Let fresh air flow at the state Capitol

Regarding the story "Gov aims to revamp business and public safety departments" (Star-Bulletin, Jan. 8): It's truly amazing what the tradewinds will dust-off in the first weeks of a new administration. It will be curious to see if we have the spirit to let them blow freely and see if we can find bedrock.

Rex E. Herren

Lingle should let death penalty pass

I respect Governor Lingle's view opposing the death penalty, but she should turn a blind eye and not veto a death penalty bill should it be passed by the Legislature. In extreme cases, the death penalty is needed and justified when it comes to criminals who commit heinous crimes -- multiple murders or killing a child. At least these types of criminals will get the message loud and clear.

Arsenio Ramirez Pelayo

Chinese airliner came too close for comfort

Honolulu is a sitting duck for plane crashes caused by pilot error unless the Federal Aviation Administration tightens its rules regarding visual approach landings of large aircraft on the reef runway.

For the first time in 40 years I heard the scary roar of engines close overhead last Saturday, but my neighbor tells a chilling account of seeing the China Airlines 747 coming directly toward the 20th floor of our building (Makua Alii). He had just put his laundry in the dryer and was waiting for the elevator when he heard the whine of the jet engines. He stepped to the railing and saw the jumbo jet narrowly miss Century Center, three blocks Diamond Head of us -- then the thrust of the engines as it approached. He thought he'd "had it," but the plane veered. He turned and saw it pass the mauka window of our open elevator lobby.

Despite the denials ("FAA says China Airlines jet was not a threat," Star-Bulletin, Jan. 5), this is too close for comfort and should never happen again. Thank God the pilot was very skilled to be able to maneuver that big baby through the high-rise corridors to a safe landing on the reef runway.

It could easily have been a disaster the likes of which Honolulu has never dealt with. I hope Governor Lingle demands tighter restrictions on FAA flight patterns before another over-the-city landing occurs.

Suzanne Teller

Akaka bill would be discriminatory, too

As one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in Arakaki vs. State of Hawaii, I read with interest your Jan. 5 editorial on the Akaka bill. The editorial rightly criticized the state's denial of the equal right to vote in Office of Hawaii Affairs elections and to be an OHA trustee as "racial discrimination." Then you advocated the same racial discrimination in federally sponsored elections and programs, provided the federal government creates a "sov- ereign Hawaiian entity" and calls it a "tribe."

Racial discrimination is wrong whoever commits it. Calling a racial group a "sovereign entity" or "tribe" does not justify racial discrimination. Regardless of ancestry, each of us has an equal right to vote, serve in public office and apply for government programs.

As the federal government said in its brief in the school desegregation case Brown vs. Board of Education, "Under the Constitution every agency of government, nation and local, legislative, executive and judicial, must treat each of our people as an American and not as some member of a particular group classified on the basis of race." The Supreme Court heeded that advice and held segregation unconstitutional in both state and federal schools.

I predict that passage of the Akaka bill would only ensure more litigation until the new segregation falls like the old. Segregation in voting booths, government boards and programs is wrong, whether perpetrated by the state or the United States.

Patrick W. Hanifin

There is hope for fibromyalgics!

I read with interest your Dec. 26 article and picture, "Graphically Speaking ... Fibromyalgia Gender Gap." It listed the symptoms of this debilitating illness, who is affected and the causes and treatment. However, it ne-glected to mention the most effective treatment: the use of guaifenesin, a harmless medication used in a protocol developed by Dr. R. Paul St. Amand, an endocrinologist in California and author of "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia."

Guaifenesin actually reverses this illness and gives patients back their quality of life as evidenced by the thousands around the world who have experienced this. I speak from my own experience and the dozens in my support group on Oahu and the Big Island who are getting well. My hope is that every sufferer will seek to learn more about this lifesaving protocol. It will change their lives and give them something no other treatment can give: hope!

Annette Kam, R.N.
Waipahu

Don't let private firm control Maui's water

One immediate and urgent question for the new Maui administration and the County Council is Alexander and Baldwin's application to the state for a 30-year lease on the water from state lands in East Maui. This averages 160 million gallons a day (as compared with the Iao Aquifer's supposed 20 mgd, really 18).

The previous administration and water board supported giving the lease to A&B. But this water belongs to the people of Hawaii, as a public trust. Why should a private commercial company control it for the next 30 years?

The Arakawa administration and the County Council have new responsibilities for water resources, following last fall's charter change. They should actively pursue getting control of that water for the county.

Control by the county need not take any water away from A&B that it needs for agriculture, but it would allow the county to see that Hawaiian rights are observed and downstream users get a fair share, which the current system has not done.

A&B has a duty to shareholders, but the county owes its allegiance to the citizens of Maui. Why should A&B control our water?

Sally Raisbeck
Wailuku, Maui

Band members represent Hawaii well

Aloha from two lovers of the islands (Big Island and Oahu). We were reminded of the beauty of both the land and the people when we saw the children who so beautifully represented your culture in the 2003 Rose Bowl Parade.

They were very special, and there were so many of them! Their parents and their schools can be proud.

Hawaii no ka oi. Aloha from our hearts.

Byron and Pauline Peterson
Hemet, Calif.

A swan song for interisland travel?

(Sung to the tune of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore")

I'll miss the Merrie Monarch show.
Won't get to see the lava flow.
Airlines are barricading Hilo.
Can't fly there anymore.

Can't tiptoe through Hilo flowers.
Nor prance and dance 'neath its showers.
Airlines are excommunicating Hilo.
Can't get there anymore.

To end this sad plight
All that's needed is to restore
All canceled and redirected flights
That served Hilo so well before.

Can't fly in or out of Hilo.
How will its people survive?
Airlines are quarantining Hilo.
Can't get in or out dead or alive.

Richard Y. Will
Waikiki

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