Posted on: Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Letters to the Editor

Religious convictions vital part of society

Professor Richard Miller, in his commentary on the front of Sunday's Focus section, is wrong in asking voters to set aside their religious convictions as they decide for whom to vote in this coming election. In effect, he is asking certain voters to squelch their values so that his secular views will prevail. That is neither fair nor reasonable.

If Mr. Miller's argument were to be carried to its logical conclusion, he would be asking Americans to set aside the Judeo-Christian tradition on which our nation was founded and which has stood us in good stead for more than two centuries. Gone would be the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and scores of laws and customs.

To cite but three specifics: Mr. Miller would be asking for the repeal of the laws that prohibit murder, theft and bearing false witness because they are rooted in the Ten Commandments. Placing the left hand on the Bible and pledging "so help me, God" would be stricken from the presidential inauguration. Thanksgiving and Christmas would disappear as national holidays.

Rather than setting aside anyone's values, it would be better in our robust democracy to let all values be subjected to open and civil debate. As the referee used to say at the Friday night fights in Madison Square Garden in New York: "May the better contestant emerge triumphant."

Check the record of your representative

I don't consider myself a political activist. In fact, I didn't bother to vote for most of my life. In the last few years, I have become more aware of politics and how it affects me. A few weeks ago, I saw my House representative and took the opportunity to talk with him about issues that were important to me.

I spoke with him about his views on the bottle redemption bill and the increase in the general excise tax. I later went on-line to verify his statements and found his responses to me did not match his voting record. Based on this research, I will vote for his challenger.

Bottom line: Know your representative and vote! Get on-line and go to www.capitol.hawaii .gov. Click on "Archives." Pick a session. Select one of the options under "Bills Introduced, Passed & Vetoed."

It is time-consuming to find out how a particular representative voted on specific issues. Instead, use the Find feature under the Edit menu of your browser to find the bills that your representative introduced. Reading those bills will give you a feel for how your representative votes.

President's dishonesty, ignorance are appalling

I commend your endorsement of John Kerry for president. Frankly, I cannot understand why anyone would vote for a candidate like George W. Bush, who has done nothing but lie to the American people. From nonexistent WMDs to imaginary links between al-Qaida and Iraq and many more falsehoods at the cost of thousands of lives and billions of our tax dollars, Bush's dishonesty and ignorance about reality are appalling.

He should be put on the front line in the Sunni Triangle along with his entire Cabinet, with the same lack of logistical support that our patriotic troops face every day thanks to his misguided policies. His closed mind is only making more enemies of the United States every day, not friends or allies. But since he has never been in battle, he cannot understand.

A vote for Gabbard is a vote against freedom

It concerns me that Mike Gabbard has become known as the "Christian" candidate to vote for in the race for Hawai'i's Second District House of Representatives seat based on his previous work to ban gay marriage in Hawai'i. His role in promoting the ban on gay marriages is precisely the reason why a man such as Mr. Gabbard would be a danger to the freedom of the people of America.

The Constitution of the United States was written to protect the rights of all Americans, regardless of race, religion, socio-economic status and lifestyle. This means that as an American citizen, you have the freedom to live your life as you please, so long as you do not infringe upon the rights of other citizens. Gay marriage is morally offensive to most people, but it does not infringe upon the rights of other citizens.

What we in Hawai'i did by voting for this ban is to take a freedom from a group of people because they are in the minority. Mike Gabbard was a large part of the campaign to accomplish this.

Taking freedom from people, whether they are in the majority or minority, is wrong and quite simply un-American.

A vote for Mike Gabbard is a vote against the Constitution. A vote for Mike Gabbard is a vote against freedom.

Congratulations on Bus Rapid Transit

Aloha to Bus Rapid Transit on Nov. 8, congratulations to Mayor Jeremy Harris, and shame on the mayoral candidates for talking down this transit system before it even opens.

Looking back, our best mayor for transit has been my enemy, Frank Fasi. He even tried to take a billion dollars from H-3 for his transit system.

The public can get a light-rail transit system only with a mayor and a governor who will support raising the excise tax, a prerequisite to receive federal aid.

The choice is between elevated freeways like the Mainland and raising the excise tax for a monorail.

See my Web site www.transportationinhawaii.com.

Shame on those who cited Hitler, Goebbels

I was on both O'ahu and Kaua'i in 1942 and off and on since. I keep in touch by getting The Advertiser on my computer. Very few people are still around who can recall the beauty of Hawai'i at that time.

I know nothing of the politics of the Islands, but for Mr. Bruce Fein ("Recognition bill a threat to America, author asserts," commentary, Oct. 10) to bring up Adolf Hitler and for Mr. Earl Arakaki ("Preferential laws are wrong," letter, Oct. 14) to bring up Joseph Goebbels to express their views is pathetic. Are these two individuals still burning Nazi flags? They should be ashamed of themselves with their long-winded letters.

Compassion, kindness and loyalty are norm

In a time of war, political unrest and socio-economic depression, it is great to read some kind words regarding our Down syndrome citizens ("Not all Down: Families refuse to let congenital disorder stifle their high hopes," Sept. 23, Tanya Bricking Leach). I am a friend of Gregory Smith's, and he a great friend of mine.

I was quite impressed with Mrs. Leach's story and happy to see Greg and others like him portrayed in such a pleasant light.

I think many people are uncomfortable or even intimidated to be around people with Down syndrome. All that it really takes is to swallow your pride, have a little patience and understanding, and your eyes, heart and mind can be open to a very beautiful world where compassion, kindness and loyalty are not just virtues, but are the norm.

Maybe our politicians could learn a thing or two from the values that Gregory Smith holds dear — and so could you and I.

