Roadwork on Kuhio is creating problems

It has been about six months since the roadwork to beautify Kuhio Avenue and widen the sidewalks began. It is a very nice idea. However, there was no special report about this roadwork when it started.

Many people were surprised and confused at first. Also, it makes for a very dangerous situation. The city should try to make a safe environment on Kuhio Avenue as much as possible.

Since the roadwork started, there have been many dangerous moments because people have not been used to the new road situation. Many times I have seen buses and cars almost get into accidents.

Moreover, the sidewalk is narrow, and in some sections there is no sidewalk during the roadwork. There are many visitors in Waikiki, and they are not used to walking there. In addition, there are many disabled people who have difficulty in walking. Some of them use a wheelchair.

Since construction started, traffic has been a nightmare. All day long there are traffic jams. Because Kalakaua Avenue is one way, the amount of traffic on Kuhio is heavy.

The real hybrid story

Advertiser writer Sean Hao ("Gasoline prices boosting sales of hybrid cars," June 7) managed to miss the central and crucial point in his story. Using The Advertiser's own figures, one can compute that hybrid vehicles save on gasoline consumption by using 36 percent less fuel than conventional cars. In a world increasingly concerned over depletion of global oil reserves, dropping our demands to 64 percent of current usage is the principal point. And the sooner the better!

There's a bigger picture to terrorism

Regarding Joseph Nash's June 12 letter: Mr. Nash attempts to blame Israel for Middle East terrorism. He claims that Hamas and al-Qaida support would be greatly reduced if only Israel would be seen "treating the Palestinians fairly" and pay reparations for "death and destruction" caused.

Mr. Nash is failing to see the bigger picture.

The treatment of the Palestinians may be the basis for the support of Hamas, but support for al-Qaida is more complicated. Muslim extremists want to see the death of Israel and the Jews, period. Al-Qaida is not only against the Jews, but against the United States because it sees us as a threat to its way of life. The United States is a bigger threat to al-Qaida right now because we are occupying two Middle Eastern countries (let us not forget the unfair treatment, death and destruction that we have caused in our occupation before pointing fingers at the Israelis).

While outsiders may question Israel's defense tactics, they have no way of knowing what it is like to fight for the survival of your country when the entire region wants your people dead and your land taken. The Jewish people have been chased from their own land across the globe and murdered in the millions before finally returning to reclaim Israel in 1948.

While the plight of the Palestinians also deserves sympathy, one should not simply label Israel the bad guy and the cause for all Mideast terrorism. Let us first take a look at our own country, and question our own values. The United States spends hundred of billions of dollars per year on defense and war while the children of the world starve, people are sick without medicine, and our environment deteriorates.

Stop pointing fingers and start looking in the mirror.

AIDS patients should have been quarantined

My father survived the Spanish influenza epidemic that killed 40 million during the five winter months of 1918-19, while "comparatively" the entire four preceding years of World War I had killed a mere 10 million. So as a physician, he later supported the administration's early dialogues to isolate those with AIDS.

E. Hernandez pointed out (Letters, June 15) that 3 million AIDS deaths occurred over the past 23 years before launching into the grand extrapolation of laying the blame at Reagan's feet. As in 1919, the most prudent manner to fight the new virus was to quarantine. But when officials raised this early proposal, they were muzzled by the emotional hyperbole of the gay leadership, which unleashed rants of "Nazi-like" concentration camps.

Many thousands have since died because the gay leadership felt that saving lives was a less important matter than the perceived resulting discrimination factor.

Yet folks like Mr. Hernandez will never direct a single word of blame toward those who derailed Reagan's humanitarian way to staunch the killer. I voted against Reagan twice, but not for the absurd, misplaced canard that Mr. Hernandez proposes.

Change is coming; better to do it right

As a longtime resident of Kailua, I've seen lots of change over the years. Our community has grown in many ways. Old landmarks have made way to new ones, and renovations have given face-lifts to some aging buildings.

Now that there's talk about more changes coming to Kailua, I understand that some people may have reservations ("Parking brouhaha builds in Kailua," June 7). However, as we've seen in the past, change is going to happen no matter what. Wouldn't it be better if the changes were planned out instead of haphazard?

From what I've heard, Kaneohe Ranch's plans for Kailua are good. With help and input from our community leaders and residents, I believe Kailua will continue to be a great.

