Letters to the Editor
Power line wouldn't help Windward folks
I do not understand HECO's insistence on the Wa'ahila Ridge power line as a panacea to our electrical problems.
Here in Kailua, we have had three unexplained blackouts within the past week or so. All in the evenings, with one being late at night, when power usage is supposedly low. Wa'ahila Ridge would not effect us on the Windward side, yet HECO cannot keep our power flowing reliably. What makes HECO believe a new power line will prevent blackouts?
It can't even do that with the lines we already have in the areas that would not be affected by the new line. The only reason I can think of for HECO's insistence on this new line is that somewhere someone stands to make money off the new line. Why else waste 15 years and millions of dollars on something no one wants?
Glen Corlin
Kailua
June Jones should remember his fans
An open letter to June Jones:
I agree with Ferd Lewis' Feb. 17 column. Surely we can work something out to keep you coaching here for a long time.
You have done a great job and deserve a raise. You want to be paid as much as a Top 10 college coach. Well, you need to make the Top 25 first. And you need to play and beat more Top 25 teams to earn that raise.
You also need to realize the state of Hawai'i is in a recession and UH is not exactly rolling in money either. You said it's not about the money when you came here, and we believed you. Obviously you have the ability to coach anywhere you want. But you said this was your "dream job."
Now we could lose you over money. Is that all it comes down to? We supported you when you changed the name, uniforms and logo. We put up with the schedule changes to get on national TV. We endured the security hassles and traffic to get into the stadium. We rallied around you when you were nearly killed. We have shown you aloha.
How about some aloha in return?
Ray Cranage
Mililani season-ticket holder
Hunters keep wildlife population in control
Regarding the Feb. 14 story "Hunters decry plan for Kaua'i habitat": Yes, keep out the hunters — but, who will keep out the goats and pigs that roam the area?
The Department of Fish & Game and all conservation groups need to compromise with the hunters. Hunters serve a purpose: They keep the wildlife population down. The goats and pigs are as much the intruders as the hunters. Who does more damage to the native plants?
Compromise or see the native vegetation become extinct by the voracious appetites of the animals.
Paulette Edmonston
Fountain Valley, Calif.
Big Island market must be kept alive
The Pahoa market at the new Aloha Center is undoubtedly the best development I have seen happen in Pahoa on the Big Island in the 18 years I have lived here.
It is, without any doubt, a resoundingly positive contribution toward the health and solvency of our underserved community. By closing it down, our county Building Department may be following the letter of the law, but is not following the will of the people and is not addressing our needs.
I agree with Sid Singer, owner of the facility, that "It is time that the building code be made rational, flexible and responsive to the needs of the public that it should be serving."
There is no rational reason why unlimited numbers of agricultural workers can occupy the space but others cannot. There is no rational reason why our market should have to install a concrete floor or be subjected to the same rigid codes as a public recreation center. We don't have the money for that in Pahoa, and we don't need it.
The market has provided a much-needed economic boost to financially strapped vendors, and thousands of Puna residents have been taking advantage of the aloha spirit and attend the market to meet friends, neighbors and visitors. Although it would be the envy of any community development planner, it has been created totally through the efforts of community members pulling together.
This economic and social boost to our community deserves to be recognized and supported by our county administration so that it can continue to flourish. Mayor Harry Kim and other elected officials are our public servants, and since they are mandated to address the wishes of their constituents, I urge all supporters of the Pahoa Market to call our mayor's office at 961-8211 and request him to intervene to keep our market alive.
Graham Ellis
Pahoa, Big Island
Hold your breath: time is of the essence
Believe it or not, but 8:02 p.m. today is a historic moment.
It will not be marked by chiming of any clocks or the ringing of bells, but at this precise time, on this specific date, something will happen that has not occurred for 1001 years and will never happen again.
As the clock ticks over to 8:02 p.m. today, Feb. 20, time will, for 60 seconds only, read in perfect symmetry: 2002, 2002, 2002; or to be more precise: 20:02, 20/02, 2002.
This historic event will never have the same poignancy as the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month that marks Armistice Day, but it is an event that has only happened once before and is something that will never be repeated.
The last occasion that time was read in such a symmetrical pattern was long before the days of the digital watch and the 24-hour clock at 10:01a.m. on Jan. 10, 1001.
And because the clock only goes up to 23:59, it is something that will never happen again.
Chester W. Chaffee
Pearl City
Bureaucratic bungling is closing off Midway
Robert Johnston, in his Feb. 13 letter, wonders how all the events at Midway could happen.
