Posted on: Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Letters to the Editor

Start building now; emulate Las Vegas

Frank Genadio's Jan. 9 letter regarding rail needed to be said. We have a governor, legislators, a mayor, City Council members and, most importantly, a public who supports it. So why then has nothing been publicly done?

I'm sure a lot of work is going on behind the scenes, but I would like to see results such as plans rather than just empty words.

I just returned from fabulous Las Vegas. While I was there, I took a round-trip ride on its rail system along the strip. I was very impressed. We got to bypass all traffic, and the 14-minute ride by far surpassed the 45-minute bus ride along the same route.

We should model our transit system after Las Vegas' and build in small increments, such as Ala Moana to UH, to keep costs down and to get it up faster.

Redeeming bottles, cans a huge hassle

I've made three trips to my local container redemption center, and I've yet to collect on my deposit for my neatly stacked, cleaned and counted 100 containers.

On my first two attempts, there were already multiple stacks of 40-plus cases worth of containers to be redeemed, and about 10 or more people waiting in line, some with truck- and trunk-loads of containers to be redeemed. I didn't even bother parking. On my latest attempt, there were only two people in front of me, but the sudden arrival of a couple of others clearly depressed the obviously tired single attendant at the redemption center.

The person who was being served was still unpacking 10 or so large bags of dirty containers, some of which were stuck to even smaller bags they had been originally collected in. The next person in line remarked about the 600 cans he had, and was wondering out loud how they were to be checked and counted. Meanwhile, the attendant was becoming agitated by the sticky mess she was dealing with and the suddenly long line that had formed. I anticipated at least a half-hour wait, even though there were only two people in front of me. So, I decided to give up my spot in line and try again later.

Many people are simply going to throw the containers away. The state assured this with its implementation of a policy without a real working redemption system in place, more likely conceived that way to collect on the containers that are not redeemed. Still, the public could improve the system by being informed and having the containers properly prepared for collection.

Central O'ahu park needs a playground

Mayor Jeremy Harris' highlights of beautification projects gave him many rave reviews and pats on the back; however, there is one area that has long bothered me and my son, since we use one park regularly.

Although the Central O'ahu Regional Park in Waipi'o is truly an enormous and beautiful park that "will be enjoyed for generations," poor planning failed to provide enjoyment for the younger children who frequent this park. There are countless baseball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts and walkways to enjoy, but not one single jungle gym.

How is it that a park of this size cannot provide enjoyment for smaller children with just one little playground?

Environment reports are overly pessimistic

Jan TenBruggencate's Jan. 3 article "Coral reef damage continues" is yet another example of his one-sided bias of doom-and-gloom reporting. Doom-and-gloom ecology has been popular now for several decades because it taps into a bandwagon of government funding and generates lots of media attention. TenBruggencate is a full-fledged eco-doomer.

In this case, it is true that coral reef damage continues, particularly in places like Indonesia, the Philippines and the Caribbean Sea. But is it true in Hawai'i? Absolutely not.

While our reefs are seriously over-fished, Hawaiian coral communities are quite healthy, except in several bays and near streams or river outlets into the ocean.

It would be nice to see The Advertiser print a story on this side of the issue, especially since it would be a more truthful account of reefs in Hawai'i.

Royal Hawaiian Band criticism undeserved

The Royal Hawaiian Band — where do I begin? First, let us agree that the band is not just a "marching band," as described by Lee Cataluna in a recent column. Ms. Cataluna needs to read up on the rich past and present of the band, chartered by King Kamehameha III.

Second, in the Dec. 30 Advertiser, Eric Kop takes issue with Aaron Mahi's involving other musical groups in the community in occasional band concerts, and specifically the Hawai'i Ecumenical Chorale. In his desire to bring the band closer to the community to maintain good public relations, Mr. Mahi occasionally involved other musical groups. As a co-founder of the chorale, I must say our members have been delighted to work with Mr. Mahi when a chorale was needed — for example, the concert with jazz great Dave Brubeck, Beethoven in the Park and the Ebony Daze concerts during Black History Month, co-sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu.

Mr. Mahi is not paid for his work with the chorale. Incredibly, when money is needed to hire members of the Honolulu Symphony to perform in some concerts, Mr. Mahi, with no fanfare, offers to underwrite the cost of their services.

On the other hand, Eric Kop, a union steward in the band who supports the non-appointment of Mr. Mahi as bandmaster and is a critic of his involvement with other musical groups, is a paid, part-time player for the Honolulu Symphony.

I sincerely hope there may be a return to civility and charity in how we treat each other. Like all of us, Mr. Mahi has flaws. He would be the first to admit this. He doesn't deserve to be treated as venomously by some members of the band.

Hannemann should continue his search

Our new mayor needs to select his appointees with the utmost care and concern for integrity and moral uprightness. In short, each needs to be beyond reproach and held to a standard of unquestionable behavior.

