Something's not right about Home Depot deal
Your Feb. 20 editorial -- criticizing as "without merit" the concerns of small-business owners and City Council members that Home Depot was being given preferential treatment -- was absolutely flabbergasting.In public life, anything that is perceived to be improper needs to be addressed immediately. The fact that Don Clegg, Mayor Harris' political consultant, is also a paid consultant for Home Depot, and that therefore the city was engaged in a "sweetheart deal" to fast track zoning, was never answered satisfactorily by the mayor.
If indeed these allegations were "without merit," don't you think Harris would have wasted little time in going on TV to deal with this growing perception? Since he obviously was afraid to do this, let's ask him again to answer these questions at a press conference.
Lei Bernades
Don't give any credence to Home Depot's promises
This debate over whether to allow Home Depot to open in Pearl City should remind us of what happened to the GEM Stores. They were locally owned and managed, knew what we wanted and had good quality products at reasonable prices. But a big "mart" moved in and put them out of business, because people went for cheap and had no loyalty.With the big-box retailers, profits go to the mainland. Managers and dumb decisions come from the mainland. They sell what they want us to have, not necessarily what we want.
These stores keep baiting us with the number of jobs they will provide, but this is at the expense of existing jobs at local stores. There's no net gain of positions, only a net loss because management people are brought in.
All these mega-mart stores care about is the bottom line. We need to consider the reality of what happens, not what they promise.
Cris Wells
Jack Lord was nice guy with spirit of aloha
A good friend of mine in Honolulu sent me a clipping from your Jan. 30 issue about the late Jack Lord. I visited Hawaii a good number of years ago. During one of my visits, I had the great opportunity to personally meet him.It took place at the airport when "Hawaii 5-0" was filming a scene. I remember as if it were yesterday. I waited until filming was done, then asked Mr. Lord if I could please take a photo of him.
His reply was, "Certainly." He asked one of the CBS-TV crewman to take a photo of us together, and the man did. I still have that 8x10 photo.
R.J. Berthiaume
Brockville, Ontario
Lawmakers: Remember death with dignity
Damn all legislators who, for the hopeless, have failed to open the path of induced sleep to eternal rest in peace. Damn all legislators who condone the forced nourishment of the spiritually dead, those pathetic, mindless creatures, helpless with senile dementia.When age brings death of the mind, death of the body will soon follow naturally if there are no administrations by others.
To avoid that extension of misery, society should make euthanasia a legal, optional civil service that is mandatory when a competent decision is unavailable.
That may be playing God, but it is humane and better than delaying body death, often for years, with cruel tube feedings, etc.
Dr. Paul W. Gebauer
Tourists won't come if taxes are raised
Currently, we are in Hawaii for our 20th five-week visit. After spending a lot of money on airfare, lodging and food, we find it difficult to understand why we are penalized for being tourists.We have always looked forward to golfing but fail to see why there is a double standard regarding green fees for visitors and "kamaaina." In our state, everyone is treated equally by being charged the same amount, whether native or tourist.
This double standard surely doesn't boost your economy, which seems to be in dire straits.
Now rumor has it that your Legislature will increase the hotel room tax, which will force many of us to spend less time here or no time at all. This, too, will hurt tourism, which is already down considerably.
Where is that aloha spirit we hear so much about?
William and Oriette Aagaard
Minnetonka, Minn.
Queen's downsizing began a good two years ago
Media reports over the past few days have confused the picture regarding staff reductions at the Queen's Medical Center. The reduction of 160 positions highlighted in your March 4 story took place in 1997, with the sole exception of the 20 Teamsters' positions now under discussion with the union.Queen's began addressing the effects of lower reimbursement levels from both state and federal governments in 1996, with a comprehensive restructuring of its management staff. This was followed in 1997 by cost reductions that totaled $12.5 million, including the elimination of 160 positions, 70 of which were already vacant.
The current discussions between Queen's and the Teamsters, regarding the need to reduce the housekeeping staff by 20 part-time positions, was actually one of the 1997 cost-cutting recommendations. However, it was not possible to implement the recommendation until early 1998.
Richard Lau
Vice President, Human Resources
Queen's Health Systems
We can't build prisons anywhere, so accept it
Looks like we are not going to have another prison to lock up the bad guys, because everywhere a prison is to be built, it is opposed by the same people crying to lock up the criminals.Each time the location is picked for the new prison to be built, it is stepping on someone's toe. Since there is no place for that, we have to put up with criminals, even some of those bad guys arrested over a hundred times each and who are still out doing the same crimes.
Even if a prison were to be planned on top of the Koolau mountains, or at the top of Tantalus, it would still be objected to by someone.
So let's just shake hands with the criminals and say, "You are a fine bunch of folks."
Bob Wahliiee
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