New system to streamline building permits boon to all

Lee Cataluna usually does her homework, and her columns are normally interesting and informative, which is why it was surprising and disappointing that she so completely missed the mark in her Oct. 15 column on the city's new permit-streamlining initiative known as Third Party Review (3PR). The program allows the city to deputize qualified architects and engineers who could review and certify whether building plans comply with the building code.

That same day, the editors of her own newspaper, The Honolulu Advertiser, stated that the city's "latest plan to speed up the process announced this week by Mayor Jeremy Harris makes a lot of sense." The editorial further noted that 3PR is working well in other cities similar to Honolulu. Clearly the editors "get it." 3PR is just one more tool in our constant permit-streamlining efforts.

The city is not abrogating its responsibilities, as Cataluna claims. A checks-and-balance system is solidly in place. The city will continue to issue the permits and "the city would still retain its inspection authority," as the Advertiser's government reporters pointed out (Oct. 13).

Her suggestion that all we need to do is hire more people underestimates and misunderstands the scope and nature of the problem. With the construction boom, the number of permits is soaring by almost 30 percent in a two-year period — from 13,625 in 2002 to over 18,000 projected for this calendar year alone. Meanwhile, retirement has dwindled our staff considerably. Seventy of our 300 positions remain vacant despite aggressive and continuous recruiting efforts. The shortage in Hawai'i is so acute that even the private sector, with its greater flexibility and competitive salaries, has resorted to recruiting out-of-state.

3PR does not replace our efforts to fill positions. It is just one of several initiatives we are undertaking to resolve the daunting permit overflow.

Had Cataluna taken the time to talk to us, she would have seen the continuous and constant improvements being made in permit streamlining — such as our innovative Fast Track process, our automated permit tracking system, our increased on-line services, and our free GIS Web site (which is the most advanced in the country), to name a few. We have even recruited all interested retirees as "concierges" to assist the applicants in line.

3PR is a smart, creative way to share the workload, and it benefits everyone. It speeds up the permit process at zero cost to the public, qualifies for liability insurance, adds no liability to the city and provides instant relief to the overworked city permit processors without undergoing the cumbersome civil service process to create permanent jobs that may be unnecessary when the permit numbers subside. The 3PR service will be open to all. The little guy will benefit even if he opts to use the city's permit reviewers since the line will decrease as more applicants use private contractors to review building plans, thus freeing up time with the city staff.

Duke Bainum would better protect O'ahu's environment

Many of the central themes in the mayor's race — traffic, trash, sewage, growth — share a common foundation: the future of O'ahu's environment. How can O'ahu best manage growth and improve the quality of life while protecting the environment that sustains the economy and our families?

Consider O'ahu's past development choices. For too long much of the growth on O'ahu has been driven by the desires of a small group of developers and large landowners. A case in point was when both Duke Bainum and Mufi Hannemann were on the City Council and they sharply differed on a proposed large-scale, luxury housing development on over 1,000 acres near world-famous Sunset Beach on the North Shore. Despite overwhelming community opposition citing urban sprawl, inadequate infrastructure and other negative impacts to the environment, the council narrowly approved a zoning change, 5-4. Hannemann voted for the project and actively promoted it.

Fortunately, the project became entangled in legal and financial challenges and was never built. Now, recent data show this area is a stop for over half of the visitors to O'ahu and that the area businesses are thriving. This scenic community also regularly serves as the "star" of several television shows and movies — sustaining jobs and marketing O'ahu around the world. Most importantly, residents from around the island still enjoy coming out to the "country" to enjoy themselves.

Bainum, who supported the community preservation effort, said that 5-4 vote was a classic case of politically powerful special interests winning their way with City Hall despite strong community concerns. Development interests typically have astonishing access to key decision-makers and obtain approvals for projects, regardless of the consequences for most residents. Taxpayers suffer more burdens: traffic gridlock; too much time away from families; overcrowded schools; stream and sea pollution; and an utter dependence on cars, even for the shortest trips. Our natural infrastructure, such as our groundwater supply, has nearly been tapped out.

We have an opportunity to move O'ahu forward to a better future in the upcoming mayoral election. Duke Bainum has a long history of environmental protection — a history including difficult votes while serving on the City Council — and he can be relied upon to critically consider Hawai'i's unique and fragile environment in all the decisions he will make.

When we address our key environmental challenges, we are also investing in our economy and improving the quality of life for residents. If we choose to put residents before special interests, we can redevelop and rejuvenate urbanized areas and protect the best farmlands and open spaces around O'ahu. This will require re-establishing the identity of developed areas and making them more attractive areas in which to live, work and play.

Bainum will help ensure that Honolulu does this and continues to build its stature as one of the great cities of the world. He and his supporters have a plan for engaging in visionary community planning that will result in great architecture with a balance of development and green, open spaces. Together with his transportation plan, Bainum's care for the environment will also help ease O'ahu's traffic woes by focusing additional high-density development in already urbanized areas.

Bainum will respond to the growing calls from Central, Leeward, East and Windward O'ahu for "smart growth" and increased attention to resources the community values. Bainum's record proves that he will not rely primarily on powerful developers and large landowners to serve the public interest and to shape the future of O'ahu's economy. This is why he recently won the endorsements of the Hawai'i Coalition of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club.

On the council and as a leader, Duke Bainum worked hard to preserve the North Shore, supported expanded protection of Sandy Beach and Hanauma Bay, and, in contrast to his opponent, did not advocate massive and controversial developments opposed by a community. A strong and healthy Honolulu is based on protecting the environment. Duke Bainum has the values, track record and vision to produce a great quality of life and healthy future for all of O'ahu as our mayor.