Letters to the Editor

Maggot city: Weekly pickup doesn't work

Ahhh! Déjà vu ... I am reliving a nightmare when we lived in Pasadena, Calif.

The mayor decided to change the pickup days from two times per week to once a week. As gross and as stupid as this sounds, Pasadena did a study by having people actually count the maggots in the trash cans past the 3 1/2-day mark to the seven-day mark to see how many more maggots accumulated. A lot of money and manhours was spent on this study. Needless to say, the pickup was left at two times per week.

In regard to the recycling project, the schools make a lot of money off those bins that they have parked in the school parking lots. That's why they are there. If the recycle companies pay the schools for these recyclables, are they going to pay the city for those that they collect?

We who recycle will recycle anyway.

Sharon W. Conradt

Questioning Iraq war policy isn't un-American

As a veteran (1966-69) and a parent with a son in the service now, I am tremendously disappointed by the self-appointed censors who are trying to shut off debate about the war and who imply that questioning policy is somehow unpatriotic or un-American.

For genuine un-American acts, consider behavior that opposes or seeks to undermine the Constitution. The so-called Patriot Acts are a direct attack on the Constitution. People in government whose allegiance is to a political party or ideology instead of the Constitution have violated their oath of office and should be thrown out.

I remember praying the American public would learn a little history about Vietnam and demand a time-out for real discussion. For me to do less now, when a new generation is at risk, would be a cowardly betrayal.

Daniel Grantham
Ha'iku, Maui

State must announce steps against SARS

Now that we have five suspected cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hawai'i, the state Department of Health should immediately announce to the public what safety measures have been planned to contain the infection and what people should do if they think that they might be infected.

Failure to do so might cost lives, help spread infection and negatively impact tourism, which already faces an uncertain near future. Further procrastination might also contribute to the legal liabilities of the state.

Stephen Yeh

Increasing fees on vehicles a bad idea

Sen. Russell Kokubun's suggestion that vehicle registration fees should be increased to pay for needed emergency services may be well-intentioned but is misguided.

The need for aeromedical emergency services for remote areas of Maui and the Big Island is clear and should be given a high priority in the state's budget. However, the senator's suggestion that the amount realized from higher vehicle registration fees should be set aside to pay for this service would necessitate the creation of yet another special fund.

Sen. Fred Hemmings was correct in saying that this needed service should be paid for from the general fund and that the amount needed should be found through better fiscal management rather than trying to avoid the issue of spending reductions by raising the money needed through higher fees.

Please inform Sen. Kokubun that small increases in the myriad of fees we are required to pay is tantamount to torture by a thousand pin pricks.

Roy Yanagihara
Kane'ohe

A profile in courage now exhibit at center

"The Legacy of Chiune Sugihara," an exhibit at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, tells the story of a Japanese diplomat at the start of World War II. Together with consular officials of several countries, he assisted Polish Jews fleeing Nazi persecution by issuing transit visas. Mr. Sugihara acted against the orders of his superiors. He did what he believed was right.

Unlike a movie script, in which the hero would be immediately rewarded for his upstanding actions, the Sugiharas suffered for doing the right thing. Rather than an uplifting ending in one or two hours (triumphal music in background), it was decades before his sacrifice was noted.

Current events make the exhibit extremely relevant to all Americans, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity. We all wish to identify with the hero, believe we'd do the right thing, know we would resist wrong. This exhibit reminds us how hard it is to be a hero.

Visit the exhibit. Listen to the story. Give thanks that courageous people do exist. Challenge yourself to recognize your own chances to do right.

Anita Manning
Waipahu

Changing Act 221 will hurt high-tech firms

I am very concerned about the governor's plans to change Act 221, which offers a tax-credit incentive to high-tech companies.

My company, Hoku Scientific, is a locally founded and based technology company. Starting in a bedroom, we've grown to 12 employees in just two years, with plans to hire an additional three employees by mid-summer. We expect to be a 20-person team by the end of the year.

Hoku Scientific does not employ low-paying, wage-based employees, but rather, high-paying, quality Ph.D. scientists and technicians. We've enabled several Hawai'i-born individuals to return home after being away on the Mainland for years. And, we've been able to bring in researchers from Canada, Texas, South Carolina and Massachusetts, along with their families, to contribute to Hawai'i's intellectual capital pool.

Hawai'i residents talk about the problem of brain drain due to the lack of high-quality job opportunities in Hawai'i. High-tech companies like Hoku Scientific help to solve this problem by attracting top-caliber people to Hawai'i and enabling Hawai'i's youth to build their careers without leaving the state.

While changing Act 221 may provide a quick boost to address today's budgetary concerns, these changes will significantly hurt the many technology companies that are finally making progress in Hawai'i — and, in turn, just increase Hawai'i's long-standing reliance on tourism as its economic driver. If Act 221 is fundamentally changed to make it less beneficial to companies like Hoku Scientific, the state of Hawai'i will in essence squash what it has worked so hard for and spent its tax dollars to develop.

While I am most certain that the budget decisions the governor is making are very difficult, I hope that as a state we do not abandon such a worthwhile and economy-shifting tool. Successful technology companies take years to build, and I believe that one day Act 221 will be looked upon as the single greatest piece of legislation ever passed in the state's effort to build its high-tech industry.

Dustin Shindo