It's senseless to take money from DOE

I don't get it. An agency of our state Department of Labor punishes the state's Department of Education by fining it $42,000 for safety violations (Star-Bulletin, Dec. 18). It's obvious that the DOE will need money to rectify these violations, so why is the Labor Department allowed to take money away from our schools? If anything, it should work in an advisory capacity with the DOE, not set out to punish it by taking money from it.

These state departments should be working together toward progress. The current system is dysfunctional and vindictive. Please don't play these ridiculous games with my taxes.

Transit opponents frustrate commuters

Looks like the anti-rail group is at it again. These people opposed bus rapid transit a half-dozen years ago but now say it's a good idea if you add toll lanes for cars to these busways. They are calling them "HOT lanes."

Do they really think an elevated busway with 1,000-foot off- and onramps is what people want to look at? Do they really think the driving public wants to give up road lanes for exclusive use by express buses? Do they really expect people to pay $8 or $9 each way to use a toll road like they do in Orange County, Calif., the ones they call "Lexus lanes"?

Some of these same people fought the H-3, then they fought rail in 1992 and now they are fighting current efforts by Mayor Mufi Hannemann to construct a fixed guideway light rail system.

They truly are C.A.V.E. people -- citizens against virtually everything. With that kind of primitive thinking, we should all go back to riding horses instead.

Unsolved mystery -- where are the clocks?

Honolulu Airport might have the most on-time flights of any airport, but try finding a clock anywhere on the wall. Lihue has a similar problem; they have a wall of clocks which represents times all over the world, but not one clock works. Lihue Airport is much smaller and friendlier, making it easier to ask a stranger for the time.

I was at Honolulu Airport a few hours early for a flight back to my home and favorite island of Kauai. My time was being spent on an Internet kiosk. I do not wear a watch and refuse to become part of the cell phone digital time mania that has taken over the world.

My flight was departing at 10:25 a.m. I needed to watch the time, and there were no clocks within distance so I took a stroll; still no clocks. This is an international airport, and finding a clock was an act of God. Finally I looked at a flight arrival board, and in the smallest numbers was the time.

Try finding a clock at any major shopping center, bar or restaurant anywhere in Hawaii. It's no wonder "Hawaii time" has become synonymous with arriving late. I understand aloha but still feel the need to look up and see the time.

I remember as a youth, clocks were everywhere, at the post office shopping malls and airports. Now in this fast-paced world of computers, cell phones, HDTV, iPods and jet travel, a clock is a commodity that is hard to find.

I miss the good old hanging clock with dings and dongs. What has gone wrong? Where has all the time gone?

UH punishes longtime season ticket holders

I really can't understand why people are complaining about their end zone seats right next to the field at the Sugar Bowl. I've been sitting in the South End Zone at Aloha Stadium for more than 10 years, and those seats are terrific! If you want to talk about spending big bucks for seats with a poor view, after spending a lot of money to go to New Orleans to support the University of Hawaii Warriors in the Sugar Bowl and being a season ticket holder for more than 20 years, how does the UH ticket office reward me? By assigning me seats in heaven Section 616/Row 23, in the nosebleed section!

Everything to UH is all about money, and it's really unfair and pathetic. Their claim that they based their distribution of tickets on the amount of premiums paid last year is hogwash. For the past 10 years, I've purchased four tickets at an average price of $600-$800 per year, which totals approximately $6,000-$8,000. Before that, I purchased two tickets every year for 10 years, which amounts to approximately $3,000-$4,000. You mean to tell me that my $9,000-$12,000 to support the team doesn't mean diddly compared with someone who, for example, for the first time purchases a pair of season tickets last year and spends a measly $50 more than me for two premium seats for sideline tickets?

What kind of loyalty is that to a supporter who has been there for the team for more than 20 years? I would say NONE!