Letters to the Editor
How to teach through the pollution factors
A Feb. 16 commentary by Jay Mathews touched on the medical/education frontier in education. Teachers have to explore it to rescue the millennium child.
Hours of paperwork must be ignored and energy focused on children's efforts, to rescue them from frightening millennium ills causing reading failure. Reading systems do not do this. Neither does money.
Fifth-grade teacher Rafe Esquith, mentioned in the commentary, teaches children to love books. He doesn't clutter things with a system. He must be doing something with phonics because our language is 80 percent phonetic. Teaching phonics is not teaching reading. He must be putting it in lab time, where it belongs at the fifth-grade level. That doesn't take money. It takes know-how.
"Rescuing the Millennium Child," my book title, involves frontier knowledge about how to teach through the pollution factors poisoning our children and interfering with their ability to read. Data and tools are in my book, which I use in free workshops for any group wanting to make the "No Child Left Behind Act" a reality.
Never mind a "Miracle in East Harlem," recommended by Jay. How about a miracle in Hawai'i? Ask for a prepublication preview at your school or church. Be brave. It's free.
Janet Powell
Learning disabilities specialist
Makaha
Why isn't state AG investigating the ERS
The state Employee Retirement System has been financially mismanaged, as reflected in recent newspaper accounts.
Ironically, this is the same scenario the attorney general used as justification for her invasion and attack on the Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate — a private trust. The AG charged the former trustees with financial mismangement, when in reality they were highly successful and made billions for the estate. These monies enabled KSBE to grow, expand and hire, while other businesses suffered cutbacks and bankruptcies.
How can the state attack and proceed against a private trust and not proceed against the trustees of a public trust?
Is it because Colbert Matsumoto is a trustee of the ERS? He was the court-appointed master who audited KSBE. The Arthur Andersen/
Colbert Matsumoto team and the attorney general marketed the lies about KSBE. Is it true that the ERS relied on the Arthur Andersen/Colbert Matsumoto team before investing in Enron?
Why are these trustees spared the wrath of public scrutiny and AG attacks? Double standards?
Carolyn Peters
Wai'anae
Long-term-care fund risks raid by politicians
In your editorial of March 6, "GOP should rethink long-term-care plan," you missed the mark by ignoring the need for personal responsibility and disregarding the temptation to raid special funds.
Right now, without a government mandate, working people can purchase long-term-care coverage. The cost of insurance is affordable if purchased at the appropriate time in life.
Many of the baby boomers whom this bill is designed to protect make poor financial choices. They purchase homes larger than they can afford, drive expensive SUVs, rack up their credit cards, save nothing for retirement and expect others to pay for their long-term care. To tax all working people to insure spendthrifts is terrible social policy and rewards bad behavior.
When you compared the long-term-care fund to Social Security, you overlooked the most important point. Even though they shouldn't, our leaders can't resist "borrowing" from Social Security year after year. There is no guarantee that when young people need the money, it will be there. Why create another fund that future lawmakers might find too tempting not to raid?
Greg Garneau
Ha'iku
Needle-exchange critic is missing the point
Regarding the Feb. 25 letter from Roland Foster in Washington, D.C., on the needle-exchange program in Hawai'i: There are two words Foster should learn and understand: harm reduction.
Of course, I realize that as a bureaucrat in D.C., Foster's first reaction to any social problems or their solutions is most likely "show me the numbers." But maybe he should be shown the people and what they are up against as marginalized members of our society and our local communities as well.
And by the way, Mr. Foster, Hawai'i does indeed do HIV surveillance, which it began last August.
Do your homework, sir.
Vincent Fernandez
Treatment advocate, Life Foundation
Political candidates should live in district
Now that the reapportionment commission has redrawn the lines between legislative seats, politicians will invariably be moving to run in areas where they have better opportunities.
What voters should be on the lookout for is the "paper residency" people who really do not intend to live in the district or who do not intend to live there unless they win. Common Cause Hawai'i and the Office of Elections have supported legislation to require that candidates be qualified voters in the districts they hope to represent prior to filing nomination papers.
Candidates should intend to live in the district when they file. That means moving in — lock, stock and barrel. Using an address or renting an apartment at the last minute puts folks such as neighborhood board members, who are demonstrating a commitment to their communities, at a disadvantage to traveling politicians.
Residency matters.
Pat McCain
Member, Downtown Neighborhood Board
Secrecy at Big Island council is unacceptable
Never in my wildest imagination did I expect to witness such an event: On Feb. 26, a secret meeting took place in the hallowed council chambers of Hawai'i County.
The purpose of the meeting was for state Public Safety Director Ted Sakai to update his handpicked insiders advisory committee on prison issues. Ordinary citizens, more than half being Native Hawaiians who came to get an update and ask questions about plans for a new Big Island prison being disguised as a 660- to1,000-bed treatment center, were themselves treated as outsiders and asked to leave.
Since when has the Hawai'i County Council chamber been transformed into a private meeting room for secret meetings between government officials and their handpicked insider citizen advisers? The chambers of government belong to all of us. Prisons and alternatives to prisons are everybody's business.
