Essoyan's crime report is praised

Finally we have a newspaper reporting the data, not the spin.

Mahalo nui to Susan Essoyan for the excellent special report “;Crime's down, fear's not”; (Star-Bulletin, Nov. 22).

The majority of Hawaii's incarcerated individuals are nonviolent offenders, mostly drug law breakers.

Our violent crime rate is one of the lowest in the nation.

The property crime rate, as the story reported, includes crimes against tourists (as in most tourist destinations), but the numbers lead one to believe that they are crimes against residents.

My hope is that this report will get people back on track with reality so they don't fall victims to political posturing.

Eight years of Bush and seven years of the same in Hawaii has served only to daze and confuse the public.

Let's hear it for the truth!

Furlough deal not in the bag

In your zeal to sell more papers near the store check-out, there is a tendency to exaggerate the kernel of truth buried in most lead articles. For example, the Nov. 21 Star-Bulletin headline “;Labor agreements to be withdrawn”; suggests that the Hawaii State Teachers Association and Gov. Linda Lingle have settled the school furlough debacle. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Her hastily made “;take it or leave it”; offers rarely provide the desired quick fix.

Compromises entail negotiations, not press conferences. So remain optimistic, but don't hold your breath; I hear other stakeholders are still reeling from being blindsided, and many are still choking on the governor's plan rammed down their throats.

Mayor putting people to work

I want to thank Mayor Mufi Hannemann for his efforts to put our people to work. He did not waste his time blaming or finding ways to make the work force and our children suffer as a solution to the budget problem. Instead he went right to work and is pushing forward the rail and other construction projects that will put thousands to work.

If only our governor and her administration had the same integrity, competence, or ability to communicate with the public honestly we might not be in this debacle. She has said that we have to cut the fat in our work force and restructure the way we do business. Well, I can't think of a bigger waste than that of our governor and her administration, so maybe we should start to cut the fat with them.