Letters to the Editor

Sharks are responding to instinctual behavior

I feel that the news media are doing a disservice to the community when they report "normal" shark behavior as a shark attack.

Sharks do not attack people; sharks are following their instinctual behavior patterns when they are seeking out a food source.

As Jacques Cousteau so eloquently phrased it, "When you enter the ocean, consider yourself part of the food chain."

We have no business trying to eradicate a species for behaving perfectly normal in its own environment. The public needs to be educated on safety measures that should be taken before entering the shark's domain.

Hawai'i nation? Pause to contemplate losses

Let's discuss what Hawai'i would lose first and foremost if it were to separate from the United States.

The tens of millions of dollars each year in federal funding would cease to exist. Gone would be Social Security, welfare, Medicare — not to mention the healthcare system, funding for education, universities, highways, business, the Police Department, the Fire Department, the judicial system, housing assistance, currency, mail and the Coast Guard, to name a few.

Real estate would plummet; businesses would leave because they only operate in one of the states; gone would be your insurance companies, your department stores, your Costco or Wal-Mart. Federal regulation of gas, electricity, water, cable and shipping would be gone. There would not be any more Warrior football or volleyball teams because U.S. universities do not play international games.

Instead, there would be fences and walls separating you from the military that would only protect the interests of the United States and not that of the new Hawaiian government. Tourism would suffer because U.S. citizens would need a passport. Do you have one?

Please support the recognition act, but please stop taking for granted that we are a part of the United States and still rich in cultural and ethnic heritage. Your rights granted to you by the Constitution allow this free speech and exchange of ideas; how can you guarantee a new Hawai'i would have the same? You may not need any of what I have listed above, but think of your family, friends, neighbors and fellow Hawai'i citizens.

Sen. Trimble misses the point on light rail

I fail to see the point that Sen. Gordon Trimble is trying to make in response to Cliff Slater's recent article regarding Honolulu's future transportation needs.

At one point, Trimble seems to take umbrage about Slater questioning the qualifications of the attendees of the conference, but at the end, he seems to agree with Slater that there will be social and economic implications that the public needs to be aware of and that it would appear that light rail may not be the way to go.

The media reported that there was a consensus from the conference attendees that we should move toward light rail. Sen. Trimble says that the result of the meeting was that the attendees needed input from the public. The governor says there was a consensus to move to light rail. It appears the media and the governor came away from the conference with a different idea than the senator did.

If Sen. Trimble has the expertise he claims to have, then he would know that light (or heavy) rail simply won't work for all the reasons stated in Slater's article.

The only thing I haven't heard from the politicians in describing the proposed rail system is "world class." Maybe it's too early in the game to drag out this overused term, or maybe they realize this will be a world-class albatross around our necks for decades to come.

Lingle is disappointing in performance so far

She reads to keiki at the main library courtesy of the "Cat in the Hat" film producers. She holds press conferences to announce that Michelle Wie will play in the Wai'alae invitational golf tournament. With so many failed campaign promises and flip-flops, Linda Lingle is lucky she can afford such a well-oiled PR machine.

We read her campaign lips that she'd never raise taxes, and watched her muted lips throughout the long, hard bus strike. Then she rises like Linda Van Lingle to resurrect a transit project that would cost billions and send our taxes through the roof. In the meantime, both the DOE and the heavily courted UH professionals are fighting deep budget cuts.

She convinced the gullible that her election would get President Bush and balky Republicans behind the stalled Akaka bill. Yet, when he made his recent "kolea bird" swoop through our Islands, he didn't make a peep about it. When she had the president's ear, there's no evidence that she shared any other concerns about national and international issues that affect us all — if indeed she has any.