Posted on: Thursday, July 31, 2003

Letters to the Editor

Interisland ferry service also needed

It is interesting to see discussion of federal subsidies for interisland air service. This theme should be expanded to include all potential forms of interisland passenger transportation.

Hawai'i is the only water-bound inhabited area of the world that does not have some sort of surface passenger transport system. The time is right for a fast, modern passenger and vehicle ferry network connecting all of our islands.

We have already seen what can happen when our air transport is disrupted, as during the days following the 9-11 crises.

Rumble strips don't slow down drivers

Whoever decided to install rumble strips on the Pali Highway should be investigated and demoted for lack of competency. Why? Because rumble strips are completely useless to lower vehicle speed.

They are normally only used to alert sleepy and inattentive drivers and for various other reasons. A car rumbles at 20 mph just as much as it does at 50 mph, so why would they make anybody slow down to whatever the speed limit is? Only strict control by the authorities and hefty fines will do the trick.

When I was in Oregon, going slightly over the speed limit on Highway 101, almost everybody passed me. Then Oregon introduced a mandatory $1,000 fine, and after that, almost nobody passed me. Get it?

Find person who leaked state audit on HVCB

I applaud Tony Vericella's July 20 commentary for his concise and reasoned response to the results of the state audit of the HVCB, something I have found lacking in the media reporting to date. I have been dismayed by the hyperbole employed by various media, including The Honolulu Advertiser, in reporting on the audit, fueling a controversy blown unnecessarily and unwarrantedly out of proportion.

The heads of the House and Senate tourism committees have now decided to launch a formal legislative investigation, on top of the investigations by the HTA and AG's office, pending their results. I smell a witch-hunt, and the odor seems to emanate from somewhere or someone inside the Legislature.

Rather than waste taxpayers' money (which is their stated intent) on redundant investigations, I would challenge the Legislature to hunt down and investigate the individual who unethically (illegally?) leaked the preliminary state audit to the media. I understand there were a limited number of copies of the preliminary report released to known individuals, so it should be a relatively easy task and satisfy the Legislature's desire to hunt down the bad guys (or girls). Whoever would do such a thing lacks integrity and should be exposed.

This would also ensure that such a person is not in a position to question the integrity and honesty of the people who work for the people of Hawai'i at the HVCB.

Now that would be an investigation I, as a taxpayer, would gladly pay for. The people of Hawai'i deserve to know the whole truth. I dare the Legislature to find the truth.

Patients are getting quality care at Kuakini

Serious questions regarding the patient care given at Kuakini have been raised in recent newspaper articles. There is a suggestion that care is being compromised at Kuakini. We, the medical staff of Kuakini, feel that this is a misrepresentation of the medical center.

The specific issues that were raised — i.e., understaffing, medication errors and nurse fatigue — are not unique to Kuakini. These were all brought to light during the nurses' strike involving three major Honolulu hospitals last year. Furthermore, the claim of more frequent falls and greater infection rates is inaccurate and is not supported by the data that monitor these events.

In fact, our physicians feel that Kuakini has been able to maintain quality care despite these universal shortcomings.

We are aware that a recent survey has shown discontent among the medical staff toward the hospital management. However, this in no way reflected our sentiment regarding the care and service that are given at Kuakini.

Benefits of Jones Act repeal outweigh job loss

Are we to assume Neil Deitz' assertions in his rebuttal of Cliff Slater's column are true (Letters, July 23)? After all, they are only assertions from a person who has a vested interest in seeing the Jones Act continued.

Having seen what my employer pays Matson to move a container from the West Coast to Hawai'i, and having also seen freight bills to move a container from the Mideast to Hawai'i, I would guess that Mr. Slater probably underestimated the impact that would result in the repeal of the Jones Act.

It may be true that jobs will be lost. But the benefits to be realized by all the residents of Hawai'i would far outweigh those lost jobs.

Who knows, Matson and CSX might choose to compete with foreign carriers for the Hawai'i trade, although it's doubtful since they don't appear to be competing with each other. Kind of reminds me of other monopoly holders here in Hawai'i.

The final camouflage that supporters of the Jones Act hide behind is military need. Military use may have evolved from the Jones Act, but that wasn't the original intention of the act.

Misguided priorities threatens bus strike

O'ahu Transit Services, operator of TheBus, claims it does not have enough money to continue the present level of bus service, but it has money to buy newspaper advertisements to present its position.

The 240,000 residents and tourists who ride TheBus daily have already suffered from service cuts. Many routes are standing room only. The next round of cuts in August will exacerbate the situation. What was once an award-winning transportation system will become the worst in America.

