Letters to the Editor
Renaming H-3 tunnels after Pop a mistake
I would like to thank Teruo Hasegawa for his April 13 letter to the editor and to add my two cents regarding the renaming of the H-3 tunnels after my father, the late Jack Burns.
Driving over the H-3 recently, I was stunned to suddenly see a large sign bearing my father's name over the tunnel. I had some difficulty taking it in, and then I began to realize what must have happened. The tunnels had apparently been renamed after Pop.
My shock at this abrupt discovery quickly turned into mortification, bewilderment, deep disappointment and sadness.
I know that Pop was a prime mover in the tunnels' development, but that is irrelevant to me. At the time of Pop's death in 1975, numerous proposals were offered to name things after him. It is my understanding that the UH medical school was the single entity chosen by the family to bear his name because of its great promise toward fulfilling the overwhelming health needs of the people in our Pacific islands, particularly in Hawai'i. In so many ways, it seemed to mirror Pop's life work in his efforts to improve the lives of the island peoples.
Pop was a very humble man. Although the thought is obviously well meant, I do not view it as fitting to his memory to keep naming things after him. In this particular instance, the tunnels already had a name to be proud of, and it must have felt like a slap in the face to the previous honoree to have the name changed, no matter who was chosen as a replacement. I cannot imagine that Pop would be pleased to be a part of that.
I would very much like to offer my sincerest apologies to Tetsuo Harano for the disrespect shown to him. I wish it had not happened.
Sheenagh Burns
Kailua
There's a 'solution' to power line debate
In an April 12 Advertiser story, the attorney for The Outdoor Circle states that upgrading the power lines is all that is necessary to solve the problem at Wa'ahila Ridge. And HECO is not talking about redundancy. HECO wants backup so that Pukele can maintain emergency power to East O'ahu if the two lines from Kahe Point fail.
I have a tongue-in-cheek solution: Why doesn't HECO pull the plug at Pukele on a nice day and let us witness the calamity in East O'ahu? It would be an excellent test of the reliability of the system serving that area.
Leonard K. Chun
Cayetano should have waited for court ruling
Gov. Ben Cayetano, previously a supporter of the traffic camera boondoggle, canceled the unpopular program by administrative fiat within a day after the state House of Representatives joined the Senate by voting unanimously to repeal enabling legislation.
In his apparent zeal to ascend the political bandwagon, the governor failed to give adequate consideration to a case questioning the program's constitutionality pending before the judiciary.
By acting unilaterally, the governor exposed the state to as much as $8 million in early termination penalties written into the vendor's contract. This fiscal bonanza might have been invalidated if the courts first ruled the program unconstitutional.
Perhaps the governor, an attorney and legislator for many years, should have more thoroughly evaluated the judicial terrain before taking precipitous action within a day following his return from an out-of-state excursion. With its crumbling schools and burgeoning budget deficits, Hawai'i is hardly able to reward a contractor who thwarted the District Court's unmistakable message to cease issuing citations to drivers speeding less than 10 mph over the posted limit.
Larry Shohet
Firearm editorial shot from the hip
It would seem that even a liberal paper as The Advertiser would at least strive for the truth. The First Amendment gives everyone, even newspapers, free speech, just as the Second Amendment gives "the right of the people to keep and bear arms."
You mention "competing studies that show when you relax concealed weapons (laws), shooting deaths increase." Was it a legitimate study or one set to achieve a preconceived answer?
Also, I'm not sure the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment applies only to militias that have the right to firearms.
It would also be prudent to check to see how many people with concealed-carry licenses have been involved in a firearm incident or have misused a firearm. Contrary to your editorial, those who have concealed-carry permits are not those involved in situations that "explode into gunfire."
Art Fox
Forgot solar backup was on? Here's a fix
Solar hot water systems are fantastic. They are great for saving energy and money, and are environmentally friendly. However, occasionally it is necessary to turn on the electrical backup.
Unfortunately, some people forget to turn the electricity off after the sun comes back out, and this isn't noticed till the electric bill arrives with a huge jump that can be $100 or more.
Having made this mistake a couple of times, I've come up with a way to solve the problem.
Radio Shack sells a tiny neon bulb (NE-2H 110V at two for $1.79) about the size of a piece of Tic Tac candy. Get the one that includes the resistor.
Put the light in a reasonably visible location and wire it across two poles of the 220V breaker to the water heater. Then, when the breaker is energized, the light will come on to remind you.
If you don't know what you are doing, get a professional to install it. This can save you hundreds of dollars.
Buck Joiner
Don't let Legislature approve gambling
Gambling is merely the exploitation of the human vice of greed.
There is a reason Disney Land and Disney World have not introduced gambling into their fantasy kingdoms. They could make more money if they did. As a matter of fact, they experimented with gambling cruises in the Caribbean (with daycare for the kiddies), but they couldn't find enough irresponsible parents to pay the freight for a successful cruise into the greed zone. They even experimented indirectly with Internet porn for a brief period.
Fortunately, stockholders reined in these corporate types before they could do any more damage to the company's stock value.
The reason Disney has not allowed gambling into its fantasy kingdoms is the same reason Hawai'i and its people must be vigilant in not letting our legislators plunge Hawai'i's "stock value" into a state-sponsored exploitation of the human vice of greed.
