Posted on: Wednesday, October 6, 2004

Letters to the Editor

Restore funding for commission on women

I sincerely hope that Linda Lingle, as Hawai'i's first woman governor, will reconsider her move to phase out public funding for the Hawai'i State Commission on the Status of Women.

As president of the multi-partisan Hawaii Women's Political Caucus, and past member of the commission, I strongly urge the governor to reconsider her budgetary priorities.

The commission is unique as our only state agency dedicated to the health, equality and well-being of women and girls. As such, it should not have to go hat-in-hand to compete with the myriad nonprofits. It is ironic that this agency, with its already downsized $95,000 annual budget, would even be considered for elimination at this time of our vaunted economic prosperity.

'Under God' bill would hurt checks, balances

This responds to James Roller's Oct. 4 letter questioning two of the more than 1,000 votes I have cast in the 108th Congress.

The first was in opposition to HR2028, seeking to provide that no federal court, up to and including the Supreme Court of the United States, can consider or decide any challenge to the constitutionality of our Pledge of Allegiance. The second was in opposition to HR339, seeking to prohibit lawsuits against a broad range of food industry entities. While both passed the House, they have seen no serious action in the Senate.

HR2028 is a reaction to controversial challenges to the required recitation of the words "under God" in our pledge. I support recitation of the entire pledge, and so earlier voted in favor of HRes132, a House resolution to that effect. But to address the issue by stripping it away from our courts is overkill. More important, it strikes at the heart of our basic system of checks and balances, which has served us well, as it did, for example, in ending restrictions on interracial marriage, integrated public education and freedom of worship.

HR339 is similarly a reaction to controversial lawsuits brought by fast-food consumers against fast-food chains relating to obesity and related health conditions. I agree that frivolous lawsuits have become all too common, and have supported responsible litigation reform, including, most recently, voting in favor of HR4571, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2004 (one of 16 Democrats to do so). But HR339 was a much-broader special-interest giveaway of immunity to the food industry from food-safety lawsuits.

Unfortunately, these bills demonstrate a disturbing tendency in Congress to overrun specific issues with larger, unnecessary and unwise solutions and to address those issues through attacks on the foundations of our government. Although I may agree with the starting point, I cannot sanction the solution or the means with my vote.

Independents should support Duke Bainum

I am Honolulu's newly appointed contact for the Independent Party. It has been no secret that I am disillusioned with the mudslinging in today's political races nationwide, and now I watch the Hannemann camp engaged in a character assassination of Mr. Bainum. After watching both primary candidates nearing the runoff election, I will support Duke Bainum and his honest-change plan for city government.

I encourage all other Independents in Honolulu to support Mr. Bainum in November.

Lucky we have Mufi to run for mayor

Why, pray tell me, wouldn't we want a mayor who has, besides an outstanding curriculum vitae, a fluid, soft and soothing baritone as well? It puts a warm smile on our faces and in our hearts. Isn't this one of the many pleasures of Hawai'i and in the spirit of aloha?

The first presidential debate had enough gravitas and frustrated smirks to freeze our hearts and minds, holding us hostage to the spinmeisters.

Isn't it just a wee bit better that our local mayoral campaign has in it a tall, educated, handsome, local and qualified person, Mufi Hannemann, whose talents also include bursting into a song now and then, uplifting our humanity from the crassness of politics?

Yes, indeed!

Fasi's campaign was just political shibai

Frank Fasi owes our community, and especially his supporters, an apology. These are tough and troubled times for our city, and we do not need has-been, old-guard politicians playing childish games just to make themselves feel important.

He did not mount a sincere campaign for the office of mayor. His bogus bid was not funded for serious engagement. He did not have adequate staffing for real competition and, therefore, his workers — minimal, to say the least — were practically invisible. Frank's motives were obviously purely mischievous, and his shibai was irresponsible, at best.

I feel for his loyal supporters who trusted him with their precious votes. In essence, his fans showed up, but Frank did not come to play to win. And now, after his childish deception, he expects his supporters to vote for the candidate of his choice, just so he can play the big shot, supposedly the guy who controlled the outcome in the general elections. That's called egotism — in Frank's case, a character defect. Mr. Fasi, grow up!

But all is not lost — especially for you Fasi supporters who have been shamefully treated with complete disrespect. The general election is just a few weeks away. This time, make your votes count. Take the opportunity to vote for honesty, sincerity and respectful behavior. The Duke is all of that and more.

BRT system makes sense for Honolulu

It is irresponsible to hear the mayoral candidates declare the Bus Rapid Transit system dead. Like it or not, the in-town portion is in fact being built and can be tested. I suspect it will prove more useful and less disruptive than its opponents suggest. A rail alternative is years away.

Given the tremendous growth Kaka'ako is undergoing, the development of a transit corridor linking downtown, Kaka'ako and Waikiki makes sense and has value. BRT is a practical solution.

