Letters to the Editor
European trip a junket for 15 city officials
Am I the only person who thinks that it is outrageous for the city to spend $60,000 of taxpayer money to send 15 officials on a 10-day European trip to check out new mass transit systems? This is a junket and nothing more.
As far as I know, no definite mass transit plan has been proposed, and it still is in question whether the City Council will commit to building one in the first place. Yet the city is sending 15 people at a conservative cost of $4,000 a person (I'm sure the final cost will be much more) to Europe merely to "check out" different systems? I find it hard to believe that there is no cheaper way to gather the information than going on such a trip.
And why do 15 people need to go? It seems to me that four or five officials would be more appropriate given the very preliminary stage of this project.
Furthermore, if the city were really serious about building a $1 billion mass transit system, wouldn't manufacturers and contractors jump at the chance to pay for and escort our officials to view other projects that they have built? The fact that the contractors and manufacturers aren't paying for this kind of investigatory trip indicates that even they don't believe the city is serious about a mass transit system.
How many trips to the Mainland and other distant locales will our elected officials and city employees take at taxpayer expense while the regular people of O'ahu stew in overbearing traffic and congestion as the city tries to make up its mind about mass transit?
Joel Kam
Educators show honor, dedication for students
Three cheers for public school teachers. The true face of these teachers is being shown, and they deserve the respect and admiration of the citizens of Hawai'i.
The state is facing a teacher crisis. The teachers saw this and were forced into drastic action (a strike) to bring it to the attention of the citizens of the state. The primary purposes of the strike were to improve salaries and incentives for the teaching profession to entice teachers to come to Hawai'i, and to retain teachers already here who were considering leaving the state or the teaching profession.
In April, the teachers ratified a contract that accomplished their goals and immediately returned to their classrooms before the contract was signed, showing that their word was true and binding. High school seniors were able to attend their proms and graduate and other students were able to meet the criteria for advancement.
While school was out for the summer and there was little action teachers could take, the state began picking at the contract and claiming that there were terms in the agreement, which they had proofed and approved, that they did not agree to.
Many teachers have returned to their classrooms and the remainder will be starting soon. They returned knowing that the state was not honoring the April agreement. They returned without their promised bonuses and without any increase in pay. They returned because of the needs of the students and their dedication as educators.
Now, given the choice, they have opted to continue in the classrooms in deference to all they sacrificed this spring and continue to sacrifice so they can pay bills incurred during the strike.
It is obvious that the teachers are honorable, dedicated individuals who put the needs of their students high on their priority list. They have kept their word and continue to make sacrifices in favor of education. They have shown that their word is credible and binding. Can our governor and his administration claim the same? I think not.
B.G. Judson
Kapolei
A letter to the governor
Dear Mr. Governor,
Guess what? I just finished all course work for one of life's milestones — my master's degree in education. I'm so proud of my hard work, especially since I had to take out loans to pay for it.
Not too long ago, Mr. Governor, I was offered the opportunity to teach overseas. I quickly signed the legally binding contract and had a one-year unpaid leave of absence approved by the Department of Education, after reading the dazzling benefits: air transportation and housing provided, tax-free salary, medical benefits, daily 90-minute prep period and indemnity pay upon contract completion.
Oh, but wait, Mr. Governor. I was so distracted by all the glowing benefits, I didn't read the fine print at the bottom of the contract. The benefits are part of a two-year contract, not one. Mr. Governor, this means I will be able to receive the above salary and benefits for each year. Isn't that great? Just think of the money I will be able to apply to the balance of my student loan.
Guess I will have to extend my unpaid leave from the DOE.
Michelle Elsbury
Right thing is to honor handshake and contract
Everyone in Hawai'i knows that when you shake hands on a deal, it's done, it's honored. If you make a deal, even if you make a mistake or miscalculate, you've got to be a man and keep your end of the bargain. You can't change the rules. That is Hawai'i style. To do less would make shame for yourself, your family and even your friends.
Well, Governor, you shook hands. You made it very clear that you were in charge, that the buck stops with you. You knew what you were doing. You made a good deal for the state.
But there was a mistake or miscalculation. Still, you were in charge — the mistake was yours alone. When you shook hands, it was a done deal. Not to honor that deal will make shame for all the people of Hawai'i.
Do the honorable thing.
