Beloved rainbow logo is perfect for UH
Why do we have to spend so much money on a new University of Hawaii logo? The old one was great, especially as it drew from where UH-Manoa is located, the valley of the rainbows. It kept us in touch with the aina. Bring back the Rainbows.
Kamuela
Rehab will restore Ala Wai's beauty
As a Waikiki resident of more than 30 years I want to voice my support for the upcoming Ala Wai project. The Ala Wai is one of the most beautiful aspects of Waikiki. I have run along the Ala Wai for the last 25 years and have watched the sidewalk gradually deteriorate with many cracks and uneven areas. These have been patched but are starting to look ragged. One thing I miss greatly is the mileage markers. I hope that they will return.I often see bicyclists on the sidewalk but cannot blame them for being there as riding on the street is so unsafe. I welcome a separate bike path that is not just a line drawn on the street.
My hope is that completion of this project will encourage more people to appreciate the beauty and benefits of being able to enjoy a leisurely stroll, run or bike ride in a safer manner.
Honolulu
Mayor's grand plan strains West Oahu
In a July 4 letter to the editor, a writer praised the mayor and his staff for the "phenomenal and unprecedented" improvements in Leeward and Central Oahu during the past 10 years.This caused me to wonder which "improvements" he was referring to.
>> Was it the steadily increasing volume of rush-hour traffic brought about by rapid development without adequate increase in traffic infrastructure capacity to support the development approved by the administration?No, I don't think any of these are the improvements that the writer was thinking about. We did get a nice new park in Central Oahu that, if our current track record is any indicator, may eventually fall into disrepair as have many of our existing parks. Maybe if the administration had required and would require developers to ensure the presence of adequate infrastructure prior to rubber-stamping development plans, it would be easier to determine just what exactly these improvements are.>> Was it the increasing number of overcrowded schools due to inadequate plans to construct new schools to support the growing population of the new developments approved by the administration?
>> Was it the introduction of multi-tracking to help alleviate the inadequate number of schools built or proposed by developers in the plans approved by the administration?
Mililani
Anti-drug group spurred ice legislation
Mahalo for running a story on Act 193 limiting the sale of ice precursor chemicals ("Sale of 'ice' ingredients is limited by new law," July 20). I think it is important for your readers to know the genesis of this legislation.In the last few years, concerns about increased drug use in Mililani Town grew to the point that citizens of that community formed the Mililani Town Anti-Drug Committee. The Anti-Drug Committee is an all-volunteer organization committed to fighting drug abuse in the area. It sponsors community meetings, educational forums and a neighborhood watch supported by the Mililani Town Association. It maintains an anti-drug Web site and makes legislative proposals for consideration by local legislators and council members.
Act 193 is the direct result of one of the Anti-Drug Committee's legislative proposals. Members of the committee met with me before the 2004 Legislative session. Responding to their concerns I introduced several bills to the committee. One of these, HB 2206, became Act 193.
The moral of this story is that communities that are proactive and take the time to address the tough issues facing their neighborhoods can make a difference. My congratulations to the Mililani Town Anti-Drug Committee for a job well done. I am proud to have been a part of your effort.
State House majority floor leader
Perhaps Aduja should bow out of race
The voters of Windward Oahu deserve to know the truth about Sen. Melodie Aduja before the primary election.If the Campaign Spending Commission is not able to complete its hearings on her by September, Aduja should do the honorable thing and resign (or withdraw from the election). The people of Windward Oahu deserve no less than an elected official that is ethical and law-abiding.
Kailua
'Dobelle Prize' more alluring than Nobel
The world-famous Nobel Prize (awarded for monumental feats in literature, chemistry, physics, economics and medicine) is a whopping 10 million Swedish Crowns (the equivalent of $1,141,305). While this amount is sizeable, it pales when compared to the $1.8 million settlement being paid out of public funds to the University of Hawaii president, hereinafter referred to as the "Dobelle Prize."All the while, neither Dobelle nor the UH Board of Regents are accepting any blame for "wrongdoing" in this situation.
