Letters to the Editor

Citizens for Justice getting things done

The article in the Feb. 14 Advertiser regarding the Big Island police chief and the police situation in general was both informative and refreshing.

The men in blue on this island, though undermanned and underpaid, are a credit to the community. Even so, and to quote Gilbert and Sullivan, "A policeman's lot is not an 'appy one."

You mention Puna resident Del Pranke as being a longtime critic of the Police Department, probably to the point of excessiveness. But you do not mention a highly effective person.

I refer to Mayapple McCullough. She arrived in Hawai'i shortly after Ken Mathison was exonerated by the police for running over and killing his wife. Ms. McCullough was appalled by the lack of action by our local authorities in prosecuting Mathison. Indignant that Mathison, a police officer himself, was being cleared by the police, Ms. McCullough formed a group called Citizens for Justice. Soon an islandwide protest for re-examining the Mathison case bloomed to full flower; Mathison was tried and found guilty. He is now serving a life term.

In a similar case, when Dana Ireland was raped and murdered, the case dragged on and on, with no results until six years later. Here, too, Ms. McCullough and pressure from Citizens for Justice succeeded in bringing guilty men to justice and prison.

Give credit where credit is due.

Emmett Cahill
Volcano, Hawai'i

Punctuation problem has led to confusion

In the debate over Queen Lili'uokalani's diary entry of Sept. 2, 1900 — "Tho' for a moment it (the overthrow) cost me a pang of pain for my people, it was only momentary, for the present has a hope for the future of my people." — there's been a misunderstanding among Earl Arakaki (Letters, Jan. 22), Kaha'i Topolinski (Letters, Feb. 8) and Thurston Twigg-Smith (Letters, Feb. 14) due to incorrect punctuation.

The E. Arakaki letter has "the overthrow" in parentheses, which indicates that it is part of the diary text. It's not.

The phrase "[the overthrow]" (with brackets) is an explanation added to the diary entry in the book "Hawaiian Sovereignty — Do the Facts Matter?" by Thurston Twigg-Smith. Brackets indicate extraneous data.

Next, K. Topolinski states in his letter that the insertion "(the overthrow)" does not appear in the original text.

T. Twigg-Smith thought that K. Topolinski stated that the diary text does not exist. He gives his sources and the text of the diary entry — with "(the overthrow)" in parentheses again (the original sin), although the reviews of his book had long ago corrected at least this one mistake.

George Avlonitis

We need more off-ramps coming into downtown

I would like to add my comments to those of letter writer Ed Conklin (Feb. 21). We have repeatedly added more lanes coming into town, but can anyone tell me when an off-ramp was last added?

Think of our freeway system as a funnel. The funnel keeps getting wider at the top (more lanes), but the outlet has remained the same (no new off-ramps). What good does it do to add lanes into town when the cars can't get off the freeway once they get there?

Lawmakers have been willing to condemn property for the benefit of private enterprise when, clearly, this was not serving the public good — so they shouldn't have any problem condemning the property necessary to construct the needed off-ramps. They just need to make sure that those who are displaced are adequately compensated.

Bill Nelson
Hale'iwa

Bill making it a felony to kill animals wrong

I left Hawai'i for a short period for some schooling, and look at what is happening just as I turn my back: House Bill 976 H.D.2 would make it a felony to kill an animal.

While that sounds nice on its face and perhaps even has some merit, let's take a look at the potential human victims:

• Hunters who keep wild animal populations in check.

• Animal researchers who make our lives and the products we use safer.

• Perhaps even the person who innocently runs over that domestic animal that darts into traffic.

This bill could make criminals out of any one of us, and I, for one, would like to see its death before my return to the Islands.

Kory Turnbow
Moscow, Idaho

Dobelle making UH safe for all students

As a University of Hawai'i student, I would like to thank President Evan Dobelle for raising his voice and addressing the campus environment facing gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and intersexual students.

Despite a lack of dedication by some in the administration to making the university campus safer and being proactive to prevent future crimes, I think Dobelle is beginning what I hope will be a long-lasting and effective dialogue on making the university safe for all students.

Jacce Mikulanec