Rail is like elevator stopping at every floor
Rail is like a horizontal elevator. Imagine only one elevator servicing a building with 42 stories. The problem is obvious. To address the problem, these tall buildings must employ a bank of elevators to ensure passengers can get to their floor quicker than walking up dozens of flights of stairs.
Furthermore, the rail will not be like TheBus, which can bypass a stop if no one signals to stop or no one appears to be waiting to be picked up at a bus stop. The rail will stop at every designated stop whether people want to get on or off.
Imagine that you are the only person in an elevator knowing it will make 42 stops before you get to your floor at the top.
Now what do you think about spending billions of dollars for one horizontal elevator?
Bruce Wong
Honolulu
Don't force older judges to retire
Should the Hawaii State Constitution be changed so that it does not discriminate against judges over 70 years old? Yes. Age discrimination in the form of mandatory retirement should not be accepted in our state. The qualification for judges should be intelligence, wisdom, compassion and knowledge of the law, not age. Many judges over 70 are active and productive in rendering important decisions. Justice Thurgood Marshall did not retire until his 80s. Judge Sam P. King is over 70 years old and still active in the federal bench and in the legal community.
Under Hawaii civil rights laws, an employee can not be discriminated against because of his/her age (Sec. 378-2 Hawaii Revised Statutes). Prohibitions against age discrimination is the legislative policy, just as sex, race, ancestry discrimination is prohibited. How then can we allow the Constitution to discriminate on the basis of age? Years ago, the University of Hawaii foreclosed employment to persons who were 65 years old (Nelson v. Miwa, 56 Haw. 601 [1976]). The Supreme Court ruled that such age restrictions were not reasonably related to any cognizable state interest. In Nelson v. Miwa, the court ruled that "age discrimination for its own sake has no place in public employment in our society."
A person should not be judged by the color of their skin, nor their birth date, but by the content of their character and quality of work. If a person cannot do the job, they should be forced to leave whether they are 70 or 29. If a person can do the job, they should not be stopped just because they are over 70 years.
The African American Lawyers Association and the NAACP of Hawaii, organizations that fight for civil rights, take a strong position on Constitutional Amendment No. 3, which eliminates age discrimination for judges. We urge others to vote "yes," to eliminate arbitrary age restrictions.
Dapne Barbee-Wooten
Attorney
Honolulu
Teachers did not vote to endorse Iwase
I am writing to express my concerns regarding the HSTA gubernatorial endorsement of Randall Iwase. They simply never asked the teachers.
This questionable endorsement was made by the HSTA Board of Directors. They say they "didn't have time" to follow their own affirmation vote process, yet they have known when the general election would be for months. What were they afraid of? Where is the collaboration with members? We teachers are the stakeholders in this decision, and we should have been given the opportunity to voice our opinions.
Let's look at the facts. When Governor Lingle was elected in 2002, the state's economy had shown little growth since early 1990s. Tourism was down substantially and bankruptcies were at an all time high. Parents became increasingly aware that their children's personal financial success depended on a good education. Yet our test scores remained among the lowest in the country.
In August 2006, Hawaii recorded the lowest unemployment in the nation at 2.8 percent. Since December 2002, more than 55,400 new jobs have been added to Hawaii's economy. Consistently across the state and nation in this election education is one of the voters' top priorities. High standards, reduced class size and safety are not Democratic Party themes. Neither are they exclusively Republican issues.
Please look at the issues and then look at the facts. Supporting a candidate of a political party other than Democrat is not the end of the world. That's why I am voting for Linda Lingle. I hope you will do the same.
Carol E. Seielstad
Hanalei School
Princeville, Kauai
Everyone loved getting 'Lost' at the beach
A big mahalo to ABC TV and the city for having the "Lost" season premiere on the beach again this year. "Lost" has many thousands of local fans, and I hope ABC saw and heard us Saturday night. I talked to many out-of-state fans who had come to Hawaii just for this event to be able to see their favorite "Lost" star up close and personal. And to top it off ... there was Dharma freeze-dried ice cream for desert ...
Ann Ruby
Honolulu
War time engenders meanness in all
Rosmarie Bernardo's article was certainly a compelling human-interest story ("Japanese internees from Peru seek justice," Star-Bulletin, Oct. 5)
My father was a Counter Intelligence Corps special agent during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. More than 30 years ago he told me how Marine guards threw overboard blankets and food ordinary Peruvians had brought dockside and then given to their fellow Peruvians. It was a time that engendered meanness ... all over the world.
The larger story behind the story's vignette is that the United States went to Peru, and using military coercion, kidnapped Peruvian citizens and brought them to the United States. Why? The government wanted hostages in case the need for a prisoner exchange arose.
I make no political judgment; this was war. This is what war does to people. And people are what make up a government. Conflict will always unleash the unexpected. Meanness has always been a part of war.
If you go to war, you're going to get dirty. War is not ala carte. Civilian leadership never seems to grasp this. Old warriors, on the other hand, never forget.
Dave Takaki
Honolulu
Why are job seekers getting turned away?
Recently my husband has filled out several job applications in response to "We're hiring" signs posted in the windows of businesses. Unfortunately, he has received an equal amount of generic postcards explaining why he was not considered for employment from these desperate companies.
If businesses are encountering difficulties in finding employees to meet their employment needs, then why be so picky? Why continue to knock hard on the doors of potential employees through hiring signs on windows, job fairs and newspaper ads if human resource departments only turn down qualified individuals because their specifications are too discriminatory regarding work hours and qualifications for jobs that do not have much in the way of education or performance.
Employers need to understand the old saying "Beggers cannot be choosers" applies to them. If companies need people to fill employment needs -- people who are more than qualified and responsible for the positions offered -- then they need to be more accommodating. After witnessing the experience of my husband's job search, I believe the companies who whine about not enough employees to fill their shortages are choosing their dilemma.
Jae Loayza
Honolulu
Thank you, Mayor, for cleaning up beach
Mahalo nui loa to Mayor Mufi Hannemann and the city for cleaning up the beach parks on the Waianae Coast. Finally, a leader who backs up his words with action.
They cleaned up Pokai Bay. They're working on Waianae District Park and Maili. Best of all, they removed the bushes along Farrington Highway between Tracks and Nanakuli. The bad element in the community can't hide in there anymore and we can go fishing and surfing without hassles now. Can even see the ocean from the road.
Keep it up, Mufi.
Kapu Eli
Waianae