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Saturday, March 3, 2001

Army must do an EIS on Makua Valley

When the Army issued its Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI) for training at Makua in December, it gave every indication that it was a bona fide agency decision and that it would be able to resume training after the required comment period.

While the Army assured us that it had not yet committed to resume training, it confirmed that the issuance of the FNSI started the 30-day comment period, during which challenges may be lodged.

But on Feb. 26, the Army attorney argued in court that the lawsuit by Malama Makua and Earthjustice was premature because the FNSI was only a draft -- even though it was not marked "draft" and was signed and dated.

As the Earthjustice attorney pointed out, under the law, there is no such thing as a draft FNSI. The Army must stop the dishonesty and foot-dragging and do a thorough Environment Impact Statement (EIS).

The Army's proposal to have dialogue with the community on 14 key issues is a positive sign, but is not a substitute for an EIS.

Kyle Kajihiro
Member,
American Friends Service Committee

Mortimer did well as university president

I congratulate Kenneth Mortimer for a job well done as president of the University of Hawaii system, consisting of 10 campuses throughout Hawaii and 45,000 students. The UH presidency is the toughest job in the state, especially during the prolonged economic slump.

I was a UH regent when we hired Mortimer eight years ago. He was the best candidate of over 40 who applied. His successful eight-year tenure surpasses the five-year average for presidents of U.S. universities.

Currently, as a trustee of the UH Foundation, I have seen him lead a very successful four-year campaign to raise $100 million by June 30. He is the best fund-raiser UH has ever had; the foundation will certainly miss his excellent leadership.

To Mortimer and his lovely and supportive wife, Lorrie, Hawaii will miss you. We all extend our best wishes for your retirement.

Edward M. Kuba

Cabral is being harassed by Feds

Your Feb. 9 story on the indictment of Roberta Cabral by a federal grand jury involves the trial TV series, "Heavenly Road," which she helped produce. I recall the pilot program which was shown nationally and got positive reviews.

Why the series was not picked up by one of the major networks was puzzling. It was the first honest attempt at a realistic portrayal of life in Hawaii and had strong undercurrents of our unique Polynesian culture.

The cast was alive with real Hawaiians and locals with their own unique humor, perspectives and mysticism. A story line and subplot that rang true -- perhaps too true -- involved a young man studying Hawaiian history who takes an active interest in the sovereignty movement.

Can this be why media moguls opted for the flaccid non-plots of the late "Baywatch Hawaii" series? Are they afraid that independent script writers might portray America as less than the consistent "good guy?"

Cabral has worked within the system to promote the genuine aloha spirit. She has been supportive of needy groups and individuals struggling to survive in modern Hawaii. She is also an example to many, young and old alike, of an honest, creative, entrepreneurial Hawaiian woman at work in the free enterprise system.

There is no Marc Rich here! The Feds are harassing Cabral and her ohana for other than the indictment charges. This case must be watched carefully.

Tomas Belsky

Entertainers appreciate Chef Chai's help

I am taking it upon myself to speak on behalf of all the entertainers who have graced the stage of Chai's Island Bistro.

Chai Chaowasaree was kind enough to generously lend a hand in trying to showcase Hawaiian music by employing us (even knowing that he was overstepping his limits financially to afford all of us).

But he kept his promise and continues to do so. He is a very generous humanitarian.

We have witnessed his kindly deeds in spending extra hours at charity appearances, not to mention his contributing "free" food specialties to the general public just to help various organization events.

He has given more than he has received and we, as entertainers, are even more grateful that he has contributed to our music industry. Many other places throughout Hawaii have not contributed anything at all.

He has employed the Brothers Cazimero, Ho'okena, Jerry Santos, Glen Medeiros, Azure McCall, the Makaha Sons, Hapa, me and many others.

Where on the island can one go to see, on any given day, continuous Hawaiian music but Chai's Island Bistro at the Aloha Tower Marketplace? It wasn't for the money that we agreed to perform there, but instead, to help perpetuate our Hawaiian music.

We hope that the Immigration and Naturalization Service will reconsider its decision to deport him.

Melveen Leed-Vairaaroa

How will isle delegates vote on Bush's tax cut?

It will be interesting to see how our congressional and Senate delegations vote on the president's tax cut. Let's see if they:

Care that their constituents currently pay the highest taxes in the nation.

Care that our tax burden helped drag us down into the worst economic recession in decades, and that we sat out the greatest economic boom in the country's history.

Recognize that a budget surplus really means that their constituents were overcharged.

Think we might benefit from getting some of our own money back.

Even remember it's our money.

