Posted on: Monday, June 16, 2003

Letters to the Editor

Helmet-less riders should post bond

To all those who feel it is their God-given right to not wear motorcycle helmets: sure — if the rest of us didn't have to pay for your medical care if you survive your crash.

The right to swing your fist ends at the point of another man's chin. Guess who foots the bill for the helmet-free crash victims? We do. A young man who becomes a quadriplegic could easily run up a million dollars in lifetime costs for the taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid.

So here's my solution: Anybody who doesn't want to wear a helmet, fine — just be required to post a bond that will pay for your extensive medical care if you're injured. Otherwise, be smart, be responsible and wear a helmet.

All those no left turns just a ploy for the BRT

Driving in this town is like driving in the Dole Pineapple maze; no left turns allowed, just stay on the road, going around in circles until you eventually get where you are going. Another ploy of Cheryl Soon and Jeremy Harris for the BRT.

Another thought: If Mayor Harris was waiting all these years for the utility companies to resurface the roads, why didn't he have HECO throw in rubber pipes and electric lines when the infrastructure from Kahala to 'Aina Haina was uncovered some years ago?

This most obvious stretch of the road is still the only part with the obstruction of ugly electric wires.

Lingle should take action on gas prices

The weeks and months roll by, and we still languish with the highest gas prices in the nation. What gives?

The latest Lundberg study of 8,000 stations lists the national average price of gasoline down to $1.54 and still dropping, so why is Honolulu averaging $1.95 and here on Kaua'i it's a whopping $2.19?

It appears our new governor is content to let us suffer while allowing the oil companies to prosper while we all wait for the price cap coming a year from now.

Gov. Lingle, if you really want to help the people here in Hawai'i, then take up the challenge and help out all of us who have to grit our teeth every time we fill our tanks. Your lack of concern makes us question if we made the right choice for governor.

Be 'price sensitive,' buy a fuel-thrifty car

It's ironic that Sen. Ron Menor continues to defend his gas cap bill ("Gas price cap fuels debate," June 9). Take a stroll through the reserved parking for legislators at the Capitol sometime — virtually all the proponents of this cap, including Sen. Menor, drive large cars that would be lucky to get 20 miles to the gallon.

Plus, since Menor has the cheapest gas in the state in his district because of the Costco gas station and the resulting competition, most of the time Menor's gas cap bill would force those stations to raise prices of unleaded fuel. You'd think his constituents would be peeved at him and boot him out of office.

I agree with Menor's comment that doing nothing in this kind of market situation would be unsatisfactory. But state government can't fix this — it can only break it more. The oil duopoly gets away with price gouging because, as they put it, we're "price insensitive."

So be price sensitive — buy a fuel-thrifty car and drive less.

Inmates could provide labor for koa project

Regarding the June 1 article "Group launches 43,000-acre koa project on Maui": The 10 members of the partnership, including James Campbell Estate, Haleakala Ranch, Haleakala National Park, biologist Art Medeiros of the U.S. Geological Survey, as well as many others, should be commended for supporting such an extensive project.

With budget cuts comparable to labor pangs, the article did not mention where the resources would come from.

As for the huge labor force needed, and this is just a thought, there are approximately 3,500 inmates throughout the state. Many are at minimum or community status levels that could and would willingly fill this demand.

From the humble taxpayer to the zealous politician, all will benefit from this fascinating project. In 20 years, our keiki will thank us.

If allowed, I would be the first to sign up.

We must respect one another's opinion

J.C. White, Bill Penny and Pat Skillings Kean provided in letters to the editor the end result of colonization and assimilation of indigenous cultures. Please, I say this without insult to you or your ancestors, but to make a very important point for all people of the world to consider:

The many writers (non-Hawaiians and Hawaiians) sharing their opinions on the overthrow, annexation and statehood of the Hawaiian Islands are basically standing up for their rights. They are fundamental human rights, long violated and denied by a government — not the diverse ethnic races of the government, which espouse the values of "justice and liberty for all."

Regardless of our opinions, we have an opportunity of global importance in resolving the grievances of the kanaka maoli against the United States government. That not only benefits every soul living in these Islands, the entire world will benefit to see the United States take responsibility. However, the first step to achieving this goal is for each of us to demonstrate by example that we can respect one another's opinion without disrespecting one another.

Our returning 'heroes' massacred thousands

I was heartened by the editorial reprise June 11 of King Kamehameha's legacy and the "Law of the Splintered Paddle." Your conclusion was eloquent and tearful, to wit:

"Today, we like to interpret this law as meaning that any wanton act on the innocent or helpless is wholly unacceptable."

Having wrapped your paper thoroughly in the flag throughout the past few months, I wonder if you understand the cross-cultural contradictions of your words.

