ALOHA STADIUM

LEAVE THE SMOKERS AND DRINKERS ALONE

If Elaine Wilson (Letters, Aug. 16) was genuinely concerned with public health, it seems to me she would be campaigning for a complete ban on the sale of candy, gum, juices and soda pop to minors, with a 300 percent tax on same for sale to adults, instead of lambasting healthy, happy families with smokers and drinkers.

Laws are supposed to be agreements whereby we can live together in peace, but in Hawai'i, laws are usually crafted by politicians and special-interest groups, then ignored by law enforcement officers.

Banning the consumption of alcoholic beverages and smoking at parks, beaches and Aloha Stadium — but not the consumption of candy, gum, juices and soda pop, which are far more costly to public health and safety — is an excellent example.

People who want to smoke or drink at a sporting event have just as much right to do so as those who chew gum and laugh when some poor victim steps in it, or slides down the stairs on a discarded candy wrapper.

We should have all learned from Duke Bainum's "My way or the highway" campaign to drive prostitutes out of Waikiki that it is better to have groups in an area easily monitored and controlled by law enforcement officers than have them spread out all over the island.

We will all be better served if the smokers and drinkers of alcohol are in some sections of Aloha Stadium, the gum chewers in another section, and the fanatics in an isolated section.

LINGLE IS INDEED BEING WISE WITH STATE BUDGET SURPLUS

Thanks to Gov. Lingle's money-management skills, the state of Hawai'i is looking at a healthy surplus of funds. True to her nature, the governor has pledged to use the surplus wisely.

She has committed to use some of the funds to address critically needed repairs and maintenance throughout our state. The parks, the highways, the hospitals are key examples. So are our schools. As a parent with kids in public school, I appreciate this.

And yes, she has also talked about giving some of the money back to the people who helped make the surplus happen — the taxpayers of the state of Hawai'i.

Lee Cataluna's Aug. 21 column would lead readers to believe the only thing deserving of fiscal support is the Department of Education. Ms. Cataluna is entirely correct that many of our school campuses need attention. The governor has toured schools and with her own eyes seen examples of decrepit bathrooms, broken walkways, leaking ceilings and rusting pipes.

The Department of Education has $75 million this year to pay for basic repairs and school maintenance. It has another $141 million for the design and construction of new school facilities. This money is in addition to the $484.5 million the department has received in capital improvement funds over the past three years since Gov. Lingle has taken office.

These are not small amounts. About half our state budget is spent on education. While there probably isn't a school district in the nation that believes it has enough funding, wise use of those funds will go a long way to addressing the physical facility needs Ms. Cataluna bemoans.

The governor deserves praise for encouraging progressive, meaningful tax relief for those who need it most. That is why she has called for changing the standard deduction so workers get to keep more of their take-home pay. She has also suggested that we offset the tax on food, medical services and nonprescription drugs that hit lower-income families the hardest.

Returning some of the surplus to those who made our economic revitalization a reality is also important. After all, it is through sustained economic progress that the state will have the money it needs in the years ahead to continue to maintain, repair and replace our school facilities. Otherwise we will find ourselves, and our schools, in the same fiscal hole we just dug ourselves out of.

NO SELF-SEGREGATION

KAMEHAMEHA IS RACIALLY DIVERSE

In James D. Brown's Aug. 17 letter, Gov. Linda Lingle was compared to infamous governors George Wallace of Alabama and Ross Barnett of Mississippi. I, however, would like to send my heartfelt mahalo to Gov. Lingle for her hard work and courage in supporting Kamehameha Schools and Native Hawaiians everywhere.

Mr. Brown asks, "Where were Hawaiians during the civil rights struggles of the late 1950s and '60s?" Hawaiians were protesting statehood, just as we protested the illegal overthrow of our kingdom, the annexation and the recent John Doe v. Kamehameha ruling.

Kamehameha is one of the most racially diverse schools in the entire U.S. At Kamehameha, you see none of the self-segregation that occurs in many Hawai'i public and private schools that allows for groups of whites, Asians, Hawaiians, Filipinos, etc. to largely remain in groups of racial similarity. In the continental U.S., you will see schools that are comprised of very little racial diversity because of the socio-economic demographics of the school district. Furthermore, statistics show that most private schools in the U.S. are predominantly white; many minority students cannot afford private school tuition.

Kamehameha continues to give preference to Hawaiian children who are orphans or indigents over other Hawaiian children, as Pauahi wanted, and has expanded its program, spending millions of dollars (money that is unavailable in the Department of Education) on public and charter school students, including non-Hawaiian students, in the hope that it will provide a solid foundation and educate more people about the rich culture, language and history of Hawai'i.

However, Mr. Brown asks, "What would happen if haole parents (read 'voters') were to gain perspective on Hawaiian issues as they helped their children with their social studies and language homework?" My question to you, Mr. Brown, is what is stopping you and others who feel as you do from researching Hawaiian issues and discussing them with your children now? Why do you need funding from a private institution to help you and your children visit the library or archives? Or is it that you want a personal check from Kamehameha Schools to enable you to buy a book about Hawaiian history so that you can "gain a perspective on Hawaiian issues"?