Posted on: Friday, December 19, 2003

Letters to the Editor

A challenge for Warriors may boost attendance

What's all the excitement concerning low ticket sales at the box office for the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl? At this point the bowl game is getting exactly the kind of public attention that is expected. Is it possible that the level of public excitement is equal to the level of competition for the University of Hawai'i Warriors?

Personally, the challenge of the University of Houston Cougars does not excite me enough to give up my Christmas Day at home and with my family.

If the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl committee were serious about filling the stadium on Christmas Day, it would provide Warrior fans with an exciting product that tests the spirit, skills and determination of the UH football team.

At the end of the season and at home the Warriors are a formidable opponent that will not be denied. As a Warrior fan who supports our team during the regular season, I love seeing them rise to and overcome these challenges, win or lose.

If this were the case on this Christmas Day there would be five less tickets to sell, that's for sure. As it stands, this is just another game. Ho-hum.

U.S. should clean up bases in Philippines

Recognition of the 200,000 Filipino World War II veterans with even a subsidiary benefits package was overdue for 62 years. Like my grandfather, many Filipinos who devoted their lives to defense passed away before the bill was signed.

However, Filipinos are owed more than equal pension; they deserve a clean environment. U.S. bases in the Philippines have left behind nearly a century's worth of lead, unexploded ordnance, mercury and other toxins. Impoverished communities bordering bases report high levels of reproductive, nervous and kidney disorders, while stillbirths, cancers and congenital defects victimize the unborn.

These bases do not follow environmental standards that U.S.-located bases supposedly adhere to. They leave a legacy of toxic waste that host countries are economically and technologically incapable of cleaning, and diseases that Filipinos, with limited healthcare access and resources, cannot treat.

Grassroots organizations lobby to the Philippine and U.S. governments. Yet without greater support and initiative from within the United States, this injustice may not, like the Filipino veterans' pension, be remediated for a lifetime.

'Traditional marriage' coalition a hypocrisy

Opponents to equal marriage rights have shown by their inaction over the years that they were never out to "save" traditional marriage back in 1998. Instead, their only goal is to deny the rights and privileges of marriage to the gay community.

Since 1998 we have heard nothing from this group on the subject of marriage, unless, of course, something comes up in the news about ensuring equality for the gay community.

There have been television shows that have made a mockery and a profit from the institution of marriage such as "Who Wants to Marry My Dad?" and "The Bachelor." Where were their boycotts of those networks? Where were their protests and letters to the editor over these shows? Nowhere.

They also have done nothing to ensure that couples entering the institution of marriage are properly prepared by offering premarital counseling. If they were really out to "save" traditional marriage one would think that they would have done one if not all of these things since 1998.

Fact is they didn't save traditional marriage; divorce rates are up and domestic violence is still a major problem. The only thing they did try to save was homophobia, and that is a shame.

Involvement by all is key to education process

Lee Cataluna's column "School idea gives us all homework" was right on the mark. As a former elected school board member, I can tell you that it is a very difficult job. I worked very hard as an unpaid volunteer and learned that the dynamics of the education process never cease to be demanding.

I didn't always agree with my fellow board members, but I always had great respect for their willingness to participate. I felt that it was important to be involved, so that I could monitor the quality of the education my children received. The experience was rewarding and frustrating. Looking back, I am glad that I participated and hope that my children might be inclined to do the same in the future.

Prospective Board of Education members need to realize how demanding the job is and must be willing to fully commit themselves to the task if they intend to make a difference.

Lee is absolutely right that none of this can work without the direct involvement of caring people.

Political bumper stickers don't make us bad people

It does not make me any less of a citizen because I do not have a bumper sticker with the words "United We Stand" on our vehicle.

The bumper sticker my husband and I prefer is one that states our political choices. Does that make us bad people? I was under the impression that freedom of speech, even if that speech is a bumper sticker with which you disagree, is a good part of what the United States of America is about.

Public support absent for local school boards

Gov. Linda Lingle's handpicked panel reflected her political agenda.

However, the leap from what was expressed by the public to forming seven localized boards of education was not fully supported and is still unclear.

Many reflected the most common symptoms. Others listed concerns about the methods of using the increased money by our more enburdened principals.

