Crusaders' ILH win brings back memories
I shower kudos to the Saint Louis School Crusaders baseball team, coached by Duane Fraticello and led by standout players like Lucas Gonsalves, Josh
Saio and Tamatoa Demello, for winning the 2008 ILH regular season baseball championship!
Back in 1959, I was the Saint Louis baseball team manager handling the equipment plus retrieving hit balls at the baseball park and bats during the "real" games against ILH foes. We did win the ILH baseball championship but lost to Baldwin in the state tournament. Our team was coached by Francis Funai and some players were Mousey Murakami, Ed Hayashi, Mike Yanagida, Tom Gray, Joe Manaba, Tommy Lee, Mike Hong and Robert Herodias.
Go, Crusaders, in your upcoming 2008 ILH double elimination tournament and especially the state tournament!
Frankie Kam
Class of '59
Honolulu
Does Oahu have water for all that growth?
Mahalo, Star-Bulletin, for Friday's article about all the pork
and contracts for mass transit going to our mayor's campaign contributors. For quite some time, I have thought that all Mufi Hannemann is good for is singing a song.
If we are going to grow 30 percent by the year 2030, which is done to rationalize the mass transit, then could the City Council and our mayor tell us where the food and fresh water are going to come from for the population increase?
It's probably standard procedure to forecast the future based on the past, but we have had less than an inch of rain so far this year at the airport. Desalinization is probably too expensive, given the current cost of energy.
Phil Robertson
Honolulu
Why all the costly PR for rail system?
Regarding the story
"Public relations firms feed at city-funded transit trough," Star-Bulletin, April 17): The reason the city administration needs all this public relations is to make rail look attractive when it really isn't. Can rail reduce traffic congestion? No. Can rail provide mass transit that is much faster than what we have today? No. Can rail help when H-1 is blocked or partially blocked? No. Is there any data that says we need 20 stations? No. Were other alternatives looked at professionally and honestly? No. Are there any ridership studies that say we need rail? No. Has anyone in the administration explained how we are going to pay the extra $125 million annual operating expenses associated with rail? No. Why would anyone want rail? Ask the mayor.
John Brizdle
Honolulu
Cachola keeps focus on his constituents
The mayor's statements in your April 18 edition regarding transit were way out of line. He singled out City Councilman Romy Cachola and said that Ann Kobayashi is influencing and controlling his vote.
Mayor Hannemann is dead wrong in accusing Romy of being controlled by another Council member. I've known Cachola for a very long time. He's independent, speaks his own mind and isn't controlled by anyone.
We need Council members like Romy who keeps his constituents' and taxpayers' concerns in mind when voting on transit and other very important issues.
Peter T. Antonio
Kalihi
Charter school keeps cultural values intact
I am a student at Hakipu'u Learning Center, which is a Hawaiian charter school. I come to school every day, because I love HLC. Not only do we learn the usual subjects, we also learn about the Hawaiian culture through hands-on learning experiences. We help/learn about loko i'a (fishpond) and lo'i kalo (taro patch). We learn that Hawaiians were self-sufficient and sustainable. Also, we learn the importance of Hawaiians values and how to use them in our everyday lives. It is the duty of our youth to keep the Hawaiian culture alive.
We do a lot of fundraising, because we lack money. I really think we should get the same amount of money that the Department of Education gives to its public schools, because we work just as hard for our education. Currently we get $2,000 less per student for instruction than our regular DOE counterparts, and they plan on increasing this gap even more next school year by providing less money per student at charter schools.
Hopefully, our lawmakers will hear the voices of our youth and the love charter school students have for learning and make a choice to prioritize our education.
Stacey Berinobis
Waimanalo
Don't make little guy make up for DOE's loss
A few days ago legislators proposed cutting $10 million from the education budget. Big deal, and look at what officials want to do to make up the difference -- increase the bus fares, raise the lunch prices and make the A+ program pay. Why is the Legislature and Department of Education picking on the small guy where it really hurts? Why not trim the heavily loaded DOE?
Also, maybe the central office staff can show some aloha by sacrificing some of their pay in these bad economic times.
Herbert Morioka
Honolulu