Aloha Stadium ads hazardous to players

I wince in fear whenever a player runs into the plastic A-frame advertising barrier the University of Hawaii has surrounding the Aloha Stadium field during football games. Players, especially receivers, keep running into or tripping over this hazard.

Do players have to be maimed and sue the state before this dangerous obstacle is removed?

No amount of advertising income is worth putting players' health and careers in jeopardy. If UH absolutely needs the additional income, have President Evan Dobelle and other UH backers parade around Aloha Stadium wearing sandwich-board ads.

Richard Y. Will

Life unimaginable without Craig's Bakery

I read the Star-Bulletin via the Internet. I have lived in Kailua since 1976; however, I am currently working in Heidelberg, Germany. I have been a more-than-daily shopper at Craig's Bakery ("Kailua family bake shop forced to close its doors," Star-Bulletin, Dec. 10).

I cannot even fathom the fact that there will not be a Craig's Bakery on Maluniu Avenue. Owner Craig Furubayashi makes the best darn cakes, pies and pastries on the island.

I hope his absence is short because when I come back to the islands in two years I will be looking forward in going to another Craig's Bakery in Kailua.

He will surely be missed.

Glen K. Kamanao
Heidelberg, Germany

[Quotables] "What we found is that some people contributed to a golf tournament which appears to be a Harris fund-raiser, but there doesn't appear to be any record of the fund-raiser in the Harris report." Bob Watada Executive director of the state Campaign Spending Commission, which is investigating a golf tournament linked to Major Jeremy Harris' 2000 reelection campaign. The tournament, which was held in October 2000, raised about $20,000 but was not registered with the commission as a political fund-raiser, and none of the money was mentioned in Harris' public filings, according to Watada. "I didn't know what was happening. I thought maybe I won $1,000 or something, then someone told me that I won the big one, and I said, 'Nah, can't be.'" David T. Tokunaga Makiki resident who won $2.5 million Wednesday on a slot machine at the California Hotel in Las Vegas.

Coast Guard aided defense on Dec. 7

Some people are not aware that the U.S. Coast Guard had a ship moored up at the Aloha Tower in downtown Honolulu on Dec. 7, 1941, firing at the Japanese Zeros that were headed toward Pearl Harbor.

My father used to tell us about Dec. 7. He grew up in Waipio Valley, near Mililani. I was born and raised in Wahiawa and joined the Coast Guard back in 1988 at the Pearl Ridge recruiting office.

Pearl Harbor was one of the inspirations for joining the military -- we wanted to give something back.

Kevin K. Pane'e

Innocent prisoners treated unfairly

Director of Public Safety Ted Sakai's recent comments about why acquitted prisoners are returned to jail shows how far behind the mainland Hawaii is ("ACLU lawsuit targets late jail releases," Star-Bulletin, Dec. 11). His excuse that processing individuals for release at the Oahu Community Correctional Center allows the department to ensure they have no other orders requiring their detention by other agencies or for other charges.

Are we to believe these checks are done only before a prisoner is released and not when admitted or throughout their stay? Isn't that their job? There is absolutely no reason for a prisoner to be readmitted for "out-processing." The prison could set up procedures for this quite easily.

After the ACLU wins its lawsuit, I recommend that Sakai, acting chief of the Sheriff Division, F. Cappy Caminos, and OCCC Warden Clayton Frank be processed just like the acquitted prisoners. Let them see what it is really like.

Justice will be served.

Al Aliment
Kaneohe

Remember who voted not to protect workers

I am a former waitress who is disabled by a health condition partly brought on by exposure to secondhand smoke. I was disappointed when five of our City Council members voted against protecting restaurant workers from second-hand smoke. They themselves are so protected. Are service workers less than they are? Are we disposable?

These are the ones who voted against protecting workers from secondhand smoke: Jon Yoshimura, Rene Mansho, John Desoto, Romy Cachola and Andy Mirikitani.

Mayor Jeremy Harris also has a history of blocking efforts to protect working people from secondhand smoke.

I'm bringing this up now because there is a new measure before the Council to try to protect people who work in restaurants from being harmed by cigarette smoke. Remember the names of those who don't care about the health of working people. They do not deserve your vote.

Amy Arkoff

Argenbright didn't screen hijacked flights

A Dec. 3 editorial headline in the Star-Bulletin contained a major inaccuracy regarding Argenbright Security, particularly in regard to the activities of our work force at the time of the tragic events of Sept. 11.

The editorial headline incorrectly suggested our company did the security screening for the hijacked flights that hit the World Trade Center. Argenbright did not provide the security for the two flights that left Logan Airport in Boston.

Furthermore, there is no evidence to date that screening employees did a single thing incorrectly on Sept. 11. In fact, they were following Federal Aviation Administration regulations that, at the time, allowed knives of up to four inches, box cutters, corkscrews and other items to be carried onto an airplane.

Moreover, there have been suggestions that the items may have been pre-placed onto the aircraft and did not even pass through a screening checkpoint.

Since Sept. 11 we have been working with the FAA to enforce tighter regulations. Working together to find real solutions and improve our security in this new terrorist threat environment is the goal of our company and others in the aviation industry.

Bill Barbour
President and CEO
Argenbright Security
Atlanta, Ga.

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