Columnist should stick with the facts

Lee Cataluna often takes great liberties in her writing. But columnists, just like news reporters, have a journalistic responsibility to stick with the facts and keep their speculation under control — especially about a critical issue such as the dismissal of University of Hawai'i President Evan Dobelle ("Hush up to survive in politics," June 17; "No one's innocent in Dobelle brouhaha," June 18).

Cataluna cavalierly rejected the announcement from the UH Board of Regents that it fired Dobelle "for cause." Instead, she stated with great certainty that it was "Dobelle's mouth that got him into trouble," and questioned if Gov. Lingle decided to "shoot him down."

By all media accounts, Dobelle was not terminated for being politically naive. The board officially stated that he was dismissed "for cause" — a very serious matter under the law.

As The Advertiser reported on June 16, termination for cause under Dobelle's contract is limited to: "conviction of a felony, a determination by medical professionals that he is mentally unstable or conduct that constitutes moral turpitude, brings public disrespect and contempt or ridicule on the university and if proven in court, would constitute grounds for his criminal conviction or the university's civil liability."

I agree with Cataluna that the public has a right to know exactly why Dobelle was dismissed, and hopefully the regents or their legal counsel will release detailed information soon. But for Cataluna to implicate the governor in this situation is simply wrong.

Dobelle ouster wasn't a Republican decision

I have been a student, faculty member and administrator for 40 years at the University of Hawai'i and have been active in community affairs. I am a longtime supporter of Mazie Hirono and a former state Democratic committeewoman.

I commend the Board of Regents for its continuing dedication to the university and the state. The board's unanimous decision to terminate President Dobelle is a bipartisan decision that is in the best interest of students and faculty of the university.

Board chairwoman Patricia Lee and a number of the regents were appointed by a Democratic governor. A year ago, public criticism and negative assessment of President Dobelle's leadership came from Democrats Rep. Mark Takai, Sen. Donna Mercado Kim and myself. It is not correct to characterize the board's unanimous vote as a Republican partisan decision.

Condemn Dobelle for seeking the best

Dr. Dobelle is guilty as charged, according to the terms of his contract outlined in The Advertiser, June 16.

Dr. Dobelle's felonies were to believe that UH could be a great public university and function as a system like Berkeley or Penn State; to imagine that a community college could actually be called a "college"; to instill a sense of self-respect that administrators and faculty would imagine that they should be paid their full worth (damn Mainland standards); and to unequivocally center the university on Hawaiian values.

Dr. Dobelle's mental instability is evidenced by quixotic windmill visions of a world-class medical center; an athletic program led by an Olympian; and a film school (à la USC) that encompasses the breadth, depth and experience of all the campuses.

And why not have a special ceremony and include me as a faculty member to take pride when my three sons graduate from UH?

Moral turpitude — "bringing public disrespect, contempt and ridicule" to mediocrity, bureaucracy, business-as-usual, and the status quo — was what ultimately clinched the case against Dobelle. He just didn't understand how we do things here in Hawai'i.

The script ("We can't tell you the reason") and a couple of the key players read a bit like the Father Mario Pariante ouster from St. Louis School a few years ago. Or is that my imagination?

What was the rush?

Questions regarding the cause of President Dobelle's termination can only be addressed in court. However, can the UH Board of Regents provide a compelling reason for publicizing this matter prior to notifying Dobelle? If not, then the regents' preemptory and unprofessional actions have significantly damaged the university, embarrassed themselves and diminished the reputation of the state of Hawai'i.

Own up, Evan Dobelle

Why can't Evan Dobelle be a man and admit he endorsed Mazie Hirono of his own free will? He says he regrets it and there were people who wanted him to do it. Here is a person who is supposed to run the university on his own merits. What a shame that we find out now what kind of person he is.

Gov. Lingle can avoid criticism with the truth

Reef Maku'e (Letters, June 20) criticized me for stating that Evan Dobelle's firing was "political ... untimely." Judging from the public reaction, it is clear many share my opinion.

Perhaps if the governor and her media advisers opted for more truth and less political spin every time there is a problem, they would sound more credible. Case in point: In responding to my statement that Linda Lingle's New Beginning meant "firing everyone ... even the maids at Washington Place ..." the governor replied that I was wrong, that all of the maids had been "placed in other jobs ... " suggesting that she had treated these hard-working, longtime employees with kindness after all. This didn't tell the whole story. The truth is that it was only after I was notified that the maids were going to be fired that I, not Lingle, placed them in other jobs.

In the scheme of a governor's job, the firing of maids may seem inconsequential to most — so why misrepresent it? As governor, Lingle can hire and fire most appointees as she sees fit. That is part of the political process. If she wants to avoid criticism, try telling the truth.

