Posted on: Tuesday, September 30, 2003

Letters to the Editor

Wahine volleyball stars will be missed

As a Wahine volleyball fan of many years, I want to say how enjoyable it has been to watch this year's team as it has progressed through the season. No doubt we are watching volleyball at its finest with players vastly improved and teams providing a refreshingly higher level of competition.

Those not following the matches are really missing the opportunity of seeing a vintage team, the likes of which we may not see again for several years. Those watching are sharing the excitement and splendor of every moment of each game. What an experience!

The season is not even halfway through and fans are already lamenting the impending departure of the seniors. Many are wondering when we will once again see assembled on one team another rare combination like Willoughby and Kahumoku; a smart, uncannily precise player like Duggins; a quiet but most effective player like Tano; a strong, timely hitter and blocker like Gustin, and an almost unnoticeable but immensely reliable defensive player like Villaroman.

Kim Willoughby especially will be one Hawai'i volleyball fans will long remember and miss. A player like her rarely appears but perhaps once in a decade.

By season's end, this year's team may win the national title, but even if it does not, it will definitely leave a distinct mark and present those returning next year with the herculean task and challenge of rebuilding itself into another national contender.

Dave Shoji and staff are to be congratulated for doing an outstanding job of producing teams of the highest caliber year after year.

There's a bigger group of ice epidemic victims

"Ice: Hawai'i's Crystal Meth Epidemic" did a good job of covering the effects on addicts and their families.

However, it did not do a good job of depicting the effects on the bigger group of ice victims in our state. These are the many citizens who have had their cars stolen or broken into, homes or businesses burglarized, property otherwise stolen, checks fraudulently used, credit cards stolen and used, and identities stolen.

A missing angle of the problem for regular folks would have been to ask the recovering addicts the type and number of property crimes they had committed. Most regular folks have little clue why their car is stolen, house burglarized, etc. This dynamic needs to be better depicted in a future episode.

Remember, too, that ice users voluntarily tried ice the first time. It's ludicrous for this problem to be labeled a "disease." This dishonors innocent victims of cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, etc. We need to stop sugar-coating the problem with an innocent label. Call it an "addiction" like it is and let us devote the resources to fixing the problem at all of its levels.

Jesus is the solution to state ice epidemic

More money, more treatments, more summit meetings, more town meetings, more law enforcement officers, more community involvement, more drug therapy, more welfare funding, more sign waving, more prison time, more childcare, more family counseling, more education, more counselors, more social workers, more hospitals, more drug rehab centers, more of this and that.

Last week's ice program reminded me of a gardener pruning tree branches. Wait a couple of months and you'll see the tree sprout newer branches and leaves.

What is the solution to ice? Jesus Christ said one must take the ax to the root. Christ is the ax.

I applaud Pastor Keith Ryder and that wahine from Wai'anae who testified of Christ's power to change their lives. Jesus Christ healed the lame, the sick, the blind, the lepers and even raised three people from the dead. Do you think he can do the same for ice victims? Absolutely. The missing element in the battle against ice is the church. We have had the solution through Christ for 2,000 years.

Now the state has a decision to make: either take the axe to the root, or hire more gardeners to prune branches.

Appointment doesn't mean there's a conflict

I disagree with The Advertiser's Sept. 24 headline "Judicial conflict not challenged" because it asserts that there was a judicial conflict where there was none. The fact that Judge Karl Sakamoto's wife was appointed to an unpaid, part-time position on a city board related to the city neighborhood boards does not create a conflict of interest in Judge Sakamoto.

The leading Hawai'i Supreme Court cases on judicial conflicts require there to be actual bias or an appearance of bias or impropriety. For example, in Sussel v. City, a case that I successfully proved that there was bias and an appearance of bias, the Hawai'i Supreme Court found actual bias where the adjudicator challenged my client, Mr. Sussel, to a fistfight and an appearance of bias where a different adjudicator had a close financial relationship with then-Mayor Fasi, the opposing party in the case.

In this case, there is no expression of actual bias and no financial relationship between the judge or his family and one of the parties that would create an appearance of impropriety.

Teachers, firefighters, police should find worth

Thomas M. Reich, the teacher in Kailua who wrote a letter in the Sept. 23 Advertiser, has inspired me to write about finding your worth.

In Nelson Mandela's 1994 inaugural speech, he said, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you."

With his words and the example of coach June Jones finding his worth to be a $4 million contract, I truly believe that the teachers, police officers and firefighters of this state should find what they are worth and make this state recognize how essential you are to the people of Hawai'i and not just the island of O'ahu like the bus drivers.

