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Prosecutors, judge, jury deserve our gratitude

Honolulu should be proud to have the outstanding team of Peter Carlisle, Chris Van Marter, Kevin Takata and Paul Mow, who orchestrated the successful effort to prosecute Bryan Uyesugi. This team, along with the Judge Marie Milks and members of jury, exhibited professionalism and have shown that the judicial process does work.

The media and community have been extremely sensitive and caring throughout this ordeal and, for this, I am grateful.

This terrible crime has affected so many. My husband, Ronnie, and the other victims, John, Ford, Mel, Jason, Peter and Ron, had happy, full lives and loved their families. They were proficient in their work, reliable and loyal Xerox employees and for this they have lost their lives.

Byran Uyesugi has damaged so many lives, not only mine and my daughter Jaime's, but our family's and friends' as well as his family's and the lives of the entire community. Byran has taken so many good people from us. We are all victims of this crime!

It used to be my fundamental belief that goodness lies in every person...I am struggling to regain this belief. The verdict that has been rendered is the most that could be expected. Unfortunately, in this battle, no justice will ever be served and there are no victors.

Lynn N. Kataoka
Widow of Ron Kataoka

Hawaiians can protest by withholding aloha

The June 13 letter by William Burgess points out that the unrest in Fiji can affect business, jobs, families and lives, inferring that the Hawaiian sovereignty movement may do likewise. This appears to be an effort to cry wolf.

When Hawaiians feel, rightly, that they are being abused and deprived of their heritage, what are their options? One would be to withhold aloha. The welcoming and sharing would be interrupted. Imagine no singing and dancing, reciting of legends and stories to explain the history of a beautiful land and its people.

Burgess asks the silent majority to tell the politicians that Hawaii should not be divided. However, the silent majority already expressed an opinion when the 270 million U.S. citizens through their elected representatives rendered the Apology of 1993 as Public Law (P.L. 103-150) for the interference into Hawaiian affairs.

In addition, Burgess says Hawaii does not want to secede from the union. This is an odd assumption. The Hawaii electorate never had the opportunity to ratify the 1898 annexation of Hawaii. Hawaiians were never asked for a preference, and the record shows it was done against their will by the 1897 petition against annexation, which so many natives signed. How can an entity secede from a country without ever having formally joined in the first place?

It's time to think about aloha and to share or not to share.

Louis Agard
Native Hawaiian Convention delegate

Quotables "I usually feel pretty good when I get a guilty verdict, but I can't say that about the Uyesugi case." Kevin Takata DEPUTY CITY PROSECUTOR Describing his feelings after Byran Uyesugi was found guilty in the slaying of seven of his co-workers at the Xerox company "I actually think the non-Hawaiian vote will come in and rescue my Hawaiian people." Louis Among OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS CANDIDATE Explaining his belief that non-Hawaiians, who will be able to vote in the OHA election for the first time this fall, will improve the election process

Why only one bid to run state elections?

It is inconceivable that only one company, Elections Systems & Software, qualified for the bidding to run our elections. The public needs to be told how the job was advertised and who the other bidders were.

We also have to be told why chief elections officer Dwayne Yoshina saw fit to award an eight-year contract to a company that was incompetent last time. If one were not a trusting soul, one might conclude that Mr. Yoshina and the current administration are somehow indebted to ES & S.

Shirley Hasenyager
Kailua

Window-bashers will get their due

The Golden Rule of "do unto others" does not apply to the window-breaking thugs and vandals of Portlock. It is not a major story for a newspaper but it is an event that causes harm and damage to the good folks in Hawaii Kai. The town stockade would be just punishment for the Portlock window bashers.

I run early in the morning and have seen in the last two months four or five windshields broken. This act of vandalism is caused by the children of parents who don't know, don't care or are unaware of the activities of their children. It takes a child's mind, one full of rage, to cause this continued damage. Hopefully soon they will have their day in the justice system.

Jim Delmonte
Hawaii Kai

Insurance companies like to have it both ways

Regarding the June 12 story, "Companies threaten to reject coverage if the estate takes a role in suit against former trustees": The insurance industry is something else, isn't it? It takes money on one hand to "protect" the buyer and on the other hand does not want to take any risk. As usual, attorneys are involved.

Jim Murata

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