Sub does not deserve 'aloha'

I wonder how many readers were shocked by the Star-Bulletin's July 24 welcome to the nuclear submarine USS Hawaii with the banner heading, “;7,700 tons of Aloha.”; According to the Pukui-Elbert dictionary, “;aloha”; means “;love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness”; and more.

By all accounts, the USS Hawaii, with sponsor Gov. Linda Lingle's initials inscribed on a keel metal plate and a Hawaiian blessing by a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard, is the most murderous war machine yet devised by the lethal ingenuity of mankind.

Its presence in Hawaii does not make the islands safer, but a target, as did the ships at Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Much greater safety must be sought in developing the applied multidisciplinary science of nonkilling security in Hawaii, the Asia Pacific region and the world.

Furthermore, despite celebration of the boost to Hawaii's economy, the cost of the $2.6 billion killer submarine constitutes what President Eisenhower in 1953 called “;theft”; by warships and guns from those who are hungry and poor.

B&Bs could be of help in ailing economy

It seems to me that the only letters about bed-and-breakfasts that get published in the Star-Bulletin promote the views of Keep it Kailua. There is another side to the issue. Almost every visitor destination around the world allows B&Bs and vacation homes to provide housing for visitors. To be a viable tourist destination in today's market, a city has to provide alternatives to hotels.

Keep it Kailua makes it seem that people who come into their neighborhoods via B&Bs take away rental homes from the local people and makes them homeless. I don't think that people who are close to being homeless are competitive in the market for beachfront homes.

Kailua has been a major visitor destination for a long time, and if Keep it Kailua succeeds, it'll impoverish a nice little town by shutting down thriving businesses. In this time of economic austerity how can anyone discourage people trying to make a living off their property?

Keep it Kailua is not the voice of the people of Kailua. Most of the local people of Kailua feel shut out of their own town's beachfront by the wealthy residents who call the police to tow away their cars when they try to invade what used to be Kailua's beaches.

If we really want to Keep it Kailua, maybe we need a return to the traditional welcoming aloha spirit of Hawaii that Kailua used to have before the entitled wealthy started a war on tourism.

Loss of state film office can only hurt Hawaii

What is Gov. Linda Lingle doing placing the entire staff of the Hawaii Film Office on the layoff list? The Film Office is the only agency in the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism that actually is not dysfunctional. In addition to processing a record number of film permits last year, it was instrumental in helping productions process Act 88 tax credits, which were intended to serve as an incentive for these productions to film here. How do you think Hollywood will take it when it finds out that Lingle is eliminating the Film Office? Millions of dollars to our economy could be lost to other locations.

East Oahu road doesn't need bright-light boost

Does Collins Lam, deputy director of the city Department of Design and Construction, think the public is stupid? His justification for turning Lunalilo Home Road into “;daylight at night”; and a bottomless pit of wasted money and light pollution is ridiculous. And pity the folks who live there! At this time when the city budget is in dire straits, somebody is getting a nice fat contract at the public's expense. It is already possible to drive on most of our roads without headlights at night without realizing it because of excess lighting.

I've always wondered who had the lighting contracts on this island. I suggest, Mr. Lam, that you order some decent materials and repave (not patch) our Third World-country roads if “;safety on our roads”; is your main concern.

Conference report would be helpful

The 16 legislators who attended the recent National Conference of State Legislatures summit in Philadelphia will never consider not spending taxpayer funds for junkets to obtain information that can be found on the NCSL Web site because they know they will never be held accountable. Too few people vote in Hawaii so these legislators do not fear being ousted from their positions in an election.

We should challenge each of those 16 legislators to prepare a trip report, for those they represent, outlining what they learned that was of any use to Hawaii. Then let's compare the trip report to the information that could be gleaned from the NCSL Web site. Likely, none can find time to prepare such a trip report much less think it necessary.