Bounty hunter reveals the trashy truth
I have been consistent on what Duane "Dog" Chapman and his wife truly are and now their "true color" -- excuse the pun -- has come out. The guy and his whole group are a blight on America and especially our islands. Now he wants a meeting with Rev. Al Sharpton. He is an idiot but good at playing the game. Kick his okole back to the big mainland.
Hawaii does not need this guy showing off our problems, Mexico and the Caribbean are cheaper and closer and filled with true culture.
Jimmy Gomes
Austin, Texas, and Hawaii
'Lion King' attendees should be considerate
Maikai no to the performers and crew of "The Lion King," which I attended on Tuesday. What an excellent performance! Thank you to all the supporters of the arts, the Blaisdell and our mayor for helping to bring this special show to Hawaii.
Auwe to the women who sat behind me. Appropriate behavior at the Blaisdell Concert Hall includes clapping and even cheering for the performances. It does not include "Chee-Hoo-ing" at the top of your lungs after every song, snapping photos loudly on your disposable camera, talking constantly to your child (who, by the way, was better behaved and quieter than you) and singing along audibly in the quiet parts of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight." The Blaisdell Concert Hall is not Aloha Stadium, and "The Lion King" is not a football game!
Let's hope that Honolulu becomes a "world-class city," as Mayor Mufi Hannemann envisions, and that more exposure to the arts will teach some Honoluluans the appropriate way to take in a show -- without ruining it for everyone else.
Malia Lyons
Honolulu
Hanabusa has showed her leadership skills
I would like to officially nominate Senate President Colleen Hanabusa for governor. Her leadership role in the Superferry saga is to be commended.
Seth Galeai
Pago Pago, Samoa
Superferry bill sets good example for state
After the long and contentious debate surrounding the Superferry, I was relieved to see reason finally prevail and legislators from both sides of the aisle come together with the executive branch to hammer out a bill that I believe will be good for the state. I'm glad the Legislature followed Gov. Linda Lingle's leadership on this issue.
Often the democratic process feels chaotic, so it is heartening to see it work, and work well. I know the bill won't satisfy everyone, but it will satisfy the majority -- and that's what democracy is all about.
Stephen Thomas
Kailua
Legislation is merely delaying the inevitable
Now that the Superferry is set to sail, a question arises: If the EA/EIS shows that the Superferry is, or will be, causing cross-island gridlock in Nawiliwili and Kawaihae whenever the ferry is in port, who will pay the millions required to upgrade the infrastructure? Will the ferry be allowed to continue running, in spite of the economic and environmental damage it is (or will be) causing? Will we be branded anti-development if someone takes out an injunction against it running in flagranto delecti of our environmental laws, both in spirit and in deed?
Both Superferry management and the state administration know there will be mitigation measures called for in any EIS that no one has budgeted for. (That's why they tried to dodge it to begin with.)
Will the next Legislature write a new law exempting the Superferry from its responsibility to alleviate its impacts, or will lawmakers force it into bankruptcy by not letting it run until mitigation is effected?
Seems like this new law is just postponing the inevitable.
Bruce Baron
Kawaihae, Hawaii
Anti-ferry energy could be better used
So the Superferry will sail once again. People against the Superferry will once again puff their chests and articulate in no uncertain way their passion for keeping a legitimate business high and dry. They will express their concern for the environment and lament the loss of "their" island to the outsiders from Oahu. This is their right.
Too bad.
Too bad this passion, concern and unyielding determination directed at sinking the Superferry isn't focused somewhere else. What if these same people would attack, with the same passion, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, poor education, inefficient government, crime and drunk driving?
What would happen then? Would it make a difference in people's lives and our quality of living? Would it change the way we view ourselves and our communities? Would it empower us to come together in a way that effects real change?
We will never know.
Mark Middleton
Kapolei