Think we won't remember during the next election.

Robert R. Kessler

Quotables "Honest, if I was homeless, I would rather be in here than outside. You sleep in the air-conditioning, they give you full meals, soap, it's clean, there's plenty to read." Chai Chaowasaree CHEF AND OAHU RESTAURATEUR Saying that incarceration at the Oahu Community Correction Center, while he fights deportation to his native Thailand, isn't really as bad as people may think "(This) has left an emotional scar on my heart that I will carry to my grave." Scott Waddle CAPTAIN OF THE USS GREENEVILLE In a letter of apology to the families of the nine men still missing and presumed drowned after the submarine accidentally hit and sank a Japanese fishing vessel

Get ready for the new Star-Bulletin

For almost four decades I have subscribed to both daily newspapers. All these years I have endured the gross "far left" liberal bias of the Advertiser and now, I look forward to a morning Star-Bulletin, an evening Star-Bulletin and a Sunday Star-Bulletin.

David Black, thank you for saving the Star-Bulletin, thus enabling the people of Hawaii to continue to have a conservative newspaper.

Next week I will cancel my subscription to the Advertiser and sign up for all three Star-Bulletin editions!

Robert M. Lowe

Republicans in House made a tactical mistake

The Republicans missed a great opportunity. When they called two bills out of committee only to see them reassigned, they would have been smarter to go to the people through the media to explain how a committee chairman can bottle up a bill so it can't be heard.

This would have been pertinent, especially for a highly emotional and controversial bill such as the age of consent law.

The Republicans could have asked many interesting questions about the reasons for not holding public hearings on this measure. In my opinion, they could have ridden this right on through the next election.

Instead, they said they were going to shut down government until they got their way. This idiocy only resulted in a number of bills important to the people not being heard or passed.

George Fox

About time Dems were held accountable

After reading several letters to the editor from die-hard Democrats crying about the new power that House Republicans have, I have to believe the long-lost two-party system is finally making a comeback.

Before, the Democrats had only to make a wish upon a star and it became law. Now they are required to record their vote on issues such as raising the age of consent from 14 to 16, and taxing the basics of life like food.

What's the problem? What's wrong with free and open debate, then letting the community that you represent know how you voted? What's wrong with real democracy for all of us little guys who the Democrats claim to represent?

While the nasty Republicans are being blamed for stopping the progress of the Legislature, maybe it's high time another party was allowed to ask the tough questions and expect a recorded answer from our "ruling" majority in the Legislature.

Erm Gartley
Kaneohe

Democracy finally arrives in Hawaii

No matter how hard they try to spin it, we all know the Democrats are at fault for trying to muffle the newly elected Republicans.

After so many years of no opposition and running this state like a People's Republic of Hawaii, the Democrats just can't stand that residents are beginning to awaken to the fact that they have been shafted for a long time and are starting to do something about it.

Voters now realize that the two political parties are made up of the same kind of people but with different ideas on how to run things. They also now realize that government has gotten bigger and that we are all working our butts off just to pay for the giant bureaucracy that a small state like this neither needs nor can afford.

Private business in this overtaxed state can't find the money needed to create new jobs because that money is being used to pay more government employees than we need. State government is bloated.

How refreshing that the Democrats are being forced to bring a subject to the floor of the House and to vote on it, out in public, so everyone can see how they actually voted. That's the way democracy is supposed to work, and it has just arrived in Hawaii.

Don McDiarmid Jr.
Kailua

Lingle abuses power for own political gain

Your newspaper has failed to accurately report on recent events at the Legislature. The Republicans have taken an important issue like the age of consent and politicized it to further their own agenda.

They have attempted to pull the age-of-consent bills out of committee by substituting inflammatory rhetoric and raw emotion for sound and considered policy-making.

Why would the Republicans sensationalize this important issue? Because GOP Chairwoman Linda Lingle and her party are promoting their political fortunes at the expense of sensible, fact-based legislative action.

It is common knowledge among those who walk the halls of the state Capitol that longtime Republican staffers were fired at the beginning of this legislative session and replaced by die-hard Lingle supporters.

She is orchestrating the public perception that there is an urgent need to pass legislation on the age of consent in order to selfishly promote her personal political goal to become governor.

Honolulu City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, whose office prosecutes the vast majority of sex assault cases in the state, is dead set against these bills. So is the Sex Abuse Treatment Center, the largest sexual assault treatment provider in Hawaii.

Instead of focusing on her personal political agenda, Lingle should listen to these experts on the issue.

Christine L. Andrews
Wailuku, Maui

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