Letters to the Editor
Editor's Note: This letter was written on recycled paper made by Waipahu Elementary students as part of an Earth Day project, which was written about in The Advertiser. Thirty-one similar letters from the fifth-graders were received.
Credit unions formed by people of Hawai'i
I found it quite amusing reading about the recent tiff among the CEOs of Hawai'i's top banks on who is "more local" in Hawai'i. Of all financial services institutions, there is no institution "more local" than credit unions in Hawai'i.
Credit unions were formed by "local people": plantation workers, teachers, government workers, etc. to obtain loans, which were often difficult or impossible to obtain from banks. More than 60 years ago, many "local workers" pooled their monies together in a new cooperative movement to form credit unions for this purpose — loans. Today, nearly 100 credit unions in Hawai'i are alive and well and remain "very local."
Credit unions are "locally owned" by their members and directed by unpaid "local volunteer members." Credit-union members generally earn more interest on their savings and pay much less interest for loans because credit unions do not have highly paid directors and executives running them like banks do. Also, credit unions do not have Mainland investors to pay dividends to. Truly, one cannot find any financial institution "more local" than Hawai'i's credit unions.
Wyman Au
Director, Honolulu Federal Employees FCU
Young Street bikeway can reduce accidents
The Honolulu City Council has removed funding for bicycle projects from the budget. The council should restore money for the Young Street bikeway as this would increase pedestrian and bicycle safety on a much-needed thoroughfare.
Bicyclists on King and Beretania streets are exposed to heavy traffic during rush hours. Young Street provides a much safer option for cyclists through town. Making Honolulu more pedestrian- and bike-friendly will cut the number of automobiles traveling in town and should reduce bicycle accidents.
Please call your council member and tell him or her to restore funding for the Young Street bikeway.
Randy Ching
Case's special-ed amendment wrong
You'd think a new member of Congress would have a long list of things to do, other than depriving disabled children of their civil rights. Yet, that is just what Rep. Ed Case proposes to do.
Under an amendment Case proposed to the IDEA Reauthorization Act, the governor "or other appropriate state official" could fix a rate of reimbursement for legal fees in special-education cases that is less than the amount prevailing in the community.
Case says the financial burdens of special education are "crushing," and that is why attorney fees should be limited. It is true that special-education programs are costly, but the $1.4 million paid on attorney fees last year is insignificant when compared with the DOE's $1.4 billion budget. Limiting attorney fees could reduce the number of lawsuits, but unfortunately, lawsuits are often the only way disabled children can get a decent education.
John P. Dellera
New hate-crime law step in right direction
Hurrah to the Legislature for passing a controversial bill that finally recognizes, to a great extent, the basic dignities and human rights of our state's gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender residents. Gov. Linda Lingle deserves credit as well for allowing the extension of the hate-crime bill to include protection of other gender identities to become law, albeit without her signature. This is a step in the right direction to secure the promise of complete civil rights of every person in Hawai'i.
Discrimination against transgender people is far worse than the discrimination inflicted on their gay, lesbian and bisexual counterparts. It is an extremely tough life.
Working with the gay-rights movement in Chicago, I have been witness to the extent of social brutality on sexual minorities. It is about time that public servants take up the cause of protecting those harmed each and every day in the workplace, in Hawai'i schools and everywhere else because of sexual identity.
Gerald C. Farinas
Chicago
Religious kits OK
I am a student at Moanalua High School and I fully support the student religious survival kit distribution in the schools of Hawai'i. I think it is a great "seize the moment" kind of thing where students can receive free things and ask a lot of questions.
Amber Yoshishige
State highly unlikely to ban use of gillnets
I read Jan TenBruggencate's column in Monday's Advertiser about the need for banning the use of gillnets or at least tighter gillnet regulations. No way!
The state doesn't have the political will to ban gillnetting during the closed seasons for moi and mullet. Banning gillnets during closed seasons of these fish would help restore the population of these fish much quicker then any of the ongoing restocking programs. I have heard stories from netters of catching thousands of moi in one weekend or 500 mullets in a day.
But the state makes stupid rules about releasing out-of-season fish caught in gillnets. Gillnets kill fish by causing damage to the fish's gills, and the fish dies by suffocation. A fish caught in a gillnet for a few minutes will not survive for more than a few hours after being released. But the state still allows the use of nets during their most vulnerable times.
Lee N. Kaneshiro
