Hannemann is frank on new landfill need

I would like to respond to the article, "Mayoral foes talk trash — and lease" (sept. 3). First of all, Mufi Hannemann was very honest and realistic to say that O'ahu will likely have a need for a new landfill.

Of course! Has anyone been to the Waimanalo Gulch landfill lately? It is no longer a gulch. The waiting lines to dump trash have ridiculously been anywhere from one to three hours because of the lack of space.

On the other hand, Duke Bainum's promise to not allow a landfill to be placed in Wai'anae or Kailua is deceiving and probably just to get the Hawaiian vote on one hand and the haole vote on the other.

So when Mr. Bainum's idea of shipping trash to the Mainland falls through, where then will we dump our trash? In Duke's back yard?

Warriors should get back to the basics

After a most disappointing opening loss to Florida Atlantic, here is some advice for our beloved Warriors:

• Forget about winning the Heisman, just try to win games.

• Forget about breaking Ty Detmer's record, just try to win games.

• Forget about changing music traditions, just let the band play.

• Forget about renegotiating a contract for June Jones — he's overpaid already — just try to win games.

It's like the Sprite slogan: "Image is nothing ... " So far the changes have not been for the better.

Let's go, 'Bows!

Burger King signs in end zone must go

As a UH football season-ticket holder of over 20 years, I am outraged that the Stadium Authority and the University of Hawai'i have installed Burger King signs in the middle of the field goal nets at the south and north end zones for football games.

I had to pay a premium for my seats in the south end zone, only to discover on Saturday that whenever the field goal net was raised, my vision of the playing field was obscured by the Burger King advertisement. Now my seats have changed from the best seats in the stadium to the worst — and the worst part is that I am forced to pay extra for that.

What can we do to get that Burger King sign removed?

Beaches are public

Come on, Portlock homeowners. Be nice! The beaches of Hawai'i are public, and there has to be public access. You knew this when you bought your property. The public accesses should be marked with "beach access, welcome, please do not litter" — not "keep out."

Your homes are beautiful, but there is no sight more beautiful than children enjoying their birthright.

Once more into murky waters we swim

In the years of wrangling about the Natatorium, nobody ever mentioned that the large boulder with the bronze plaque sitting in the park fronting the Natatorium is the real memorial. On the plaque are the names of those from Hawai'i who died in World War I.

The Natatorium is architecturally unredeeming, an eyesore on the shoreline, and of questionable entertainment value as a passive pool, not to mention the possible health hazards.

If it is ever restored it will be extremely high maintenance, something which our government in Hawai'i has a poor reputation for doing adequately.

The $6 million or so that the mayor would like to spend just to keep it from falling into the ocean will no doubt be followed by millions more.

The late Everett Dirkson got it right. A million here, a million there: what...boddah you?

School band members deserve free admission

It is hard for me to believe that Hawai'i high schools charge their band students admission to their athletic events.

During my high school years in Oregon, not once did I have to pay to attend a sporting event at which our band played. Perhaps it was because we did a halftime show, perhaps it was because everyone enjoyed our presence and our extreme show of school spirit. Or maybe it was because our school appreciated the efforts of each band member.

Do the cheerleaders, athletes, custodians, principals, concessionaires and security also have to pay to participate at these events? If not, I suggest leveling the playing field and charging these individuals for their efforts, also.

Be fair and give the band members who are participating free admission as they are an integral part of promoting school spirit.

Stadium parking lot should be for parking

I went to the UH-Florida Atlantic game Saturday. We live fairly close and left home at 5 p.m. We were informed that attendance would not be sold out and expected to be able to find parking. It was a nightmare.

About a block from the stadium the traffic had stopped. It was then 5:30 and all the parking lots at the stadium were closed. It took us another half-hour to completely circle the stadium to find that out.

We were lucky to find parking on one of the side streets and got to our seats by 6:30.

As we were walking through Gate 4, the lower Halawa parking lot, we passed many empty stalls, many with people sitting in chairs, some with tents across them. One took up to eight stalls.

