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Walmart's project would cause gridlock

Anyone who has inched the length of Keeaumoku Street during rush hour will be interested in the tentative plans of Walmart for the superblock on the ewa side of that street, which also happens to be the main entrance to Ala Moana Center.

Two huge six-story structures covering the entire 10-acre site, operating 14 hours a day, will add 30,000 cars daily to one of the busiest streets in Honolulu on one side, or a quiet residential area with narrow streets on the other.

We could have Aloha Stadium football gridlock every evening and, at Christmas shopping season, total seizure.

I thought these guys were smart. How did they ever make money in all those mainland communities?

Jim Becker

Shortening of Fu's sentence brings pain

I remember shaking at the podium when I gave the eulogy of my best friend. Her name was Sherry Morioka and she seems to have been forgotten.

The court decision that prohibits a criminal, like defendant Abraham Fu, from being convicted for both a felony and committing that felony with a firearm may be sound, but it is a ruling that has caused tremendous pain ("Killer's term cut 5 years as manslaughter count dropped," Star-Bulletin, Sept. 28).

I was 19 when I lost Sherry. Whenever I hear her name, I'd like to remember the time we ate a bento lunch at sunset at Ala Moana Beach or when, in high school, she gave me a rose when my boyfriend dumped me.

It's been eight years, and I'm still struggling to find meaning in her death. I could only count on the courts to dictate the consequence for the man who took her life.

Janice Nakatani

Quotables "The ceded land revenue, which goes directly to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, should benefit all the people of Hawaii, not just benefit one race." John Carroll U.S HOUSE CANDIDATE, FORMER STATE SENATOR AND HAWAII GOP CHAIRMAN Commenting on his lawsuit claiming payments to OHA from state ceded lands is discriminatory and should be stopped "Myself and John's two sons, would not feel safe for the rest of our lives." Yoko Ono WIDOW OF JOHN LENNON In a letter Ono sent to New York parole officials before they denied a request for parole from Mark David Chapman, a former Hawaii resident who shot and killed Lennon 20 years ago

HRTL has no stance on harassment rule

I feel it necessary to clear up a possible misunderstanding on the part of members of the Board of Education and others present at a Sept. 29 BOE hearing regarding our group's position on Chapter 19, which calls for "sexual orientation" as a special protected class. Hawaii Right to Life does not, officially or unofficially, support Chapter 19.

While it is the opinion of many that adoption of this chapter to Department of Education rules could pave the way for homosexual activists to come into schools to teach homosexuality to students under the guise of "sensitivity training," as was done under a similar program in Massachusetts, HRTL is committed to focusing its attention, efforts and resources on the life issues of abortion, infanticide and euthanasia.

We leave it to other organizations to deal with the important issues outside our principal focus.

This doesn't mean our members are unconcerned with other moral issues. Quite the contrary, our members are encouraged to work within other organizations when it is of vital importance to support good programs/legislation and oppose bad programs/legislation that involve the welfare of our citizens, but are not within the scope of the specific issues of abortion, infanticide and euthanasia.

Philip H. Moore
President
Hawaii Right to Life

Protect all students against harassment

The Board of Education continues to debate whether harassment of students based on sexual orientation, in addition to the other existing categories, should be prohibited in the schools. Does this mean that harassment of students in non-prohibited categories is OK? I would hope not.

Doesn't it seem a waste of everyone's time spending all this effort trying to identify categories of students who may not be harassed. Why not change the rule to provide that harassment of any student for any reason is prohibited? Or is that too simple?

Dick O'Connell

Kamehameha settlement is questionable

Robert Kihune, chairman of Kamehameha Schools' interim board of trustees, says the settlement will allow the board to focus on what truly is the purpose of the Kamehameha Schools, which is the education of children.

Wishful thinking? Or artful spin? If things are truly behind them:

Why are the corrupt practices that began years ago still continuing?

Why are the co-conspirators in the ex-trustees' schemes still employed by the estate or acting as highly paid consultants?

Why have CEO Hamilton McCubbin and the interim trustees not yet complied with the recommendations of Master Robert Richards in his May 18 report regarding retention of non-staff counsel?

In my opinion, this settlement was a very good deal -- for Federal Insurance Co., Marsh & McLennan, the lawyers and the ex-trustees. It was a very bad deal for the beneficiaries and the citizens of Hawaii.

We may never know how bad, however, because the settlement documents will be sealed under court order.

Bobby N. Harmon

Something is bringing bad luck to UH

With the University of Hawaii football team's loss to Tulsa this weekend, my gang is willing to bet that something is hanging over the team. Look at all the dropped passes, ineffective rushing, missed blocking, record for penalties, added injuries, etc.

Come on, Athletic Director Hugh Yoshida, who started all these changes in pursuit of a "cool" image? Was it a younger generation mainland agent/marketing/public relations person desperate to transform our traditional Hawaiian institution?

This Warrior conflict must stop now without further embarrassment to the real king's warriors, the football players at Kamehameha Schools.

The UH football team should stick to the old Rainbows nickname and logo. That way, Coach Jones, freshman quarterback Timmy Chang and the rest of the players will have one less thing hanging over them. Win! Win! Win!

Chris Faria

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