Posted on: Monday, January 26, 2004

Letters to the Editor

Effective drug combat includes stiff penalties

I totally disagree with the legislative task force's conclusion that crystal methamphetamine use should be classified as a disease. A disease is something that occurs in an individual without his or her knowledge or consent.

But drug abuse is self-inflicted, not an involuntary illness. Ice addiction doesn't happen to you unless you choose to use.

Calling ice use a disease is a cop-out that only allows the abuser to easily excuse what clearly is inexcusable behavior.

Having said that, I totally agree that, yes, we should offer treatment to those who have become addicted — and bear in mind that it only takes a few times of using ice to reach that status. However, we need real treatment, which means spending up to 12 months in a drug treatment facility for hard-core users.

Treatment alone will be of no avail without also working on the flip side: interdiction of the supply of ice, and harsh penalties for those who manufacture, import, sell or promote it. Ice use has to become extremely unattractive in order to stem this epidemic. Ice users should be viewed as pariahs, and those who sell the drug as criminals. Only then will we make any headway.

Focus on teachers, not school boards

The real issue for the people of Hawai'i to decide regarding public education is not the number of school boards, but rather if there will be competent, certified teachers in the classrooms.

As reported recently, the teachers in the state of Hawai'i are grossly underpaid. Teachers here earn $14,000 less than the Mainland average even though Hawai'i has the highest cost of living. A teacher in California earns $15,000 more, Alaska $16,000 more and New Jersey $24,000 more. Certificated teachers have left and will continue to leave. Money talks loud and clear. The retirement plan for teachers is worse than for police, firefighters or bus drivers. Also, teachers have to pay for 40 percent of their health benefits.

Other states are attracting teachers with higher pay plus better retirement and health plans.

Everyone knows that "too many cooks spoil the stew." One board is all we need. If you as a parent want to get involved, join the PTSO and participate in your child's school.

Everyone also knows that "you get what you pay for." Many of our best teachers are retiring early, going to private schools (smaller class size, no discipline problems, lots of parent involvement) or moving to the Mainland.

Finally, when bus drivers earn more than school teachers, you know that there is a big problem in respect to what is valued more.

Ice task force heard what community said

As co-chair of the legislative Task Force on Ice and Drug Abatement, I am writing to commend your newspaper for its Jan. 15 editorial "Lingle's dismay over ice plan is dismaying." As you point out, the report is the product of an extensive statewide community-input process — a classic example of government listening to, and being guided by, the people.

As ice task force members talked with people around the state, the message came through loud and clear: We need to be proactive in the face of a growing epidemic. Early intervention and treatment are proven remedies to a crisis that cannot be allowed to get any worse, and such programs deserve our support.

The governor's complaint that the Ice Task Force recommendations are "throwing money at the problem" makes little sense when you look at the vast amount of money the state is currently spending to warehouse addicts in the prison system without access to treatment.

This is a highly focused, comprehensive plan that comes straight from the community and offers concrete recommendations. It is a sound investment in our future that will pay off many times over. The ice epidemic will only get worse unless we attack the problem at its source.

It looks as if the people have spoken, but the governor doesn't want to listen.

No more wasting time; change education now

For 40 years, Democrats have had to reform our educational system. What happened? And no, I'm not a Republican.

It is obvious that 40 years have been wasted with partisan politics while the children have paid the price. Watching the coverage of the start of the legislative session — (yawn) just another wasted 60 days of partisan politics at work.

Maybe local school districts won't work, but how do we know? Obviously, what we have now hasn't worked and isn't working. It's my tax dollars. Do away with Queen Pat and her cronies, and set up local school boards. If they don't work, then the Democrats have some good advertising.

Here's how developers get around zoning laws

Getting around zoning laws is easy to understand, and the Hokuli'a project is a good example of it.

A partnership formed by a subsidiary of Japan Airlines and West Coast Hawaii Partners of Delaware, led by Lyle Anderson, bought 1,500 acres of land designated as agricultural to protect it for environmental and cultural reasons. The partnership hurriedly started work on illegal use of the property. It planned 750 houses, costing $1 million to $8 million apiece, a golf course, tennis courts, a spa, a beach house and a club along three miles above Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island.

Needless to say, land zoned for such a development costs more than agricultural land, so if the partners could get away with it, they could probably make a lot of money.

When they get caught, as in the case of Hokuli'a, the developers often "plead hardship." That means that since they have already spent so much money on the illegal development, they shouldn't be forced to stop.

When you get developers with deep pockets and lots of clout, they may get help from another quarter. Judge Ibarra did not rule that any structures started or completed on the Hokuli'a property be torn down and the land returned as far as possible to its previous state. He merely ruled that construction stop until the state Land Use Commission reclassifies the land. That sounds like an invitation to me.

