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Legislators need to speak out on gas suit
Where are our federal and state legislators now that some solid inside information is coming out of the state vs. oil companies court hearings?Writing to them for their help in the gas price fraud that has gone on for years is useless. They say they're keeping an eye on the situation. They've kept an eye on the oil companies while they've bilked us out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Let's tell them to stop keeping an eye on it and join us in the fight!
Robert G. Devine
Ocean View, Hawaii
Ethical behavior may be thing of the past
The latest Bishop Estate/Milton Holt bill-paying matter simply lengthens the list of indiscretions, unethical conduct and arrogant disregard for the law. It simply reflects the truism, "Absolute power corrupts."Perhaps "absolute" is a relative perspective but, if ego and arrogance are derived from the same mindset, that self-delusion is just as ruthless, insensitive and irresponsible to larger issues of ethics.
It is my belief that what we have painfully witnessed with respect to the former Bishop Estate is neither atypical nor is it isolated behavior among those with positions of power in our state.
Rather, it may be representative of a current culture where leadership (political, social and corporate) was assumed to be responsible and socially conscious. While such traditional values of our ancestors may have existed, clearly we are losing such accountability, integrity and values of leadership in Hawaii.
David Miho
Quotables
"Even (when I was surfing) it seems I was fighting for women's rights. That's where I got my first taste of disparities." Patti Paniccia
FORMER PROFESSIONAL SURFER AND AUTHOR
The Waialua-born writer drew on her personal experiences to publish a book, "Work Smarts for Woman," on sex discrimination in the workplace.
"We're seeing a different breed of tourists. They've done the bus tours and commercial thing. They want to be by themselves." Richard Soon
HONOLULU FIRE DEPARTMENT CAPTAIN
On how an estimated 90 percent of hikers needing rescue in Hawaii are visitors
Public tires of growing government payroll
"Never in the field of conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." These were words spoken by Sir Winston Churchill on the role of the Royal Air Force pilots in defending England and its people against Germany during the Battle of Britain in World War II.These words come to mind when I think of city and state employees.
Donald AllenThe "so many" -- over 100,000 government employees.
Civil service benefits aren't overly generous
As a private-sector employee who has worked closely with various civil service employees, I disagree with your editorial stance on state retiree health benefits. For the most part, I have found the majority of civil service employees to be:
Therefore, your April 3 editorial comment that civil service retiree health benefits are "far more generous than those in the private sector" is misleading and misdirected.
Perhaps a more equitable focus would be to compare the TOTAL job benefits received by civil service vs. private-sector employees over their respective careers -- including retirement health benefits. To cite only retiree health benefits is comparing apples to coconuts, which were very different last time I tasted them.
Despite the in-vogue position of reducing civil service benefits, I caution against the risk of losing quality civil servants as a result of overreactionary legislation, resulting in disincentives for civil service including the reduction of retiree health benefits to dependents.
This reduction in retiree benefits could be far more costly to the private sector in the long run in terms of uninsured health costs and a loss of quality civil service.
Manuel "Manny" K. Nova
Tourists don't mind street performers
When I first visited Waikiki in the summer of 1951, the only other things beside the beach were the Moana Hotel and the Royal Hawaiian. I've been back at least 50 times since then, and have seen all the changes the area has undergone.Although it would be nice if Waikiki were still the idyllic place it was a half century ago, you certainly wouldn't have very many tourists. And one of the attractions, in recent years of walking up and down Kalakaua Avenue, has been the street performers.
I haven't seen any indications that tourists object to them. The Honolulu City Council should lighten up a little and not regulate their performances.
If the mayor thinks that the street performers detract from "enjoying the ambiance of a Hawaiian experience," maybe he should pass an ordinance mandating hula performances on Kalakaua in the style of the dance before the missionaries arrived.
Now that would be real "Hawaiian ambiance."
Ken Butler
Yokohama, Japan
Students should learn about history of guns
In her April 4 letter, Kailua High student Chelsea Kawamoto related how her social studies class is collecting gun-related local news articles.Rather than a cursory emotional examination of newspaper articles that report the tragic crimes that people commit with guns, Kawamoto's teacher should provide the students with a better understanding of the historical role of arms and their impact on society and government.