Like many people, I oppose the building of any new prison or prison in disguise from a common-sense standpoint. We have more than enough prison beds to confine those who are a danger to the community. More than 60 percent of those in prison today are in prison for nonviolent offenses.
I support 'Ohana Ho'opakele's proposal to establish pu'uhomua (healing centers) for nonviolent offenders as an alternative to building more prisons.
Jim Albertini
Kurtistown, Big Island
Raiding hurricane fund risks major lawsuits
The approval to designate $100 million of Hurricane Relief Fund monies to cover the state's deficit demonstrates the lack of honesty and integrity in our leaders, especially the House Democrats.
With the exception of Reps. Ed Case and Mark Takai, the Democrats are not willing to act responsibly and do what every self-respecting citizen does when his funds run low: Spend less.
What will our state do when a hurricane hits the Islands? An 'Iniki-size hurricane could result in over a billion dollars worth of damage should one strike O'ahu alone. That's a lot more than the $213 million we currently have in the fund.
I foresee lawsuits down the road somewhere. Let's get these clowns who approved this bill out of office and replace them with people with a little more brains and courage.
Robert Ing
Moanalua Valley
'Science Symposium for Girls' outstanding
Some may think it takes a village to educate a child, but I am assuming it took an army to successfully stage the "Science Symposium for Girls" at Sacred Hearts Academy on Feb. 23 for approximately 400 girls in grades 6 to 9 from over 60 of Hawai'i's public and private schools.
It was fantastic, and these young girls, my daughter included, left thinking that girls can do engineering, math is not always hard and computers are not necessarily a "boy thing."
On behalf of close to 200 parents who also attended, I thank organizations like First Hawaiian Bank, The Augustine Foundation and Coca-Cola for helping sponsor this worthwhile function. Their money was well spent.
I applaud the 20 community professionals who accepted the invitation from Sacred Hearts to engage young girls in looking at possible careers in science and math. My daughter came home with one thought on her mind: "I want to go again next year."
I went for the parent session, run by Emma Pavich, the greatest adolescent counselor I have met. My career was determined many years ago, but now I need all the help I can get to make me a better parent. We parents thought Emma Pavich was awesome.
Lance Tsutsuse
ERS board of trustees will get closer scrutiny
Thank you to John Duchemin, Advertiser staff writer, for his March 4 revelations about the state Employees Retirement System.
It is unfortunate that the trustees to whom we rely for our retirement future seem to have abrogated that responsibility by giving another chance to a consistently underperforming investment firm. The decisions of the board must be "cold and calculating" to ensure the best returns for employees and retirees.
Like too many of my colleagues, I didn't pay much attention to those running for the board of trustees and voted for a friend of a friend, someone who had an association with my union, etc. You can be sure that I will be asking more questions of those who are seeking my vote in the future.
Raymond K. Sokugawa
Promenade lamplights should be restored
I would like to ask our community — both locals and tourists — to please call or write the mayor's office to restore Kapi'olani Beach Park's promenade lamplights to their previous soft, golden light.
The previous lamplights were bright enough for public safety, yet soft enough for taking a romantic stroll on the promenade or on the beach, or for sitting quietly on a park bench gently reflecting on your most sensitive thoughts and feelings. The ambience was perfect.
Most regrettably, the recently installed lamplights are irritatingly bright, glaring and harsh. It's like an intimate candlelit dinner has been insensitively replaced with bright streetlights at a garish carnival.
Unless the people ask the mayor to promptly restore the softer, golden lamplights, a very precious place and spirit will be needlessly lost.
Jim Barch
Good prisons needed for 'restorative justice'
For decades, our justice system has been run according to the tenets of "retributive justice," a model based on exile and hatred.
"Restorative justice" holds that when a crime occurs, there's an injury to the community. And that injury needs to be healed. Restorative justice tries to bring the offender(s) back into the community, if at all possible, rather than closing him or her out.
Sadly, prisons may be a necessary part — a very small part — of a restorative justice system. And even then, prisons can be humane environments that maximize opportunities for the inmates to become decent and caring human beings.
Lael Samonte
Halawa inmate
Long-term-care plan should be defeated
Although the state House has approved a bill creating long-term care, the state Senate should squash the idea now. We don't need a state program.
The current proposal to tax all residents over 25 to provide token care for the elderly is outrageous. In these perilous economic times, we don't need another tax.
To many residents over 25, $120 and growing every year would be a bitter financial burden. Folks at the lower end of the earning scale bear the brunt of Medicare and Social Security. Another perpetual tax is nothing short of reprehensible.
Senators, please stop this plan.
J. C. Gilbert
You can register to vote in the yellow pages
How difficult is it to register to vote? As difficult as turning to your yellow pages to the instructions on Page 44 and the fill-in-the-blanks on Page 45.
The few minutes it takes should make all the eligible voters participate.
The voter registration deadlines are as follows:
- Primary Election — Thursday, Aug. 22.
- General Election — Monday, Oct. 7.
How important is that one vote that you'll make come election time? It's as crucial as the other one vote of the next person. Enough of those votes will determine who gets to be the next officeholder.
Yes, your one vote counts. So, register and vote.
Roy E. Shigemura
