Letters to the Editor

Alani Apio has opened an important dialogue

Alani Apio, an educated, moderate, peaceful kanaka, has exposed his na‘au. Not the thing to do if one wants to continue to be a peaceful kanaka, but a courageous act.

He has opened a dialogue in his Feb. 25 Focus commentary that needs to be heard. If you don’t think so, then you specifically are the one who needs to hear it. We can only learn when we listen and not just to the same old pablum that we are used to and agree with.

Mistakes have been made in this great country of ours in the past 200-plus years. For people my age, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution comes to mind. Slavery is another, as is the internment of Japanese Americans.

When these mistakes are uncovered, they need to be addressed. I for one eagerly await Apio’s next two articles in which he promises to "unwind his guts .... and possible directions (he) sees open to us."

David W. Branch
Seattle, formerly of Hawai‘i

Chef Chai has led an exemplary life

I first met Vichai Saetung in October 1998 while processing his application for a liquor license to operate a gourmet restaurant at Aloha Tower Marketplace currently known as Chai’s Island Bistro.

It was a pleasure working with him. His notarized liquor license application packet was in order and he answered all of my questions honestly. I found him to be sincere, courteous, respectful to authority and humble, and he returned phone calls and kept appointments in a timely fashion.

By operating two restaurants, he creates jobs and pays more taxes to the government than most individuals. Without compensation, he donates his personal time in teaching and helping future culinary artists.

Incarcerating Vichai Saetung, also known as Chai Chaowasaree, for an immigration violation is not warranted because his established niche in the community negates any flight risks. I strongly urge the authorities before passing judgment to please consider his exemplary character and his accomplishments within our community.

William Leong
Liquor Commission Investigator

Gambling would restrict spending

Proponents of gambling need to think again.

Every hour the tourist sits in a casino, he is not riding a tour bus or visiting attractions such as the water park, a museum, the Polynesian Cultural Center. He is not going to the beach and buying food from the lunch wagon or a nearby fast-food restaurant.

What will happen to those businesses if casinos come?

Henrietta I. Luttrell
Waialua

Hanauma Bay plan is disturbing precedent

Wake up, Honolulu. A dangerous and most disturbing precedent is being set with the development of the Hanauma Bay nature preserve.

The city wishes us to believe the upper park is not a part of Hanauma Bay. On the contrary, the "bay" and the park are part of the same nature preserve, which begins as soon as one begins the drive down to the parking lot.

Education is a good thing, but it does not justify what is being planned at Hanauma Bay. Where will the next "education center" and satellite offices pop up: at Waimea Bay, Makapu‘u, Ala Moana Park?

Entrance fees justify this development. What if the city wants to begin asking for IDs or charging for entrance to other public beaches or places while it "educates" you?

This is just the beginning, folks. Does anyone care?

Diane D. Ackerson

Coach June Jones is in very good hands

I listened in horror to the radio announcer as he reported that June Jones was in critical condition after a car accident. Throughout that evening, I worried, watched and waited for some positive news about the coach.

When Dr. Neil Fergusson, a member of Coach Jones’ surgical team and his attending physician, stepped up to the microphone that night, I stopped worrying. I knew instantly that the coach would not only pull through, but that he would most likely have a full recovery. It wasn’t what the doctor said, it wasn’t how he said it. It was the doctor.

This time last year, I was under Dr. Fergusson’s care. I know how skillful and dedicated he is. But I also know that there is something different about this doctor that has always intrigued me. It seems as if there is a light inside this man that shines brightly on his patients, giving them a strong spirit of hope and a kind of empowerment that actually accelerates their recovery.

It’s not easy to describe, but I’ll bet that Coach June Jones already knows what I mean.

Judith L. Kendig

Headhunter display

Borneo’s headhunters have been in the news recently. Some years ago my wife and I dined at a Dyak compound on Borneo’s Skrang River. The chef bid us welcome, the women danced gracefully and the food was passable, but our eyes kept roaming to a center pole where shrunken heads of five Japanese soldiers hung, beheaded during World War II. They were still wearing their spectacles.

David W. Eyre

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