Veto bill that weakens charter schools

The Star-Bulletin has done an extraordinary job covering educational issues in the last few months. Crystal Kua's coverage of the strike was quite impressive. Her ability to monitor legislation and charter school issues beyond the scope of the strike was exceptional. Charter schools offer us hope for an educational system in Hawaii "second to none."

It's no wonder the governor's rating has slipped. We remember empty promises. The governor does, however, have a chance now to make a difference in helping to establish stronger charter school laws in Hawaii. He could veto HB 946 and send a clear message to the people of this state that he supports the reform of our educational institution.

HB 946 would further weaken the charter school laws of our state (recently graded "D" by a national organization). These amendments to existing statutes will perpetuate the status quo and lead us deeper into the trenches of supporting a failing system.

John Thatcher
Hilo, Hawaii

Broken promises to public employees

Governor Cayetano and members of the Legislature are proud of adding another broken promise to their string of broken promises by passing the health fund reform bill in an attempt to again balance the budget on the backs of retirees.

During the decades that retirees were working, politicians skimmed $1.3 billion from the state Employees Retirement System.

In 1997, lawmakers promised to stop taking earnings from the ERS and passed a law to stop future skimming so the system could rebuild revenue.

In 1999, Act 100 passed and the promise to stop skimming was broken. Politicians promised this would be the last time.

In 2000, a long-standing five-year retirement adjustment was eliminated. Governor Cayetano said the ERS couldn't afford it. Another broken promise.

In 2001, claiming that changes were needed to continue funding health care, politicians passed the Employer- Union Health Benefits Trust Fund bill. This will cause retirees to co-pay for health plans or accept less coverage. A promise broken and a contractual relationship stating, "accrued benefits (for past services) of which shall not be diminished or impaired," is blatantly being violated.

In 2002, retirees should make it a point to hold accountable in the upcoming elections the fork-tongued 13 senators and 38 representatives who broke promises and violated their retirement contract. Out with the rascals; make it a promise you'll keep.

Earl Arakaki
Ewa Beach

[Quotables] "I don't want there to be any question that our goal is the governship and the state House." Linda Lingle, Hawaii Republic Party chairwoman, laying out the party's objectives in the 2002 election -- to win a majority in the House of Representatives and to elect Lingle governor. "We had a bit of a staredown." Sarah Preble, Manoa Valley resident, describing her face-to-snout confrontation with a wild boar in her backyard. Feral pigs may be coming further down the valley in search of backyard-delicacies such as avocado or garden worms.

Live monkeys don't belong in nightclub

Our animal welfare laws need to be updated. It is disturbing that the state Department of Agriculture, the USDA and the Hawaiian Humane Society could not stop the opening of the monkey bar at the Blue Tropix nightclub on Kapiolani Boulevard. The outdated laws that these agencies must follow primarily address the physical needs of the squirrel monkeys at the bar, such as access to food, water and shelter.

What needs to be addressed is the psychological well-being of these animals.

The exhibit at the Blue Tropix does not promote natural squirrel monkey behavior. The behavior that the bar customers find so entertaining is probably the result of anxiety and boredom. Squirrel monkeys are intelligent animals that live in large social groups high in the forest canopy. They are diurnal; rise with the sun and sleep at night. They spend less than 1 percent of their time on the ground and 90 percent of daylight hours forging for food.

Today's zoos are spending millions of dollars demolishing old-style exhibits, and building modern-day enclosures that closely resemble the animal's natural habitat, thus promoting natural animal behavior.

Displaying primates in a bar for the sole purpose of amusing customers creates a lack of understanding and respect and is not something Hawaii should be proud of.

Linda Vannatta
Zookeeper
Honolulu Zoo

Use of SWAT team seemed excessive

The picture of the Honolulu Police Department's SWAT team marching through Kahala in the May 16 Star-Bulletin should shake up a few Hawaii residents. Are they sporting their newly acquired gear that was so desperately needed in order to manage the onslaught of violent protesters at the recent Asian Development Bank convention?

The opening paragraph reads, "Recaptured Hawaii State Hospital escapee Leonard Moore is in Honolulu police custody after state health officials told them they were not adequately equipped or staffed to prevent another escape." That says it all -- yet another story trumpeting the woes of another poorly equipped government agency.

This is business as usual, where government creates a problem in order to justify its solution to a non-existent problem.

Let's see where the equipment is used next. When and where is the next large Hawaiian sovereignty demonstration going to be anyway?

Philip E. Ingalls Jr.

Polygamy does harm; gay marriage doesn't

Same-sex marriage supporters do have a logical opposition to polygamy, contrary to Jeff Jacoby's claim in his May 18 column, "Portrait of Polygamy."

Same-sex marriage harms no one. Polygamy causes irreparable damage to the women and children who are victims caught in an endless cycle. Plural marriage is illegal because it promotes and tolerates spousal abuse, child abuse, child neglect, pedophilia, incest, tax evasion and welfare fraud.

The state of Hawaii was unable to prove a compelling reason to ban same-sex marriage. Hawaii's Circuit Court found that same-sex marriage had no harmful effects on children, spouses, the state or society. The same cannot be said of polygamy.

It is offensive to equate convicted Utah bigamist Tom Green's marriage to his five wives (all married at age 14; one is his stepdaughter, two are sisters, and two are first cousins) with nontraditional households composed of multiple generations or same-sex partners.

The Mormon Church spent more than $600,000 fighting same-sex marriage in Hawaii. It's a shame the church didn't use that money to combat the harmful practice of polygamy that occurs openly in its own backyard.

Holly Huber

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