Letters to the Editor
Gov. Cayetano must reduce state spending
Regarding the Nov. 19 story "Cayetano wants to tap cash reserves": Now that the governor has gotten approval for school repairs and other construction projects, he finds out that the state does not have enough money to continue the day-to-day business. So, now Gov. Cayetano wants to basically take money from the hurricane fund. If he succeeds, that money will be spent in no time and then there will be nothing to tap except for the tobacco settlement money, which he will have to go after.
The governor wants government to restore the economy by spending our tax dollars on construction projects. The problem here is, the construction industry is not the part of the economy that is hurting. Hello!
The real solution to the budget problem is that the state needs to reduce its spending. That means cutting back some programs or eliminating some and pushing projects out further into the future. The state may need to also reduce some services or reduce the frequency of some services.
More spending is not the answer and will not correct the current economic downturn.
Mark Trexler
Waialua
FBI should probe state government
From the reeking, primordial stew of a rancid, inchoate state "government," there arises — in shining armor — a modern-day Joan of Arc to champion the true interests of public-school children in Hawai'i. How long in the coming, how sweet the arrival.
In your Nov. 17 story, you quoted the testimony of Marion Higa before Sen. Coleen Hanabusa's committee: "If you had tighter controls, you might be able to uncover the cheaters and the exorbitant prices the state is paying unnecessarily, and thereby the dishonest folks might be driven out of the system and you'd have more money for the legitimate needs."
One can but pray the good senator will request of the U.S. Department of Justice the launching of an FBI RICO (Racketeer-Influenced Corrupt Organization) investigation into the fiscal and managerial snake pit in state government.
It is my opinion, based on almost seven years of teaching in this state, that the culture of zero accountability extends well beyond special education.
Godspeed, Sen. Hanabusa: As you wade into the lair of the privileged and the comfortable, take this as your battle cry: No mercy!
Thomas E. Stuart
Kailua, Kona Big Island
Financial support from HMSA is appreciated
I'd like to thank HMSA for helping our business and our employees during these difficult times. The tragic events of Sept. 11 have affected us all, and I am grateful HMSA moved so quickly to help business owners and employees who lost their health benefits.
Many workers are finding out just how expensive a health plan can be when employers aren't picking up a large part of the cost. But HMSA is offering benefits at a special subsidized rate. You can't beat getting your children covered for free. And on top of that, we got a check from HMSA that lowered our health plan rates by about 5 percent for the year.
Let's hope our economic problems will be short-lived. In the meantime, this kind of financial support from a health plan is most appreciated. Thank you, HMSA.
Sharon H. Ohata
Don't change, Hawai'i; tourists will return
Thank you, citizens of Honolulu and big brother, for making our vacation such a wonderful experience. Your state must be the most beautiful place on Earth and its people the friendliest we've ever met.
Don't do anything to change what you have; the tourists will come just for the beauty and great people.
Thanks again for the wonderful memories.
Richard Leland
Benson, Ariz.
Public employees led WTC charge
I'm wondering if the Lingle-led campaign against government workers will persist in the next election after the Republicans and the Republicrats who have infiltrated the Democratic Party are reminded that it was public employees who were heading up the stairs in the World Trade Center towers.
William J. King
Smoking issue need not be a problem
The Sharper Image's Ionic Breeze is totally effective at removing smoking and other odors and allergens — just as seen on the infomercials.
Some things that seem too good to be true actually are true. But one has to keep an open mind to see and solve problems in a new way.
Make all establishments that allow smoking have an Ionic Breeze. The only better air-purifying or treatment technology is what is used on submarines and space shuttles.
Let's not fight the old battles endlessly, but move into the 21st century of "no problems."
Michael Y.S. Hu
Why aren't Hawai'i's gas prices dropping?
I live in Pahoa on the Big Island. Right now I am in Los Angeles. When I was last in Los Angeles (September), gasoline was $1.74 a gallon. Right now it is $1.17 a gallon and dropping.
Why is this same drop not being seen in Hawai'i? In Hilo, gas ranges from $1.91 to $2.21 a gallon. This price was set early in May when gas prices were also rising to their highest on the Mainland. They have never dropped, or dropped only a few cents. Today on TV here in Los Angeles, they are predicting gas at $1 a gallon for holiday travel.
Please look into the outrageous disparity in our gas prices. Certainly someone is profiting far beyond the industry standard.
Bill Daly
State lure to teachers was a hollow promise
Two years ago, I came to Hawai'i enticed by recruiters at a job fair in Portland, Ore. They pleaded with me to put in my application and to bring my skills as a special-education teacher with training in serving learners with the most challenging behavioral, physical and mental disabilities, especially autism, to Hawai'i. I came in February 2000.
Last year, I jumped through the state's hoops to obtain full licensure and requested a transfer at the end of last school year to a classroom closer to my new home in Kalapana with learners I'm trained to serve. I still await a position.
I came to teach in this state at a $13,000 pay cut. I received a tiny relocation allowance, and the state still owes me $1,500 from last year. And it is disconcerting to watch teachers now arrive in Hawai'i to fill positions I'm qualified for and at a considerably higher salary.
