Letters to the Editor

Don’t let Makua’s fate be that of Barbers Point

James Albright continues the colloquy over the fate of Makua by asking, "Why not give the valley back to Hawaiians so they can begin to malama (care for) it?" (Letters, Feb 8).

Perhaps one answer to his question would be to look at what happened to the former naval air station at Barbers Point once it was "given back." Truth be told, there is damned little malama for the ‘aina once it falls into civilian hands.

The armed forces are far more responsible in their stewardship of the lands entrusted to their care. You doubt this? As recently as 40 years ago the reefs just off the Wai‘anae Coast, to cite but one example, were teeming with fish in numbers beyond counting, and the underwater visibility was spectacular. Want to see the cost of polluted runoff there? Go look, if you dare.

As for Makua, the humbug index is soaring. Time to ask whose political interests are being served by this nonsense, or in the words of famed Watergate source Deep Throat: "Follow the money."

The U.S. Army has acquitted itself honorably in attempting to address legitimate concerns, but it has a life-and-death mission of combat readiness even in peacetime. Keep giving the Army grief and it will relocate to a state with more common sense and enlightened self-interest.

If that happens, what is to prevent Makua from suffering the same kind of "malama" that has befallen NAS Barbers Point?

Thomas Stuart
Kailua-Kona

Motorcycle safety is actually improving

Regarding Dr. William O’Connor’s comment, "Studies prove helmet law does save lives" (Letters, Feb. 14): Over the past decade, we motorcyclists have pushed hard to promote motorcycle safety. We’ve developed rider-training programs, funded by motorcyclists, covering at least 45 states. We’ve raised rider awareness of the dangers of impaired driving. We’ve also worked hard at making car drivers more conscious of motorcycles on the street.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reported that motorcycle-related fatalities dropped to 2,304 in 1994, half the reported fatalities of 10 years earlier. That’s a 50 percent decrease in motorcycle fatalities in a single decade.

During the same period, automobile manufacturers installed a number of safety devices — i.e., air bags, antilock brakes, side air bags — yet automobile-related deaths dropped only 7 percent, not including light trucks, whose accidents actually went up 37 percent.

Dr. O’Connor, if you really want to reduce head injuries, you should pass a mandatory helmet law for all automobiles since head injuries involving automobiles outnumber those involving motorcycles three to one.

Roy Gomez
State Director, Street Bikers United

Norman Mizuguchi was key to paddling program

The Feb. 15 article in the Sports section regarding OIA canoe paddling is inaccurate. It implies that Sam "Steamboat" Mokuahi’s decades-long wish to get outrigger canoe paddling into public schools was granted by the Department of Education and Tesoro Hawai‘i.

While Tesoro and the DOE have been helpful in the implementation of the canoe paddling program in the public schools, it was the state Legislature, specifically, then-Senate President Norman Mizuguchi, who listened to Mokuahi and passed special legislation in the form of a concurrent resolution that established canoe paddling in public schools.

Initially, the DOE was hesitant to support the legislation because it was concerned about injuries and liability for those injuries, but through Mizuguchi’s insistence that this uniquely Hawaiian sport must have a place in Hawai‘i’s public-school system, the DOE’s concerns were allayed in favor of establishing canoe racing in the public schools on an initial trial basis.

Last spring, the trial period expired and last fall, canoe paddling was established in the public schools on a permanent basis.

Charles K.Y. Khim

Big Island project should be stopped

Just imagine how you would feel if your ancestor’s grave was bulldozed and destroyed by foreign developers, and then they built a luxurious golf resort and gated community exclusively for super-rich people. Or imagine if the ocean in which your families for generations have been gathering sea food was covered with mud from the development and you could no longer continue the traditional lifestyle.

This is what’s happening to the native Hawaiian people right now in South Kona.

I am a Japanese who loves Hawai‘i and comes here whenever I can afford a vacation. I fell in love with the Big Island because of its wild, unspoiled and colorful nature. On this trip I came to learn about the H¯k¬li‘a development from a friend. I was sorry to see photos of the muddy runoffs near Kealakekua Bay. More annoyingly, this development is done by a joint-venture company called Oceanside 1250, in which Japan Airlines and Lyle Anderson (an Arizona developer) are partners.

I hope more Hawaiians raise their voices of concern. This development should be stopped or at least suspended until all the historical and burial sites are identified and treated with more respect.

Yumi Kikuchi

Rep. Yonamine should indeed leave position

I disagree with the Feb. 11 editorial saying state Rep. Nobu Yonamine should shelve his plan to leave the Legislature because of his arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. He is doing the right thing.

Yonamine is part of a group that sets and establishes laws for Hawai‘i, but he has shown he cannot follow laws. This is his second offense for DUI. How is he expected to fulfill his job of setting laws?

