PLAs would hurt local construction industry

Congratulations to Rep. Colleen Meyer for her concise, informative July 10 column thoroughly highlighting the negative aspects and repercussions of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and their counterproductive ramifications on Hawaii's construction industry if Governor Cayetano signs the executive order allowing their use in public works projects.

Our association has been a vocal opponent of PLAs since their inception and introduction to Hawaii.

We watched this past legislative session carefully, and now await the outcome of the directive that would require the use of PLAs and allow the executive department to take union contractors in consideration first for state contracts.

PLAs would only add more costs and regulations to an industry already bound by wage, safety and labor laws; increase costs to taxpayers and reduce competition in the marketplace by eliminating bids from open-shop contractors not willing to sign a union agreement.

They would disregard the rights of employers and employees by requiring that they be signatory to a labor organization for the duration of a project and, most important, uphold Hawaii as an unfriendly place to do business.

Alden Chai
President, Hawaii Island Contractors' Association
Hilo, Hawaii

There's no shortage of government Bozos

In Robert Chanin's July 10 letter, "Local politics is like three-ring circus," he concludes by saying, "Bring on the clowns." Bob, the clowns are already there!

Don Mitchell
Kailua

Quotables "You mainly see men (in jazz). Any time you see a woman performing, you may be a lot more critical, whereas with men, you just kind of take it for granted that they can do it. But the guys were alway respectful." Betty Loo Taylor Jazz pianist Honored this weekend at Hawaiian Jazz Night, part of the sixth annual Hawaii International Jazz Festival "They are complaining about noise they haven't heard yet." Reuben Wong Attorney for landowner Honolulu Ltd. Rebutting Hausten Street residents who oppose his client's reopening of the Willows restaurant because of concerns about past noise and traffic

Natural diet may be hazardous to health

Howard C. Wiig, in his July 10 letter, has it all wrong.

Processed food and modern food technology have helped to make an abundant, cheap supply of nutritious food available to all Americans.

As a result, we are living an average 76 years and we're healthier than ever. Processing food also helps reduce spoilage and the risk of food-borne illness from microorganisms.

As for our ancestors who ate so-called "organic food for tens of thousands of years," they died young.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, people who eat organic food today are eight times more at risk of suffering food-borne illnesses than people who eat conventional foods.

That's because organic crops are grown using manure, which harbors disease-causing critters, and because they are not often washed with disinfectants or rinsed with chlorinated water.

A noted professor of nutrition once observed that there are no junk foods, "just junk diets."

Rick Klemm
Kailua

Clean money would clean up government

Thank goodness for the Campaign Spending Commission and its hard-working staff for their dogged determination in going after state Sen. Marshall Ige's campaign spending irregularities.

Some say that, if we could strictly enforce current laws on the books, the campaign system would work reasonably well. But that depends on how one defines the problem.

We think the real problem is what the current campaign finance system does to our democracy. It:

Creates vast political inequality between the wealthy few who can afford to make large campaign contributions and the non-wealthy majority who can't.
Devalues the vote due to the overshadowing influence of money.
Makes it nearly impossible for people without access to wealth to mount competitive campaigns for public office.
Skews public policy in favor of well-heeled vested interests at the expense of ordinary citizens and taxpayers.

These won't go away simply by making sure the players in today's campaign finance system follow the rules. The real problem is what's legal: campaign money passing between those who want laws written and those who write them.

There has to be sufficient money for communicating with voters, because it is expensive for a candidate to get out his or her message.

The only way to end candidates' and elected officials' dependence on vested interest donors -- and create an electoral process that is fair to all candidates, regardless of access to wealth -- is by providing eligible candidates with voluntary full public funding, or "clean money," to finance their campaigns.

Toni Worst
President, Hawaii Clean Elections

Firecrackers are burned only for a short time

Each New Year's Eve, ever since I was yea high, I've been burning firecrackers.

For 50 or more years, I've hung up four to eight 10,000 rolls of firecrackers within the confines of my property, lit them and watched them burn, cleaned up the debris, watered down the area, hoisted a few and then gone to bed.

So what's the big thing about burning firecrackers for an hour?

The legislators can pass all the laws they want but, come next New Year's Eve, I'll be continuing to do what I've done for decades.

If they lock me up for burning firecrackers, maybe they'll be doing me a tremendous favor. Then I'll be able to get a respite from all the complaining and bickering about firecrackers.

Richard Lee

Theater of the absurd in Hawaii is reality

An infamous state Senate session filled with intrigue has given rise to a summer stocked with parodies of favorite plays.

It all started when the Senate attempted to explain its actions by staging its version of "Gunfight at the OK Corral."

The Senate posse, spurred on by its young guns, ambushed the town's attorney general and budget director for being too big for their britches as they rode down Reconfirmation Trail.

Margery Bronster and Earl Anzai turned their cheeks and produced the humorous "A Funny Thing Happened on Our Way to Reconfirmation at the Forum."

Governor Cayetano -- not to be outdone by the Senate -- countered with "Lazarus," a mystery play about an assassinated budget director who is resurrected and becomes the new attorney general in all his glory.

Richard Y. Will

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