Letters to the Editor

Redefine street racing to make it easier to prove

In regard to Peter Boylan's Dec. 15 story "Ideas sought to reduce racing," it seems to me that a state-financed race track or greater police presence on the roadways would do little to alleviate the core problem of street racing. The legal definition of racing that our state prosecutors use to enforce our laws is too difficult to prove in court.

Legal charges stemming from the most recent tragedy do not look likely to be filed. As such, these four deaths will be in vain and nothing will discourage future racers to participate in their passion on our public streets.

An easier and more effective solution would be to redefine street racing as to make it easier to prove in court and effectively prosecute offenders. Public outrage should demand that we are not handcuffed in preventing our legal system to be effective in stopping street racing. How many more deaths should we tolerate because of poorly worded legislation?

City should honor binding arbitration

Like it or not, police officers and some other emergency workers are prohibited from striking in the interest of public safety. In return, they are entitled to "binding" arbitration. The dictionary defines bind as: to compel, obligate or unite. Exactly what definition does the city use when it decides that is is not going to pay for (honor) the arbitrators' "binding" award?

I guess it is only binding on SHOPO and the city gets to decide whether it wants to honor it or not. Can this possibly be considered fair labor negotiations, let alone legal? Perhaps the city would like to just keep getting different "binding" judgments until it finds one it likes.

Mass transit system seems like a good idea

In response to Al Chun's Dec. 10 letter about the mass transit rail system, I agree that the light-rail train would be good for Hawai'i's economy. Although it would be a bit tight on Hawai'i's budget, it might attract more people to the island.

Yes, all of the great cities worldwide have a rail system, but Hawai'i is still recovering from the bus strike that took place just a few months ago. O'ahu is not that big, but adding a new type of transportation might be good for this island, and it might also clear up traffic.

People should wait a while, though, before starting anything new. I am very excited about the idea and can't wait to see it put into action.

Redesign school system to enable, equip youth

I found the Dec. 7 commentary by Randy Hitz of great interest. I, too, believe that the present educational system is fatally flawed.

Under the current system, pouring more money into the school system would be akin to pouring it down an odious hole. There has been, for some time, the realization by the education bureaucracy that a child is not a hollow vessel into which wisdom and knowledge can be poured by all-knowing teachers. Teachers would be the first to admit that they are not experts in all things. The rate of information explosion precludes any claim to universal expertise.

If this thesis is accepted, the role of a teacher could be that of a pathfinder to knowledge to enable our youth to function effectively as contributing members of a demanding society. Therefore, the implementation of this notion can be a start in rethinking how schooling is to be delivered to our youth. To have form follow function, i.e. the implementation of this fundamental notion, then, should be the basis for designing the structural system.

Current proposed structural tinkering by the state administration does not guarantee that students will emerge from the state's school system as educated citizens who can deal with the difficult societal challenges of the 21st century.

Will they be functional as workers in a technological world economy? Consider the past history of the educational bureaucracy. What have all the decades of uncoordinated tinkering done to produce truly educated youth?

A-bombs were the less destructive of tactics

Regarding your editorial page column about the Japanese who visited the Enola Gay B-29, there is another side to the story that is seldom mentioned.

The two A-bombs dropped on Japan in August 1945 saved many hundreds of thousands of deaths and wounded of all participants and Japanese civilians, plus further destruction of Japan.

A huge allied invasion force was prepared to end the war started by Japan with a massive invasion of all of Japan. Hundreds of thousands of American, Australian and other allied lives and Japanese of all sexes and ages would have been killed.

Many people who were not alive then have not considered that they might not be alive now if thousands of Americans were killed invading Japan. I might well be one of them, as I recollect from time to time — I was a bombardier-aerial gunner and 20-year-old second lieutenant who was about to participate in the invasion when the A-bombs were dropped, ending World War II.

Recycling is far better alternative to landfills

Thanks for running both sides of the Waimanalo Gulch landfill argument in last week's Focus edition. While Sen. Colleen Hanabusa and former state Health Director Bruce Anderson eloquently presented their sides, neither cited the best solution: dramatically increase recycling.

Thanks to vigorous recycling promotion by the city and the state, O'ahu's recycling rate has soared from 8 percent in 1988 to more than 25 percent today. However, areas such as Seattle have achieved an above-50 percent rate, and Japan and many European nations are over 60 percent. O'ahu can achieve that rate by tapping the energy and creativity of its recycling industry.

When we ask the industry, "What will it take for you to boost your tonnage by 100 percent over the next 10 years?" the financial incentives they'll suggest will be far cheaper per ton than landfill expansion. Plus more recycling will create hundreds of blue-collar jobs, moving many people from the margins of society into the tax-paying mainstream.

Hanai blessing doesn't extend to children

I applaud the federal judge's decision regarding the mother of a non-Hawaiian boy being recognized to receive Hawaiian perks because she was hanai, but that is where it stops. The hanai blessing does not extend to the children of that person.

I agree that her child should not be at Kamehameha Schools. As a Hawaiian, it is the way for one who is hanai to be accepted as one of our own, in blood ... and spirit. If this young woman was adopted by Hawaiian-blooded people, then in the true meaning of hanai she has all the rights that a blood Hawaiian has, regardless if she has no Hawaiian blood. But, only to the hanai person does this honor of being recognized as a Hawaiian go.

I am upset at those "Hawaiians" who are fighting back against what hanai means just to get what they want, this child out of Kamehameha. I hope these Hawaiians who are putting down what hanai means ask for forgiveness. I would never speak to my hanai family as any different from myself. I am Hawaiian, I live it.