Bankruptcy trustee wasn't kicked off plane

I would like to clarify a couple of the points made in your recent article on an incident involving one of our members and Hawaiian Airlines bankruptcy trustee Joshua Gotbaum.

My understanding is that the pilot involved expressed his concern to Mr. Gotbaum that the trustee's presence on the flight might make him uncomfortable piloting the plane. Rather than delay our customers' departure until a replacement pilot could be found, Mr. Gotbaum chose instead to delay his own travel plans to allow the flight to depart on schedule without him.

Mr. Gotbaum was not "kicked off" the airplane by the pilot. A pilot does not have a right to arbitrarily pick and choose who rides on his or her aircraft. Pilots do, however, have a responsibility to make sure we are 100 percent fit to fly — both physically and emotionally — to ensure the overall safety of the passengers and crew.

We want the public to know that this was an isolated incident that we do not expect will be repeated. We continue to encourage every Hawaiian Airlines pilot to maintain the highest professional standards at all times. I am proud to say that Hawaiian Airlines pilots are among the most professional, dedicated and committed pilots in the sky. We are mindful of our industry-leading safety record.

No one wants to see Hawaiian Airlines emerge from bankruptcy more than the pilots. We love to fly, and we are proud to deliver our passengers safely and on time.

Tailgaters are just asking for accidents

I am amazed that people don't realize how dangerous and wrong tailgating is. The selfish and arrogant attitude of "Get out of the way" is the reason there are so many multiple-car accidents. There is at least one a day. There is no way these people can stop or avoid an accident when they are practically sitting on others' bumpers.

After reading that letter ("Don't like tailgating? Then get out of way," June 23), I observed the traffic to see who is tailgating and why. Most of the drivers who are being tailgated are driving within the speed limit. There is a reason why speed limit signs are posted.

To automatically assume that one is more correct, entitled or righteous by going 10 percent over the speed limit is very arrogant, indeed. The tailgater is the one who is jeopardizing other drivers, not the one who is going the speed limit.

Tailgating is not only selfish and arrogant, it is a sign of aggression. The same people who tailgate are also the ones who are cutting in an established line, or zipping in and out of traffic without any signals.

To those of you who feel tailgating is your due, I say, lighten up. You will have less stress and live longer.

There's a better way to help the homeless

Lee Romney of the Los Angeles Times writes a refreshing article ("San Francisco recasts homeless solutions," July 1) about a positive plan in California to address the plight of the homeless.

The key point is that the city fathers are asking the business community to invest in programs to solve the needs of the homeless, rather than the usual confrontational anti-panhandling billboard campaign. It also makes a point that instead of spending $61,000 per homeless, a proactive program will cost only $16,000.

If only our City & County of Honolulu would borrow a page from San Francisco on this critical issue.

Kudos to McDonald's for its alternatives

Hawai'i's children have a high rate of obesity. Why? Our lifestyle involves hectic activities such as rushing from home to work. Most families have both parents working, with some parents working two jobs. This leaves little time for adults to prepare home-cooked meals, which makes McDonald's a perfect place to get a quick meal.

What are some of the choices? Greasy hamburgers, salty fries, Chicken McNuggets and fat-filled McFlurries.

But now we can get pedometers at McDonald's! Fresh salads and yogurt! I would like to commend McDonald's for at least trying to downsize America's obesity trend instead of supersizing it.

A better car sticker

To quickly identify expired Hawai'i vehicle safety inspections, I would like to suggest changing the yearly sticker system, which is predominately color-coded with the expiration year in small print, to simply two large numbers indicating the year of expiration.

Help us get rid of that dreaded six-letter word

"The Long and Short of It" by Mary Anne Long:

Cancer: A six-letter word that sends fear into the hearts of us all.

I doubt that there is anyone living in Hawai'i today who has not been touched by a cancer death or knows a cancer survivor. Have you thought about a way to remember the person you lost to cancer or a way to show a cancer survivor that you care?

