Letters to the Editor

Ex-Democratic official just hasn't gotten it

The June 18 letter to the editor from former Democratic Party Chairman Richard Port was too much. He really believes the answer to our problems is to continue doing it the same way the Democrats have for the last 40 years. Maybe he should ask the audience or phone a friend for a clue (hopefully not another dried-up old politician).

If 40 years of the same old thing didn't bring results, 40 more won't either. The voters of Hawai'i did not elect Linda Lingle to do the same old thing. They elected her to make positive changes.

If the Democratic-controlled Legislature wants to block her plans for reform, it will go the way of the dinosaur. The taxpayers of Hawai'i are tired of this nonsense. Richard may not have gotten it, but the rest of us have.

Great job, Gov. Lingle. Keep it up.

City spending frenzy must be contained

I am astounded, appalled and shocked to read that more than $1 million has been spent on community signs ("New signs of costly times," June 15).

It's hard to understand, especially after reading a couple days ago that the city cannot afford to keep open the community satellite city halls, not even the mobile ones. And that million dollars is already spent, and there is much more to come.

Where is the City Council? Where is the budget director? Where are the public protesters? They should be picketing city hall day after day until this spending frenzy is terminated. They should be picketing the mayor's office, for, like it or not, the buck stops there.

Why am I, a resident of Volcano these past 20 years, complaining? Because Honolulu is still my favorite city. I lived there 32 years, and I still love it. Hence my concern with uncontrolled spending on projects now out of control.

Why can't the other community signs emulate Papakolea, whose appropriate sign went up for only $500?

Is the City Council helpless, voiceless in this spending spree? Certainly its priorities are out of order. There must be members, not only of the council, but of the broader community, who have something other than spaghetti for backbones.

Volcano Village has met the needs for a community sign with a green panel carrying white letters. We didn't try to go one better than any other community. Mo' bettah you come Volcano.

Private use of state cars apparently widespread

I have a great idea how to save money: Reduce the number of state vehicles.

Recently at the Nimitz McDonald's at 8:30 a.m., I spotted a Department of General Accounting Office Jeep parked, the driver getting breakfast. I thought state employees eat before going to work. I didn't know the public pays for their free ride.

This is not the first time I have noticed such use of a state vehicle. There appears to be a lot of this going on. The notice on the vehicle says "For Official Use Only." I haven't looked, but I don't think that means "breakfast" or other personal uses.

Please look around; you will notice a lot of this type of improper use. Please call the state and report improper use.

The state government should sell many of the cars and trucks it has and raise money to offset the budget crunch. If the state has enough vehicles to supply workers who need breakfast, then the state should take care of the rest of us. I say reduce the vehicles, use the money for school repairs and stop the free ride.

Don't make changes to conservation district

I object to the new proposed amendments to the rules of the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District that would allow commercial fishermen limited (four months of the year) netting by motorized boats for 'opelu and akule in the Pupukea MLCD.

The majority of the community, through its task force, asked that all people take a close look at the Pew Ocean Commission's report issued this month. Our ocean is the most important attraction to the millions of visitors who support our economy.

We all know that the enforcement of rules for all MLCDs in Hawai'i is difficult. Making exception of any kind will make the rules more confusing to regulate.

This MLCD is so small that scientists think it needs to be bigger to have the correct effect for a spillover of new fish. Furthermore, the Division of Aquatic Resources has recommended in writing that the proposed commercial fishermen's proposal to net in the MLCD be accepted. Now is the time to speak out and let us know what the public wants. The task force is in final meetings.

These are questions I get often:

• Why can't the commercial fishermen fish just outside the MLCD as the fish go in and out of the MLCD?
• How are the motorized boats and commercial netting going to mix safely with the children swimming in the MLCD?
• How are the rules allowing this exception going to be posted for the public's safety?

You, the public, can help by faxing or writing to the DLNR chairman of the Board of Land and Natural Resources: Mr. Peter Young, 1151 Punchbowl St., Honolulu, HI 96813; fax 587-0390. Time is of the essence.

