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Letters
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Saturday, July 8, 2000

Med school program needs assistance

Thank you for your June 23 front-page story on the Imi Ho'ola Program at the University of Hawai's John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Nine students graduated that day and will enter medical school in a few weeks, an outcome that might not have occurred without the unique opportunity of participating in Imi Ho'ola.

To date, 129 program graduates have their medical degrees and are practicing in underserved areas of Hawaii, the mainland and the Pacific Basin.

The continuation of this marvelous program, however, is contingent on financial independence from government support. Consequently, we have initiated a non-profit organization, The Friends of Imi Ho'ola, to establish an endowment fund.

Anyone who wants to assist bright, motivated students from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve their potential can send tax-deductible contributions to The Friends of imi Ho'ola, 3054 Ala Poha Place No. 402, Honolulu, Hawaii 968l8.

Barbara B. Sloggett

Mikulina erred on Senate voting records

Mahalo for Richard Borreca's July 4 story, which set the record -- and the Sierra Club -- straight regarding the environmental group's erroneous and slanted "legislative scorecard."

I welcome scrutiny on my ACTUAL votes in the Senate on environmental and all other issues. This scorecard, however, did not reflect votes recorded and does not reflect any analysis of Sierra Club members. Instead, it is the subjective and inaccurate determination by only Jeffrey Mikulina.

Sen. Jan Buen and I served on the Senate Economic Development Committee together and had perfect attendance. We listened intently to all testimony on key bills, including two years on shark finning.

We both supported the final measure, as Mikulina knows. But he reported that we opposed it. We also both voted for a share of the hotel room tax to be used for environmental protection. Mikulina said that we opposed that, too.

That's two of 12 bills in error. One might reasonably question some of the "key" bills chosen, and others ignored, by Mikulina.

Sen. Sam Slom
Minority Floor Leader

Lions conventioneers had roaring good time

On behalf of the Lions of Hawaii, our sincerest mahalo to all the people of this state for the hospitality and aloha they extended to the Lions of the world, who gathered in Hawaii last month for the 83rd Lions Clubs International Convention.

I've received nothing but positive comments about the warmth with which our visitors were greeted, no matter where they visited. This is something they will always remember.

I'd also like to extend a special mahalo to the staffs of the Hawaii Convention Center, the Convention Center Authority and the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau. Without the support of these entities, along with that of other state and city agencies, we could never have hosted our convention in the islands.

Melvin Nakamura
Chairman

Hawaii Lions Host Committee

Bulletin batted 1,000 for at least one day

It's nice to be in agreement with the Star-Bulletin, particularly on three fronts from last Saturday's offerings:

John Flanagan is right -- our governor and mayors should be on the road as Hawaii ambassadors. Those who travel on their own dime for pleasure and entertainment may not realize that, while some public officials will abuse travel and be guilty of personal junketry, we should take a chance on the sincerity of those who are dedicated to doing a job.

Terrific Hawaii Raceway Park story. Motor racing is a major part of the world's sporting scene and has been a slice of Hawaii life ever since the first car showed up. As a life-long enthusiast and participant, I applaud the folks at HRP who have doggedly worked to give opportunity to those who love to lay the rubber on the road -- be it asphalt or dirt.

Contributions from folks named Gima, Fernandez, Pflueger, DeSoto, Wimberly, Oakland, Waihee (yes, that one) and even Unser, Revson and Niday have been significant in the history of Hawaii auto racing. Maybe there will be a Super Prix or something of its ilk another time.

Dave Shapiro's recounting of an editorial meeting is important for readers who open their paper and ask what was on the mind of the editor when something became a front-page story or picture or both. Journalists live in their own world of priorities. Perhaps in a new, enlightened Star-Bulletin, a revolving panel of reader advisers -- not unlike putting a student on the UH Board of Regents -- would be a welcome move.

I would be one of the first to volunteer and, in my position as a public relations maven, would do everything possible to avoid conflicts-of-interest involving clients. Well, maybe.

And that's the most agreeable I can be.

Ray Sweeney

Fund schools instead of sports complex

Once again, Governor Cayetano made the decision to continue funding part of a useless sports complex at the expense of repairing or upgrading schools. Granted, the $5 million he is authorizing for the sports center at Kapolei wouldn't have funded all of the school projects, but it would have taken care of some of the more serious problems.

Anyone with common sense can see that if a school needs a new roof (leaking maybe?), electrical improvements (fire hazards?) or fire code improvements (duh, wonder what they are?), it must be pretty important.

The governor must have either gotten some bad advice from his cronies or he's been smoking some of that stuff that he just approved for medical purposes. School safety should come before any stupid "field of dreams."

Mark Trexler
Waialua

Gabbard deserves support from GOP

Because Linda Lingle was successful in changing the local Republican Party stand on abortion, from pro-life to pro-choice, I will NOT cast my vote for her when she runs for governor.

However, I will support Mike Gabbard, founder of Alliance for Traditional Marriage and a Republican running for Congress against incumbent Democratic Congressman Neil Abercrombie

We need to break the local liberal Democratic hold on Congress and reverse the party's anti-family voting record by electing Gabbard, who not only is a small-business man but a family man with family values.

