Letters to the Editor
New HECO proposal no longer operative
Your Nov. 2 article titled "New HECO plan hides five Wa'ahila Ridge poles" is no longer operative. The supposed plan was to relocate five of the the giant poles from the proposed highly visible ridge alignment to a new path down the vale next to St. Louis Heights, not readily visible from Manoa.
When a HECO attorney, Ben Kudo, was asked at the contested case hearing on Monday if environmental and soil studies had been done at this new alignment, HECO's reply was, "No, that there was no intention of actually using that route." The only reason the route was mentioned earlier at the hearing was to show that HECO did investigate alternate routes as requested by a land board member at a hearing earlier this year.
Even if the vale route down the ridge was authentic, it would provide no benefit. The huge poles and wires would still be visible from all over St. Louis Heights. Go up to one of the upper floors of the Convention Center and look out a mauka window. The primary feature you see is the front of Wa'ahila Ridge. Is this the pristine view we want our visitors to admire, covered with huge poles and wires?
Jim Harwood
Warning and hazard lights are overused
Tow trucks routinely operate with amber lights active. Their use is proper when working on or picking up a disabled vehicle and when a vehicle is in tow. Use on trucks that carry a vehicle on a "tiltable" flatbed is questionable, as it is then no different from any flat-bed truck.
Trucks that put out construction warning signs and cones use lights when they are neither putting out nor picking up signs or cones.
Vehicles are driven with four-way hazard lights on, yet the driver's manual states that on a moving vehicle, it is against the law.
Refuse and trash trucks going to or from the dump have the lights operating.
The misuse of warning lights makes the driving public insensitive to their basic intent.
In Korea, emergency lights are generally ignored because all emergency vehicles have their warning lights active whenever the vehicles are in motion, not just when responding to an emergency. I hope we never reach that point.
Bernard Judson
Kapolei
UH medical school essential to Hawai'i
I'd love to have seen a healing center in Diamond Head crater, but I'll go with the Kaka'ako site. All the opposition sounds lame to me, carping at something that will prove them mistaken.
Yes we have a whole lot of doctors here, but is that bad? We have a whole lot of healthy people, too. That some of the tobacco settlement funds will be diverted to benefit health — is that bad? Do we need all that much money to print up a lot of posters telling kids to stop unhealthy smoking?
Most don't want to hear it anyhow, so we'd better have the coming doctors to treat them. Was Phillip Morris so wrong, if politically incorrect, to say there will be more Social Security benefits for us non-smoking survivors?
To have a world-class medical center here is a persuasive way to keep prospective doctors and researchers at home, dealing with local and tropical matters. Life would be better promoting the larger good.
Frank Luke
State could cut its take of the gasoline tax
Nothing that I've read about the special legislative session or promised action by the governor to help businesses in Hawai'i dealt with getting the price of gasoline down in Hawai'i.
This is a major cost component for just about every business here. The price of gas is at least $0.70 per gallon cheaper on the Mainland. Why not cut the state's take of the gas tax and reduce the price overall?
I'd also like to see a story from The Advertiser on the state's Highway Fund. How much money is in there? Are we being overtaxed so that money can be squirreled away and not put to productive use in the economy? Come on, how about a little aggressive reporting?
J.D. Nielsen
I salute our pilots for their bravery
I extend my respect and gratitude to the military pilots and crew members who put their lives on the line every day, knowing that if they are downed, a horrible fate awaits them at the hand of the enemy. Yet they fly their missions for us.
I stand at attention and very proudly salute them for their dedication and bravery.
Charlie Toth
We must stop polluting with toxic chemicals
My hat is off to Mayor Harris for listing hazardous household products and cleaning the city of trash and water containers that breed mosquitoes.
We are responsible for our sloppy habits that breed diseases of the body. We have technology today to clear the earth of pollution, but the problem is we must first learn to stop polluting our bodies and land with toxic chemicals. It is simple common sense.
When we use these chemicals and kill all that is natural and organic, we create a "home" for disease, fungus and mold. It is just a natural process. If we just stop using these hazardous chemicals, we will find a home that will not have any fungus and mold.
How can we talk about killing mosquitoes with poisons that contaminate our environment and water when we perpetuate homes for mosquitoes by planting foliage that holds water for mosquitoes? The worst thing I have seen are the "tropical plants" that make homes for mosquitoes by holding water in their centers.
The College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawai'i should be making people aware of this.
A. Asakura
Akaka Bill would have profound effects on us
A recent televised show, "The Akaka Bill: Its Impact on the Islands," promised to show viewers how Hawai'i might change. The show was long on Pollyanna but short on facts. The Akaka Bill starts a process leading to a sovereign nation within the state of Hawai'i.
