Get tough on smokers who litter the beaches
After work, I enjoy walking along the sand at Waikiki. It is a shame to see so many cigarette smokers disposing of the butts in the sand. The Honolulu Police Department could help better serve the people of Hawaii by ticketing those individuals for turning our beach into an ashtray.
Jude Waterman
Honolulu
Superferry a 'new technology'? Hardly
Judge Joseph Cardoza based his ruling yesterday on the Hawaii Superferry being a "new technology and a new chapter in transportation in Hawaii." I don't understand. I can ship my car, today, along with hundreds of other cars to another island. I can fly, today, to another island. Superferry is just another option for getting from one island to another.
I can walk in my backyard today, get fiddle wood seeds stuck in my slippers, fly to Maui and spread the seeds. If the Superferry should not be in business because of the spread of invasive species, should any other mode of transportation be allowed to move people from island to island?
Look at our ocean waters. There are parasail boats, fishing boats, personal water craft, Coast Guard boats, Navy ships and rescue boats racing around. Some can go as fast as the Superferry. If the Superferry should not be in business because of a possible whale collision, should any other fast boat be allowed in Hawaiian waters?
Every day many thousands of people fly to Maui and Kauai and rent cars. If the Superferry should not be in business because of increasing traffic, should any cars be rented on Kauai or Maui?
Is Superferry "a new technology and a new chapter in transportation in Hawaii"? No, it's not that new ... it's just another boat that carries people and cars from island to island.
Doug Behrens
Honolulu
Ignorance resists progress in Hawaii
Does Judge Joseph Cardoza know this is 2007? In his argument to the court, he said the ferry is "clearly a new technology" in Hawaii.
New technology? Sir, Captain Cook was not the last person to come to these islands via seafaring methods. And if it is a divided community we are experiencing, it is because of the perpetuation of the ignorance of the community that resists change, progress and growth. It's not the small-minded protesters who swim in defiance of "new technology" and hysteria of irreparable damage that one might associate with cholera that is killing this opportunity for everyone in Hawaii, it is the gall of those who gain the most from its exclusion from doing business in Hawaii.
All I have to say to Kauai and Maui is, be careful what you wish for when the next hurricane befalls you and you must wait a week for your candles.
Morris Pat
Kailua
Opposition unites various elements
Thank you for printing the happy news about the Superferry ruling. In the meantime, our whales, our environment, our ocean, our people are of one voice: "Thanks for this reprieve."
Jane Taylor
Kapaa, Kauai
'Five-0' family left legacy of generosity
The anniversary of
Marie Lord's death is Oct. 13. I think she and her late husband, Jack, left behind a fine example of generosity in their legacies to many Hawaii charities. Her death in 2005 reminded me of the enjoyment her husband, James MacArthur, Kam Fong and the crew of "Hawaii Five-0" gave us all the way over here to Irish shores in the 1970s, when I was growing up.
Jack Lord came from an Irish-American background via his father, William Ryan, and one of the directors of many episodes of the show was Irish-born Michael O'Herlihy, whose actor brother, Dan O'Herlihy appeared on the show as a guest. There was an Irish connection in many ways.
It is nice to know that MacArthur is in good health. He received the award for "Hawaii Five-0" on behalf of the cast and crew at the Hawaii International Film Festival in 2003, and a memorial bust to Jack Lord was placed in 2004 at Kahala Mall, near his home he loved so much. The show is now out on DVD; all 12 seasons available from www.dvdplanet.org. A good show with good memories. Lives well-lived.
Mary Sullivan
Cork, Ireland
Don't assume privacy in school hallways
Drug detection programs in our public schools are a necessary evil (
"Drug-dog program could start next year," Star-Bulletin, Oct. 8).
We should not encourage development of bad behaviors in the false name of freedom of speech or protection from unreasonable search.
While a student has an expectation of privacy inside a wall locker (which is his only to use - not his personal property), he certainly does not have an expectation of privacy in the halls. If a dog alerts on a particular locker while in the hall, that constitutes probable cause.
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union says our educators should not be subject to random drug tests. Yes, we are punishing the majority of educators for the crimes of the minority. However, there is clearly a drug problem in Hawaii. The National Education Association would have provided an alternative plan if it had one.
Drug tests and dog patrols are not unreasonable searches, they are the inspection aspect of an illegal drug prevention program that includes education and law enforcement. Let's keep illegal drugs away from our children.
Keith Besherse
Wahiawa