Letters to the Editor

Perspective forms the foundation for PR

Let's have a little cat fight among PR people, shall we? I have to disagree with both Dean Helen Varner and Doug Carlson on the role of public relations (Letters, Sept. 19). PR is not about creating "perceptions" that are somehow devoid of reality, but neither is it about sorting through various "truths" (assuming that multiple truths could actually exist — sounds like an oxymoron to me).

The fact is, each of us sees things from our own unique perspective that stems from our life experiences and relationships. Every one of us is biased in this way. The best word I know to describe it is "perspective." It's not right or wrong, good or bad; it just is. And all of us lead our lives based on our own very personal view of the world.

A PR person recognizes this and tries to convey the perspective of his or her employer in ways that can be understood and appreciated by the most people. Those for whom a message is intended then make their own choices about whether to buy in or not based on their perspectives. The actionable term is not "perception" or "truth," but "perspective" — yours, mine and everyone's.

Soldiers need your help to get home

I am writing on behalf of the deployed soldiers of the 261st ORD Company in Charleston, W.Va. These soldiers were deployed in February, shortly before the war in Iraq, and arrived in Kuwait in April. They have been advised that they will be in country for at least a year.

Last week, 44 soldiers were approved to come home for leave for two weeks. However, the catch is that they have to pay for their own tickets. These tickets range from $1,400 to in excess of $2,000. Military families have already experienced hard times financially and emotionally without their significant others. My husband, for example, never saw his daughter's first steps.

Americans have done an excellent job at fund-raising for the Sept. 11 attacks. However, even though the war in Iraq is over, the war on terrorism continues. The Army National Guard has done several fund-raising activities with much success. However, the Army Reserves support has been lacking.

Any contribution to help get these soldiers home to see their families is greatly appreciated. Possibly, if churches could take offerings, if businesses could donate money, services or goods, and if the average person could donate $5, it would help these soldiers not have to choose their financial stability over their families.

Even if you can't give money, ask a military family what you could do to help. Sometimes services such as mowing the lawn or taking out the trash are greatly needed. Donations can be sent to Huntington Bank, 429 Market Street, Parkersburg, W.Va. 26101. The account name is Operation Homebound, and the account number is 01191107617.

Don't compare driver salaries to others'

Why are so many union workers complaining about how much bus drivers make, in comparison to how much they make?

The public workers have unions that are supposed to be working for them. If they make less than the bus drivers, shouldn't they be complaining to their unions? Why turn around and tell someone else that they should make less just because they fail to advocate for themselves?

Take your complaints to your union. Don't deny others their just compensation just because you aren't getting it. I agree you should be paid more, but denying someone else isn't going to make that happen.

Try being a non-union worker and then tell me how you feel. Or try being at a status where those health benefits aren't even offered. I don't even get health benefits as a student worker, no matter how many hours I work. The aloha spirit to me also means supporting people when they try to do the best for their families. Just some things to think about.

What's so wrong with anonymous gifts?

I can think of a lot of good reasons for making anonymous contributions. Maybe I don't want to encourage others to solicit me. Maybe I am uncomfortable in the limelight. Maybe I would be embarrassed to have my kids learn I contributed to the football coach but not to their baseball coach.

You run a Christmas giving fund and post amounts given anonymously. What's the difference? You claim the public's right to know trumps the right of donors to plump up June Jones' salary anonymously. Can you please give us some good reasons?

For students to succeed, schools need resources

In reading the Sept. 19 article about the high number of public schools identified as failing under the No Child Left Behind Act, I did notice something very interesting: Not a single high school was determined to be "passing."

I think it is because the larger schools have a bigger challenge to address the needs of a larger population of students with high needs, such as English as a second language or special education.

The demand that all students meet the set levels of performance, regardless of academic skill, demonstrates that the schools need additional resources (not necessarily money) to meet the needs of the students with high needs.

A New Beginning for our addicted citizens

I would like to publicly congratulate and thank Gov. Lingle and especially Lt. Gov. Aiona for their leadership in convening the recent drug summit. What a great New Beginning for our state and people.

I've been blessed with the opportunity to live in our beautiful land of aloha for some 43 years and am doubly blessed to have found my recovery from alcoholism here in 1961 when there may have been only 100 recovering alcoholics on all of O'ahu. In addition, I have been a substance-abuse professional for 37 years and have never seen this kind of activism by the community, coverage by the press and response by government on the issues of drugs, alcoholism and addiction.

The leadership this administration has brought to the forefront of our state is awesome and compelling in that I see a coalescence and collaboration developing that will bring a solution-focused plan to fully address the issue of drug addiction (including the legal drug alcohol), and thereby bringing in all the elements so needed to help folks like me to get into recovery — whether through treatment, faith-based efforts or the 12-step programs.

