Letters to the Editor

Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana focuses on safety

I am a minor who has been to Kaho'olawe twice, once when I was 12 and again when I was 16. In both trips, I did not feel my safety was in question at any time.

The minors in the groups, as well as everyone else, were always under strict instruction regarding traveling and camping procedures. And during both trips, the groups were very attentive.

I am shocked to hear that people are misjudging the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana's attention to safety. And I also feel that this uninformed assumption not only insults the 'ohana, but minors who have attended these trips.

Maya Uemoto

Renewable energy is the right way to go

We applaud Rep. Cynthia Thielen's Feb. 2 proposals for increasing uses of renewable energy and decreasing reliance on fossil fuels.

With our natural resources, Hawai'i could, and should, lead the world in the use of renewable-energy technologies. Such a position would undoubtedly attract environmentally conscious businesses and visitors.

At the Jan. 11 Sustainability Workshop, advocates for increasing use of renewable energy included Gov. Lingle, Mayor Harris and Sen. Hanabusa. Even HECO, following its failed attempt to put tall poles and high voltage lines atop Wa'ahila Ridge, is talking about research and development of alternative energy.

It amazes us that many of Hawai'i's residents have yet to take advantage of the substantial savings provided by solar water heating. Solar panels are much less visually intrusive than things such as fans and air-conditioning units on roofs of commercial buildings.

We have visited off-the-grid homes on other islands in which solar energy fuels not only electric lights but computers and TVs. Owners of such systems have not lost any quality of life and they enjoy knowing that they are limiting their use of fossil fuels.

For Hawai'i and the nation, decreasing reliance on oil (foreign and domestic) could contribute to wilderness conservation, better air quality, slowing global warming and improved foreign relations.

Duane and Sarah Preble

Lending Randy Roth to Gov. Lingle unethical

I wondered if the University of Hawai'i regents would now be in jail if the governor's bribery bills were already law.

The regents do lobby the government for large amounts of money on which their operation relies, just like everyone else who seeks government money.

They would benefit by currying favor and support from the governor, just like everyone else.

And they did make a gift to the governor of over $200,000 in the form of a personal assistant who was fully bought and paid for by their organization's money.

I believe I am fair in characterizing Randy Roth as a personal gift. After all, he is a personal assistant to Linda Lingle, and he answers only to her. He certainly is neither a government employee nor an elected or appointed official (which I suspect also sets him free from the normal regulations and ethical oversight that apply to real government employees and officials).

To me, this can only mean that either the bills are flawed or the regents' act was wrong. Both cannot be right.

George L. Berish

Wheeler can't hold nonviolent criminals

I'm not sure where Mal Gillin (Letters, Feb. 7) learned to do math (or research, for that matter), but the recommendation to use Wheeler Army Airfield to house nonviolent criminals is ridiculous.

Not only does Wheeler house single soldiers in barracks, but there are also numerous families living in housing on the base. The office and hangar space on Wheeler is completely occupied by military units that could all use more space, if it were available. I cannot think of a single building on Wheeler that is not in use.

Sorry to disappoint the inmates, and Mal Gillin, but Wheeler Army Airfield is occupied.

Quincy Kelly
Mililani

Congressman's AJA comment outrageous

I was outraged to read of Rep. Howard Coble's comments stating that he agreed with President Roosevelt's decision to incarcerate Japanese Americans during World War II for our "own protection."

Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 apologizing to Japanese American internees and authorizing reparations for being denied their constitutional rights. It is unfortunate that this important lesson that the rest of Congress understood was lost on North Carolina's Coble.

Our nation's shoddy treatment of my ethnic community during World War II should not be forgotten, and the racial profiling and ethnic scapegoating of Arabs and Muslims post-9/11 is disturbingly reminiscent of what happened 60 years ago.

As a Japanese American, I find it truly frightening that a man with such backward and ignorant views as Rep. Coble is chairing the Judiciary subcommittee on crime, terrorism, and homeland security. He should resign or be removed immediately.

Karen T. Nakasone