Letters to the Editor

Chef Chai has created a dining masterpiece

Chai Chaowasaree did not deport himself. He went to visit his ailing father and was given the bureaucratic shaft by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

We need more Chais here on O‘ahu. He is a wonderful, creative, hard-working person. He took over the worst location for a restaurant at Aloha Tower Marketplace and turned it into one of the finest dining and entertainment places on the island. He captured the aloha spirit and blended it with all the best parts of the Eastern and Western cultures that we are.

The ambiance, the food, the entertainment and the people serving you are a beautiful reflection of him. On almost any night you would see him working until closing to ensure things went smoothly. The staff loves having him there working side by side with them. Everyone dining there enjoyed his calm, welcoming manner.

Why is this man in jail? He created jobs, generated tax revenue and worked hard at having an honest business. This man is an asset to our island. The government should be begging him to stay and chasing off some of the free-loaders who overburden our welfare and health care systems.

Barbara Williams
Hale‘iwa

Slower drivers can cut down on tailgating

Apart from the posted speed limit, the traffic sign most often ignored is the one that reads, "Slower Traffic Keep Right."

The closer cars are bunched together, the higher the probability of a collision.

One of the surest ways to keep a safe distance between cars is to ensure that the left lane is not blocked, regardless of speed. If a tailgater loses control of his or her car, the funeral director really isn’t concerned about the speed of the vehicle in front of the tailgater.

If we really are concerned about making the roads safer and containing road rage, then doing our best to make traffic flow more smoothly in a spirit of kokua will certainly go a long way toward achieving this goal.

And allowing the speeders to go ahead and get away from you will increase the chances of them being tagged by the police. If they get into an accident while speeding, isn’t it better that they be as far away from you as possible, rather than climbing into your trunk?

Michael Pohl
Kailua

Closing of on-ramps doesn’t make sense

Let’s bring Kazu Hayashida back as director of the state Department of Transportation. At least when he was director, there was some common sense in the department.

When I read the Feb. 22 front-page article on the upcoming construction on the Punahou Street off-ramp that is going to close both the Pi‘ikoi and Ward Avenue on-ramps, I was astounded. By closing both on-ramps, the DOT expects thousands of drivers every day to use the University on-ramp to enter the H-1 eastbound.

This on-ramp is already well known as probably the most dangerous on-ramp in the state. They are just asking for more accidents, perhaps some fatal, by forcing people to use the University on-ramp.

Who is doing the thinking over there at DOT?

Ron Nakano

Religion, morality are important assets

Princeton president and Declaration of Independence signer John Witherspoon once wrote, "People in general ought to have regard to the moral character of those whom they invest with authority."

The morality of every politician is seen in both their private lives and public policy-making. What values does Rep. Nobu Yonamine bring to the table? That people’s lives are not so valuable they may be put at risk when someone who is alcohol-impaired gets behind the wheel of an automobile? Yet in your recent editorial, "Yonamine’s DUI: It’s an opportunity," you stated that he "should shelve his plans to leave the Legislature ... " because " ... he has the chance to share a personal victory with a community that’s hungry for that sort of good news."

I agree people are hungry for good news. Therefore, I am puzzled that you would give Mitch Kahle and Brent White an audience in their criticism of Rep. William Stonebraker for nothing more than wanting to encourage fellow lawmakers in the Good News.

What has happened to us that we recommend lawbreakers for public office while condemning law-keepers? Let White’s criticisms be answered by former Supreme Court Justice William Patterson: "Religion and morality (are) necessary to good government, good order and good laws."

Judi Marks
Pearl City

Legislator wasn’t violating any law

Regarding the criticism of Rep. William Stonebraker’s fax requesting that we bring our Bibles when attending a meeting: Why not study the Bible?

According to the column Stranger Than Fiction, Kathleen Nelson states, "Considering that the Bible is the world’s most common and widely sold book, it should come as no surprise that it is also the world’s most shoplifted book. I’m sure there’s a lesson in that somewhere."

As far as I’m concerned, studying the Bible might provide us with the answers or solutions to many of our legislative issues that we are trying to resolve. I’m sure Stonebraker had this in mind, and had no intention of breaking any "separation of church and state" law. God Bless America and In God We Trust.

Rep. Lei Ahu Isa
D-27th Dist. (Pu‘unui, ‘Alewa, Nu‘uanu)

Lifeguard tower still hasn’t been erected

On Dec. 7, a letter was printed noting the four-month absence of a much-needed lifeguard tower at dangerous Sandy Beach. In January, there was a front-page story on Mayor Harris’ request to the City Council for an additional $91 million needed for construction.

Hello there, Mayor, City Council members and bean-counting bureaucrats: If you folks are so inefficient that you can’t spend the already-allocated $50,000 to erect a lifeguard tower (which would take two days to erect), why in the world, or in the name of public safety, should you be trusted with $91 million more? Or is the money really for political purposes rather than public safety?

Mandy Higa

Cutting the excise tax creates other problems

No one likes to pay taxes, but will cutting taxes, specifically the excise tax, really help make Hawai‘i the type of place we want to live in?