Here's a way for those on the Windward side to come out under the stars and keep a friend or family member's memory alive or show support for a cancer survivor while raising money for the American Cancer Society at the same time. On Friday evening, July 30, the Ko'olauloa team of the ACS's Relay for Life will sponsor an all-night walk around the field at Hau'ula Community Park.

The evening will have a country store, arts and crafts, keiki corner, wellness corner, food booth and a silent auction area.

Two very impressive events of the evening are the cancer survivor's walk and a luminaria ceremony after dark to honor those who have died from cancer or to support those surviving this dreadful disease. Both are incredibly chicken-skin moments.

This is a great way for our community, and the caring others in the wider community, to come together as a team to do public service. Each team must keep at least one person on the track at all times during the 12-hour relay. There is a friendly competition among the teams to see which group can raise the most money for ACS through pledges and donations. Previous Ko'olauloa Relay for Life events have raised many thousands of dollars to help fight cancer.

A community party atmosphere permeates the event as participants camp out and enjoy one another's company. What a great community-bonding experience this could be if all Ko'olauloa community associations were to sponsor a team. If you would like your group to participate in this wonderful event, please give a call to Annette Santiago at 293-5564.

Don't miss this opportunity to cherish the memory of someone lost to cancer or support a cancer survivor by helping to raise money to find a cure for that dreaded six-letter word cancer.

Yes, as Mary Anne has said, we have all experienced this dreadful illness in one way or another. We know that it is no respecter of age, ethnicity or gender. So we, the planning team of this year's Relay for Life Experience, would like to invite you to gather with your family and friends to form a team, to be a donor and to be a sponsor.

If you have any questions, please call Byrde Cestare at 262-5124.

Ka'ena Point road a great idea

I write to strongly second the obvious common sense contained in Hans Wedemeyer's excellent June 24 letter advocating the building of a road around Ka'ena Point.

The completion of such a road would provide innumerable obvious benefits, cost next to nothing (it's only a distance of 5 miles, and the state already has the right of way), vastly improve the socioeconomic and traffic situations for residents of the Leeward Coast, and could, in fact, turn that whole stretch of coastline into a magnetic draw for both tourists and locals alike.

When I first came to Hawai'i, I used to be able to wiggle my way along the dirt road around Ka'ena Point between Yokohama Bay and Mokule'ia, and it was a blast. Then like all good things, people started to abuse it, go off the road and tear up the dunes and the fragile ecosystem of Ka'ena Point.

As Mr. Wedemeyer points out, a "no exit" road around the point could easily be built in such a way that it was elevated and bordered by steel or concrete barrier shoulders such that cars would not be able to drive off this road once they were on it. (Just try pulling off the H-3.) Instead, a simple parking lot — also designed in an elevated and "unexitable" configuration with only one way in and one way out and again bounded so that vehicles couldn't leave it — should be built mauka of the road away from the dunes. This would give visitors a chance to conveniently park and take hiking trails out to Ka'ena Point.

Way too few folks use the trails to Ka'ena Point nowadays because the 2-mile hike is such a deterrent, and this would open up a magical portion of the island to residents and visitors alike while minimizing any ecological damage to the dunes or wildlife.

Unfortunately, it takes more than just letters to the editor (no matter how logical) to move the hidebound Department of Transportation. What is really needed is for the Wai'anae Neighborhood Board, and other "powers that be" along that coast, to adopt a firm and formal position on behalf of the community they represent to demand that the DOT take a serious look at a proposed "regulated road" around Ka'ena Point and require a response and action.

An access road of this sort would present a unique opportunity to alleviate both the traffic and economic problems that the Wai'anae Coast otherwise faces (especially given the government's tendency to shove it aside like a poor stepchild and treat it, quite literally, as a "dead end" community). This is an important opportunity for government to actually do something positive for the Wai'anae Coast, and it should not be missed.

After all, how often does anyone, anywhere, get to complete a scenic and utilitarian "round-island road" in this day and age? Mr. Wedemeyer deserves credit for bringing such an obvious, but so long ignored, issue back to the forefront where it belongs.