Bruce Wong
It's about time union accepts audit order
Regarding the simultaneous coverage of Circuit Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo's order to the two public-sector unions (UPW and HGEA) and the piece by Brandon Masuoka on April 13 ("Judge orders unions to release records"): It is about time the HGEA is in compliance with the request for an external audit.
The HGEA executive director has been declaring for the past weeks that his union's records are available for an audit. As to the records of the insurance company, that is another matter entirely.
I realize that Judge Hifo did not impose a deadline for compliance, but it was hoped both unions would be in compliance within 10 days.
The sooner the two unions can put this matter behind them, the better.
This matter should not become a campaign issue to impugn the reputation of the public-sector union members. Eleven of 13 public-sector unions have already placed their health insurance records, etc., before the external auditor for review and conclusions.
Arvid Youngquist
C&C, Susan Harada deserve our praise
Thanks to Castle & Cooke, Susan Harada and many folks like her for stepping up to the plate and saying, "We can help those students from Waialua High School accomplish what they have started out to do and to finalize that hard work with a well-deserved trip to Florida to compete in the Nationals."
If there is first-class aloha from this great state of ours, this is it.
Corporations and community leaders should be ever mindful that we have students in our great school system who may require some help along the way in showing their skills in a competitive environment. The electric car competition is another worthwhile project that goes beyond the dreams of teenagers, who would love to see their project in a national competition.
It was nice of Susan Harada and Castle & Cooke for putting a finishing touch to this classic story, which has been met with the approval of everyone who either read about it or who has close contact with the students, staff and community in Waialua.
Albert Kahalekulu
Hemp research project must be discontinued
Newspaper accounts state that David West, a seed geneticist who oversees Hawai'i's hemp research project, would neither reveal the source nor the amount of funding for the project. Rep. Cynthia Thielen's office declined as well.
I am concerned that West or project administrators could accept money unknowingly from people or organizations whose hidden agenda is the legalization of drugs.
State legislators are often being asked to legalize hemp without being aware or told that the hemp movement and some hemp advocates have a hidden pro-drug agenda.
Industrial hemp is classified as an illegal drug. I urge Gov. Cayetano to veto HB 57, which extends the growing of hemp in Hawai'i and endorses a hemp project that has unknown, private backing.
Jeanette McDougal
Chairwoman, Drug Watch Hawai'i
Mandatory P.E., nutrition class needed
In light of the recent spate of articles addressing increasing rates of obesity and early Type II diabetes in children, especially here in Hawai'i, I propose the following education reforms:
- Mandatory P.E. for all able-bodied children, grades K-12. Children should be exposed to a variety of different sports, encouraged to join school sports teams and urged to exercise regularly outside of school. If nothing else, there is calisthenics (boring, but better than nothing).
- Mandatory nutrition education for all children, grades K-12. At a minimum, children should understand basics such as the food pyramid and how to read nutrition labels and choose nutritious foods and portion sizes. Even a kindergartner can understand that papaya and tomato are "good foods," while cookies and soda are "special treats." (I know, I know, getting the kindergartner to actually eat the tomato is another story.)
Cafeteria food and school vending machine contents should reflect sound nutritional principles. Body mass indices could easily be done at school. Parents of children testing outside of the norm could be notified.
The monetary costs of these reforms would be minimal compared to the healthcare costs incurred by an increasing populace of obese, diabetic individuals, with the associated cardiovascular, kidney and eye diseases. I would urge prospective gubernatorial candidates to adopt reforms such as these as part of their platforms. You'd have my vote.
Good nutrition and regular exercise, for life, are two of the best forms of "preventive medicine." Since our kids spend six or so hours daily in school expanding their minds, let's use some of that time to teach them how to take proper care of their bodies as well.
Anne Wheelock
Pharmacist
Many contributed to Halekulani makeover
I received a copy of the article by Susan Hooper entitled "Halekulani's visionary retiring." While I have nothing but admiration for Shuhei Okuda and Mitsui Fudosan Co. for the devotion they have shown and success they have brought to the Halekulani Hotel over the last 20 years, I would like also to give a little credit where credit is due.
I was one of the owners and the project manager for the Halekulani Hotel during the time the concept for its redevelopment was born. And I was the one who sold the hotel to Mitsui Fudosan when we were unable to develop the hotel because of skyrocketing interest rates.
It was during that four years of study that Jack Hodgson, a consultant we hired to advise us on the hotel and who currently lives on the Big Island, came to the conclusion that it would be economically viable for us to build a luxury hotel in the middle of Waikiki in spite of the conventional wisdom of the day that the site needed to be maximized in a similar fashion to the Sheraton. This was a time when the only other luxury hotel on the island, the Kahala Hilton, was charging only about $100 a night.
Once we decided to follow Mr. Hodgson's recommendation, an extensive search was made for an architect who could pull off such a feat in the middle of Waikiki, surrounded by high-rises as we were. This led to the selection of Ed Killingsworth of California, who had shown great creativity working in a variety of challenging environments around the world.
Bob Burns and George Rafael, the principals of Regent Hotels, also contributed a great deal to the ultimate design of the project and the creation of its wonderful atmosphere.
Bill Clapp
Chairman, Matthew G. Norton, Seattle
