Letters to the Editor
ALOHA AIRLINES
CEO PAY SHOULD BE TIED TO PERFORMANCE
As a 45-year resident who supports our local airlines, I am outraged that Aloha Airlines CEO David Banmiller is pulling in more than $500,000 per year when employees have taken a 20 percent pay cut to help pull the company out of bankruptcy.
Imagine what this does for morale!
CEO pay should be performance-based, not tied to what other CEOs are making.
Sarah Jane Davis | Makiki
HANAUMA BAY
WE MUST PRESERVE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
The July 27 letter from Harold Loomis suggests we abandon efforts to preserve Hanauma Bay. Why stop with the bay? Let's bring back whale hunting until all of the humpbacks are gone. And let's add green sea turtles to our local restaurant menus.
It should be obvious that I am being facetious. At Hanauma Bay we are taking a stand against rampant destruction of a part of our environment. We believe that through the education of the public as to the realities of the reef, the visitors will carry that information with them as they return to their homes and pass it on to their families and friends.
If we take the attitude of "let somebody else do it" in regard to protecting and preserving the natural environment, it will never get done.
As one of the "nature lovers" referenced by Loomis, I choose to take a stand and try to enhance the quality of life by preserving and protecting the living reef of Hanauma Bay so that Loomis' grandchildren and others will have a place to go to observe and appreciate a natural marine environment.
John M. Norris | Hanauma Bay Education Program volunteer, Hawai'i Kai
MEMORIAL PARK
MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT ROD TAM'S ROLE
I read the July 17 article and the letter to the editor by City Councilman Rod Tam on July 27. It is sad that there is a misunderstanding about the role of Councilman Tam, as he has been instrumental in assisting us in helping the current situation at Honolulu Memorial Park.
Since the park's bankruptcy, I've been a volunteer who goes to the park to weed whack the grass between the headstones.
Tam has been extremely helpful in assisting with having the water turned on at the park, as often times, many seniors have great difficulty in carrying water to their respective family grave sites. Further, Tam has been wonderful and cooperative at every occasion to quickly respond to issues during this period.
I hope those who are questioning his motives will now assist in helping to upkeep the memorial park in his absence, as we need more volunteers.
Victor Kimura | Honolulu
DEMOCRACY
GAYS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO LEAVE U.S. TO BE WED
I disagree with Mr. Keith Ahina (Letters, July 22). We should not have to leave the country that we love just because we disagree with its policies. We live in a democracy in which we enjoy freedom of speech. We have a right and a duty to fight against laws that we believe are unjust.
Should Martin Luther King have left the United States because the majority supported segregation? Should women have left the United States because there was a time in America where it was legal to beat your wife, women had few property rights or legal protections and they could not legally speak in public nor vote?
People used the Bible to justify slavery. People used the Bible to justify segregation. People used the Bible to justify denying equal rights to women. People used the Bible to justify hanging the "witches" in Salem. Just because the Bible can be used to justify an injustice does not mean that we have to accept that injustice.
We have a right to love our country and to remain citizens of our country while working to change policies that we disagree with.
Cindy Kaneshiro | Wai'anae
CIA AGENT
CASE AGAINST ROVE MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN
While a great deal of attention must be paid to President Bush's nomination of John Roberts to succeed moderate Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the public and the press must not be distracted from the deepening case against Karl Rove for outing CIA undercover agent Valerie Plame.
What is deeply disturbing is that Rove outed the CIA agent, the wife of Joseph Wilson, as a way to get back at Wilson for criticizing Bush's reasons for going to war with Iraq. The prospect of revenge tactics for speaking one's mind is very scary indeed, but even more so when it is practiced within the White House by the president's most trusted adviser.
At the beginning of the investigation, Bush said he would fire anyone in his administration who was involved, and it is now clear that there may be more people than just Rove involved in this serious breach.
Let's make sure that this story and investigation do not recede in the public's mind, and that if involvement by White House insiders is proved, that the president keeps his promise.
