Brainstorm! Challenge

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Hospitality brings visitors back to Oahu

My partner and I and 550 other consultants and their partners from Australia recently visited Hawaii as part of a large conference for our product Enjo. We first stayed in the Sheraton, and then my partner and I transferred to the Ohana West for the duration of our stay.

My partner and I had the most wonderful time. The friendliness of locals both in and out of the hospitality industry was astounding, in the bars and restaurants and no matter where we went everyone had the same warm smile and "can and will do anything" attitude. We were especially impressed by the cleanliness of streets and the feeling of safety no matter what time of the day or night.

We drove around Oahu and found the same everywhere we went. Add to that the fantastic climate, clean beaches and shopping -- all recipes for our return in the not-too-distant future.

You really have created the perfect holiday haven.

Margaret Smith
Darwin, Australia

First it's licenses, then all-out fishing bans

Regarding the National Marine Fisheries Service proposal for national licensing of recreational anglers: The fishermen and women of Hawaii would do well to look at what happens in California through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration program. The surveys will be used to determine which areas or species need to be protected, resulting in some fishing becoming off limits. I am not saying that is all bad when you look at the diminishing level of fish stocks, but opportunities arise for radical environmentalists to ban all fishing forever, as was attempted at the Monterey Wildlife Preserve.

The Channel Islands closures of last year are an example of bad science used to justify closures when no studies could establish a baseline of stock levels to determine whether the levels were increasing or decreasing. The fish and game department ignored fish catch reports filed by the sportfishing fleet and depended upon haphazard studies by people who had little or no fishing experience. This was financed by money from fishing license purchases, which was the ultimate irony.

With the appointment of a director who is a fisherman and hunter, they are taking a look at those closures and might lift them. It might be wise for Hawaii, if it is exploring saltwater fishing licenses, to do a series of town hall meetings to air concerns about the diminishing fishing stocks and ask the fishermen for their input as to how to deal with the problem.

Ray Tsuneyoshi
Sacramento, Calif.
Hawaii born and raised

[ QUOTABLE ] "I think it's pathetic." Mayor Jeremy Harris On the Honolulu City Council's announced intention to override his veto of nine city budget items at the Council's meeting next week

Stolen signs say little about candidates

Cecilia Medina of Aiea says she will vote for Duke Bainum because her Bainum signs were stolen and not her Hannemann signs. Well, I can tell her of a dozen incidents of vandalism and theft of Mufi Hannemann signs. Who is she going to vote for now?

The unfortunate truth is that immature people steal and vandalize, but neither Duke nor Mufi has anything to do with this. In fact, both candidates instruct supporters to respect each others signs.

Deciding on who to vote for is better done by studying the candidates' experience, qualifications and character. If you do this, you, like the police, firefighters, building industry, laborers and farmers will know that Hannemann is the most trustworthy and experienced person for the job.

Cy Watase
Honolulu

Seoul youth orchestra treated isle audience

Tuesday night at the NBC Concert Hall, I and several hundred other lucky people were treated to an evening of magic by the Seoul Yego Youth Symphony Orchestra, a pre-professional high school orchestra on its way home to Korea after performing at the New York Youth Orchestra Festival at Carnegie Hall.

Bravo and mahalo to master conductor Park Eun-Seong and the 100-plus young artists who mesmerized the audience, marking the 51st anniversary celebration of the U.S. and Republic of Korea Alliance with music. The program included Rossini's Overture from "William Tell," traditional Korean songs and Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Opus 27. It was difficult to believe that the artists were high school students, until you looked at their impossibly young faces.

Thank you to the Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification of Korea, Hawaii Chapter, the Korean Consulate General and the Korean Cultural Center of Hawaii for bringing the orchestra and its musical gift to Honolulu. If you were invited and did not attend, too bad -- you missed out on an extra-special experience.

Walt Ozawa
Honolulu

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[ BRAINSTORM! ] The city owns a large, underground facility at Fort Barrette in Kapolei that is sitting empty. What could it be used for? Some sort of archive? A place to stash gigantic holiday decorations? A temporary storage site for Evan Dobelle’s ego? Send your ideas -- include your name, address and phone number -- by July 16 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