We only need to look to the Mainland to realize how Hawai'i would change. Every resident of Hawai'i would be severely affected. Here are only two examples.
• A sovereign nation would have the right to operate businesses on Hawaiian lands. Those businesses would not pay state or city taxes. Local businesses would have a tough time competing because their prices include state and city taxes.
• The 2000 Census identified over 240,000 people of Hawaiian ancestry in Hawai'i. Each could be removed from the state income tax rolls. Those removed would use government services, such as roads, parks and fire protection, but would not have to pay for them through taxes. They would even get free car tags.
Most likely the residents of Hawai'i would pay higher state and city taxes to make up for the folks getting a free ride.
The state of Hawai'i belongs equally to us all. We all benefit from living here. And we all should feel proud in supporting our state. No race or group of people should get a free ride at the expense of the others. If the Akaka Bill passes, it will be too late to study the bill's impact.
Ed Stewart
Aloha Stadium should reconsider its policies
The current policy-makers at Aloha Stadium have created a monster.
As season ticket holders to UH football games for the last 20 years and as ticket holders to major events dating back to when the stadium first opened, we have been aware of many changes. However, some of the current policies and changes have left us shaking our heads in disbelief.
Why must a vendor remove and keep the cap when selling a $2 bottle of water? I was told it was "stadium policy." They are afraid we might throw the caps and hurt someone in the stands. That's pretty ridiculous, when, if I had those thoughts in mind, I could have thrown the full bottle.
The sun around 4 p.m. at a Friday afternoon game was brutal. We lasted about an hour when several of us, dripping wet from the heat, decided to stand up on the walkway behind our seats to get a little relief from the sun. One of the security guards came along and asked us to take our seats. "We don't allow loitering," she said. We offered to sit as soon as the play was over with, so as not to block any action from our section neighbors. The guard insisted we sit immediately.
Everyone understands that security has been increased everywhere for our own good and we applaud the changes being made. However, at times when people are given a little authority, they suddenly take advantage, think they have special powers and begin making their own policies.
No one likes to be treated discourteously, and when it continues game after game, why should we return? This is no way to treat any ticket-paying fan. Why would we continue to put up with this abuse?
I believe the stadium policy-makers should regroup with all staff, vendors and security to re-evaluate policies. Educate the public as to why one cannot buy, for sanitary reasons, a bottle of water with the cap, why ladies cannot bring purses (if they are going to be searched anyway), why if someone is having a heat problem he cannot stand in the shade to catch a few 'Aiea breezes, and why one must sit and watch the game for several hours in wet clothing because umbrellas aren't allowed.
Some of us have a long walk from the parking area to the stadium. Once these policies are re-evaluated, please make sure those decisions become standard practice throughout the stadium and at each gate entrance. It makes me angry to see one lady allowed to enter with a purse, and I'm selected to take mine to the security office.
J. Davis
Kailua
Teacher debate as critical as ever
The teacher bonus debate is an issue of principle, fairness and justice. Not only is the handling of such matters far from "pointless," it is what defines a society.
In addition to a 16 percent raise, the state agreed to a one-year bonus for teachers with advanced degrees. This bonus was for only one year because under the current pay structure, these same teachers already receive additional compensation for holding an advanced degree.
Giving bonus atop bonus for a teacher who received his or her masters degree 20 years ago does little to improve teacher productivity or initiative.
As for the strike being unnecessary, the decision to walk off the job was made by the HSTA. HSTA leadership convinced the rank and file to strike, then threatened to withhold graduation for high school seniors. They demanded a contract that would have cost taxpayers $290 million, with no requirements for professional development and a compensation schedule based mainly on years of service rather than professional development or achievement.
After a three-week strike that hurt students and their families, the HSTA settled for a $117 million contract, which included a strong professional development program and a solid 16 percent raise. This settlement was only $19 million more than was the state's final pre-strike offer. Was the strike necessary? Not from the state's point of view.
The difficult times Hawai'i finds itself in are unprecedented. If Gov. Cayetano complies with the House speaker's request for a 5 percent reduction of the state's general fund budget, the Department of Education could be plunged into a dire situation. To illustrate, excluding items such as allocated debt service and fringe benefits, if the state were to reduce the remaining $940 million in expenses by 5 percent, the reduction would be on the order of $47 million.
Though this additional bonus money the HSTA is demanding is desperately needed, the issue remains one of upholding the integrity of what the two parties agreed upon. If this were an issue of approach or style, like a hotel tax bill, the governor might concede and let it go. But this state will forever be negotiating public worker contracts, and compromising bedrock principles in this case is simply unacceptable.
As Thomas Jefferson once said, "On matters of style, swim with the current. On matters of principle, stand like a rock."
Jackie Kido
Director of communications, Office of the Governor
