Letters to the Editor
Condemning property for driveway is wrong
The City Council of Honolulu is about to set a dangerous precedent.
I have great empathy for the homeowners on 'Iu'iu Street in Kahalu'u who are now without access to their garages. However, to condemn land from a private landowner for the benefit of a few households leaves me asking myself, who will be next?
It is said that this driveway was supposed to be conveyed to the city by the previous owner, but that falls into the "could have, should have and would have" category, which doesn't cut it.
Laws are in place to protect everyone from encroachments. There are other ways to resolve this problem. Whoever is responsible for the encroachment should pay for corrections, whether it be the developer, the Realtor, surveyor, title company or homeowner.
Why couldn't Gensiro Kawamoto just share the lower portion of his proposed driveway with the few affected homeowners in return for their sharing in the cost of the upkeep?
Finally, I'm sure I am not the only one who has no aloha for Mr. Kawamoto — who seems to have no aloha for his neighbors.
James Tilton
Kane'ohe
Homeless crackdown a violation of rights
James Gonser's Feb. 14 article raises an issue of civil rights. Most of the homeless, as the news media call them, are U.S. citizens who have the same rights as all other Americans. Under any just government, they cannot be ousted as a group from any public place, such as the parks.
Are we moving backward to the era of "Les Miserables," when poor people were not allowed to sleep "under a bridge"? The authorities, then, said that there was no discrimination because rich people were not allowed to sleep under a bridge, either.
As quoted in the article, the city managing director has admitted that "feed(ing) the homeless at parks ... is not a good solution." He does not say what would be a good solution — unless we are intended to think that the solution is a blanket law against the homeless. That a "solution" has not been achieved is no reason to reject anything that alleviates the present situation.
The article goes on to say that " ... the city discourages the operation of food programs for the homeless in public areas, and wants to encourage the use of existing shelters." The Advertiser's files, however, must be full of reports on the uphill fight that the shelters face and the admitted inadequacy of their services.
Under the city's scenario, for whom are the parks being preserved and from whom are they being "saved"? From their actual users, it would appear — and by a pseudo-legal mechanism that is a violation of civil rights.
Leialoha Apo Perkins
Makaha
Needle-exchange claims unwarranted
Your Feb. 15 article about Hawai'i's needle-exchange program, "Needle-exchange program praised," failed to provide sufficient or convincing data to indicate it is the success it is touted as being.
The article points to a drop in state HIV cases as the proof, yet no HIV case numbers are provided. That is because such numbers do not exist.
Unlike most states, Hawai'i does not collect HIV surveillance data. The state collects only information on those diagnosed with AIDS. Since it often takes 10 years or more for HIV infection to progress to AIDS, it is therefore impossible to tell what impact the needle exchange has had on HIV incidence since the program has existed for only a decade.
Needle exchange is also intended to reduce other blood-borne pathogens such as hepatitis B and C. Yet your article omits any mention of the prevalence of these diseases. Just two years ago — eight years after the launch of the needle exchange — the program's evaluator, Don Des Jarlais, found that both hepatitis viruses were "rampant" among Hawai'i's injection drug users.
Des Jarlais points to an increase in the number of needles exchanged as further proof that the program is working. One could assume that such an increase may be the result of increased drug abuse, clearly not a good development. The number of syringes handed out reflects only that and not the impact of such distribution on disease incidence.
Des Jarlais does claim, without pointing to any indicators, that there is no evidence that the number of drug users is increasing. It should be noted that the state already has 20,000 injection drug users. Is this number a reflection of a success story?
More scrutiny, better data and real results are needed before Hawai'i's needle exchange can be deemed a success.
Roland Foster
Staff member, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources
U.S. House Committee on Government Reform
Now's not the time to reduce our taxes
As evidenced by the Feb. 11 article "GOP seeks to amend excise tax," Republican representatives in our state House are clearly out of touch with reality.
Without question, in an ideal world, we would all reduce taxes on food and rent, but the reality is that we cannot afford to do that right now and still maintain basic government services like education, public health, public safety, environmental protection and above all else the social safety net.
The reality is that the terrorist attacks hit Hawai'i like an economic hurricane, robbing us of $315 million. If the Legislature can't redirect resources, then we taxpayers will be faced with increased taxes or severely reduced services. A 1 percent cut to the DOE budget alone would result in no A-Plus program, no summer school, no computer program and definitely no library in Kapolei, just for starters. Service cuts would mean our kids would suffer more than they already have because of the attacks.
Today, we are faced with an economic crisis of hurricane proportion, and to weather it, we must use all the resources we have, including the Hurricane Relief Fund. Responsible leadership requires attention to reality, not November 2002 re-elections.
Nick Madamba
Pearl City
The stealth tax hike
It seems the state government is going to take the hurricane insurance money and transfer it to the general fund. So what was a good idea to help in the case of an emergency is now turning out to be another way for the state government to tax us without notice or consent.