Evan Dobelle saga continues

'Captain Cook' remark by Harris offensive

Responding to the recent firing of University of Hawai'i President Evan Dobelle, Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris said that he warned Dobelle about what he calls the "Captain Cook effect" and how the people of Hawai'i are backstabbers (Advertiser, June 17).

These remarks by Harris are a slap in the face of the Hawaiian community. Clearly, Harris and Dobelle are cut from the same cloth. They are never wrong about anything. It's always somebody else's fault.

Board should reinstate Dobelle, then resign

In the very midst of our university finally emerging as a world-class institution, our Board of Regents, in its limitless wisdom, unceremoniously, and totally without dignity, sacks the man who was leading UH out of its academic torpor and into a vigorous stride forward.

What a shame! And I do emphasize that word. Are we now to sink back into those comatose days of "Fudge" Matsuda and Kenneth Mortimer?

I have lived in Hawai'i for 27 years, and at no time until the present have I seen a UH president who was even nearly as awake, inspiring, idealistic and progressive as Evan Dobelle.

I wonder if the governor had anything to do with this.

Are we in Hawai'i so afraid of real progress, and the work and imagination it entails, that we can't wait to get back to sodden, crony mediocrity? When Mr. Dobelle was hired, I wondered how long such a man would be tolerated by the old guard. Unfortunately, my darker suspicions have been confirmed.

I have lost faith in the UH Board of Regents. As an act of redemption, I suggest the board reinstate Mr. Dobelle and each regent, right to the last, resign.

Regent decision wasn't politically motivated

I'm sick and tired of you writing that the regents' problem with Dobelle is politically motivated. What shibai!

Until recently, I was a university student and followed higher-education issues. According to Thursday's Advertiser, there are presently 10 sitting University of Hawai'i regents. It shows four are Gov. Cayetano appointees and the remainder are Lingle's.

However, what you did not point out is that regent Trent Kakuda, the student regent, was proposed and forwarded, last spring, by Democratic Senate President Robert Bunda to Gov. Lingle. I think, therefore, that any thoughtful person would count him in the Democratic column. I do.

Simple arithmetic then makes it five Democratic and five Republican regents, based on the obvious source of their appointments.

If all of the fuss about Dobelle, and now his termination, were truly politically motivated, how come the regents' vote to terminate wasn't 5-5 ... a stalemate? Instead, it was reported by The Advertiser that it was a unanimous vote.

So please, no more stink talk about it being politics ... wake up, Advertiser, and learn to do arithmetic. Your readers can.

Put pettiness aside in running university

Now each side has their cadre of lawyers. How much is all of this going to cost us taxpayers?

Our university and the people of Hawai'i deserve more than a flamboyant UH president and an administration that cannot handle difficult situations with decorum.

Did Gov. Lingle orchestrate this? Who knows? But, "Miss Kitty," a communications specialist, certainly has been available to the press. What makes one think that she forgot to tell the governor?

Jerry Burris' commentary was right on. We need to make UH autonomous.

UH is a big business and it has enough brain power to lead. Along with leadership comes humility. Humility to come to the Legislature for money. Humility not to send a note to the regents saying the president "cannot" make the meeting. Humility to not exercise legislative or executive power when we become miffed.

Leadership must lead. Put pettiness aside.

Is "Locals 101" about racism in the Islands?

The Sunday article on Evan Dobelle stated that Hawaiians were dismayed to hear of the UH president being fired, that many thought he championed their causes. Yet the headline says he failed "Locals 101." Which is it? Was he accepted by Hawaiians but rejected by locals?

These terms are a bit confusing, but I think if I read between the lines, there is something deeper. Thus, what exactly is the racism that one of the regents almost had to catch himself on before he spoke about it? Is "Locals 101" about racism? In America, in the year 2004, are newcomers to Hawai'i racially profiled?

Can we ever feel proud of UH again?

I am ashamed of the way the Board of Regents has behaved. Hawai'i, to me, is all about working together and accepting people — including people from the Mainland.

From what I have heard, Dobelle was a breath of fresh air for the university with his bold ideas and readiness to take on anything. I would like to ask the Board of Regents: Could you do what Dobelle did for the university in his only three years as president?

Can we ever feel proud of our university again?

Those flunking regents

A recent headline stated that Evan Dobelle flunked "Locals 101." A more accurate headline would have been: "UH regents flunked 'got what it takes to compete in a global economy' test." Sadly, the regents' behavior is an all-too-typical example of local-style business.

Got it backward

You got your Sunday headline wrong. It should have read: "Regents flunk 'Mainland 101.' "