This is not the time to build aquarium
The people of Hawaii, including my family, cannot afford a world-class aquarium or any other non-revenue producing behemoth. In a more prosperous time, the proposed $50-million facility (with an estimated $10-million annual operating budget) could contribute markedly to our quality of life. But now it will only provide short-term prosperity to those few construction workers fortunate enough to be employed by the project.To spend time debating whether political considerations participated in the conception of this project would be to ignore the larger issue. Where will we get the money to service the debt, repay the principal and fund the annual operating budget? Could this money be better spent elsewhere?
Arthur Lessing
(Via the Internet)
Grassy lawns in Waikiki need to be reinvigorated
Having taught a free exercise class on the lawn fronting the Honolulu Zoo for 23 years, I am distraught that the lawn has almost disappeared. Other locations east of Kapahulu in Waikiki are also brown. This is obvious to visitors.It's not only a lack of green grass, but the constant noisy drilling and passing of tractors and Cushmans make it unpleasant. Mulch that has been dumped in one pile is still not spread and often flies in our faces as the wind gusts. Recently, a new heap of mulch was dumped in front of the Queen Kapiolani hotel.
Since lawn care and the scheduling of this activity falls to the union members under the direction of the UPW's Gary Rodrigues, I would like to invite him to a picnic lunch at Kapiolani Park. We can have a friendly talk about making our lawns healthier. Together, we can help make Waikiki greener, and visitors will want to come back again and again!
Ursula Hare
Waikiki is being changed to accommodate tourists
In converting a Kalakaua traffic lane to a sidewalk, the mayor and City Council are once again taking more away from residents and giving more to tourists.We've been told for many years that we can't have parking along that stretch because it would impede traffic flow. But now it's OK to take away a lane so the tourists can have it. What liars!
They took away a second left-turn lane at Kapahulu and Kalakaua just so the tourists could have more sidewalk space, which they didn't need. Now it takes a lot longer to get through that intersection.
A lot of Waikiki parking has been taken away for no justifiable reason. Since there is no bus service after midnight, we are forced to pay rip-off pricing for private parking. Then the mayor put up the meters at Kapiolani Park just to extort more money from us.
Year after year, mayors and Councils have made it very plain that they do not want residents in Waikiki.
Chris Wells
OHA needs experience of Mililani Trask
Letter writer K. Amina (Letters, Sept. 10) expresses outrage at OHA candidate Mililani Trask and compares Ka Lahui with HSEC/Ha Hawaii. But there is an enormous difference.Ka Lahui is a grass-roots initiative promoted through community education. Its citizens held hundreds of educational meetings, and printed fact sheets and pamphlets detailing the status of Hawaiians. The Ka Lahui constitution is a creation of educated Hawaiians.
HSEC was created to poll Hawaiians on the proper route for self-determination. HSEC concluded the majority wanted more education, no state participation and no vote as yet. Its arrogant response was to hold a handful of token forums and a state-funded Native Hawaiian Vote. By "no" votes and silence, the Hawaiian community said HSEC's actions were improper and impetuous.
In response, HSEC members created Ha Hawaii -- not to educate but to force another vote. Considering the U.N. study on the status of Hawaii, delay may better serve Hawaiians.
Finally, while HSEC/Ha Hawaii member actions led Hawaii's Supreme Court to declare the state can dispose of ceded lands, Trask convinced the world that state control of Hawaiian lands is illegal.
Ilima Morrison
Kailua
Most doctors in state are of high caliber
The scurrilous View Point column by Jovita Rodas Zimmerman in your Sept. 26 Insight section, in which she denigrates Hawaii's physicians, demands a response. Her negative generalizations appear to be based solely upon her own unsatisfactory experience and that of a friend.I have practiced medicine in England, Wales, Colorado, Vermont and Hawaii. In each place, most of the doctors have been good, some have been exceptional and some have been downright bad. However, the overall standard of medical care has, in my judgment, not differed in any major degree from one area to another.
She mentions a Mayo Clinic specialist who refused to review medical reports and imaging studies brought from Hawaii by her friend. Hawaii, she was told, was "the back waters," medically.
Zimmerman apparently accepts this statement as factual, without questioning it. Why? This characterization of medicine in Hawaii is not only unfounded, but is arrogant and unprofessional to boot.
In my experience and that of my colleagues, most people (patients) in Hawaii do not share Zimmerman's jaundiced views -- not because they are naive, but because they receive high-quality care from well-trained, caring health professionals.
Michael D. Kaye, D.M., FRCP
It's nice to be greeted with a smile in Safeway
Lately, some ignoramuses have chastised Safeway for initiating a commendable policy to have their cashiers greet the customers with a "thank you and a smile." These individuals apparently have their minds in the gutter.Only the worst pervert and degenerate would interpret this commendable policy as anything but a gracious salutation of appreciation and respect for customers.
I sincerely hope that this misguided attitude does not compel the officers of Safeway to discontinue this genuine expression of aloha.
Ruben Ortiz
Council member is man of high moral standards
I commend City Councilman Andy Mirikitani for standing up for his convictions. His concern regarding pornography shops and strip clubs in his district has been consistent and thoughtful.It is a sign of character when one person stands against a powerful force such as Honolulu's sex industry. His constituents and the community at large owe him a debt of gratitude.
Mirikitani has also promoted a much-needed swimming pool for the densely populated Makiki area. It is refreshing to have an original champion of the people in office. Way to go, Andy.
Rick Bernstein
Abercrombie is friend to real estate industry
For the past several years, I have worked closely with U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie on behalf of Realtor issues, locally and nationwide. He has done a good job understanding and responding effectively to the legislative concerns of our profession, especially in tax relief.Abercrombie understands and responds well to the 50 percent of the workforce in Hawaii who go to work, work hard and expect to receive salary and benefits (e.g. insurance, paid sick leave, paid vacations, retirement contributions), and the 50 percent who go to work, work hard and are not sure they'll be paid at all (since their work is case-by-case, funded by a small business, entrepreneurship or profession, or they are the owner).
He is known by the Washington staff of the Realtor organization for his openness, responsiveness to and knowledgeability about business issues. And he is well regarded by me for his diligence, superb communications, honesty, and the fact that he responds to a broad spectrum of working people's concerns with both his head and his heart.
Christine T. O'Brien
What's so awful about being a conservative?
I was watching TV the other night when the newscaster commented that Stan Koki, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, was coming under fire for being "conservative."Let's see: Stan's a devout Christian, he's pro-traditional marriage and he's a successful businessman. It wasn't too long ago that a man with Koki's values and qualities would be lauded, not attacked. What does this say about our society?
Hayden S. C. Hu
(Via the Internet)
St. Louis was never a 'football' factory
I wonder what has become of my alma mater since leaving the steps of Bertram Hall in 1996. What I see before me in black and white is not what St. Louis stands for.Kana Lui, gentlemen, is an institution for learning and following the word of God. Kana Lui was never a "football factory" first. That is why athletes there and at any school are called "student athletes."
Noah Pekelo
Las Vegas, Nev.
(Via the Internet)
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