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Expats batten down for another big blow

I just read your Sept. 15 article about some Hawaii expatriates enduring the wrath of Ivan, and I wanted to share our experiences as well.

My wife and I were both born and raised in Honolulu, and lived there for 35 years. When we moved to Florida, we realized that like Hawaii, it is hurricane-prone.

After being hurricane-free since we moved to Palm Beach County in 1996, we are now watching yet another significant storm (the third one) brewing in the Atlantic. Hurricane Jeanne has its eyes on us, and after being battered and bruised by Hurricane Frances, we cannot even fathom being hit with a second blow.

We narrowly escaped Hurricane Ivan, and that would have completely destroyed our county had it not moved west of us. The tattered landscape would have left us pancake-flat. Worse yet, many would have had their spirits broken, and the will to rebuild and reconstruct would have been completely deflated.

We lost big trees and suffered roof damage from 80-90 mph winds, but it could have been worse. The misery sets in after the winds have gone, with no power, water, ice, food, gasoline and batteries. I was brushed with Hurricanes Iniki and Iwa, but that pales in comparison to this disaster.

Keep in mind, Florida is hotter and muggier in the summer, and no air conditioning means lying in bed at night in 90-degree temperatures. No tradewinds in Florida!

My best wishes go out to the "local people" in the Gulf area as they attempt to recover quickly. It's the closest thing to being in a war without being in the military.

Perhaps my newly shredded ti leaf plant saved our home. I hope there's enough "spirit" in it to save us from the next one!

Just a suggestion for naming next one

Kindly advise the U.S. Meteorologic Service that the next hurricane, following Jeanne, which starts with letter "K," be named Kakovitch. I promise to be less destructive than my given name, Ivan.

Editor's note: Ivan Kakovitch kindly sent this letter by e-mail to newspapers in Florida and Hawaii.

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Big Isle might finally get development right

The Big Island is coming of age. For the first time there are signs that elected Hawaii County officials are seriously considering the implications of rampant development, and actually planning ahead to avoid attendant problems. Concurrency -- the installation of adequate infrastructure before development -- might now be a practical and possible matter.

The first sign of progress was Mayor Kim's veto of Clifto's, a 1,500-unit development at the heart of West Hawaii's already overburdened road system. The second sign consisted of vote changes by two County Council members that prevented an overturn of the veto.

Now, of course, we need not only concurrency, but enforcement. In the past, when concurrency planning was written into the zoning ordinance, it frequently became meaningless because of lack of enforcement.

Concurrency is a great idea. It needs to be implemented, and the Clifto's decision seems to have provided a precedent for doing so. And now it needs to be enforced.

Military service is not prerequisite for office

Some people, like Pat Meyers (Letters, Sept. 16), say that Sen. John Kerry is a better person to lead our country because he volunteered to serve in Vietnam, while President Bush went into the National Guard. Well, if that's how people choose their commander in chief, I'd like to know how a draft dodger like Bill Clinton beat World War II vets like George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole.

Let's hope Inouye was listening

I want to thank the nearly 8,000 Hawaii citizens who voted for me in the primary election. To know that thousands of you believed in my issues is a compliment second to none.

I knew that I didn't stand a chance running against the icon that is Sen. Daniel Inouye. But I did want to get his attention.

I addressed issues that Inouye was forgetting about. Your 8,000 voices speak loudly. When 8,000 people say, "You aren't helping us," it's something Inouye needs to pay attention to. When I was on Hawaii Public Radio or KITV talking about dental care being too expensive, 8,000 of you agreed. When I said we need to spend more money on health care than we do prosecuting a guy for smoking a joint, 8,000 agreed.

Sen. Inouye, you need to listen to these people, and don't forget why you ran for office. People really are suffering. We never see those people in the tourism brochures, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. More than 10,000 Democrats from your own party voted against you; that's a signal.

Inouye backs bill on juvenile mental health

The people of Hawaii should be proud of Sen. Daniel Inouye's efforts in Congress to improve access to children's mental health services.

Gaping holes in the safety net for children with mental health needs force thousands of loving families to make an appalling decision: give up custody of their children to obtain state-funded mental health services or forgo the help their children desperately need. It's a choice no parent should have to make. Yet, more than 12,700 families relinquished custody to help their children in 2001.

A congressional investigation released this summer highlights another terrible consequence of this health crisis. Each day, 2,000 American children are warehoused in juvenile detention centers awaiting access to mental health centers. Corrections officers are ill-equipped to handle such children, whose mental health deteriorates as they languish in the juvenile justice system. This counterproductive policy cost taxpayers almost $100 million last year.

Inouye is acting to help by sponsoring the Keeping Families Together Act, bipartisan federal legislation to improve access to care for children with mental or emotional disorders. He knows, and advocates agree, that these families deserve better than they're getting.

Schiavo coma poses life's hardest dilemma

Assume that you are Terri Schiavo, who has been in a coma for 14 years (Star-Bulletin, Sept. 1), except that you are aware of your condition and circumstances.

If you choose to keep on existing, you would know that doing so would prolong your loved ones' emotional misery.

If you could choose to die, you would not suffer pain in any way and you would bring relief and peace to family, friends and society, would you not?

Religious belief notwithstanding, which way is more just and humanitarian?

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[ BRAINSTORM! ] Planting an idea The first and last thing visitors see as they encounter Hawaii -- other than security personnel instructing them to take off their shoes -- is the elevated freeway by Honolulu's airport. Accordingly, when it was built, it was designed to be attractive, including a meandering garden running down the center of the lower level, and, up top, set between the elevated concourses, large planter boxes. The idea was to plant wonderful hanging gardens that would delight visitor and resident alike, and for a while, they did. But the state Department of Transportation is focused these days on potholes, not on making the roads look pretty. The elevated gardens have become choked with weeds and debris. So fire up those brain cells. What other use could these midair garden plots be used for? Thematic displays? Lei stands? Minimum-security prisons? Foosball diamonds? Storage for giant downtown Christmas ornaments? Headquarters for our newly reduced National Guard? A place for all the dirt from Castle Junction? Instead of offshore gambling, elevated gambling? Send us your ideas about what should be done with these highly visible, weed-racked lots. E-mail your ideas and solutions -- please include your name and address -- by Oct. 20 to: brainstorm@starbulletin.com Or fax to: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson 529-4750 Or mail them to: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson Star-Bulletin 500 Ala Moana 7 Waterfront Plaza Suite 210 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813