Letters to the Editor

Quarantine conditions are harmful to pets

Animal quarantine is heartbreaking for owners forced into that situation. The issue hits close to home since I have lived on Guam and now in Hawai'i, two locations requiring quarantine.

I've seen firsthand how quarantine conditions can affect a pet. Crying, running in circles, sad listlessness and illness are just a few of the side effects. My gorgeous purebred dog was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his leg — an injury that plagued him for months — from jumping on the sides of his kennel and landing on the concrete. He also has permanent "kennel sores" on his joints.

From a responsible pet owner's point of view, the quarantine rule seems unnecessary. Since my dog was a puppy, he has received vaccinations annually, without a gap, all of which are meticulously documented in his medical record. He is microchipped and, before arriving in Hawai'i, had spent four months in Guam's quarantine. Prior to boarding the plane to Hawai'i, every shot, treatment and test were required to be in perfect order.

Quarantine seems more money-motivated than a way to protect Hawai'i from rabies. It would be interesting to see how many animals are actually found to be "diseased" during their imprisonment.

Heather Paynter

Bottle deposit bill should be passed

Our legislators are looking at two recycling choices:

• SB 2266, a nondeposit proposal supported by the bottling and beverage industry that would cost Hawai'i taxpayers $10 million a year, plus nearly $1 a month extra for garbage pickup.
• HB 1256, a deposit-based bottle bill that would stop bottle and can litter and recycle 80 percent or more of the state's 880 million beverage bottles and cans at no cost to taxpayers.

Is this a real difficult decision?

The bottle bill would provide a 5-cent incentive to recycle and the same penalty for littering, paid by consumers who chose not to redeem their nickels and backed by beverage producers.

HB 1256 has received strong support from the state Department of Health, the City and County of Honolulu, the County of Maui, Tomra recycling and many community organizations. Maui County's recycling coordinator strongly supports a deposit bottle bill.

The move to plastic bottles makes a deposit system even more important because there is less financial incentive to recycle.

The 10 states with bottle laws average 80 percent recycling of beverage containers. No bottle bill has ever been repealed.

Hesitating legislators, please just do it. Enjoy an act of refreshing good taste. We'll look better, too.

Daniel Grantham
Sierra Club Maui chairman

Keep voter-registration addresses updated

Thank you for your continuous coverage of the city special election these past two months. Your news coverage from candidate filing to final results was clearly useful to the voters of the council district.

During the election-night coverage, comments were offered regarding confusion on the part of some voters about their voting place. Due to the short turnaround time for conducting this election, a few polling sites normally used could not be secured.

To best inform all voters about the election and their polling site, my office mailed postcards or letters to every district voter informing them of their eligibility and voting site. Voters whose polling places were relocated were also mailed an application for absentee ballot and encouraged to vote absentee to mitigate the inconvenience. Election-day signs were also posted to redirect voters to their correct precincts.

Nevertheless, some still feel that the message didn't get out.

Due to redistricting, the 2002 elections will bring even more changes to voters. We encourage all to keep their voter-registration addresses updated and to pay close attention to the official election mail they receive.

Exercising this responsibility could mean the difference between a hassle-free voting experience or waiting in the wrong line at the wrong polling site.

Genevieve G. Wong
City clerk

Van cameras can't replace police officers

Mark R. Sprague's Feb. 6 letter reached a new low in the camera van debate. This is a cynical attempt to divide the community by exploiting a lethal speeding accident story that would horrify and outrage most people in Hawai'i. It appears to be a thinly veiled attempt to paint those with legitimate concerns about the traffic cameras as lawbreaking and reckless.

And what if those boys had been targeted and photographed on that fateful night? What then? A citation in the mail 10 days later?

The real moral of the story is that camera vans will never be able to save as many lives, or prevent as many accidents, as will patrol police officers. Period.

Kendall McCreay
Moanalua

No exceptions from discrimination laws

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs used to deny that it discriminates. Now it demands a special exemption from the procurement code so it can continue to discriminate.

Procurement regulations forbid discriminating based on race or ancestry or family relationships. If OHA has to play by the rules, it refuses to issue any grants.

Kamehameha Schools used to deny that they discriminate. Now they say that because the federal government insists on a nondiscriminatory J-ROTC program in a nondiscriminatory school, they will shut down their J-ROTC program. If they have to play fair, they won't play at all.

Sen. Dan Akaka used to deny that his famous bill would discriminate by creating a racially exclusive government for Native Hawaiians. Now his latest version would create a special exemption from federal ethics laws to authorize Hawaiian employees of his new federal office to discriminate in favor of themselves and their relatives. If they had to act ethically, they couldn't do their jobs.

These programs cannot advance their discriminatory purposes if they cannot discriminate. But they should not be granted exceptions to the laws forbidding discrimination based on race and ancestry. Discrimination is illegal because it is immoral — without exceptions.

Patrick W. Hanifin

Rep. Mink should vote for campaign reform

Next week, thanks to years of hard work by supporters of campaign finance reform, the U.S. House will vote on whether to ban the enormous, mostly corporate, campaign gifts to political parties known as "soft money."

Now is the time for Rep. Patsy Mink to do the right thing by voting for the Shays-Meehan bill, which would ban soft money. Already, a majority of members in the House have signed a petition calling for this vote; the Senate has already passed the companion McCain-Feingold bill.

Next week's vote will be extremely close — votes for reform are always difficult. This is a chance for Mink to show real leadership.

Kevin Brown

Laysan albatross are not declining

Regarding Mark Lutwak's Feb. 6 letter on Midway Island: The population of the Laysan albatross is not declining. This is the sort of information the Fish and Wildlife Service likes to propagate, hoping no one will refute it.

I have lived on Midway for over six years, rather than just visiting for a week, so I have become more sensitive to the subtle ways Fish and Wildlife try to influence public opinion. As was said many years ago, tell the big lie often enough and it becomes the truth.

Bob Wilson
Harbormaster, Midway Island