Let Chief Donohue do his job

It is inappropriate for the Oahu chairman of SHOPO, the police union, to ask for the resignation of Police Chief Donohue and other police leaders (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 25).

I am grateful that Donohue's attention has focused on keeping this island a safe place to live. Under the leadership of experienced and dedicated senior police officers like him, the police department has become one of the most respected in the nation.

Donohue is a model police officer and citizen. In addition to dealing successfully with critical issues affecting public safety, he has given much of his time and energy to young people as a martial arts instructor.

He should be allowed to handle the indictment of two senior police officers for theft of inmates' food internally with the fair and nonjudgmental approach he is known for. Do not let this trivial matter interfere with the police duties we depend on.

Clarissa T. Burkert

Media unfairly soils police reputations

Police Chief Lee Donohue and former Chief Michael Nakamura are great citizens and should not be lumped in with thieves. They and Assistant Chief Rafael Fajardo are not the criminals the news media are portraying them to be. They have put their lives on the line for the people of Hawaii time and again. Shame on the news media and the disgruntled people who brought this situation to the scandal sheets.

If somebody had an Egg McMuffin and inadvertently wasn't charged, let them pay for it. It is an administrative matter, not a criminal one.

These men are innocent until proven guilty. The same goes for the Police Chief George Freitas on Kauai. People are trying to divide and conquer the front line of defense of the men and women in blue and as a result we all lose and the real criminals will be delighted.

D. Devaney

HPD shouldn't forewarn motorists

Why doesn't the Honolulu Police Department just take out ads telling the public where it will have radar guns this week?

HPD shouldn't warn the public that this coming holiday weekend there will be a show of force on our roads. Show the force tonight, Tuesday night, or better yet, why not last week? Or when the first fatality for street racing was recorded? How many more need to die or be seriously injured before HPD understands that racing is done in the early morning hours and it needs to station police cars along major freeway entrances to catch these thugs?

Why not put some unmarked cars with officers and night-vision binoculars on overpasses to catch these people?

It's disgusting to advertise a full three or four days prior to the event you will crackdown. So now the racers will be out in force for the next three nights to get their thrills before the weekend.

Michael E. Duncan

[QUOTABLES] "I won't be your father's Democrat." D.G. "Andy" Anderson, Businessman and former Republican legislator, on his announcement that he may run for governor as a Democrat. "It's been fun for us, and just exhausting." Craig Walsh, President of The Poi Co., on dealing with a deluge of emails asking about poi since a supermarket tabloid reported -- falsely -- that the sticky staple of the Hawaiian diet is a miracle diet food.

Central Oahu growth will worsen traffic

Pam Lee Smith was rightly concerned about the lack of infrastructure to support increasing growth in the Ewa area (Letters, Aug. 20). She focused on traffic, but other areas such as sufficient educational facilities and water, are also an important component of infra- structure. She correctly blamed the situation on "poor planning and indifferent politicians."

Even if there is a moratorium on building in the Ewa area until infrastructure catches up to development, once commuters finally make it out of Ewa, they will face dramatically increased commuting time on the H-1.

One reason for this is development proposed under the misnamed "Central Oahu Sustainable Communities Plan." This development plan was to be presented by the Department of Planning & Permitting to the Planning Commission for approval in 1999, with little or no opportunity for comment by the affected communities. When we voiced concern over what appeared to be a "hurry-up" submittal and approval process and the lack of opportunity for community comment, the submittal of the plan was delayed at the last minute to allow community input.

The plan's March 2001 version proposes an increase of more than 25,000 housing units between Pearl City and Wahiawa to support what city planners estimate to be population growth from less than 149,000 residents in Central Oahu to more than 173,000 by 2025.

The plan proposes some road-widening north and west of the H-1/H-2 merge, but Ewa area residents are seeing an example of how effective this is. It will do nothing but move traffic more quickly to a bottleneck at the merge, which will be much worse than it is today.

While some develop- ment is unavoidable and can be beneficial, we need to do it in a smart way and ensure that politicians merely cater to developers. Our communities should oppose any development until we are satisfied that all necessary infrastructure to support it is in place.

Douglas C. Thomas
Mililani

Old-fashioned, caring doctors still exist

In this day of specialities and HMOs, the old-fashioned family doctor has sadly become a dim memory. In the past, a doctor and his patient were also physician and friend, but medicine has become more complicated and a doctor's time is at a premium. Today appointments are brief and strictly professional. There is little time to establish a friendship. In the name of progress, something good has been lost.

However, in a recent hospital stay at St. Francis West, I found that such a doctor still exists in Dr. Magdy Mettias. He's competent, caring and compassionate. When he walks into your room you immediately feel a little better, because you know he'll give you 110 percent of himself. You're not just a name on a chart or the person in bed 2. You're someone he cares deeply about and will do his very best to help you get well. Thank God doctors like him still exist. Thank God I was lucky enough to find him.

Because of his extraordinary care, at age 82, I recovered from a near fatal heart condition and am now home and doing well. I could never thank Dr. Mettias enough for all he did for me. I could never adequately express my appreciation to him. I would like him to know how very grateful I am for the kindness and care he has given me. He is truly one in a million!

Dorothy Stone

Yoshimura's deal makes him a winner

City Council member Jon Yoshimura was labeled a loser in the "Winners & Losers" column (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 26).

I consider someone who was able to negotiate a repayment of only $3,532 on $10,000 of questionable personal expenditures from his campaign funds as a definite winner.

Does he have to pay income taxes on the difference?

Dennis Kohara

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