Indigo restaurant belongs in Chinatown

What a shame that, according to recent reports, Indigo Restaurant and its landlord, the Hawaii Theater Center, are locked in a seemingly unsolvable lease negotiation dispute. During its 10-year tenure on Nuuanu Avenue, Indigo has been a stable attraction, has helped to upgrade the area and has nurtured -- in every sense of the word -- a loyal clientele that also supports other establishments and events in Chinatown. While I have no doubt that Indigo's patrons will follow the restaurant to any location, the loss to downtown would be immeasurable.

Apparently it is not all that easy to attract new tenants to the area, as Havana Cabana -- also a Hawaii Theater property on Nuuanu -- has been empty for years now. In tough economic times, wouldn't it be prudent to retain a good tenant?

I hope that, for the greater good, a mutually beneficial agreement can be reached.

Rike Weiss

Letter writer erred about Djou's intent

In his April 19 letter to the editor about Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, Wilbert W.W. Wong made factual errors that need to be corrected.

Wong made the confusing accusation that Djou's proposal to expand the Council to 21 members is an attempt to enhance his chances of being elected mayor. Wong wrote, "Djou left the state Senate to run for a City Council position because he knew that he has a better chance of being mayor than governor in the future." In fact, Djou was a member of the state House, not the Senate, and was forced to leave his seat because it was eliminated by reapportionment.

I have followed Djou's career in the state House and in the Hawaii Republican Party, and I know he will excel as a leader no matter what office he seeks.

Gary Paul Jr.

Kihei

Lingle trying to do what electorate wants

Cynthia Oi's column ("Under the Sun," April 16) comparing the buying of a new car from a trusted friend to Governor Lingle's choice of ideologically friendly appointments is inconsistent. Surely a new Republican governor faced with a hostile Democratic Legislature has to choose those who can help carry out the mandate expected of her from the electorate.

To Lingle's credit, she has even chosen well-known Democrats, like Patrick Duffy as the new Supreme Court associate. She has instructed her board and commission selection committees to disregard party affiliation in making selections. The same could not be said of former Governor Cayetano.

Cayetano appointed his golfing friend Bert Kobayashi as a University of Hawaii regent. Charles Toguchi was appointed Department of Education superintendent and later became Cayetano's chief of staff, then a special projects consultant. Who could forget Earl Anzai, the budget director who, after the state Senate voted to remove him, was appointed state attorney general?

Lingle is trying to implement the agenda she was elected to fulfill. Without help from the Legislature, she has only the prerogative of her appointments to help her.

Pam Smith

Ewa Beach

Let tourism summit be the first of many

Tomorrow's tourism summit is very much needed, no matter who is involved or whether it be in private or in the open ("Cloud of secrecy surrounds governor's tourism summit," Raising Cane, Star-Bulletin, April 20). In Hawaii, tourism is everyone's business and this first summit should be just that -- the first of a series of summits.

A follow-up "public summit" is needed after this first private summit, one to hear and use input from companies such as mine. For example, my team speaks to at least a thousand visitors a day. Our beach boys and lifeguards are hands-on, and they hear from our visitors what they like, what they don't like, what turns them on and what turns them off. This is somewhat the same information you get when you spend thousands of dollars conducting focus groups. The exception is that the information you can get from us is in real time from real visitors having the real experience.

There are companies on all islands with employees who interact daily with visitors. Their input could be used to create strategies that meet visitors' desires and expectations, thus creating more effective advertising and promotions.

Bob Hampton

Waikiki Beach Activities

Forget macho stuff, bring back the 'Bows

If this were a perfect world, the University of Hawaii would be built at the mouth of a fertile valley, and rainbows would celebrate it daily in the skies above Manoa. The rainbow would be the natural and appropriate symbol, logo and nickname for the UH. After all, the rainbow, university and state all stand for the inclusion and blending of diverse elements into a radiant new entity.

The rainbow and the university did find and celebrate each other. Alas, macho and marketing mania disrupted this perfect marriage. Today the UH is scurrying to find a new and improved, industrial-strength brand. Auwe.

What happened to the old UH that encouraged education by subsidizing everyone with low tuition? What happened to the old UH that encouraged students from all over the world to diversify its student body by refusing to charge out-of-state tuition? How can UH retain the strength of conviction that made it one of the few American universities to require World Civilization rather than Western Civilization as part of its core curriculum?

Forget new brands. Reunite UH and the rainbow. Bring back aloha, brotherhood and common sense. Bring back the 'Bows!

Richard Y. Will