Letters to the Editor

Despite shark attack, approve surfing as sport

Tuesday's article "Attack may influence school surf decision" makes some valid points of the concern of the safety of our children as they participate in future surf contests at the high school level.

I am all for the establishment of surfing as a high school sport. My wife, Amy, and I have three daughters who participate in soccer and regularly are in the waters all around O'ahu surfing, swimming and kayaking.

As a young man, I played football for about nine years. The injuries I witnessed on the field are far greater in number and seriousness than those I have witnessed in the water for the past 25 years, both here and in California. I wonder, as a percentage, how many critical injuries occurred on our football fields as compared to in our local waters (surfing or bodyboarding)?

As the article discussed, the issue of shark attack is a concern and needs to be addressed. It should not stop us from making the right decision to approve this fantastic sport (surfing) for our high schools. Our youth learn much more about our environment and themselves in the water than on any gridiron.

Mayor is squeezing out pedestrians, bicyclists

Instead of installing bike lanes and enhancing the Ala Wai for pedestrians and joggers, the city has made parking permanent. Now the mayor is proposing a plan that further crunches non-motorists. He wants to remove the several feet used by bicyclists between the parking and mauka travel lanes while adding a 3-foot "bike path" on the promenade.

Such a narrow bike path would put bicyclists in greater conflict with pedestrians and joggers. In his proposal, the mayor has circumvented his own advisory committee on bicycling (which opposes the project), the neighborhood boards and the Waikiki Livable Communities project.

It is my opinion, and the opinion of many others working for a more livable city, that we need to convert the mauka lane into an expanded promenade with sufficient room for bicycles and pedestrians. Parking would be allowed on the new mauka lane during non-rush hours or in the new parking structures previously designated by the city.

In the meantime, we must ask for something more meager — a striped bike lane between parked cars and traffic, or at least no change. Please tell the mayor not to squeeze out bicyclists and pedestrians.

Fixed-rail transit plan could bury us in debt

In "The Life of Reason," philosopher George Santayana wrote: "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." That certainly applies to the current Honolulu fixed-rail transit plan.

The Sept. 17, 1989, Sunday Star-Bulletin and Advertiser contained a very disturbing analysis of that era's rail proposals. Summarizing 10 recently completed rail systems across America, the report revealed that eight of the 10 systems had less than 50 percent of the predicted weekday riders.

Eight of the 10 cost 140 percent or more of the forecasted operating expenses. The three worst ones cost 292 percent, 305 percent and 340 percent higher. The average cost per rail passenger was 468 percent higher than was forecast. The two worst cases were 904 percent and 936 percent above forecasts.

Those reports need to be updated, as well as a previous federal study of fixed-rail and bus systems for Hawai'i. The early report gave scant support to fixed-rail. Before betting billions of dollars on fixed-rail, we should consider much-expanded bus services at much lower costs. Billions of dollars won't be needed to attract more riders by much-reduced fares.

Hawai'i's dinosaur Republican legislators unanimously opposed Gov. Linda Lingle's planned transit system for the wrong reasons — only against its taxes. They should learn about Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes' famed 1904 court judgment that "Taxes are what we pay for civilized society." Taxes provide us with schools, streets, courts, police, firefighters and other civilized necessities. Overcrowded O'ahu streets need flexible public buses to replace "lone riders" in their cars.

The growing traffic turmoil in Honolulu is uncivilized. To civilize our traffic, we need to choose and tax wisely for more buses and routes.

Congress didn't create the East-West Center

On Nov. 4, you published an article announcing the appointment of Patricia Saiki to the East-West Center's board of governors. The last paragraph stated that "The center was established by Congress in 1960 to strengthen understanding and relations between the United States and counties (sic) in the Asia and Pacific region." Presumably, you meant "countries."

There was a substantial and misleading mistake in the statement that the center was established by Congress. I am becoming weary of this often-repeated error.

The East-West Center was not established by Congress. The formation of such a kind of organization was suggested in a letter to President Snyder of the University of Hawai'i in February 1959 by a member of the faculty and was subsequently developed into a complete proposal and plan by that person and several other members of the faculty in April 1959. It was created by those people and subsequently planned, organized, initiated and established by them, supported and assisted by a number of other people in Hawai'i.

The Hawai'i Legislature provided several hundred thousand dollars for its development in 1959, and by 1960, it was a living organism with an acting chancellor. Congress did by then provide funds in its support, even though its intentions were basically different from the aims of the federal government. Subsequently, the center was turned over to the State Department in 1975 for its management.

Environmentalists and sharks not to blame

Gregory Sheindlin's argument (Letters, Nov. 6) that "increased fish population along the shorelines attracts large predators such as sharks" belies reality.

