Letters to the Editor

Notice that Hawai'i lacks zeal, innovation

The recent debate about education is missing several points.

One of them is the organization of Hawai'i's public schools. Students are developing strong apathy toward education, despite the increasing competition outside Hawai'i and rate of outsourcing that American companies are facing.

Innovation is another problem — innovation in the sense that schools need to think about the changing times, and how Hawai'i's sluggish economy complements education. Maybe a sluggish economy produces sluggish human resources.

Pause to applaud support for arts

We applaud the Hawai'i Tourism Authority for supporting the inaugural Hawai'i Arts Season, now through May 2. As an initiative of the Hawai'i Consortium for the Arts and ably coordinated by Tim Bostock Productions, we are proud to celebrate the diverse, rich and vibrant arts community in Hawai'i.

On any given weekend, we are blessed with a multitude of opportunities to appreciate dance, music, theater, and the visual arts by world-class and emerging artists.

We humbly thank all those who participated with great dedication to bring to reality the vision of the Hawai'i Arts Season. We encourage both residents and visitors alike discover and enjoy the superb arts and culture in our beautiful Islands.

Everyone gets his in the end

Kathleen Parker's piece on Thursday's editorial page summed up my opinion well.

"In a modern world of corporate scandal, in which CEOs have bilked investors for millions, our federal investigators have spent months and several fortunes pursuing someone whose crime pales by comparison. A distraction from what exactly? Their failure to adequately pursue the really bad guys?"

How come I haven't seen an equally aggressive pursuit and prosecution of the really big crooks in Enron, WorldCom, etc.? Martha Stewart seems to be on a faster track to prison than Enron's and WorldCom's former CEOs. Would these big-time crooks be in jail by now if the federal investigators had put the money and energy they put into Martha Stewart's prosecution into their prosecution?

Martha's problem was she didn't own enough politicians to get out of this nightmare and it is always easier to convict a "bitch." I don't know why mean-spirited, self-centered men don't pay as often for their behavior as similar women. I believe everyone gets his in the end.

School visits are high priority for Gov. Lingle

It was with great interest and dismay that I read the open letter to Gov. Lingle from Joseph Theroux, principal of Keaukaha Elementary School in Hilo ("Understanding our 'broken' schools," March 9).

Mr. Theroux provided insights regarding the many challenges at his school, which was labeled as "under-performing" in a recent audit. What I take issue with is his unfair assertion that Gov. Lingle has not shown an interest in visiting Keaukaha Elementary.

As the governor's director of scheduling, I can state unequivocally that school visits are a high priority for this administration. Although the governor receives about 500 requests per week, we seldom turn down any request that comes from a school.

This week, in fact, Gov. Lingle was delighted to meet with students, teachers and administrators at three schools on the North Shore of O'ahu. And we're currently preparing for her visit next week to Waimea Elementary on the Big Island.

Did Principal Theroux formally request a visit from Gov. Lingle? No. Did he have ample opportunities to arrange such a visit? Yes. Is the governor willing to go to Keaukaha? Most definitely. In fact, we'd love to hear from him.

Legislators should have equal power

Not so long ago women and African American citizens did not have the right to vote. These groups fought long and hard to finally gain what every white male citizen took for granted.

Many take for granted that our elected legislators understand the basic principles of fairness and democracy.

But this conclusion is not supported by the acceptance of a procedural rule that gives a single chair more votes than any or all other members of a conference committee, even if one other member is also a chair.

I for one am outraged that my representative and senator have votes that would count less just because they are not chairs.

Anyone else want to join an effort to fight for our rights? Show your support by e-mailing to equalvotes@yahoo.com or faxing to (808) 599-5669.