Brainstorm! Challenge

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Law agencies have furthered ice epidemic

The Drug Enforcement Agency and Hawaii police departments are in no position to lecture the public on the ravages of crystal methamphetamine. Yes, ice is evil, but the ice epidemic is a result of the Green Harvest, the taxpayer-funded attempt to eradicate cannabis, which drove the demand for ice sky high. The places hardest hit by the Green Harvest, such as the Puna and Mountainview districts on the Big Island, are those flailing in ice addiction.

To the DEA and the policy-makers of the Green Harvest: Don't create problems and then act like you have the answers.

Jerome Tabar
Honolulu

Gasoline price cap is political issue

Nonsense is clearly the best definition of the politically motivated and ill-conceived gas cap legislation in Hawaii. There is no foundation for singling out one consumer product for government price fixing. The reason gas is singled out, I believe, is that it's easy to demonize big business, in this case oil companies. What many don't realize is that some service station operators in their own neighborhoods testified to the Legislature that the price-cap law could put them and their employees out of business.

Second, consumers see gas prices posted every day and immediately recognize that they are consistently higher than on the mainland. Real estate prices are about 125 percent above the national average. Most food prices are 20-40 percent higher. Most prices are substantially lower on the mainland because Hawaii's many taxes, regulations and mandates make consumer prices expensive.

This issue is mired in politics. Certain legislators want to tell voters that they're attacking big bad business, when evidence shows that many of the problems with consumer prices in Hawaii are a result of big government. The politics became more onerous when the Democratic Party, during the last election, accused Republican candidates of voting against the ill-conceived Act 77, but some of these candidates weren't even in office at the time of the vote.

In short, the gas-cap law was used as a weapon against honest candidates. The real solution to the high prices in Hawaii is to cut taxes, needless regulation and costly business mandates. The Legislature should repeal the ill-conceived gas-cap law entirely. We must reform our economy to where the consumer is the chief regulator and beneficiary of our economy, not politicians.

State Sen. Fred Hemmings
Senate Republican leader

We just want others to stop speeding

I would like to respond to the letter to the editor from Henri Proulx, "Let red-light runners and speeders pay our bills" (Star-Bulletin, April 10). First, the writer assumes that we really want to do something about the red-light runners and speeders, when what most of the people really mean when they call out against these problems is stop OTHER red-light runners and speeders. Second, Proulx also assumes that we have politicians with enough guts to put an unpopular program in place and keep it there. It was proved that our government does not have the guts when we got the van cams, and the government buckled and removed a program that slowed drivers down. Drivers complained that all they did was ignore an "artificially low" posted speed limit and they got ticketed. Well, if you don't like the speed limit, you should try to get it changed, not just ignore it.

To all you drivers who say you want the speeders off the road, watch your own speedometers. To all you drivers who say you want the red-light runners off the road, when the light turns yellow, slow down and stop -- don't step on the gas and try to beat the light.

If we all do these two things, there will be a lot fewer speeders and red-light runners on the road.

Steven Marsh
Mililani

UH sports should treat military better

Recently my girlfriend and I attended our first and probably last University of Hawaii baseball game. After sitting through two lengthy power outages, we were upset to learn that UH would not give us our money back for our tickets.

We are both in the military, and there was no way for us to attend the next day's game. The stadium's manager refused to speak with us, and one of his minions even insisted on seeing our military IDs.

I ultimately was able to get ahold of the stadium manager on the phone, and he said it was the athletic director's policy not to refund money even after two long delays. I guess UH will keep my money to buy some candles and flashlights. As for me, I'm disgusted with their treatment of the fans.

One lady whose son plays for the visiting team said the same thing happened last year. Please tell me UH has a better aloha spirit than this.

James Crabtree
Austin, Texas

No need to freeze Hawaii's sushi fish

This is in response to "'Fresh' fish for sushi might really be frozen," a New York Times article in the April 8 Star-Bulletin.

Are fresh poke and sashimi illegal in the United States? No. Contrary to that story, no federal regulations mandate freezing fish to kill parasites before serving and eating it raw.

The reporter likely was referring to guidance found in the Food and Drug Administration's Retail Food Protection manual. This is not a regulation. The FDA recognizes the need to apply safety measures such as freezing only to those species with a known risk of parasites of public health concern when eaten raw.

The FDA Fish Hazards Guide provides excellent guidance on the issue of parasites in fish species most commonly eaten as poke, sashimi and sushi in Hawaii. The FDA concurs with what Hawaii consumers have always known, that locally caught yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna (ahi), albacore (tombo ahi), blue marlin (kajiki) and striped marlin (nairagi) can be eaten fresh and raw without fear of parasites. There is no evidence that these species pose a parasite risk to consumers.

John Kaneko M.S., D.V.M.
Project director
PacMar Inc.
Honolulu

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[ BRAINSTORM! ] Hawaii is popularly known as "The Aloha State." What might be a better slogan? To get started, think about what you might see around the islands -- rainbows, waves, sand, traffic jams, homeless orangutans ... Send your ideas by April 21 to: brainstorm@starbulletin.com Or by mail: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson Star-Bulletin 500 Ala Moana 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Or by fax: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson 529-4750