Mayor Harris cut bus funds because it was more important to spend taxpayer money on Brunch and Sunset on the Beach. He cut bus funds to pay interest on money borrowed to pay for more than $30 million of vision team and neighborhood board projects like the $500,000 community-identifying signs in Nu'uanu.

Because of Harris' misguided priorities, there may be a bus strike. People will not be able to get to work or to shopping destinations. The economy will suffer. CNN will tell the world about O'ahu's transit strike, and tourists will stay home.

The mayor should refuse to release funds for these feel-good projects to free up the millions needed to keep TheBus running.

Let's find the solutions to drugs and crime

We spend more money on talking about the problems with drugs and crime rather than on finding solutions.

Yeah, plenty of money to talk about "just say no" and "put them in jail" and "build more prisons" and "get treatment." Where's the money to provide the help? Why funnel money into arresting, convicting and incarcerating when we can funnel money into helping so this continuous cycle comes to an end?

Why do we talk about the what, when and where about drugs? Where's the how? How do we help addicts (who are also members of the community) so when they are released, they will have a positive life to look forward to? How do we help them while they are incarcerated and continue treatment after they are released? How are they going to get the financial support for treatment?

Everyone benefits from the solution to how. No one benefits from the talk.

Saloon Pilots, sea biscuits helped us cope

It was called hardtack, pilot bread, saloon pilot, sea biscuit, sea bread, ship biscuit, etc. I don't know why, but the hardtack, the hard food for hard times, has come out of the past to revisit us this year.

First, with the closing of the Hilo Macaroni Factory and the loss of its Saloon Pilot, we were reminded of this humble food for humble people. This mean food that was meant for sailors and prisoners somehow endeared itself to both Hawai'i's masses and those who could afford to nibble on the upper crust.

Now Seabiscuit appears on our movie screens. Like other forms of hardtack, the story of Seabiscuit helped America cope during the Depression. It was the story of how the downtrodden, flawed, imperfect, weak, worn and wrecked could not only survive but triumph on the most uneven of playing fields.

Saloon Pilot or Seabiscuit, anyone?

Concrete barriers should divide roads

Regarding the recent tragic accident on the Leeward side: Not only do they need an alternate route off Farrington Highway, but all stretches of freeways, highways and roadways that have two-way traffic should have concrete barriers that divide the opposing lanes.

Those bushes that are between the highway lanes will do nothing to stop an oncoming vehicle from crossing over to the other side. If this is done, countless lives will be spared from vehicles crossing over and causing head-on collisions. If an accident occurs on one side of the road, officials can contra-flow on the other side. I am positive that tragic scene would not have occurred if those concrete barriers were in place.

It's time for our transportation officials to wake up and start doing what's best for our (taxpayers') interest.

Don't focus on delays

Instead of focusing on the traffic delays last week's accident caused, you should focus on the families left behind from the disaster. I know you people have a story to tell, but you used to be human.

I pray for the family of the officer who gave his life doing what he and many other officers do each day, for all of us.

Hiker's death brings reflection of life

Hiker Daniel Levey's death has made me think about a lot of important things. While no one can say one is more distressing than another, this tragedy hit closer to home for me than Logan's in 2001, or Alacia's this month.

I went to school with Daniel. I wasn't friends with him. I probably hadn't talked to him in two, maybe three years, and even then it was probably just to say hi or say something about a class or a teacher.

I remember when he was "the new kid" in intermediate. The halls were abuzz with gossip: "Did you see that new kid, Daniel Levey? I heard he skipped two grades when he transferred here." We thought he must have been some sort of genius. It might have had something to do with the fact that he looked young for his age, which is ironic since pictures of him at 19 make him look much older.

When the second semester of senior year came, I was itching to leave. I had had it with Punahou. The night of graduation, however, found me with mixed feelings. It was the happiest night of my life — I had made a major accomplishment along with 400 kids I practically grew up with, and I was finally out.

At the same time, though, I began to realize as I looked around Project Grad at my 400 classmates that I would never, or at best rarely, see 99 percent of these people again in my life. In the two years that have passed since that night, I've realized I should have believed everyone when they told me my senior year would pass too quickly.

Of course, I miss the people I was actually friends with, but the people I miss even more and regret not seeing are the people I wasn't friends with. I miss walking through campus and saying hi to people I never hung out with but had classes with. I miss the teachers I never had, but always felt like I knew, through their reputations. I even miss the people I never met or said hi to, but recognized all the same.

These kids are the people who make me want to relive parts of high school — so I could do it over and get to know them this time.

Daniel made me realize that those 400-plus people I knew, many just by association, are precious. I didn't know Daniel well. I am not as stricken as his family is or those who were his friends. But his tragedy has reminded me of some pretty important things that everyone should keep in mind. To the Punahou class of 2001: Let's take care of one another; we're in one another's thoughts more often than we realize.