But I did not hear many say anything substantive about giving those principals the necessary resources or training to be effective administrators in this new paradigm. In effect, every principal will need to almost become a mini-district superintendent overnight. They must be afforded the consideration and support to move forward.

My caveat is that all this reorganizational morphing must begin at the base of the structural pyramid — from the school, the classroom, the parents, the teachers, the support staff and the community it is in — then filter upward through the complexes to the policy makers in order for this to work effectively.

If this is done, the structural organization and flow of ideas will create its own structural image as it is required. The form will follow the function.

Consider maintenance when landscaping roads

The proposed $800,000 Nimitz Highway beautification project sounds great. However, every five years we have had the same type of project work done, with the same ill-maintained landscaping, which has resulted in weed patches.

Too frequently the planners present designs that involve high maintenance upkeep, such as grass mowing, extensive watering and such to satisfy their egos, but the benefits have been only momentary.

Yes, we and our tourists deserve an eye-appealing, but easily maintained roadway between Waikiki and Sand Island, as well as the rest of the island's roadways — not more weeds and straggly plants.

Thus, everyone should insist on a low-maintenance landscaping that still achieves a tropical ambiance. A minimal amount of grass (maybe none), and nonflowering shrubs such as colorful crotons should be used. Let us not forget that grass and many plants require frequent watering and trimming. Hawai'i is full of natural and colorful shrubs that are essentially maintenance free and can easily enhance the overall ambiance.

Let us get smart for once and improve our roadways with aesthetically appealing yet maintenance-free landscaping without creating extra work for groundskeeping crews. Also, we have installed miles of sprinkler lines that have not done their job; let us not repeat those mistakes.

Our precious money has gone for naught too often in the direction of beautification, yet never with forethought of the ongoing labor and financial upkeep resources required.

Board of Agriculture must do more

Baby steps were recently taken by the Board of Agriculture in modernizing our approach to rabies prevention, but adult steps are needed.

National health regulators and experts send a directive each year to state veterinarians as a guideline for rabies prevention policy. This year it specifically covered several areas of direct conflict with Hawai'i's state policy. It says (available online at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/rr/rr5205.pdf):

• Blood tests are worthless and should not be used.

• Current vaccination is defined as 28 days after the first vaccination, a pet reaches peak titer and is completely immune, and after a booster they are immediately immune to rabies. (Therefore, no pre-arrival wait is necessary at all for pets coming or going.)

• Three-year vaccinations should not be administered in less than three years as it does not increase immunity and it is dangerous for pets (so the

18-month requirement should be changed to three years).

Other issues of importance include:

• Fees: Why is there a charge for pet cats and dogs being imported when horses, cows and birds carry no import charge? There are only two documents to check and a brief wave of the microchip reader to establish the identity of the pet. This takes less time than it takes humans to go through security.

• Travel restriction: Why must all pets arrive in Honolulu, causing pet owners from other islands to waste time and money diverting their travel?

• Tax issues: Why are the citizens of Hawai'i paying to maintain a huge, now empty facility at Halawa for quarantine, when many other authorized private quarantine facilities could accommodate noncompliant pets? This year's request for $3 million could certainly be better spent on schools and roads.

The Community Quarantine Reform Coalition (www.quarantinehawaii.org) presented these facts and issues to the Board of Agriculture and asked for a public hearing to bring Hawai'i into compliance with a national expert's directives in the 2003 compendium.

Sandra Kunimoto, chairwoman of the Board of Agriculture, would not say if, when or how she would allow this to be considered by the board. She alone sets the agenda.

Though the state veterinarian has had this information since January 2003, it was not disclosed to the public.

It is a travesty that the people of Hawai'i are still being duped by their public officials to hold onto a bureaucracy that no longer serves any purpose. It is harmful to pets and encourages smuggling, which produces a real danger of rabies importation.

We recommend that Department of Agriculture workers be reassigned to interdiction of pets and alien species at the ports of entry instead of baby-sitting perfectly healthy pets at Halawa's quarantine station. More than 4,000 private plane landings from outside the state occur each year. These go largely uninspected.

Haven't we seen cats and dogs on boats sailing down the Ala Wai? How many thousands of boats enter Hawai'i's harbors each year?

Let's put resources where they will be better used and stop hanging onto the old ways.