Letters to the Editor
'Experts' need to drink more glasses of water
Your May 25 article "Experts question daily need for water" is a prime example of how we are misled and confused by the media. We are led to believe there is no need to drink the "minimum eight glasses a day" because the water industry has touted this notion to boost its sales.
Get real! Dasani and its competitors are using the water prescription of the American College of Sports Medicine. (Dasani neglected to include post-exercise hydration — drink two cups of fluid for every pound lost during exercise to replenish lost fluids.)
The article mentions the average couch potato loses 2 liters of water a day (that's 67 ounces, or 8.5 cups).
The final line of the article, "Drink enough so you don't get thirsty," actually hits home. The key words are, "don't get thirsty." Can anyone remember the last day he did not have the thirst sensation at least once — especially in the humid weather we've been having? In fact, we get the thirst sensation when we are already two liters low.
Dehydration is cumulative and conditional. For the active people of Hawai'i, eight cups in a 24-hour period is far from being enough.
Brian Shimamura
Certified health-fitness trainer
'American Dream' column appreciated
I was pleasantly surprised that your May 22 editorial page carried Los Angeles Times writer John Balzar's column "American Dream changing," especially since The Advertiser failed to cover local breaking news that addressed the very concerns raised by Balzar.
On May 16, 400 members of FACE (Faith Action for Community Equity) gathered at Honolulu Hale to call on the City Council to enact a living-wage policy. In spite of the fact that your city desk was provided a press release, you did not report this very newsworthy event.
Balzar decries the increasingly uneven distribution of income nationwide, resulting in a diminishing middle class, an increasing proportion of Americans living in poverty, and fewer people owning more — 20 percent of the population own 83 percent of the wealth, according to research findings by the Economic Policy Institute. Your own recent summary of the 2000 Census indicates that this imbalance is just as true in Hawai'i. I suspect it is more so.
FACE is challenging this inequity by calling for a city policy that would require employers who benefit from city contracts or incentives and who hire at least 50 workers to pay their full-time employees a living wage — not a minimum wage. A living wage means an income from one job sufficient for one worker to support a family of four above the federal poverty level.
I wonder if you realized that Balzar had his proverbial "tongue in his cheek" when he wrote, "Capital is more important than labor."
Until your news department shows its willingness to report the efforts of Hawai'i citizens to bring about a more equitable distribution of income for the working poor, I shall continue to doubt the sincerity of your editorial policy.
The Rev. Stanley Bain
FACE president emeritus
Handicapped parking isn't just for disabled
In reply to a recent letter on handicapped parking: Hopefully the writer understands that not everyone who is entitled to handicapped parking uses canes, walkers, wheelchairs, etc.
My husband had a handicapped parking permit for nearly five years. Complications from a part of his fatal disease caused him to tire easily. He could only walk short distances before extreme weakness and shortness of breath set in. He drove a car until about six weeks before his death at the age of 62. He did not always look sick or disabled.
A 79-year-old friend has a handicapped permit. She has congestive heart failure, two artificial knees and arthritis. She is active, lives alone and drives her own car, but needs to park close to stores, banks, doctor's offices and other places of business.
Persons who truly need these permits do not always pass the visual test.
Leilani Pierce
Leaders must do more than talk of sacrifices
The 28 May issue showed a photo of President Bush standing in the Normandy American Cemetery talking about the "sacrifices" made by those soldiers and being made today by members of our armed forces on the frontlines.
I am sick and tired of those draft-dodging presidents wrapping themselves in the American flag and talking about sacrifices when they did not serve their country when they had the opportunity to do so. (Oh, pardon me, in this case, I do not consider protecting the sky over Texas as being a sacrifice.)
I am also sick and tired of the same presidents on Christmas Day, from the safety of their homes, again talking about the sacrifices of those members of the armed forces they have sent to do battle.
Congress must pass a law making the president, secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spend that day with the troops they have assigned overseas during their term in office.
Maybe then they would know what the word "sacrifice" means.
John Dobrosky
State Capitol pool should be chlorinated
Are there any other registered voters who saw your May 26 article on the Capitol pool's maintenance and did the math on what it costs us to maintain that pool?
We had a private contractor doing the job for $75,000 per year. Now we have the state doing it. A full-time state worker has to cost, very conservatively, I'd say, about $24,000 each. Add another 30 percent for benefits, and we're at $32,000 each. Times eight of them! It's costing at least $256,000 per year just in manpower — not including supplies and equipment.
But the bigger picture I want to ask is, why are we maintaining a huge pool of brackish water? Why don't we chlorinate it, like every other pool at every private residence? No algae, no smell, no talapia, no potential disease.
And what happens to those eight people who are there now? Has anyone seen the condition of our state-run school buildings? Wouldn't they be more valuable there?
