Schools need vegetarian meals

Last week, first lady Michelle Obama called on the U.S. Conference of Mayors to help her fight the national scourge of childhood obesity. She noted that one-third of all children are overweight or obese. She proposed healthier school lunch fares, increased physical activity and nutrition education.

Traditionally, the National School Lunch Program has served as a dumping ground for the USDA's surplus meat and dairy commodities. Not surprisingly, USDA surveys indicate that 90 percent of American children consume excessive amounts of fat, and only 15 percent eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Their early dietary flaws become lifelong addictions, raising their risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

In the past few years, several state legislatures have asked their schools to offer daily vegetarian options. According to the School Nutrition Association, 52 percent of U.S. school districts do.

Parents and others who care about our children's health should demand healthful plant-based school meals, snacks and vending machine items.

City aims to ban camping in park

We recognize and share Michael Speer's concerns about tent dwellers in Kapiolani Park, and assure him we're taking action on this issue (”;Tent camping at park must stop,”; Star-Bulletin, Letters, Jan. 25).

Overnight camping is not allowed in the park, which is closed at night. Unfortunately, some have skirted this rule by pitching their tents during the day and removing them at night.

Prior to publication of Mr. Speer's letter, the city administration introduced a bill to the City Council that would ban tents from all city parks unless authorized by permit.

Permits are already required for camping in designated parks, so this change would not affect recreational campers who abide by the rules. But it would make very clear that illegal camping will not be tolerated in city parks, day or night.

Elected officials should stay put

Neil Abercrombie asked his constituents to vote him in as a U.S. representative. He now feels the need to run for governor.

Before he should be allowed to run for that office he has a responsibility to finish his term as representative. If he leaves his current office, he should be held financially responsible for the special election.

Any elected official should be accountable for leaving his/her current office early to run for another. In Mr. Abercrombie's case, this would show the people of Hawaii if he could possibly be worthy of our state's highest political office.

Fireworks lovers can join Army

Oh say can you see, by the aerial bombs' early light; what so proudly neighborhood outlaws hail as their last illegal kaboom; and the red rockets glare, bursting in air, provided suspicion that our police department and legislators must have family and friends aiding and abetting those who terrorize island neighborhoods, since they have not stopped it.

These unnecessary bombs sounding like dynamite cause many of our country's veterans to relive the horrors of a war. Beside noise pollution, they make it difficult to breathe for many. They create opportunities for fires, property damage and possible loss of life, and run up the tab on police, fire department and medical personnel.

Those caught exploding illegal bombs should be allowed to use their talents defusing roadside bombs in Afghanistan instead of terrorizing island neighborhoods.

Photograph was out of context

I am the chairman of the art department at Kalani High School. My sculpture class set up an art installation at the state Capitol for the opening day of the Legislature. It depicted both sides of the health care debate as seen by my students who watched television and read newspapers. Given the passionate feelings on both sides of this issue, we were careful not to take sides, but to present what the general public saw throughout the summer of 2009.

In your Jan. 21 issue, you published a photograph that detailed the most incendiary placard from only one point of view. A reader who saw that picture e-mailed our school, pleased that Kalani had taken sides on this issue. Nothing could be further from the truth. He also forwarded the picture and your cutline to Sean Hannity at Fox News. His view of our sculpture as seen through the photo is completely out of context from the real meaning of the installation.

We are hoping there will be no repercussions on us because of your choice of photographs. This is exactly what we hoped to avoid.

Civil unions are a can of worms

Why must we rewrite laws to always accommodate the minority? Regarding HB 444, everyone wants equal protection under the law. Everyone is created equal and has basic equal rights.

Need inheritance rights? Get and prepare a will. Need hospital visitation rights and standings in decisions? Get a power-of-attorney, which covers you in most instances that you will ever experience.

Perhaps companies need to modify their policies regarding family/funeral leave, but do not change the definition of marriage to accommodate the minority.

This would open up a whole can of worms. You will have mothers and sons, fathers and daughters and neighbors and neighbors signing up for civil unions. Then you will have people wanting to have civil unions with their dogs so their dogs can get pet health insurance, be allowed to visit them in hospitals, etc. It's madness.

Glossy mailer waste of money

How ironic. On Jan 20, opening day of the Legislature, where they informed us they were cutting back on ceremonies to conserve money, I get not one but three copies of my state Rep. Kym Pine's “;2009 Legislative Wrap Up”; paid for by the Legislature.

Eight pages of glossy color photos informing me of what she did a year ago and, of course, nearly every one of the 29 photos had a picture of Rep. Pine doing something important for me.

The minimum cost of such a glossy brochure mailed to every district household had to cost more than $20,000 at a time when we are told we have to tighten our belts and expect reduced services and increased taxes.

Our legislators did nothing to stop their 39 percent pay increase in 2009.

Is there any wonder why the public has become increasingly cynical about our elected officials to cut back when they think nothing of sending out obvious campaign brochures at state expense?