EIS OWED TAXPAYERS BEFORE MOVING FORWARD

HRS 343 requires an environmental impact statement be done whenever the state appropriates money to be spent on state property for a major project of the size of the Superferry.

An EIS is simply an informational document that allows our legislators to vote wisely knowing all the facts, such as how many whales will be killed every year by the Superferry traveling at 40 mph.

There has been no EIS, and our state Legislature voted $40 million to improve the state harbors in preparation for the Superferry anyway. They voted blindly. The Superferry and Department of Transportation had two years to do the EIS but instead chose to ignore the law by somehow talking the Lingle administration into a waiver, which has defeated the spirit, purpose and intent of HRS 343. Why have laws if they are not going to be enforced?

Forty million dollars of your taxpayer money is a big deal. We should have an EIS with answers before we spend that kind of money on a private enterprise.

Bob Babson | Kihei, Maui

BIOTECH FOODS HAVE PROVEN TO BE SAFE

Your July 4 article "Debating modified crop label" overlooked mentioning that the USDA already requires mandatory labeling for certain foods containing biotech ingredients. This is so for biotech crop or foods that are different from their conventional counterparts — such as having additional nutritional qualities.

Otherwise, Canada and the United States do not require special labeling because biotech crops now on the market have been found to be "substantially equivalent" to their conventional counterparts and pose no greater risks. This view is shared by an extensive list of agricultural councils, government agencies and universities around the world as well as prominent international scientific and medical organizations. They have recognized that food developed with biotechnology is safe to eat.

The most telling fact is that since biotech foods came on the market a decade ago, more than a trillion meals containing biotech ingredients have been eaten without a single case of an adverse health effect. That cannot be said about organic or conventional foods such as peanuts or kiwi fruit, for example, which cause death and illness to consumers every year.

As for the example of a biotech food with an allergenic potential, the writer had to dig back more than 15 years to find it. The example was misleading because it referenced an experimental product that Pioneer never commercialized, for obvious reasons. The safety track record for biotech foods is testament to the oversight given to this concern by both industry and our government regulators.

Rick Klemm | Executive director, Hawaiian Alliance for Responsible Technology & Science

LET THE VOTERS DECIDE ON AKAKA BILL'S FATE

Since all four members of our congressional delegation, the governor and a whole host of other politicians keep saying a vast majority of Hawai'i's people support passage of the Akaka bill, does anyone else wonder why they aren't willing to let their constituents vote on the matter?

What ever happened to "consent of the governed"? Are they afraid they'll find out that two out of three people in these Islands, the ones who pay the freight and do the voting, really are opposed to the bill, as the Grassroot Institute survey shows?

Amend the bill to make it contingent on a vote of Hawai'i's people, and we'll find out for sure.

Thurston Twigg-Smith | Honolulu

RAIL TRANSIT WON'T WORK, WILL COST DEARLY

Rail transit is an exercise in futility, a waste of taxpayer money and an unnecessary burdening of the citizenry with more taxes.

Rail transit has not lessened traffic gridlock in even one single city in Mainland U.S.A.

So, what makes the mayor and all those who advocate rail transit think that it will solve traffic gridlock in O'ahu?

Ruben Reyes | Waipahu

BEHIND BRIGHT LIGHTS, VEGAS HAS VERY LITTLE

Have you thought about moving to Las Vegas? Have you researched the cost of living and the median home prices lately?

Well, I've been residing in Las Vegas for 12 years; the cost of living during that time was fairly low, homes ran a very decent price in the low $100,000s, and gas was about $1.15 per gallon. Today, gas averages $2.40 per gallon, new homes average $290,000 to $300,000, mortgages pass $2,000 a month and the median income is, pathetically, about $22,000 a year with the cost of living skyrocketing with population growth.

We may not be paying state income taxes, but this state surely takes it out some other way.

If you are still thinking about moving to Las Vegas, you might as well stay in Hawai'i and enjoy the beauty, the common sense and courtesy of its people that you will never find on the Mainland. What would you be running away from? Southern Nevada will become, if it hasn't already, another California. Do your research before moving to Sin City because other than gambling, there is nothing but the desert.

Matt Martin | Pahrump, Nev.

STATE MUST NOT RAID THE HURRICANE FUND

The Hawai'i Hurricane Relief Fund has only one specific purpose, yet the Legislature allocated funds to upgrade the phone book showing an updated version of where the inundation zones would be, and other updated information (for natural disasters).