Who heard him? The governor heard him. She has come out in favor of reclassifying the Hokuli'a land and others to allow for more real estate ventures of that kind. She wants to do away with the Land Use Commission, to make it possible. Finding resistance from Senate President Robert Bunda and other legislators, she has actually called on us to vote legislators out of office who don't agree with her on this matter.

Let high-schoolers exit system early

One way to improve the public high schools is to lower the age when a child may quit school.

We have hundreds of students who are in our public high schools who don't wish to be there but are required to because they are too young, according to the statute, to leave school. They are unhappy being there and make it known to the school community.

It would be far better to allow those students to get jobs or to stay home, taking care of siblings, than to force them to be where they don't wish to be.

If we lower the age, it should also include more funding for GEDs, so that those who wish to return to school at a later date will be able to do so.

Young Street bikeway makes sense for all

The lack of bicycle lanes in Honolulu and Waikiki makes biking around an unattractive prospect. For the brave few, the approach is usually to go fast and wear a helmet. Motorists are unhappy because bicyclists are integrated with traffic (it is illegal to bike on sidewalks), and cyclists are unhappy because it is very unsafe. This is why the Young Street bikeway is a great idea.

While the current plan would retain 90 percent of the street parking, it would create a safe corridor for bikes and cars together, while cooling it down with green trees and enhancing the experience for pedestrians. Cyclists would have dedicated lanes free of opening car door hazards. More walk-in traffic would be generated for Young Street businesses, and it would be a tremendous improvement to the existing street and sidewalk conditions.

It is up to the City Council to approve funding for the bikeway this March. It is time for Honolulu to actualize progress toward a healthy alternative to car dependence. If you support the Young Street bikeway, please contact your City Council member and ask that the Young Street park boulevard plan be fully funded this year.

VonAppen's UH career was too short to judge

In his Jan. 20 letter, Masa Fujioka said that Fred vonAppen was a loser. Well, I'd like to know how anybody can be labeled a loser when he was head coach for only three years. He did recruit players like Jeff Ulbrich, after all.

Granted, June Jones turned an 0-12 team into a 9-4 season, but who's to say that vonAppen wouldn't have done the same thing? Nobody will ever know because he had only three years.

A similar thing happened at Duke during the early 1980s. Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski's season records during his first three years were 17-13, 10-17 and 11-17. People wanted him fired. If Mr. Fujioka were a Duke fan at that time, I bet he would have called coach Krzyzewski a loser also.

But the AD supported the him. Coach Krzyzewski's fourth and fifth years at Duke were 24-10 and 23-8, respectively. And the rest, you could say, is history.

A pawn of the powerful

Regarding Kenneth Lieberthal's Jan. 11 commentary "Dire Strait: the risks on Taiwan": It is paradoxical that a mild and self-defensive referendum as described in the article will generate so much fury in the United States and China.

It only illustrated the dire state that the Taiwanese people have been in: a pawn of the powerful states. Let us give Taiwan real help for a change this time.

Politics as usual

It's a sure sign it's an election year when they start fixing the potholes.

Kamehameha Schools has advanced its goals greatly

Just four years ago, the Kamehameha Schools, for the first time, made a full public disclosure of its activities, finances and plans. This open sharing of information, although spelled out in the will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop over 100 years ago, was finally achieved in 2000.

In recent times, beginning with the interim trustees, the Kamehameha Schools has had many new beginnings such as this public annual reporting.

The 2003 year report, released in 2004, sends the same positive message of the past four years, including:

• Extending the reach to more children of Hawaiian ancestry.
• Initiating well-conceived programs to reach into the public middle and high schools to identify children with potential and abilities.
• Involving more children in early childhood programs.
• Expanding to three K-12 campuses.
• Revitalizing and expanding extension education.
• Providing scholarships for graduates to pursue a teaching career to give back to the Hawaiian community.
• Cultivating and expanding education programs involving the appropriate use of Pauahi's lands and historical sites.
• Creating a new Pauahi Foundation that involves the community in giving back and through the Ke Alii Pauahi Awards recognizing the contributions of teachers, scientists, musicians, and others — people from all walks of life who gave to Hawai'i.

I also take notice of the Kamehameha Schools' strong financial performance and visionary planning for the future to ensure sustained revenues.

These annual reports reflect the outstanding leadership of the former CEO, Dr. Hamilton McCubbin, and the executive team he created. Mahalo to the former CEO for giving back to the Hawaiian people by turning the Kamehameha Schools around and for laying a strong foundation and a road map for Kamehameha's future and one that Dee Jay Mailer, the new CEO, can advance and build upon.