Robert M. Martin Jr.
Hawai'i Kai
Restaurant smoking ban isn't prudent now
In a Feb. 20 article regarding the restaurant smoking ban, most of the City Council members voted in favor of the ban because it was the "right" thing to do.
Smoking does kill, but so does drinking and driving. But yet, why hasn't the City Council banned alcohol in restaurants? Would that not be the "right" thing to do?
Yes, the number of people eating out may decrease, possibly to a point where many restaurants are forced to close. In turn, many people may become unemployed. But isn't it the "right" thing to do?
But isn't it possible that banning smoking in restaurants might have a similar consequence?
In a time of economic uncertainty, I would think that the prudent thing would be to promote business. But yet a lot of the legislation seems to go contrary to this.
I know I'll keep this in mind when election time rolls around. I hope others do the same.
C. Morikawa
Court shenanigans point up camera purpose
The following information is from a Feb. 21 article concerning the payment of a speed camera-generated fine: Computer technician Rodelio Baysa didn't have a lawyer when he showed up in court and didn't realize his ticket might be defective. The judge didn't volunteer any information. Baysa said he wasn't going 48 mph, as the ticket said. The judge convicted him of going 43 mph, instead. Baysa paid the $67 fine.
After-the-fact affidavits being accepted as proof that all citations issued during a specified period were issued by a certified operator and withholding of important information simply are wrong. This indicates clearly, with no doubt, that the speed camera program is simply here to make money.
Ben Clinger
Fasi's suggestion for casinos terrible
Former Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi has apparently hit a new low. He suggests turning Midway Atoll into a gambling casino. Wonderful! Such imagination! Such vision!
True, there are still several acres of undeveloped land there. Not even a stop sign. Realtors and developers on Maui and O'ahu must somehow have overlooked this golden opportunity. Surely this would enrich the state, to say nothing of their own pockets.
All you can see there are a bunch of Laysan albatrosses messing everywhere, some fairy terns, black noddies and shearwaters. And every so often an endangered monk seal and a few sea turtles.
Why not bulldoze the whole place, cover it with macadam and glitzy casino buildings with neon lights? That would surely add revenue for the state.
Never mind the disappearance of the endangered seals and the fact that 80 percent of the world's Laysan albatrosses would lose their nesting ground. What red-blooded construction worker would not hail this addition to the "steady flow of construction jobs" this would provide, never mind the vanishing of one of the last pristine spots in the Pacific?
Surely the Fish & Wildlife Service will see the wisdom of Fasi's suggestion.
Joyce Lebra
Kihei, Maui
Gov. Cayetano should take a cut in salary
Regarding Gov. Cayetano:
Fact: If he only gave the teachers of Hawai'i their raises in the first place, they wouldn't have gone on strike.
Fact: They didn't get their bonus, now did they?
Fact: He doesn't know how to manage or maintain the state's budget. So he wants to raise taxes on the people of Hawai'i.
Fact: The people of Hawai'i have one of the highest tax rates in the nation.
Suggestion: Why doesn't the governor and the rest take a little pay cut to help out the people of Hawai'i?
Barbie Kaapa
Waimanalo
Aloha spirit captured
To Carole and Fred Borg: Reading your Feb. 18 letter, "Hawai'i is not a lot of things; it is aloha," made me cry. I doubt that anyone has ever written a more poignant description of my Hawai'i and our "aloha spirit." I hope we meet some day. Aloha, mahalo and God bless you.
Keola Choo
Real campaign finance reform must be passed
Remember how legislators scrambled to be on the side of the angels and promise real campaign finance reform after the various scandals erupted last year?
The state House had a special news conference, promoting a bill against contributions by contractors who do business with the state and city. And last year they voted overwhelmingly to pass a study to give full public funding for City Council members in 2002.
This year a very similar bill for 2004 came up, making it a permanent program. This is real reform, but it was voted down by the majority of the Judiciary Committee.
And in the Senate — what can I say? The same three Senate chairs who voted against the public-funding bill (without allowing a full vote by their committees) were the ones who gutted the reform bill that would have prohibited contractors and architects from making campaign donations.
At the hearing, everyone who testified urged passage except one architect — and that portion of the bill was killed. For a minute, all thought Sens. Cal Kawamoto and Donna Kim would pass it, but Sen. Brian Kanno (Judiciary) urged them not to. This leaves the status quo.
Most architects and contractors, off the record, resent the necessity, and outright threats, to contribute to campaigns. Of course, the costs of those contributions just get folded into the cost of the contracts, and the public pays.
Apparently most legislators are content with the status quo, and things won't change until the public gets mad enough. Ask every candidate running for office (and they are all running this year) whether they will:
- Oppose allowing contractors and architects doing business with the state and city to contribute to political campaigns.
- Vote for real reform — a voluntary program of full public funding — so we can get at least some candidates beholden to no one but the public.
Beppie J. Shapiro
