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Symphony musicians deserve better pay

What a shame that Hawaii's finest orchestra players had to take a 20 percent pay cut (Star-Bulletin, Oct. 17) with a financial gun to their heads!

They deserve better, and our symphony and city deserve better. Now is certainly the time to build the Honolulu Symphony's endowment fund to keep the it solvent for the long run. Also, we need to make sure that the musicians' pay is restored at least to its previous level as soon as possible. Our finest musicians won't want to stay with an employer who essentially makes unilateral 20 percent pay cuts, nor should we expect them to.

Please support the Honolulu Symphony with your attendance and contributions.

Dave Carr
Honolulu

Kalihi-Palama needs better representation

Residents of Kalihi-Palama who live in the 28th Representative District have come to the realization that they have no representation at the Hawaii state Legislature.

Yes, an individual was elected to that position but he has taken little or no interest in our needs. Ken Hiraki has never attended any of our neighborhood board meetings, nor has he bothered to send a representative.

When contacting his office we are told that he is an important committee chairman and is too busy. It's amazing that a number of state senators and representatives attend our meetings -- and some of them are committee chairmen -- and they have no problem attending meetings. What is Rep. Hiraki doing that makes him so busy he can't represent all the people in his district? During the past legislative session he introduced no legislation that would directly affect our schools, youth or residents of Kalihi-Palama. Does he have a bias against the people in our area? Perhaps the time has come for us to look for someone who will represent everyone in this district, since Hiraki is unwilling to do so.

David Bohn
Member, Kalihi-Palama
Neighborhood Board

Accusing seniors of selfishness is absurd

Alex Tan's letter to the editor, "Seniors use bus more and should pay more" (Star-Bulletin, Oct. 31), leads me to believe that he is not a senior. He will be. It is inevitable if one sticks around long enough.

Tan observed that "most of the non-tourist (bus) riders were senior citizens." Of course they are. As members of the lowest-income group, they can't afford cars.

Tan wrote that "even with the new fees, what do (seniors) have to complain about?" A major complaint is over the high-handed manner in which the current passes were cancelled. Previously, passes were allowed to expire before the user had to pay a new, higher rate. If one enters into an agreement, the honorable course is to abide by it.

Tan also observes that there is a social obligation to support seniors, but then says "the latter should not be apathetic toward Hawaii's rather frail economy." The seniors' economy, and in some cases their physical status, is even more frail. The price of senior passes rose 140 percent, the highest of all categories.

Of course one way to avoid senior support would be to introduce the old practice of the far North in which the elderly were put out on the ice to die so they wouldn't be a drag on the group.

Charles Luce
Honolulu

Paying to meet any president is just wrong

Recently a small group of Honolulu's worthiest citizens paid $10,000 to meet with President Bush at a reception at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental hotel (Star-Bulletin, Oct. 24). One's sadness at this spectacle is deep enough to mourn both the affront to the nonmeretricious ideals of the presidency and to the dignity of those so lacking in self-respect that they would pay to be ushered into the presence of any president, Republican or Democratic. One is not often moved to pity the rich and powerful, but their hollowness, which this incident discloses, requires a compassionate response.

Our forebears must be so exhausted from grave-spinning that they lack the indignation for even one rollover at the sight of a president selling the right to an audience. Nonetheless, this emulation of King George III, against whose tyranny this great republic was established, is profoundly dismaying.

And what of our community's good burghers? They benefit most from the blessings of liberty and equality, yet they are so emotionally and spiritually removed from the wellspring of those blessings and their attendant obligations that they are willing to pay for a photograph that openly displays their vacuity. It is all so terribly sad.

David Lee

Honolulu

Watch what they do, not what they say

Corky Trinidad's timely "Democratic Response" cartoon (Star-Bulletin, Oct. 15) captures the duplicity of elected politicians who speak against President Bush's foreign policy, then sheepishly vote for war appropriations that he requests.

Unfortunately, Corky's satire has been relevant for too long. In 1968, for example, "peace" candidates Sens. Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy supported President Johnson's war in Vietnam, not once voting against a single expenditure that year.

Voters should scrutinize the candidates' every action and lack of action, not just their self-descriptions and speeches.

Vincent Kelly Pollard
Honolulu

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[ BRAINSTORM! ] Historical markers? Other cities have permanent markers signifying historic sites or locations. Shouldn't Hawaii be equally accommodating to students and visitors? What should such markers look like in Honolulu? Design one! Remember, markers on walls require the owner's permission, but markers in the sidewalk belong to the city. Send your ideas, drawings and solutions by Thursday, November 13 to: brainstorm@starbulletin.com Or mail them to: Brainstorm! c/o Burl Burlingame Star-Bulletin 500 Ala Moana 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Fax: Brainstorm! c/o Burl Burlingame 529-4750