Don't ruin character of quiet Kailua
As a visitor to Oahu for the past 25 years, I always looked forward to my visits to Kailua, as it was a quaint town with the little coffee shops, antique shops and cafes.
Having read in your paper of all the changes to this lovely place, I was horrified and I feel the character of your town will completely disappear. I hope I'm proven wrong. I know there must be progression in this day and age, but please, please do not go too far, as many visitors to Kailua would be very unhappy.
When I come home to Ireland to the hustle and bustle of everyday life, I often say to myself how I would love to be back in Kailua.
Rhona McDonogh
Killiney, Ireland
Preparing inmates will benefit society
Thank you for allowing Sen. Colleen Hanabusa to shine the proper light on the Legislature's pioneering efforts to make Hawaii a genuinely safer place (
"Another View," Star-Bulletin, Aug. 12).
The specter of scores of felons roaming our streets unprepared to re-enter society is chilling indeed. However, that is happening right now. Senate Bill 932 addressed this clear and present danger by mandating a better, more cost-effective way to usher inmates back into our home and theirs. Based on common sense and exhaustive research, the principles and practices in this new law will only bolster the governor's ongoing work to create a Department of Public Safety that lives up to its name.
Giving men and women of Hawaii proper tools to craft successful lives for themselves and their families -- education, job training, therapy -- will pay dividends for all of us. Safer streets. Children reunited with parents. More taxpayers. Reducing recidivism will save those taxpayers, new and old alike, many millions of dollars -- a handsome bonus and a credit to both the intrepid senators who spearheaded this effort and the governor on whose watch the new light shines.
Peter Gellatly
Honolulu
Keep the keiki away from 'Made in China'
China's reputation as a manufacturer is in the toilet as far as this consumer is concerned. The
recent recalls of toys and household and food products is disconcerting to say the least, and infuriating when the health risk imposed on children is realized. Mattel and other U.S. manufacturers who partner with China to get cheap goods to peddle to U.S. consumers also shoulder the blame.
After reading about the toy recall, my wife and I went through our children's toys and pulled everything made in China and by Mattel, and put them in plastic bags for permanent storage. It was heartbreaking to confiscate my little girls' Fashion Polly, which she plays with constantly. After some explaining, she understood the reason and accepted the fact that she can never play with them again. As a consumer, the only recourse I have is to boycott any product that disregards the safety of consumers and the public in general.
No more "Made in China" products for this consumer. This includes the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Ernesto Jose
Honolulu
Illegal workers take toll on Hawaii, too
In response to the article "Hawaii refrains from joining anti-illegal alien bandwagon" (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 9): It is obvious that not enough has been done in Hawaii to curb people without work permits from finding work. Some of them are:
» Students without work authorization.
» Tourists working in Waikiki in restaurants, tour companies, hotels, kiosks and as prostitutes.
» Laborers at construction sites, fisheries and agricultural fields.
How long will these islands continue to be a paradise for people who would like to have a piece of the American pie without having the legal right to do so?
Raj Bose
Honolulu
Rove's abundant talents were wasted
One more down after Donald Rumsfeld. Bravo. Two more to go.
Can you imagine what America would be like if presidential political adviser Karl Rove had applied his strategic genius for the betterment, not to the detriment, of this country?
» No war in Iraq.
» 3,500 American soldiers still alive.
» 50,000 American soldiers not wounded or maimed.
» No unsolvable national debt.
Instead we would have:
» A huge surplus to help the 45 million uninsured.
» Faster and more help for Katrina victims.
» Safeguarding of the nation's borders.
» Proper inspection and maintenance of our infrastructure.
And if he had applied his mastermind to foreign policy, our image would not be in such a quagmire. No torture, no killing of 100,000 Iraqis, no bombing of villages in Afghanistan. Our former clean image would not be soiled.
Mind you, our inept president took his evil advice, and our do-nothing Congress just went along.
History will ask whatever happened to these once-great United States.
Gerhard C. Hamm
Waialae Iki