Letters to the Editor

Aaron Mahi brings much as bandmaster

I am writing because I have heard that there were some people who opposed Aaron Mahi being reappointed to the position of Royal Hawaiian Band master. This would be a big mistake.

Aaron is the ideal person for this position. I have known him for about nine years, and if there is anyone who promotes the Hawaiian culture, it is Aaron. Not only does he speak Hawaiian fluently, but he supports the rights and concerns of the Hawaiian people.

From the music standpoint, once again he stands heads and shoulders above others. He plays several different instruments very well, has an exceptionally good voice himself, and his ability to interpret and revise music is extraordinary.

I have never seen anyone as dedicated to his work as Aaron. He spends an enormous amount of time in preparation for the concerts and goes out of his way to promote both music concerns for the band as well as Hawaiian heritage issues. He is the ideal person for this position, and I hope Mayor Hannemann will reappoint him to this very important task.

There is a law against those noisy mufflers

Somewhere in our laws is one that covers noisy mufflers. I know, because every cop in Kailua and Kane'ohe was on my case because my '55 Ford was too noisy. It was equipped with dual glasspaks and sounded like a flight of jets taking off.

Today we have almost every Asian-made vehicle with very large pipes racing through neighborhoods scaring people and making enough noise to wake up the dead. Do these people get citations, or do the cops permit this to happen? Why?

Japan airports allow smoking in some areas

I'd like to rebut a recent letter regarding smoking in public areas of the airport for international flights.

The writer was incorrect in stating that there is no smoking in the Narita International Airport arrival area — or within the terminal areas, for that matter. On arrival, from the plane through the immigration line, there is indeed no smoking. However, when you are in the baggage area, there are designated spaces that you may indeed smoke, at least up until last May.

The outbound flights have designated smoking rooms. In the domestic airports, there are also areas in which you may smoke within the public areas of those terminals. Narita, Haneda, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka airports as well as Naha on Okinawa are the same. These airports I am familiar with, and since I smoke, I can tell you firsthand that it occurs within the airport and seems to work fine for them and me.