It's understandable that go! wants Aloha name

Bill Boyer, CEO of Mokulele Airlines, wrote Mesa's move to rename go! to Aloha Airlines puts that move in the realm of the surreal (Gathering Place, Dec. 4). Having worked in the airline industry when Midway Airlines' name was sold at least three times because of bankruptcy, it seems to me a normal practice. Given the same circumstances, Boyer would do the same thing. The Aloha name is highly recognized and therefore has value.

While I feel for the previous Aloha employees, the use of the Aloha brand name makes good business sense even if people think it is insensitive. I did not like losing my airline job, but I got over it and moved on.

As for Judge King, his feeling that the company is insensitive is not a lawful decision and should not have been expressed. This is not a criminal trial, it is a hearing on whether the Aloha name lives on.

Lastly, many seem to have forgotten how Aloha and Hawaiian gouged the flying public for years due to lack of competition.

Tax oil by the barrel to fund green technology

The U.S. should impose a substantial “;energy price tax”; on every barrel of oil consumed annually and apply the proceeds to support new “;green”; technologies, such as the innovative electric car software and charging network envisioned by the company, Better Place, and recently embraced by Gov. Linda Lingle (Star-Bulletin, Dec. 3).

According to the International Energy Agency, the U.S. consumes 7.7 billion barrels of oil annually. An energy price tax at $50 per barrel would generate approximately $385 billion of revenue annually to revolutionize America's energy base and create millions of new jobs—while avoiding more budget deficits.

Importantly, the tax would help create a “;floor”; price for oil essential to halting the volatile cycle of price swings that alternately encourage and then discourage investment in alternative energies.

Such a tax would likely avoid significant negative impacts on consumers inasmuch as its application to the current per-barrel price would still mean sub-$100 per-barrel oil.

Empirical evidence from the 2008 run-up in oil demonstrates that consumer demand decreases only slightly in response to higher prices. This is principally because consumers have no reasonably available alternatives. An energy price tax would produce more efficient and equitable pricing, speed up the diffusion of new energy-saving technologies and deliver real benefits to the people for a change.

Governor goofed by shunning meeting

Gov. Linda Lingle's “;invitation”; to President-elect Barack Obama for a meeting when he is in Hawaii for his late grandmother's memorial service is presumptuous and a sign of disrespect. As the Star-Bulletin editorial of Dec. 5 points out, she should have attended the recent governors association conference with Obama to be aware of any discussions that could benefit the struggling economy of the state. Instead the governor gave weak excuses about excessive travel time and a crowded calendar. As stated in the editorial, she surely “;displayed poor judgement”; and apparent indifference. She will regret her decision to place political ambitions ahead of the state's needs in tough times.

Convert all schools to charter schools

Here's a simple solution to the Department of Education's budget crunch: Convert the entire state to charter schools.

Charters have now demonstrated (they've had to!) that they can operate good schools for far fewer dollars per pupil than the DOE. Four percent of the state's public school students—the charter school students—are being educated with 3 percent of the state's education dollars.

Not a nickel would have to go for facilities, either, and all those small school campuses that are currently facing closure could stay open. Charter schools have now demonstrated for years (they've had to!) that they can build or find facilities, somehow, without getting any facilities funding from the state.

Oh sure, they moan to the Legislature every year, but no facilities money ever comes, so they figure out some other way. That's a big chunk of savings to the state.

Class sizes would not have to increase, as the DOE is now considering. Students and parents love smaller class sizes, and charter schools have demonstrated (they've had to!) that they can operate schools that attract and hold students and parents, with smaller class sizes being a key feature at many schools.

Consider buying a potted tree this year

We talk about global warming, green environment protection, saving the planet Earth and so on, which is good. We cry about the trees in the forest and jungles being cut down. We also cry in our work environment of recycling paper to “;save our trees.”;

Yet many of us will spend money to kill young and healthy Christmas trees from the tree farms.

Maybe for once, we should not be spending money on cut Christmas trees, but buying potted trees. We can recycle them for the next year, or if you have a big yard, plant it.

A potted Christmas plant might not be as fancy, but the greater goal is its symbolism to protect our planet Earth by letting those trees grow to their maturity and to teach our young ones to protect our Earth.