Posted on: Monday, July 28, 2003

Letters to the Editor

Court interpreter story wrong on compensation

Your July 21 article "Courts deal with interpreter woes" incorrectly states that most court interpreters will earn $40 for a half-day of work under the judiciary's new fee schedule. The article also misleadingly contrasts the $178 a certified interpreter earns for a half-day in federal court with the $50 a noncertified interpreter will be paid for a state court "session."

Let's compare apples to apples. Under the new fee schedule, most court interpreters — i.e., those who are not certified — will be paid $100 for four hours of work. This is more than the $86 they would earn in federal court. For certified interpreters, it will be $150 in state court compared to $178 in federal court. The new fees represent a 100 percent to 150 percent raise for noncertified interpreters and a 200 percent to 275 percent increase for certified interpreters. It is not only in line with — and in some cases exceeds — what the federal courts are paying, it is consistent with compensation offered by other state courts.

The judiciary values the important role interpreters play in facilitating access to justice. It is the reason that, despite severe fiscal times, the courts made increased interpreter fees a priority in its legislative budget request. The taxpayers are funding this substantial raise in fees, and they are entitled to accurate information.

Kailua infrastructures already overwhelmed

Kane'ohe Ranch CEO Mitch D'Olier is "looking at opportunities" in Kailua. I hope Mr. D'Olier, if he is going to build Kailua up to bring in more people to shop, eat or see movies, can see that our roads and infrastructures are already overwhelmed.

We don't have the police support to handle our population as it stands right now. I know he says his vision is for Kailua residents to be able to shop in Kailua. But if he brings in the anchor stores and builds the big parking garage he is planning, he will be bringing in additional population from other parts of the island.

In itself, that sounds great for business and especially to those I have talked to who are recent settlers from the Mainland. But Kailua had a feel before this Californication of our town. Now we are looking more like a strip mall than a great beach town.

Is all this investment really for us Kailuans? Or is it for Kane'ohe Ranch's bottom line in the way of higher lease rents?

Robertson prayer editorial offensive

It's one thing for Advertiser editorial writers to take a position on Pat Robertson's Operation Supreme Court Freedom ("Robertson prayer 'offensive' is foolish," July 21), but it's not right when statements by Robertson are taken out of context and used in a biased and unfair manner by Hawai'i's largest daily newspaper.

Robertson was not urging prayer for anybody to get sicker, as The Advertiser insinuated. Instead, he argued that retirement of the highest court's three liberal justices would end "a tyranny of an oligarchy."

"We the People," the opening words of the U.S. Constitution, left no doubt in the Preamble that the Constitution was intended to belong to the people. Over the years, the Supreme Court has radically undermined this careful placement of power by making itself the ultimate arbiter and source of what the Constitution provides and what it does not.

After all, no matter how much a legislature may debate, negotiate, compromise and discuss a significant social issue, a mere five-member unelected majority of the Supreme Court is always free to impose what it thinks is really best for the American people — the latest proclaiming same-sex sodomy a "constitutional right."

For The Advertiser's editorial elite to label Robertson and his supporters "foolish" is proof of this paper's arrogant and mean-spirited slant. It also raises serious questions of journalistic ethics as it relates to credibility and application of judgment.

It is time for a change. The time has come for several justices to retire, and I am fervently praying for that end.

Motorcyclists shouldn't ride in tight formations

It is a tragedy that the motorcycle police officer lost his life while on duty.

As a motorcyclist for the past 12 years, I've always worried when I saw HPD motorcycle officers ride in tight, two-line group formations at highway speeds. I was taught at the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course that group riders should travel in staggered formation with sufficient space between each rider to allow increased reaction time and maneuverability in the event of an emergency situation.

Such a formation would not have prevented the death of the officer; however, in general, it does provide an additional margin of safety for motorcyclists traveling in a group.

Reinstating kingdom isn't stated OHA goal

Paul deSilva's July 18 letter left me wondering how many others assume that all "activists" and OHA are on the same page. This could not be further from the truth.

OHA is an entity of the state of Hawai'i and, regardless of its well-meant intentions, must still comply with the U.S. Constitution and its laws. Moreover, most sovereignty "activists," though diverse in views, do not support a racially biased government.

If Mr. deSilva looked at OHA's Web site, he would find nothing that clearly states its objectives to include reinstating the lawful Hawaiian Kingdom. One of its goals is to protect "OHA's assets," as it states, and not to help protect the rights or assets of the descendants of Hawaiian nationals of the pre-1893 Hawaiian Kingdom. Mr. deSilva and all descendants of Hawaiian nationals need to know where their allegiance lies and need to take an active role in the perpetuation of the same.

Mr. deSilva's grievance as an American is completely valid. However, it remains the responsibility of all descendants of Hawaiian nationals, including Mr. deSilva, to do what their ancestors would want. Collect our inheritance and reinstate the nation.

Governor should learn to work with legislators

Apparently Hawai'i elected an infallible governor. She is never wrong, at least in her own mind. She vetoed 50 bills passed by Hawai'i's 76 elected legislators and then criticized them for the audacity of overriding some of them.

