Posted on: Wednesday, September 1, 2004

Letters to the Editor

Buddha Bar name shows no respect

Regarding the Aug. 17 letter by Sandy Thomas of Hale'iwa: I disagree wholeheartedly with her reasoning. The so-called Buddha statue she appears to be referring to is the Happy God, Hotoi. You will find him in many homes of families in Hawai'i.

I am not a Buddhist, but I do feel a close kinship with all the people who live and worship in Hawai'i nei.

The inappropriateness of the Buddha Bar name is the lack of respect shown for the religion of a different culture. Here in Hawai'i, respect for all and for the different cultures we share is what makes us the land of aloha.

Manifest Destiny brought shame here

It was interesting to read Wayne and Arlene Conte's Aug. 26 letter admonishing The Advertiser for its "shameful" lack of coverage of statehood day.

Interesting, because what they should really find "shameful" is the illegal and immoral process through which the Kingdom of Hawai'i became an American "state."

America had stationed so many troops in Hawai'i that, by 1959, the United States felt confident enough to allow a plebiscite to decide the fate of the Hawaiian Islands. This vote was illegal under international law because:

• There was no option for independence on the ballot.

• America allowed her occupying force to vote in the plebiscite.

Imagine if the United States called for a statehood vote today, in Iraq, and let all of the American soldiers who are stationed there vote. That is what happened to the Kingdom of Hawai'i.

As much as Americans' sense of self-righteousness would like them to believe that the "state" of Hawai'i is a product of liberty and democracy, nothing could be further from the truth.

The "state" of Hawai'i is a product of America's long and ugly history of conquest and Manifest Destiny.

Shameful indeed.

Band members usually are given a better deal

In response to Jack Dempsey's Aug. 25 letter: In 1980, I was told by my athletic director that my band students had to purchase activity books; so did the cheerleaders. As much as I agree with you, if the band students don't pay, then who does?

The activity books are good for eight to 10 regular-season games and volleyball games. Today the students pay $25, and if you do the math, that's about a dollar per contest. Check with your band teacher because many schools charge band students only $10.

The student council or the athletic department pays the difference. If your school qualifies for the playoffs, the band goes in free. The athletic department pays for the buses to get the band to the games, so it could be worse.

At a buck per contest, once a week, think of it as purchasing school supplies for your child to learn and pass.

Police must be given tools to fight crime

Thank you, Rep. Bud Stonebraker ("We need tools to fight ice," Aug. 19), and Sens. Sam Slom, Bob Hogue and Fred Hemmings ("Legislature must focus on ice," Aug. 12) for your continued voice to give law enforcement the tools it needs to protect the law-abiding citizens of Hawai'i.

I was very disappointed that chairpersons Sen. Colleen Hanabusa and Rep. Eric Hamakawa ignored my and my neighbors' pleas for help in battling drug houses this past legislative session. Unless you've lived with one in your neighborhood, you can't understand how unbearably stressful and frightening it is. No one should have to suffer what my neighbors and I went through.

Niu Valley is a quiet, small community celebrating its 50th anniversary. Yet for two long years, a son and grandson of two original homeowners dealt drugs from their homes without fear of prosecution.

Scores of people who did not belong in our neighborhood were converging at these two houses at all hours of the day and night. Gunshots as well as violent fights over drugs woke residents up in the middle of the night.

Crime was escalating out of control, and frequent calls to 911, CrimeStoppers and the Drug Nuisance Abatement Unit to report the blatant drug activity went unheeded because of the fact that the current search-warrant laws are extremely prohibitive.

But even after a search warrant was finally served and one drug dealer arrested (for the 34th time), he was back in the neighborhood only a few days later and it was business as usual.

It's time to elect lawmakers who aren't afraid to give law enforcement the tools it needs to quickly apprehend drug dealers and carriers and support tougher sentencing laws to keep career criminals behind bars to make our communities safer.

Garden Open House was fun, educational

Mahalo to Mr. H. Dale Sato, Urban Garden Center staff and the many volunteers who helped put together the Children's Garden Open House on Aug. 28.

My husband and I took our children to the event and really enjoyed learning and discovering about the variety of plants in our environment. There were so many fun activities for the children (and adults) to engage in.

We hope this garden will continue to flourish and become a well-known place for all to visit and enjoy.

Posting political signs in backyard is a right

For decades, The Outdoor Circle has aggressively campaigned to put an end to a variety of types of marketing and development in our state. It protests billboards, bus ads and bright lights, and now, it is trying to restrict our constitutional right to post political signs on our own private property.

