Letters to the Editor

Transfer to Utah is probably best thing

As a former mental health service provider at Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility, I feel I have to respond to the criticisms the state has received from people in response to the transfer of female wards to the Mainland.

Some people seem to think that these girls are merely "mischievous" and don't need direct supervision and restrictions. The truth is there are wards in HYCF, even females, who have been convicted of violent crimes and lack the necessary supervision at home that would prevent future criminal activity.

These girls who were transferred most likely have a history of violent behavior in the community as well as in the HYCF facility. Would you rather they be let loose in your community? Unfortunately, Hawai'i has very limited resources to provide secure residential placement for females.

Who is to blame? Who knows? Ask anyone who works in the system and they'll tell you that the majority of the programs here in Hawai'i cater to male adolescents.

And as for any "suicide attempts" by the female wards, this has been a well-known ploy by HYCF wards, both male and female, to try to be placed in Queen's adolescent psychiatric ward or Kahi Mohala in order to escape and wreak more havoc in the community. I have seen it used as a way for wards to try to get out of having to face responsibility for behavior or to get out of transfers.

This transfer is probably the best thing that could happen to these kids and I wouldn't be surprised if they resist returning to Hawai'i because of the services they will be receiving in Utah.

Who can read state's tiny type?

I received Thursday, as did all registered voters in Hawai'i, a mass mailing of four constitutional amendments up for vote this general election. "Yes, no, or left blank." Read it all ... or was that read it at all? The well-meaning person at the state Elections Office was just following orders when he or she researched each of four amendments and had them printed in a font size that for even a gnat would be myopic, if gnats could read. Get realistic!

In a state that has the lowest voter turnout in the nation, how does anyone hope to wade through that printed morass? It would have been better to donate the money to a charity than to print and mail that information and hope that one bright and myopic person locks themselves in a cellar to actually read that thing. I read it ... sure.

Time for candidates to show all their cards

I believe Giuseppe Leone (Letters, Sept. 23) made an interpretation as well as translation error. The expression "mano a mano" is a Spanish expression meaning "hand to hand," as in combat. Mano a mano translated in Italian is congiuntamente, meaning hand in hand.

One can see the writer had it right. In essence, the writer was saying that Mufi Hannemann and Duke Bainum were going to get down to the "nitty gritty," going all out, going for the gusto, go for broke, etc.

Good! It's about time politicians put all of their cards on the table.

Bigger, taller cars cause more fatalities

Oscar Pouoa's statement defending the safety of SUVs (Letters, Sept. 23) needs more consideration for the drivers of smaller cars. Many SUVs have been proven to be safer for their occupants and less so for drivers of lower, lighter cars.

SUVs increase fatalities by striking a car at a higher level, sometimes bringing the side of an SUV to head level with a person in a smaller car. Fatalities with pedestrians increase with higher-level trucks and SUVs, with the pedestrian being struck at chest level rather than knee level with a sedan. They also get in the way of lower-level cars, making it hard to see the traffic behind or in front of them. Size increases road hazards, not to mention environmental hazards.

The reason SUVs have been so popular for the past few years is because of their strong, rugged image, not for their safety. Race cars have been popular in recent years also, but that doesn't mean they're any safer. SUVs are not necessary for police officers in an urban setting such as the streets of Honolulu.

Thanks, HPD, for cutting the cutting in

Kudos to HPD for finally stationing officers at the intersection of Kolowaka and Keaunui drives in 'Ewa during rush hour. As anyone who fights traffic in the area knows, there was so much illegal U-turning going on just to try and get ahead of others sitting in traffic. Now that HPD is there, the lines are still long, but traffic flows much faster because no illegal cutting in lines is happening. I hope this is not only temporary. Thanks, HPD!

Are we really saving?

While lowering our dependence on foreign oil is a worthwhile objective, has anyone calculated how much water will be used to grow enough sugarcane to produce one gallon of ethanol? What about energy costs to convert the sugarcane to ethanol?

Hawai'i judges are able to be impartial

Relying on nationwide studies showing that wrongful convictions are widespread, professor David Johnson reasons in his Sept. 21 letter, "3 other reasons to doubt his guilt," that wrongful convictions must also be widespread in Hawai'i.

Actually, it's rare to see a felony robbery case prosecuted in Hawai'i that hinges solely on a photo lineup. Usually, much more evidence is brought to court. In many cases, the offender is caught at the scene, or is in possession of the stolen property, or the victims know the offender. If Professor Johnson were right, one would think you would hear defense attorneys frequently complaining about how their clients were wrongfully ID'd.

