Letters to the Editor
Sign wavers should find another way
I understand the need for political candidates to get their name "out there" by sign-waving. I just don't believe it is time and money well spent.
Instead of waving signs on the side of the road, put on a T-shirt with your name emblazoned on your back and pick up some trash. If you are going to be standing on the side of the road, do something useful. Show me you care about our land and not just yourself.
Instead of standing in the wind and the rain on bad-weather days, take a break from sign-waving. I won't think any less of you. Rather, if you do choose to go out in the bad weather, I'll just think that you don't have any sense to come in from the rain. Figure out another way to show me your resolve.
And no, I do not think it is easy to run for office. That is why I'm expressing my thoughts on the subject. After all, if you care enough to run for office, you'd better care what your public thinks.
I have lived here all my life. And I hope that you feel just as proud about living in Hawai'i as I do. Show me what that looks like to you.
Luci Dwight
Another Hilton tower ready for rubber stamp
The recent public meeting about Hilton's proposal for a seventh time-share tower with 38 floors or more was an excellent example of our City Council in action.
As expected, many construction companies' representatives showed up at the Ala Wai Golf Course clubhouse and voiced their approvals, and the City Council is ready to rubber-stamp the project.
Thanks to a large showing of Local 5 AFL-CIO members brought by Eric Gill and local residents pointing out problems, they may even have to look at the plans before they approve them. The problems brought up are that the project exceeds the almost nonexistent density scale by 7.3 percent and must be scaled back; the proposed new traffic light will increase traffic by 14 percent and makes no sense to anyone but Hilton; and the 350-room tower only has 150 parking stalls, which will ensure no parking for employees.
When Hilton sells out this time-share building, it will make approximately $1 billion. Why can't Hilton clean the murky lagoon as a requirement for approval of this building?
Will our City Council demand any changes to the $80 million Waikikian? Doubtful.
Kim White"
Ilikai resident
Resort aquarium is no 'magic pill'
John Toner had better wake up and smell the coffee. It is obvious from his lengthy, professionally written letter to the editor on July 2 that he is a highly paid corporate executive insulated from the everyday problems of average Hawai'i residents.
His letter chides us regarding Gov. Cayetano's veto of SB 2907, suggesting that development of an aquarium is somehow a "magic pill" designed to fix all problems since Sept. 11. Nothing could be further from the truth.
We are constantly reminded that tourism has markedly declined. And it will take a lot more than a supposedly "world-class" aquarium to attract large numbers of tourists back to Hawai'i.
San Diego has Sea World, a major facility but still only a very small part of Southern California's tourist attractions. Chicago has the Shedd Aquarium, a very large, truly "world-class" aquarium that has been in existence for many years. This facility, too, though a major attraction, is still just a small part of the many, many things to see and do in the Chicago area.
Mr. Toner suggests that the Wai'anae Coast communities would benefit from this development. This would be laughable if it were not so serious. The Wai'anae Coast communities after the resort area, serviced by Farrington Highway, are seedy and cramped and have been for some time. Farrington Highway is a joke, ill-contrived, unsafe, with ridiculously high levels of traffic and a high rate of accidents. If this road serviced the resorts, you can bet it would be rebuilt very quickly.
Those tax moneys now available for use via the veto of SB 2907 certainly can be better used to benefit average Hawai'i residents rather than the elite resort community. Thank you, Gov. Cayetano, for your very good judgment.
William Mulholland
Wai'anae
Go back to the original Pledge of Allegiance
We are not one nation "under God"; we are one nation under the Constitution.
Fact is, there are millions of Americans who do not believe in just one God — or any god, for that matter. So when Congress changed our pledge, back in 1954, to include a reference to God, it excluded every American who does not hold on to a monotheistic belief system. The Pledge of Allegiance is supposed to be for every American, and right now that is not the case.
So I say, go back to the original pledge. Why, you ask? Well, it got us through two world wars and the Great Depression, and it is inclusive.
Remember that religion has no place in our government, and our Founders saw to that when they wrote the Constitution, along with the Bill of Rights. They knew what would happen when you allow religion into any part of our government.
If you really think mixing religion and government is a good thing, just take a look at Afghanistan and see how well it worked there.
Michael Golojuch Jr.
Vice president, Hawai'i Citizens for the Separation of State and Church
Fireworks display, aloha were beautiful
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all who made the Fourth of July fireworks display possible at Ala Moana.
The display of professionalism and kindness by the police, firefighters and park staff, the generosity of Ala Moana merchants and, most of all, the display of aloha by all the people were truly as beautiful as the fireworks.
Perhaps we can extend this tradition of fireworks to Waikiki once a year as a way to culminate the beauty of the Aloha Parade and Pan-Pacific Festival. This would benefit the visitor industry as well as add another festival for all.
The fireworks equalled the beauty of aloha of all.
