Brainstorm! Challenge

---

UH pay raises needed to enhance quality

I call on the governor and the Legislature to fulfill their promises to invest in education by raising the University of Hawaii faculty salaries to be comparable with similar mainland schools. The UH can recruit and retain the talented faculty members required to provide a quality education only by offering fair and competitive salaries and benefits.

I invested in my education by choosing UH instead of a mainland school in 1968. I want UH to continue to provide the community with a viable choice for a quality education for Hawaii students.

Ruth Horie
BA 1979, MLS 1981, MA 1999

S. Koreans get picky about illegal funds

I was watching the trials and tribs of the South Korea government officials caught taking illegal funds from "interested" parties. I'll bet they wish that they had not made it a felony and had adopted a more mature view of campaign contributions such as our city and state government officials enjoy.

Arnold van Fossen
Waikiki

Senator is a veteran of rough rides

Albeit under scrutiny by the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission, I can't understand state Sen. Cal Kawamoto's support of a resolution to audit the commission when his resume includes: "Military-Air Force Aviator retired with 20 years active service (that included 211 combat missions in Southeast Asia). Assuredly, Kawamoto successfully dealt with flak before?

John K. Kingsley
Air America
Southeast Asia 1965-1969

Editor's note: John K. Kingsley, a longtime Star-Bulletin letter writer, wrote this letter shortly before he died last month. It was typed by his widow, Diane A. Kingsley.

Voters must choose carefully this year

Election time is here again, and the Democrats are spewing more "sewage" about the Republicans than a broken sewer pipe. It is time that the people of Hawaii think very hard about who to elect to public office.

The Democrats are famous for raising our taxes and spending the money on pet projects, so we have little or nothing left for major projects, such as sewer line breaks or a rainy day fund to balance the budget.

If the Democrats would stop objecting to everything our governor tries to do, perhaps government would run more smoothly.

We have a lot of complaints about Governor Lingle not doing her job. Could any of you do a better job with the Democratic dogs snapping at your heels? I know that I could not operate like that, so how can we expect her to keep going in the right direction when the Democrats won't let her do the job of running the state? So when you vote, think of the past Democrats that put our state into dire straits. Aloha!!

Curtis R. Rodrigues
Kaneohe

Mayor's veto saved Aiea from big-box store

An amazing and wondrous event recently took place in city government: Mayor Jeremy Harris vetoed the City Council's rubber-stamp zoning change intended to allow Best Buy to construct a 50,000-square-foot big-box store on already overcrowded Kamehameha Highway in Aiea.

OK, we all know the process: Limited community meetings are called to allow public feedback. Meanwhile, the corporation meets with elected officials to negotiate the height, design and landscaping, and perhaps offer parkland as mitigation to the neighborhood.

But with one swipe of his pen, Mayor Harris provided residents a choice the multi-national corporation and local officials would or could never provide -- the choice to say "enough already." There are enough outside-controlled, aesthetically displeasing retail warehouse outlets that offer mostly low-wage jobs while competing unfairly with local family-owned enterprises that keep dollars flowing in our community. Research shows a dollar spent at a locally owned company stays in the community three times as long as one spent in a chain store.

Thank you, Mayor Harris for your decision, an extension of your campaign for sustainable, self-reliant communities. If the mayor's breakthrough decision can withstand Council vetting, it may show us the path to a better future.

Richard Weigel
Pearl City

Crackdown on steroids is futile endeavor

I want to like Sen. John McCain, even though he martyred himself in a war that many across the political spectrum think was a tragic waste. And even though he was caught up with the Keating Five and the savings and loan scandal that cost taxpayers and citizens billions. Even though he co-authored the McCain-Feingold bill that has proven to be an utter failure, just like every 1st Amendment defender predicted.

Now he and the president want to make performance-enhancing drugs a federal matter. It won't work, and it only proves politicians are dumb as stumps.

The "steroids" they are referring to are analogs and esters of testosterone. They are now a prominent part of hormone replacement therapy for aging baby boomers. The demand is so high that steroids are fast becoming passe. Testosterone is now available as a topical application that is indistinguishable from natural testosterone.

The next logical step to level the playing field is to test all athletes (male and female) for testosterone. This would require constant monitoring. Then the law would require that those with levels below normal be raised -- and those with abnormally high endogenous levels be lowered -- to the norm. I would call this the Testosterone Equalization Act of 2004.

Pay attention, Iraq. This is democracy in action.

George Mason
Honolulu

Get ready for more reminders of 9/11

Since President Bush's first four ads prominently featured 9/11, that means he has only 236 days left to exploit America's sorrow.

9/11, 9/11, 9/11 for 236 more days!

Something to look forward to.

John A. Broussard
Kamuela, Hawaii

Why don't political ads meet the truth test?

There are laws about truth-in-advertising for commercial products; why don't the same laws apply to ads for political candidates? If they did, no candidate could twist or distort facts and turn them into lies and deceptions. The voting public (and even those who don't vote!) would be better served.

I haven't examined John Kerry's statements about President Bush yet, but I have scrutinized the assertions in Mr. Bush's recent ads, and determined for myself that the president is guilty of the above.

Wendy Pollitt
Kaneohe

---

BACK TO TOP
|

[ BRAINSTORM! ] Does Honolulu need a city museum, and what should be in it? Does history matter? If so, whose history? Bishop Museum is one of the leading cultural museums in the United States, but it is not a history center. Honolulu seems to be the only state capital city without a municipal museum. Does Honolulu need a city museum? What should be in it? Where should it be? Should such a museum be a collection of artifacts or a learning center? Would such a museum be geared for Hawaii education or for entertaining tourists? Send your ideas by March 17 to: brainstorm@starbulletin.com Or mail them to: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson Star-Bulletin 500 Ala Moana 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Fax: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson 529-4750