The Iraqi people, like King Kamehameha, have also found themselves between a rock and a hard place. I see no sympathy from you, for them, when you continue to regard all returning warriors in uniform as "heroes," after their massacre of thousands of innocents.

How did we ever get sweet-talked into war?

Lee Cataluna's June 10 column about the "Baywatch" lesson was right on the mark. The only thing I would add is that the episode eerily resembles the way George Bush sold his invasive conquest of Iraq by fast-talking his fictitious weapons-of-mass-destruction line onto the stars-in-our-eyes American public: a lot of Hollywood hype, playing off our insecurities, corporate greed and falsely promising a rosy future that the producers knew they could not deliver.

How did we ever get sweet-talked into another media-blitzed (mis)adventure? Just ask the media-savvy spin doctors at the GOP/Madison Avenue-managed White House.

Thank you for helping in postal food drive

The National Association of Letter Carriers would once again like to express a sincere mahalo to the people of Hawai'i for their continued support of our food drive on May 10.

This food drive has come to be recognized as the largest single-day food drive in the nation, with over 240,000 carriers in over 10,000 cities and towns participating.

Plenty of aloha was shared with us in the amount of 308,309 pounds of nonperishable goods collected on our mail routes throughout the Islands. Our national total came in at 61.7 million pounds. A major effort to fill the food banks was made by so many labor unions, postal unions and community volunteers.

This food will provide the Island food banks with some core nutrition for about five months.

Again, thank you to all the local folks who participated by putting food out by their mailboxes to help those in need in their communities. Our food drive could not be so successful without your support.

'Employee of the Year' award truly an honor

I would like to thank all involved for my selection as the "State Department Employee of the Year." I never realized such an award existed, although I worked for the Department of Health for the past 24 years at Kalaupapa.

Even before this honor, the rewards of providing a service to those inflicted with leprosy have been nothing short of a privilege and an honor. My job has given me an opportunity to give back what society has taken away: respect. But, for all these years that I have worked and lived at Kalaupapa, still, I feel there's more to be done, and hopefully one day at least some patients will be able to relinquish the stigma and once more feel part of society.

To those responsible for my nomination, I thank you gratefully and will treasure this as an avenue to obtaining life's greatest achievement: fulfilling one's purpose in life. Thanks.

Why bring Calvin Say into City Bank 'fracas'?

I thank you for printing the June 2 letter from Channing T. Lushbough of Pasadena, Calif. It was educational for me because I now understand that whenever things are not going the way we want them to go, one of the strategies some of us employ to sway public opinion is to find a public official, preferably a politician, to blame.

I don't personally know Calvin Say, and I don't agree with a number of his decisions, but I think it ludicrous to hold him up as the negative standard-bearer of the "fracas" between City Bank and Central Pacific Bank.

Local da kine may be mo' bettah

The Advertiser's June 8 books section carried a nice spread, including photo, of Sue Miller's book "The Story of My Father," chronicling her father's struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Reading this, I immediately thought of Frances H. Kakugawa's book on the same subject, published locally, entitled "Mosaic Moon."

Kakugawa was a caregiver for her mother, also stricken with AD. She didn't write a narrative about the experience, but instead expressed her feelings through poetry. Moreover, she observed other caregivers struggling through the same difficult times and offered to teach them poetry and journal writing, activities they had not experienced previously, as a means of developing coping skills. She presented the idea to the local Alzheimer's Association chapter, which endorsed it.

The six women's poetry, including narrative sketches of the relative they were caring for, plus Kakugawa's own poems, were gathered together and published locally by Watermark Publishing as "Mosaic Moon: Caregiving through Poetry, Easing the Burden of Alzheimer's Disease." The book has been selling well (all profits except the publisher's costs go to support AD projects), but would probably have sold much better if it had received the type of publicity accorded Sue Miller's book. Moreover, it is strictly local.

Therein lies the problem. Hawai'i has long suffered from PMS, Plantation Mentality Syndrome. Yup, everything done on the Mainland is better than local kine. In the 27 years I've lived here, I have observed numerous examples of this, including in my own field. Bring in "experts" from the Mainland, provide lodging in a nice hotel, and wine and dine them. Have them do their thing and don't forget nice lei. Yet those of us with equivalent or more expertise are often ignored. Plus the added advantage of local expertise is often much cheaper and sometimes free.

A recent example: the proposal to invite a Mainland expert to design signage for the recently repaired stairs running up the slopes of the Ko'olaus in Kane'ohe. Let's see — we have a law school at the University of Hawai'i to check on legality and we have the departments of linguistics as well as second language studies plus all the language departments for input on wording. But, no. Fly in an expert. Auwe!

In the interests of full disclosure, I did some editorial work on "Mosaic Moon" and have known Frances Kakugawa for many years. However, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and in this case, I'd be willing to bet local readers would relate much better to "Mosaic Moon" than to "The Story of My Father."