Letters to the Editor
Seat belts are needed for back of pickup trucks
I agree with the recently adopted seat-belt program. But particular attention needs to be directed toward those who persist in riding, unrestrained, in the back of pickup trucks, defying all laws of safety.
If our law enforcement agencies are truly concerned with our overall safety on the highways, an effort should be made to enforce this equally.
The old practice of allowing persons to ride in the back of pickup trucks without seat belts is out of date. People have to be treated the same when enforcing traffic laws, or the laws will meet with defeat.
Make it a law for all, or no law at all.
M. Northup
Kane'ohe
Meatless diet would help save millions
Millions of people worldwide die of hunger each year, even though more than enough food is produced to feed everyone. Inefficient use and inequitable distribution of food resources are to blame.
In order to end hunger, world leaders must make different political and economic choices. Individual consumers will have to make different choices, too.
We often feel helpless when we think about world hunger, but there is one thing each us can do: reduce or eliminate meat consumption in order to make more food available for the rest of the world. A 10 percent drop in U.S. meat consumption would make 12 million tons of grain available — enough to feed the millions who are starving to death each year.
The World Resources Institute predicts that by the year 2025, at least 3.5 billion people will experience water shortages. Animal agriculture uses more water than all other human uses combined and is the No. 1 cause of water pollution.
At the World Food Summit in Rome on June 10-13, political leaders must support the needs of the people and the planet above the desires of corporate agribusiness for more and more profit. Hunger in the midst of plenty is an obscenity.
The majority of people who die due to hunger or malnutrition are children under the age of 5. We must all take responsibility for this problem. By eliminating animal-derived foods from our diets, and choosing plant-based foods instead, we can feed the world while preserving the planet.
Laurelee Blanchard
Ha'iku
Defer tax cut a year to pay for the war
In a Republican omnibus bill wrapped in the American flag, the House has included raising the national debt ceiling. In the past two world wars, we have been expected to, and did, make financial sacrifices.
In this war, I believe that every American of my generation would be willing to defer the tax cut for one year in order to avoid increasing the national debt.
E. Alvey Wright
Kane'ohe
Lingle announcement story was buried
Would it have been possible for The Advertiser to bury the announcement of Linda Lingle signing her nomination papers for governor any more than on Page 5 in the May 29 B section?
Front-page B-section articles were really hard-hitting stories of a Democratic ex-senator getting six months for theft, the state delaying much-needed roadwork for another year and the replacement of eight corrupt city Liquor Commission inspectors. Since when is a Democratic politician going to jail news anymore? Corruption within the city? Wow, there's a headline! The state delaying roadwork because the Legislature raided all the state DOT highway funds? That should come as no surprise to anyone.
What is real news is that we finally have the opportunity with the 2002 elections to put an end to all the shenanigans that the state has been going through since Lingle lost to Ben Cayetano in 1998. I find it interesting that the real news of the day, a chance to give Hawai'i a new start, would not be on the front page.
Fred Gartley
Kane'ohe
Shoreline spot closing result of Kaua'i battle
Regarding the May 30 story on the closing of a popular shoreline spot on Kaua'i: It should be noted that Hawai'i Revised Statutes, Chapter 115-3.5, provides clear instruction on how a public access can be closed.
This section states: "A county may restrict passage over a public right-of-way by resolution or ordinance, provided that the resolution or ordinance sets forth criteria for determining that the restriction is in the public interest."
Every official with any knowledge of the law should understand that a resolution or an ordinance can only be enacted by the legislative part of a government — in this case, the Kaua'i County Council, not the administration, not the mayor, not the county engineer nor the deputy county engineer.
What is at work here is a confrontation between Mayor Kusaka and the council in which the mayor has thrown down the gauntlet by unilaterally closing a legally recorded easement (including the parking lot and the trail) that was created when Princeville got its original zoning permit to develop a resort back in 1973.
Raymond L. Chuan
Hanalei, Kaua'i
'The late' Honey Ho is never late for anything
I would like to correct the reference to "the late Honey Ho" in Wayne Harada's May 29 column.
Honey Ho is never late. In fact, she has always made a point of being on time for every date we've had for lunch, a movie or a family function. Next month, when her enormous 'ohana of loving family and friends gathers to celebrate her 90th birthday, I have no doubt she will arrive early.
The late Honey Ho? Never!
Adrienne Sweeney
Kane'ohe
Physically challenged often suffer from pain
I am writing in response to the May 26 letter "Handicapped parking permits being abused." While there are occasions when some may abuse the right to special parking privileges for the physically challenged, including times when the disabled person remains in the car while a companion shops, I take offense at being judged without good cause.
