State should fight Sacred Falls lawsuits

I want to express my sympathy to the families of the victims of the Mother's Day 1999 rock slide at Sacred Falls. It was terrible. That so many people were there when it happened made it worse.

Some of the survivors are now suing the state because of the tragedy. But why is government liable for an "act of God"? All outdoor activities entail some risk; everyone who hikes, swims, surfs and hunts should know injury or death is possible.

Sacred Falls is one of the most well-signed trails on Oahu. These signs warn of the possible risks involved in hiking the trail. Realistically, the state can do no more than make people aware of the dangers. If you get hurt, then so be it.

The state should fight the lawsuits and not settle out of court. And here's the main point of my letter: Will more wilderness areas be closed to avoid future lawsuits? It has already happened with Maakua Gulch and Sacred Falls. Where will it end? Diamond Head? Sandy's?

Randy Ching
Sierra Club, Oahu Group
Via the Internet

Hawaii will always be strategic in location

Your Jan. 1 editorial opined, "Advances in military technology and changes in strategic requirements make it questionable that Hawaii will retain its military bases for more than a few de-cades. Pearl Harbor may end up with little more than the Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri."

The strategic importance of Hawaiian seas will abide, though Hawaii's defenses may not. By closing Barbers Point Naval Air Station and the Kahoolawe training range, Hawaii's political leaders foreclosed forever the capacity to base capital ships (aircraft carriers) here.

Naval, air and land forces must be based where they can train. As our politicians yield to the theory that all military training ranges are "sacred," we force naval and military forces to the mainland and create a strategic power vacuum in the Pacific.

Had that theory been honored from 1941-45, these "sacred" lands would certainly now be under the sword of the Empire of Japan.

Scott Allen
Kailua
Via the Internet

Just have TheBus loop around for pedestrians

All of the proposed ideas for improving safety for pedestrians crossing Pali Highway seem like big ventures that have little chance of being long-term solutions. For example, adding more traffic lights will slow the already congested traffic along that section of the Pali.

How about a simpler solution? Since most of these pedestrians are crossing the six lanes to catch TheBus, why can't the city just create looping bus routes? Have certain Ala Moana-bound buses loop around (it would only take 10 minutes) and run back eastward to pick up passengers, then continue toward town. Maybe just one bus per hour, if publicized, would be sufficient.

This is an option that could be implemented right away without a lot of red tape.

Ben Fogelgren
Kaneohe
Via the Internet

Outlawing feeding of wild cats is cruel

While I appreciate your coverage of the ban on feral cat feeding, public misconceptions must still be cleared up:

Feeding places are generally not in popular recreation areas; they are spots specifically chosen because there is little human activity.

Most feral cats are not wild. Rather, they are former pets mercilessly dumped by their owners.

While the instinct to hunt is innate, successful hunting skills must be learned; house cats lack training. If they could hunt successfully, we would not need to feed them. Denying the cats food will starve them.

Well-fed colony cats need not roam for food, and do not usually encounter people's pets or enter restaurant areas for scraps; colony dispersion would be disastrous.

The spay/neuter and microchip program greatly helps control cat populations. Maintained colonies grow only if ignorant people continue dumping pets.

Allison Ikeda
Via the Internet

Star-Bulletin motivates young journalist

When I had to declare my high school major three years ago, I hastily selected journalism because I thought it would be awesome to be an MTV veejay. Now as a junior, I have suffered the agony of learning how to write cheesy headlines and manipulate quotes, and I hate it.

However, it was MTV that sparked my interest in Hawaii. After it began airing its "Real World" docu-drama based on Oahu, I checked out the local paper online to scope what was really happening in the islands.

I've since been hooked on your online edition. Everything about it -- the design, writing, the way you represent Hawaii -- is wickedly awesome. It is one of the highest qualities I've ever seen in a newspaper.

Don't let Gannett shut you down! The worst possible thing you could do is force us to read the other paper.

Now, because of you, I'm going to apply at the University of Hawaii as a journalism major. As soon as I graduate, I'll be knocking on your door, job application in hand. I only pray that you stay open until then.

Diamond Tokuda
Louisville, Ky.
Via the Internet

Clinton is poster boy for sexual harassment

Your Dec. 25 editorial declared, "Sexual harassment has received much more attention in the United States in the last several years, particularly since the Bob Packwood and Clarence Thomas cases, and now it's becoming an issue in Japan."

It's just like the lapdog liberals you are to bring up Packwood and Thomas but to conveniently forget mentioning President Clinton and his debauched behavior.

Ken Wooley
Via the Internet

Quotables "I've taken all the cuts I can. And if I take my 'warm body' cuts, I can't take care of the elections." Dwayne Yoshina HAWAII'S CHIEF ELECTIONS OFFICER Predicting longer lines at polling places and greater risks of tabulation errors if his budget is cut "An adult monk seal can outswim and outfight any tiger shark in the ocean but a young seal will just stop and look at it. Same thing with a boat. They don't know what it is." Don Heacock MARINE BIOLOGIST WITH THE STATE AQUATICS DIVISION ON KAUAI On a baby monk seal, born on the island last Fourth of July, that was probably killed after being hit by a boat

So many to blame for one horrid night

On New Year's Eve, once again, I found myself imprisoned in my house with a wife with a chronic lung condition. The houses just across the street disappeared in a yellow haze and the acrid smell of explosives filled the air inside the house as well as out, despite filters and air conditioners.

Some idiot near us was setting off explosives louder than those I remember from Vietnam. They actually shook our house.

Our foolish and ineffective politicians and the greed of all those who sell these abusive and poisonous toys combined to make the first night of the new year truly hellish. Welcome to the new millennium, Hawaii.

Ted Meeker
Kaneohe
Via the Internet

Fireworks criticism shows wrong priorities

It is ironic that so much debate has gone on about banning fireworks after a recent death involving aerials. When you consider that, in 1999, deaths due to handguns far outnumbered those due to fireworks, it shows our priorities are misdirected.

Why is more attention being focused on fireworks than on firearms? Could it be because the fireworks lobby is not as strong as the gun lobby? Or does the Western cultural practice of having access to guns outweigh the Eastern practice of acknowledging the arrival of a new year?

Dana Kimbrough Nunes
Waianae
Via the Internet

Fireworks could be real tourist draw

My cousin has lived in Honolulu for 12 years and has always asked me to visit him over the New Year's celebration. This year I finally did, and was thrilled by the way you celebrate the coming of a new year.

While some may find the smoke and noise annoying, I found it to be the product of a culture that knows how to have fun. Rest assured that I shall return next year and bring the rest of my family to see Hawaii and celebrate with style. Save a few firecrackers for me on Dec. 31!

Jack Wirth
Lutherville, Md.
Via the Internet

No good reason to allow fireworks

The danger of fireworks is so apparent I cannot understand how anyone could possibly be against a total ban. There are too many amateurs who seem to lack common sense when it comes to setting off explosions.

Only professionals should be allowed to provide a fireworks show.

I spent New Year's Eve in my son's 22nd floor apartment to escape the worst of the smoke. What I saw was appalling and frightening.

I am also concerned about the effect of the smoke on infants and young children. We are supposed to protect them, but intentionally surrounding them with smoke isn't very protective.

Caroline Dunn
Via the Internet

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