The students should be taught, for example, that in 1215, the barons did not ask King John nicely for the Magna Carta nor were the colonies granted permission by King George III to form the United States. Without guns or other weapons in the hands of the population, neither the Magna Carta nor U.S. Constitution, the cornerstones of freedom as we know it, would ever have been written.
Perhaps the students could discuss the circumstances that led to the writing of those documents in their social studies class, and the impact these circumstances continue to have on Western society and politics.
Dave Fahrenwald
Kailua
What happened to Kailua's news racks?
Eh?! How cum no moah newspapah boxes foah da kine Star-Bulletin down Kailua side? Used to be...C'mon, Hawaii Newspaper Agency, put da buggahs back!
(See what happens when a guy goes walking to beat back the triglycerides? He notices stuffs.)
Robert "Rabbett" Abbett
Kailua
Bulletin closing archive
Community rallied to help Brianne's family
I don't know how to convey our gratitude over the outpouring of aloha we have experienced ("Friends organize to help the parents of Brianne, 5, handicapped from birth," Star-Bulletin, March 27). I wish you all could meet Brianne and could see her beautiful smile in person. We named her Makanaokalani because she truly is a "gift from heaven."When Brianne was born, her prognosis wasn't good because her disabilities were fairly severe. After the initial shock of the news, I told myself that I would make the most of her life and mine, and that I would cherish every moment with her. This is why I choose to be by her side as much as I can during her hospitalization.
I am normally a very private person and don't like to ask for help. So when my good friend, Rachel Ariola, approached my husband and me with the idea of organizing a fundraiser, I resisted at first.
Thankfully, the "For Brianne's Sake" event has eased our financial burden and given us the opportunity to continue to take time off from work to be by her side. (While our health plan with Kaiser covers her hospitalization costs, the money raised will assist us in our daily living expenses.)
Again, we'd like to thank Rachel for coordinating this fundraiser; my United Airlines family for their love and support; and, most of all, all of the people in the community who opened their hearts to us.
Shari Nakahara and family
Perhaps apology resolution should be rescinded
A fifth-generation Hawaiian, whose grandfather was among the leaders of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, has stated in writing that "many of the whereas clauses (of the congressional apology) are based on erroneous statements," and that "no hearings were held on the wording."He stated further, "Neither were public hearings held on the resolution itself."
If any of the above statements are true, I request respectfully that the Hawaii congressional delegation hold public hearings at the state Capitol well prior to the elections in November, on whether to amend, supersede or cancel Senate Joint Resolution 19 of the 103rd Congress of the United States of America.
E. Alvey Wright
Kailua
Kamehameha would have abhorred telescopes
Thurston Twigg-Smith's April 4 letter critiqued Hawaiian objections to more telescopes on Mauna Kea, and speculated about King Kamehameha the Great's possible support of more telescopes if he knew of the monetary gain to his kingdom, Hawaii circa 1800-1819. Pure unadulterated haole missionary fiction!Furthermore, with the ancient Hawaiian kapu system still in force until his son Kamehameha II revoked it after his death in 1819, King Kamehameha would have cut sandalwood trees from the slopes of Mauna Kea in an environmentally friendly way -- not just for the sake of money.
Bill Kuamoo
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Democracy triumphed in Taiwan elections
In order to justify his obvious belief that the 20 million citizens of Taiwan should eventually be handed over to the "benevolent" Communists in Beijing, Hung Peng Lee wrote in his April 1 letter that President-elect Chen is incompetent, treacherous and can't be trusted.Lee further pointed out that Chen "only" received 39 percent of the popular vote.
Surely, the letter writer isn't suggesting that those who voted for Chen are also treacherous and incompetent. In addition, several past U.S. presidents, including Bill Clinton, have received less than the majority vote without, somehow, making the results suspect. Even with Chen's percentage, it is still a lot more votes than the bosses in Beijing ever received.
Despite the awful threats against the citizens of Taiwan by the Communists, the good and brave Taiwanese still voted their conscience. Can you imagine how many more votes Chen would have received if Beijing didn't openly threaten and salivate over Taiwan as Hitler did over little Sudetenland?
Or is it that Lee just doesn't much care for the democratic process?