We certainly need to attract new businesses and jobs, but we also need to support educational improvements, protect the environment and make certain our citizens are healthy and secure.

Paying taxes is a burden, but so are the needs of our kids, our seniors and our whole community. I think the problem is really fairness in the tax system, not in getting rid of the tax system.

The experts say excluding food, for-profit health services and rentals will cost public education and other services almost $300 million. If we are going to improve education, how are we going to make up the difference? We certainly can’t go into a deficit the way the federal government does with its tax cuts.

If the excise tax is regressive and hurts the poor and the retired, then make it progressive so those who have can pay. It’s not too hard to do that with the income tax through sliding brackets, but the excise tax is another story. Until some genius comes up with a better plan, major tax credits are the only way to be fair and socially responsible at the same time.

The Republicans say they support education and environmental protection. They need to tell the people how we support these needed services and cut taxes at the same time.

Walter M. Heen
Chair, Democratic Party of Hawai‘i

Preferring development to nature is ridiculous

Colin Kau’s Feb. 6 letter regarding the undeveloped coastline near Sandy Beach states that homes built along this area would be "something nice to look at." When people derive beauty from man-made buildings over what Nature has taken millions of years to develop, that is absolutely ridiculous.

Visitors to these magnificent Islands surely don’t come thousands of miles to look at row upon row of houses. If people like Kau had their way, Kawai Nui Marsh in Kailua would be a sub-division with a shopping mall and Hanauma Bay would be ringed with luxury hillside homes. Wouldn’t that be "nice to look at"?

Haven’t we desecrated enough of the ‘aina? Do the words "malama pono" mean anything to you?

J. Eric Grimes
Sandy Beach surfer

Teachers need raise to pursue education

It’s 4:30 p.m. and I’m still on campus. It will be another two hours before heading home, 17 miles away. I am writing this letter from school because my students are working on a video documentary and I am not connected to the Web or have access from home to send or retrieve e-mail.

How can that be, you ask? Well, most of my extra money has been spent on my own tuition. I have three degrees, all for the sake of improving myself as a teacher.

This comes with a cost, a hefty one since UH’s tuition has greatly increased and my salary has not. Teachers need a raise because the state does not provide adequate funding for staff development.

Most important, teachers need the raise to spend money in their classrooms or on students. As a media teacher, I do not get reimbursed for the many times I’ve transported students from Wai‘anae to town to interview people for their assigned reports or to do research at various archives and libraries. The cost adds up — especially since gasoline prices have risen and my salary has not.

Please, Governor, raise my salary so I can spend it on self-improvement or on my students.

Linda Ginoza
Wai‘anae Intermediate School

Dogs shouldn’t be valued over children

Jim Henshaw thinks dogs should be able to run around leashless on the beach so he or his dog won’t be inconvenienced (Letters, Feb. 13). It’s a sad commentary on the state of society when we value the so-called freedom of our dogs to run around in our parks and beaches, but we do not care about our children’s freedom to do so.

The beaches of Kailua and Lanikai, which have historically been wonderful places for children to play, have over the past couple of years become dangerous to our keiki — the primary reason, of course, being the dogs.

David Estrada
Kailua

Kaua‘i opened its heart to visiting film extras

"Dragonfly," a new feature film starring Kevin Costner that takes place in Venezuela, was filmed on Kaua‘i in February. The film company flew 110 indigenous Venezuelans to Kaua‘i to work as extras on the film. All came from rural jungle communities and all are extremely poor.

I worked as the Kaua‘i casting director and translator and was with the group constantly during their entire stay. These people are warm, affectionate and honest. They’re just simple people. Coming to Hawai‘i was a dream come true.

Many people on Kaua‘i sent them home with very happy memories. I want to express my appreciation and gratitude to all the people who responded so generously by buying them clothes, shoes, cameras, stuffed animals, toiletries and books during the two weeks they were on Kaua‘i. Individual crew members and whole departments bought things and gave them to the extras as gifts. Local businesses on Kaua‘i were equally generous.

The staff of the Kaua‘i Coconut Beach Resort, where all of the Venezuelans stayed, responded with care, love, patience and hundreds of items of clothing. The visitors were treated like family. I’ve never been in a hotel where the staff went so far beyond the call of duty. The hotel put on a special luau just for this group of guests. General manager Ron Romano, along with Michelle Towler, Lizann Vidinha, Mona Rogers and Joni Youn, were there for everything we needed.

Local Kaua‘i extras who worked on the movie also were incredibly giving. Jason Amas brought in 20 huge garbage bags filled with new and used clothing donated by the Wilcox Hospital Thrift Store. When I expressed my amazement, he replied, "Well you said you wanted clothes." Liberty House declined my offer to buy shopping bags and donated them instead. And Universal Studios paid to ship 12 huge boxes of clothes to Venezuela.

The clothing will be shared among the villages where the people live.

Mahalo doesn’t seem adequate. The kindness shown these special visitors made me feel very proud and lucky to live on Kaua‘i.

Angela Tillson
Kaua‘i

[back to top]