North Shore resort helps the community
Twenty-three years ago I waited in long lines at a job fair so that I could work in the community where I live. I was hired as a secretary at Turtle Bay Resort, and today I am still here and loving my job and the company I work for.
Let's talk about when change really happened on the North Shore. "Plantation life" in Kahuku changed forever on November 31, 1971, when the plantation shut down. Kahuku entered a new era. Turtle Bay opened in May 1972 as Kuilima Resort Hotel. For the grand opening, developer Del Webb swung a cane cutter's machete and severed a ceremonial sugar cane lei to dedicate the hotel, symbolizing the separation of the Kahuku area from the sugar industry.
The new hotel provided needed jobs for the many displaced workers of the Kahuku Sugar Plantation in 1972. In 1982, a job fair in Kahuku drew more than 2,000 people applying for positions at Turtle Bay. Today, I would still expect to see many people anxious to have new jobs available in a North Shore location.
The tourism industry has made my life a good one. I hope others will have the same chance.
Bonnie Holmbeck
Senior national sales manager
Turtle Bay Resort
Mayor should demand more efficiency
Is there anyone out there who wants to run for mayor who understands fiscal and moral responsibility, and the duty of government to provide a reasonable exchange of services for a reasonable payment of taxes?
Or are we going to be stuck with Mayor Hannemann, who wants to take more and more from us even though we haven't been provided a fair exchange of services for taxes already paid?
The mayor could use his position of power to improve city services by asking for more efficiency and more productivity from his workers, and he could eliminate wasteful overhead such as unproductive and excessive management. His thinking and performance would be greatly improved if he would stop thinking that the purpose of government is to take money from the people, and start understanding that the purpose of government is to wisely and efficiently serve the people who elected him into office. Any less is unacceptable, and at this time we are getting less.
James M. Lee
Kapolei
Mufi leads honestly and responsibly
Before you succumb to the siren's song of our election-year politicians as they posture and bend over backwards to give the voters whatever they want, take a moment to listen to Mayor Hannemann's
State of the City message (
Star-Bulletin, Feb. 25).
He told us what we need to hear, not necessarily what we'd like to hear. The city has debts to repay and backlogged repairs to budget for ... things that have been neglected for years. It is high time to do some long-term planning and investing in our future. We need responsible leadership like Hannemann's, not more short-term, election-year grandstanding.
We've had our overdue bills swept under the rug for too long. By doing what's really needed today, we will pay less in the future and leave a much better city for our kids to live in.
Ryan Racoma
Aiea
Whales would prefer water jets over props
Bravo to Michael Lauck for his excellent letter suggesting that all commercial whale-watch boats be required to be equipped with propeller guards ("Protect whales from boat propellers,"
Star-Bulletin, March 15).
Ducted propeller shrouds, or "kort nozzles," are commonly used on a wide variety of Navy and commercial vessels, including tugboats and trawlers. In addition to protecting whales from propellers, korts increase thrust 20 percent or more, and increase fuel efficiency. They can be retrofitted on virtually any propeller vessel. See www.kortpropulsion.com or www.harringtonmarine.com
Even better are water-jet propulsors, which the Navy uses instead of propellers on its Mark V high-speed special operations craft. Water jets don't protrude beneath the hull, can be used in shallow water and can stop very quickly at any speed.
Large, high-speed catamaran ferries, such as the proposed Superferry, are designed to use water-jet propulsors and are much safer for marine mammals, although whale collisions with the vessel hull are still a possibility. But again, water jets can slow and stop much more quickly than propeller-driven vessels.
Gary F. Anderson
Waimanalo
Make your keiki stay on top of the sand
I was startled to see a photo of a boy "buried in sand" on the
front page of the Star-Bulletin March 8. It was a cute picture, but I wonder if people know that burials in sand can be dangerous, even deadly, especially for children.
Several years ago, when I was living in Duluth, Minn., an 11-year-old boy who had dug himself a hole in the sand at a popular beach died after the hole collapsed and he was unable to extricate himself.
Although such accidents are rare, when they do happen it is tragic for everyone. Generally people watch carefully when children are in the water but assume all is well on land.
Lee Ann Bowman
Kailua
Might taro be the root of humanity?
True believers arise!
Repel the onslaught of science.
Raise high the banners of superstition and ignorance.
Man didn't evolve from the monkeys, he evolved from taro.
John H. Cort
Pahoa, Hawaii
Safety first when crossing the street
Carrying a red flag to cross a street in a crosswalk is a smart, practical, effective way to save a human life. Human ego is the only deterrent to that great idea. Why? Because it sounds too "childish"!
Let's all go back to our "second childhood" and live longer.
Tetsuji Ono
Hilo
Men have no right to talk about abortion
South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signs away women's rights to control their own bodies. How dare he! No man is forced to bear an unwanted child. No woman should be forced to bear an unwanted child. Women carry a crippling biological burden and must have access to safe abortion. No man has the right to speak on the matter.
If other states become as backward as South Dakota, women would be wise to be celibate, lesbian or sterilized.
Lois Raynor
Honolulu
Bush is playing right into bin Laden's hands
I couldn't believe my eyes when I read Bernardo Benigno's letter to the editor (
Star Bulletin, March 13). Mr. Benigno maintains that history will rate President Bush as one of America's greatest presidents for bringing democracy to the Middle East.
I maintain that history will have just the opposite view; that bringing democracy to the Middle East played right into the hands of Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden's main objective is to bring about Islamic fundamentalist governments throughout the Middle East. What better way to achieve that than to give the people democracy and let them elect Islamic fundamentalists, which they have done and will do as surely as tomorrow's sun will rise.
You don't agree? Well, how about that democratically elected nut case who is now leading Iran into the nuclear age? And how about the democratically elected terrorist group Hamas, recently overwhelmingly elected in Palestine?
History will show that Bush's efforts to bring democracy to the Middle East is one of the greatest mistakes any American president has ever made.
Rick Lloyd
Honolulu
'Special' interests are constituents, too
Your
Feb. 13 editorial calling for the public funding of elections is politically naive. Where does it say that "the public" is the only constituency out there? When you resort to public funding then even the "public" doesn't matter because it is not performance-based.
There are more constituencies out there than just the "public." Automobile drivers are constituents, library users are constituents, employees are constituents and business owners are constituents, and as "special" interest groups they are all left out of the picture with public funding.
When you place all the funding in the hands of the public, you deprive all the other constituencies from being involved and making a difference. Can you imagine how strongly an individual might feel if they see their tax money going toward the funding of a candidate with whom they strongly disagree?
The more proper way to handle this is disclosure. If people are aware that a candidate received a lot of financial backing from a certain interest group, then they need to take that into consideration when they vote. But to deny the existence of all the other constituencies, we feel, is just political naivete.
Tim Lyons
President, The Legislative Center
Honolulu