The organization tries to deceive us to believe that most people think these forms of advertising are "ugly." This, however, is far from the truth. Those who display signs may not necessarily think they are as beautiful, exciting and informative as I do, but they by no means think they are ugly, for if they did they would simply not post them.

It is time for The Outdoor Circle to put an end to the destruction of Hawai'i's economic growth, which is partially stimulated by advertising. What I suggest is that they keep in mind that this is a free country where each citizen has constitutional and property rights.

I would also like to remind the group that views are a luxury, not a right. Instead of telling us what to do on our land, exercise your right to not post any signs on your own.

Stop playing class-warfare card and deal with the facts

It is beyond tiresome that those on the left incessantly play the one-note-samba of class warfare as the reason for any and all opposition to their policies. No matter what the issue, anyone who opposes them is tarred with the same brush.

Rep. Neil Abercrombie's Aug. 23 letter is a case in point: "Rail transit is opposed by wealthy commentators whose solution is toll roads." This glittering generality is the type of stereotyping that would bring howls of protest if it were directed at any other group.

He goes on to denigrate toll roads while embracing rail, implying they cost more for "the struggling working middle-class." Since the bottom line cost-per-mile for rail is about five times that of highways, all taxpayers will pay more for rail.

The fact is, station safety requires a given distance between separate trains, which limits rail-carrying capacity. As a result, a single lane of highway at rush hour typically carries twice to four times as many commuters as rail does.

Thus, a four-lane reversible flyover built between Honolulu and Kapolei would handle eight to 16 times more commuters than is possible with rail, at a lower construction cost. And a greatly lower maintenance cost. If these lanes were dedicated high-occupancy toll lanes, these numbers would be even greater.

The experience around the country is that rail does nothing to decrease congestion and often increases it. The tremendous cost of rail diverts needed money away from highway improvement. Since rail, in the best-case scenario, can only carry a tiny fraction of commuters, as cities continue to grow, they quickly outgrow the capacity of rail, so traffic congestion increases.

It is high time that those like Rep. Abercrombie stop playing the class warfare card every time someone disagrees with their views. It would be far better to simply deal with the facts and then decide which policy would be best. In that case, something productive might just get done.

Natatorium can be altered

Contrary to the Harris administration's assertions, historic preservation laws would not prevent the creation of a War Memorial Beach at the Natatorium site along the lines proposed by the Kaimana Beach Coalition to replace the crumbling, outdated and unhealthy pool. Although the Natatorium is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Hawai'i Register of Historic Places, these designations are not the end of the story.

Preservation laws do not preclude change to the Waikiki Natatorium. Advertiser library photo

First, it is important to remember that not every registered historic place is preserved forever. In fact, the Harris administration recently demolished 15 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Properties as part of the 'Ewa Villages Redevelopment project because the buildings were no longer viable due to economic and health and safety concerns.

Further examples include Tustin, Calif., where two World War II blimp hangars listed on the National Register were to be demolished despite being among the largest wooden buildings in the world — because the community wanted to develop a regional park. And in Minnesota, demolition of a historic bridge, also listed on the National Register, was planned because traffic had increased and a new bridge was required.

"Adaptive re-use" occurs when, as with Honolulu's Natatorium, a community wishes to preserve, rather than demolish, essential historic features and beauty of the place, but must modify the structure to meet current economic realities or health and safety standards.

Despite the mayor's assertions, the administration's current plans are actually an example of "adaptive re-use" because they propose a modified Natatorium with different features than the original. The Harris plan eliminates a tall diving tower and two large reflecting pools, both of which were prominent features of the original site. Due to modern health standards and Department of Health rules, the Harris plan must also now include a pool with a hard bottom and cleanable sides (rather than the original sandy bottom). The pool must also use large motorized pumps to flush water through the pool (rather than rely on the original passive tidal flushing). These changes already add up to "adaptive re-use"; the only question now is of degree.

The Kaimana Beach Coalition's proposal to create a memorial beach by modifying some of the walls of the pool is simply another type of "adaptive re-use." It is far superior, however, because it will save the community millions of dollars in construction and upkeep, eliminate the public health risks of an untreated pool, reduce commercialization and bring final resolution to the Natatorium issue.

In short, the Kaimana Beach Coalition believes that a memorial beach would be entirely consistent with the letter and spirit of federal and state historic preservation laws, which allow for the "adaptive re-use" of historic properties to accommodate public health and safety concerns, local economic realities, and evolving community needs and values.