Men need potty parity at bars, nightclubs

In response to City Councilman Charles Djou's proposed bill mandating facilities such as theaters, stadiums and concert halls to allocate twice as much space for women's restrooms as men's restrooms (Newswatch, Star-Bulletin, Sept. 6), I'd like to suggest that he also add that bars and nightclubs be mandated to allocate twice as much space for MEN'S restrooms. Lines at those establishments are typically twice as long as the women's restroom line. Makes logical sense, right?

Little Leaguers are champs of Hawaii, U.S.

I am as proud as any one of the Little League players, coaches and parents who were honored Monday for their excellent display of skill and sportsmanship in winning the world title for their age bracket in baseball (Star-Bulletin, Sept. 6). Not to take anything away, but have we forgotten that not only did they come home as the champions, but the title that they achieved was actually at a higher level. They, in fact, brought the title of World Champions to the United States, the country that they were representing in that final game.

So, in actuality, they are the champions from Hawaii who brought back the title to their nation; they are Honolulu City and County, state of Hawaii and national champions. In Little League baseball they represented the United States much the same as our national team members do in the Olympics.

I would have liked to have also seen some praise and recognition for the lads from Pearl City who won the "Cal Ripkin" Championship. They did Hawaii proud, too, and I tip my hat to them as well.

Bush administration made big mistakes

George Bush and his administration screwed up, simple as that. Aside from the physical, tangible parts of dealing with a disaster like Hurricane Katrina, there should have been a mechanism for reuniting displaced people with their loved ones. In Katrina's aftermath, the only thing that reigned was confusion.

The fact that the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not have a digital communications infrastructure that could be booted up in case of a disaster such as this is unbelievable. Displacements of people in a natural disaster, or a terrorist attack, should be expected and planned for. Why was there no contingency communications backbone to deal with this? Even the ex-mayor of the city of New Orleans, Sidney Barthelemy, could not locate his own mother-in-law a full six days into the event.

This mess can only be attributed to the back-slapping, "my base," PR-spinning president of this elitist party. One wonders how different things might have been if the socially conscious Democrats had been at the helm. Sept. 11 was a wakeup call that went unheeded.

An old saying goes: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

Let private individuals give Warriors money

Richard Yuen's self-centered letter (Star-Bulletin, Sept. 5) criticizing the University of Hawaii Warriors' performance against USC on Saturday prompts me to address his and other fans' criticisms of the UH football program. As an alumnus sitting in wealthy Laguna Niguel, how much does Yuen contribute each year to the UH Foundation in support of UH athletics? Is he so embarrassed by UH that he is willing to double his tax-deductible contribution? Or does he expect that the beleaguered UH budget should have a greater percentage devoted to football, reducing or eliminating other athletic programs?

I hope that he and others do not think that the education, research and service missions of UH should be compromised further by reallocating funds to the football program! Perhaps he hasn't seen the Manoa dorms in recent years.

Beyond providing educational opportunities to a relatively few student athletes, UH football exists primarily to entertain UH fans. After several years of deficits, the UH-Manoa athletic program has to be able to cover its costs. That means bringing in more revenues from ticket sales and cable deals, promotional activities and donations. If you think that the Warriors don't win enough big games for your needs, then dig in and help finance them.

Restrictions on cars might be necessary

No matter what kind of mass transit is decided on, it will be only one solution to easing the traffic gridlock. Drivers need to think about their role in seeking solutions, even making sacrifices. Oahu, as an island, can only hold so many cars on the roads. Each year more new cars just add to the car population. There is no way mass transit will alleviate the crush on the highways. Drivers will have to think about accepting some restrictions on when they can be on the roads. During the morning and afternoon rush hours some kind of limit on which cars can be on the roads must be looked at.

This is a politically sensitive issue, but we can't just ignore it. Drivers need to be educated on being part of the solution. Do we have any brave public officials and political leaders willing to bring up this issue?

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