Letters to the Editor
Holiday message to people of Hawai'i
As frantic holiday preparations wind down and the people of Hawai'i gather to celebrate and worship, we want to extend our best wishes of the season, and express our gratitude for the honor to serve you.
Each year, we embrace the holidays for they give us cause to reflect on all that is good, to share special moments with friends and family and to reflect on our spirituality and to renew our faith.
At this time last year, we celebrated the season with heavy hearts and apprehension as we struggled to understand and recover from the events of Sept. 11. We've come far in the past year, joining together as people united under common goals of peace and prosperity.
While the healing continues, and uncertainties remain around the world and here at home, we have much to be thankful for and to look forward to.
Even though this is the season of giving, we are proud to live in a state where giving is year-round and done with abundant generosity.
A recent study by The Hawai'i Community Foundation showed that 92 percent of Hawai'i's households made charitable donations and the average amount of individual contributions is rising.
Despite the hardships Hawai'i residents have endured over the past decade, they continue to give from their hearts to help neighbors in need and to strengthen our communities.
Giving has always been a part of our local culture, practiced in as many different ways as there are ethnic and religious groups in our Islands.
Our giving speaks to our humanity and our aloha for one another. It teaches keiki and adults lessons of kindness, goodness and mercy. The spirit of giving inspires us to work together for the greater good of our society.
As we share the joy of giving, let us all remember those who through no fault of their own, might not be graced with the simple things that many take for granted.
The homeless, the unemployed, the ailing, the frail, the lonely. Each individual is part of our family, and how we treat and include them as part of our community is a reflection of our values and compassion.
We ask you also to take time to remember the men and women who serve in our armed forces, many of whom are separated from their loved ones this holiday season. Their courage and sacrifices are gifts that have been passed on through generations of our nation's military personnel.
There are difficult challenges as well as tremendous opportunities ahead for all the people of Hawai'i in the coming years. Our administration is committed to expanding and diversifying our economy, improving public education and restoring integrity to government.
Together with our families, we wish all the people of Hawai'i the very best for the holiday season and a 2003 filled with joy, health, peace and prosperity.
Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona
Let's all work together for a better way of life
With a new governor in office, many of us are looking with anticipation to new challenges for the coming year and solutions for our problems with traffic, education, crime, jobs, etc. Without a doubt, it will take the efforts of all in the public and private sectors to focus on what is good for most of our people.
The key work in all of this is involvement. How concerned are we that our energies will be channeled toward improving our way of life? There is a saying that "you get as much out of it as you put into it."
So, in 2003, let's try to "put into it" for a better way of life.
Roy E. Shigemura
Power play suspected in awarding tax breaks
A recent vote by the City Council to grant major tax breaks to the Sandwich Isles Communications Inc. may be ill-advised, illegal and unnecessary. The vote to expand 163 acres of agricultural land in central O'ahu is an unprecedented zoning change to O'ahu's enterprise zone tax-incentive program.
An article in the Dec. 31, 2001, Advertiser, "Savvy developer wins federal money to wire homelands," describes low-interest loan guarantees of $400 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ongoing subsidized operating costs and a reasonable profit guaranteed by the federal government under the Federal Communications Commission.
Why must taxpayers be forced to further subsidize this company with property tax, excise tax, income tax and other tax credits? Because Hawaiian homelands are reserved solely for Hawaiians of
50 percent or more blood quantum, this program is by definition racially exclusive. It is also unnecessary since Sandwich Isles already bought the land and would have built there anyway. This is a pure power play that corrupts an already fragile political system in Hawai'i.
Bud Ebel
Makaha
Supplemental services can reinforce skills
Increasing parental choice is certainly one of the intents of the No Child Left Behind Act as you state in the Dec. 6 story "School 'choice' law takes on new gravity." The White House, Department of Education and senators involved with writing the legislation all insisted that parents of low-performing students be given greater options to help their children achieve the skills needed to succeed in school.
One choice now available to families of qualified students is to get extra help outside of school from an approved provider of supplemental education services.
Through this act, educators are coming to recognize that such providers can support schools by reinforcing the academic skills of individual students who they cannot address without diverting time from classroom teaching.
My conversations with teachers, principals and administrators in Hawai'i have convinced me that educators here are coming to view providers like Kumon as a resource, even allies, in achieving everyone's goal of equipping children with the skills they need not only for higher test scores, but more importantly, to lead happier and more productive lives.
Matthew Lupsha
Vice President Education Services, Kumon Math and Reading Centers
Program is obsolete relic of Cold War
In the midst of war plans and other troubling developments, one that has received little attention is the U.S. Navy's plans to deploy Low Frequency Active Sonar in 75 percent of the world's oceans.
LFA Sonar is designed to detect "quiet" submarines by emitting an extremely loud low-frequency noise across hundreds of square miles of ocean. At 235 decibels or higher, this is one of the loudest noises man has ever made.
Every military exercise involving LFA Sonar has resulted in fatal hemorrhaging in the brains, eyes and ears of whales and dolphins, including the deaths of 12 whales and more than 200 dolphins off the coast of Greece in 1996 and a mass stranding in the Bahamas in 2000.
The LFA Sonar program is an obsolete relic of the Cold War. The United States has more submarines than any other nation and the Navy has at least two passive sonar systems that are not harmful to marine mammals. The Navy does not even need LFA Sonar; it illuminates our submarines as targets. What is truly necessary for national defense is a healthy, living aquatic ecosystem.
The late Rep. Patsy Mink had the vision and courage to speak out against the deployment and financing of this destructive technology. I hope our new Congress representative and the people of Hawai'i continue her progressive legacy.
Jeffree Pike
Kalaheo
Bonus nurses, indeed
In response to Irene Holland's Dec. 13 letter, I'm glad that you found no difference in care between our kama'aina and bonus nurses.
However, I find it hard to empathize with the plight of these nurses. No one forced them to leave their families for the holiday season. It was their choice to come and spend Christmas in our Aloha State for more money than what the kama'aina nurses earn. Yes, they are bonus nurses. Cha-ching!
Grace Gagala
Registered Nurse
Criminal act hurt innocent teen
This is a letter of outrage to the criminals in Hawai'i. Last week, one or more of you broke into my 17-year-old son's car. You took the stereo that he just installed for his birthday, and you rifled through the glove box, taking whatever you felt you deserved. Shame on you.
My son is a fine young man. He drives to school in town and studies very hard, he plays a sport and excels, he saved for months to pay for his stereo ... and now that money and the stereo are gone. He does not hurt you or your family in any way. He deserved to be able to listen to music or the news during his daily commute.
How dare you? Get a job. Be proud of who you are and let others be proud of you. I realize you probably don't read the paper. You should because one day you will get caught. I wonder if your mother will be as proud of you then as I am of my son every day.
Katherine Saavedra
