Posted on: Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Letters to the Editor

Nimitz contraflow should tie in to BRT

This is a letter of appreciation to the state Department of Transportation and to Gov. Lingle for finally pursuing a contraflow lane on Nimitz Highway.

However, I would like to point out that if it is only going to be used for personal vehicles, then we are not solving any traffic problems. However, if we tie this contraflow lane with the city's BRT system, then we can finally achieve some success in addressing our traffic and transit problems.

This is the best and most expedient method of moving tourists and residents from the Leeward and central areas of O'ahu to the central business district, Ala Moana Shopping Center and Waikiki. The Nimitz Highway corridor can be made to hold the bus tubes and at the same time be aesthetically improved. This can be done for minimal cost and in minimal time.

Guillermo Colon
Mililani

'Sunshine law' must not be chipped away at

Here we go again. The Legislature is poised to take us back to the Dark Ages as it begins chipping away at the "sunshine law."

It is now considering exempting the county councils from following the statewide open meetings and records law. Chip. Next, powerful state and county boards and commissions will ask for the same consideration, saying it is too cumbersome to let the public know what is happening. Chip, chip. Then, the neighborhood boards, the grassroots operation, will request the same. Chip. Chip. Chip.

And then our elected and appointed officials will operate in total secrecy.

Instead of following this public-be-damned attitude, the Legislature should do what is pono. Instead of granting exemptions, it should nullify the exemption it gave itself and require the Legislature to follow the law.

Lynne Matusow

Faith-based people have right to opinions

In a Feb. 12 letter, a representative of Compassion in Dying of Hawai'i stated that they do not appreciate "misleading information ... which is more often than not a smokescreen by religious groups ... (whose) opposition is faith-based."

Should opinions by anyone who is connected to a church be discredited? Do not faith-based people have an equal opportunity to express their opinion under our Constitution? Are people of faith any less intelligent, humanistic or community-centered because of their faith?

The basic problem is not, as pointed out, that terminally ill people are suffering because of endless debate, but because the latest pain-management techniques are not being fully applied. The debate has stimulated interest in pain management by many in the medical field. The Queens Medical Center, for example, has instituted a pain-management team to treat the suffering.

We are a community whose basic foundation is aloha. Is our community going to allow the terminally ill who are depressed or are an economic burden to choose to end their lives? Should we not show our elderly and terminally ill how much we care so that all of our citizens can experience death with dignity and aloha?

Andrew J. Gerakas

Chaplin helped pave way to 21st century

George Chaplin was a real-life planner, always a few steps ahead of the times. Coming from the South, where doubts persisted on Hawai'i's admission into the union, he immediately embraced and led local media campaigns for statehood.

To break loose from the insular bondage that held back the new state from global prominence, he supported, over chamber objections, the founding of Hawai'i's Foreign Trade Zone and the Asia/Pacific-wide programs of the East-West Center.

To encourage economic competition, he was not afraid to challenge transport and distribution monopolies. In advance of farsighted state planning, he spearheaded formation and insightful dialogue at the Governor Burns' Commission on the Year 2000 (this was back in the '70s). He has left as his legacy a fund for delivery of keen retrospective and forward-looking contributions at the East-West Center, where he served as board chairman.

On a personal note, he gave my daughter her first break as a reporter in allowing her to write a series of articles on an ethnic breakthrough in the selection of Bishop Estate trustees. And he was always around to salve the bruises I incurred in years of public service.

I and many of my colleagues stand in great debt to this scrappy and visionary editor who came to us from the Deep South.

Shelley Mark
Director, Department of Business and Economic Development, 1962-1974

Lingle should unveil education reform plan

In his Feb. 12 Volcanic Ash commentary, David Shapiro states that "the governor has put her prestige and perhaps her political future on the line behind local school boards," and all other "school-reform issues ... appear stalled until direction on the central issue of governance is decided."

As a school principal, I am very concerned to hear that Gov. Lingle will not be able to implement her educational reforms without her centerpiece, the creation of seven school boards. The governor had four years following her initial run for the governor's office to develop her plans to improve our educational system. I would have hoped that she and her advisers had taken the time and effort to talk with educators in the field to determine how the system could be improved.

Yet if, after four years, her primary reform initiative is to create seven school boards, then it appears that she lacks the vision and foresight to improve our educational system. Is there a plan to increase resources to the DOE? Is there a plan to assist schools with safety issues on campus? Is there a plan to assist schools with the growing special-education population? Is there a plan to improve school facilities?

The creation of the seven school boards should not prevent Gov. Lingle from addressing these important educational issues.

It is easy to blame the legislators for inaction, yet the governor has not provided the plans or substance for school improvement. We need her to step forward and provide details for her educational reform plans. As David Shapiro states, the "issue here is accountability."

Bruce Naguwa
'Aiea

Portables are better than Quonset huts

Regarding Michael Fox's Feb. 16 letter on state-of-the-art modular buildings (classrooms) with air-conditioning: What a deal!

In grade school, my classroom was a Quonset hut without AC. When the rain came down on the corrugated tin, we could barely hear the instructor. Sometimes an uncomfortable environment prepares you for the real world ahead.