Suze Salm | Kailua
BREAK-INS
BE WARY OF PARKING IN GARAGE NEAR QUEEN'S
On the subject of homeland security and public safety, what about hometown security and safety in your workplace?
It's been a long night at work, you just want to go home and sleep for in a matter of hours you have to come back and do it all over again. So when I get to my car, parked in the Miller Street garage adjacent to The Queen's Medical Center, escaping 12 hours of yet another busy night in the ER, I am in shock to find my car vandalized and broken into.
The issue here: public safety and awareness.
It goes to show that it is not safe to park at this parking garage. Sadly, it's not the first time this has happened. Evidently, other employees have reported their cars broken into and, worse yet, stolen.
The catch: Neither Queen's nor APCOA assume any responsibility for loss or damage while in the structure. With increasing numbers of break-ins, the public should be made wary of coming to Queen's (whether to work, visit a loved one or seek medical attention) and parking in a structure that's not so secure after all.
Lillie Tupouniua | Kane'ohe
COMMUNITY EYESORE
ADMOBILE TRUCK IS BILLBOARD ON WHEELS
Admobile's letter of July 23, claiming it is operating in the community interest, is an insult to our intelligence. Clearly (and admittedly), its gigantic ads-on-wheels are meant to circumvent local laws against billboards. And its billboards-on-wheels are a blight on our community.
You don't have to be a member of The Outdoor Circle to hate the billboard truck that is polluting our community.
I hope the city shuts them down before one truck becomes a dozen trucks, then a hundred, and so on. Otherwise we might as well give up and let the advertisers put billboards any place they want.
Mayor Hannemann, we'd appreciate a show of courage. It's time for the city to step in and politely remind Admobile Hawai'i that in this state, at least, we have laws to protect the beauty of our island from those who would spoil it for their own profit. Please don't be afraid to enforce those laws.
Fredda Stroup | Waimanalo
RECYCLING
GOVERNMENT LAUGHING AT YOUR FRUSTRATION
I am amused reading letters sent to you by people who are frustrated over recycling. They complain of long lines, hours of operation, employees and the hassle it takes to recycle. I guess they don't understand that our government is not interested in recycling, never has been, never will be.
The government likes it when people get frustrated over recycling; the government, in fact, loves it when you don't recycle. Why? Because it collects the unclaimed tax on the cans and bottles that are not recycled. There are hundreds of thousands of dollars collected in the taxing of bottles and cans; the less people turn in, the more money the government keeps.
Eric Daido | Mililani
HARRY KIM
IMAGE AT STAKE IF HE RUNS AS DEMOCRAT
Regarding Big Island Mayor Harry Kim considering the governorship in 2006 as a Democrat: As a Republican, I was surprised by the mayor's decision.
Members of both parties admire Kim's integrity and running a nonpartisan administration. His refusal to take large contributions, especially from special-interest groups, reinforced his image as an independent-minded political leader.
I doubt he will be able to duplicate a campaign identical to his successful Big Island run for mayor. Realistically, to win statewide as an unknown, Kim needs a campaign fund for advertising so he can make himself known to all voters.
IF YOU CAN'T STAND SMOKING, DON'T PATRONIZE THE SHACK
Hooray, Shack! I am proud of my choice to smoke or not. In today's wacky example of Orwell's "1984," going to The Shack allows me to exercise this freedom. I applaud management for it.If you dislike secondhand smoke and you know The Shack allows patrons to smoke in its establishment, then don't go there. I am probably going out on a limb, but I would guess if The Shack served a beer you didn't like, you wouldn't order it, or a certain type of food you disliked was all it offered, you would probably go elsewhere to eat.
Should an ordinance be passed to correct that, too?
Our government officials have many more important things to do than running around enforcing an ordinance that probably shouldn't have been enacted anyway.
Instead of becoming upset or wasting any more energy on this subject, perhaps you could volunteer for the American Cancer Society, drive a fuel-efficient car or plant a tree.
Leave places you don't approve of to the people who like them, and keep your overbearing opinions to yourself. Maybe you are missing the real message here: Perhaps The Shack won't miss your business if you don't like it.
E. Wood | 'Ewa Beach
