Letters to the Editor

Kudos to Dobelle on athletic surpluses

As an enthusiastic booster of UH athletics, I applaud President Evan Dobelle's landmark policy decision to use some of the athletic department surpluses for non-athletic programs.

It should silence those few but vocal critics who call big-time athletics elitist.

Dobelle's off to a good start to demonstrate that the University of Hawai'i will be, as it should be, all one team.

Lunsford Dole Phillips
Kailua

Electricity the answer for garden equipment

Did you ever catch yourself reminiscing about the "good old days" in Honolulu when life was slower-paced and your neighborhood environment was quieter and less polluted?

You may well have resigned yourself to the "price of progress" and thought that nothing could be done to restore the peace and tranquility of days gone by. Perhaps you were doing your daydreaming on a Sunday morning only to be interrupted by a cacophony of gas-powered mowers, weed whackers and blowers emitting clouds of noxious fumes.

Something can be done about the onerous gas-powered mowers and garden equipment. The EPA estimates that 10 percent of the air pollution in our country is caused by these sorts of engines. The noise generated by them often exceeds the allowable limits now permitted by our existing laws.

The answer to this problem is electricity. Studies have shown that electric lawn mowers, leaf blowers and weed whackers use 62 percent less energy, reduce carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions by more than 95 percent, reduce nitrous oxide by 87 percent, and are very quiet.

Bob Walker

Teacher incentive system imperiled

One benefit the public hoped to realize after the long teachers' strike was an incentive system designed to enhance the professionalism of Hawai'i's teachers. This benefit may be robbed from us as the state tries to remedy its apparent mistakes or oversights during the negotiations.

So now teachers are at fault for believing what was written on the contract negotiated by both sides? It seems, from information publicly available at least, and from his letter published in the July 26 Advertiser, that chief state negotiator Davis K. Yogi should immediately be subject to a mandatory reading test.

And if it is correct, as Yogi suggested, that Superintendent Paul LeMahieu is responsible for the $6 million figure that later turned out to be inaccurate, then perhaps the superintendent or his accountants should sit for a state math exam to see how they do.

It is said that a verbal contract is not worth the paper it is written on, but here we seem to have a written contract and the state argues that the verbal contract and fuzzy DOE math take precedence.

That may be tested as well, in court, unless these little boys behave themselves in front of their teachers.

Larry Geller

Reparations should go to those affected

I find myself in agreement with Ken Conklin's July 20 Opinion commentary but in disagreement as to the people involved in the racist activities he mentions.

Racist indeed are people unaffected by war crimes (in this case, those committed against the Hawaiian Kingdom by the United States) forcing their way into the reparations "line" (in this case OHA, DHHL, etc.) to share the benefits without having suffered the atrocities.

Reparations for war crimes are often based on wrongs done against people of a certain ethnicity or religion — surely Conklin isn't arguing, for example, that he too should be included in the group of people receiving reparations for relatives who may have been killed in World War II?

I would have thought it was clear to anyone living in Hawai'i for any substantial amount of time that the injustices perpetrated by the United States against Hawai'i must be addressed, not ignored. Conklin's "plan" of sovereignty (to do nothing) is insensitive, ignorant of the situation and certainly no real "plan" at all.

I hope his future statements will come from a more informed position, with consideration of the actions of those committed persons around us who continue to work toward meaningful dialogue and a workable solution for kanaka maoli and all people of Hawai'i nei.

John McClain

Chef Chai should receive exception

So, President Bush wants an exception to legalize 3 million illegal immigrants while this same "inflexible law" is being used to deport Chef Chai.

Shouldn't our congressional delegation use its full power to seek a similar exception for Chef Chai?

Russell Stephen Pang