Sign-wavers add to roadway dangers

With the traffic congestion as bad as it is on Fort Weaver Road and now a fatal accident involving a pedestrian, you would think individuals running for office would do their best to solve rather than contribute to the problem, but no.

Driving home just hours after the pedestrian was hit, I saw several candidates for local office and their supporters standing on the side of the road distracting drivers by holding signs and waving.

You don't seriously think I'm going to vote for you because I see you waving at me every morning and afternoon, do you? In fact, if you don't have the common sense to keep from making an already bad situation worse, you can pretty much count on me voting for your opponent.

John Young

Percentage of isle grads is going down

Hawaii's public schools are looking good -- 96.5 percent of seniors graduated, not bad. But what happened to the percentage from last year? The percentage dropped. If you look at the article (Newswatch, Star-Bulletin, July 1), you'll notice that the percentage is decreasing and attendance is increasing. As the years go by, are we going to let our public schools have fewer and fewer graduates? Think about it, what will we do in the future if no more kids graduate? Will the world be full of good-for-nothing people?

I have experience in both public and private schools. When I attended public school, many people did not care about school. They didn't care if they got Ds. Now that I'm in private school, I notice how much the students want to learn to be the best.

The Department of Education should take a closer look at the future, which starts with the students. I suggest raising the standards, because many students get away with bad grades.

Chelsey Keola

Non-voting parents set bad example for kids

I am writing in disgust about the decrease in voter turnout. Voting is the civic duty of all eligible Hawaii residents. Being a citizen of the United States comes with many responsibilities, and one of them is to elect worthy politicians into office.

I am not old enough to vote, but I believe that people who are old enough should do so. Parents need to set good examples for their children. What kind of message are parents giving their children when they don't show up at the polls to turn in their ballots? Not a very good message.

Our community and our politicians need to bring more enthusiasm into voting. We should consider ourselves lucky to have the honor of having a voice in what goes on in the world. Those who don't vote are taking for granted the right that past generations worked hard for.

I am asking the people of Hawaii to bring our voting rates back up and to bring pride to the islands.

Michelle Pablo

Lieutenant gov needs experience, vision

I enjoyed the recent article about the lieutenant governor's race (Star-Bulletin, June 30). I'd like to add a few comments about this year's election for the post on the Republican ticket.

We need someone who has a well-thought-out, constructive plan to help dig our stagnant economy out of the doldrums and create more financially rewarding opportunities for all citizens of the state of Hawaii. We need a person who prefers to focus his campaign across the needs of all voters, not someone who will be influenced by special interest groups or across ethnic lines; someone who is indeed interested in helping residents of all the islands, not just those residing on Oahu.

Our selection should center around which candidate has the best vision and experience to create policies favorable to the business community, both domestically and internationally, to the benefit of all people of Hawaii. It should be someone who is in touch with our need to grow, but not at the expense of either the environment or our relationship with the armed forces.

This someone is Dalton Tanonaka. He has the qualities to make the lieutenant governor's job meaningful. He's got my vote.

Andy Scott
Mililani

Trust teenagers to behave responsibly

I agree with the editorial "School drug tests are not the solution" (Star-Bulletin, July 1). I'm a 16-year-old who thinks teenagers have the right to their privacy. It's not fair if only teenagers are subject to random searches. What about adults? Someone would have to get a search warrant in order to go through an adult's belongings and that would also involve having probable cause. They couldn't get a search warrant just based on the way the person looked or what sport he or she participated in.

If they allow random drug tests or searches, they should be issued for the whole community. Teenagers have rights, too, not only adults. We have been treated like kids for a long time now. Let us be responsible and make the choices we want to make. We know the dangers of the world and we know how to handle ourselves like adults.

I'm not saying give us total freedom, just enough so we can learn from our mistakes. The adults should just help us and guide us through the mistakes we know that we have made.

Sara Honda

Pearl City

Ethnicity not a factor in historical accuracy

Regarding the article "Hawaiian Studies head fears Hollywood motives" (Star-Bulletin, July 4), I agree that there is almost no chance Hollywood will tell the story of Kamehameha accurately, given its poor track record in this area. Like Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, I also fear the portrayal of Kamehameha and the Hawaiian people will turn out to be another example of "Hollywood's warped sense of 'Hawaiiana.'"

Kame'eleihiwa's assertion, however, that only "a culturally knowledgeable Hawaiian" may write a historically accurate screenplay is wrong. A screenwriter's ethnicity is irrelevant if the story is written accurately and with great sensitivity to the Hawaiian people.

Darcy Kishida

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