Posted on: Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Letters to the Editor

It's held hostage to incompetence

It's unconscionable that UH students should be asked to shoulder the "increased operating costs" of the Dobelle debacle and June Jones' astronomical salary.

Somebody needs to wake up and smell the cappuccino before it's too late. "Education" in this state is being held hostage to incompetence.

Pretty expensive way to avoid getting lost

It's nice that the city spent $575,000 of the taxpayers' money for community signs on Pali Highway.

I live on the Windward side and travel this route often. Whenever I see one of these signs that say "Nu'uanu," I have such a comforting feeling. I know I'm not lost.

Schools criteria appear realistic

Concerns about the criteria used to judge Hawai'i's schools (including its university system) are raised whenever a new publication shows us as underperforming. Is Robert Witt ("Educators see ranking of schools as mistake," Sunday) challenging the U.S. News & World report criteria, or its conclusion?

His piece suggests that their criteria are petty and off-base. A quick review of the U.S. News piece shows this not to be the case. They look at real-world criteria like class size, graduation rate and graduate success.

The fact is that Hawai'i has been "reinventing education" for at least 20 years with negligible success. Perhaps this is due to the continued insistence of interested parties that our schools and teachers not be judged by any standards other than their own, by none which allow any type of comparison to other school systems.

I'm afraid this is the case once again. U.S. News' criteria were not petty or outlandish. Until we face up to the fact that Hawai'i is dramatically underperforming by any measure you might choose (save perhaps self-assessment by vested parties), there will be no real improvement in our schools.

Telescope limit has been reached

There was a forum at the Wai'anae gym on Sept. 1 that I attended with my wife and our political science class regarding the building of the Outrigger Telescope Project. There were less than 40 people there; there was not enough advertising and awareness in our community. They are proposing building up to eight more 1.8-meter-diameter telescopes on Mauna Kea.

I am opposing the building of the new telescopes because it is going to diminish the beauty of Mauna Kea. Painting the telescopes white won't make them disappear. I believe that everyone — the government, the state — has taken enough Hawaiian lands away from us. I think they should leave Mauna Kea alone and get out. Mauna Kea is like a pu'uhonua or refuge for kanaka maoli, and I believe it should be open freely, a legacy we can give to our generation to come.

State mail unreadable

I agree with Timothy Fern's letter yesterday regarding the tiny type on the state's recent mailing.

Though it was well written, I gave up after reading halfway through because my eyes got tired. You would think that the state would have taken the liberty to publish the explanations in bold print.

Teachers must lead by example

Mid-Pacific's idea of drug testing for students has one major flaw: No leadership by example.

Are students and parents to believe that everyone who works at Mid-Pac does not use drugs? I think not. The only way a drug testing program can work is if everyone who works in education, is subject to the same drug test students are.

No, it is not a case of "Do as I say, not as I do." The policy must apply fairly to everyone in education. The military has done this successfully, testing all service members for over 30 years. From the highest-ranking officers to the lowest private, I know. I spent 20 years watching it during my career.

I'm sure we will hear "union rules" prohibit staff testing or some other lame excuse. Students, ask your teachers why they think drug testing does not apply to them. If you do not use drugs, what are you afraid of? Either you lead by example or you do not. OK, principals, teachers, etc. — ready to lead? We're waiting.

Kudos for uplifting story on families

Thank you for the wonderful story on Down syndrome families. I'm fortunate to know Greg Smith personally. He is a very able and reliable helper every week at Sts. Peter and Paul Church's Sunday Mass at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. He has many friends there and is missed when he's off traveling the world with his mom or involved in other activities such as the Buddy Walk. But he never misses Mass!

Your paper and staff writer Tanya Bricking Leach are to be commended for such an uplifting story.

And as one of Greg's T-shirts indicates, it's an up, not a down, syndrome.

Principal's award is our inspiration

One thing that Dr. Gail Awakuni's Principal of the Year award has taught the people of 'Ewa Beach is that we don't have to accept being last anymore.

No more should we put up with the traffic jam on Fort Weaver Road that the Legislature has ignored for years. No more should we put up with rundown schools. No more should we put up with weak crime laws that allow drug dealers and career criminals to terrorize our families.

Enough is enough.

I am one of the lucky ones who had the fortune of being one of Dr. Awakuni's students 17 years ago, and what she has taught me will stay with me for the rest of my life. To dream high and work hard has its rewards. Where we come from doesn't have to be an obstacle to success.