Basically, the Fish and Wildlife Service director has turned Midway into a medieval fiefdom at taxpayer expense. In other words, the tree-huggers have complete control to banish intruders, history and common sense from their enclave.
The events of June 2-5, 1942, have no meaning or reverence, as doesn't all the subsequent history there. To destroy all that has taken decades to build so the gooney birds can have a better landing approach is sheer madness and fiscal irresponsibility.
During the Korean War and since, I have been through Midway many times on Navy planes and ships. As a Hawai'i visitor, I am saddened to see its demise as a tranquil oasis because of bureaucratic bungling.
Robert S. Moynihan
U.S. Navy (retired)
Hold hearings when citizens can attend
Once again, the Hawai'i Legislature holds hearings during the workday and thinks that the lack of opposition means the people are supporting the cameras.
Duh! The fact is that most of us have to work during the day to pay for legislators' folly.
Guys like Joe Souki, who lives on Maui and haven't had to deal with the wrath of Maui drivers, the anger and increased stress caused by the cameras, continue to think that it is a good idea. Well, come on, Joe — schedule a hearing at 5 p.m. one of these days.
Robert "Rabbett" Abbett
Kailua
More concessions won't be guarantee
So, the governor "wants concessions for the second-year bonus" for teachers?
Well, come on, teachers, give more sweat and blood and spend more time at school and pay even more money out of your own pockets and maybe you'll get that bonus.
But then again, maybe not.
Dorothy Ching
CarePlus offers hope for those without it
My father-in-law has been confined at a long-term-care facility since October 2001, after working over 60 years serving plate lunches to a couple of generations of Hawai'i residents and faithfully paying his taxes.
He had some savings he wanted to pass on to his children and grandchildren. But he cannot do it now. He lies mostly in his bed, looking forward to his daily visits from his aging wife of 86 and his family and his favorite foods. He needs help in getting up, using the bathroom, changing his clothes and putting on his shoes and slippers.
Three of his four heart valves are not functioning well. But no surgery for him at age 92. He and his wife could not afford currently available Long Term Care plans. But they can afford the $10 per month proposed in CarePlus. My personal Long Term Care insurance plan costs $221 per month, clearly not affordable to him and a great many others.
CarePlus Long Term Care offers hope, through its intergenerational approach, of young people and older people helping each other for the common good — dealing with the possibly devastating cost of long-term care.
CarePlus is clearly not a government handout but is a community program that beings to deal with the very serious "aging population" challenge we are facing.
As retirees, we want to make our contributions and help make CarePlus a reality.
Al Hamai
Invest in education or build more prisons
I am incarcerated at the Women's Community Correctional Center in Kailua. Recent budget cuts have resulted in the closing of one of the best-paying jobs in this facility for inmates, the Correctional Industries workline.
This is understandable, due to the overcrowding of the prison and the faltering economy. What I don't understand is the lack of effort that the state is putting in to improving Hawai'i's public school system. Doesn't the future lie in the hands of today's youths?
The prison may be overcrowded now, and the state may be suffering economic hardships, but unless we realize that the foundation of a promising future is in the classroom, you might just as well start building more prisons now.
Nicole Gillespie
Stray animals give O'ahu a bad name
I moved to O'ahu from the Mainland one and a half years ago. Getting my animals here was a nightmare. The quarantine process is not needed, it is expensive (I spent nearly $3,000) and a white elephant.
With such strict laws, one would have the impression that this state really cares for animals; however, this is not the case. I was here only a couple days and particularly noticed cats everywhere: in parks, at hotels, in parking lots, on military bases and at my home.
I have met a small and diligent band of people who trap, fix and feed animals, people who take in strays that were once owned and now abandoned. These people spend a lot of time and money and feel the stress, hardship and emotional trauma (as do their families) of caring for animals.
Once the word gets around that you are one of these people, your phone never stops ringing. Everyone is eager to tell you about the 25 cats they saw here or there, the dead cat on the street, the starving dog at the mall and many others on the beach.
We also have people expecting us to come and trap the animals, pay for the vet bills, pick up the injured and bleeding animal, bury the decaying ones, find a home for a tame cat or dog, rescue a cat in a tree or get the babies from a sick mother cat.
You try it for a day or a night. It can be heart-wrenching.
I have trapped (with some help at times) 12 cats since I have been here. They are now fixed and fed, watered and monitored for general health. That is not much, but if all our adult citizens would take some responsibility and do their share, the tremendous problems and sufferings could be greatly diminished.
If you don't know what to do, call the Humane Society, an animal-rights organization or a veterinarian. Take some step to better the plight of those that do not have a voice.
JoAnne Ellena
