Letters to the Editor

Textbooks are no waste of tax dollars

I read with some amusement John Shupe's April 25 letter, "Parents should pay for child's textbooks." Mr. Shupe related that he grew up in a "notoriously" poor state. His parents were forced to pay for his schoolbooks.

Mr. Shupe feels that his tax dollars are being wasted buying schoolbooks for Hawai'i's children. Because he has no children in public or private school, why should he pay for educating Hawai'i's children? I wonder if Mr. Shupe also walked to school barefoot in the snow?

Textbooks for Hawai'i public-school children is not a waste of taxpayers' monies. It is an investment in Hawai'i's and the nation's future. If Mr. Shupe is so worried about wasted tax dollars, he should take up another cause. Hey! How about van cams!

City Bank reluctance to merger was a farce

I was just wondering if anyone is as upset as I am over the great shibai — the kabuki dance that took place over the past year that pulled the wool over the eyes of a lot of Hawai'i residents. The "dance" that I speak of is the recent announcement of the sale of City Bank to Central Pacific Bank.

For the past year, we have witnessed a very aggressive takeover campaign by Central Pacific and an equally aggressive reluctance to accept the merger by City Bank. City Bank even spent considerable amounts of money arguing and advertising that this was not the "local" way to conduct business, that the employees who work in its bank would lose their jobs upon any merger, that they were founded by Japanese-Americans after World War II, that ...

It was the most magnificent public-relations snow job I have ever seen. And we bought it — hook, line and sinker. And so did the media. The media in Hawai'i wrote about the potential job losses, wrote about the local way of doing business here in Hawai'i, and wrote negatively about the Mainlanders who wanted to buy City Bank. The City Bank president and board of directors couldn't have asked for a more fortuitous "sixth man" on their side. All it did was make their share price go up.

When asked why he changed his mind, City Bank President and CEO Ronald Migita explained that the first price offered was not enough. That's it. Not enough money. Now how does one go from an "over my dead body" position on the merger a year ago to saying, "Today's announcement ushers in a new and exciting chapter for both of our banks, which share a common history and heritage"? Ugh.

Mass-transit fan may be a little hypocritical

In his April 25 letter endorsing mass transit for Honolulu, Justin Tanoue speculates that mass transit also will improve the parking situation by taking more cars off the road. He says, "What frustrates me even more than waiting in traffic is being unable to find a parking stall once I get there."

He goes on to speak glowingly of a commercial showing people actually enjoying their commute on TheBus. So why doesn't Mr. Tanoue commute using TheBus now? Could it be that Mr. Tanoue sees mass transit as an incentive for other drivers to get out of their cars, relieving congestion so his commute by car will be less frustrating? So there will be more parking available for him at his destination?

I think Mr. Tanoue's letter offers some valuable insights. Most of these who support mass transit think the other guy will use it. If supporters planned to use it, they would be riding the bus now and bus ridership wouldn't be declining. Mr. Tanoue's arguments don't offer any encouragement that mass transit will change human nature. It sounds as if he'll still be driving his car.

It's possible to capture the face of a speeder

Mr. Edward Conklin (Letters, April 27) said that before we try issuing tickets based on camera images, we should check with an expert photographer to see if it is possible to take a clear picture of the driver coming at you at 60 miles per hour.

Well, the answer is yes, and if you don't believe it, try going to Colorado and driving on I-25 at an excessive rate of speed. They use photo enforcement there, and although I have never gotten one, I have seen a ticket issued using the system to a fellow who was doing 80 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone.

They sent him a ticket that included three pictures: one of the front of the car with the license plate, one of the whole car and the area around it, and the third of the windshield with the driver clearly visible behind the wheel. You not only could see the driver, but there was no mistaking who the driver was.

So the answer is yes, they can take your picture when you are speeding down the highway.

Republicans are being hypocritical on issues

The Republicans apparently want to have their political cake and eat it, too. Three recent examples:

1. Gov. Lingle complains about the Legislature's not funding her membership in the National Governor's Association when she was quoted (in another newspaper) on Feb. 23, 2003, as saying she no longer wanted to pay the dues and would cut them herself.

2. Republican lawmakers loudly protest the "secrecy bill" for the Convention Center while conveniently omitting the fact that the bill was introduced at the request of the Lingle administration.

3. When the shortfall in the budgeted amount for charter schools was discovered, the governor's spokesperson and Republican lawmakers say they're all for full funding of Hawai'i's charter schools, insinuating Democrats were at fault. In fact, the underfunded amount was what the governor had requested, and now the Democrats have found a way to fix it.

Things like this, along with regularly heard threats about "getting Democrats" in November whenever we disagree on any matter, are getting to be a bit much. We need to work together for the public interest.

Visit to West O'ahu will show the reality

Mr. Don Newman ("Homeless problem not growing dramatically," April 28) needs to leave the comfort of his office and census figures for a moment and come to the west side of O'ahu. The homeless problem in our community has grown by at least fivefold in the last few years. We have families and individuals living on our beaches in cars and under tents all along the West O'ahu coastline.

Mr. Newman and his fellow analysts gleaned census data applicable to major continental U.S. cities to support their contention that there is little or no growth in the homeless population. Of course, this data has absolutely no bearing on the reality of the homeless conditions we face here in Hawai'i.

Mr. Newman and his family of policy analysts need to spend more time dealing with the realities of life and less time scouring census reports to support their myopically Republican views of national politics.