Among the bills our omnipotent governor vetoed, the most in years, were measures that guaranteed workers 30-minute meal breaks and expressing breast milk during voluntary breaks (HB 29); establishing an audit fund that she herself proposed in her so-called "New Beginning" public relations election booklet (HB 282); appropriating funds for school repair and maintenance (SB 58); appropriating funds for the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Korean War Commission, passed without a single "no" vote (SB 317); and a bill to appropriate funds for services to the blind (SB 1647), also passed unanimously.

These obviously were but a few of the 50 bills this governor vetoed. Thank goodness some were overridden.

Perhaps this governor and her staff, in the words of Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, should learn to "work with the Legislature." Perhaps she should realize there are three co-equal branches under our Constitution. Perhaps she should think before she criticizes the judiciary (comments she had to retract), before she takes junkets to Japan using state funds for the media (later reimbursed) and before she berates our elected legislators.

'Business as usual' at the visitors bureau

It was an interesting juxtaposition in Sunday's Focus section of Jerry Burris' "Sea change in campaign fund-raising" cheek by jowl with Tony Vericella's self-serving puff piece "HVCB acted for Hawai'i's benefit."

While Burris quotes defense attorney Earle Partington and Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle as saying it's time to end the "business as usual," ingrained habit of over-contributing in the Hawai'i political culture, the HVCB seems ready to defend its "business as usual" use of public monies.

Would the HVCB even exist without the Hawai'i Tourism Authority's public state funds? HVCB CEO Vericella admits "I myself was responsible for inadvertently including some personal expenses in the corporate account." This bespeaks a lack of character and integrity, and this in a season of CEO depredations on the public and the economy by Enron, Anderson, Tyco, Worldcom, Adelphia, et al. ad nauseam.

Where is the tried-and-true maxim of operating beyond even the hint of impropriety? Vericella bemoans the fact that the draft of the audit was leaked to the media before he had a chance to defend the indefensible. Auwe!

The HVCB board of directors continues the "business as usual" culture in accepting reimbursement as the sole criterion of reform.

Satellite city hall vote was at the last moment

In response to Kailua resident Diane Huddleston's July 16 letter ("Satellite city hall: Councilman Garcia was two-faced on closing"), allow me to set the record straight.

The administration's $400,000 amendment came to the council's attention only minutes before the final vote and did not allow adequate time for public input from taxpayers. Of the $400,000 addition to the city's budget: $222,000 was to continue city-sponsored Sunset on the Beach parties; $71,000 was to continue an excess automobile parts inventory; and only $107,000 was to restore the satellite city hall funding cuts originally proposed by another council member.

I voted for the council's version of the budget because I believe that having government services closer to the people is one of the core functions of government.

The city administration was asked to explain its closure decision in early June, but the Waipahu community has yet to receive a reply. No criteria or rationale has ever been presented to the neighborhood board or other community leaders as to why the satellite city hall most used by the elderly and economically disadvantaged was chosen to be cut first. Instead of closing another satellite city hall, why not offer limited hours of operation as a compromise? These issues need to be discussed publicly rather than be decided by heartless bureaucrats.

Ms. Huddleston may think that the petition effort was not worth it and two-faced on my part, but more than 5,000 Leeward and Central O'ahu residents believe otherwise. We continue to hope that Mayor Harris will urge his people to meet the Waipahu community halfway and work together to find a more affordable and accessible site for the Waipahu satellite city hall.

Let's start collecting fines for noisy vehicles

The Revised Ordinances of Honolulu section 15-19.28 clearly gives the guidelines in what a motor vehicle owner can and cannot do to his personal auto or scooter: "No person shall operate a motor vehicle on a public highway or street with a motor and/or exhaust system which has been altered or modified to such an extent that the noise emitted by the motor and/or exhaust system shall be deemed excessive or unusual ... "

Seems pretty plain language to me, and when you couple the fines that are supposed to be levied against those with illegal exhaust systems, well, there is one way to cure the state's deficit.

There are also supposed to be fines levied against the businesses and persons who actually do the work of alterations on these systems, so there is even more money.

How about it, HPD? Let's all work together because there are literally thousands of cars, trucks and scooters that are so far outside the law that earplugs don't even help.

Save water? Stop watering our streets

In response to Donna Fay Kiyosaki ("Help conserve water during statewide drought," July 21), let me offer some advice:

Stop watering our streets.

It is almost impossible to drive from Hawai'i Kai to Honolulu without running through massive water runoff as a result of ill-placed sprinklers on the medians placed two to three inches from the road.

Does it make sense to have water spilling into the streets that then dirties the thousands of vehicles on the road? Has anyone witnessed the lines at McKinley Car Wash these days? How much water does it take to wash a car?

We could probably save 15 gallons of water per person per day just by eliminating the street watering and the daily car washes.

I'll continue to flush toilets regularly and take average-length showers and wash my car at McKinley Car Wash as long as the city and state continue to water our streets.

State should leave hurricane fund alone

Excellent article by Deborah Adamson regarding hurricane insurance rate increases (July 20).

Given the unavailability of hurricane coverage following Iniki, our legislators should not touch the state's hurricane insurance fund to pay for the operation of state government in the event hurricane coverage dries up or becomes too costly.

The hurricane insurance fund has been paid into by property owners of the state of Hawai'i. It's not general taxation money. Why not protect our property owners?