Dobelle brought about downfall on his own

Jerry Burris often hits nails squarely on the head, but his June 20 analysis of the decline and fall of Evan Dobelle is too simplistic.

Dobelle's big pitch upon arriving in Hawai'i was to use his talents at fund-raising to upgrade the university system. We all know that UH is a huge drain on the state budget. The population base is only about 1.2 million, after all. Dobelle had big plans: primarily to emulate the UC system, with UH-Manoa the Berkeley of Hawai'i. The medical school was only part of this plan — West O'ahu would have cost much more yet.

It would have helped if the man had studied not only Hawai'i politics, as Burris contends, but also the corporate structure he thought he was about to raid. Nearly all of Hawai'i's wealth is controlled by corporations outside Hawai'i. He seemed to think that his charm might influence global capital to return to Hawai'i.

Had he succeeded in persuading any of us in the UH system that he was succeeding, he might have had enormous support. As it was, he has been the laughingstock of the faculty for nearly two years. His arrogance and sloppy financing (not just his personal accounts) led him into conflict with auditors long ago.

Most of us were surprised he lasted as long as he did. Gov. Lingle didn't have to lift a finger.

Other letters

Immigrants aren't what's holding us back

Regarding Dave Endo's June 15 letter: I guess Dave is happy with the condition of Hawai'i's educational system and all of the other problems that the Democrats have fostered over decades of control. The corruption and waste of tax dollars are nothing to be very proud of.

Dave, have you ever wondered why we have so many private schools in Hawai'i? Dave complains that our schools are so far behind because of the number of students who don't speak English. I lived in Stockton, Calif., for 10 years during which an influx of Vietnamese immigrants settled there. Those kids entered the school system with no skills and usually in poverty. When they left the system, most of them were off to college with 4.0-plus grade-point averages. Seeing it made me very proud of them and of our country.

It is time to try some new things in these beautiful isles. I would like to give Linda Lingle a little reinforcement to make that happen. I don't see where we have very much to lose by trying.

And Dave, if you think the Democrats have done well with our drug-abuse problems, take a look around.

Purchase of Verizon could be harmful

A Carlyle Group purchase of Verizon Hawaii would not be good for the people of Hawai'i.

For starters, I wonder how committed it is to Hawai'i. It recently unloaded Horizon Lines for a nice profit after only about a year of ownership. It wouldn't surprise me, if the purchase goes through, if the Carlyle Group unloads Verizon Hawaii to someone else sometime in the near future.

I just cannot grasp a multinational company with business interests in multiple areas would be strongly committed to Hawai'i for the long term. For such a critical utility as telephone service, the people of Hawai'i deserve better.

I'm a Verizon DSL customer and have been very happy with the service. This potential purchase concerns me greatly. I'm concerned that I'll be facing higher monthly costs for my DSL service.

I'm worried about who will be providing tech support or maintaining my DSL modem. It is my understanding I could keep Verizon Online after this purchase goes through. But what will the cost be? Currently through local resellers, DSL costs, depending on the service level, in most cases more than double Verizon Online.

If you want to voice your concerns about this purchase, I urge you e-mail the Hawai'i PUC at HawaiiPUC@hawaii.gov or the Hawai'i consumer advocate at dca@dcca.hawaii.gov.

Lobby the governor to approve gas cap

As the price of gasoline (and jet fuel and electricity and freight, etc.) continues its long upward spiral with no relief in sight — this seemingly again only in Hawai'i — the fate of the 2004 gas cap legislation remains in Gov. Lingle's hands. Philosophically opposed, she may indeed veto it.

We and the many others who first proposed and fought for the gas cap's passage through three legislative sessions did so with some reluctance as we, too, were concerned that the higher fuel prices would have indeed at least put us back on the right track regarding the important conservation of fossil fuels through more efficient autos and all the rest.

However, that argument against the gas cap misses the point. The point is, the oil companies, especially in Hawai'i, have reaped huge windfall profits when their barrel price of oil was indeed lower and the consumer has for years been ripped off by their pricing practices. This is the point. Were the gas cap in its new form in effect today, prices would be lower.

The oil industry spent upward of $100,000 lobbying the Legislature during the four months of the 2004 session and a similar amount during and after the 2003 session. It's now up to the consumer to see the gas cap in place. Consumers can phone the governor at 586-0034 to weigh in and express their opinion.

Women prisoners did a wonderful job

Many thanks to the Women's Community Correctional Center inmates who cleaned up Kailua Beach from one end to the other.

I have been walking that beach daily for a year, filling bags while walking my dogs. The plastic debris seemed never-ending and overwhelming.

