Letters to the Editor

‘Baywatch Hawai‘i’ wasn’t worth effort

We all needed "Baywatch Hawai‘i" like we all needed holes in our heads.

How did the governor and his supporters think that sponsoring and financing a distorted local lifestyle would draw visitors to our Islands and boost his foundering economy?

The show’s failure did not surprise me. The governor engaged in prostituting the natural and pristine beauty of Hawai‘i just like anyone who employs the innocence and naivete of young and unsuspecting individuals. He and his supporters gambled and we lost. Big time.

C. Lambert
Mililani

State, not Hawaiians, should control gambling

I don’t believe Hawai‘i residents any longer have a choice concerning gambling. The only choice is whether we will authorize and control it or whether gambling will be a monopoly for whichever separatist group secures limited sovereignty in Hawai‘i.

Either way, the community will suffer gambling’s bad effects.

However, if the community controls gambling, it will also receive the revenues gambling generates. Those revenues will permit the community to do much good, in addition to minimizing or repairing any damage.

On the other hand, if gambling is reserved for a minority over which the community has no control, then the community will only suffer the effects. It will not benefit from the revenues, and it will even have to take money away from other programs to minimize and repair the damage.

It’s not a question of whether Hawai‘i will have gambling. It is only a question of who should control it.

George Berish

Fluoridation study found no benefits

I am compelled to respond to your Feb. 8 editorial on fluoridation. First, your editorial of March 15, 2000, said, "If we needed to be further persuaded of the efficacy of fluoridation, it’s an anecdote from Health Director Bruce Anderson concerning Moloka‘i."

Now it appears you are further persuaded by Anderson’s statement concerning an analysis of a Louisiana study that suggests fluoridation is effective.

A much more persuasive study that found fluoridation has very little, if any, effectiveness is the study commissioned by the U.S. Public Health Service in 1986-1987 of 39,207 schoolchildren throughout the United States.

The strategy of the proponents of fluoridation is to ignore or deny all studies revealing the negative aspect of fluoridation. So, if you want to know the true nature of the issue, you should not depend only on information from the promoters of fluoridation, as your editorials suggest you do.

Robert G. Briggs
Kailua

Age-of-consent law doesn’t make sense

A 14-year-old girl can legally have sexual relations with anyone else at least 14 years of age. But this same person cannot legally drink, smoke, vote for who runs this state or country, or give her life in service to this country — all great responsibilities. Yet, this person can give birth to another child, one of the greatest responsibilities that God has seen fit to bestow upon us.

I don’t understand the sense of this law. If I, a 40-year-old man, were to have sex with a 14-year-old girl, then the most I would be legally guilty of would be adultery, since I am married.

A friend said I have to remember that the Hawaiian culture may see things differently. I could understand that if the current culture here were only Hawaiian and had no outside influence or contamination from outside sources. However, the state is currently home to numerous diverse cultures, and that changes the scenario somewhat.

Laws should protect children. I cannot see how raising the age of consent would adversely affect the current support facilities already in place. I do know that right now there is nothing to protect a 14-year-old from any silver-tongued devil who can get him or her to just say "yes."

I pray that God gives the legislators some enlightenment on this subject.

Jeffrey W. Carpenter

Faculty strike would aid Cayetano’s plans

The University of Hawai‘i faculty union is threatening a strike this semester, and the governor couldn’t be happier.

If the strike is carried out, the teachers at Manoa, Hilo and the community colleges would no longer get paid. The governor would like nothing better than to have them strike all through the summer, saving the state months of wages.

Surely UHPA cannot be silly enough to give the governor what he wants. If you are going to strike, and have it mean something, strike the second week of the fall semester. The state would love being sued by all of the students.

Don Chambers
Mililani

Teachers teach kids so very much more

Like Karen Shinjo ("Why high school teachers deserve raise in pay," Letters, Feb. 11), I too voted for Gov. Cayetano, assuming him to be the lesser of two evils. He proved me wrong.

Teaching is a very demanding and stressful occupation, without the appropriate financial compensation to keep up with today’s cost of living. The state (residents as well as parents) depends on these professionals to educate and guide our children to become the future of our nation.

As a taxpayer and parent, I agree that public-school teachers are overdue for a pay raise. My daughter did not learn discipline, responsibility, respect, integrity, or to read, write and calculate through books and computers but by educated, warm scholars who not only taught but who also gave guidance.

Tammy Kiyabu

Republicans employing hard-ball politics

Linda Lingle is at it again. She was actually seen in the House Republican caucus room right before the ugliest and least productive floor session in decades. Is this her idea of open government?