Professor Johnson also erroneously concludes that judges — as opposed to juries — are more likely to convict because they are employees of the state.

I doubt that Professor Johnson, a University of Hawai'i state employee, would — as a juror — feel compelled to vote for conviction simply because he is also a state employee. I would like to think that he would, as our judges do, impartially consider the evidence, apply the law and come to an informed conclusion.

Cat Stevens is just the tip of the soft-rock iceberg

Yesterday's column by Andy Borowitz on the terrorist danger presented by '70s pop-rock singer Cat Stevens is just the tip of the iceberg. While Stevens remains exiled in England, dozens of "sleeper cells" of former soft-rock crooners lay waiting amid us.

Think of Tony Orlando and Dawn resurrecting "Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me ..." or Bobby Sherman's reviving "Julie, Julie, Julie, do you love me?" There is vast potential for one of these mindless tunes to enter one's subconscious and stay there, repeating over and over for hours, perhaps even days. Normally sane people can be reduced to catatonic states when annoying music hijacks their brains. Commerce would grind to a halt.

The danger is heightened because these former stars are now very unnoticeable. Their singing careers long over, they have blended into the fabric of society as used-cars salesmen, grocery store clerks and other routine professions. (I'm fairly convinced the guy who services the vending machines in my office was a member of Bachman-Turner Overdrive.)

Europeans live under constant threat as long as former members of Abba remain at large, and Australians have Olivia Newton-John to worry about. The real danger is if Cat Stevens transmits some sort of signal that sets these and other Warblers of Mass Destruction in motion.

Congress and the U.N. need to act swiftly to ensure that copies of their music remain out of circulation, and that they're denied access to recording studios. This should be coupled with a program to provide alternative careers with reasonable income, so that they aren't forced to write more music just to make ends meet. Some of us may be faced with confronting this form of terror head-on, should it appear suddenly, without warning in stores, elevators and dentists' lobbies. Sorry — got to step into action — I think I hear the strains of "Billy don't be a hero" in the distance. Aiiiiyeeeeeee!

We didn't buy to be homeless

My wife and I are among the thousands of O'ahu homeowners who will be impacted by a move to eliminate lease-to-fee conversion in condominiums. We purchased our 800-square-foot Wahiawa townhouse in May of last year. Our complex, Hidden Valley Estates near 'Iliahi Elementary School, is one of the many leasehold condo units on O'ahu (roughly 250 buildings with 23,000 leaseholders).

When we purchased, we were hopeful the 1991 law allowing leasehold conversion would eventually allow us to purchase the land under our unit. In fact, I was originally against purchasing our unit until I learned that the local association was negotiating with the lessors. This land has nothing to do with the Queen's Trust but was a parcel of land which is now divided up among 14 owners. Negotiations still continue more than a year later.

Now we find ourselves in the middle of a heated and controversial debate, with some accusing leaseholders of trying to "steal" the land. During a recent City Council hearing, one speaker said if leaseholders are evicted when their leases expire, they could find refuge in a homeless shelter. I did not serve my country for 24 years in the Navy to find myself in a homeless shelter.

My wife and I are saddened and somewhat perplexed by the renewed discussions about an antiquated leasehold system. The courts of Hawai'i and our nation have consistently upheld the constitutionality and public purpose of Hawai'i's fee conversion laws. I wasn't here decades ago, but my research shows that many single-family homeowners in communities like Hawai'i Kai and Kailua were able to buy their lots as a result of the Land Reform Act.

The city in 1991 basically extended that right to condo owners, opening up a path to home ownership, which is the dream of every individual. Now we feel as if the rug is being pulled out from under us. Fueling this debate are stories about how some people made big bucks after buying their fee and selling the property. Then again, there are also stories about how well some of Hawai'i's biggest landowners have done through investments with the money they made from mandatory lease-to-fee sales.

There's no big money in our story. I'm originally from California, of Filipino and Mexican descent. My wife is Filipina and after retiring from the service, we settled in Hawai'i to be close to her family and friends. We couldn't afford the half-million-dollar condos in town, so we purchased our place for $95,000. It's small compared to what we were used to in the Navy, but it's ours and we would like to one day purchase and own the land. Eleven of the 161 condo owners in Hidden Valley Estates have converted so far, but as I previously mentioned, negotiations still continue with the other 14 land owners.

The bill that's making its way through the City Council would stop that conversion process for me and my neighbors, along with thousands of others. Many of us are just trying to make it in high-priced Hawai'i without having to deal with expired leases, huge rent hikes and, after decades of paying a mortgage and property taxes, our only reward is a trip to a homeless shelter.