The private transportation industry is well aware of the effectiveness of the idea. It is fighting to restrict transportation options in Honolulu.

A livable city emphasizes the mobility of people. The extreme focus on mobility of the automobile is an engineering bias that misses the ultimate goal. We need a balance of transportation options, including quality-of-life alternatives such as bicycle and pedestrian use. Public transportation, like the BRT, can work synergistically with those alternatives.

Our next mayor should take heed. Light rail will most certainly face the very same self-serving and misguided opposition the BRT is suffering.

Purchase of Verizon Hawaii is bad for us

The purchase of Verizon Hawaii by The Carlyle Group is not in the best interest of the people of Hawai'i for a number of reasons.

First, I question TCG's commitment to Hawai'i. It recently unloaded Horizon Lines, after only one year of ownership, for a tidy profit. TCG's investors expect high return on investment. Owning a telephone company will not bring you a high return. Thus it would not surprise me if it quickly unloads Verizon Hawaii after a short period.

Second, I'm concerned how this will affect my DSL service currently offered by Verizon Online. Since Verizon will be out of the picture, I'm afraid my monthly DSL cost will go up from $29.95. I could keep Verizon Online if I wanted to after the purchase. But the catch is, it will definitely be higher than the $29.95 a month I'm paying. Getting DSL from a local reseller costs more than double the $29.95 rate charged by Verizon.

Last, I know TCG promised no rate increases for 10 years. But the numbers do not add up — with the added cost of bringing the back-office operations currently on the Mainland back to Hawai'i, among other things. The numbers won't work unless TCG does increase rates.

I urge anyone who is concerned about this acquisition to attend the Hawai'i PUC public hearings (www.state.hi.us/budget/puc/puc.htm, listed under Public Hearings — Docket No. 04-0140).

The people of Hawai'i depend on reliable telephone service. Allowing a carpetbagger company like TCG to purchase a critical utility like Verizon Hawaii is bad for the people of Hawai'i.

Cardboard should be exported to Asia

The proposal before the City Council to export garbage to the Mainland is wasteful and myopic. It would drain the taxpayers' pockets while draining the world of precious natural resources. The profitable way to drastically reduce O'ahu's garbage volume is to transform trash to treasure via incentives.

Any visitor to H-Power will observe that cardboard fills the tipping room. Asia has an insatiable appetite for cardboard and pays well. Incentivizing recycling companies to collect and ship cardboard would dramatically relieve the burden on H-Power, increase employment and boost O'ahu's tax base.

Offering recycling companies as little as $20 per ton for cardboard would catalyze the creativity of private enterprise. They'd in turn incentivize apartments, small businesses and others to separate out cardboard, and we'd all be making money. Twenty dollars per ton to save trees and boost the tax base is far better than $78 per ton to treat treasure like trash.

Politics dogging Ha'iku Stairs

It should be obvious to anyone following the Ha'iku Stairs issue that several members of the City Council, specifically Ann Kobayashi, Romy Cachola and Rod Tam, are intentionally attempting to delay the proposed land exchange between the city and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

These council members are doing so in response to the demands of a few politically connected individuals who would like to see the stairs closed permanently and believe they will be able to better persuade the incoming mayor than Jeremy Harris. They are essentially forum-shopping.

Thousands of visitors and residents alike have expressed their desire to visit the stairs by attempting to get to the stairs by any possible route. Unfortunately, this has resulted in hundreds of people trespassing through private property and disturbing residents who live near the stairs. The gut reaction of some residents is to remove the source of their angst by dismantling the stairs and denying all public access to Ha'iku.

Closing the stairs would deny people the opportunity to enjoy this great sightseeing wonder, considered by many to be one of the crown jewels of Hawai'i's attractions. No one would suggest closing the Pali lookout, despite the fact that some people have died or been seriously injured attempting to commit suicide from the high precipice. No one would suggest closing Hanauma Bay because some tourists have been victims of crime or even drowned there.

The more reasonable approach is not to close off Ha'iku to the public but rather to find a way to open it up to the public while minimizing the impact on the surrounding community.

This has been the goal of the Kane'ohe Neighborhood Board. The board, by an overwhelming majority of its members, voted in favor of the recommendations made by the special task force it created for this very purpose. That task force was made up of board members, residents of the immediate and surrounding Ha'iku community, and other residents and representatives of several hiking, environmental and Hawaiian organizations. They held several public meetings, gathered information, interviewed residents and developed the recommendations that were ultimately adopted by the Kane'ohe Neighborhood Board.

Now, a few individuals, some of whom actually voted for the recommendations, are attempting to subvert the process by resorting to backroom politics and political influence in an attempt to shut down Ha'iku Stairs forever. The action of the City Council in delaying the decision on the Ha'iku land swap is more than just a minor setback for the many thousands of people who have been waiting patiently for the opening of the Stairway to Heaven. It represents an undermining of the democratic process, and I sense that the patience of those who have been waiting is wearing thin.