Fruit import rules hurt Hawaii farmers

I share the concerns and worries of the Hawaii fruit growers regarding the importation of fruit from Thailand and other foreign countries "USDA proposal worries Hawaii fruit growers," Star-Bulletin, July 27).

There are probably thousands of mainland residents who would jump at the chance to be able to buy Hawaiian fruit and produce. But because of the USDA, we can't.

We can buy mangos from Mexico, papayas from Mexico, clementines from Spain, nectarines from Chile, pineapple from Costa Rica, etc., but we are not allowed to get these items from our own state of Hawaii.

I believe this should be an issue of concern for our Hawaii's senators and representatives to be working on to give our Hawaii farmers a break. They deserve it.

Ooh, and right now, I would pay dearly just to have one of those black, ugly, rusty-colored Ka'u (Kona) oranges. Mmmmmmmm!

Master plan would commercialize parks

The state's master plan for the Kokee and Waimea Canyon state parks on Kauai proposes to greatly increase development and user traffic. Despite the protestations of nearly all who spoke at the public meetings, there has been no acknowledgement of the concerns of the citizens.

The main reason behind the master plan was professed to be maximizing the income potential of those parks for the state. Private landowners have tremendously altered the character of Hawaii and changed our lifestyle. Is our own state government intent on doing the same, or does it embrace stewardship and seek to protect the unique essence and unmatched beauty of our islands? Does the Department of Land and Natural Resources seek a balance between preservation and irreversible growth, or is it looking to exploit the land for revenue?

Further commercialization of the Kokee and Waimea Canyon parks will lead to their inevitable decline, as has happened to many other places in Hawaii. Despoiling our natural resources is not the solution to the problem of revenue generation.

Our state seal is the only one in the United States that specifically mentions the land. I sincerely hope that our motto is not just rhetoric.

Are the French jealous enough to cheat?

Tour de France winner Floyd Landis's second drug test came back: positive. Not good.

Either the French are such poor losers, and doctored his urine sample twice, or this guy shot himself up with synthetic testosterone at the 17th stage to wage a stunning comeback.

Seems the French were always after Lance Armstrong, with seven straight wins in their own backyard and mountainous terrain. No one recovering from cancer could possibly win a 2,600-mile race?

I'm not a chemist, but do know the human body cannot manufacture synthetic hormones.

Can't the tour's oversight committee outsource these drug tests from France to a neutral country for evaluation, like Japan? If Honda's or Toyota's drug labs said "positive," no one would question the results.

The poor guy's picture on the Wheaties box isn't on the shelves yet, being held up in Battle Creek.

Giving a blessing gets two in return

I wanted to write and say thanks to a couple who showed true Hawaiian spirit to a family on their last vacation day in Hawaii.

Our family of four had just gotten in to the Hilton resort at Waikiki and were trying to grab a late lunch. We headed to a local diner that the guide book said the locals enjoyed. We ordered our meal and when it came, we did what we always do before every meal, the four of us bowed our heads and asked a blessing. The meal was great and the waitress brought the bill, but soon returned to say she had forgotten to add something. She didn't return with the check and my husband told her we were ready to pay and leave.

That's when we were told that a couple at a booth near us had paid for our family's meal. We thanked them and protested that they shouldn't do that. The lovely woman said it was because she saw us asking a blessing before our meal.

She didn't know that it touched us so deeply. Only my husband and I knew that when we returned to Atlanta, he would be facing open heart surgery that next week. I took it as a sign from God that all would be well.

Things are well. My husband came through the surgery and is gaining strength every day. Thanks to the kind couple who were God's messengers that day! Mahalo!

Navy personnel didn't harm Midway birds

I read with interest the article written by Diana Leone about Midway Island ("Creating a perfect Midway getaway", July 10). I love that island with all my heart, having lived there for two and a half years in the 1970s.

I don't know who John Klavitter is or where he got his information but I feel I must take issue with his statement concerning the Navy inhabitant "clubbing eggs and birds" on the runway or anywhere else on the island for that matter.

One of the first rules stressed when we first were assigned to Midway was that no one was to touch, stress or otherwise cause harm to any of the wildlife on the island. I was one of the members of the Navy wives runway "clean-up" group. When a plane was coming in and the gooneys were nesting, we would make sure the runway was completely cleared by picking up the birds, chicks and even the eggs and moving them off the runway. Anyone caught harming any of the birds or harassing them was in for big trouble. If the person guilty of such conduct was a military dependent, it was cause for removal from the island.

There was a gooney chick in my front yard. One parent flew off and never returned. After waiting as long as possible, the other parent flew off. I called the rep for Fish and Wildlife and was told to "take a bat and club the chick. It won't survive anyway"! I refused to do that. Instead, I fed the chick several times a day by mixing Kal-Kan dog food and raw shrimp in my blender, then putting it in a turkey baster and squirting it into the chick's mouth. Yes, the first few times I tried it, I was greeted with projectile vomit from the chick -- how else could he defend himself? -- but he eventually figured out that I wasn't going to hurt him. I was there long enough to see the chick fledge and fly past the coral reef.

If I could, I would gladly live on Midway with the birds forever. Fish & Wildlife has caused more harm than they realize. They've been removing the ironwood trees. Very slowly, I might add. They defoliate them then leave them standing. When an albatross gets caught in the branches and dies, one guide told us (in 2002) "that's why we have to get rid of the ironwood trees. The albatross get caught in them." When I lived there, the trees had their needles and the albatross never flew into them.

Fish & Wildlife needs to get its stories straight. If they want to protect the island, then do so. But don't blame the Navy and their personnel for something that didn't occur.

Hawaiian could live very well with casinos

Hawaiians could be the richest people, if they get rid off the lawyers and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, who divide them. First of all Bishop Estate money belong to Hawaiians and should be distributed between them, not to the trustees but between the Hawaiians, the real ones living now on food stamps in Nanakuli. These are the real Hawaiians; for their benefit Princess Bernice left the estate. For $8 billion all big hotels on Kauai could be bought out and establish the first sovereign Hawaiian island in the Pacific.

It's no secret that Las Vegas strip casinos make more than $1 million a day. Why not Hawaiians? I am haole, living here 40 years and hate to leave my money in Nevada. Rich Hawaiians will not need federal and state money.