Letters to the Editor
Union brotherhood lost on airline union
The concept of "union brotherhood" was dealt a heck of a blow by the Aloha Airlines union by its rejection of management's offer to re-employ a massive number of laid-off workers.
I have spent a lifetime in the labor movement. I have held every position and done everything possible to kindle and develop the concept Abraham Lincoln called the most sacred relationship existent, that of union brotherhood.
It seems that kind of principled thought is out the window in this day of the new unionism. The rejection letter showed no understanding of the basic principles of unionism: an injury to one is an injury to all.
Steve Murin
Dec. 7 heroes shouldn't have to share spotlight
I think the state of Hawai'i's offer to bring New York rescue personnel to the Islands is a wonderful idea.
However, to invite them the week of Dec. 3-10 is an insult to our Pearl Harbor survivors. Hundreds of survivors and their families, more than 3,000 visitors in all, will be here commemorating the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
The heroes of our "Greatest Generation" deserve Hawai'i's fullest and utmost attention.
Many people have been working very hard to plan events for our Pearl Harbor survivors. While the comparisons between the attacks will be obvious, these events appropriately focus on our veterans.
In light of the Sept. 11 attacks, the numbers of guests visiting to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor has grown significantly. We should not ask them to share the spotlight; they earned the spotlight to themselves.
Please reschedule the invitation to our heroes from NYC. We owe the debt of our nation to the heroism of all those who fought so bravely during Pearl Harbor. They deserve a warm aloha all their own.
J. Campbell
'Ewa Beach
Mayor Giuliani has compounded tragedy
As a captain with the Honolulu Fire Department, I like everyone else was shocked and saddened by the Sept. 11 attack. I am here in New York City now and have become even more saddened by the unforgivable acts of Mayor Giuliani.
I really believed the media hype of what a great leader he has been until I talked with the people here. This "disgrace to American values" has decided that the buildings that fell are more important than the people who died in them.
Recently, the NYPD arrested several firefighters for challenging the mayor's decision to prevent them from recovering and honoring their fallen. It is despicable. How can we expect these brave men and women to live with peace while they are not allowed to recover their own?
Many of you out there won't understand this, but like the military, it is not just a saying, it is a way of life: "No one remains behind!"
God bless the New York Fire Department.
Paul R. Stankiewicz II
Out-of-state golf fees should be lowered
If we want to have golfers from Asia and the Mainland return to Hawai'i, the golf courses should consider lowering the fees charged to out-of-state golfers. They could charge out-of-state golfers the same fees that are charged to golfers who do not belong to a certified/chartered golf club.
Golfers are generally more affluent and have the funds to spend their vacation here in Hawai'i. In these economic times, we need to expand our aloha in other ways. Hawai'i could be a mecca for golfers the world over.
Stan Kamita
Cayetano trustworthy
Much has been written regarding the jurisprudence of allowing Gov. Ben Cayetano extraordinary powers to bolster the faltering economic system. Gov. Ben is a product of Kalihi, not Kahala. He is a champion of the lower economic rung of Hawai'i, which trusts him. Listen to him. He knows what he's talking about.
Ed Tonaki
Wahiawa
Officials should find the answers to war
Steve Shortt in his Nov. 5 letter admits that we "protesters" are right and goes on to ask us for "answers." He also makes some ethnocentric statements about "clubbing" and "veils."
If we are indeed correct in our analysis, then Shortt should insist that his elected officials, the ones who get paid to find answers, find some. If he wants to talk about veils and clubbings, then we should also mention the women's movement in America and the dropping of a couple of atomic bombs on civilian targets.
For America to deny fault in its foreign policies is to say that the U.S. is always right. Is that possible?
Steve Tayama
Focus on dealerships that don't offer deals
I was not trying to encourage any illegal activity by saying that locals should buy their vehicles out of state (as Dave Rolf's Nov. 5 letter suggests). I was trying to do just the opposite, by keeping the dealerships fair in response to the article that said only some dealerships here in the Islands were offering the same five-year, zero-percent financing, as their Mainland counterparts. I was merely attempting to make a point.
The dealerships that treat the locals fairly will continue to do well because locals do not forget fairness, generosity and respect.
In these difficult times, it's great to pull together and support one another; just don't let greed get in the way and ruin the aloha spirit.
Terry Wilson
What's the real reason for Manoa power line?
Palolo stands united with Manoa on the Wa'ahila Ridge power line issue. And HECO still has not proven a "need." So there must be something else.
Perhaps it is for HECO to have total control of rates. The line would give HECO a monopoly on all the electrical-distribution lines. This could go into its subsidiary company, Pro-View, which happens to be an energy-distribution arm of HECO.
In addition, HECO should not be given the control to restrain the state of Hawai'i from progressing forward into the 21st century with state-of-the-art renewable-energy technology. This line is the super-glue that would give HECO that power.
