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Democrats make themselves look bad

In his June 16 letter, Walter M. Heen characterized the Star-Bulletin's coverage of the Democratic Party's state convention as "superficial" and added that the paper was once again showing its inclination to paint the Democrats "in a bad light wherever possible."

As usual, the party and its leaders are attempting to cloud the issues with rhetoric.

Heen said that there were "wholehearted and strongly committed exchanges of thoughts, ideas and true feelings" during the committee discussions. If so, what were some of these discussions about? If such spirited debates did occur, what was the final outcome? Or was this just a lot of talk adroitly avoiding the "hard" issues?

It's not the Star-Bulletin that paints the state Democrats in a bad light. They do an excellent job without any help.

A. Locascio

A string of Waikiki lei stands would be nice

Auwe for the loss of a lovely old Hawaiian scene. One of the most attractive sights of old Waikiki were the little grass-shack lei stands that dotted Kalakaua Avenue. There, tourists could see the aunties and tutus in their colorful muumuus making flower leis.

Why couldn't the lei huts be licensed and limited in number? They could be located from the Natatorium along Kalakaua Avenue down to the Hilton Hawaiian Village, as well as along Kuhio Avenue.

Leslie Fullard-Leo

Issue permission slips for soda on campus

As you can imagine, most students are opposed to the state Board of Education's idea to ban soda machines from public school campuses. My classmates at Mililani Middle School believe that, since there are an endless number of places where kids can grab a soda during the weekday, schools might as well provide it.

Soda isn't the only unhealthy thing that students consume on campus. They often bring candy and cookies to share with friends, and teachers often hand out goodies as rewards for correct answers or reaching goals.

Overall, students think the school board members must have better things to do than worry about what is really a student's or parent's responsibility. But, if not, why don't the schools have a soda permission form like they do for the use of the Internet on campus?

Jennifer King
Age 13 Mililani

Quotables "All of us in combat experience so many things in common. We were afraid. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool." Daniel K. Inouye HAWAII'S SENIOR SENATOR Reflecting about how he and other Japanese-American soldiers were awarded Medals of Honor for World War II "I'm sorry, Mrs. Kekahuna, for killing your son. I never meant to kill him and pray that someday he can forgive me." Victor Valoroso SENTENCED TO A YEAR IN PRISON AND FOUR YEARS ON PROBATION FOR NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE Apologizing to the mother of 10-year-old Jerry Kekahuna, the Waianae boy Valoroso fatally hit with his car in 1998

Bishop Estate story was spin-doctored

No doubt you will add an editor's note below my name to identify me as "former public relations consultant to former Bishop Estate trustee Lokelani Lindsey."

To appreciate my true motivation, however, please also note my master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and former employment with the well-regarded Chicago Daily News and Westinghouse Broadcasting Co.

Having established that I may have opinions unrelated to Mrs. Lindsey, let's turn to your June 16 front-page headline, "Estate losses top $335 million." Yet paragraph three of the article says: "The losses and write-offs...were covered by about $3 billion in revenues that the trust took in during the same 10-year period."

Excuse me, but $3 billion minus $335 million leaves $2.665 billion in the black, not the red. Your treatment of this story is a fine example of spin, something you find offensive when others do it.

Doug Carlson

Modern-day trustees did good job investing

I attended Kamehameha Schools from 1937-41. We lived in shanty dorms built in 1883 located off King Street, with the Bishop Museum as part of our campus. The all-haole trustees of that time contemplated selling off some of the estate's land because they had difficulty supporting the 350 students in attendance.

We beneficiaries can thank God this did not happen.

In the past, the land holdings of Lunalilo Estate were comparable to that of the Bishop Estate. Unfortunately, Lunalilo's trustees sold off most of the land holdings, and it now depends on donations to fund its benevolent care of elderly Hawaiians.

Saying all this, I am confused about the allegations of the former Bishop Estate trustees' "wrongdoing," as brought to the fore by well-meaning letter writers. What bothers me most is the question of trustee investments over the past 10 years.

This review would therefore include the tenure of not only the ousted five, but their predecessors, who set policy and made some of the controversial investments. But these trustees managed to enhance the wealth of Kamehameha Schools by billions of dollars, a handsome sum in any estimation. So what's the beef? A hint of jealousy?

I pray that any policy changes by current trustees will not impoverish the estate, like what happened to Lunalilo.

Paul D. Lemke
Kapaa, Kauai

Bishop Estate Archive

Parents are responsible for teaching their kids

In his June 19 letter, state Rep. Bob McDermott asked: "Would I want (a scoutmaster) who practices homosexuality to teach (my) children his version of morality?" The short answer is no.

But my response has nothing to do with sexual orientation. Would I want a priest or politician to teach my children their version of morals? Again, and in both cases, my answer would be no.

The long answer and ultimate solution involves responsible parenting. Responsible parents teach their children ethics and morals at home. Irresponsible parents leave these critical lessons to others or to chance.

The sexual orientation of a parent, politician, priest or scoutmaster is irrelevant to their moral character and ethical behavior.

Who's teaching your children, Representative McDermott? Are you? Or are you leaving it up to a priest or scoutmaster?

Mitch Kahle

Lions staged a great parade in Waikiki

After seeing the Parade of Nations put on by the Lions, I'd like to convey my thanks to them for coming to Honolulu and sharing themselves with us. Their Waikiki parade was great!

From the start with the Royal Hawaiian Band, to the Hawaii delegation at the end, everything was wonderful. The performers, native outfits and sheer enthusiasm were fantastic.

To the people I met from England, Ireland, the Philippines, Croatia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and my home state of Massachusetts, mahalo for sharing what the Lions organization means to you and your area, and what you want to accomplish.

The next time the Lions come to Hawaii, I encourage all residents to meet them. Support them and their convention.

Joel Tomyl

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