Letters to the Editor

Hemmings doesn't deserve to keep seat

Republican Sen. Fred Hemmings' June 14 letter was a perfect illustration of the current "over-the top" GOP propaganda campaign being waged through Letters to the Editor and on radio. Every sentence and paragraph was pure political hype.

What I know about Fred Hemmings was his behavior during the very serious Senate debate on "Death With Dignity." While the other senators sat and listened to the debate, Hemmings and his Republican seatmate, Sam Slom, talked and laughed.

In November, we have a great opportunity to return the favor and elect a great former legislator, Jackie Young, for that seat and get rid of the complainers and naysayers and get back to the real work of progress and the good of Hawai'i.

Nancy Bey Little

Reporter Jack Wyatt was gentle, kindhearted

My dad called me earlier today to say that something happened along the Ala Wai Canal yesterday. Being a Honolulu native, I realized that this could've meant a lot of things: canoe paddling practices beginning at the crack of dawn, joggers taking a morning run with Diamond Head in the background, someone accidentally driving into the canal during morning rush hour.

I never imagined Dad would tell me that someone was killed in broad daylight — let alone someone we knew.

Jack Wyatt was the victim of a deadly attack along the Ala Wai early Tuesday morning. Although I didn't know him very well, I can say that Mr. Wyatt's gentleness and kindheartedness significantly affected my life. Wyatt wrote and edited stories about my brother and me, who were competitive swimmers, every once and a while as we participated in high school and collegiate athletics. In addition, my family and I would see our community neighbor walking or biking near our home in Manoa Valley.

He enjoyed taking his time, soaked in the beauty of nature, and usually stopped to talk. The last time I was home, he told me how proud he was of his new grandchild.

It makes me very sad to know that a person's life could be shortened so senselessly and unnecessarily.

He may have been an eccentric fellow. He could've opted to drive a car instead of walking or biking around town. Whatever, he didn't deserve this fate — nobody does. I am deeply saddened to know of this very tragic event and I pray that his time here on Earth be not forgotten.

Kathy-Lyn (Allen) Binkowski
DeKalb, Ill.

Residents should not have to pay admission

One of the first major pleasures I ever had upon coming to O'ahu was my visit to Hanauma Bay. Several years ago, we were there early in the morning and my son was videotaping the beauty for us to see again at home.

Signs were all over the place, and the message was clear: "Do not walk on the coral." Of course, there he was — one lone man at 7 a.m. out there walking all over the coral.

I understand the damage done to the bay throughout all the years and sadly have watched the park change to what it has had to become today. To be fair, we have to help somehow with upkeep.

I do feel, however, that local residents should not have to pay. They pay higher taxes on everything in this state. I have lived on the Mainland and I see that the police, firefighters, teachers, government workers and many others here all receive lower wages than their counterparts in other states.

Let's keep the kama'aina rates.

Barbara Vincent

Stop new development; our island is overbuilt

Regarding your June 17 editorial "Fire Department must test high-rise hoses": Time now to re-evaluate our perspective and priorities. Too many have it backward.

How about we stop overbuilding and blocking out our beautiful land and sky?

Don't forget the big-box corporate stores. We allow them to pave over paradise because they promise to alleviate traffic congestion caused by their presence and create a few hundred low-paying jobs, but we ignore the fact that they put many kama'aina shops out of business.

Then we hear Gary Okino in a classic prima donna stance, hoping WalMart will be a good neighbor and volunteer to pay for traffic improvements. Now, there's a concept. WalMart, the biggest corporate symbol of the destruction of great neighborhoods with character, expert at creating homogenization of a town, the antithesis of a good neighbor expected to simply pony up millions.

Here's a clue. You don't attack the symptoms. You attack and prevent the cause.

The only way "traffic improvements" can be effected is when no development happens in our overdeveloped island, which, in case you haven't noticed lately, is a finite land mass. With a retail environment that is overbuilt resulting in the pie being sliced too thin, there are fewer and fewer consumers for more and more stores coming to our island.

Allen St. James