Chickens don't belong in residential areas

Philip Valentine wrote about the noise roosters make (Letters, May 23). He claims that these chickens make no more noise than a dog.

At least the dogs are protecting the premises of their owners. Dogs bark only for the duration of imminent danger. They do not bark for no reason like a chicken that crows constantly.

No one should have to tolerate unwanted noise. If you want to raise chickens, a residential area is not the best place to do so.

Michael Nomura
Kailua

Liquor investigators do good work, too

I would like to correct several misconceptions concerning the Liquor Commission. First, we are investigators, not inspectors. Second, we regulate retail establishments, ships and hotels along with the bars and restaurants. We often issue citations or arrest minors for possessing liquor, as well as arresting the adults who furnished it to them. Remember when we videotaped what was going on during the "booze cruises," and that company lost its license?

The Liquor Commission has many good employees, including some of us in enforcement. We are unfairly being painted with a dirty brush and the stink is getting on us, even though we did our jobs properly. Why don't the news media cover some of the good things we have done, or list the names of the investigators who were not indicted?

Another misconception is that we can't go into a bar without being recognized. I can cite some premises for a violation, return several months later and catch them again. If they remembered me, how would I be able to keep catching the same places?

Don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Granted, major changes are needed, but the basic system can and will work, given the proper checks and balances.

Kerry Shannon

Riding in truck bed can have tragic results

Eugene Simbra makes some good points in his letter, "Seat-belt laws should apply to everyone" (Star-Bulletin, May 28).

I remember an incident a number of years ago in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, when a pickup truck loaded with teens (and sub-teens) was traveling on a back road, left the roadway and struck a tree. I happened to drive by a few minutes later, when fire and police crews were arriving on the scene. They trained their floodlights upward and found more than five of the children dead, impaled on broken tree limbs up in the trees. It was a tragic end to a nice evening school function.

The bed of a pickup can become a catapult for both non-secured humans and cargo when the front of the vehicle strikes an immobile object. On sharp turns, items in the cargo area can be thrown out because of centrifugal force. Serious consideration should be given to the requirement for restraints for humans and for cargo over a certain height located in the cargo areas (beds) of open pickups.

B.G. Judson
Kapolei

Fieldturf is the best choice for safety

Three cheers for Gov. Ben Cayetano. He has taken the stadium turf issue to heart and made a decision based on what the players want ("Turf a step closer to installation," Star-Bulletin, May 30). Pop Warner, University of Hawaii, local and mainland high school, visiting university and National Football League players salute you for your humanity.

We are the ones risking injury and bumps and bruises; we are the ones landing on the surface and suffering rug burns and infections. Cayetano has changed this issue from discussions of 5-year warranties, $2.4 million investments and who pays, to what's best for the players at Aloha Stadium and how we can improve our playing field.

Michael Evergin
Retired member NFL Players' Association

Remorseful owners put biting dog to sleep

As a follow-up to my letter about the Foster Village dog attack incident earlier this month ("Family can do little about pet's attacker," Letters, May 27), the Humane Society investigator informed me yesterday that the owners of the animal voluntarily surrendered the dog to them for humane euthanasia.

This shows sincere remorse and concern for their neighbors that the dog's owners were willing to remove the chance of such a horrible attack ever happening again.

Kathy Dunn

Columnist is mean to President Bush

I am deeply concerned about the mental health of Maureen Dowd, whose column you carry. She seems consumed with a "get Bush at any cost" attitude. Does she ever get a good night's sleep, or is her mind consumed with how she will mock or condemn the president in her next column?

I have given up on her ability as a columnist. It is one thing to be opinionated and amusing; it is tragic to be opinionated and consumed with hate. I regularly correspond with people in Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, England and Slovenia. Most find something to admire about Bush, as do some 70 percent of Americans. It is too bad Dowd is so out of step with the people. She and Molly Ivins must be in a contest to see who can punch Bush the hardest (and lowest) in their columns.

This reader is fed up with their vitriolic attacks. It is past time for Maureen and Molly to find the help they both apparently need.

Charles Longo
Tucson, Ariz.
Former Hawaii resident

Forbes story misstated longliners' situation

Forbes magazine writer Lynn Cook covered a lot of ground in her story about Hawaii's business climate. As general manager of the Hawaii Longline Association, I feel compelled to comment regarding Hawaii's longline fishing industry.

Cook is correct on Hawaii's fish consumption compared to the rest of the country, but she is off base when she states that 75 percent of the fish consumed in Hawaii is imported. Hawaii's longliners provide nearly 70 percent of the local market.

Nearshore commercial fishing contributes to the marketplace, as well. Species not native to local waters or fish that are in short supply or protected in Hawaiian waters are imported to accommodate the broad tastes of the Hawaii consumer.

The article also suggests that the waters are overfished. As someone who has fished in the offshore waters around Hawaii for 25 years, I can assure you that my catch rates are as good as or better than when I first began.

Cook goes further to indicate that environmentalists' lawsuits against the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect turtles have shut down the longline industry here. Environmentalist activity was not a local but a national effort. Hawaii's longliners were restricted from fishing for a period of six weeks in 2001 while a federal judge reviewed environmental concerns and industry efforts to respond to those concerns.

Hawaii's longline industry is proud of its role in providing residents and visitors with the majority of its high-quality, fresh seafood harvested from waters accessible from our islands.

Scott H. Barrows
General manager
Hawaii Longline Association

Replace WTC with defensible high-rise

Now that the cleanup at Ground Zero has officially come to an end, I hope that we can start a national discussion about what should rise there to replace the World Trade Center.

I've heard numerous opinions, ranging from "nothing" (because anything would be an insult to the memories of those who died) to "exactly the same World Trade Center, just to show the (expletive deleted)."

I think both of these knee-jerk reactions are beneath our maturity and dignity as a nation. What I'd like to see is another high-rise fitting to the locale, but one that incorporates the new national point of view that has been engendered by Sept. 11.

Certainly, one feature that should be on anything that rises from Ground Zero should be a flight deck on the roof, with resident fighters constantly ready to scramble.

And calling it the "World Trade Center" would send the wrong message to the world. Something like "World (Economic) Cooperation Center" would be more to the point. Of course, if we really want to drill home the point, the new building could always be called "Ground Zero."

God bless America.

Mike Pettingill
Kailua

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