Coaches, remember, children look up to you

My 11-year-old son has been playing sports since the age of 7. We have been really blessed with the coaches that he's had each season. I realize that coaching takes a lot of time and that it's strictly volunteer, and I thank the men and women who do this. It's a tough job. But my concern is that there are still some coaches out there that forget who they are in these kids' lives. They forget that they are looked up to and are supposed to be role models to their players.

As a parent, I ask that if you are a coach, don't forget the role you play and how important you are to your players and their parents. You shouldn't be coaching if you can't be a positive role model.

Where is compassion for Kahana evictees?

Regarding ”;State evicts families from Kahana Valley”; (Star-Bulletin, Oct. 27): This is consistent with the past eight years of Bush-Lingle “;compassionate conservatism”; - long on conservatism and short on compassion, e.g., not releasing funds for Meals on Wheels, so Meals on Wheels cannot maintain its current clients even while hundreds remain on the waiting list. Auwe.

Welfare mentality leads to 'victimization'

The news about the evictions at Kahana Valley has left me with some questions: Have these folks been paying money for their leases all these years, or just asked to put time toward cultural activities or whatever? If so, what entity ensures that they have been meeting their obligations? Why do people believe that just because they've had a free pass for years, they should continue to enjoy it indefinitely? Why did these families not save money toward the day when they might have to leave and provide for themselves?

Those of us who have made our own way in life have little sympathy for others who have a welfare mentality. People who refuse to be responsible for themselves are the first to claim victimization. It's getting old. Join the rest of us who practice birth control and work for a living, and quit crying about what the state “;owes”; you.

Obama doesn't have much of Hawaii in him

Perhaps Gov. Linda Lingle was “;unfair and downright silly”; (”;Our Opinion,”; Star-Bulletin, Oct. 25) to observe how little connects Sen. Barack Obama to Hawaii, but I believe she was correct.

He claims his formative childhood spent overseas is what most qualifies him to be president: He tells 200,000 Germans he is a “;citizen of the world,”; not a son of Hawaii.

His writings portray his privileged adolescence at Punahou as a time he felt apart and even alienated, so he “;attended classes sparingly, drank beer heavily and tried drugs enthusiastically.”; Few of Hawaii's students share that privilege. None who waste it that way get scholarships.

He dedicated his adulthood to a Chicago community defined by people who see the world as a place where people are parsed into separate groups according to color. But Hawaii's magic is we all look different and no one cares.

Even TV coverage of his prior visit looked like an Hawaii Visitors Bureau promo of a mainland family visiting predictable spots. Where were all his childhood pals?

Success attracts typical envy response

It does keep happening here, yes it does. Somebody from Hawaii succeeds in the outside world, and every envious failure back home starts whining. In 1998 the envious failures in Hawaii's literary community piled onto Lois-Ann Yamanaka after she demonstrated that a major New York publisher actually would publish a book about local culture. In 2008, Gov. Linda Lingle is going out of her way to demonstrate her petty jealousy of Sen. Barack Obama.

But you'd think that Lingle would at least do the tourist math. Hasn't it occurred to her that it would be good for Hawaii if President Obama feels he'd be welcome to take his vacations here?

Change the thermostat and lessen pollution

I am responding to your Oct. 23 editorial, “;Shift in power production will be expensive but necessary.”;

Does Hawaii address the other side of the equation?

Promoting personal endeavors to save energy would reduce not only energy consumption, but also pollution. I see cars idling everywhere but particularly in Queen Kapiolani Park, some for an hour! Even buses at the Monsarrat bus stop idle for many minutes in spite of the sign indicating otherwise. Are people made aware of the costs and the harm of idling, or is petrol too cheap and the trade winds too cleansing?

Another method would be to decrease air conditioning, for which much energy is required. The Safeway on Kapahulu and many of the stores cooling Kalakaua Avenue could save thousands by raising their thermostats a few degrees.

I would suggest doing it the American way: mass advertising. It'll work!

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