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Anne Holt's qualities will be missed

Thanks to Ben Wood for informing us in his May 27 column of the sad news of the death of Anne Holt in San Francisco.

A gracious and generous lady, Anne was the "consul of Hawaii" in that city for many years -- first for the Hawaii Visitors Bureau and later as a private citizen.

In large and small ways, she lived the aloha spirit of older days. Gently and kindly, she touched the lives of our family.

Tessa and Bob Dye
Kailua

Quotables "I finally know why guys get so excited to play football. It's much more intense than the other sports -- getting hit and not knowing when you're going to get hit." Heather Stone QUARTERBACK FOR THE HAWAIIAN STORM WOMEN'S TACKLE FOOTBALL TEAM On her enthusiasm for the game "At least it happened on a holiday, late in the day. Imagine how the traffic would have been during rush hour on a workday." Denise DeCosta BOARD OF WATER SUPPLY SPOKESWOMAN On a broken water pipe that washed out Memorial Day commuters on Farrington Highway in Nanakuli

Trust's COO had at least four bosses

Nathan Aipa, Kamehameha Schools' chief operating officer, deserves better than to be an asterisk at the end of the Bishop Estate's recent tumult (Star-Bulletin, May 24).

As I see it, he has, for better or worse, honored his legal profession by voluntarily stepping aside while an investigation is conducted into what role outside attorneys played in the various legal manueverings of each of the trustees and of the estate itself.

Before summarily judging the man, though, you should understand Aipa had to be under fire on at least four battle front lines on a daily basis:

The internally battling former trustees, who were giving him conflicting instructions and orders every day.
The court-appointed master, who was making demands for information that had to be met.
The state attorney general, who was laying siege and had to be responded to.
The IRS, which was auditing and holding its own investigation.

Under those conditions, it is a wonder that Aipa was able to keep his sanity and health, let alone run Bishop Estate's legal division. Despite Nathan's Iolani background, if you scratch him, he bleeds Kamehameha Blue.

Daniel Jones
Battle Creek, Mich.

Travel school should be independent entity

A.A. Smyser suggested in his May 16 column that merging the University of Hawaii School of Travel Industry Management (TIM) with the College of Business Administration (CBA) would be beneficial. It would benefit the CBA, but not TIM.

When the TIM school separated from the CBA a decade ago, it made academic sense then and still does. Indeed, autonomy was mandated by the state Legislature so the school could better serve the larger interests of the university and community.

Loss of autonomy would make as much sense as merging the Star-Bulletin with the Advertiser for the sake of "efficiency."

Juanita C. Liu
Professor, School of Travel Industry Management
University of Hawaii-Manoa

General got harsher treatment than Clinton

How fair is this? Despite your denials, your career is ended when a co-worker accuses you of sexual harassment. However, some time back, the head of your company settled a similar case out of court but kept his job.

This is exactly what happened in the Army's handling of a sexual harassment claim brought by Maj. Gen. Claudia Kennedy against Brig. Gen. Larry Smith. Smith has been denied a promotion solely on the basis of Kennedy's claims, thus effectively ending his career in the military.

And the head of his company? None other than Bill Clinton.

Greg Shepherd

Humane society is protector of animals

As a volunteer at the Hawaiian Humane Society, I've witnessed many adoptions of animals during my weekly afternoon shift. This occasion for the pet and adopting person always delights me.

So I take umbrage at the May 22 letter by Rico Leffanta, who implies that these animals are condemned to miserable lives by an organization that cares nothing for their welfare.

Each person who adopts an animal has a discussion with an experienced staff member, who tries to match the person with the pet.

One day, for example, an apartment dweller who had his heart set on a very large adult cat was refused, because the cat had been accustomed to having access to the outdoors and would not be suited to apartment life.

Leffanta also wrote that "every dog lives to run with the pack, so isn't anyone who denies a dog that basic freedom an abuser of animals?" Most dogs have not "run with the pack" for thousands of generations, and are much better adapted to sharing their lives with the people who feed them and appreciate their companionship.

Janet Callender

Lawsuit settlement is fair, long overdue

Your May 25 front-page article on the Makin case was informative. Curiously, however, the five reasons were missing as to why people with developmental disabilities "won" in this lawsuit:

Bottom line. Nationally, the average cost for segregating those with developmental disabilities in institutions is $60,000 a year. The average yearly cost of forcing them to live in intermediate housing like a nursing home is $30,000. The average cost of having them live at home (with parents, a sibling or friend, or on their own) is $15,000 a year. Thus, it is economically efficient for this assistance to be provided and now, not later.
State obligation. Most people with developmental disabilities were segregated as children in the now-closed Waimano Training School, where they received no schooling or training as is their right. Public schools must provide some education to all children.
Medicaid requirements. If a state accepts Medicaid money, it must use some of the money for the purposes of Medicaid. The waiting list mentioned in the article is for Medicaid funds, part federal and part state.
Americans with Disabilities Act. Because the state has discriminated against those with developmental disabilities by segregating them. The federal government in the ADA says it must act to counter that discrimination.
Fairness to all. We need to spend tax money to help fellow citizens with developmental disabilities. I am a person with a disability, but I will not receive any of those funds.

I strongly support this action.

David Pfeiffer

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