Linda Enga Fujikawa and Family
Don't worry about thanks for rescue
It saddened me to read the July 4 letter from Gary Shiroma headlined "Heroes of Portlock rescue unrecognized." In the letter, he states, "No one ever made an effort to go back and express his appreciation in assisting in the rescue effort. This unfortunate result led to some " 'bad' feelings among some in the group about further rescue efforts."
I would like to enclose a quote by Sandra Swinney, which states: "It is amazing how much people can get done if they do not worry about who gets the credit."
I would also like to hope that the majority of the population do not feel the same as this group when and if I happen to need help.
Anne E. Seto Titcomb
State GOP, Lingle out of touch on gays
The Republican Party has turned its back on the tens of thousands of conservative religious people of all faiths in our state because it doesn't want to be associated with "controversial" people, especially on the issue of homosexuality.
In 1998, Linda Lingle and others in the Republican Party were afraid to lead the fight against same-sex marriage in Hawai'i. Now their cowardice in the face of gay activism has caused them to actively court the homosexual vote by showing up at the gay pride parade and declaring that they are the party that will help homosexual activists achieve their goals.
Looking at the matter simply from a pragmatic political angle, and putting aside the question of right and wrong, why would Linda Lingle and her Republican Party be afraid of associating itself with the supposedly "controversial" views of the majority and yet actively embrace the fringe views of homosexual activists?
I, like the tens of thousands of other conservatives on the issue of homosexuality in the state, will have no motivation to participate in the gubernatorial election at all. Foolishly, Lingle and her followers have sacrificed the votes of tens of thousands of conservatives in the state in order to get a couple thousand homosexual activists' votes.
Not only is Lingle and her new Republican Party out of touch with the people of Hawai'i, but they have lousy political strategy as well.
Andre Kalata
Economic woes due to corporate America
The health of the economy is the main issue of this election, just as those of the recent past. In the past, business leaders told us that the causes of our problems were heavy taxation, the undue influence of unions and the excessive number of government regulations and workers.
Today, the rest of America, including the president, is saying that our economy is being hurt most by corporate scandals. The honesty and integrity of corporate America are being questioned. Deceptive and illegal practices such as misrepresentation, insider trading, stealthy accounting and collusion appear to be too commonplace and pervasive.
Perhaps it is time to put the leash back on Big Business and curb its passion for unbridled self-interest before it destroys us all with more lies and subterfuge.
Richard Y. Will
Tax refund checkoff is just another tax
Regarding the July 3 Advertiser article "Tax refund checkoff little help for schools": I am not surprised, and others join me in believing that the government and legislators are mainly to blame.
There are taxpayers who are of the opinion that the tax refund checkoff is a means for compensating for the government's and Legislature's not biting the bullet and appropriating the necessary funds for the operation of the public school system, even at the expense of other programs in the budget. It seems that talk was big at election time and just prior to and in the initial days of the Legislature, but the follow-through was just not there.
I would venture to guess that had the funds that were promised been appropriated in this year's budget, many more taxpayers would have joined the bandwagon. People support the public school system, but they don't like to see their tax money go to other places and then be relied upon to make up the difference in a separate tax — and that is sort of what it is, isn't it?
Bernard Judson
Kapolei
People of West O'ahu have been neglected
The efforts to evolve O'ahu's "Second City" was a nice start, but in order to further enable the people of West O'ahu to grow and prosper, a fair, geographical access to compelling post-secondary education can only be achieved through a steadfast commitment to build a sister four-year university campus along the Kapolei corridor.
The gist of Sen. Cal Kawa-moto's point could easily be misconstrued as a rant or tirade with self-serving motives, be they perceived as for re-election, protectionism or anti-outsider views. But the people of West O'ahu have been neglected for decades, unfairly rendered to the status of "country folk" and always forced to "come into town."
The UH-Manoa campus is centric to some of the more well-to-do areas in Honolulu, reachable in less than 30 minutes from Nu'uanu to Hawai'i Kai. In contrast, a mere trek up Fort Weaver Road merely to reach the freeway can easily exceed 30 minutes, not to mention the long commute by freeway thereafter.
There has been a never-ending public dialog about attracting high technology to Mililani and network operations centers in Kapolei where trans-Pacific fiber-optic cables greet them. The likes of Bank of Hawai'i and Oceanic Cable have made good on their commitments to locate offices on the "West side." But we continue to keep it difficult for the children of West O'ahu to have convenient access to four-year college degree programs.
By convenient, I mean geographically and temporally. Part of the commitment to advancing the capabilities of Hawai'i's children is founded in education.
In today's impatient society where "I want it, and I want it now" rules, I do support Sen. Kawamoto's push for education infrastructure. But I would argue that designing the campus for expansion to support more students and considerable program growth would ensure that the campus becomes a solid provider of academics well into the future.
We're willing to make it easy to have Wal-Mart and Costco on the West side, but it's time to invest for the long haul.
Von Kenric Kaneshiro
