Bishop Estate judge stifled witness
Your article of March 12 regarding the "Broken Trust" book contains a
letter to you from Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo (formerly Bambi Weil) in which she refers to me as one of "Harmon's attorneys" who "conceded Harmon had violated the stipulated injunction."
What she fails to say, as I stated then, the injunction was void as being in denial of Bobby Harmon's established First Amendment right to express his opinion concerning the corruption and criminality of the officers and directors of the Bishop Estate in matters of public concern and in aid of law enforcement by the attorney general and others. Judge Hifo's support of that agreement as opposed to Harmon's absolute privilege to speak as he did had the effect of aiding the strategy of the trustees in misusing legal procedure to silence an important and credible critic of the estate to the detriment of both the estate and the public.
John Goemans
Kamuela, Hawaii
House should support honesty and trust
Mahalo nui to our state Senate for its unanimous support last week for Senate Bill 1061, which calls for the prohibition of contributions during the legislative session to those persons elected by the people to the legislative and executive branches of government.
This is one step in our collective effort to continually be mindful of moving away from any appearance of conflict of interest during regular or special legislative sessions. We are living in a period where a condition of these times is to consciously work toward a high level of trust in the institutions of democracy. This is a responsibility for all of us, and not simply our elected officials nor those who take advantage of the system.
As the bill now passes over, we trust our House of Representatives will give its support to this legislation as another step toward building trust and community between the people and their government.
Peter M. Bower
President, Citizen Voice
Tsunami of expansion rolling into Hawaii
Turtle Bay wants to expand the size of its operation in Hawaii. We should say NO.
Instead of respecting the rights of Hawaii's workers, it is firing long-term workers and replacing them with out-of-state students.
Instead of respecting the land, it wants to put a Waikiki-size development in the country based on 20-year-old agreements.
Instead of respecting the word of the last owners, it is making taxpayers pay for an upgrade on Kamehameha Highway that the unilateral agreement says is its responsibility.
The mainland companies that own and operate Turtle Bay are the beginning of a tsunami that is coming to Hawaii. The owners of nearly every major resort have changed, and the long-respected local ways of doing business are changing with them.
We in Hawaii have some hard decisions to make. We gave up our beaches for the promise of good jobs. When owners don't keep their promise, we should take our beaches back.
Boycott Turtle Bay.
Eric Emerson
UNITE HERE Local 5
Honolulu
Call in to support Medevac helicopters
The recent tragic crash on Maui of a Hawaii Air Ambulance is a devastating blow to the state's emergency rescue resources. It is particularly serious in light of pending termination of Hawaii's helicopter Medevac services previously provided by the Army's Black Hawk helicopters. Hawaii legislators are considering emergency funds for a new program, and now is the time to make our voices heard.
Pacific Medical Assets has developed a program for world-class helicopter medical rescue without putting an undue burden on the taxpayer. Key features include using personnel and equipment with the highest training and safety standards, rapid implementation capability and a cost-sharing program that reduces the government's subsidy. We will discuss these issues at 7 a.m. tomorrow on "Equal Time" with Fred Hemmings (97.5 FM-KHNR), and I encourage everyone to call in with your views.
This program saves lives, and to be without it for even a short time may cost us dearly.
Christine Graham
Pacific Medical Assets
Honolulu
Bostonians had right idea about overtaxing
What we need in Hawaii a Boston Tea Party, but call it the Hawaiian Rainbow Party. Maybe then the elected officials will know how we truly feel.
Jimmy Dolbin
Waialua
Protect whales from boat propellers
The adult whale and calf injured in a bloody collision with a Pacific Whale Foundation vessel in Maui is yet another reason why there must be further research into the protection of these magnificent creatures (
Star-Bulletin, March 11).
Perhaps the retrofitting of every commercial whale-watching vessel and the proposed Superferry with propeller housings such as are seen on many submersible vessels could help.
Also, the International Fund for Animal Welfare has done many studies, including the use of real-time acoustic detection buoys that have been developed using special software that detects whale calls to help provide information to reduce ship collisions. Anything to prevent another sliced up baby whale is worth the effort.
Michael Lauck
Honolulu