It truly is a sad thing in Hawai'i's history that we would make bus drivers more essential than the educating of young minds that have the power to bring nations together in the near future. Or that we would put the entire state in such harm because there are too many overworked and underpaid police officers and firefighters.

Diverting bus wages

Now that the bus strike is over and the mayor has authorized "free" bus rides for a week, where will the unpaid wages to the bus drivers be diverted to? Most will be used to operate the "free" bus rides for a week or cover any shortfalls in the city budget.

Blood must be on hand in case of emergency

I'm an international student studying English and engineering at KCC. Last week, as part of my speech class, I spoke on blood donation in Hawai'i. Even though I have been donating my blood every three months since last year, I hadn't thought about why I do it regularly. However, I learned important things for my speech, and I'd like to share them.

The primary reason for keeping a certain level of blood reserve is that blood is basically perishable. According to the Blood Bank of Hawaii, blood cells usually last for just a month.

Further, we never know when a horrible disaster will happen. I learned that after Sept. 11, lots of people wanted to donate their blood, but a large portion of blood that was collected wasn't able to be used at that time because blood has to undergo several medical exams to make sure it is usable.

So, I want to urge people to donate before it is too late.

Where are the calls for Bush impeachment?

First, rewind the tape to just a few short years ago and witness a president who lies about a sexual relationship with a White House intern and is met with a wave of public outrage that ultimately leads to calls for his impeachment. The president's lies were inexcusable, but this was essentially a private scandal.

Now, fast-forward to the present day and witness a president who lies about Iraqi ties to al-Qaida terrorists and the presence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify a war that has tragic effects nationally and internationally.

Where is the public outrage about the lies of this president? Where are the calls for his impeachment? Where is our sense of priorities?

Cyclists who break rules make it hard for others

It's about time somebody wrote an article about the rules of cycling. I'm a cyclist myself (of necessity, because of the recent bus strike), and the only thing that ticks me off more than a rude driver is seeing cyclists breaking all the rules — riding against traffic, ignoring traffic lights and "hovering" at intersections because they can't bear to put a foot down for some reason.

People like this make it difficult for the rest of us to ride because drivers are forced to assume that all cyclists are unpredictable menaces. Doesn't it make you upset when other cars on the road disobey the rules?

Please, if you are going to ride in the city, read the rules in this article and realize that you're not a pedestrian — you're a vehicle with the same responsibilities as a car. And for goodness sake, get a helmet!

Kudos for helping neglected trees

Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo. A few weeks ago I wrote a letter asking for help for the newly planted trees along Diamond Head, many of which were looking as if they might die from lack of water. I asked if anyone were in charge.

Today I found out someone is in charge, someone who cared and acted. All the trees now have green rubber (water) bags at their base — called the Tree-gator system, which maximizes the absorption of water and cuts down on the dehydration. The baby trees look better already.

Isn't that a sweet story?

A mixed bag on CityVan service

Some thoughts and observations about the free CityVan service during the bus strike:

First, our thanks to the city's No. 1 van driver, Mayor Harris. You made our lives mobile again and much less desperate. Seniors on low incomes were quite isolated. However:

Our fully loaded seven-passenger van at 7 a.m. proceeded from Kuhio and Kapahulu to Ala Moana Center in complete silence. A fully loaded van with the AC set to an arctic temperature. The driver way over obesity. An unkempt last passenger to board squeezed in beside me. He had such obnoxious BO I got out at the next stop.

The van drivers from all parts of city departments were pleasant, courteous and helpful, and many got out to help with the awkward side doors and steep step. All of them were volunteers. Some without jobs or paychecks. However:

Five teenage Japanese tourists at the Ala Moana pickup point piled into the van and left a local senior lady standing on the curb. The visitors got out at Kuhio Beach. Hope they spent much money.

Once I tried to board a van with some guy sprawled across two seats. And the air in the van would flunk a breathalizer test.

At the destination of an early a.m. ride, I got out of the front seat, and to my dismay the entire seat of my slacks was soaked through. Did some previous passenger spill a beverage or, I hesitate to think, have a major physical problem?

The driver of a Saturday antique school bus shuttle had radio music and commercials on the PA so loud we had to shout questions to him. He answered a complaint with "It's my energy." What?

The smell of stale garlic so heavy in one enclosed van, I got indigestion from inhaling.

A visiting mature couple from Tahiti claiming to speak only French as I tried to encourage them to use a taxi. A dozen adults and students waiting for a ride were pushed aside as these two clambered aboard. She did impress me with her basic command of English, however. Her two favorite words repeated several times were "free" and "mall."

Is this a great country or what!