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Voters should decide on bike helmets for kids

We are about to get a law thrust upon us mandating bicycle helmets for riders under 18 years of age.

Yes, there are bike accidents and precautions should be taken -- but in the form of parental supervision and training, not through government regulation.

Statistics indicate 126 bike accidents resulting in serious injury for persons under 18 years during the three-year period ending in 1997. Estimating a minimum of 300,000 local bicycle riders, age 18 or under, that represents only .042 percent, hardly a number mandating government intervention.

In addition, most households in Hawaii are not wealthy. Many families have three or more children under 18. What if they can't afford to purchase helmets?

Whenever a bill of this magnitude is introduced by lawmakers, the issue must be put forth as a proposition on the ballot. Demand it!

Peter R. Cabrey
Pepeekeo, Hawaii

Sovereignty not the same as independence

I agree with Paul Pollitt's Jan. 22 letter that unless Hawaiian independence is beneficial to ALL the people, it (sovereignty) will fall flat on its face. However, Pollitt wrongly interchanges the terms "sovereignty" and "independence."

Sovereignty is not limited to independence from the United States. It may include a nation-within-a-nation status, similiar to the 300-plus sovereign nations that presently exist within the United States.

Sovereignty in this form need not be beneficial to all people. It need not have the approval of all citizens. Though based on racial grounds, it has not threatened the rights, livelihood and existence of nonaboriginal citizens.

Most importantly, the existence of a distinct race-based classification is covered in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.

Damon Senaha
San Diego, Calif.

Pay-at-the-pump is needed in Hawaii

Hawaii's government leaders have a unique opportunity to show they can do a good job, rare as that may be. They can design and execute an exemplary pay-at-the-pump (PATP) auto insurance system that'll help make Hawaii's cost of living bearable and teach our kids that responsibility is a serious matter.

A driver's license gives its bearer a lot of freedom and a commensurate degree of accountability. Yet the irresponsibility of our high incidence of insurance-less drivers is sapping society.

Our unique geographical isolation creates a situation conducive for PATP. No other state can feasibly operate such a system.

We should award a renewable contract to a private insurance entity to administer the entire PATP system. Additional coverage, for drivers who want it, can easily be created. High-mileage drivers could be issued a refund, if they have clean driving records. Other details can be worked out without agony.

Alan T. Matsuda

Quotables "I think I was the only kid in McCully in an art class, so it was kind of embarrassing. But I found I enjoyed it." Clarence Lee HONOLULU GRAPHIC DESIGNER WITH A SHOW AT RAMSAY GALLERIES On his early years as an artist "The community and the survivors of the victims need this case closed." Peter Carlisle CITY PROSECUTOR On defendant Byran Uyesugi, found fit to stand trial for the fatal shootings of his supervisor and six co-workers at the Xerox building in Iwilei last Nov. 2

Too many questions about fluoridation

I venture that I am not the only one who has these questions when it comes to spending $12.5 million in taxpayer money to add fluoride to Hawaii's water supply:

What percentage of our water supply do we actually drink?

How will our vehicles, our bodies and our laundry benefit when washed with fluoridated water?

Will our lawns, parks, city trees and landscaping, or golf courses be affected when sprinkled with fluoridated water?

Are fluoridated toilet flushes really necessary?

If drinking water must be fluoridated to prevent tooth decay in Hawaii's young children, there must be an alternate way to provide it to those who want and need it, without making fluoridated drinking water mandatory for those who do not.

Carol A. Holt

Star Wars missile program is a dud

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Pentagon is lying to us about its latest Star Wars missile intercept program. After numerous failures, its most recent test "succeeded."

Of course, the media didn't tell us that. Short of roping the interceptor and its target together, the architects of this $100 million exercise could hardly have done more to ensure the success of the operation.

Because the ICBM was launched from California toward the mid-Pacific Ocean (an outbound trajectory instead of the inbound trajectory of an ICBM attack), the early warning tracking radar acquired the target at close range with high signal to noise.

In a real ICBM attack, the radar would have had to detect the target at long range with low signal to noise. In other words, the radar had a much better opportunity of spotting the target because it was leaving from right next door, instead of approaching from far over the horizon.

How much more bogus could this "test" be? Are we supposed to spend another $5 billion -- on top of more than $50 billion already spent -- on this so-called defense system?

Thomas C. Mountain
Kaneohe

UPW should butt out of politics

Gary Rodrigues of the United Public Workers truly made my day when he threatened the governor by saying his union is now deciding whether it wants to endorse anybody in future elections

Rodrigues says, "We may take the position to stay out of the election."

The best thing he could do for Hawaii would be to convert this threat into a promise.

Don Neill

Not only lawmakers should strive for ideals

Diane Chang's Jan. 31 column on the 10 qualities needed in your state legislators can be assimilated into one phrase: common sense. In fact, wouldn't it be fantastic if all people aspired to cultivate the 10 characteristics in question?

By the way, our state government workers have been taking naps and using state money for snacks for years.

Larry A. Norman Sr.
Louisville, Ky.

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