Merger will be bad for Hawaii's economy

I am dismayed about Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Air merging their operations into one airline to serve Hawaii. For a state that is heavily dependent on air travel, the merger only spells trouble, especially for people on the neighbor islands.

If the U.S. Department of Justice green-lights this merger, tourists and locals are going to have no choice in interisland travel. It will probably mean less-convenient flights and higher ticket and freight costs. On top of that will be significant layoffs and furloughs.

None of this is going to help Hawaii's struggling economy. As a matter fact, this merger will be a step backward for Hawaii's economic recovery.

I urge the Justice Department to look closely at the implications of this merger and reject it. I suggest to the owners of the airlines to put the people of Hawaii before their companies' bottom lines.

Aaron Stene

Airline merger won't be good for Hawaii

If Hawaiian and Aloha are allowed to merge, the people of Hawaii, tourists and businesses will be at the mercy of this monopolistic giant.

The state or federal government should put a stop to this. Just as the state stepped in when the Honolulu Advertiser tried to be the only voice in town, it should step in now to assure there are two airlines servicing Hawaii.

The unions for the employees of these airlines should be up in arms and fighting this merger. People will lose their jobs and ticket prices will skyrocket. When there is no competition, complacency sets in, service takes a dive and a cavalier attitude of "take it or leave it" prevails.

Steven T.K. Burke

[Quotables] "We have the patient on the operating table, and we want to get it well first in all aspects, and then we want it to grow." Greg Brenneman Former Continental Airlines president and new chairman and chief executive officer of Aloha Holdings, the company created for the planned merger of Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. "I may not jump as high, but obviously if I kick a game winner my emotions go everywhere." Bill Gramatica Rookie kicker for the Arizona Cardinals, who says he is not embarrassed by the nationally televised jump for joy after a field goal that resulted in a season-ending knee injury.

Mokuleia Beach Park is a messy disgrace

On a recent visit to Hawaii my wife and I watched a program on the Travel Channel titled "The Ten Best Beaches In Hawaii." It named the North Shore as No. 1.

For the most part I go along with the rating, but not if it includes Mokuleia Beach Park. This has to be the most disgusting area I have ever encountered. It looks more like a landfill than a park. Every turn-off was littered with garbage, cans, bottles and containers of every description. We even saw a dead dog wrapped in a trash bag. I don't even want to mention the stench.

If I were a resident of Hawaii concerned with the declining tourist trade, I would want to know who is responsible for maintaining this stretch of beach and rapidly dismiss them. With all the people currently unemployed, I'm sure it would be easy to find someone who would gladly do a better job.

William Agnew
Yucca Valley, Calif.

LeMahieu should review DOE standards

As former school superintendent Paul LeMahieu (Star-Bulletin, Insight, Dec. 16) tries to shift responsibility for his own misdeeds to the Board of Education and the legislative investigative committee, perhaps he should review the following benchmarks from the Department of Education's career and life skills standards:

>> Choose moral and ethical courses of action; describe the consequences of immoral and unethical courses of action;

>> Demonstrate the ability to identify and accept responsibility for mistakes.

Mary Mumper

Smoking or not, the choice is yours

What is great about our country is that we have many freedoms -- freedoms that we take for granted.

The freedom of choice is one that we utilize every day. We are free to choose our lifestyles, our modes of transportation, our homes and our employment. We can choose to support a particular establishment based on our likes and dislikes. We are all different and this is what makes America, and especially Hawaii, the melting pot of the world.

If you choose to go to a restaurant or club where smoking is allowed, that choice is yours. The establishment has the choice to decide if it wants to be smoke free or allow a smoking section. If the employees don't like the environment, they can choose to leave.

If you believe the City Council should vote on a smoking ban, you are giving up one of your rights as an American -- the right to choose.

Fred Remington

Schools can't afford harassment training

I recently heard that state schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto will have to cut millions of dollars from next year's education budget and that these cuts will directly affect education at the classroom level ("New schools chief selected," Star-Bulletin, Dec. 14). I am also aware that Hawaii's fourth- and eighth-graders scored almost dead last in science on a national test.

So why is the Board of Education considering a plan to have mandatory harassment training for all students and teachers? I find it ridiculous to even talk about taking precious education money away from programs that are necessary in order to have time and resources go toward promoting the normalization of homosexuality.

Evette Shamon

Gaming in Hawaii could be good or bad

If there were a casino in Waikiki, I could see myself going there more often than I should. I really do like to gamble. That's bad. If gaming were allowed on cruise ships, I could see myself going on a cruise to gamble and enjoy myself -- just like I do every year, except that money is spent in Nevada.

Gaming on a ship will prevent people from making the sudden decision to gamble and spend money that is not around to spend. This would be good. Really, how many of us go on cruises around the island? Maybe more of us would, if we could place that sports bet and go see Auntie on a neighbor island, instead of going to Vegas.

I do support gaming in Hawaii, but the money that goes to the state must be used for education, not highways or other programs. We should consider cruise ships and perhaps a state lottery.

Richard Ringer
Kihei, Maui

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