After Deadline
Holiday news filled with stories of heroes

By John Simonds
Advertiser Reader Representative

Heroes offer hopeful news for the holidays. Whether in combat, rescue, sports or other fields, stories of bravery, physical skill or ingenuity add to the information readers may find encouraging as they explore the pages that start their day.

Callers ask why news pages can't be more positive. In recent days, events and people have combined to inspire the news with reports of courage, good fortune, generosity and local pride.

• U.S. Army Capt. Jason Amerine, a West Point and Roosevelt High graduate who was wounded in action, told the Associated Press about fallen Green Beret comrades and experiences with anti-Taliban forces in the fight for Afghanistan, a Page One story Wednesday.

• Isaac Ho'opi'i, a federal security officer and Wai'anae High graduate, risked his life, using his voice and strength to save others from the Pentagon flames and smoke, as a Nov. 29 Advertiser article reported. Last week, Ho'opi'i was featured in a cover article with a double-page photo in a national magazine.

• Navy airmen flying P-3 Orions returned to Marine Corps Base Hawai'i after a half-year deployment that led to missions over Afghanistan. The Pearl Harbor-based destroyer USS Russell rescued crew members of a crashed B-1 bomber from the Indian Ocean. These were Page One stories Wednesday and Thursday.

• A police SWAT team with hostage crisis specialists rescued an elderly Tantalus couple and caught the suspected captor. Two nights earlier, a pilot of a small plane risked injury but survived an emergency landing, steering the craft away from children playing on Wai'alae Iki Field.

• Visitors from New York, including families of firefighters and police officers lost on Sept. 11, enjoyed warm welcomes as guests of Hawai'i, their activities recorded on the front and editorial pages.

• Hawai'i's Dec. 8 football win over BYU proved a heroic season finale for UH fans, coaches, and players, including Ashley Lelie, pass-catcher and Radford High grad named AP third-team All America, as noted in Wednesday's paper.

• Honolulu Marathon coverage celebrated annual endurance efforts with photos, articles, lists of top 500 male and female runners and top-20 finishers in age groups, work requiring hours of editing data e-mailed to the sports department from the finish line Sunday. While some letter writers are unhappy with the traffic restrictions, other readers praised Advertiser coverage of this annual event.

• A lucky Honolulu man won $2.5 million from a slot machine in Las Vegas' California Hotel and Casino, a site that has many Advertiser readers.

• Not to be overlooked, the sometimes heroic struggle for Hawai'i's economic recovery gained ground, as November excise tax collections exceeded last November's. This pleased a reader who had called last month to say October's increase in tax revenues deserved more attention.

• The story of first lady Vicky Cayetano's support for long-term care with an estimated individual price tag reflects a heroic effort to put a proposal before the public in a way that fosters concern and momentum outside official channels. The Advertiser's Tuesday and Wednesday stories and Thursday editorial focused on the need and advanced the discussion.

Home alarm fees

City Council passage of an ordinance requiring O'ahu residents to pay license fees for security alarm systems and fines for false alarms has raised questions about how it will work and whether it is fair. One caller complained that existing owners of alarm systems will have to pay license fees and that the council's action had little advance notice in the news media.

The Advertiser reported on the proposal in early October. A Dec. 7 letter from a security firm owner sounded objections to the law. A story Thursday reported the council vote. With burglary and other property crime increasing, demand for alarm systems is likely to grow, making the new law even more important.

Reach John Simonds, Advertiser reader representative, at 525-8033 or at jsimonds@honoluluadvertiser.com