Letters to the Editor
Street performers are a vital part of Waikiki
The Honolulu Advertiser 's coverage of the controversy surrounding street performers in Waikiki has generally been well-balanced and informative. However, the March 4 article by Dan Nakaso ("Does extra security protect paradise?") was a different story.
This article inappropriately lumped street performers into the same category as illegal street vendors, prostitutes and even violent criminals. By doing so, the article not so subtly reinformed what can be best described as the city and the business community's smear campaign against street performers. As such, a few points need to be made.
• There is a significant difference between a vendor selling jewelry on the sidewalk, which is illegal, and a street performer playing the ukulele, which is constitutionally protected expression.
• There is no doubt that street performers contribute greatly to the vitality, diversity and energy of Waikiki. Most tourists very much enjoy street performers and, as The Advertiser has previously reported, are shocked at the city's effort to kick them off Kalakaua Avenue.
• Many local musicians got their start on the sidewalks along Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki. Closing off this avenue of expression to future musicians is ill-advised at best.
As The Advertiser noted editorially, there is a danger "that too much control can squeeze the life and vitality out of an area. Waikiki must never become a place where only those people and activities sanctioned by the visitor industry are welcome."
The ACLU of Hawai'i couldn't agree more.
Brent White
Legal Director, ACLU of Hawai'i
GOP policy makes sense; liberals don't
On March 19, two of your editorials sounded very liberally biased. Your editorials and other liberals have identified several problems with GOP policy. I propose the following solutions:
• Regarding the U.S. Senate reforming the bankruptcy laws: Anyone who believes it is acceptable to obtain several credit cards, charge them to the maximum and ask a judge to erase the debt he ran up is nonsensical. We all pay for it indirectly in higher credit card interest rates.
Solution: Be responsible for yourself, and if you cannot control yourself, rip the cards up.
• Regarding oil production and exploration: Anyone who believes we should continue to pay inflated crude oil prices from foreign nations that consistently cut back on production in our time of need is not being logical. California is a perfect example of the stranglehold liberal environmentalists have on exploration.
Solution: Liberals walk to work, use candles and take a cold shower.
• Regarding carbon dioxide emissions. Anyone who thinks CO2 is a harmful gas should hold a CO2 detector in front of his mouth when he exhales. CO2 is a natural by-product of human metabolism, forest fires and volcanic eruptions.
Solution: Liberals all get together and collectively hold their breaths to cut down on hot air.
Robert Thurston
Wai'alua
New bankruptcy law will stop the abuses
Your March 19 editorial "GOP bankrupts bankruptcy law" says this reform legislation will mean "bankers win, the consumers lose." In fact, consumers have been victimized by the existing system, a fact that Democrats and Republicans alike realized when they voted to change the law.
Yes, bankruptcy protection must be available to those who truly need it. The pending bill provides such protections, particularly for low- and moderate-income consumers. However, the wealthy should not be allowed to use bankruptcy to walk away from debt they can afford to repay, while responsible Americans who do pay their bills each month are forced to pick up the tab.
The alarming number of bankruptcy filings (up 50 percent since 1995 in a time of prosperity) shows a system that's broken. The U.S. economy loses $40 billion annually because of bankruptcy filings. These loses are passed along to all consumers through higher interest rates, increased prices for goods and services and reduced access to credit.
Only a needs-based reform will stop the abuses and preserve the safety net for those who truly need bankruptcy protection.
Rodney Shinkawa
Executive Vice President, Hawaii Bankers Association
State must protect our longline industry
Finally, state Sen. Rod Tam woke up to the reality of what the National Marine Fisheries Service and the federal courts are up to.
How much more information is necessary for the rest of the state Legislature and governor's office to realize we are going to lose our $50 million longline fishery to the whims of environmentalists while the rest of the Pacific Rim nations, such as Japan, Korea, China, etc., continue to fish the same resources our fishermen had been harvesting?
Henry Okamoto
Continued tax cuts are still badly needed
This responds to Richard Weigel's March 21 letter, which states, "Senate leadership is acting courageously to stop or delay additional income tax reductions." He talks further about a supposed promise made to voters about continued tax cuts.
In 1998, the Legislature passed Act 157, which cut the state income tax rate and was to be phased in over the next four years. The income tax rate would be progressively reduced in tax years 1999, 2001 and 2002. The first cut went into effect in 1999 and appears to be stimulating economic growth, although slowly. The cuts scheduled for 2001 and 2002 would further reduce personal income taxes.
Prior to these tax cuts, Hawai'i had the highest income tax in the nation. We had the highest tax rates (10 percent), which kicked in at the lowest income levels.
The purpose of Act 157 was to stimulate the economy and demonstrate that Hawai'i was a good place to do business. We hoped to attract business, create jobs and keep people from moving to the Mainland. From other news today ("Tourism outlook turns bleak"), it appears our economy needs the continued stimulation these tax cuts will provide.
Lower education consumes over a billion dollars a year, about 40 percent of the general fund budget, and no one — not the governor, the Board of Education, the superintendent of education or the legislative auditor — can tell us where all the money is going. Perhaps we should be looking into the pockets of the DOE rather than those of the taxpayers.
Rep. Colleen Meyer
R-46th District (La'ie, Waiahole)
O'ahu can't mess up on rail transit again
With great concern I read the March 20 article regarding the O'ahu Metropolitan Planning Organization's recent approval of a $4.8 billion "priority list" for O'ahu transportation projects.
