Djou offered fair plan for active-duty pay
Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou deserves a "mahalo medal" for proposing differential pay for city employees who are called to active duty.When military pay does not match regular city government pay, the families of city workers ordered to active duty should not be forced to suffer financial hardship. In all fairness, this burden on those left behind must be removed. Again, thanks, Councilman Djou.
Foster Village
How about unanimous resignation of board?
Regarding the July 30 story "Dobelle, regents settle":Now that the firing of University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle "for cause" has turned into an acceptance of Dobelle's resignation "without cause," both approved by a unanimous vote of the Board of Regents, there is one thing left to do by another unanimous vote: the resignation of all members of the board -- for cause!
Honolulu
Crow-eating regents should all step down
Once again the members of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii have shown their provincial mindsets, and once again they have had to eat crow because of it. We are all embarrassed by their stupidity.These honorable men and women should voluntarily resign immediately as a body.
Honolulu
Any way you figure it, taxpayers lose
There are several ways to evaluate the settlement between the University of Hawaii Board of Regents and ousted President Evan Dobelle:
>> The regents were right to terminate Dobelle "with cause." If so, why do they now back down?We might as well go back to the days of Gov. Waihee! (Sorry to bring up the name again.)
>> The regents were wrong to fire Dobelle. Then he should fulfill the rest of his contractual term. Who then pays for the attorneys' fees, both for UH and for Dobelle? The taxpayers? The university, out of existing funds that could be better employed? How about the regents themselves?
>> Whichever, will the regents resign before Gov. Lingle fires them? Was their performance the best Hawaii can do?
>> Dobelle gets more than $1.3 million. His attorneys get almost $300,000. Where does all this come from? The unfortunate and over-taxed citizens of Hawaii once again, of course.
Kailua
Novice journalist learned from his elder
No report about the death of former Honolulu UPI chief Robert C. Miller told the best story -- which is a great one for would-be journalists ("Journalist covered conflicts worldwide," Star-Bulletin, July 28).When the first U.S. astronauts plopping down in waters off Hawaii were being brought to a Hickam Air Force Base house, Miller got there early, loitered on the sidewalk and talked trout fishing for three hours with the security chief. He assumed Miller was part of the security detail. Miller went into the house with the cops, still talking fishing. When cohort UPI reporter Bob Ibrahim arrived, Miller waved him in as his colleague and nobody thought to question either man about why they were there.
The astronauts arrived. They sat and talked with the security people -- and Miller and Ibrahim. Periodically, Miller would ask Ibrahim to go out and get cigarettes or something left in the car. That allowed Ibrahim to grab a telephone and call in to UPI running accounts of the astronauts' stories.
UPI scored big. Miller never misrepresented himself. He never said he wasn't a reporter. He wasn't asked. He just told great fishing stories.
Miller and I never became friends; we were horribly competitive. He always complained that I was too aggressive and not collegial. I was the young reporter with new values; he the old reporter with established values. The guard was changing.
But I humbly acknowledge a colleague who thought of something I never would have in covering the astronauts' story. My superior in journalism.
MidWeek columnist
Obama makes us think about personal identity
Your July 28 article on Democratic National Convention keynote speaker Barack Obama gives appropriate recognition to a great future leader. Being "hapa" (half-black/half-white), he is strongly identified by his physical traits, as is golfer Tiger Woods (half-black/half-Asian).In our state, where so many residents are multi-ethnic, the issue of ethnic identity needs to be addressed. Does a half-Asian/half-Caucasian person feel more connected in identity to being Asian or white?
How does a person who calls himself Hawaiian, but genetically has other backgrounds, decide his dominant culture?
These questions point to the need for a deeper dialogue on the issue of race and what it means for our increasingly multi-ethnic country.
Wailuku, Maui
Schools head, auditor are best of state
Hurrah, the state Board of Education has done something right! I am not a big fan of state government, but it has two very bright stars who give me hope for the future.Renewing Pat Hamamoto as superintendent of schools is the right thing to do (Star-Bulletin, July 30). She continues to move the Department of Education in the right direction, and I applaud her efforts. She and state Auditor Marion Higa, that other great state employee, take initiative, lead and hold people accountable.
More great things are expected from them. I just wish other elected officials would take cues from them. Mahalo, Pat and Marion!
Waianae
City should abandon Waikiki 'beautification'
As a resident of Waikiki who has paid for my parking stall, I wonder why people think there should be free parking in Waikiki (Star-Bulletin, July 27). Parking is dear in every congested urban core, which is what Waikiki is. The going rate to purchase a covered parking stall in Waikiki is between $7,000 and $10,000. Some people buy parking stalls as investments and rent them out to residents and employees.That point made, Mayor Harris must stop the so-called "beautification" of Ala Wai Boulevard immediately. The bulb-outs are ill conceived and unnecessary. We have a lovely row of palm trees along the mauka side of the street; more trees are not needed there. Without the bulb-outs, the mauka lane could be used for parking and a bike lane, or for vehicles during peak traffic hours. The money would be better spent resurfacing Ala Wai Boulevard than ripping it up to put in bulb-outs.
Also, that mauka lane needs to be swept at least weekly to reduce the discharge of pollutants to the Ala Wai Canal. Why doesn't the city sweep Ala Wai Boulevard anymore? Is it the same reason it no longer rakes Kuhio Beach nightly to remove the trash and cigarette butts? Is it because the mayor does not value water quality as he claimed when he was running for office?
Waikiki
Druggies do business openly in Chinatown
I am disenchanted about the inability of law enforcement or our courts to make a real impact on the drug epidemic on Oahu, especially Chinatown.Each and every day when arriving or departing my humble abode, I have to walk through a gauntlet of dealers, users and prostitutes who pander to every passerby, making this neighborhood a very depressing place to live.
What really puzzles me is the fact that a police substation is only a block away. It really goes to show how little fear the druggies have of our Keystone Cops and a complete lack of city government leadership to enforce little more than parking violators or illegal campers.
Honolulu
An unexpected 'thank you'
helps ease decades of
disquiet for a veteran
In the late 1960s, the world was a different place.Back then, I was a fighter pilot returning from a tour of duty in the Vietnam theater of operations. Prior to arriving at my new duty station and future home in Hawaii, I stopped in New York City for family reunions and some R&R.
When I arrived at Kennedy Airport, in uniform, I was spat upon by some war protesters. Heck of a welcome. It was a traumatic experience that I never forgot.
Fast forward to July 22, 2004, to a parking lot in Hawaii Kai. My wife and I had gone to a restaurant for an early dinner. When we returned to our car, I found an envelope stuck in the driver's side window. On the outside of the envelope was a hand-printed "Thank you!"
Not knowing what to expect, I opened the envelope and read the note. I was speechless and teary-eyed when I handed the note to my wife and asked her to read it.
The note read:
"Aloha!Enclosed was a magnetic ribbon for the car.
"I noticed your veteran license plate and want to tell you how much I appreciate your service and commitment to our great country.
"Thanks to the many fine people like you in our military, we enjoy our freedom.
"A sincere thank you from a grateful American."
I am writing this four days after the fact, and I am still moved by the note. Not only has the writer of the note made my day, he or she has moved me a long way toward erasing the foul memory of my New York arrival.
To the author of the note, I would like to say thank you.
Thank you for picking my car to place your envelope of joy.
Thank you for reminding me of the greatness of the American spirit.
Thank you for reminding me that a random act of kindness has unimagined benefits. But most of all, thank you for reminding me that I was once a part of the greatest military establishment that this planet has ever seen.
Mahalo from a grateful vet!
Waialae-Kahala
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