It's an outstanding job of bringing a New Beginning of hope for our addicted citizens.

We shouldn't open up Pandora's Box

Although I live in Kailua, Kona, I visit O'ahu often — lived there until 1994 and continue to own several parcels of real property on the island. I strongly oppose Bill 50.

I have seen the advertising on buses in other cities, and they are very unattractive, regardless of how professional the graphics may be. Allowing further pollution of the visual environment on O'ahu would be a big mistake and would erode the image of paradise, which already is very tarnished on O'ahu.

Imagine yourself as a tourist, on your first trip to Hawai'i. You're driving a rental car on the North Shore or passing Makapu'u Beach, enjoying the fantastic view, when you see a bus with its side covered with large graphics and advertising. This is paradise?

The door to advertising on the outside of buses should not be opened — it would turn out to be similar to opening Pandora's Box.

Kennedy courageous for attacking president

I had to write this letter to commend the courage of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. It takes a great deal of intestinal fortitude to call the president out and accuse him of misleading the American people and getting us into the Iraq war under false pretenses.

Sen. Kennedy is one of the very few Democrats, along with Howard Dean and Wesley Clark, who have bucked the trend of rubber-stamping George W. Bush's policies abroad. Bush seldom gets the criticism he deserves post-9-11, and I'm weary of those who think that you have to be unpatriotic to vent against his ill-defined and costly agenda in Iraq.

It's particularly refreshing that we witness this challenging of Bush in light of networks like Fox and commentators like Joe Scarborough of MSNBC.

Kudos also to The Honolulu Advertiser for presenting the views of political commentators who disagree with the Bush administration.

Miss America error

It is unbelievable to me that your paper could so blatantly ignore Miss America and, instead, give front-page coverage to the first runner-up just because she is from Hawai'i. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Please be kind enough to give us the facts on Miss Florida, Ericka Dunlap.

Chinatown planning well in hand

The Honolulu Advertiser's Sept. 16 editorial "Chinatown lofts held hostage to expansion" hits the nail on the head when it states "the two projects — a 21-story complex for the elderly and a 23-story affordable residential condominium — would mar the view plane from Chinatown and could use some design improvements." Unfortunately, it misses the mark with its negative headline.

We believe the expansion of the Chinatown Special District goes hand-in-hand with the proposal to allow residential "lofts" in the historic core of Chinatown. Land-use planning is not a "single-issue" exercise, and proposed revisions must be viewed for their collective impact. Continuing to allow 200-foot-high buildings (the "Manhattanization" of the area, according to The Advertiser) would, in our view, enclose the area, creating a "ricebowl" effect.

Doing so would counteract our efforts to stimulate the "historic, low-rise, unobstructed character of the waterfront" (as The Advertiser well said) and of Chinatown that we're trying to achieve in allowing residential lofts to be built. Instead, the proposed 80-foot height limit for the expanded area will still allow the same number of residential units and the same floor area to be built on the large parcels in question, while preserving the views into Chinatown and the mauka views as you arrive into Honolulu.

No change in zoning is proposed. It's a question of building lower, wider buildings that relate to the street, with ground-level retail shops, pedestrian-oriented arcades or awnings for shade and rain protection as is typical of Chinatown, versus a "cereal box" high-rise building that discourages life on the street, as we've seen happen in the early development of Kaka'ako.

Fortunately, in Kaka'ako, the Hawai'i Community Development Authority has seen the devastating impact of those early buildings. Since 1994 the HCDA has allowed modifications in design to encourage street-friendly development, and that state agency is in the process of changing its design rules to encourage even more pedestrian activity.

We should learn from the mistakes of the past and build on the successes we've had. The city has proven that affordable housing can be built in a sensitive way that relates to the Chinatown context. Harbor Village (at the corner of Nimitz Highway and River Street) is just one example of what can be done within the proposed 80-foot height limit, presenting our best face forward to everyone arriving from the airport into Waikiki and beyond.

The Special District design provisions of the Land Use Ordinance do work; new development in Waikiki, for example, has shown that developers can build profitably while working within the Special District design guidelines. Local Motion and Honu Group's Tiffany's store are two recent results of that collaborative design process between the private and public sectors.

The buildings that will be erected in the proposed expansion area in Chinatown can either add to or detract from the pedestrian experience, to the livability and to the economic vibrancy of Chinatown. In either case, they will stand for the next 30 to 50 years or longer. It's our collective responsibility to future generations to ensure that view planes are preserved and that Chinatown's unique character is preserved and enhanced. We won't get another shot at it.