Trustees should be fired,
made to reimburse estate

I'm sick and tired of the cacophony of bleatings coming from Bishop Estate sycophants like Randy Iwase and George Kanahele. The rip-off of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop's estate has been going on long enough!

It's time to say STOP and FIRE the leeches. We should not only fire them, we should also make them pay back to the trust the monies that should be used for what the princess intended -- to educate, and educate well, our Hawaiian keiki.

Think of all the scholarships that could be given to every graduating Hawaiian senior with the $5 million in salaries and expenses of those trustees! The Bishop Estate, with $10 billion in assets, has wealth that supersedes some nations.

The trustees have failed in their defined mission of educating children and youth of Hawaiian ancestry. They have only educated 6.6 percent of Hawaii's 48,000 Hawaiian children.

The real champions of our Hawaiian keiki are at the public schools, the community colleges and the university, those numerous educators who have educated the majority of Hawaii's children. They make between $25,000-75,000.

There are many more qualified potential Bishop Estate trustee candidates in the Hawaiian community who would be honored to serve their keiki for a fair amount between those two figures.

Liana M. Petranek

Will of the princess says
what's expected of trustees

My definition of a trust is that which is controlled and operated for the beneficiaries. In Bishop Estate's case, they would be the 30,000 or more children of Hawaii.

Don't you think a trustee for a charitable trust should be paid only $1 a year -- or at the maximum $100,000 a year? The trustees should not "feather their nests" but be given modest compensation.

There should be no conflict of interest or the trustee should offer to resign. Dollars should not be spent for the trustees' defense that should instead be invested for the education of Hawaii's youth. These children cannot speak in their own defense, so the public must speak for them.

I walked down to the state archives and read the will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Anyone can do this, as it is open to the public. Read it for yourself!

When the present trustees are removed -- or given good direction -- by our powers in office, I would suggest an orderly change, removing one trustee each year over the next few years.

Betty S. Moir

Bishop Estate Archive

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CPS must protect first
rights of child, not parent

I can't help but be repulsed at the many child-abuse cases that have occurred on Oahu recently. As I understand it, the main goal of Child Protective Services is to reunite the child with the biological parents soon after the child has been placed in foster care. However, this system is deeply flawed.

The main concern of CPS should be to ensure the safety and well-being of the child at all costs! In some cases, children should never be returned to their natural parents.

These "parents" are not fit to be raising pets much less children. Many are unable to cope with the stresses of daily life and have a lack of anger-management skills. The problem is compounded when drugs and alcohol enter this grim scenario.

All children deserve to have a safe and caring environment. Stop the cycles of violence, abuse and death!

Lauren Endo
Mililani High School

Mayor is the Pied Piper
of short-term planning

About three months ago, my girlfriend and I had dinner at a Waikiki restaurant. After dinner, we walked to Kuhio Beach Park and sat on a bench across from St. Augustine Church.

Directly in front of the bench was a planter with thick, low foliage. As we sat there, we saw a large rat in the planter foliage. Then we saw another and another. We counted about six large rats in just a few minutes.

Before Mayor Harris' pre-election "Waikiki Beautification Project," the planters at Kuhio Beach Park had carissa shrubs planted in them, which left the ground beneath them open.

The new landscaping consists of low, thick ground cover, which is full of weeds and rubbish and makes an excellent habitat for rats.

Like the expensive light poles that rust in a few years, here is another example of how Harris does things to make himself look good in the short term with no regard for the long-term consequences.

John S. Pritchett

Day UH football games
are too hot to enjoy

I thought the Star-Bulletin poll in Friday's sports section was very interesting but misleading. Since almost half of the respondents did not know the athletic director and/or head football coach, it might be reasonable to assume that they did not support UH athletics and probably were not season ticket holders as I am.

That being the case, I don't think they would particularly care when the football games would start. As a season ticket holder who has seats on the mauka side of the stadium, I can tell you that those afternoon games are uncomfortable, to say the least.

Squinting into the sun after tailgating in the equally hot parking lot is no fun.

In that respect, I'm not looking forward to the afternoon game against Notre Dame -- other than to see Eddie Klaneski pick off a Ron Poulus pass and run it back for six points, and hopefully to see Jason Ching play.

Jay Wells
Kailua
(Via the Internet)

Public is not supportive
of economic task force

For those hoping against hope that the Economic Revitalization Task Force might actually breathe life into Hawaii's lagging economy, the Star-Bulletin poll (Sept. 24) offers nothing to cheer about. Only 27 percent of respondents believe that the effort will be successful.

Perhaps the most critical belief, true or not, is that the task force is made up mostly of individuals from big business, the old power structure and the old Democratic leadership, persons reluctant to shake up the status quo and take bold steps to revitalize the economy. More of the same!

Where on the task force and its subcommittees are representatives of small business, which is hurting the most as purchasing power diminishes and more business goes to mainland firms? Where are the poor, the underemployed and human-service advocates who daily see the effect of the loss of welfare entitlement on persons who want to work and are compelled to seek non-existent jobs?

The task force has many questions to answer before the public begins to believe in its purported mission.

Ruth Ellen Lindenberg

Isn't the AG supposed to be
people's lawyer?

State Sen. Whitney Anderson's Sept. 29 letter calling for an elected attorney general is absolutely correct. AG Margery Bronster makes Anderson's point herself in the Oct. 1 issue of Midweek. In the cover story she states, "Once the Supreme Court of the state goes against me (in the Con Con issue), that is now the ruling I will defend and that's what I'm doing."

When there is no longer a separation of the executive and judicial branches of government, the people have no final recourse for their grievances.

Since the AG is appointed by the governor (executive branch) and goes along to get along with the judicial branch, where do the people's rights come in?

Garry P. Smith
Ewa Beach

Now about this bright idea
to raze the Natatorium...

So a group of people want to tear down a World War I veterans memorial and build a public beach. What a great way to honor our war dead. How about if we raise the USS Arizona and sell her for scrap to help pay for construction of the beach?

Victor Moss
Technical Sergeant, U.S. Air Force
Makakilo
(Via the Internet)

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Bishop Estate Archive

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