Posted on: Thursday, December 11, 2003

Letters to the Editor

Public helped bring drunk driver to justice

Thank you for the excellent article on Dec. 4, "Drunk driver to serve 18 years." And thank you, The Advertiser, for your role in bringing the intoxicated driver, Kam Williams, to justice.

The mission of Mothers Against Drunk Driving includes supporting victims of drunk-driving crashes. This support includes helping the families of victims understand and navigate the criminal justice system.

We are grateful to The Advertiser for writing the story about the search for a witness to the Jan. 2, 2001, Waimanalo crash that killed Lorrie-Ann Wiley. Taking this step resulted in a witness coming forward to identify the driver in this crash that robbed David Wiley of his wife and robbed then-5-year-old Kayla Wiley of her mother.

Before The Advertiser ran its story the chances for justice in this case looked bleak. The Advertiser's appeal and the witness who came forth were instrumental in changing the course of the investigation and ultimately in bringing justice to the offender and a sense of closure to Lorrie-Ann's family.

Hawai'i residents deserve to live happy, healthy lives, with roadways free of drunk drivers. We believe working together with the media, law enforcement, judicial system and the community will move us closer to that goal.

To find out what you can do to help, call 532-6232 or visit our Web site at www.maddhawaii.org.

Regents, president should unite on goals

University of Hawai'i Board of Regent Ted Hong is misguided in his call to make UH President Evan Dobelle's evaluation public. UH, I assume, has a strategic plan developed with the participation of all of its constituents.

From this plan, annual goals for both the president and the regents should be established. Performance evaluation of the president and the regents by the same constituents should be made against these annual targets. Where the president or the regents are unable to achieve one or more of their targets, those should become part of the next year's goals.

Occasionally missing annual targets is normal. At the end of each year the regents and president should issue a joint statement that notes the achievements of the past year and goals for the coming year (which include previously missed targets). That keeps everything on a professional rather than personal level.

If the performance evaluation of the president or the regents, when compared with the annual goals and strategic plan, becomes seriously flawed over several years, then that must be addressed. But this should not be played out in the media, making UH just another political football. It deserves better. The regents' chairperson should be the public spokesperson, not individual members.

Advertiser featured act of true sportsmanship

I wanted to commend The Advertiser, sports editor Curtis Murayama and photographer Eugene Tanner for selecting the large color photo that ran on page D1 on Dec. 6 following the Division 1 State Football Championship.

I'm sure there were many other photos that could have been selected to capture the essence of the Kahuku-Saint Louis game. Your decision to feature an act of true sportsmanship was uplifting and spoke volumes about the class and dignity of the young men from Kahuku.

Thank you so much for this effort to focus the public's attention on the highest purpose of high school sports — character building.

Pro Bowl is definitely great asset to Islands

Kalowena Komeiji's Dec. 7 letter outlining the benefits that the NFL Pro Bowl brings to Hawai'i and our youth was right on point. Although the Pro Bowl is not the huge "cash cow" that we like to envision it as, it brings much more value to the table.

The sport and life instructions that the youth of Hawai'i receive leaves an indelible impression of success through hard work, as well as good, clean recreation. As the Pro Bowl contract in Hawai'i comes to a new negotiation, I hope Komeiji will be successful in keeping a great asset to Hawai'i here in the Islands.

Let's not mess with the purity of surfing

Like Gil Riviere said in his Nov. 28 letter, I question the need for "surf carnivals" or more contests. Also unwise is spending city or state money to promote surfing as advocated by Bob Hampton in his Nov. 27 letter. No one can dispute Hawai'i as the birthplace of the sport or the home of some of the best surf in the world.

Those who crowd the beach with surf schools, equipment concessions or surf contests promote the least attractive elements of the sport. Recreational (soul) surfers or those who truly want to learn the sport don't need or want them. But surfing does need to be saved from those who insist on trying to make money off of surfing.

Also at odds with the purity of the sport are those who wish to make it an official high school sport. The best argument against competitive surfing does not involve liability issues or sharks, but is this: The beauty of surfing is that it can be done alone (still possible, even on O'ahu) or with a few friends sharing waves, rooting for each other to get great rides and enjoying one of nature's finest gifts to humankind.

Let's keep to the wishes of princess, her estate

Aloha, I am Hawaiian, but I am not a Hawaiian activist. I do believe that no one can tell me how to use my money or property.

If Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop's wishes were that her estate be used for Hawaiian children, then why would anyone have the right to change her wishes? If these are not public funds, then why is this a constitutional question? Are you telling me that the government or anyone else can dictate to me how my money or estate should be spent? How constitutional is that?

Why would you want to to go to school that was created to help Hawaiian children if you're not Hawaiian? That's like collecting welfare when you don't need it.