Marc Rubenstein
Harris must get real about liquor panel
Police Chief Lee Donahue is right in stating that Mayor Jeremy Harris has given us a "knee-jerk" reaction to the problems plaguing the Liquor Commission.
In 1988-89, I worked on a 13-month investigation of the Liquor Commission staff. We documented repeated incidents of money laundering, extortion, racketeering and bribery by liquor inspectors and their supervisors. Mayor Harris, who was then managing director, was fully briefed on the investigation. So why has it taken 13 years for the mayor to decide to shove these problems over to the Police Department?
The Liquor Commission situation requires a thorough revamping of the liquor laws and a mayor who will correct corruption as soon as it is uncovered.
Linda L. Smith
City director of finance, 1987-1989
Substitute teachers should get better pay
After 25 years of teaching in a private school, upon retirement, I wanted to do substitute teaching in the public schools, where I got my training as a student teacher, having earned my professional diploma in elementary education from UH-Manoa. I recently received a letter from Patricia Hamamoto dated May 8 indicating the pay increase for substitute teachers.
"Per state law, all substitute teachers in Class I (no college degree), Class II (college degree), Class III (college degree plus 30 credits) shall be paid one rate based on the entry level of the teachers' salary schedule." This last group is also composed of certified retired teachers who, like myself, have taught at least 25 years. Since the public schools are having difficulty recruiting regular teachers, it is relying on substitute teachers to fill in the gap.
I believe that the public schools should pay the teachers in Class III at a higher wage based on our years of experience and certification.
Michael Young
Cartoon fell short
The only meaningful comment on The Advertiser cartoon of May 27, showing President Bush embracing a hideous "Star Wars" warrior labeled "Russia," would be Robert Rees' quotation from "Pogo" in the preceding editorial page, which reads, "We have met the enemy and he is us."
Travis Summersgill
Jellyfish warning should be posted
My wife received a painful jellyfish sting at Kailua Beach on Friday, May 24. On Saturday, we observed a young boy crying because of a painful jellyfish sting at the beach. No warning signs were posted about this jellyfish invasion.
On Sunday, May 26, your paper had an article about a box jellyfish invasion of Kailua Beach, stating that their stings are more painful than the more common Portuguese man-of-war stings.
We think that Kailua beachgoers should have been warned about the increased risk of jellyfish stings via the posting of signs on the beach, or by other means.
Jeffrey J. Sol, M.D.
Kailua
Bailout wasn't sneaked into budget
I would like to clarify a number of misconceptions about the proposed purchase by the state of the land under the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii. I realize this letter will change very few minds, but I do hope that your readers will see some merit in my attempt to assist a small but important cultural asset.
First of all, this item was not inserted at the last minute. It was included in the Senate version of the budget bill that was voted on in the Ways and Means Committee on April 3. All members present voted "Aye" except Sen. Sam Slom, who voted "Aye" with reservations. The budget bill then went to the Senate floor, where it was passed with 22 "Ayes" and two "No" votes. The final vote on the state budget was taken on April 30 — four weeks after the vote in the Ways and Means.
You may also be aware that Sen. Slom graciously apologized on the May 10 Rick Hamada radio show for implying that this item had been "sneaked" into the budget. Newspaper accounts also implied that this item was somehow slipped into the budget at the 11th hour. This simply is not true.
Second, the center is not the only group that has received assistance from the state this year or in past years. State government has provided grants and outright subsidies to many deserving nonprofit entities, such as the Bishop Museum, The Hawai'i Theater, Friends of 'Iolani Palace and the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, just to name a few. All have gotten legislative approval for millions of dollars in assistance.
With its museum, resource library and community events, the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii is certainly part of the diversity that adds to Hawai'i's attraction as a visitor destination and as a great place to live. Furthermore, purchasing the underlying land makes good financial sense. Rather than just providing an outright grant of taxpayer dollars, the state can show something tangible for its "investment" — it would own a piece of real estate. It could eventually sell or lease this property.
Third, the appropriation is only an opportunity — a start. It is not a "done deal" by any means. It will take a lot of work to come to a fair and equitable plan. An objective appraisal of the land's fair-market value, due diligence and decisions on existing contracts and obligations, among other things, all need to be done. The governor will be the ultimate judge of whether a suitable plan can be developed to assure the public that this is the way to go. If he does not approve it, then not a single penny will be spent.
I therefore stand by my action to support the continuation of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii and thereby retain an important cultural and community institution. Despite some unfair criticism and a few overtly racist comments and letters, I believe my actions have spurred new interest in preserving the center.
Public awareness of this issue has brought in new offers of support and assistance. I am more hopeful than ever that others will likewise stand up to be counted and not sit silently by.
Sen. Brian T. Taniguchi
D-11th (McCully, Mo'ili'ili, Manoa)
