Ship could attract tourists afraid to fly

We are always spouting off about Hawaii being the Aloha State. Well, let's prove it.

Right now there is a cruise ship anchored in our port because the company has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. There are many people on the mainland who want to come to Hawaii, but are afraid to fly. Why don't our state and city officials contact the owners and have this cruise ship bring passengers to Hawaii from the West Coast? This ship could become like a shuttle bus between Hawaii and the West Coast. It could start at Seattle and work its way down the coast to California. It is my thought that this would save the cruise company and also bring more money into the state. People wanting to visit other islands would be able to fly safely via Hawaiian and Aloha airlines.

This might also be a good way to reinstate the interisland steamship company, and have more locals traveling between the islands at a rate lower than the airlines charge.

Curtis R. Rodrigues
Kaneohe

Media make people overreact to threat

We all need to get a grip on reality. What good is all this media hype and hand wringing over the "war on terrorist?" Thanks to the media, the majority of people in this country are overreacting.

Let's start with the so-called security measures our federal, state and local governments are taking to "protect" us from terrorists. It's just one huge shibai. Show me a terrorist who would be remotely interested in anything or anybody in Hawaii. Our politicians are letting their egos get the best of them.

Show me how the banning of curbside check-in service at airports is going to make us any safer. Show me how I.D. checks are going to help make us safer. Do you honestly think a simple thing like an I.D. card is going to stop or even slow down a terrorist? Kids produce top quality fake I.D.s every day just to buy a beer.

Now it's the big anthrax scare. Listen up, people. Your chances of getting run over and killed by a wild rabbit are far greater than contracting anthrax.

Remember the Y2K warnings? Remember the people who sold their homes and headed for the hills with five years' worth of canned food because of the Y2K end of the world?

I put much of the blame for this mass hysteria on the media. The media overcook everything and anything just to get ratings. The media tend to cater to the mindless masses of our society, and heaven knows there are a bunch of them out there gullible enough to swallow anything.

Should we be cautious? Sure. Every person needs to be more vigilant these days, but we also need to resist those who are going bonkers over this stuff. There is no need for alarm, certainly no need to panic.

It would be more beneficial to all concerned if the media would take up that cause rather than trying their best to scare us to death with screaming headlines and "special reports" day in and day out.

Get a grip, people. Go about your daily lives as usual, but be a bit more aware of what's going on around you. No more, no less.

Frank A. DeSilva

[Quotables] "It was a clever military action in New York, and Pearl Harbor was also very clever." Frank Steer 100-year-old veteran of World Wars I and II, comparing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and the terrorist attack on New York and Washington Sept. 11. Steer attended the Veterans Day service at the National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl Sunday, "This could be the only thing they ever get. It's very humbling." Kathleen Zeri One of about 40 youth group members from Hawaii Lutheran churches, who helped wrap shoe boxes full of toys, school supplies and personal items for needy children around the world who have been touched by war, poverty, disease or disaster. The gift drive is part of Operation Christmas Child, sponsored by Samaritan's Purse.

Superintendent dug his own grave

It didn't take Paul LeMahieu long to learn from and emulate the "good ol' boys." Yes, he had good ideas and had the potential to finally improve our dismal school system. But he blew it by resorting to the same behavior practiced by our elected officials, which has hindered Hawaii's development for decades. By rewarding a large contract to a "crony" (or in his case, a mistress), he did a great disservice to the children he was supposed to be helping.

Apparently nobody, including the lady he had a fling with, knows if the company is capable of doing the job he assigned to it. I couldn't care less if he had an affair, but to allow his romantic desires to overtake his responsibilities to Hawaii's children is an offense and lack of judgment that can't, and shouldn't, be overlooked.

At least he had the decency to resign. Now if all of our elected officials who have awarded non-bid contracts to firms of families and friends would just do the same, maybe we'd have a government by the people, for the people.

Jon Clark

Redistricting panel did its job well

I would like to offer my grateful appreciation to Wayne Minami and members of the Reapportionment Commission for their thoughtful consideration and attention to the messages sent from the many neighbor island meetings they attended during the last month.

Their decision was not easy. They not only overturned the original recommendation to include non-resident military dependents in the population statistics, but they removed a long-standing thorn in nullifying the neighbor island canoe districts.

They acknowledged our concerns. Now we, as residents of the neighbor islands and citizens of Hawaii, have an absolute obligation to get out there and participate in the democratic electoral process as never before.

Paula Z. Helfrich
Hilo, Hawaii

Article didn't mention dark side of gambling

The Atlantic City gambling article in a recent Sunday Travel section left out the last paragraph from its Pittsburgh Post-Gazette original: "Though most of the official attractions are oceanside along the Boardwalk, getting stuck in the traffic on Pacific Avenue, which runs parallel to the boardwalk, can be entertaining. Signs advertising "Live Nude Girls," "Pawn Shop," "Checks Cashed" and "We Buy Gold," line the routes for your favorite casino. But that's the flip side of the Atlantic City coin.

The casinos are making a killing in Atlantic City, it appears, but what of the customers and residents?

David Mielke

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