Base closure sounds all too familiar

Deja vu -- like father, like son: The potential closing of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard brings to mind a similar situation experienced in California.

In 1989 my former wife and I purchased a home in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County. After many hours of sweat- equity and renovation expense we increased the value of the home by 1991 to 150 percent of its purchase price.

After the Gulf War, the first Bush administration instituted sharp cuts in domestic military spending. Bases were closed and military contracts curtailed. The economic underpinning of the area around my former home went into a tailspin since it was primarily based upon defense contracts. Thousands of workers in the area lost their jobs.

Our home was sold in 1995 for 60 percent of the price we purchased it for in 1989.

The administration in Washington should reconsider the consequences of this move. Gradual reductions do not have the same devastating economic effects as major actions.

Soul singer would get us back on track

Before CNN's Robert Novak leaks the story and the legal eagles unravel their gavels, I though you would want to know that retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement is about to be revealed.

Remember, you read it here first! Official rumors report the name of the candidate President Bush will nominate to the Supreme Court is ... Diana Ross.

After Congress approves her appointment and she is asked about the problems of the country she will vocalize her response with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," which reflects the kind of can-do spirit the court and country needs. Ross will further demonstrate she is a compassionate conservative, if Bush talks about another invasion, with "Stop in The Name of Love"!

Smokers are ruining mall for everyone else

I found myself gasping for air at every turn during my recent visit to Ala Moana Center. Every time I left a store, my face and lungs were filled with smoke from the numerous smokers there. I also was unable to escape the smell of smoke while trying to enjoy some coffee at one of the coffee stands.

Ala Moana Center needs to serve the public by setting aside one covered area for smokers.

I, for one, will stay away until they fix the problem. The issue with smoking at Ala Moana Center is a lawsuit waiting to be written by those who have encountered the constant abuse of smoke in their faces and lungs.

Skeletons should be left in the closet

Families have tendencies to draw skeletons from the closet when they are in the heat of emotions. These are private issues. For the Star-Bulletin to take a letter that Marvin Fong wrote 20 years ago and print it in the newspaper for public scrutiny is muckraking ("The fall of the house of Fong," July 5). The Fong family's personal issues should stay personal. Marvin and Sandy are quality people. You have done them a grave disservice.

Eminent domain ruling spells trouble

What goes around comes around. How about exercising the new eminent domain ruling as espoused by the U.S. Supreme Court in the New London, Conn., case?

If we act fast, before the nation of Hawaii comes into existence, the former Nanaikapono Elementary School on the beach in Nanakuli could be seized from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and be upgraded as a five-star luxury beach resort, time-share condominium, elegant home lots or any of dozens of other uses that would bring in big tax money. The coast really needs upscale employment opportunities.

The key to the success of this endeavor is beating the enactment of the Akaka bill because then an independent Hawaiian nation and its laws would have to be litigated in the World Court or the United Nations. This is just one of the possibilities if we act fast. You can bet the Hawaiian nation is going to do just exactly that when it gets a stranglehold on the state of Hawaii.

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