If this is the way teachers from the Mainland get treated, it's no wonder they leave like lemmings at the end of a year. It's expensive to live here, the pay is substandard and the Department of Education treats its employees like cattle.
I continue my commitment to serve learners with disabilities here in Hawai'i, but maybe I'll just have to look elsewhere for employment.
Peter Beekley
Aloha Stadium needs management overhaul
What kind of scam are the stadium officials running? First they force you to pay outrageous prices at the concession stands, and now they sell items to you at the stadium, only to take them away from you the next time you attend.
Just two weeks ago at the San Jose State game, I purchased a UH plastic megaphone cup from a vendor inside the stadium. Last weekend at the Miami-Ohio game, it was taken away because it was deemed a "noisemaker."
When I asked for a refund, I was told I would have to take that up with the stadium managing department the following week.
How can the University of Hawai'i expect loyalty from its fans when they are getting fleeced like this? The UH Warriors are having a very successful season, but the attendance fails to show that. Many people I talk to say it's just too expensive and too much hassle to go to a football game.
It is time for the state to look at overhauling the management at Aloha Stadium.
M. Silva
'Aiea
Nudists should have at least one beach
So, Lee Cataluna does not find public nudity beautiful. I was recently at Little Beach on Maui and could find nothing more beautiful than the sea of naked humanity at one with nature next to the sea.
Everyone has the right to her own opinion, and anyone who finds Little Beach offensive has hundreds of other beaches to choose from, including Big Beach right next to it at Makena.
In a free country, nudists should be entitled to at least one beach to call their own (preferably one per island), and Little Beach is perfectly suited for its lack of suits due to the unique geography of its shore, ensuring privacy.
Cataluna needn't stop going to the beach. Just go elsewhere.
Harmony Bentosino
We've lost even more freedoms after attacks
Here in Hawai'i, our tourism industry, the related retail and services industries and, of course, the airline industry are hurting bad. Though these industries' problems can be directly attributed to the horrific events of Sept. 11, they are further damaged by our own government's actions.
President Bush called the destruction of the World Trade Center towers an attack on freedom itself. Yet the government's actions since then have attacked freedom even more.
Law enforcement can now eavesdrop on our phone calls and Internet communications without warrants. They can hold immigrants up to a week without charges. They are encouraged to detain subjects based on a (racial) profile.
At the airports, traveling Americans are subject to random physical pat-downs. This single terrorist event committed by a few bad people has effectively undermined our protections, as Americans, provided by our Constitution.
Now we have the airline security measure. And as the airline industry falls further, our leaders haven't figured out that it is not the fear of terrorism that has deterred Americans from flying, rather it's the indignity of the security measures. Airport security has become much more than inconvenience and burden. It's now a matter of not being treated, as Americans, with dignity and respect.
We should first be considered traveling Americans, exercising our privilege to travel in our great nation, instead of being considered potential terrorists. This is the new mindset of our fast-becoming police state nation.
Our great country has lost more than human lives and buildings; we've lost being treated with dignity and respect by our government and our law-enforcement agencies.
Mel McKeague
'Broadband relief' bill is a snake pit
The premise of the so-called "broadband relief" bill (H.R. 1542) currently pending before Congress is fundamentally flawed.
The telephone companies (Verizon is among them) are seeking exemptions from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 under the guise of "broadband" legislation that purportedly seeks to promote the development of the Internet.
However, if enacted, H.R. 1542 would: 1) exempt them from the market-opening provisions of this act for data and voice services; and 2) exempt them from unbundling their data lines for resale by local companies all the while protecting Verizon's 98 percent monopoly on local phone services.
If enacted, this bill would have a devastating effect on Hawai'i as well as Wall Street's view of small competitive local exchange carriers. Investors have poured billions of dollars into funding start-up telecommunications ventures, believing that the rules of the game were those outlined in the 1996 act. To change those rules in the middle of the game could bring further uncertainty to the equity and debt markets that have been fueling not only local competitors, but a significant portion of America's recent economic prosperity as well.
The effect of this bill on Hawai'i's growing high-tech industry — to say nothing of the quality of its Internet services — will be nothing short of catastrophic.
J. Hendrickson
Kaua'i
Family is grateful for efforts to find son
In addition to the gratitude we feel for the people of Hawai'i and to all parties involved in the recovery effort at the Ehime Maru site, we are extremely grateful to the people of the U.S. Navy, as well as the Japan Self-Defense Force's Chihaya, for carrying out their search for our son, Takeshi.
They reported to us on the current search operations at daily briefings, and they earnestly followed up on all the leads, no matter how small, if they pertained to Takeshi.
It is true that, from a parent's viewpoint, the decision to end the search was a painful one, but since we have clearly understood the operational reports up to now, we have accepted this decision.
To Takeshi's grandfathers and grandmother in Uwajima who have waited for him to come home, as well as those who have worried about us, we would like to report that an earnest search to find Takeshi has been conducted for us.
Tatsuyoshi Mizuguchi
For the family of Takeshi Mizuguchi
