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Saturday, October 2, 1999

Stop tampering with wishes of princess

Pauahi's will is being broken. She established a perpetual trust that holds Hawaiian lands. She structured, in her will, a simple system of checks and balances.

She had five trustees or CEOs who would debate and argue each issue. There was a safety in numbers. She gave her personal wealth to the trustees of her estate.

Pauahi's will is a private document. Her estate is a private estate; it is not a public entity. The courts, IRS and alumni have no right to break her will.

Pauahi did not ask for a voluntary board. She did not ask for part-time trustees. She wanted full-time trustees who would receive commissions set by law.

What right do we have to criticize, object or change her wishes?

Palani Vaughan

Kamehameha Schools, Class of 1962

Trustees must have agreed to study move

Ousted Bishop Estate trustee Henry Peters has recently attributed the study of relocating the estate out of Hawaii to fellow trustee Lokelani Lindsey. This seems rather odd as I would assume that it required a majority of the trustees to approve funding of the study.

This would seem to imply that either he seriously considered this move or he was willing to squander yet more estate resources without merit.

William Blackwell
Via the Internet

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Bishop Estate archive

Quotables "I would sit here with my tea and with my own doubts and wonder, is it worth it? And you know what? It was. I'm feeling well and I think I'm getting more sassy." Lani Ramos-Harrington Campbell HIgh School teacher Who continues to head the Kulia I Ka Pono class for troubled youths despite undergoing treatment for cervical cancer "I find the mascot, a muscle-bound human figure, rather banal and totally lacking in imagination. I would like to see a cartoon character, something more picaresque as well as emblematic of Hawaiiana -- maybe a cartoon shark aumakua or the like." Elliot Char Pearl city resident Who doesn't want to see the return of the UH Rainbow Warrior mascot

Mayor Harris is trying hard -- to get re-elected

Just months before the last mayoral race, Harris went into the Chinatown area and steam-cleaned its sidewalks. Did he do this to any other sidewalks on Oahu? I doubt it.

Now he wants to do something else for Chinatown merchants. He is going to spend more than $4 million to "improve the sidewalks along King Street." Sounds good. But won't the asking price by Harris be doubled to $8 million, due to the interest accumulated for borrowing this money?

And if "the sidewalks of Chinatown are dangerous," isn't it up to the property owners to make them safe for pedestrians?

Mayor Harris is good at spending borrowed money to buy votes for the next election. Just look at all his recent public announcements about city projects.

Why now? Why not four years ago or even last year?

Ed Lee

China needs new form of leadership

On this, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and in view of the internal and external situation of China, the title of the Chinese Communist Party is outdated and must be changed. I suggest the Chinese People's Democratic Socialist Party.

This coalition government, with all of the legal political parties including the Kuomintang and the New Party in Taiwan, would be based on equality.

China cannot afford to have another armed revolution. It should encourage local elections first, from the village level up to the counties and then provinces, and finally a national election.

In the 21st century, China must strive for overall modernization to survive, prosper and become a great nation.

Hung Peng Lee

Closing Star-Bulletin
hinders public debate

Shutdown announcement

Newspaper has been voice of the public

I have never written a letter to a newspaper before to thank it for the invaluable service it provides even in the face of the harsh criticism that must be leveled at it.

When I think about why I've never written, I realize it's because the Star-Bulletin was often a voice for me.

I shudder to think of the silence that may ensue, but I have fervent hopes that the bylines of reporters and staff who have suddenly become real, live, regular people to me will reappear in print again.

Lorene Okimoto

Closure of newspaper warrants more debate

Major daily newspapers are public institutions that provide vital news and opinion. They belong to their communities as much as they do to their owners.

Therefore, the owner of one of only two major newspapers in a community cannot run away from his obligation without sufficient warning, discussions of possible alternatives or offers to sell.

Those responsible for the quick closing of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin should be prevented from doing so without further debate.

It would be criminal to allow the newspaper, which has served the community so well, to go quietly into the night without first plugging up the void left by its valuable stilled voice.

Richard Y. Will

Impact of closing is hardest on island state

The decision by Liberty Newspapers to close the Star-Bulletin, particularly without exploring the possibility of selling the paper to its employees or some other organization, is reprehensible.

Hawaii's geographic situation is unique. The impact of going from a two-newspaper to a one-newspaper town is far more significant than on the mainland. Unlike virtually any mainland city -- for example, St. Louis, where one of the two papers shut down -- there is no legitimate alternative paper. There is no Chicago Tribune or Peoria Star that can step in to provide this alternate voice.

The major villains in this are Liberty, for its short-sighted decision to close the paper, and the Advertiser's parent, Gannett, for its intelligent but monopolistic decision to buy out the competition, rather than allow the Star-Bulletin to go on the market.

One wonders when this decision was actually made and who was involved.

David Craven
Chicago
Via the Internet

Familiar names will be missed

The "evening breeze" will be sorely missed in our household.

No more Memminger? No Donnelly? No more Corky? No more light shed on hidden agendas in this town. I'm saddened.

Carolynn Kindelon
Kailua
Via the Internet

Legislature Directory
Hawaii Revised Statutes
Ka Leo O Hawaii

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