I'm very disappointed that the Republican Party is not giving Gabbard its 100 percent support.

Melvin Partido
Pearl City

Quotables "It is a well-received facility. We thought it would be unfair not to have it open to the general public." Ben Lee CITY MANAGING DIRECTOR On Kapiolani Park's new bandstand, which held its public dedication ceremonies on the Fourth of July "The reality of the civil rights law is, if it's not usable for everybody, then you should not be opening it up to the public." Francine Wai EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE STATE DISABILITY AND COMMUNITY ACCESS BOARD Saying the bandstand in Waikiki may not be in compliance with requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act

Street performers can be a pain for tourists

While I wouldn't like to see street performers lose their livelihoods, consider the tourist's point of view.

When I came to Oahu last October, the Waikiki vendors and street performers were a pain. I ignored most of them and was interested in some, but hated dealing with people who thought nothing of placing birds, parrots and monkeys on passers-by.

If they were in an area large enough that interested people could enjoy themselves while others could bypass the crowd, no problem. But when they are on side streets or folks have to cross the street to avoid them, it becomes a problem.

I will be returning to Waikiki in August and am looking forward to enjoying a safe, non-pressured walk with my wife.

Rob Austin
Lawrenceville, Ga.

U.S. nuclear security must be improved

The recent news about lack of security for our country's nuclear secrets is only the tiniest tip of the iceberg.

Security is so lax that you don't even have to sign out to access top secret nuclear information from the Los Alamos Nuclear Lab. There is no monitoring system in place to determine how long information has been missing.

We have become so complacent that it doesn't even bother us. This time it will be with nuclear weapons -- some copied from our own design.

It is long overdue that government officials were held accountable for this lack of security.

Leighton Loo
Mililani

JPOs deserve special salute for service

I wish to salute all those youngsters who help direct traffic on our campuses -- the Junior Police Officers or JPOs.

With the increasing numbers of cars and trucks on the roads, it is an awesome responsibility to safely lead other students to school. However, the JPOs do a commendable job.

When I was a JPO at Likelike Elementary from 1946-47, I felt a certain pride in wearing the red and white felt cap and chest band, symbols of a great organization. When we marched to our posts, there were lively steps to the cadence of the officer in charge.

There was a sense of accomplishment in being a JPO. As it was in the past, today's JPOs must surely feel the same way.

Roy E. Shigemura

Payoffs may be hampering legalized gambling

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Mine concerns gambling -- although not about the myriad reasons why gambling shouldn't be allowed in our state, according to certain individuals including members of our own state Legislature.

Consider this scenario: A payoff is presently being implemented just to keep casino gambling and even a state lottery from being legalized in Hawaii.

This is not far-fetched. If gambling is permitted in Hawaii, we can control the Asian market. People from Japan, Korea and other Far Eastern countries would come here to vacation and have no reason to go beyond our shores to gamble.

Thus, Nevada and other places would suffer by not having these Asian tourists or Hawaii residents coming to their casinos anymore.

Doesn't this theory have merit? I'm sure some of you have thought the same thing but haven't had the courage to say it. Others might be in the backpockets of those who don't want gambling to come to Hawaii, for whatever reasons.

McWarren J. Mehau
Mountain View, Hawaii

A tale of two ships during RIMPAC exercises

I went to visit two ships during the recent RIMPAC open house.

First was the Chilean frigate, the Condress, about 200 feet long with a crew of 250. On board, several young officers in neatly starched uniforms gave the visitors a snappy military salute and a warm welcome.

A personable young staffer gave us the royal tour. Not being fluent in English, he nevertheless tried very hard. He exuded enormous pride in his ship. With great enthusiasm he showed us the helicopter on board, and touchingly referred to it as "my heli."

The ship was 25 years old, but clean and well maintained. The final and friendly farewell salute from officers on our disembarking was memorable.

Then came a visit to a U.S. amphibious assault ship -- commonly called a helicopter carrier -- which was 500 feet long, with a crew of 900. It should be source of pride for any country.

However, no pride was visible that day. No snappy officer to greet us. No greeting at all. Instead, a seated enlisted man wrote down visitors' names and passed us badges. After some time, our guide showed up. Still no welcome.

The enthusiasm he displayed about his boat was zero. His knowledge was not much better. He had a tough time figuring out how many helicopters were actually on board. About 20, maybe. Wow. That's 19 more than on the Chilean boat.

The American vessel was only five years old, but had little pride of ownership with discernable rust and flaky paint. Moreover, as the crew was having dinner, another shocking observation was made: The amount of food left over on many trays and carelessly thrown out was probably more than what a billion people on Earth get to eat every day.

When you compare these two experiences, you wonder if the Good Lord has not been a little uneven in the distribution of his wealth. Also, the recipients of the larger share of gifts seem somewhat shortchanged on appreciation.

How will it all turn out well in the long run?

Gerhard C. Hamm

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