In this country, more than 40 million people live with "invisible" disabilities. Most often pain, as the result of movement, is the cause. A person may look healthy, but over time has taken advantage of the many treatment modalities available that allow him some degree of quality of life.
I lived in a wheelchair for five years, and after hundreds of hours of physical therapy, I am now able to walk with a cane, although the pain remains. Many others have had similar experiences. For some, just walking through a grocery store can be enough to cause excruciating pain. You do not see it, but it is there.
I ask that one not judge another based on assumptions. If your curiosity is such that you feel there is an implied abuse of handicapped parking, I seriously doubt if you would ask the person why he has this privilege. These permits are not handed out freely, but require that a medical doctor review and sign the application.
Be thankful for good health, for the day may come when you will need the placard that hangs from the rear-view mirror.
David Lamborne
American Pain Foundation
Poppy Days a success thanks to helping hands
The American Legion Auxiliary wishes to thank the people of Hawai'i for their very generous donations during Poppy Days, held from May 23-25. Their response was very heartwarming.
The auxiliary also thanks The Advertiser, its publisher, Michael Fisch, and all the employees for their support. We feel the article written by Walter Wright played a large part in our having a successful poppy drive and we thank him.
Elizabeth J. Lee
Department secretary, The American Legion Auxiliary
Honors for Gov. Burns should not be tainted
When the name of the H-3 tunnels changed from Tetsuo Harano to Gov. John A. Burns, I wrote to The Honolulu Advertiser and stated that one of the results of that change would make those who knew Gov. Burns feel uncomfortable for having his legacy perpetuated in this most unfortunate way.
My feelings were affirmed by the late governor's daughter, Sheenagh Burns, as she has expressed her opposition and embarrassment for having her father's name replace Mr. Harano's on the tunnels.
I think it is important that we continue to honor and respect Gov. Burns for what he did for Hawai'i, but we must also see to it that no honor he receives is tainted or is contrary to the principles of fair play that he championed and steadfastly adhered to during his many years of dedicated service to our state and its people.
Teruo Hasegawa
Hawai'i fishing industry is vigorous
The Hawai'i Longline Association sent the following letter to Forbes magazine in response to its writer's observations as part of the article on Hawai'i's economic climate.
In the article, writer Lynn Cook stated that the waters around Hawai'i are fished out, the longliner industry was closed over environmental issues and as a community, we are forced to import our seafood.
This is quite incorrect. Hawai'i residents may agree or disagree with her observations on other elements of our economy, but we feel that it's important to underscore the viability of the local fishing economy.
May 28, 2002
Re: Lynn Cook article "Trouble in Paradise"
Dear Sirs,
Forbes writer Lynn Cook covered a lot of ground about Hawai'i's business climate. We'll leave the controversy on most of it to others, but as general manager of the Hawai'i Longline Association, I feel compelled to comment regarding Hawai'i's longline fishing industry.
Cook is correct on Hawai'i's fish consumption compared to the rest of the country, but is off base when she states that 75 percent of the fish consumed in Hawai'i is imported. Hawai'i's longliners provide nearly 70 percent of the local market. That amounts to approximately 65 percent of their catch, with the remaining 35 percent being exported.
Nearshore commercial fishing contributes to the marketplace, as well. Other species, which are not native to local waters such as salmon and other cold-water fish, or fish that are in short supply or protected in Hawaiian waters, are imported to accommodate the broad taste of the Hawai'i consumer.
The article also suggests that the waters are over-fished. As a person who has fished in the offshore waters around Hawai'i for 25 years, I can assure you that my catch rates are as good, if not better, than when I first began. Nearshore fishing (50 to 100 miles offshore) is protected for smaller commercial and recreational activity. These no-fish zones are respected by longliners. The nearshore fishery also provides tons of fish for local consumption.
She goes further to indicate that environmentalist suits against the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect turtles has shut down the longline industry here. Environmentalist activity was not a local but a national effort. Hawai'i's longliners were restricted from fishing for a period of six weeks in 2001 while a federal judge reviewed environmental concerns and industry efforts to respond to those concerns.
Out of the ruling came several mitigation measures such as area closures and gear modifications to protect against interaction with endangered turtles and birds.
Let there be no mistake, the Hawai'i longline fleet is still active and supplying the needs of the local consumer.
Hawai'i's longline industry is proud of its role in providing residents and visitors with the majority of its high-quality fresh seafood harvested from waters accessible from our Islands.
Scott H. Barrows
General manager, Hawai'i Longline Association