The House GOP interrupted Speaker Calvin Say more than three dozen times, even though everyone knows he is the fairest and most accommodating man to hold that seat in a generation. They deliberately did this until 2:20 in the morning, when he was too exhausted from 6 1/2 hours of interruptions and attacks to conduct business efficiently.

That was a disgusting display of machismo, partisanship and pure, high-contact politics. The Republicans have brought Washington-style politics to Hawai‘i.

Brace yourselves, Hawai‘i, the dogs are loose.

Alexander Denniston

HECO needs a jolt on alternate energy

I see that an extensive, privately operated wind farm on Kaua‘i is being planned (Advertiser, Feb. 18) that would provide kilowatt-hours at a cent or two under the cost of fuel oil. So much for the "high cost" bad-mouthing of wind energy Hawaiian Electric has been feeding us here on O‘ahu.

So what’s the scoop on those wind turbines we saw out in Kahuku years ago? Those were funded by the federal government as an experiment in alternate-energy technology. After the federal money ran out, HECO dropped the project like a hot potato. Meanwhile, there are thousands of acres of former sugar lands all over the island lying unused under heavy prevailing winds.

HECO has no incentive to go for renewable-energy sources. One hundred percent of the cost of oil over a low base is passed on to us, the ratepayers. HECO couldn’t care less if oil went up to $100 per barrel. Why should it take risks with alternate energy? Until HECO has to pay part of the extra cost for fuel oil (say 20 percent), we shouldn’t expect anything from it in the foreseeable future but token publicity-oriented projects such as the rooftop photovoltaics at public schools.

Legislators, take note. Your constituents will be turning to you for action when the price of oil goes through the roof and they see HECO falling even further behind in developing and applying cheaper, more efficient renewable-energy technology.

Jim Harwood

Rep. Yonamine should step down immediately

It is most difficult for me to understand why a responsible newspaper would suggest that Rep. Nobu Yonamine should not resign from the Legislature.

One DUI is bad enough, and this was his second. He doesn’t have to retreat to a place of private torment, as you suggest. He should get out of the law-making process and contribute to the community by first controlling his drinking and joining an organization that can help him. If he can do that, he may possibly be in a position to help others with the problem, which appears to control him.

He discredits our legislative process and should resign immediately. Don’t suggest that he should remain in a position that creates laws for the people of Hawai‘i. Are you saying that two DUIs represent "unique" qualification for the job at hand? He had his opportunity to serve his constituents, and let’s be thankful that no innocent people were fatally injured from his disgraceful actions.

We need responsible leaders in government. Our legislators, including the governor, should ask for his resignation immediately; the decision should not be his.

Betty L. Johnson
Kapolei

Will warning signs be posted on beach?

The state Health Department’s new rules for saltwater public swimming pools require the pools to post a sign saying "Untreated water, swim at your risk." My question to the Health Department is: If you are going to permit this untreated water to flow out of the saltwater pools and into the water at our beaches, will you post the same signs on the beaches next to the pool outfalls?

If there is a risk swimming inside the pool, there is the same risk for people swimming right outside the pool. The Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau and the hotel industry may not take kindly to these signs being posted at our beaches, but I am sure the Health Department won’t let this stop it from protecting the public health.

Of course, it might make more sense to adopt rules with some teeth that could ensure that the water quality at our beaches doesn’t change. Then we won’t have to post signs inside or outside saltwater pools.

Linda Engelberg

Felix case is a study in bureaucratic waste

The Felix case resulted from ignorance of the laws regarding educating children with special needs. Monies were spent developing programs and paying outside consultants.

Less was spent educating the administrators and teachers, with the result that little meaningful service actually filtered down to the consumer level: student and parent(s). Money spent on outside consultants was often not spent wisely due to cultural differences. Services were being shifted from traditional state departments without shifting budget monies. Resources were spent protecting bureaucratic turf. Teachers and parents were confused and angry; consultants and program developers were blissful.

Later, the statewide service testing told us we were far from our required goals, and deadlines were extended. With the change in leadership in the Department of Education, changes started to happen. Yes, we are spending monies fast, and maybe motivated first by compliance and second by service. The two main reasons for the large increase in cost are (1) the increase in the number of children identified with need for services and (2) the realized cost of the professionals needed for compliance.

Rural areas suffer the most. The majority of service providers for these areas are nonresident and are constantly changing. This is detrimental for the child.

As we know, special-education teachers are hard to find and keep. At our only public high school here, only four of 14 special-education positions are filled by certified people. It’s a terrible mess, but I fear that federal control could make it worse. Meanwhile, students, parents and teachers are still frustrated and angry.

Worse yet, seven years have passed since the Felix Consent Decree, and many of the needy children are now past the age of help. I fear my child is one.

Robert M. Granger
Kaunakakai, Moloka‘i

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