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Who bashes Bainum with 'pilau' signs?

Buying City Hall? Family fortune worth $800 million? Who is posting those offensive signs about Duke Bainum on the Pali Highway?

One, they are eyesores.

Two, aren't signs like that illegal in Hawaii? They're actually portable billboards posted on public property!

And three, I think the information on them is not only untrue, it's pilau.

No matter what Bainum's family is worth, that's irrelevant in the mayor's race. People should see through this type of campaigning that is pilau, dishonest and unfair.

Bruce H. Kinoshita
Honolulu

Let's finally put an end to Fasi's maneuvering

So Frank Fasi has endorsed Mufi Hannemann for mayor. This is the signal I've been waiting for. Now I know who will get my vote.

As a lifelong Republican with the memory of an elephant, I remember how Fasi and his "Best Party" cost the GOP and Pat Saiki the governor's race in 1994. And I remember how Fasi ran as a Republican against Linda Lingle in 1998, and then after getting his okole beat, endorsed Cayetano.

Fasi has fought all his political life to keep our party from gaining a foothold and injecting new ideas into government. Now he's grooming Hannemann to follow his footsteps.

Every independent voter and Republican on Oahu ought to work as hard as they can to once and for all end Fasi's influence on island politics by rejecting his endorsement.

William K. Reed
Honolulu

Bainum disappointed Kailua voters

I read the article in the Oct. 5 Star-Bulletin regarding "Candidates in debate on debates," and that same evening attended a Candidates' Night sponsored by the Olomana and Maunawili Community Associations. Both Mufi Hannemann and Duke Bainum had a choice to speak five minutes each or reduce the speaking time and answer questions. Both chose to speak for the five minutes.

Then both Hannemann and Bainum were asked to participate in a question-and-answer period. Hannemann agreed, but Bainum refused, stating that was not what he had agreed to.

Is he so inflexible or is it that he is afraid of being asked questions that he can't answer? It appears that he cannot speak on his feet. The people in Kailua deserved to have their questions answered, and they need to know why they weren't.

Faith P. Evans
Kailua

Mayoral candidates should stay positive

I'm looking forward to the next debate between the candidates for Honolulu mayor. The first debate showed me that one candidate is a slick talker, and the other is a detail-oriented guy. For me it boiled down to a matter of style vs. substance.

One thing I didn't appreciate was the personal attacks. Let's hear what each candidate will do for the people, not what a lousy job they think each other has done in the past.

Rena C. Lono
Honolulu

Departing soldiers got a memorable send off

I want to thank the University of Hawaii and everyone who helped sponsor the wonderful send-off for our 29th Brigade soldiers last Saturday at Aloha Stadium. It was a beautiful day that will be etched in my memory and in the memories of my children forever.

Thank you, Governor Lingle, for your speech. You spoke from your heart and touched us all. Thank you for the recognition and honor you gave to our men.

It has been a difficult week; goodbyes are never easy. But I am thankful for that sunny Hawaiian afternoon, when I got to see my husband stand proud with the 100th Battalion/442nd Infantry and all the soldiers of the Hawaii National Guard.

The only day that will be brighter will be the day they all return. Go For Broke!

Anne Marie Blecha
Kaneohe

Verizon's big book is a big bust

Back in the 1980s when I headed up the Public Affairs Department at GTE Hawaiian Tel, I led the push to split the Oahu telephone directory into two books. We were getting complaints back then that the book was too big for customers to handle, and the 1980s version was a heck of a lot thinner than today's! We decided our goal was to serve local customers and not to mimic what mainland phone companies do.

It made sense then, and it still makes sense. Split books are easier to use and therefore used more. Split books also set the phone company's books apart from its competitors in consumers' minds. The rationale of having everything in one book doesn't do you much good if your customers can't lift the book.

I don't know how many people commented to me that they did not like the big Paradise Pages when they landed on their doorsteps. When I told them that it was not the phone company's book and that the phone company was the one with the split books, they all look relieved. How wrong I was. I had no idea that Verizon was going to give us a monster book as well.

Maybe at the public hearing the other night someone should have asked the Public Utilities Commission to make it a condition of the Verizon sale to the Carlyle Group that the Oahu book be split again. It's been proven that one of the best ways for a company to maintain customer loyalty is to admit its mistakes and correct them. I hope our phone company will do just that come next year.

Joel Kennedy
Honolulu

Foster Village bulb-out is a wasted effort

I live on the corner of Haloa and Molehu Drives in Foster Village where the sole traffic hazard "bulb out" will be installed.

In the week that the barriers have been up and the construction under way, there has been a noticeable increase in the noise levels on Haloa Drive all night and during the day.

What a waste of effort; we're spending our tax dollars for something that none of us want. Then we will spend the next few years trying to get rid of the new obstacle in our street.

Fix the potholes and repave the streets, but let's not create projects that reduces the quality of life here in Honolulu.

Lawrence J. Kimmel
Honolulu

Hawaii supports traditional marriage

Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Ed Case have short memories concerning the controversial same-sex marriage ban. A few years go, voters in Hawaii voted overwhelmingly to reject same-sex marriage.

A few days ago, the House voted to reject a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Abercrombie and Case made their choice to reject the ban.

I hope the "silent majority" for traditional marriage will go to the polls on Nov. 2 and make a choice to remove Abercrombie and Case from Congress.

Melvin Partido Sr.
Pearl City



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art

[ BRAINSTORM! ]

Planting an idea


The first and last thing visitors see as they encounter Hawaii -- other than security personnel instructing them to take off their shoes -- is the elevated freeway by Honolulu's airport. Accordingly, when it was built, it was designed to be attractive, including a meandering garden running down the center of the lower level, and, up top, set between the elevated concourses, large planter boxes. The idea was to plant wonderful hanging gardens that would delight visitor and resident alike, and for a while, they did.

But the state Department of Transportation is focused these days on potholes, not on making the roads look pretty. The elevated gardens have become choked with weeds and debris.

So fire up those brain cells. What other use could these midair garden plots be used for? Thematic displays? Lei stands? Minimum-security prisons? Foosball diamonds? Storage for giant downtown Christmas ornaments? Headquarters for our newly reduced National Guard? A place for all the dirt from Castle Junction? Instead of offshore gambling, elevated gambling?

Send us your ideas about what should be done with these highly visible, weed-racked lots.

E-mail your ideas and solutions -- please include your name and address -- by Oct. 20 to: brainstorm@starbulletin.com

Or fax to:
Brainstorm!
c/o Nancy Christenson
529-4750

Or mail them to:
Brainstorm!
c/o Nancy Christenson
Star-Bulletin
500 Ala Moana
7 Waterfront Plaza
Suite 210
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

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How to write us

The Star-Bulletin welcomes letters that are crisp and to the point (150 to 200 words). The Star-Bulletin reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length. Please direct comments to the issues; personal attacks will not be published. Letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone number.

Letter form: Online form, click here
E-mail: letters@starbulletin.com
Fax: (808) 529-4750
Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 210, Honolulu, HI 96813




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