Hemmings right on with Natatorium proposal

Regarding the June 18 letter "Convert the Natatorium into a volleyball arena": Sen. Fred Hemmings has got it. The Hawai'i Sports Hall of Famer has at last come up with a concept I can wholly agree with.

A world-class volleyball court in Waikiki makes a world of sense. And it bypasses the saltwater-pool headache and legal hurdles.

Will the city make this a reality? It will make another tourist venue worth pursuing as an attraction here in town.

June Jones is making a ridiculous salary

I pick up The Advertiser and find out that a football coach makes a ridiculous sum of money. It's bad enough that our state is broke, our public schools are in desperate need of everything and we fight in our Legislature about how to spend what little resources we have. Now we may have to spend even more money to pay for psychiatric treatment of the mentally ill people who awarded June Jones his salary.

My wife teaches in a public school and many times uses her own money to buy teaching materials because the DOE cannot afford the basics. Sometimes she cannot buy the necessary materials because a particular company will not accept a DOE purchase order. But all these problems seem to take second place to the benefits of football.

Sometimes it is absolutely mind-boggling that smart people make such stupid decisions. In this case, it is the worst decision I have seen in a long time. Maybe someone from UH could offer some explanation.

Will the state regain its lost perspective?

When June Jones came to Hawai'i, did somebody say "It's not about money," or was I dreaming? Now we learn he may be the highest-paid state employee, surely an embarrassment to the good man as well as to the state, and Jones becomes a lighting rod for controversy.

Maybe he is simply the right man in the right place at the wrong time. Football used to be a sport. What is it now? And does the state have the will to regain its lost perspective?

Out of the mouths of babes ...

Dear Ms. Gretchen Neal (CEO of the American Cancer Society),

We are pleased to donate this $20.30 to the American Cancer Society. Everyone had to pay 25 cents or five minutes after class if they swore. I didn't swear this semester (very proud). I hope this money will help the patients. Sorry there's only a little money, but that also means we didn't swear too much.

I feel really bad for your cancer patients. I'm just glad that we can do something to help them out. Maybe the money will go to medical research or activities.

There's much more money than last semester because another class also helped donate money. I really really hope this helps you and your patients out even just a little.

Dr. Grant taught us how to become 'ghost' hunters

Besides being one of the friendliest and most engaging teachers I have ever had, Dr. Glen Grant taught me to search for the hidden message behind places and things.

While enjoying our life with friends and family in our favorite towns, such as Mo'ili'ili, where I live, we often fail to reflect on what makes that place so deeply special to us. Surface attributes such as the fare at local eateries, the features of a community's parks and schools, or even our proximity to convenience stores — these are the things that seem to matter most to us.

Or perhaps we are looking at a famous landmark in this state, such as Duke Kahanamoku's statue; how many of us truly understand why it was placed there in the first place (albeit backward) or its meaning and legacy? Visitors may certainly take pictures with the statue, yet they may not truly understand the socio-cultural import whom or what they are posing with.

On his ghost tours and in his class, I was treated to a world beyond surfaces, one in which meaning, through the medium of Dr. Grant's stories, had to be pursued indefatigably. As such, I feel that Dr. Grant's legacy will be his desire, replete with the aloha spirit, to teach all people living in Hawai'i to truly "search" for ghosts, not in the sense that we should always be on the lookout for malevolent entities that creep about in the waning hours of the night, but in the regard for always remembering who we are and where we come from — in the regard that we know Hawai'i to be the best place on the earth to live.

After all, Dr. Grant taught me that a place's ethos in terms of its geographical setting and historical import — information that can be easily gleaned from a book — is more richly defined by the memories and value that have accrued to that place. We love Hawai'i because we understand and remember Hawai'i.

In that sense, if we define a "ghost" to be a spirit that lies hidden within each thing and place, I hope that future generations of Hawai'i's keiki will become Dr. Grant's loyal "ghost" hunters to derive meaning from the eternal hunt across our Islands.