Last week, a crew of about 10 women scoured it clean in one day. It is now pristine — just like the "old days." They were friendly, energetic and worked with obvious pride.

Hopefully, they will grace our beach again.

New show is childish

Like many Hawai'i residents, I am sure, I tuned in to see "North Shore" on television last Monday night. The word puerile comes to mind. I guess I had better tune back in to public television.

Stamp Out Hunger drive set state record

The National Association of Letter Carriers in conjunction with the United States Postal Service would like to extend a sincere mahalo to our Hawai'i postal patrons for their continued support of our food drive held on May 8.

This food drive has come to be recognized as the largest single-day food drive in the nation, with over 240,000 carriers in over 10,000 cities and towns participating. Plenty of aloha was shared with us, and a new state record was set in the amount of 336,704 pounds of nonperishable goods collected while we delivered the mail on that Saturday. A new national record of 70.9 million pounds collected was recently released on June 3 in coordination with National Hunger Awareness Day.

A major effort to fill the Islands' food banks was made by so many labor unions, postal unions and community volunteers. This food will provide Hawai'i's needy with some core nutrition throughout the summer and fall months.

Again, thank you to all the local folks who participated by putting food out by their mailboxes in order to help those in need. Our Stamp Out Hunger drive could not be so successful without your support.

United States going down the wrong road to peace

In the amount of time most people read The Honolulu Advertiser, around $9 million will be spent on death and destruction in the name of defense. Is that too much? Is it the best bang for our buck?

Your June 12 editorial, "The shocking cost of the world's wars," raised an important question we must face: "Is it worth it?" Equally essential: Are there alternatives?

The U.S. leadership is taking the world down the wrong path for peace. Is the world safer by spending more on military? New approaches can result in less spending and more human security. The United States needs a new foreign policy.

Do we believe in violence and death in our national psyche for international relations and our personal relationships with one another, or is the vision of the United State being clouded with soaring profits as we export weapons to the world in record-high sales?

Deadly conflict is not inevitable. We can live another way, and many people are already on the path focusing on a peace economy, not a Pentagon economy.

It is mind-numbing if we look at the staggering statistics spent on arms, the sacrifice of spending in areas of needless violence instead of human needs, the destruction of the natural resources and human life in the name of war.

Are there alternatives to how the money could be spent and what could be accomplished?

We could agree on a laundry list of issues that would build a foundation for liberation of all nations and peoples. The list could cover clean energy, water, healthcare, housing and building true democracy. Interestingly enough, we could reach these aspirations, transforming the world, with less than 30 percent of the annual military expenditure.

Let's lead the world for a rule of law and culture of peace.

Build road around Ka'ena Point

The discussion of an alternate inbound/outbound road for the Wai'anae Coast has now been going on for many years, and the only solution that has been arrived at recently is to reroute traffic through a residential area, causing noise, danger and pollution to those residents living and going to school along the narrow roads mauka of Farrington Highway.

Ka'ena Point aerial view shows a path linking Mokule'ia and Wai'anae. Advertiser library photo • 1998

Instead of wasting taxpayers' money on short-term fixes and causing permanent damage to the Leeward neighborhoods, a realistic, workable and affordable solution needs to be adopted to bring the Leeward side out of a dead-end status and reunite it with the rest of the island.

I and others on the Wai'anae Coast propose the building of a 5-mile stretch of road between Yokohama Beach and Mokule'ia. The right-of-way around Ka'ena Point already belongs to the state; therefore, there would be no land-acquisition costs. The road could be elevated around the point to protect the delicate ecosystem on the sand dunes.

It is further suggested that the road be dedicated to and named after a beloved local person, perhaps Israel Kamakawiwo'ole or the Rev. Abraham Akaka.

Let us take a lesson from King David Kalakaua, who set the precedent in 1886 when he granted a franchise to Benjamin Dillingham to build a rail track around Ka'ena Point. He could see the social and economic wisdom of connecting the two sides of the island all those years ago.

I and others on the Wai'anae Coast firmly believe that a road encircling the whole island would bring tremendous financial benefit to the entire Wai'anae Coast and would be a morale boost to all of those in this community who want to participate in the business life of the Islands.

Look at the amount of development that is planned and has already taken place in the Kapolei area. Some of the benefits from all of the investment that is going into that area should be guided Leeward, as should the tourists who are being attracted to Kapolei and Ko Olina. This entire coastline has been ignored and literally dumped on for years.

The cost of this road would be a drop in the bucket compared to the economic opportunities it would provide. Maybe as a recompense for the devastation that the military has visited on Makua Valley over the years, it would be interested in building the road for us.

Isn't it about time to redress the balance and put some clear thought into the infrastructure of this area?

All roads should lead somewhere.