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Laws must be hashed out in public

As observers of the legislative process, we applaud the decision by the state House to require public voting by conference committees. We encourage the Senate to do likewise.

Conference committees meet at the end of the legislative session to resolve differences between bills that have passed the House and Senate in different forms. The most costly, important and controversial decisions about the public's business are often made by conference committees.

The conference committees often meet without public notice, and without most members present. The "agreements" (reached between a "manager" from the House and Senate) are then circulated among the committee members for signature votes.

This process allows important decisions to be made in secret, at the last minute, under excessive pressure and without full input from committee members.

Public voting, with a quorum of conference committee members, is a more orderly and inclusive process. The results will be statutes that are better crafted, with fewer unintended consequences. The increased accountability will also improve public confidence.

Jeff Crabtree
Thomas Gill
Susan Ichinose
Tom Grande
Jeff Portnoy

Drivers being retaught rules of the road

There's a remarkable change in traffic these days, as uniformed police officers wait at intersections for the lights to change. Then the officers rush out and hand the obvious violators a paper on how to stop correctly at an intersection: "Stay behind the crosswalk lines, do not block the intersection..."

I made it through one intersection but a van behind me didn't. While stopped across the street, I watched through my rear-view mirror as the police officer handed the driver a paper and lectured her. Meanwhile, her young male passenger kept pointing my way.

Later, they caught up with me and he held up the warning for me to see.

I drive King and Beretania streets every day. When the officers were out there, the traffic moved smoothly as they waited and pounced. Could it be that these drivers never knew how to stop at intersections? Or that nobody cared?

The police deserve congratulations.

Jack A. Fiero Sr.

Quotables "In Pittsburgh, they all know who you are because they see you on TV and other places all season. But in Hawaii, a lot of people don't know you. That's why it's good to come home because it keeps you grounded." Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala PITTSBURGH STEELERS RUNNING BACK WHO PLAYED AT ST. LOUIS SCHOOL On the joy of coming back to his hometown on vacation "My cat looked like it had been gutted. It was awful." Debra Kruck WEST MAUI RESIDENT Describing her cat, Marley, after it had been mauled by two pit bulls at her home. The Maui County Council is considering an ordinance that would encourage dog owners to be responsible about their pets, in light of increased attacks on animals and humans on the Valley Isle.

Only kids need fluoridated water

Fluoridation for kids, yes. For adults, no. Fluoridated drinking water is most effective and beneficial to children during the years of their teeth development.

If the state is so concerned about that, it should provide the elementary schools with fluoridated bottled drinking water and leave adults alone. We don't want it, nor do we need it.

For adults who do want to drink fluoridated water, no one is going to stop them from buying their own fluoridated bottled water. The state should stop trying to force it down the throats of those who do not want it.

Carl Hamashige
Lihue, Kauai

Fluoridation debate ended back in 1950s

Carol Holt's Feb. 7 letter to the editor about fluoridation of drinking water was the latest in a series that I have read and giggled over.

I was born in Hawaii. My family moved to the mainland after my adult teeth started to grow in. I have cavities in those adult teeth that came in before we moved away.

My younger brother and sister, whose adult teeth came in after moving to an area with fluoridated water, have no cavities. It's as simple as that.

And what horrible side effects did fluoridation have (booga-booga!) on the state in which we lived? Let's see: The grass was green, the birds were alive and little kids didn't have steel-capped teeth.

Come on, folks, the debate about fluoridation was over in the 1950s. I wish the people fuming about the proposal to fluoridate Hawaii's water were fuming instead about public education. Now that's something I really worry about.

Catharine Honeyman
Midway Island

Protection is needed from gun enthusiasts

Bruce Wong (Letters, Feb. 1) seems to be living in a different country from the rest of us. He says that we all need guns to protect ourselves from our "evil and socialist government."

What paranoid baloney! The ones whom we and our government need protection from have been the lone crackpots with guns and bombs.

We live in the greatest democracy the world has ever known. Those calling it "socialist" and wishing for an armed camp are very ill-informed.

Nancy Bey Little

Milestone reached at Lanakila Elementary

Congratulations to everyone at Lanakila Elementary, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. I wish the school on Kuakini Street well for the next 75 years!

Roy E. Shigemura

Sierra Club is doing what's best for Hawaii

The Sierra Club has been accused of trying to attract attention to itself by suing the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Those accusations are accurate.

It isn't the club that its members are trying to attract attention to; it is the fact that our elected and appointed officials are attempting to once again sell us down the single-economy path of tourism.

Haven't we learned that short-sighted lesson enough times already? Diversify, diversify, diversify!

The Sierra Club recognizes that only when the economy is healthy for everybody will the natural environment be safe from exploitation.

Scott Rowland
Waimanalo

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