Mayor Hannemann's selection and subsequent justification of John Reed and Patrick Kubota already cast doubt on his own standard of integrity and moral uprightness. The mayor does not need to have these "immaterial" issues come back to haunt him down the road.

There are good people out there who will serve the people. Mayor Hannemann, keep looking. You will find them!

Another bridge over canal needed

About 25 years ago, I lived on University Avenue directly across from Waikiki by the Ala Wai Canal. There was a proposal for a bridge connecting University Avenue to Kalaimoku Street. Whatever happened to that idea? I now live in that area again, and once again I work in Waikiki.

A bridge would enable me to walk to work in about half the time it now takes. Also, in light of the recent tsunami disaster in Asia, it would seem a priority to provide another exit from Waikiki in case of on emergency.

I would like to see a vehicular bridge, but one that only accommodated pedestrians would be better than nothing.

There's no substitute for organization to ease crisis

Sometime recently, maybe before the start of the Iraq war, I read that when it comes to preparing for war, only amateurs worry about strategy. Professionals worry about logistics. The ability to organize and coordinate the activities of many different people toward a common goal, so as to ensure that supplies and personnel are in the right place at the right time, is the most crucial and least appreciated of social skills.

Organization sets successful societies and ventures apart from unsuccessful ones. Organizational innovations helped Britain conquer the world and helped Japan conquer world markets. And organization will make the crucial difference between successful and unsuccessful disaster relief.

The truth of this observation has come home to me while reading accounts of relief efforts in the tsunami-affected regions of India. My home state of Tamil Nadu, the worst affected in India, has received a tremendous outpouring of support and donation. However, much of what is given is sent to the wrong place or not necessarily useful to the victims.

There is an important lesson in this for organizations in the United States and all over the world that are raising money for disaster relief and will soon be faced with questions of where to send the money. Most people's instinct is to send it directly to local charities and non-governmental organizations that have low overhead. Most people are suspicious of large international organizations, which they believe absorb too much of what is given for salaries.

However, the local charities are often concentrated in a few cities or are too small to arrange for the purchase of supplies or their distribution. Even when they are not, local charities are often too inexperienced in disaster relief to know what to do. By contrast, organizations like UNICEF, CARE, Oxfam and the Red Cross have the experience, equipment, supplies and monitoring ability to get the right supplies to people who need them most.

The overhead costs that so many donors complain about pay for coordination, training, experience, inventory and the means to get supplies to disaster areas quickly. Contrast the chaos in the Indian relief effort, where the army has been the sole source of coordination, with relief efforts in the United States, where FEMA takes the lead, and you begin to appreciate the value of professional relief workers.

When it comes to disaster relief, organization is not the only thing. Money, compassion and local knowledge are important. But in the end, organization is crucial.

Wage peace through Peace Corps

I am grateful for your Dec. 17 editorial about the Peace Corps. As a result of the recent events in South Asia, there has been an outpouring of concern from Americans. There are other ways to give. The Peace Corps is one of these ways.

The United States has gained quite a reputation worldwide for being able to wage war, but we Americans are far better and more successful at waging peace. I think the world today would be relieved to be reminded of this noble quality in the American character.

As a young 21-year-old Peace Corps volunteer, I and four other Americans built water wells in Tunisia, North Africa. Back then, in 1971, there was another war going on, and, just like today, there were those of us who were patriotic Americans but just didn't get the same impulse or fervor to spread our ideas of freedom or protect America from outside threats in the same way others did.

Thank God we live in America, and, believe me, I'm grateful for our veterans' sacrifice. I understand this because my father and stepfather participated in the World War II landing at Omaha Beach and fighting in the Philippines. I grew up in a society in which war has been glorified, where service is honorable and the sacrifice these people and their families suffered is beyond words.

Because we live in that free society for which our veterans fought and died, there is a way patriotic Americans can wage peace: the Peace Corps. President John F. Kennedy, a World War II hero, was the driving force for the Peace Corps, and his words "Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country" were the motivation for me and others to seek a way to serve our country and be true to our personal beliefs.

My war on poverty and disease took place in a desert country. The people were Muslim. I and the other volunteers learned their language and customs. We worked every day in remote areas in extremely rough circumstances with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees for months on end. Abject poverty was all around us, children had boils and disease. We got to know 80 Tunisian workers very well. They learned to trust us and we learned to trust them. The villagers eventually accepted us and, because we learned their language, began to respect our genuine efforts to learn their world. Our project built more than 132 water sources and provided clean, healthy water to a population of 250,000 Muslims.

We arrived in this Muslim world as babes and left as young men with a world view. I can't tell you how much this experience has shaped my views of life, war, tolerance, compassion and what America means to me and what it means internationally to others. I can tell you that we left 250,000 friends enamored of America and American ingenuity.

If you wonder at and watch the suffering of the tsunami victims and somehow want to help, think about following the path of thousands of American men and women who joined the Peace Corps and waged peace — and at the same time discovered themselves.