Carolyn Walther
ACLU should focus on important issues
The ACLU wastes no time weighing in about the red Shinto torii in Mo'ili'ili. Although I believe in separation of church and state, I don't know enough about torii's symbolism to have a strong opinion about its presence.
On the other hand, I have a very strong opinion about cross-burning as a well-known symbol of the Ku Klux Klan's bigotry toward African Americans and Jews. While there is an arguable First Amendment right about burning it at their own rallies, there can be no justification for burning it recently in an African American yard in Virginia.
I am appalled and disgusted that the Virginia ACLU successfully argued against the 50-year-old ban. My highest praise to the state attorney general appealing the court's 4 to 3 ruling that supported "this form of domestic terrorism ... intolerable in a free society."
I'll be among those waiting to see if our local chapter weighs in on this travesty — but I won't hold my breath.
Faye Kennedy
College Hill costs raise many questions
Your Nov. 2 story on the renovation of the UH president's residence on College Hill raised unanswered questions.
President Evan Dobelle said he has had little input into the renovation project, which was initiated by the former administration at a budget of $172,000. Mrs. Dobelle requested many changes and approved nearly every aspect of the work done. The cost has gone up sharply and has been estimated to reach $1 million when all work is complete.
For the University of Hawai'i to spend so much public money on renovating the president's residence at a time when the state is suffering from a devastating recession and many people have lost their jobs is beyond comprehension.
Who authorized this enormous increase in expenditures? What was the process of budget submission and approval, and on what justification?
Since Dobelle is the final approving authority at the university, does the responsibility rest with him or someone else? Both the public and the UH community deserve clear answers. For Dobelle to say that he has had little input does not answer these questions.
Dobelle has said he will seek private donations to repay the university for the cost of the renovations and work to establish an endowment for College Hill. This is highly admirable. But the fact is that large amounts of public funds were spent first, and a promise to seek private donations came afterward.
One hopes that Dobelle's first priority would be raising funds to support the university's teaching and research.
Godwin C. Chu
Great man of faith, humble servant lost
I was deeply saddened on learning of the passing of David Coy. Although I did not know him personally, I knew him as the person who was instrumental in bringing top-notch Christian performers to Hawai'i.
Whenever I attended one of these concerts at Hawai'i Theatre, I was impressed with how gracious and humble David was whenever he introduced a performer. I also appreciated the way in which David helped the audience enter into a worshipful posture at the start of each concert. David's love for Jesus shone brightly through him.
My heart goes out to David Coy's family. I'm sure I speak for many when I say that Hawai'i has lost a great man of faith and a humble servant. We are very fortunate that David followed the calling of God to live in Hawai'i and serve us here.
Nini Worthington
Story on special session missed
The Honolulu Advertiser's Nov. 4 report regarding the recent special session of the state Legislature is a good example of "recycled reporting."
Status quo was preserved yet again when your reporters gave the readers a one-sided perspective of the goings-on at the Capitol during the session. There were many innovative ideas that were virtually ignored because they originated with the minority party. There were alternatives to the "old and sometimes failed" ideas. It's just that the media chose to ignore these new and oftentimes bold ideas that come from Republicans.
During the special session, Senate Republicans proposed legislation that would allocate capitol improvement project monies for the repair and maintenance of schools. We proposed that this money be given directly to school principals so they would have the authority to determine how to best use the money toward school repair and maintenance projects.
These principals, with the assistance of experts who would be tasked with facilitating the projects, could bypass the bureaucratic red tape of the Department of Accounting and General Services and the state procurement process. Your newspaper largely ignored this new "idea," even after it was announced as part of the Senate Republicans' package of bills at a press conference.
Your reporters' concept that only "new" ideas are going to change things in Hawai'i is fundamentally flawed. Republicans have been touting alternative ideas such as eliminating the 4 percent general excise tax on the hungry and the sick or income or capital gains tax reductions for a long time. In another article in the very same edition, you touted the endorsement by Lowell Kalapa of the Tax Foundation of the very same tax proposal. These kinds of ideas represent meaningful solutions.
How did your reporters miss the profound new ideas that were brought forward during the special session? The last-minute bipartisan amendment of the so-called "King Ben" bill was historic. Can your reporters tell us the last time the minority party participated with the majority party in amending a major bill? The bipartisan cooperation in the Senate was a breath of fresh air.
The message is, although the special session was not all things to all people, it certainly wasn't "business as usual." And it could have been even better if more of the ideas of the minority and those of the public had been incorporated.
Your reporters need to do a better job of letting the public know what actually happened during the special session.
Sam Slom
Senate minority leader
Fred Hemmings
Senate minority floor leader
Bob Hogue
Senate minority policy leader