People can say alcohol dependency caused this or he had a slip of good judgment. Say what you will, but he knew that drinking and driving is against the law and he ignored this law twice.

Mr. Yonamine, you are doing the right thing by leaving the Legislature. May God be with you and your family.

Scott Rose
Kailua

Don’t credit evolution for human genome

Thirty thousand genes in the human genome? Thanks for the information. Next time make sure the accompanying commentary is scientifically accurate.

To state that certain DNA was left behind in the human genome by "predecessors millions of years ago" begs the question: "Were you there?" The chance that the 200 bones of the human skeleton heaped in a pile could assemble by chance is astronomical, so you can imagine the chances of the 30,000 genes in the human genome evolving by time plus chance. It would take far longer than the millions of years proposed by scientists who still believe in evolution.

Try "theoretical impossibility."

Evolution theory is also disproved by the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that energy dissipates. Systems become more chaotic over time, not more arranged. Intelligence had to have been applied initially to organize systems like the human genome, which today are running down toward energy dissipation.

Therefore, to state as fact that "evolution" is responsible for the existence of the human genome is simply unscientific. I’m one who sees all kinds of scientific proof for "Designer genes."

Sandy Simpson
Pearl City

Thanks for attracting AYSO Games to O‘ahu

I was so happy to hear that the American Youth Soccer Organization will be holding its 2002 National Games on O‘ahu.

Mahalo to Mayor Harris and the City Council for having the foresight to build the Waipi‘o Soccer Park, which provides much-needed fields for local teams, and is now a proven draw for national soccer events, as well.

The AYSO players, their coaches and families, as well as spectators and media, will pump millions of dollars into the local economy, as well as showcase Honolulu as an up-and-coming center for sports tourism.

The mayor, who announced the selection as a highlight of his State of the City address, his economic development staff and local AYSO representatives deserve our gratitude for their hard work in landing this prestigious and lucrative event.

Alex Smith
HI-5 Sports

Science exhibit shows UH faculty aren’t ‘lazy’

Gov. Cayetano thinks Manoa faculty are lazy and contribute nothing to this state. I suggest he visit the Bishop Museum’s new "X-treme Science" exhibit, the product of people "lazing around" getting grant money to fund the exhibit and designing exhibits to explain their scientific work.

This work is apparently of no significance in the governor’s estimation because it is not done in the classroom, but in a submersible, on field trips, peering down microscopes, developing computer models, etc.

Mightn’t it be of benefit to the image of this state as a place to develop high-tech businesses to fund a permanent, but more extensive, exhibit of this nature? It would showcase the research being conducted in the state while also providing an educational resource for the state’s children (the future work force) and a revenue-earning visitor attraction.

Instead, the governor seems to want to drive these people and their research out of the state by making their working conditions intolerable.

Mary Tiles

Young humpback whale jumps, falls on tourist!

I fully expect, after the local media get a chance to run with this, that we will be told that diplomatic relations between the United States and whales may be severely strained.

Peter L. Nelson
Kea‘au

Teachers shouldn’t have to choose

For the last 10 years, I have taught five sections of history every semester at Honolulu Community College. With average enrollments of 35 to 38 students, and a distance/Web class for students throughout the state, that translates into 160 to 180 students each semester. I know all of these students by name, meet with them inside and outside of the classroom, or communicate via e-mail.

I advise student clubs and serve on numerous committees to help run the campus. I contribute to the community as a co-coordinator of Hawai‘i State History Day activities and workshops in which hundreds of students and teachers in grades 6 to 12 participate. I work hard for my students, my college and my community — and feel fortunate to be able to do so.

However, as a single mother, I find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet on my salary. My ability to provide for my son has seriously eroded during the years I have taught, while the demands on my time and student needs have dramatically increased.

Teachers are not in it to make a fortune; it is a profession that is really more of a calling. I teach because I love it and care deeply about my students. However, I need to be able to take care of my family at the same time as I give to the community. I should not have to choose one over the other. This is true of all teachers.

Recently I have almost felt the need to apologize to my son for being a teacher, since it entails having to say no to many things he wants or even needs.

With my educational background, I could have gone into any number of professions where I would be making a lot more money, but I want to stay in the classroom. All I want (what all teachers want) from this governor is to have a livable salary — and respect. Teachers are the stepping-stones for our students, aiding in their individual improvement and self-fulfillment.

We create the work force necessary for this state. We do it because we truly care about our individual students and their future, as well as the larger good of our community.

The governor needs to stop using our students as political pawns, stop demeaning our efforts, and resolve this issue in a fair and respectful manner so we can all focus on the task of teaching and learning.

Cynthia Smith
Assistant Professor of History, Honolulu Community College

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