Perhaps, as was the case with the former Bishop Estate trustees, the public should demand there be a general housecleaning of the highly political Board of Regents. Never mind the Nobel Prize, I'll take the Dobelle Prize. It's worth $658,695 more, plus it provides retirement benefits.
Kamuela, Hawaii
If only Dobelle could sack a quarterback
Obviously University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle would have fared far better if he was a football player at the UH instead of the UH president.Interesting set of values at our state university: You can sack a UH president over a simple "series of miscommunications," but you can continue to sack quarterbacks as an indicted felon on the football team ("Hawaii running back indicted," Star-Bulletin, May 1).
Great message to get out there Board of Regents and June Jones! Well done!
Honolulu
Stem-cell research is unpredictable
The media have been working overtime lately to sell the idea that breakthroughs in the treatment of disease are being blocked by President Bush's refusal to fund additional embryonic stem-cell research. Don't believe it.The scientific community is well aware of this sham, well aware that no human clinical trials are being conducted using embryonic stem cells because of their unpredictability and the lack of treatment success when used in animal testing.
So why is this "science" being so aggressively pushed? Be cause the researchers who champion it want to get their hands on federal money -- and the media have taken their advocacy at face value. That's why you haven't heard much about adult stem-cell research, science that uses cells extracted from sources like placentas and umbilical cords, which has shown real, documented promise in treating a host of diseases.
Conservatives are not out to quench medical breakthroughs. We are simply committed to pursuing the most promising, most moral course of action in the new world that is stem-cell research.
Honolulu
Don't let challengers unseat Hale, Case
I'm seeing signs of mainland money being lavishly spent in an effort to unseat two of our very best elected officials. We should be appalled by any possibility of its success.Replace state Rep. Helene Hale (D, Pahoa-Kalapana) with a Marine having no experience and questionable wisdom? Auwe!
Substitute for U.S. Rep. Ed Case (D, Outer Oahu-Neighbor Islands) with someone of the fanatical Evangelical variety?
Pahoa, Hawaii
Tour de Lance should inspire all Americans
Having watched Le Tour de France for the last six years, I still cannot comprehend or indeed find the right words to describe the feat, determination, courage, spirit, the will to win and rigorous training of our own Lance Armstrong, succeeding in all six with a 50 percent chance to live, defeating the agony of chemotherapy for testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain eight years prior.He is, or should be, the idol and inspiration of all America, including me; I feel exhausted just watching the 2,000 miles of daily grueling riding, mountain climbs one can barely walk up, rain, cold, baking heat and horrendous crashes, for three solid weeks with two days rest. And even then they go riding.
Surely this must stand as the finest testament to any man in any sport, along with the tremendous will to survive.
Honolulu
Fox News isn't news, it's propaganda
Switch the channel! To Hawaii citizens who get their news from the Fox news channel, be aware that you are not receiving much real news, just Republican-slanted propaganda.Rather than showing the speech by Al Gore at the Democratic Convention and then tearing him to pieces, the Fox network showed just 13 seconds of that speech before tearing it to pieces. You deserve better. Don't let this network insult your intelligence by telling you what you should think.
Get the real news: Switch to CNN or MSNBC or PBS.
Kailua
Fox failed covering Dem's convention
The Democratic and Republican national conventions are the best chance each party has to explain to the American people where they would take this country if elected. That's why it's so important that we're able to see the speeches given there.The TV networks gave so little coverage, many of us had to turn to cable. There we found Fox News showing far less of the convention than CNN and MSNBC. The network's woeful coverage doesn't do any favors to our democracy.
Waianae
Reasons to oppose Bush are deeper
In his Aug. 2 letter to the editor, Gary Anderson cites four shallow, meaningless reasons to support President Bush; i.e., "He says what he means and means what he says."There are specific reasons for voting against Bush, who has alienated the world's major nations; deceived America to start a pre-emptive war on Iraq; given biggest tax cuts to those with incomes over $200K; and removed individual rights.
Bush now is aggressively stonewalling the 9/11 commission's recommendations. He refused to create the commission for two years after 9/11, then refused to provide information to the commission, and now refuses to provide funding authority to the proposed new intelligence agency head as recommended by the commission. Lack of funding authority will render the new head powerless.
Honolulu
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