Where we live, our home, is a matter of choice. 'Ewa Beach deserves the best, and together we can let the Legislature know that we are NOT to be forgotten. It's time for 'Ewa Beach. It's time for action. 'Ewa Beach, our time.

We must thank him for more than chickens

I was particularly heart-struck by your Sept. 23 front-page photo of Mr. Sam Kakazu in his empty chicken pen.

Aside from the article itself and the end to locally grown chickens, to me Mr. Kakazu's picture carrying out the last chicken and in the company of his three dogs told a story of a lifetime of hard work and total dedication to what so many of us take for granted — chickens on our tables.

At the age of 80, this unsung hero of chickens is finally retiring from long, hot days, hard work and, no doubt, untold heartaches to keep his chickens healthy and ready for market. Only he knows the true story.

How often, if ever, do we stop and think of those such as Mr. Kakazu who dedicate their lives providing us with our "daily bread," whether it be food or anything else we depend on to make our lives easy and convenient? Somehow, the back-breaking work of so many is easily overlooked and there is little appreciation for it by those who benefit.

My husband and I are two people who personally want to thank Mr. Kakazu and others like him for everything they have done for us in the past and do on a regular basis.

Thank you, and happy retirement, Mr. Kakazu!

Lingle is misguided when she slights commission

It is with great concern that I read about the governor's plan to cut the budget of the Hawai'i Commission on the Status of Women and the eventual dissolution of the commission. It is hard to believe that our first woman governor is the one who plans to terminate the commission.

I was part of the Women's Coalition for the first time last year. This group of women and those concerned with women and justice for everyone assist each other with the various issues before the Legislature. The commission and Allicyn Tasaka have been the the backbone of support for us all and assisted us in so many ways, including supplying us with facts and figures and other pertinent information.

I am aware of all the issues and organizations involved in the effort to advance the status of women and the conditions under which women work, raise their families and seek educational opportunities, and the commission's work in these areas, so I find it difficult to understand how the governor's staff can defend the action and call the commission a "do-nothing organization."

Unless the governor feels that women have already achieved equal status with men, I find it hard to comprehend what reasons she may have for dissolving the commission. After all, the name of the commission recognizes that the well-being of women is fundamental to the welfare of the state as a whole.

Today's candidates too arrogant

Recent news headlines stated: Voter turnout is dismal. Number of people coming to the polls dips below 40 percent of registered voters. And many people who are eligible to vote are not even registered.

The voter turnout reflected the same dismal turnout of candidates who responded to a 10-question survey on the Strykers, military cleanup, bringing the troops home now and U.S. occupation of Hawai'i. Only 29 of 80 candidates (36 percent) for county, state and federal offices responded even with an enclosed stamped self-addressed envelope and follow-up phone calls. People who refused to respond include: Dan Inouye, Ed Case, Mike Gabbard, Neil Abercrombie, Dwight Takamine, Jerry Chang, Andy Smith, Clifton Tsuji, Bob Herkes, Fred Holschuh ...

When Hawai'i County Council chair James Arakaki was asked "Don't voters have a right to know where the candidates stand on the issues?" Mr. Arakaki said, "I don't want to answer that survey," and then quickly walked away from the person asking the question who identified himself to Mr. Arakaki as a voter in Arakaki's district.

Additionally, Mr. Arakaki, by seeking an eighth two-year term in office (totaling 16 years), is arrogantly ignoring the voters' ratified support for an eight-year (four two-year) term limit law in 1996. Arakaki and his lawyer, Brian DeLima, claim the term limit law is technically defective. Yet both Arakaki and DeLima were on the County Council together when the law was drafted and passed. If the law is defective, they are in part responsible for the defect. Have they no shame?

Perhaps the dismal voter turnout reflects the dismal attitude of politicians (even the best of them) toward the voters. When a delegation visited Mayor Harry Kim's office before the primary for a response to the survey, the mayor said through a spokesperson that he was not going to answer the survey.

Many politicians, especially during the political season, seem to be all about image, not substance. Truth telling is a forbidden fruit. When campaigning, the No. 1 commandment seems to be: Take a stand on nothing. Please or deceive the public at all cost. Then once in office, for all too many politicians, the commandment becomes "The common good be damned. Go where the money is!"

What has happened to true public service — standing for principle instead of principal in season and out, whether it will cost or win you votes?