Saiki profile brought back memories

The article by John Flanagan on Pat Saiki ("Talk Story," Nov. 10) brought back memories of when I first saw her and a band of Republicans standing in the back of the House chambers in 1963 at Iolani Palace. The names of Anderson, Rohlfing, Judd, Mirikitani and Clark came to mind.

Pat has consistently proven herself to be a quality person and a credit to the people of Hawaii. Aloha Pat, and thanks for the memories.

G.A. "Red" Morris

Dobelle's endorsement showed his concern

I am a bit surprised by the extent of the commotion created by Linda Lingle supporters, as well as your paper which endorsed her candidacy, over Evan Dobelle's endorsement of Mazie Hirono during the general election.

Lingle's campaign theme has been one for "change." Well, Dobelle's television endorsement was a change from the way University of Hawaii presidents in the past may have stayed out of political campaigns. I couldn't care less about precedents at the national level as espoused by Rob Perez in his Nov. 10 "Raising Cane" column. Perez admits there is no hard-and-fast rule here for university presidents and no laws or policies were violated by Dobelle in his support of Hirono.

Frankly, I believe our esteemed UH president stepping out of the sterile ivory tower and becoming involved in the affairs of the community is refreshing.

Larry Hayashida

Wahiawa

UH president should stay out of politics

Prior to the election, when sitting in my living room watching television, I was astonished to see University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle appear endorsing one of the political candidates for governor. It was a blatant contradiction of the basic philosophy that represents the cornerstone of all academia.

Universities, by their very nature, are and should be above the fray of politics.

The mentality that would politicize our universities constitutes a grievous error in judgment, indicating to me that Dobelle doesn't understand our university system and the basic philosophy that enfranchises it.

Wendell Davenport

GOP has objected to tolls in the past

It's disturbing to find that the "New Beginning" is filled with old ideas. Worse, these are ideas that were proposed by Democrats and strongly opposed by Republicans. The idea for a double-deck freeway was proposed during two legislative sessions, 1994 and 1996.

It was easy prey for the Republicans. In a veiled appeal to the environmental vote, they claimed double-decking "would ruin Hawaii's environment and natural vistas." Charging tolls for using freeways received immediate criticism from Republicans; tolls and fees were condemned as just another tax.

Voters should have asked for details of Linda Lingle's plans for change before electing her. Instead they were caught up in a flashy marketing campaign. I wish Governor-elect Lingle luck because paying for her prom-ises is going to take more than a marketing blitz.

B.K. Frank

Interisland ferry would be great alternative

An interisland ferry system is certainly feasible -- and long overdue ("Price of Paradise," Oct. 13). Hawaii has the most unique geography of any state and we should have a unique transit system to match.

Imagine the possibilities that having a vehicle-capacity ferry system might create, not only for the benefit of the economy, but for the simple pleasure of being able to travel in leisure from one end of the state to the other. Right now, thanks in part to 9/11, flying is pure torture: endless waits at the airport, limited baggage, sardine-like accommodations. Presumably all of this would be addressed by the ferry.

I don't know how the economics of a ferry would work out, but I bet a lot of residents would find a round-trip fare of, say, $200 per carload a bargain compared to airfares, even if the trip took hours instead of minutes.

In addition, ferries would greatly expand interstate cargo transport capacity. There's no reason not to have multiple access points to the ferry on all islands, either, so the roads would be relieved of some traffic. In short, there are many benefits to having a ferry.

James Ko

Leasehold enjoyed belated popularity

The first sentence in "Price of Paradise" on leasehold property (Oct. 20) needs to be clarified. "Years ago when you bought a home in Honolulu you most likely owned the structure and leased the land." That has been true only recently.

In 1950, only 5 percent of all homes were on leasehold land. By 1960, the percentage doubled to 11 percent, doubling again to 23 percent by 1970. During the early 1960s, 71 percent of all new lots for homes were on leasehold land. In 1989, 7 out of 10 Honolulu condos were on leasehold lands. No longer.

The leasehold system began during the feudal era when nobility allowed peasants to use their land in exchange for labor. The late 20th-century increase in Hawaii was a reversal of leasehold abolition elsewhere in the world. Only in Hawaii was leasehold growing but now is declining.

Jerome G. Manis

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The Price of Paradise appears each week in the Sunday Insight section. The mission of POP is to contribute lively and informed dialog about public issues, particularly those having to do with our pocketbooks. Reader responses appear later in the week. If you have thoughts to share about today's POP articles, please send them, with your name and daytime phone number, to pop@starbulletin.com, or write to Price of Paradise, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana, Honolulu, HI 96813. John Flanagan Contributing Editor

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