Jim Simpson
Wai'ohinu
Pitcher metaphor faulty
Reader Cliff Coleman, in his Aug. 15 letter, proposed an experiment: Take a glass and fill it to the very top with ice cubes. Then get as much water into it as possible without spilling any. Wait until all the ice has melted. See how much water has left the pitcher.
This would be a valid metaphor for global warning if all the ice on Earth already were floating in the ocean. But there are ice fields, several miles deep, on Greenland and Antarctica. If and when these melt, the pitcher will certainly overflow.
Peter L. Nelson
Kea'au
Reefs being hurt by mass harvesting
The Department of Aquatics Resources is scheduling meetings statewide to gather input about proposed fishing regulations. Many of the various reef fish available to shore fishermen and reef fishermen would have new size and catch limits under the proposal. Many minimum sizes would be increased, and the number of fish allowed to be taken would be reduced.
I believe that many of the regulations are long overdue. According to the information presented, the current size limitations are not sufficient for the fish to reach a statistical maturity level for reproductive purposes.Before these regulations are implemented, I believe that methods of mass harvest, primarily net usage, must be reassessed.
On a commercial basis, there is no limit on the amount of fish that can be taken from the limited resources of the reef. This needs to be addressed to present a wholistic solution to the limited inshore (primary reef) fishery. Length of net, size of the net eye, method of use and more stringent seasonal usage need to be addressed.
The bait fish that come into the reef areas and bays (akule, 'opelu, nehu) are netted in whole schools (in some cases by the tons) and taken out of the food chain of the reef. This affects the whole reef system. This scale of resource depletion can be achieved only with specialized nets and herding the fish into the net area or by surrounding the school. This is an efficient process, just as clear-cuttinga forest is efficient to the logging industry.
I am not a biologist. I am just a fisherman who catches fish to feed my family and people who can no longer fish. What I do know is that more bait fish available on the reefwill allow more of the other species of fish to prosper.
The ocean resources of other states have crashed and, as they got serious about their resources, they placed restrictions on catch size and limits. But one common thread was the serious restriction on net usage and mass-harvest techniques.
The ancients had a system called the kapu. In times of limited resources, the kapu would be enacted. In my mind, the mass-harvest techniques would have been first on the kapu list. This would not be a popular choice, but it would be the right thing to do to save the reef.
Collins Tomei
Knowing about specialty units also important
I read, with interest, Beverly Creamer's July 26 article, "Stroke patients reach hospitals too late to get drug treatment."
On Sept. 10, I suffered a stroke at 7:05 a.m. My wife immediately called 911 and an ambulance arrived at 7:16 a.m. The paramedics worked on me in my apartment and then in the ambulance. We arrived at Queen's Medical Center at 7:40 a.m.The attending physician in the emergency room examined me and calleda neurologist. The neurologist was a specialist in epilepsy, but he examined me and called for a brain scan. He told me that he didn't think that TPA (tissue plasminogen activator) should be used due to the high risk. The neurologist told me that he wasn't a stroke specialist and that he was going to call a colleague who was familiar with stroke cases.
At no time was I informed that Queen's has a stroke center with advanced TPA capabilities. I didn't learn this until I returned to my other home in San Diego where I came under the care of Dr. Jackson, a friend and colleague of Dr. Cherylee Chang's. Dr. Jackson gave me Dr. Chang's name to contact when I returned to my home in Honolulu. I have learned a lot since I had my stroke last year.
I agree with most of what the article says. But just as important as getting to a hospital as soon as possible is knowing which hospitals have stroke units and asking for their care. The hospital ER units must also be trained to refer stroke victims to the stroke unit immediately. In my case I might have fully recovered in a matter of days instead of still having residual problems a year later.
Theodore M. Bunten
Support for a team in Hawai'i seems unlikely
I find it interesting that there are investors who want to try to bring minor league baseball back to Hawai'i when not even our local cable company will carry Los Angeles Dodgers or Anaheim Angels baseball. Meanwhile, a local radio station continues to air-delay Dodgers and San Francisco Giants games.
If advertisers aren't willing to back uplive mediamajor league baseball coverage, how can these investors get them to support a team right here in town?
Donald Martinez
Pearl City
Dods' $1 million gift a wonderful example
To be able to give generously to well-endowed, prestigious Mainland universities may be very satisfying, but those same gifts are much more meaningful and more greatly appreciated when given to schools at home in Hawai'i.
A heartfelt mahalo to Walter and Diane Dods. May your example be repeated endlessly.
Sook Han Lau
