After Deadline
Readers responded in a year of much news
By John Simonds
Advertiser Reader Representative
Events of 2001 gave Advertiser readers plenty to wonder about, more than anyone might have imagined a year ago.
The Sept. 11 attacks and the retaliation against terror stirred weeks of questions, comments and messages from readers expressing concern for victims and survivors, safety workers and troops heading for Afghanistan. Some urged more security on the home front, asking the media to withhold details of troop deployment and identities.
Some questioned "scare headlines" that conveyed warnings of further attacks and the spread of anthrax through the mails. Others raised legal issues, asking about the rights of detained suspects and urging more consistent airport security.
Dengue fever's outbreak on Maui and spread to other islands was a local parallel to the anthrax panic and attracted callers with many questions about its origin and treatment.
Long before Sept. 11, readers found themselves dealing with tragedy. The Feb. 9 sinking of the Ehime Maru, a Japanese training vessel struck by the U.S. Navy submarine Greeneville, resulted in nine deaths, shortened Navy careers and untold diplomatic damage.
The collision of two military helicopters on Feb. 12 killed six and injured 11 in the Kahuku Military Training Area, and on April 7, a helicopter crash in Vietnam, killed all 16 aboard, including seven men stationed in Hawai'i who were working to identify remains of U.S. servicemen killed during the war in Southeast Asia.
Callers commented on coverage of the April 1 collision involving a U.S. reconnaissance craft or "spy plane" with a Chinese jet fighter, forcing an emergency landing on Hainan Island. The 24-member crew survived the ordeal and 11 days in captivity while the U.S. negotiated their release with China.
Readers also responded to the falling economy and its impact on Hawai'i, as a special legislative session met in October to address the crisis. The Advertiser provided phone numbers and e-mail addresses for all members and urged readers to share their ideas for recovery with legislative leaders.
Education occupied the attention of callers, writers and editorial board guests. Strikes by public school teachers and University of Hawai'i faculty were early 2001 issues that returned after settlement in the form of confusion over teacher bonuses for advanced training. Schools, courts and the Legislature continued wrestling with the federal court's Felix consent decree and the challenge of teaching children with learning disabilities and related problems. The need to expedite school repairs, the arrival of a new UH president and a departing public schools superintendent kept readers busy at their keyboards.
Readers raised suggestions on legalized gambling, repealing the Jones Act on shipping cargo and the related Passenger Service Act on transporting people between U.S. ports on American-built ships. The airline merger involving Hawaiian and Aloha provided another topic for comment with its impact on inter-island transportation.
Several called and wrote about the movie "Pearl Harbor" that premiered here in May, and the 60th anniversary of the real thing celebrated in December.
Reader outrage over traffic deaths, including a fatal collision involving a former police officer, has yielded to the state's new photo enforcement of laws on speed limits and signal lights. Few issues drew as much emotional response as the use of cameras to capture speeders on film, but Honolulu City Council problems, including those of some of its members and their votes on restaurant smoking, came close. Other hot topics: erratic Aloha Stadium security for football spectators and the pre-campaign jockeying of 2002 candidates.
Reach John Simonds at jsimonds@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8033.
