hidden under rock outcroppings and landscaped berms.

The only new structure visible on the beach will be a thatched hut, which will serve as an information kiosk.

Malcolm J. Tom
Deputy Managing Director
City and County of Honolulu

OHA money should be used for all races

The governor and Legislature must confront the ceded lands issue head on.

Since the establishment of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was a major mistake based on ignorance of the facts, it should be abolished. Its funds should be returned to the treasury to pay off the state debt or to be used for the general benefit of all residents.

It is also high time for all races in Hawaii to speak up and to stop leaving the issue to a few Caucasians to fight alone.

Let the voices we hear in private conversations be known publicly, so that we can put an end to race-based entitlements.

Robert M. Chapman

Return of camera case exemplifies aloha spirit

Recently, our family enjoyed nine wonderful days on Oahu. On our last day, our 7-year-old left his camera case on TheBus, which we had taken to reach one of our adventures.

Inside the case were his wallet, with only a few dollars in it, and a new camera with pictures of his favorite stop at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial.

I felt certain that the camera would have a new owner. But when we returned home, I called TheBus' lost and found department to learn that the case -- with the wallet, dollars, camera and all -- had been turned in.

All will soon be in my son's hands.

We stand in awe of your aloha spirit.

Gary Schneider
Billings, Mont.

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