Letters to the Editor

Why can't politicians ban cell phone use?

When will there be a law making it illegal to use cell phones while driving in Hawai'i? Every day I see people talking on their cell phones while driving, and that itself is a safety hazard.

If the politicians can come up with a law banning the use of motorized scooters on O'ahu's sidewalks and roadways, then why can't they put a ban on cell phone use while driving? Is it because the politicians also drive while talking on their cell phones? And banning the use of cell phones will take away their right?

I guess if someone important or a politician gets killed by a driver talking on a cell phone, then surely there will be a ban.

Thanks for wallet return

I just wanted to thank a nice family who turned in my wallet. I had forgotten it while grocery shopping at Waipi'o Foodland. When I went back, it was gone. Three hours later, the police station called me to pick up my wallet.

No name or phone number was left for me to thank the nice family. This is the only way in which I can express my gratitude for getting my wallet back. I hope this family somehow receives this little thanks and knows that it was truly appreciated.

Lucy Gay should be chancellor of LCC

The arrogant behavior of Leeward Community College Chancellor Mark Silliman toward the Hawaiian community of Wai'anae is offensive and unacceptable. Lucy Gay has done a great job in Wai'anae, and the people there want her to remain. Silliman is adamant that she will not.

Not only has Silliman forgotten that a "C" in LCC stands for community, he seems unaware that the UH system strategic plan calls for the university to lead in the reconciliation between Americans and Hawaiians as first proposed by the 1993 apology law.

Reconciliation is based on understanding the wrong committed and reparations appropriate to the harm done. Education for Native Hawaiians should be the first step in repairing the wrongs of the 1893 illegal American military invasion and overthrow of the Hawaiian government. Yet Leeward Community College has never given enough resources to Wai'anae, and treats its few Hawaiian faculty like poor relations.

I call upon President Dobelle to replace Mark Silliman with Lucy Gay as the new chancellor of LCC. She actually has more experience at LCC than he, and as a Native Hawaiian, she would make Hawaiians feel at home there. She would also be the first Native Hawaiian appointed in administration.

That would be reconciliation.

Half of Jones' salary will be paid by outsiders

How is June Jones' contract so ridiculous? Everyone seems to be only looking at the $800,000 amount. Did you not read the whole story that was printed? How quickly people seem to forget the fact that half the salary will be paid by outside donations.

From The Advertiser, June 20: "Half of Jones' salary will be paid by the school. The other half will be paid by outside sources, from 10 to 12 people who will be giving between $25,000 to $100,000."

With that, his pay from the state will be roughly $400,008. Which, from the state's point of view, does not make him the highest paid. June Jones' current contract pays him $320,000 a year. I don't believe an $80,000 increase is much when compared to how much he's helped to bring in since he's been here.

All pilots should be tested for drinking

When will it end? I read an article in The Advertiser on June 17 that made me more paranoid than I had been since the terrorist thing came into being. "FAA gets tough on drunken pilots" to me is not tough enough.

The idea of random Breathalyzer tests is a nice concept, but what happens to the rest of them who are not selected for the test and climb into the cockpit and go off into the wild blue yonder?

Then John Mazor, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, said that because the random numbers were staying the same, he did not believe the underlying problem was growing. Of course not; he works for them. As far as I'm concerned, if one pilot fails it, it's one too many — and I don't think that for people's safety it would not be unfair to cancel out the "random" and make it a mandatory test that all pilots, co-pilots and navigators be required to take before flying.

As a retired physician, I would think that a surgeon who has been to a party and gets called in at 2 a.m. for an emergency should also be required to undergo the same scrutiny, again, for people's safety.

Robert W. Musetti