Council has no right to force land sales

Bill 53, the measure currently before the Honolulu City Council to force the sale of Queen Liliuokalani Trust lands, is an attack on social justice for all people of Hawaii, not just Hawaiians, and I urge my fellow citizens to speak out in protest. If this bill is passed, it is the children of Hawaii who will suffer the most and the children are the future of our entire community.

Hawaiian sovereignty needs to be taken seriously by recognizing the sovereignty of Liliuokalani Trust over Liliuokalani Trust lands. The City Council has no right to force the trust to sell its land to lessees. The Council's actions are a mirror reflection of the unjust and illegal actions of the so-called Committee of Safety in 1893, which usurped the proper authority of Queen Liliuokalani and the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Attacks on the Queen Liliuokalani Trust, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate and Hawaiian Home Lands are not just Hawaiian issues. They are issues of social justice that affect everyone. An injury to one is an injury to all. It is time we all stand in solidarity for justice. Let us stand with aloha for the children and say no to Bill 53.

James V. Albertini
Kurtistown, Hawaii

Greed is behind efforts to kill Bill 53

Certain recent dog-and-pony shows in and around City Hall and Oahu, cleverly staged by various leasehold condominium landowners, evidently have fooled quite a few people.

Their transparent purpose, obvious to knowledgeable folks, was to stir up public opinion against City Councilman John Henry Felix's Bill 53, which was designed to clarify the City Council's intent in its lease-to-fee condo conversion program passed pursuant to state law.

Prominent among the interests bankrolling these public spectacles are the Bishop Estate/Kamehameha Schools managers and a local landowners association, who are motivated by pure greed, despite their phony and disgraceful bid to tie their campaign to the sovereignty movement, which we full- and part-Hawaiian folks embrace.

The former trustees of the former outfit were being paid more than a million bucks a year by the trust, while they have been prattling on about robbing us heirs to Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop's bequest for the education of our children.

As both a native of Hawaii and a leasehold condo owner (now fee simple, thanks to the state and the City Council), I urge all of my friends to vote against those Council members in the Sept. 21 primary election who represent the Big Money interests while taking part in preventing us "little people" from ever becoming the full-fledged property owners we should be. Those who vote against Bill 53 are no friends of ours.

Reginald Jones

Move was not from Mililani to Kapolei

I have never lived in Mililani, contrary to the story "District 1 Race Hotly Competitive" (Star-Bulletin, Sept. 10). Allow me to set the record straight.

Makakilo was my home from 1987 until 1991, when all Makakilo residents were required to change their addresses to Kapolei 96707.

In 1994, what started as a temporary position as a City Council aide and budget analyst while I completed my MBA provided greater job satisfaction as my efforts benefited the community. As the 2002 election year approached, I was urged by community leaders, business owners, family, neighbors and friends to run for the Council seat.

Unfortunately, the City Reapportionment Commission divided Kapolei into two separate Council districts. The portion of Kapolei where my family lived was placed in the Central Oahu district. I was not willing to run in a district with which I was not personally familiar. Mililani and Waipahu were uncharted territory for me.

Instead, we made a family decision to move so I would be eligible to continue to serve Leeward Oahu.

Pam Witty-Oakland
Candidate, Council District 1
Kapolei

Candidate is long-term resident of District 1

City Council candidate Pamela Witty-Oakland did not move to our district from Mililani. She has lived in District 1 for many years. She is a longtime resident of Makakilo who recently moved to the other side of the H-1 freeway after Makakilo was reapportioned into another Council district.

Witty-Oakland also has worked in our community for nearly 10 years as a legislative aide to John DeSoto. Our homeowners association was the beneficiary of her good work as we tried to resolve issues we had with the city after our community was built. Pam listens to the people and follows through.

Pamela Witty-Oakland is no carpetbagger. 

Laura A. Hirayama
President
West Loch Estates Homeowners Association

Bush failing to make case for Iraq attack

On Sept. 5, former President Jimmy Carter wrote in the Washington Post that it is necessary to conduct tests before a nuclear weapon can be constructed. He ought to know. Plus, why else would the United States insist upon the need to continue testing its own weapons? So why not wait until Iraq conducts a nuclear test before going to war? The United States has the capability, even without on-site inspections, to detect any nuclear test. If that were not so, it would not have agreed to the first nuclear test ban treaty.

It seems increasingly obvious that President Bush and his advisers are not making a convincing case that Iraq is about to acquire nuclear weapons.

Stephen T. Boggs
Kaneohe

Students grateful for bikers' aloha

On Aug. 3, Jarrett Middle and Palolo Elementary schools received school supplies that were donated by Street Bikers United Hawaii. On that day, 200 bikers rode into Jarrett Middle School's parking lot on their Harley-Davidson motorcycles with boxes and boxes filled with school supplies ranging from pens and pencils to backpacks, all of which they bought with their own money.

Since we were on summer break, the students were not in school to thank them personally. We would like to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and we truly appreciate their generous donation.

Lauren Kimura
8th-grader
Jarrett Middle School

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