CONVICTIONS

JUDGES ARE MAKING POLICE JOBS WORSE

One report has the driver of the vehicle in Dec. 14's "Stolen van wreaks havoc on highway" as having 22 prior convictions in the state of Hawai'i. This is not the first time that I have read in The Advertiser that a criminal in question had numerous convictions. This situation is pandemic.

If I were a police officer, and if I happened to see a person who I know has been arrested and convicted numerous times, is out driving on the streets of Honolulu in a stolen car and I witnessed him committing another crime, I would not risk my life to stop him. I would avoid that person as if he had the plague.

For the life of me, I cannot understand where the police get such courage to put their lives on the line when the judges in this state make a mockery of their work.

UH-MANOA

UARC SUPPORTERS ARE TRYING TO PULL A FAST ONE

At the October meeting of the Mo'ili'ili/McCully Neighborhood Board, we were given a presentation by the proponents and detractors of forming a university-affiliated research center at UH-Manoa.

The first thing I noticed was that the people favoring a UARC attempted to get it approved by the Board of Regents without any public discussion. If they're going to try to slip a UARC under the table without anyone noticing, what will they try to slip past us next?

Having served in the military, I see the opposition to a UARC as a process that condemns the practice of slipping things under the table unnoticed, which the military is all too prone to do if not kept in check. This will strengthen our democracy, not subvert it, as the people favoring a UARC are attempting to imply.

INTERIOR SAFETY

PARK COMFORT STATIONS SHOULD GET WHITE COAT

It's wonderful that the state is in the process of power-cleaning and rehabing the state public comfort stations. I have an added suggestion: Fix the city park comfort stations, too.

Many of them are built of dark lava rock with dark lava rock entrances. This makes it easy for someone to hide in the entry area, something particularly fearsome for women, especially for a woman entering the facility alone.

How about painting all interior lava rock walls white for added brightness? The outside lava rock could be left natural so the comfort station continues to blend into the park environment.

STATISTICS

SHOPO SURVEY OF POLICE CHIEF MISLEADING

Police Chief Boisse Correa may not be loved or respected by all his subordinates (few managers are). But the way SHOPO statistics are being reported in the news is very misleading and disturbing.

For instance, you correctly report that 76.1 percent or 813 of the 1,068 respondents to the survey do not believe the chief communicates accurately and precisely with them. But put in the context of the whole department, the response to this question says that only 43 percent of the 1,877 officers surveyed felt this way. Does this not mean, then, that 57 percent believe the chief communicates accurately and precisely?

The responses to the SHOPO survey should be viewed in the context of the whole group of officers, not just respondents. In this context, the survey as a whole says that about 40 percent of the officers under Chief Correa are not totally satisfied with his leadership.

While this raises some concern, it is heartening to know that 60 percent of the officers under Chief Correa are satisfied with his leadership. This does not seem much different from any large organization in which employees are asked to respond to the type of questions in the SHOPO survey.

Give the chief more time to prove he belongs and I think the community will side with the Honolulu Police Commission and commend Chief Correa for good management, leadership and ability to communicate.

NO HOTEL

KAILUANS SHOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE IN PEACE

Charles Chou in his Dec. 14 letter entitled "Turning tourists away is not the right answer" would agree to have a hotel built in Kailua and offer shuttle service to and from the airport and the beach. He notes it would be a "well-regulated area for tourists where they can experience something different from Waikiki."

First, when is anything well-regulated?

Second, by building a hotel with shuttles, how is that different from Waikiki?

In addition, Charles suggests that Kailua residents "go back in time and think about when they themselves were visitors." Well, many people who live in Kailua have always lived there, and others for decades. Surely they aren't considered visitors. Catering to tourists by building a hotel would neglect the families and residents of Kailua who were never visitors.

This is a town; people live here; they opened their town to the world, and now the residents of Kailua are ready to stop Kailua from becoming another Waikiki. Why should they be pushed aside for tourism? This is their home — let them live in it and let them create the town they want to live in.

We should not build a hotel in Kailua.

RECRUITING

UH COACHES ARE BUILDING TOP TEAM

As a long-time USC fan and alumnus, I would like to remind Hawai'i sports fans that the UH Warriors played every bit as well against USC as did the No. 12 UCLA team.

One has to remember that we are out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is difficult to encourage top Mainland high school players to come here to play. They will be miles away from family and friends, and the cost of living is quite expensive.

So, let's give coach June Jones and coach Jerry Glanville a chance to build a really top-notch team, which they are on the way to doing. Then we'll see the top-notch players begging to play here. And that includes the local guys.

Go, Warriors!

AMID THE DOOM, GLOOM, A SPARK OF FRIENDSHIP FLARED

I was headed back into Hana late on a Friday night after my weekly shopping routine and doctor's visit, and my truck suffered a flat tire along Hana Highway. It was in a bad area just Hana-side of Maliko Gulch, and a biker stopped and yelled at me, "Stay in the truck."

At first I panicked and thought my night had just gotten worse. You see, I was diagnosed with leukemia that day, and when I was feeling at my lowest, this guy and his random act of kindness came along.

He told me to pull over in the grass up ahead so the oncoming cars wouldn't hit my truck. The biker followed me to a safe spot and parked his motorcycle so we could use the light to change the flat tire.

He came up to me and without hesitation grabbed my spare, helped take off the lugs and got me back on the road. It was cold and pouring down rain, but he told jokes as we worked on the tire in the mud. By the time I got the flat tire put away, he jumped back on his bike and took off. I never had time to thank him or offer him a few dollars for his time.

He was a large local man and wore a leather jacket with the words "Koa Puna" on the back. I lost sight of him past Ulumalu Road in Ha'iku. But before he left, he told me, "You cannot live life if you are always worried about dying. Death will come soon enough."

I don't know if he knows how much he has helped me, not just with my tire. But his jokes and carefree attitude have lifted my spirits. Happy Holidays to all, and if my new friend reads this, thank you.