Per the tailgate policy, "Vehicles, tables, chairs, barbecure pits must be confined to one stall. However, there should be no empty stalls between these vehicles, and tailgating parties should not expect to occupy empty stalls near their party."

Obviously this is not being enforced.

Lingle at the convention: Bush is a plus for Hawai'i

The Sept. 6 editorial accurately acknowledged the governor's statements at the Republican Convention that Hawai'i's economy was mired in stagnation during the 1990s, the outlook is considerably brighter than when she took office, and President Bush's tax cuts and pro-growth policies have boosted the state's investment-led recovery.

But to accuse the governor of poetic license was another way of saying she overstated the case of how the president has helped Hawai'i. To the contrary, her comments were fact-based and made the point that our state has a strong and highly beneficial relationship with the federal government.

Gov. Lingle used her speaking opportunities, both on and off the convention podium, to emphasize that Hawai'i and the Bush administration are a great team. The Lingle-Aiona administration is working hard to make our state more business-friendly and the White House is doing its part with well-timed tax cuts to help small businesses. Approximately 150,000 businesses, partnerships, and sole proprietorships in Hawai'i file as individual taxpayers and have directly benefited from the Bush tax cuts. This means more jobs and a stronger economy for our state.

While acknowledging that 2004 will likely be the Aloha State's best year for tourism, your editorial noted we still have to beat the record set during the Clinton era. Well, the fact is we are on pace to break that record. Lingle's administration, including a hard-working cabinet, along with a supportive federal administration, deserve praise for this success.

The governor also used the convention to emphasize that Hawai'i is a multicultural, multiethnic paradise that is playing an increasingly important role in the Asia-Pacific region. It was an honor for our state to have a national spotlight shining on Gov. Lingle, and she responded by hitting a home run on behalf of our residents.

Kahuku High is just as good

Derrick DePledge's article ("Good fit for your child is most important goal," Aug. 29) misleads readers into the assumption that private-school students score higher on standardized test scores because they work harder, and are challenged more than public school students.

He explains "among high schools students who take the SAT for college placement, private-school students often score about 50 to 100 points higher than public-school students," and suggests that the choice to place students into private schools "has often been obvious" for "parents with money," because of the "academic superiority of the best private schools."

DePledge attempts to highlight strengths of both choices, public or private-school education, but he misleads by delaying by 26 paragraphs the most direct explanation for test score discrepancies: private school students test higher because private school admission policies eliminate students who test poorly through the selection process.

I believe that my children have worked harder and have been more challenged at Kahuku High School than many students in "the best" private schools. I attribute their academic accomplishments to the extraordinary commitment of their public-school teachers who have committed their professional lives to what Windward District Superintendent Lea Albert defines as "the most noble profession" while earning $20,000 less per year than similarly qualified public school teachers in many other states.

Students from Kahuku High School place in the top 10 at the National History Day contest year after year due to the dedication of exceptional teachers such as Linda Smith and Lorey Ishihara. Last year Kahuku High School juniors and seniors placed eighth in one of the most prestigious national academic contests, "We the People, the Citizen and the Constitution," through the expert instruction of their social studies teacher, Sandra Cashman.

Kahuku's speech and debate team beat out private school competitors, earning first place in the state competition in the academically challenging Policy category, also receiving the Debate Sweepstakes, meaning that the Kahuku debate teams (in Policy, Public Forum, and Lincoln-Douglas) received the most winning ballots throughout the state competition through the skilled coaching of debate teacher Winnie Graham.

Several Kahuku alumni have reported that they confidently sailed through college English classes at reputable universities like Stanford, the University of Utah and the University of Hawai'i because they learned to write well in Pamela Palmer's advanced placement English literature and language classes. Kahuku students' academic success has earned (although not received) the front-page attention that Kahuku athletes are given through three state football championships, won twice over private school Saint Louis.

I believe that the choice to excel for students has much to do with the students' and teachers' commitment to academic excellence at schools such as Kahuku and much less to do with public- or private-school admission.