Comments in story need clarification

I am writing to clarify a comment in the May 10 Star-Bulletin regarding Thermal Engineering Company.

I was quoted as saying the "company is dead." I did not, however, intend to imply that Thermal will cease as an ongoing entity.

I spoke with a Star-Bulletin reporter about both Thermal and my experiences investigating other companies that had violated the Hawaii campaign finance laws. In a phone conversation, I told the reporter that the Campaign Spending Commission's staff had concluded its investigation of Thermal. Within the context of other companies, in the past, that have renamed the entity and/or appointed new officers and directors after being found in violation of the campaign finance laws, I conjectured that may be the case here.

I appreciate the opportunity to clarify my comments.

Hee might be doing more harm than good

Clayton Hee's choice to interject race into the recent Senate leadership debate cements his reputation as the Al Sharpton of Hawaii (Star-Bulletin, May 6). Perhaps he believes some voters will be fooled into seeing him as a champion of Hawaiians because he says a few words of the language.

Hee may not know it, but the voters are not fools. In fact, given his previous association with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, one can only conclude that his rhetoric makes the job of winning U.S. Senate support for the Akaka bill more difficult. Supporters of the Akaka process do not need to be tarred as "little Clayton Hees."

Rail would free up emergency services

Island traffic comes to a screeching stop when a stall or accident happens on our roads. Police, emergency and fire personnel are always on call during these peak rush hours to deal with the traffic and keep it flowing as much as possible.

But what if those services didn't have to worry about traffic? Less car traffic would mean these services are back into our communities instead of on our roads. Maybe Kalihi Valley will get more than one police officer assigned to patrol and the community will benefit from their involvement instead of wondering about their absence. Maybe residents on the far stretches of the Waianae coast will have community-based ambulances so the response is quick and lives are saved instead of lost.

Rail transit will benefit the entire island, allowing our much-needed support agencies to go back to where they should be -- in our neighborhoods.

Backers of registry care about families

Congratulations to Attorney General Mark Bennett, his dedicated staff and the Law Enforcement Coalition on the successful passage of Senate Bill 708 (Sex Offender Registry). Mahalo also to the Criminal Justice Data Center for making such crucial information accessible to the public on sexoffenders.hawaii.gov within minutes of Governor Lingle signing Act 45.

The people of Hawaii are fortunate that we have such dedicated and wonderful public servants working hard to protect our families in the conference rooms at the Legislature as well in our courtrooms.

Use deposits to pay for curbside recycling

Recycling is the right thing to do -- preserve limited natural resources and reduce litter and landfill volume. However, the state's Hi-5 system was ill-designed. The main problem is the inconvenience. In my two bi-monthly trips so far, each effort has taken roughly 45 minutes during off hours of a weekday.

Last Saturday morning I went to my local redemption center, and judged it would be at least an hour wait. So I took my recyclables to the local school recycle bins, unloading it all in less than a minute. OK, that's it for me, no more waits. Convenience wins, and I'm using the school recycle bins from now on, forfeiting my return.

Assuming an average of $15 bi-monthly, that would be $90 tax I'm paying annually. The state is raking it in. So how about making a program that works: curbside recycling. With my $90, buy me a three-bin container ($45). Put my other $45 toward pickup costs (vehicle and labor). End the Hi-5 tax and allow the state to sell our recyclables to fund the curbside system. If the legislators don't get it, perhaps we should recycle them!

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