According to one City Council member, the list adds "precision" to the bus/rapid-transit system, which makes it eligible for more than $600 million of federal money.
The article brings to mind the senseless loss of more than $700 million of federal money granted to Honolulu for the ill-fated rail transit project of 1993. Can we really depend on our elected public servants to properly manage federal money if and when it is granted for future transportation projects on O'ahu?
The rail transit project was an enormous opportunity for this city but was squandered. Next time, before voting for your district's City Council representative, be certain of his or her support for rail transportation in Honolulu. After all, what is the alternative? Adding more buses to our already-congested streets?
Michael J. Lauck
Cayetano must stand firm against pressures
For years, Hawai'i has been in a financial crisis caused by, among many things, past administrations, an excess number of state employees and out-of-control labor unions.
Gov. Cayetano has been willing to control or eliminate the pressures for excess spending, tax increases and fiscal mismanagement unlike any other politician in Hawai'i today. He must not give in to any unreasonable demands by any special-interest groups or unions.
The financial welfare of all the people of Hawai'i is now at stake.
Ed Buck
Both sides must seek realistic solutions
I have spent six years and a significant amount of money to attain my Ph.D. so I can continue to teach baccalaureate nursing students here at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo. Despite this investment and commitment to the program and the students here, I am pondering my options beyond the UH system due to the current impasse between the governor and our union.
I do not like working without a contract. I certainly do not appreciate falling further and further behind in real salary earnings, due to the cost of living. I believe it will be quite a bit more difficult to attract anyone to apply for our positions now, especially with the governor's ill-advised effort to cut out three months of benefits (health and retirement) every year.
Both sides need to work toward realistic and workable solutions that will avoid a strike.
No one wants to strike, including myself, but that option cannot be ruled out as long as what is proffered ends up being a net loss rather than a realistic gain.
Phyllis Eide
Assistant Professor of Nursing, UH-Hilo
Strike would jeopardize huge grant programs
If the faculty accepts the state's current contract offer, the University of Hawai'i will be ruined. Faculty members who bring in grants will leave, and UH will not be able to hire competent replacements. My own department can't afford any more losses.
If our department doesn't obtain the best faculty members, students in Hawai'i will lose a valuable resource in speech-communication skills — something that makes college graduates much more marketable. Our department now ranks nationally as one of the best master's programs in the speech-communication field. If we are forced to hire professors who are at the bottom of the list, we are going to lose our national reputation.
Another concern is that two of my million-dollar grants may not be completed because of lack of access to public schools if their teachers strike, and lack of access to my data if I must strike.
One grant, funded by the National Institute of Health, creates a culturally sensitive smoking-prevention program for seventh and eighth graders. The other, from the Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention, has consistently provided Hawai'i with data the state needs to solicit federal funding for adolescent alcohol and drug treatment/prevention programs.
Not only are the projects important to Hawai'i's youth, but a researcher can only get future funding if currently funded projects are fulfilled. Hawai'i's local economy benefits enormously from these multimillion-dollar grants.
Renee Klingle
Associate Professor, Department of Speech
The world of sake is truly profound
An article in The Advertiser drew readers' attention to a new line of sakes soon to be introduced to the dining public (Taste, March 14). While Roy Yamaguchi's friends in the Islands wish him the best of luck with his latest venture, many were no doubt surprised by the ill-informed comments of Grif Frost, the West Coast sake promoter behind the new labels.
To hear Frost tell it, the only innovation going on in the world of sake is occurring in his little corner of the Northwest.
Recently, members of Hawai'i's International Sake Association traveled to northern Japan to see firsthand the tremendous vitality and diversity in the world of sake today. At every brewery we visited, the toji, or brewmasters, were working with newly developed rice strains, trying out new yeasts and experimenting with milling ratios and combinations of different rices.
Even at the most famous brewery in Japan, where the legendary Koshi no Kanbai label is produced, no one is standing still. This year's daiginjo took the milling ratio down to 30 percent of the size of the original grains to achieve a sake truly in a class by itself.
Frost's insistence on serving sake cold is also rather suspect, as this is one of the best ways to conceal a poorly made sake's flaws.
The world of sake is every bit as profound and nuanced as the world of wine. All it takes to develop an appreciation is an open mind and a joyful palate.
Chris Pearce
International Sake Association
CEOs today must sail unchartered waters
I agree with Jeff Crawford (Business, March 19) that "envisioning, energizing and enabling" are essential leadership qualities. However, I would like to suggest that the metaphor of the CEO as the "captain on the bridge" has not only not outlived its usefulness, it is even more vital.
"Leading through change [by] setting a course and issuing orders" are very appropriate behaviors when guiding a ship toward a known destination, a place others have already been. Ergo, the concept of MBO, of managing by objectives. These leaders must have finely tuned "map-reading skills."
However, innovation and the search for excellence mean having the courage and ability to sail in uncharted waters. These leaders require "map-making skills."
If Hawai'i's economic doldrums are to be reversed, we need CEOs who are trained and skilled not only in "envisioning, energizing and enabling," but those who can also manage the inherent ambiguity and anxiety that will buffet those truly in search of excellence.
Irv Rubin
President, Temenos Inc.
