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Letters
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Saturday, April 22, 2000

Government workers do best they can

The governor's lamentations about union resistance to his requests for changes of arbitration rules and employee benefits ring hollow. His references to private-sector employees of banks and airlines who are suffering loss of employment are not well thought out.

What does he think happens to those private-sector workers who are laid off? Some of the more fortunate, like me, end up in government jobs with less pay but more job security, a trade-off that many former bank and airline workers wish they could have.

And, having come from the private sector, it is my experience that many government agencies are understaffed, with old equipment and inadequate office space. These public-sector workers are faced with ever-increasing work loads and tighter budgets. Like the Marines, each year they "do more with less."

Eric Terashima
Hilo

Why do voters re-elect do-nothing legislators?

The newspapers keep saying that the Legislature is caught between Governor Cayetano and the unions. What about the general public? We don't have the organization to stage demonstrations or the money to fund slick, misleading television ads like the one with the champaign cork popping and a voice asking, "Whose side are you on?"

There is one thing we do have, however, and that is we are the majority. Every legislative session, there are several hot-button bills the public wants passed. Regardless of the number of bills passed, the success or failure of the Legislature is judged on these key issues.

Remember how many years it took to get legislation on the high-three, workers' compensation and insurance reform? Inaction on these issues earned lawmakers the name of the "Do-Nothing Legislature." This year, key issues are civil service reform, the fireworks ban and the economy.

In past years, the Legislature has thumbed its nose at the general public on many key issues. Citizens complained and complained and then re-elected the same legislators. I don't know why this happens. In other states, the public would clean house.

Don Adams
Aiea

Quotables "(Sting) once told me, 'When it comes to being an artist and writer, be true to yourself.' I've always done what I felt, whether people understood it or not." Sonya Mendez Hawaii singer who has reinvented her singing style over two decades of performing On her metamorphosis from Top 40 to alternative rock, and her current "Latin-flavored pop music" with Chica Tropica "You're in Japan, so it doesn't make sense to say 'Alan Wong's Tokyo.' We wanted to say Hawaii, so people don't think they're going to get chow mein." Alan Wong Isle restaurateur On "Alan Wong's Hawaii," slated to open in July at Tokyo Disneyland

Prosecutor is right about Simeon Acoba

Honolulu City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle's concerns about Supreme Court associate justice appointee Simeon Acoba are well founded.

In one of the cases heard by the Intermediate Court of appeals on Maui, Acoba voted to overturn a verdict against several men who were found guilty of cooking crack. His reasoning was that the police, who had knocked several times, allowed "only" 15 seconds before breaking down the door.

Fifteen seconds! Count it out loud yourself! That's one -- one hundred, two -- one hundred, three -- one hundred, etc. That's plenty of time to come to the door, unless you're on crack or half drunk.

Upgrade the Hawaii Supreme Court. We have had enough problems with the Bishop Estate trustees who were selected by the justices. It has been a very bad political process. Let's get past the cronyism and to a higher level of judicial selection.

Joseph M. Dacey

DLNR is not marking hiking trails properly

Here's a suggestion on how to address the problem of hikers getting lost: The state Department of Land and Natural Resources should mark the trails better.

DLNR has a policy of not marking any trail it doesn't maintain. This ignores the reality that pig hunters, individuals and hiking clubs routinely open up trails, many of which may be ancient routes following ridges or valleys.

All it takes is a guava pole nailed or lashed across these side trails to let hikers know which is the main trail. No need for a sign saying, "Don't go beyond here," but rather, "This trail is not on map."

DLNR needs to be creative. How about contracting the services of Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club members to perform rescues, since they produce results that firemen and SWAT teams cannot?

Got a wilderness problem? Get wilderness professionals.

Since Hawaii's trails are some of the most rugged in the nation, and until some real work and thought are put into this, especially blocking off blind trails, we will continue to lose hikers, tourists and locals.

Meiji Kauahi White

It's dangerous to give information to feds

Anyone who believes the Census folks saying that all the information they collect will be completely confidential, and be seen by no other agency, is a gullible fool.

If this were really just a body count, the Census would not need to know our names, phone numbers or dates of birth. They already ask our age. I'll give them race and housing, but some questions are nothing but a serious unconstitutional invasion of privacy.

The people in the U.S. government have consistently lied to us and deceived us in so many ways that nothing they say or write can be believed. It should be obvious by now -- to any sane, logical person, at least -- that government people are paranoid and are building a data base on everyone in this country so they can track our every movement.

They know that they are hated by a mass of Americans for the unpunished murders and man-slaughter at Ruby Ridge, Waco and countless other incidents by the FBI, DEA, ATF and other secret agencies.

Think twice before you give them any more info than the absolute basics.

David Hefler

Unicameral legislature makes good sense

Your newspaper has run a number of stories regarding the inability of our Legislature to accomplish anything. Both the Senate and House end up with bills that are held and never make it out for vote, or each end up with different versions on important issues and are unable to iron out differences so the bills die.

In his April 26 column, A.A. Smyser pointed out the many other advantages of a unicameral legislature. I have spent many months in Guam during the past 30 years and, while not perfect, its own unicameral lawmaking body seems to accomplish much more than Hawaii's two-body one.

By going to a unicameral set-up, the problems occurring between the House and Senate would be eliminated. And think of the savings! Not only would we eliminate the need to rent additional office space, but we could reduce the payroll and related costs by a significant amount.

I have only one question for Smyser: How does Hawaii go about making the change to a unicameral legislature?

M.D. Crow

Press is harassing Columbine High kids

I know the media must cover all the stories they can, but the coverage of the kids from Columbine High School went too far. As the one-year anniversary date loomed, some students didn't want to talk about it. Some were reluctant to, but did. Yet what was the point of bothering them? These kids obviously wanted to be left alone.

According to an April 19 Associated Press article, at least one of the students came to Hawaii to get away from the press bugging them.

When will we observe people's privacy? These kids deserve peace. May God bless them in a special way.

Becky Henricks

Plantation memories are worth saving

I'm all for the restoration of the Ewa Plantation manager's mansion and the train cars (Star-Bulletin, April 17). My grandparents were plantation workers, and I feel as though it would be a great service to the community, especially for the younger generation, to pay attention to the old plantation.

I fondly remember visiting my grandparents each Sunday -- freely roaming the plantation and exploring all it had to offer. My grandparents had a pig pen and a chicken house, and I used to play on the railroad tracks.

Oh, the memories of the best saimin at Long Store and the penny candies. Yum! We were so free in those days, weren't we?

Ceci Lindo
Florence, Ore.

Kamehameha appreciates recap and looks ahead

I enjoyed A.A. Smyser's quality article, "How 'Broken Trust' was conceived," in your April 18 issue. His historical note is most insightful. We are looking to the future.

Hamilton I. McCubbin
Chief Executive Officer
Kamehameha Schools

Concept of aloha is still elusive to some

As a person born and raised in Hawaii during the beginning of statehood, I have witnessed the ever-changing attitudes of locals vs. haoles.

During those early years, we promoted the American way to such an extent that we lost much of past tradition and aloha. It's unique to this state that one was taught to be a good American, yet be raised to see the errors of "haole style."

We were taught not to say anything if you had nothing nice to say, not to wear shoes in the house and that, if we were to visit someone, we should always bring something. Unlike a lot of people who have had only glimpses of aloha, we live it.

While many may have different expectations and views on extending aloha, one thing is constant: Aloha comes from the heart. Until you put aside desires for personal gain at the expense of others, aloha will always be a myth in your life.

Vinson Motas
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Legislature Directory
Hawaii Revised Statutes

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