Enjoy the soothing sound of the AC and be thankful for what you have. Look at the rest of the world to see how fortunate you are.

Richard Ornellas

Bus is cheap as is; why cheat over a pass?

As a visitor here, I was appalled about supposedly disabled folks cheating on bus passes.

Your transportation via buses is most amazing, and your prices for it are so reasonable, it doesn't seem worth it to try to cheat paying for annual passes.

For supposed "professional" folks to help anyone beat the system is detrimental to all.

Melissa Brown

Genetic experiments too risky for Hawai'i

According to Jan TenBruggencate, The Advertiser science writer, the number of genetically altered crop experiments has increased to over 500. According to the writer, most of these are not monitored for the protection of Hawai'i's ecology.

Yet, your writer insists that the benefits outweigh the risks. This is a total sham. While a success can possibly be beneficial to crops worldwide, the risks are great and entirely local (Hawai'i). By supporting this experimental industry, in its present unfettered form, we risk what remains of our fragile ecosystems. This should not be and doesn't have to be.

I stated, in a letter a couple of years ago, my criticism to your science writer and editorial blessing of this industry: "Hawai'i has too much to lose for a small profit." The vast number of threatened, endangered and lost species in Hawai'i is much too large.

While you may think that this is a NIMBY complaint, there are safer methods. We don't have to have such a large risk in Hawai'i for world gains in food production. Many of these experiments can be done in sealed hothouses. Smaller projects can be done better and at nominal costs. Larger experiments, while more costly, could easily be done in hothouses also, minimizing the transference of genetically modified pollen to the Hawai'i ecosystem.

Lester Q. Spielvogel

Citing Lili'uokalani was presumptuous

UH-Hilo astronomy professor Michael West's Feb. 17 defense of his science is insulting. How dare he presume to speak for Queen Lili'uokalani!

He writes, "If Queen Lili'uokalani lived today, she might have been an astronomer." Rather lofty to even suggest that one's profession would be noble enough for the queen.

West concludes "that if Lili'uokalani were alive today, she'd surely say that there's room for everybody on the summit of Mauna Kea." Rather presumptuous for a Western man to speak so surely for a native queen. Wouldn't it be better to leave such speculation to her descendants or at least her own people?

The queen might indeed have initially welcomed the astronomers in the aloha spirit, as did Native Hawaiians over 30 years ago when the astronomers requested only one telescope. Now they have 13 telescopes, a trail of broken promises, and want six more telescopes. Their expansionist desires wear their welcome mat thin, even for loving, patient Hawaiians.

As a Western professor myself, I am ashamed of such cultural insensitivity and can understand why Native Hawaiians have trouble with such arrogance dominating their sacred mountain.

Shepherd Bliss
Orchidland, Hawai'i

Keiki must be allowed on Kaho'olawe

In 1984, the Navy and the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana mutually agreed to let minors under 15 accessKaho'olawe. Hundreds of keiki have enjoyed Kaho'olawe with parents, teachers, scout leaders and kumu hula. In 2001, the Navy and the 'ohana added a requirement that keiki under 15 come with an adult.

Then, suddenly, last month, the Navy reversed itself. It denied access to a 5-year-old boy whom it earlier allowed onto Kaho'olawe in April 2002 with his father. It denied access to a 17-month-old child whose father has been participating in makahiki on Kaho'olawe for 15 years, is a lifeguard, is trained in first response and hazardous materials disposal, and who worked on the clean-up project detecting ordnance in Hakioawa, the 'ohana's camp.

We urge all who would suggest that the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana does not have safety protocols to heed the words of George Jarrett Helm and "do your homework."

We are careful. Safety orientations are mandatory for all first-timers and anyone who hasn't visited the island with the 'ohana in two or more years. Everyone, children and adults, must know how to swim in the ocean. We implement adult-to-minor ratios for youth groups. Children under 7 must be accompanied by a parent who has been to Kaho'olawe and is familiar with the safety procedures. We interview each parent. Sometimes we must find that a child is not ready for Kaho'olawe. Each child, each parent, is unique.

For 23 years, the 'Ohana has taken thousands of people, from keiki to kupuna, of all ethnicities and levels of ability. And we have had far fewer serious injuries on-island than has the U.S. Navy. We do not recklessly expose huaka'i participants to danger.

Age does not tell us who to restrict; it tells us who will need extra support and guidance. This is the kuleana given us when Aunty Edith Kanaka'ole gave us the name Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana.

Furthermore, three days on Kaho'olawe is life-changing for students. Crossing the water and camping for three days is a rite of passage for today's generation of youth. Living together on an island without public utilities teaches the values of kokua, laulima, 'ohana, malama and natural resource management. For many, Kaho'olawe is a mecca, a pu'uhonua, but most significantly, Kaho'olawe represents hope through healing. That to a barren land, rainclouds can be attracted; that from scarred terrain, new growth can sprout, so, too, can there be healing for us as individuals and as a community.

Kim Ku'ulei Birnie
Access co-coordinator, Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana