Letters to the Editor
HECO could have done so much more
I was pleased to read your Nov. 1 article headlined "HEI pulling out overseas." It is about time Hawaiian Electric concentrated its energies on our Islands, where it has monopoly power.
It seems that while HEI and its HECO subsidiary fought deregulation of utilities here, it tried to take advantage of deregulation in the Philippines and China. The result was over $100 million lost in foreign investments.
With that lost $100 million, HEI could have undergrounded all power lines in the state.
Now HECO will turn its attention to building a $30 to $40 million 138,000-volt project over the beautiful and historic Wa'ahila Ridge, where it is assured (through a decision by the PUC) a locked-in rate of return for its investment paid for by us ratepayers.
Now that the contested-case hearings have commenced, the entire island is focused on HECO's arrogant perseverance of an archaic, dangerous and unsightly plan. HECO knows that our electrical system is reliable and that there is no compelling need for this redundant transmission line at this time. It is not a neighborhood issue. It is the big issue of fossil fuel dependence versus renewable energy.
Fifteen thousand residents from all over the island have signed petitions opposing this line. Virtually all our leaders stand against placing the poles over this sacred resting place of Kauhi the Giant. The Kamoku-Pukele project is about people everywhere who care about the 'aina.
It is a sad day when the largest corporate power in the state can force a massive, costly, unpopular, unnecessary construction project on the population when it knows alternative energy sources will be cheaper and viable in the near future. A moratorium on these lines is in order.
Jeremy Lam
If only HECO would drop fossil fuels here
HEI's decision to back out of the fossil fuel business abroad is a welcome move to those concerned about our global environment (Advertiser, Nov. 1). After all, the developing economies in the Pacific and Asia have the perfect opportunity to "leapfrog" 20th-century dirty fossil fuel plants into 21st-century clean-energy solutions.
Instead of meeting the needs of these countries with distributed and economical power, HEI's vision was to saddle them with large, centralized, polluting power plants requiring massive distribution infrastructure and ongoing dependence on fossil fuels. Its construction of a coal plant in Inner Mongolia — a region rich with land and wind energy potential — reflects HEI's antipathy toward developing renewable energy.
The fantastic irony in the China project was HEI's difficulty in obtaining an agreement to connect to Inner Mongolia Power Co.'s utility grid. For the numerous renewable-energy generators in Hawai'i that HECO has denied an interconnection agreement, Hawaiian Electric got a bitter taste of its own medicine.
Sustainable solutions do exist for Hawai'i and abroad: wind, solar power and fuel cells powered by hydrogen. Let's hope Hawaiian Electric Industries' major reversal of corporate strategy abroad portends a change in its local policy toward renewable-energy producers.
Jeffrey Mikulina
Director, Sierra Club, Hawai'i Chapter
This year, do your shopping in Hawai'i
Christmas is just around the corner. Have you any idea of what your purchases might be this year? For just this year, shop at home. By doing so, you just might help someone hold on to that job or maybe even help that store to stay open.
For just this year, throw away those catalogues that have been filling up your letter box. Don't surf the Net to shop online. Instead, keep the money within our state to support our local economy and those who produce some fine, locally made products and who provide some excellent services.
There are crafters who labor all year. This year, visit them at craft fairs and shop Hawai'i for Christmas.
The locally made jams and jellies, candies, locally published books and CDs, clothing and other items of apparel are comparable to, if not better than, some produced elsewhere. Why not buy them here in Hawai'i just this year?
For just this year, put a book of interisland airline coupons into that Christmas stocking. Give a gift certificate for a hotel stay, or tickets to a show or a dinner cruise. Take the family out to dinner.
In this time of crisis, we must depend on ourselves and realize that we all need each other. Each item you purchase locally helps our state stay alive. Think about it. For just this year, shop Hawai'i for Christmas.
Is there anyone out there who can produce a "Shop Hawai'i for Christmas" bumper sticker?
Phoebe Beach
U.S. should provide proof of bin Laden guilt
A recent report said that a Taliban spokesman asked for proof of Osama bin Laden's responsibility for the attack on New York City, and that State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said there was no need to offer proof because "All one has to do is watch television to find Osama bin Laden claiming responsibility. "
Nothing I've seen on TV or read in Newsweek, Time and U.S. News supports Boucher's statement. Osama bin Laden did express his wholehearted approval of this terrorist attack, but that is not evidence he was involved.
I wasn't pleased when President Bush spoke as though bin Laden's approval proved anything more than how much bin Laden hates our country, and now the State Department is claiming a public admission of guilt. Such misrepresentation is depressing.
Clearly, bin Laden is, as he's often been described, "a prime suspect." But I want my government representatives to stick to the facts. It will make it easier to believe them in the future.
The Rev. Gene Bridges
Broadcasters ignored real issues of the day
In 1777, to the king of England, George Washington was a terrorist, as were the other founders of America. These men were the evil-doers of their time, fighting and escaping oppression of Britain's wealthy upper class. They were successful in gaining freedom, creating a climate of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in America.
But somewhere on this journey, we lost our way and started imitating dear old England: manipulating, capturing, colonizing, assimilating foreign countries (Hawai'i), resulting in millions of foreign deaths and hatred of America by those who survived the onslaught. It is rare to hear this stuff on radio and television except on foreign broadcasts. Ironic, how America is now supporting the same kind of tyranny it fought against, as it seeks cheap foreign labor and new trading opportunities.
Rather than reporting on how foreigners were abused (not a ratings grabber), broadcasters were talking about Bill and Monica and other titillating events, resulting in a public that was uninformed on crucial international events. This may be why the American public doesn't understand why some foreigners hate the United States.
To correct this, ask your congressional representative to support the FCC Fairness Doctrine (equal time for controversial issues).
Smoky Guerrero
Mililani
Birth of Israel also gave birth to conflict
In reference to the Oct. 26 letter on then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's offering of "generous" land settlements to Palestinians, I'd like to share some more history.
Starting in 1948, Jewish settlers annexed huge areas of land from then-British-occupied Palestine and created a self-proclaimed Jewish state, which U.S. President Harry Truman immediately recognized as lawful. For better or worse, the U.S. backed a land grab that included the forcible removal of 700,000 Palestinians from land they had lived on for millennia, as well as the death of thousands of Palestinians from the 1920s onward by Jewish terrorist groups (e.g., Irgon's 1938 offensive, the bombing of the King David Hotel and the Deir Yassin massacre). Two wrongs don't make a right, then or now.
U.S. backing of Israel for the last 50 years is not the only thing fueling the hatred some have for the U.S., but denying that actions have consequences is the most dangerous form of denial, and one we cannot afford to maintain if we hope to end atrocities like the Sept. 11 massacre and create a lasting peace on this planet.
John McClain
These UH Warriors could go all the way
Rolovich to Lelie could be the start of another storybook season for June Jones. It's a Cinderella story in the making.
After starting 1-2, then losing Timmy Chang, last year's WAC freshman player of the year, to a wrist injury, senior backup quarterback Nick Rolovich leads Hawai'i to a nine-game winning streak, a share of the WAC championship and a trip to the Silicon Valley Bowl. Wide receiver Ashley Lelie earns first-team All-American honors at wide receiver and is persuaded by Coach Jones to come back for his senior year in 2002 as the Warriors' first true Heisman Trophy candidate. And linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa earns WAC defensive player of the year.
It was worth driving to Reno to watch this UH Warrior football team play. The Warriors play exciting football, more exciting than in the Tomey or Wagner years.
This team has leadership, maturity and character — that's what it takes to win a conference and a bowl game. So if my friends and I could travel eight hours round-trip by car to see Hawai'i play on the road, I hope there are enough true UH Warrior fans willing to take a drive (or better yet, a charter bus or car-pool) to Aloha Stadium and support this team. They are winners.
Von Kenric Kaneshiro
San Jose, Calif.
Legislature did what was needed
Columnist David Shapiro, in a commentary distinguished only in its condescending generalities ("Trick or treat? We got tricked," Oct. 31), publicly admonished the Legislature for what he perceived as its failure to take "brave and decisive action."
Yet in attempting to muddy the waters of public perspective, any distinction between what constitutes bold action and what defines reckless conduct appeared lost to that writer.
Recently, GOP Chairwoman Linda Lingle rightly urged legislators and the public to ignore such muckraking, stating her assurance that its authors were hardly practicing in private what they preached in public. On this matter, I tend to agree with her.
As legislators, we are aware of our limitations to influence the course of events outside of Hawai'i. We are, however, fully aware of our responsibility to address the resulting effects as best we can.
Prior to convening this special session, The Advertiser requested that legislative leaders submit their thoughts concerning their goals and expectations ("Public safety should be of utmost concern," Oct. 21). I wrote that our Democratic majority would focus on three areas: ensuring public safety, promoting economic revitalization and reinforcing the safety net for those hardest hit. I further emphasized that the session had to be "purposely limited and focused."
Shapiro seems upset because we did not pass a measure that would "immediately get our unemployed back to work." I suggest he speak to those who will immediately benefit from the Legislature's work.
Just ask the unemployed worker who will receive an extension of unemployment benefits or COBRA coverage reimbursements or affordable medical insurance, the small-business owner whose cash flow will be enhanced by greater tax withholdings, and the tour operators and concessionaires whose contractual adjustments will provide immediate relief.
Certainly, anyone can appreciate that emergency funding for marketing, airport security and dengue-fever eradication is meaningful. I suggest he also contact Dean Cadman of the UH John Burns School of Medicine for his assessment.
We know our work is not done but only begun. So over the next couple of months, before the 2002 regular session, we invite all citizens, including Shapiro, to express their "best" ideas and work with the Legislature in fashioning measures to address the common good.
I agree with Shapiro that perceived disunity among our public officials in critical times is devastating to public morale. But so too is self-indulgent cynicism and unwarranted pessimism. Because what I stated prior to the special session remains true, and bears repeating: This too shall pass. We shall overcome. Together.
Rep. Marcus R. Oshiro
House majority leader
