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Fireworks damage innocent bystanders

A Jan. 10 letter to the editor by George W. Kelly said about fireworks: "If people want to blow themselves up, let them. Stupid people do stupid things."

The problem is that stupid people never seem to blow themselves up or set fire to their own houses or kill themselves. It's always some innocent who becomes the victim. And because this is the United States of America, aren't we supposed to be protecting the innocent?

Kelly was right about one thing, though -- prohibition never stopped people from drinking. But arrests and criminal records and fat fines may just stop some stupidity.

Casey Cook
Ewa Beach

More must be done to keep out pest species

Governor Cayetano's State of the State address affirmed that our greatest asset in marketing Hawaii to the world is our breathtaking natural environment.

Limited resources, he said, cannot support unlimited growth. And economic growth should never come at the expense of our natural environment.

I want to encourage the governor to create a legacy, by protecting Hawaii's priceless natural environment effectively.

By State of Hawaii estimates, about 20 new pest species arrive here each year. Aggressive non-native pests are decimating our native Hawaiian environment, yet we still lack an effective system to keep new pests out.

Methods of interdiction are available; they just need to become priorities and be funded. We need:

An airport inspection system on a par with New Zealand's.
Airport and harbor freight inspection systems using enclosed rooms. Containers can now be delivered straight to Kula farmland to be opened for the first time since leaving the mainland.
Better regulation of pet stores and plant nurseries with inspection and an exclusive list of allowable imports.
Regulation of allowable seeds sold to Hawaii in catalogs.

There is a newly arrived frog in parts of Maui that shrieks at 90 decibels, from 7 at night to 7 in the morning. Are we soon destined to lose our quiet island nights? What new pest will be part of next year's 20 new species? Killer bees and stinging ants? Who will vacation in Hawaii then? We need solutions now.

Tom Cannon
Haiku, Maui

Quotables "I just about had a coronary. Maybe instead of a 22 percent raise, we could give an 18 percent, and then you could get books." Bob McDermott REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE FROM FOSTER VILLAGE Floored by the demand of Hawaii State Teachers Association leaders for a 22 percent pay hike for its members, even if schools must hold off on purchases of supplies, computers and books "Surf rage has existed for a long, long time. But no one has wanted to expose the dirty underside of what's supposed to be a very glamorous sport." Nat Young FORMER CHAMPION WORLD SURFER Author of the new book, "Surf Rage"

Governor didn't submit contract to Legislature

I would like to correct this statement by Richard Borreca in his Jan. 24 Capitol View column: "But the governor protested and when he did send the contract to the Legislature, as required by law, the Legislature didn't fund it."

In fact, the governor did not submit an appropriation, or "contract," as Borreca described it, to the 2000 Legislature. This is what actually happened:

On April 28, 2000, the governor sent a letter to then-Senate President Norman Mizuguchi and House Speaker Calvin Say to advise them of the arbitration award for HGEA's bargaining units.

The governor pointed out that because the arbitration panel did not include a wage increase for the first two years of the four-year award, he was not requesting an appropriation from the Legislature.

His exact words were: "The arbitration panel awarded the HGEA a four-year contract, effective July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2003. The panel did not award any wage increase for any of the above HGEA bargaining units for FY 2000 and 2001. As a result, the administration makes no request for appropriations."

The governor attached a copy of the award and its cost to his letter.

Randy Kusaka
Public Information Officer
HGEA-AFSCME

Sinners don't define an entire political party

Stereotyping and guilt by association are alive and well in Jay Bauckham's Jan 24 letter. Three Democrats' misstep and the morality of all Democrats is suspect.

What about the GOP? Let see, Newt Gingrich told his first wife he was divorcing her when she was in a hospital recovery room, plus he had an affair while married to his second wife. Then there was Jimmy Swaggart and the prostitute.

Thus, by Bauckham's standards, there's a morality problem across the aisle, too.

No party has a lock on morality and no human is perfect. Fault the three, but don't use the broad brush to paint all Democrats as immoral.

Phil Chase
Kailua

Clinton will be missed as the butt of jokes

I shall miss Bill Clinton. For the past eight years, he and his indiscretions have been the butt of my jokes, providing endless grist for my mill and fodder for my fury.

Where but in him could you find the rarest combination of features all at once -- the squinty eye, the jutted jaw, the forked tongue and the wagging finger? Who could match this master of fuzzy rhetoric and double negatives, this clever dissector of the English language?

I still puzzle over his argument at the height of the Balkan bombing when he dramatically declared: "Just because we can't do everything for everyone doesn't mean that, for the sake of consistency, we should do nothing for no one."

Nothing for no one? At least Bill took my mind off Kosovo trying to figure out what he meant.

To the end, you could even count on him to steal the thunder from President George W. Bush's rainy-day inauguration.

Yep, I'm gonna miss dissin' Bill Clinton, but who did you say was the newest senator from New York?

Wanda Kulamanu Ellis Au

Local HandiVan service is excellent

I am amazed at Yetta Weinberger's Jan. 24 derogatory letter about the HandiVan service. Is this the same HandiVan service that I use? The one I use is a pearl in an ocean of poor services operated by federal, state and local governments.

I live in Mililani, just like Weinberger, and the Handi Van has always come for me within its arrival window time. This is a great, convenient and low-cost service for the handicapped in Hawaii.

For $1.50, you are picked up at your home. If necessary, the driver will go to your door and bring you to the bus. You are taken as close to your destination as possible, are assisted off and then allowed to go safely on your way. Pick-ups are the same.

Yes, because we live further away from the "big city" than others, it is necessary to plan ahead. I always listen to the people I sign up with and follow their advice on when I should request service.

The handicapped in other areas of the country are not as fortunate and, from my own experience, they do not get the quality of service we receive here. It sure beats a $50 cab ride.

To all the people at the HandiVan, mahalo from a very satisfied customer.

Charles A. Napier
Mililani

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