The gradual depletion of shoreline fish populations has brought species numbers to dangerously low levels and needs to be remedied. That actions to address this concern has led to attracting "large predators" that, as he suggests, will harm humans may be an overstatement on his part. "Large predators" like the tiger shark (the species believed to have attacked Bethany Hamilton) have evolved into successful generalists whose diet also consists largely of turtles, cetaceans and seals — all of which can be found just offshore.

Humans must understand that we are not invincible, and being in an environment where we may not be the only top predator should make us more aware of our own mortality. In situations like this, we must exercise caution and common sense. That Bethany was under adult supervision and in close proximity to others factored largely in her survival.

Like it or not, sharks and other large predators are an indispensable part of our marine ecosystem and play an important, albeit largely unseen, role in keeping Hawai'i beautiful.

Condemning McCartney over child presumptuous

Advertiser writer Tanya Bricking had it wrong as far as Sir Paul McCartney's reproducing is concerned. Her criticism was presumptuous.

Now he and Heather Mills certainly don't need me to stand up for them and their choices, but I do think Ms. Bricking's column of Nov. 4 needs to be challenged.

With all due respect to Ms. Bricking's being on the cusp of marriage and her childbearing years, there are other valid paths.

As one who didn't find my life partner until 30, I felt blessed to marry a remarkable man who was in his late 40s at the time. We raised his two kids, and then when he was 50, conceived our son, who has immeasurably enhanced our lives, as well as having full advantage of our previous parenting experience.

The fact that Paul McCartney has again found happiness with Heather Mills, and that she has been able to have a child with him, is something to be congratulated rather than criticized. Their combined gene pool is rich indeed, and they certainly have the financial wherewithal to raise the child with all possible advantages. I think it's unfair to call that "selfish and immature."

Let's not toss stones but rather embrace different paths. Who knows why a child is brought to a set of parents at a given time? There could be lessons to be learned. Why presume to judge?

Kamehameha editorial on allegations helpful

Mahalo for your editorial Thursday morning on the Kamehameha Schools allegations. As you might imagine, these have been very difficult and trying times for our students.

I sincerely appreciate your statement that "It is important to remember ... allegations ... hardly reflect on the good character of the majority of the students." This reinforces what I have been telling my students, and I will certainly share this editorial with them. Hearing it from an influential outside source is especially important.

You also made the point that the "quality of the school does not lie in the aberrant behavior, but in the way it is handled." I couldn't agree more.

Warren Higa's honesty is the gold standard

I join the general public regret that Warren Higa's Makiki Shell is no more. Warren looked after my car for many years and always provided the best in service.

My timing belt broke on the Pali Highway a number of years ago, and I had the car towed to Warren's. Ten days later, I heard an awful racketing sound in my engine and pulled the car over and had it towed to Warren's again. When I asked him what was wrong with it, he told me that a nut had come loose and was rattled around in the engine compartment. He said that it was probably his workers' fault from the timing belt job, and not only did he not charge me for looking at the car, but he covered my tow charge as well.

Honesty and service like Warren's is the gold standard, and his Makiki Shell will be missed.

Beach parking and access high on Ko Olina's mind

We write in response to the concerns raised by The Advertiser's Oct. 21 editorial regarding Ko Olina's growth and parking for beach access. First, we thank The Advertiser for recognition that Ko Olina has exceeded the community's expectations in so many ways.

We share the concerns over public parking and beach access and, since beginning the efforts to resurrect the resort in 1999, have worked cooperatively with the community and the city and state governments. The impact of Ko Olina's growth and success mandated that we act as good community members, fulfilling the intentions of the development of the resort.

Providing public access, parking and recreation is a necessary balance between the resort's operations and our local community. As development plans progressed in the late 1990s, an agreement was reached with the city to provide a specific number of public parking spaces and access to the privately owned and maintained manmade lagoons; over 200 spaces were privately built and made available to the public to address this commitment.

Additionally, a significant amount of private funds are spent every year operating, securing and protecting these parking areas.

To our knowledge, this is the largest number of public beach parking spaces provided for by any private resort in the state of Hawai'i.

We agree with your assessment that while there are many beautiful beaches along the Leeward Coast, few are seen as being clean, safe and easily accessible. This is, in many ways, the reason our manmade lagoons are so popular.

To help solve this problem, we have been in discussions with the city and state on ways that we can help make our adjacent state and county beaches more attractive and safe, and we will be asking other community businesses to help us in this endeavor.

Ko Olina will continue to welcome local visitors and tourists, and will maintain a clean and safe beach experience for everyone to enjoy. We believe interaction between our local community and our Island visitors is an integral aspect of the aloha spirit we practice every day.

Most importantly, for our entire state, we look forward to incorporating this balance into fulfilling the state's goals for the resort: create jobs for the future and be an economic engine for the region.