Case might be Hawaii's best hope for change
Rep. Ed Case has
made a daring move in challenging Sen. Daniel Akaka in the next election. Case represents one of the best chances of change within Hawaii, and hopefully within the U.S. Senate.
If it had been Linda Lingle vs. Case instead of Mazie Hirono in the 2002 governor's race, I might have voted for Case instead of Lingle because, although the need for a change was obvious, at least Case would have been in the same party as the majority in state Legislature. The Democratic legislators constantly oppose the governor simply because she's a Republican.
What Case is trying to do is avoid another situation like the late Patsy Mink where the Democrats urged people to vote "in her honor," which was ridiculous. There are some who believe that the Democrats knew her condition all along but were hiding it so that they didn't have to scramble another candidate to maintain their control of the seats.
Best of luck to Ed Case. If voters out there feel there's a need for change, vote for him.
Fletcher Young
Honolulu
Case would bring vigor, new ideas to campaign
Bravo and congratulations to Rep. Ed Case for
stepping up to the plate and seeking voters' support for his bid for the U.S. Senate! In his past two terms, Case has served the people of Hawaii with the same honor, vigor and patriotism as his predecessor, the late Patsy Mink.
Case will no doubt serve as the next senator with as much diligence and distinction as the venerable Sen. Daniel Akaka, while guiding and championing Hawaii through the challenges and opportunities of the future.
Akaka has earned the deepest admiration and gratitude for his years of service. He has done much for the people of the state. As Hawaii looks toward tomorrow, Case alone has proved to have the vision and vitality to lead Hawaii to that tomorrow. Case has brought to his current office refreshing, innovative and well-reasoned ideas but -- most importantly -- he has delivered on what he has promised.
Anthony Dalton
Long Beach, Calif.
Former Honolulu resident
What is going on with Hawaii Democrats?
The Democratic Party in Hawaii has me very confused right now. Congressman Ed Case
announces he is challenging incumbent Sen. Dan Akaka this year, and two candidates are confirmed, and several are speculated, to be
vying for the U.S. House seat he will vacate, all in one day.
But no one can step up to challenge the incumbent Republican governor? I wonder what the priorities are of Democrats in this state. Or is Linda Lingle just doing too good of a job?
Jeffrey Tillson
Mililani
Let's have dynamic race for governor, too
Wow! Two great gentlemen,
Congressman Case and
Senator Akaka, competing for the U.S. Senate seat in my district.
Now I expect my state senator, Clayton Hee, who I thought might consider a run this year for governor, could potentially be a high-profile candidate for U.S. Congress, facing off against maybe Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona, or Senate President Robert Bunda, former Attorney General Margery Bronster, or even Duke Bainum before that?
So how about a more dynamic gubernatorial race? While I appreciate and respect Governor Lingle's service, I would enjoy more discussion of different viewpoints on the unsolved problems of homelessness, struggling public schools, rampant drug addiction and a solution to the lack of Windward/North Shore economic opportunity (outside of the usual minimum wage jobs).
The perfect candidate for an exciting, thought-provoking gubernatorial race, I suggest, would be former first lady Vicky Cayetano.
Barry Markowitz
Hauula
Pols would waste our lunch money
House Speaker Calvin Say thinks one lunch a week is such an insignificant sacrifice for taxpayers, why doesn't he make it two? Fat guys like me could be taxed out of one meal a day and he'd have maybe $3 billion to play with.
Or perhaps he might consider how much more carefully people spend their own money compared to the monumentally wasteful ways of government. Then he'd restructure the Department of Education to focus on learning, forsake the massive education bureaucracy, and discover that there is plenty of money to repair, maintain and run our schools.
Michael G. Palcic
340 pounds
Honolulu
Egos get in the way of good government
I must be very naive in thinking that state and city governments can work together in doing what's best for their constituents.
Your Jan. 13 editorial calling to reject the privatizing of excise tax collection makes very good points. It's disheartening to see that our public officials cannot look beyond their own self-interest and continue to bicker about who's responsible to collect the transit tax surcharge.
In watching the telecast of City Council meetings, it's clear that our city and state governments do not work well with each other, which is sad. It seems that passing the buck and the work load is more important than doing what makes sense. We all need to work together to keep Honolulu a very special place.
Lawmakers, forget your egos and do what's right. Run government in a cost-effective, efficient and practical manner.
Gary Fujitani
Honolulu
Mayor has to make some tough choices
While no one likes increasing taxes, Mayor Hannemann has my admiration for exhibiting the political will to allow the increase and attempt to right a foundering city ship. Whenever an elected official calls for a tax increase he puts his political future up for grabs. I am afraid of the politician who will not do what is necessary for the community just to stay in office.
I am sure the mayor is working hard at addressing the concerns of those on fixed incomes -- that is the right thing to do.
The rest of us need to pull together and make the investments in our city worthwhile and long lasting.
Karl Godsey
Hawaii Kai
Time to put brakes on the gas cap law
The
Star-Bulletin's Jan. 3 editorial stated "Hawaii's gasoline price cap appears to have dodged the dire outcome" predicted. But the Star-Bulletin's reporting has consistently pointed out the negative effect the cap has had since it went into effect.
The gas cap has created wildly unstable gasoline prices. Before the cap, pump prices were stable. The gas cap is tied to market prices in New York, the Gulf states and California, all of which experience extreme weather that drives fuel prices up.
The cap was supposed to bring Hawaii prices closer to mainland levels. With the cap, Hawaii prices at the pump remain about 50 cents higher than the mainland average.
And the impact of the gas cap hurts everyone in Hawaii by increasing business costs.
The gas cap is a bad law and should be repealed.
Anne Sabalaske
Honolulu
Family Court uses mediation if possible
In praising U.S. District Judge David Ezra for promoting alternative dispute resolution in the Hawaiian artifacts case (
Letters, Jan. 10), Myrna Murdoch wrote that Family Court denied an attempt at ho'oponopono and mediation in her case and ordered her to pay opposing attorney's fees and court costs.
I cannot comment on Ms. Murdoch's case because the records are confidential, but I wish to make a few general comments.
First, the Hawaii State Judiciary encourages the use of mediation and other forms of dispute resolution in lieu of litigation and is recognized nationally as a pioneer in this field. Mediation might not be appropriate in all circumstances, however, such as when the parties harbor intense animosity against each other and/or are unlikely to make a good-faith effort to reach a win-win agreement.
Second, there are valid legal reasons for requiring a party to pay court costs and opposing attorney's fees. A judge may take this action when one party files a groundless lawsuit or motion that places an unreasonable burden on the other party and the court ends up wasting taxpayer money.
In any event, we would like the public to know that the Family Court tries to promote agreement and discourage harmful litigation, and will use mediation in all of its forms whenever it will help the parties and their children.
Marsha E. Kitagawa
Public affairs officer
Hawaii State Judiciary
For a better bank, check out cyberspace
Want more money in the bank? Unfortunately, bank elsewhere than Hawaii.
Here's some good financial advice: Want to earn more interest in your savings account to pay for the high property taxes?
Here's a solution: Open some savings or money market accounts at mainland/online banks. These banks are easily offering 3.5 percent-plus yields while many Hawaii banks are still paying less than 1 percent!
Yes, the Federal Reserve cut rates for the longest time and banks adjusted yields down, but where have Hawaii's banks been for the last year of rising rates? Unfortunately, they don't seemed to have budged.
Perhaps they should raise their rates instead of spending so much money on commercials to get my money. Until then, I'm banking elsewhere.
Bob Li
Honolulu