Art Todd
Kaneohe
Syndicated advice columnist is hypocrite
Carolyn Hax, in her April 4 "Tell Me About It" syndicated column, wrote about a father name-calling his effeminate son. She said, "I don't care which way the kid leans -- calling him names is unacceptable. Slurs are unacceptable. Fear and hatred and bigotry are unacceptable."How, then, could she go on to call the boy's father "a jerk," "troglodyte" and "an ignorant thug"? Is it OK to use name-calling, slurs and hatred when referring to an adult male and unacceptable when the victim is a child?
If we want change, it needs to start in us. We don't need to love people's actions if they are unacceptable, but we certainly shouldn't resort to the very behavior we are objecting to.
Hax owes that man an apology. In addition, why does your newspaper subscribe to columns dispensing advice like this? Why not run advice columns that solve problems, rather than creating new ones?
Cathy Fukunaga
Kailua
Why the nationwide fuss over one refugee boy?
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service has had thousands of migrants and/or refugees incarcerated across the country for indeterminable periods. These people are awaiting court dates to address their individual pleas for residency, further hampered in some cases because their countries of birth refuse to let them back in.I'm all heart, but now we have a 6-year-old castaway from Cuba, for whom the whole country has gotten involved. Because of him Vice President Gore wants to change the law, the attorney general addresses the president's sympathetic wishes, and Fidel Castro throws in his 10 cents about a conflict that has underscored the passions dividing his regime and Miami's Cuban community.
Maybe I'm missing something but why so much focus on one, while forgetting the dilemma of the thousands of migrants and refugees sitting in jail?
John L. Werrill
How about taxing fireworks instead of banning them?
There has been widespread debate throughout the state Legislature about a fireworks' ban. Should this be realized, in the form of a partial or total ban, the fun of the entire state of Hawaii would be effectively ruined by a few people with minor respiratory problems.There are better ways to decrease the amount of fireworks smoke and noise during New Year's, Chinese New Year's, and the Fourth of July.
One such way would be to levy a tax on fireworks imports. This tax would have two effects: There would be a decrease in the amount of fireworks imported, and people would buy less fireworks because of the increased price.
This would be an effective way of helping those with respiratory illnesses and still enable people to have a fun time on New Year's.
Steven Gilbert
Kailua High School
Hawaii sparkled for Pacific Basin Economic Council
On behalf of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, I would like to express my gratitude to the state of Hawaii for the success of our recently concluded International General Meeting (IGM).Larry Johnson, chairman of the IGM Steering Committee, deserves a tremendous amount of credit and our heartfelt appreciation. All of our sponsors likewise deserve our thanks.
Governor Cayetano displayed leadership and vision by being an early and active advocate for bringing the IGM to Hawaii. Mayor Harris made sure that all our delegates felt at home.
We succeeded in delivering an outstanding annual meeting for our membership, took a major step in the long-term process of establishing Hawaii as a serious place to do business, and provided a venue for local business leaders to mix and mingle with the most important business leaders of the Asia Pacific.
Our convention center -- and, indeed, the entire meeting -- won rave reviews from all our delegates.
For the first time in the 33-year history of this organization, we put on an event just for small- and medium-sized companies. The Hawaii Business Forum opened the doors of the IGM to almost 500 companies, and allowed them to participate in and profit from the meeting, our delegates and speakers.
Our sessions on information technology, electronic commerce and health care covered topics of critical importance to Hawaii's future. Our activities on the environment and corporate responsibility showed that, in the words of one commentator, PBEC has a "soul."
As always, our sessions were intellectually challenging and our speakers pulled no punches. Steve Forbes pointed out that Hawaii has made progress in improving the business climate, but that there was plenty of room for improvement. It is hard to imagine anyone disagreeing with that. He also pointed out that Hawaii is well positioned for growth in the new economy.
The media coverage was also a major success. If you were on the mainland during the PBEC conference, you could have read articles on the IGM datelined Honolulu in publications such as the New York Times and Washington Post.
If you happened to flip on the radio anywhere in the U.S., you could have listened to reporting from Hawaii on the proceedings. This does not even begin to touch upon the coverage we received from foreign journalists filing stories back to their home capitals.
The PBEC meeting was a success that we all can share in, and one in which the entire state can rightfully take pride. Well done, Hawaii. We truly put our best foot forward.
Robert G. Lees
Secretary General
Pacific Basin Economic Council.
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