Letters to the Editor
Help our economy by allowing gambling
Twenty years ago, the average Hawai'i person traveling to Las Vegas lost $3,000. Why not keep the money in Hawai'i?
Daniel Inouye is against gaming in Hawai'i, but he did not have an alternative job creation to gaming. Aren't Hawai'i, Tennessee and Utah the only states not allowing gaming?
Are you folks going to keep the Hawai'i economy down for another 10 years? Gaming should be allowed on Hawaiian homestead land just like the Indians on the Mainland on their reservations.
Rodney Akiyama
Hawai'i's residents don't have a choice
I was dismayed at Sen. Inouye's comments that the merger of Hawaiian and Aloha airlines would be good for Hawai'i.
I was especially dismayed at his comments toward critics of the merger who have said this merger will lead to higher fares.
Inouye stated that "people in Hawai'i don't realize how little they pay for interisland flights."
The senator presented examples of flights on the Mainland with the approximate distance of Honolulu to Hilo. What Inouye conveniently forgot to take into account was that people wanting to travel between Washington, D.C., and New York City or Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C., have choices in driving, taking a train or flying. The only other option that we'll have when interisland airfares get too high is to swim between the Islands or not travel at all.
Aaron M. Stene
Kailua, Kona, Big Island
Stadium officials are making lame excuses
If safety is such a great concern at Aloha Stadium, why are stadium officials not doing body searches? Yes, it may be unconstitutional, but so is searching bags or purses for no apparent reason other than to confiscate food.
There have been many, many times that I have seen beer and hard liquor bottles taken out of jackets or pants pockets once fans are inside. If it's so easy to get those things into the stadium, what makes the stadium officials think that a gun or a small bomb wouldn't be easy to sneak into the stadium?
I've seen large hand-bags being allowed into the stadium and a person carrying a backpack being told he wasn't allowed to enter.
I understand from Edwin Hayashi's letter that the NFL has more stringent rules. Have you ever watched an NFL game? Patrons have umbrellas, bottles, bags and signs. They also behave more outrageously than Hawai'i fans do.
I have even witnessed security here allowing fans to pour beer (which they had brought into the stadium) into cups but confiscate a bag of carrots. What's the deal with that?
At each game this past year, I have been hit with a roasted peanut. So there are a lot of items that are sold at the stadium that are as dangerous as bringing in your own Spam musubi. Soon we'll be entering the stadium with nothing but our slippers or shoes, or maybe not even that.
I believe stadium officials are using as many lame excuses as they can to justify how incompetent decisions are made.
S. Ellefsen
Going to football game a great social event
Edwin Hayashi's Jan. 10 letter concerning Pro Bowl security measures caught my attention.
Sir, people do not attend ball games in stadiums just to watch the game. It is traditionally a great social event. However, it seems as if you've been waiting for an opportunity like this to clamp down on stadium patrons.
It is disrespectful to present such heavy-duty security measures in everyday life as something to welcome and embrace. Better to be less self-serving in your comments. Your empathy would have been more welcome. After all, the loss of freedom to have fun at play is something very new to most of us Americans.
Since measures to protect us from the possibility of an "incident" have sucked much of the fun out of going to ball games, there just doesn't seem to be much point in going. Game parties at home are the way to go.
Susan Stone
Philippine terrorists should be bombed
Finally, the United States will assist the Philippine military in fighting the war against terrorism.
The Abu Sayyaf rebels are nothing but murderers and criminals. Their claim for fighting for independence is rubbish. Abu Sayyaf is part of the Osama bin Laden network that has caused atrocities and havoc against the Philippines, killing and kidnapping many innocent foreigners and U.S. citizens.
The best way to rid these extremists, who remain hiding out in the remote southern islands of the Philippines, is to carpet-bomb the area with the "daisy cutter"; that way these groups will get the message to end their terrorist activities.
Arsenio Ramirez Pelayo
Maui animal owner knew she was wrong
I don't understand how Jean Bermudez could have taken care of 82 dogs and 14 cats. I'm sure that none of the animals was ever cleaned.
The Maui Humane Society could not have taken care of that many animals. If she doesn't think anything was wrong with this situation, why did she refuse to let authorities onto her property?
I think she knew she was wrong, and the authorities would have taken the animals away earlier. Too bad they didn't.
B. Valant
Kane'ohe
Why the big push?
If the July 2000 cover story of Journal of the American Dental Association and the Aug. 17, 2001, weekly report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that fluoride's effectiveness is topical and need not be swallowed, why do our politicians constantly push for fluoridation of our water supply?
Hesh Goldstein
A terrible suggestion
What a depressing way to end 2001 to have Leighton Loo in the Dec. 31 Island Voices piece tell us to teach the world's children that it is OK to kill but not to murder.
Glenn D. Paige
President, Center for Global Nonviolence
Program has created a dangerous situation
The arrival of traffic cameras has had an unexpected and unfortunate effect that may soon lead to tragedy.
On the Pali Highway, 90 percent of drivers are now at or below the speed limit of 45 mph, but perhaps 10 percent continue at greater speeds. In heavy traffic, they tailgate, weave between lanes and cut off drivers.
While raising the speed limit might lesson the gap and restore a rational flow of traffic, in the meantime we need humans, police in unmarked cars, to calm things down or we will soon have multiple-car accidents with fatalities as the price of this program.
David Duffy
Kailua
It's not about safety, but about our money
So "it's all about the safety," according to Department of Transportation officials as they discuss their zero-tolerance position when issuing photo citations. I submit that "it's all about the money," and their true motive is abundantly clear to the public.
After the trial period showed most drivers slowing down (wasn't this the original objective?), the DOT realized its revenue projections on its new scheme would fall short. What to do? Why, we'll ticket drivers going one or two miles over the speed limit.
This latest development is sure to cause even more suspicion for an already-dubious program. The new zero-tolerance position is harassment, pure and simple, and is designed to confiscate even more of our hard-earned money. Auwe!
John D. Field Jr.
Speedometers may not be properly calibrated
Not all cars will have their speedometers calibrated with the speed mafia's guns. All of you with modified vehicles better watch yourselves, and that goes for the rest of us who use cruise control as well.
I can just see the already-high demand for the "illegal" license-plate covers skyrocket. And those of us who don't purchase one will now have our eyes constantly fixed on our speed, making sure we're not even the slightest amount over the speed limit, instead of paying attention to the road in front.
It's time the public takes a zero-tolerance stance with state officials and their constant scandals and incompetence. I suggest everyone heed this war cry against this stupidity. I know I will do my part; every time I pass by one of those oh-so-inconspicuous Previa vans, I'm calling in to report an illegally parked vehicle on the road.
John Hyytianinen
Kapolei
'Zero tolerance' is just bad judgment
The state of Hawai'i is in serious danger of eroding the public support it has for its speeding camera program. Citing drivers for driving merely 1 mph over the limit is moronic and manini, and will turn even most supporters (like myself) against the program.
I doubt that most speedometers, and possibly the speed cameras themselves, are guaranteed that accurate. Moreover, it will truly result in people watching the speedometer and not the road.
The purpose of the speeding camera program should be to make the roads safer, not people more neurotic. Excessive, inappropriate speed kills. So does inattention. So does bad judgment.
Whoever proposed "zero tolerance" is guilty of the last of these offenses.
Khalil J. Spencer
Drivers no longer paying attention
The state Department of Transportation has not handled the photo enforcement program in a civil manner.
It has stated that the reason for the program is public safety. That may be partly true, but it seems as if it is secondary to revenue generation.
Granted, speeds have slowed since, but has it really made our roadways safer for the commuter?
When I am driving, much of my attention is paid to either my speedometer or my rear-view mirror despite using my cruise control. I have been rear-ended too many times to not pay attention to what's happening in back of me — not because someone was going too fast or ran a red light. It was because he wasn't paying attention.
I am not afraid of the vans catching me speeding. I am afraid of what those around me are going to be doing to avoid getting cited.
Meanwhile, I fear the real problems are being overlooked (irresponsible driving, racing, etc.).
I hope the DOT will come out and admit that this is just a new source of revenue for our ailing economy. It is also sad to see our much-needed local money going out of state.
Mark Tanaka
Kane'ohe
Other violations should be targeted
Public safety only became important when a private company came to Hawai'i to enforce the speed limit and red-light violations. And now the Department of Transportation has the audacity to implement a zero-tolerance policy. Let's review the DOT's safety policies:
- We have unlicensed, unregistered and uninsured mopeds and their operators on public roadways.
- We have 25 percent to 30 percent of drivers operating their motor vehicles without insurance.
- We have juveniles operating motorized "scooters" on public roadways.
- We have passengers (of all ages) riding in the back of open pickup trucks.
- We have parents who travel in moving vehicles with infants and toddlers sitting, standing and playing on their laps.
- We have motorists who travel at 30 mph in a 50-mph speed zone — in the fast lane.
The DOT's safety record is clear: Don't expect the DOT to enforce public safety; it takes too much effort. Instead, contract with a private company to harass, insult and abuse every citizen in Hawai'i who drives.
Only when all the eligible voters of Hawai'i vote will the people's voice be heard.
Rick Valluzzi
Wahiawa
