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Aren't Hawaiians good enough to run OHA?

In your Sept. 9 article, "OHA seats still open to all," attorney H. William Burgess made an offensive comment: "I hope a lot of people file and run (for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs board), whatever their ethnicity. The goal is to get the best people."

Is Burgess saying Hawaiians aren't the best people to run for OHA, or that we are incapable of holding such positions and are unable to execute the duties involved? Burgess needs to be more careful about what he says. His true colors are coming out.

Kalani Mondoy
Glendale, Calif.

Non-Hawaiian is trying to protect his interests

Ken Conklin's July 15 letter, asserting that ethnic Hawaiian supremacy would be written into voting and property laws, is based on ignorance. He probably has a vested interest in property and wants to protect his investment.

Why can't Conklin just say that once Hawaiian sovereignty is restored, there will probably be more houses? This would result in home prices plummeting, including his own. Instead, he resorts to fear tactics to separate people.

There are many Hawaiians who are of mixed ethnicities, including but not limited to Caucasian. Some Hawaiians such as myself are Caucasian. Why would we exclude Caucasians? Why would we exclude part of ourselves?

The reality is that we would not exclude Caucasians or Chinese or Japanese because many of us are part of those ethnicities. We would not discount who we are.

Lana Robbins

Quotables "Don't worry, Dad. I'm in shape and this is what I trained for and dreamed about." Brian Viloria OLYMPIC LIGHT FLYWEIGHT BOXER FROM WAIPAHU What he told his father, Ben, as the Hawaii athlete began his quest for a gold medal in Sydney "We want to maintain the flavor and essence of our community. The developer says, 'Hey, look at our track record.' We're looking at your track record and that's why Kona is up in arms." Jack Kelly CONSERVATION ORGANIZER FOR THE SIERRA CLUB On the organization's objection to Arizona developer Lyle Anderson's Keopuka Lands project, which would include 125 housing lots on 660 acres of land on the west side of the Big Island

Foley's law partner is part of 'irreligious left'

Earle Partington's intemperate screed against the religious right (Letters, Sept. 2) was full of stock leftist rhetoric about "bigotry," "ignorance" and "the Dark Ages," and very little else.

Partington seemed shocked that people of the religious right could use the word "bigot" to describe those who, like Partington himself, belong to that self-righteous irreligious left who eschew the discussion of ideas in favor of dressing their enemies in the tawdriest verbal cloth possible.

Did Partington really expect no opposition to the judicial coronation of his law partner, Dan Foley, whose efforts to impose gay marriage on an unwilling public cost taxpayers millions of dollars and were rejected by 70 percent of voters? Were those voters "bigots"?

Does the fact that Foley is a "man of great competence and integrity as well as a family man" mean that he has an automatic right to be confirmed to a position on the judiciary? Would Partington have supported the appointment of Robert Bork on those grounds?

Mark M.S. Young
Aiea

Many contributed to soccer field of dreams

Congratulations to all involved in the grand opening of the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex. I spoke to soccer players who loved the fields and the atmosphere of the complex. They are looking forward to hosting mainland and international teams for tournaments at such a top-quality facility.

Mayor Harris set the tone of city support for this great community project. I witnessed the mayor's involvement from the planning stages of this event, to helping direct traffic the morning of the opening, to assisting in the watermelon-eating contest and leading the parade into the stadium.

The coordinated efforts of city personnel were also quite impressive. Of course, the volunteer efforts by the soccer community and its leaders were also essential to the success of the grand opening.

Alex Smith

Don't exploit the waters of northwestern isles

Steve Tearney's Aug. 10 letter fails to recognize that management plans already exist for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Both the Fish and Wild-life Service and the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council have some level of authority in the NWHI, as does the State of Hawaii and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Tearney also shows a lack of knowledge about the NWHI when he suggests that the Fish and Wildlife Service will keep the area out of "the hands of commercial interests."

That agency has a long-term agreement with Midway Phoenix Corp. to run a host of commercial operations on Midway Atoll, including tourism, sportfishing, diving/snorkeling and plane refueling. It even gave a cruise ship a permit to land hundreds of passengers for a day of sightseeing.

Most of the 150 employees on the atoll are foreigners being paid below minimum wage. Fish and Wildlife gets a part of Midway Phoenix's profits plus $5 a day from each visitor.

Management should be left as our elected congressional representatives intended -- with agencies working together, within their respective authorities and jurisdictions to manage and protect the resources of the islands.

Sharane K. Gomes
Wailuku, Maui

Unity Church offers Deepak Chopra course

A recent event reminded me again that Hawaii's recession is strictly one-dimensional. For every recessionary blip that makes news, at least 10 quiet enrichments bless our lives.

Case in point: The Unity Church of Hawaii minister has commenced a seven-week course on "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success," by Deepak Chopra, originally an Indian Hindu, now an American medical doctor.

How rich we are as a spiritual epicenter with a Christian church offering a universal prosperity course based on Hindu principles, taught to a Hawaiian chop-suey congregation.

Where else would one meditate in a sea of SUVs to learn the richness of the heart and soul? Where else to learn that non-material richness is the core of all major religions?

The next person who says "recession" need only experience such a uniquely Hawaiian event to feel true richness. The Deepak Chopra course continues for seven weeks, and is open to all wishing to turn their lives toward prosperity.

Howard C. Wiig

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