DOE spokesman lacks credentials to evaluate

While I shouldn't have been surprised, I was nevertheless appalled to read about a Department of Education employee's e-mail criticizing an educational consultant behind his back and before the consultant had even completed his work.

Since when does a "communications director" have the training or credentials to evaluate the research methods of a nationally recognized author and professor? And since when is paying transportation costs to Hawai'i for an outside consultant considered reprehensible?

I fully support William Ouchi's request for a reprimand of Greg Knudsen for his blatantly unprofessional conduct. I credit Gov. Linda Lingle for bringing in a highly qualified consultant and wish them both well in their efforts to improve public education in Hawai'i.

The article concluded with Ouchi saying that "it appears that some within the DOE are afraid of reform." What an understatement.

War is not being fought to provide Iraqis freedom

I wish to respond to Thomas E. Stuart's outrageous Dec. 2 letter calling for "courage ... in defense of freedom." He excoriates the "Cry Baby Boom Elites" for their cowardice in abandoning the Vietnamese and Cambodians 30 years ago and predicts that they will do the same to the Iraqis.

How wonderfully simple: Those who support U.S. wars, including the undeclared Vietnam War and now the pre-emptive war on Iraq, are "patriots," whereas those who oppose them, especially the two just mentioned, are "cowards."

But what about me? I am an honorably discharged World War II veteran, who volunteered at age 17 to fight — and possibly die — for my country, yet I vigorously opposed the Vietnam War and now am even more vigorously opposing this utterly unnecessary war, inflicted upon us by the most retrograde administration in U.S. history.

This war is not being fought to provide freedom for the Iraqis, unless it be the freedom of the tomb, but for extension of U.S. military and political power and for control of Iraq's vast oil resources.

I deeply resent being called a coward by Stuart. My opposition to this war and that of millions of other people around the globe, far from being "craven acts of betrayal," are acts of great courage against the leaders of the most powerful military force in world history.

It is precisely Stuart's mindless flag-waving and Fourth of July rhetoric of "duty, honor and country" that I fear he is inculcating in his students that may lead us into more pre-emptive wars against Iran or North Korea. God save us from his brand of patriotism!

Local school boards will be politicized, too

In her statement to The Advertiser ("School reforms winning support but details elusive," Dec. 1), Board of Education member Laura H. Thielen unintentionally revealed one of the great weaknesses in the governor's proposal to create locally elected school boards when she said, "I don't want local school boards to become political."

Unfortunately, since every elected official is a politician by definition, as soon as locally elected school boards are created, they will be politicized. In addition to more politicians, we will get a bumper crop of new bureaucracies to serve the newly established school boards.

More politicians and another layer of bureaucracy. I fail to see how adding more of what's wrong with the current system will improve learning.

Make our schools safe and functional. Give our students the textbooks, lab equipment, computers and other tools they need. And pay what it takes to attract and retain qualified teachers.

Students could benefit from ocean study course

This letter is in response to the Nov. 10 letter on beach safety. The writer said that ocean awareness should be taught in high school. I, as a high school student, absolutely agree.

Hawai'i is a chain of islands surrounded by water; therefore, what better place to have a school program than here in Hawai'i?

For most people in Hawai'i the ocean is a very family place, so shouldn't its student-citizens be educated about the ocean? How might they be educated? Students could go to the ocean and be trained like lifeguards. The training would be great "physical education," and teaching students about marine species unique to Hawai'i would be worthwhile science information.

"Ocean Study" could be offered as an elective or as an extra-credit course to students who can pass a swim test providing that the parents sign an "at your own risk" liability form and provide insurance for their child.

Ocean awareness would be an excellent course for the students of Hawai'i.

Hawai'i Theatre won't forget his generosity

Remembering the late John H. Magoon Jr. takes on additional meaning for the Hawai'i Theatre Center, which owes its early success to Jack's generosity.

In late 1986, when we learned that Jack's father and three uncles were among the corporate officers who built the theater in 1922, three of us went to see Jack to tell him of our plans to restore the theater.

His eyes lit up when we mentioned the Sept. 6, 1922, opening night, details of which we had learned from newspaper archives.

"I was there," he said. "I was 6 years old and it was the grandest place I'd ever seen."

From that meeting, he became our friend and benefactor. A few months later, on July 9, 1987, standing in the right box down front in the dingy, unrestored theater, he announced publicly a very large gift of his personal funds, the first major contribution that launched the community effort.

Then-President Norman Goldstein also announced that the box in which they stood would be named "The John H. Magoon Box" in honor of both father and son.

From that beginning, our nonprofit organization, thanks to Jack Magoon, was able to acquire the property and raise more than $3 million to move the restoration project forward.

Jack Magoon also helped us obtain neighboring property to assure the theater's financial future and later donated works of art that now hang in the lobby.

If your readers are among the more than 750,000 people who have attended events at the Hawai'i Theatre since its 1996 reopening, they might like to know of the generosity of our late benefactor.