HHRF was conceived giving hurricane coverage to homeowners when all of the other insurance companies bailed out, saying it would cost them too much. Every homeowner had to find extra thousands for the HHRF; many could not afford it but somehow managed. Today, some of the homeowner insurance companies are offering some sort of hurricane aid.

The Hawai'i Hurricane Relief Fund must only be used for the purpose it was intended for. By siphoning funds, and claiming it as money from the general fund, the Legislature is complacent to the fact that another 'Iniki might hit anywhere in Hawai'i.

All diverted funds must be placed back in the HHRF, or the Legislature shall be accountable that there is no or little resources to help those in need of the funds.

Drew E. Kosora | Honolulu

A \'PRIVATE OCEANSIDE GOLF COMMUNITY\' IS AGRICULTURE?

The issue turns on whether or not the project has an agricultural purpose because the land on which the project is located has been designated for agricultural use by the state. Mr. White merely glosses over this critical matter.

Prior to Hokuli\'a, developers thought they had found a loophole in the law. The loophole would allow "gentleman farms" to be located on land designated as agricultural. These "farms" were agricultural in name only. In reality, they were designed so that the super rich could build luxury homes on land that the developers never intended for any commercial farming operations.

However, Hokuli\'a was so large (more than 1,500 acres) and objectionable that after it was started, several citizens brought a lawsuit against it. In a ruling that stopped the project from continuing, Judge Ronald Ibarra clarified that the perceived loophole in the law never actually existed. In effect, the developers had been deceiving themselves.

Now, the Hokuli\'a developer and his hired guns are trying to change the rules of the game in order to finish the project. They are joined by other landowners and developers who in the future may want to develop their own projects consisting of "gentleman farms." These moneyed interests are being opposed by ordinary citizens who are concerned about the environment and want to prevent the overdevelopment of Hawai\'i\'s lands.

I took a look at Hokuli\'a\'s Web site to learn more about it, and I couldn\'t find anything even remotely related to agriculture there. Instead, the Web site accurately describes Hokuli\'a as a "private oceanside golf community." People can easily decide for themselves whether or not Hokuli\'a has an agricultural purpose by visiting the Hokuli\'a Web site at www.hokulia.com.

John Kawamoto | Kaimuki

VETO OVERRIDES HURT RESIDENTS

They did this by overriding Gov. Linda Lingle\'s sound and well-reasoned vetoes of 12 defective pieces of legislation passed this session.

The Legislature voted to allow to become law a bill that violates Section 5, Article XI of the state Constitution. The attorney general\'s office has laid out a clear case of why Senate Bill 1473, where the Legislature attempts to control what functions the Department of Health can operate at Waimano Ridge, violates our state\'s supreme law. Ignoring this constitutional violation will subject the state to an unnecessary lawsuit and jeopardize the working relationships the Department of Health has already developed with the community and the users of Waimano Ridge.

The Legislature voted to override the governor\'s veto of a bill (House Bill 160) that will severely restrict the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs\' ability to investigate allegations against the insurance industry. It does so by restricting the amount of funds the department will have to investigate questionable practices in this industry.

The Legislature voted to turn back the Civil Service Modernization Act that finally put basic merit principles into the public-sector workplace. Instead of allowing public managers to be rewarded for a job well done or held accountable for their underperformance, the Legislature approved a bill (House Bill 180) to grant them automatic pay adjustments based on collective bargaining agreements that do not even cover them as workers.

The confidentiality of your tax returns has been put in jeopardy because the Legislature voted to override Gov. Lingle\'s veto of two bills. The first (House Bill 1224) allows the release of confidential taxpayer return information to private contractors that may be hired by the legislative auditor or a designee. The second bill (Senate Bill 1685) allows the state to give your personal tax returns to the county governments without protecting your confidentiality.

This administration\'s efforts to save money were undermined by the actions the Legislature took when it overrode the governor\'s veto of House Bill 1317. Specifically, Hawai\'i\'s efforts to join with other jurisdictions through a multi-state prescription drug-purchasing pool are being stopped. Joining this pool could have saved the state a significant amount in Medicaid drug costs annually — money that could be used to benefit this needy population. Further, the state would have qualified for rebates from the drug companies.

The Legislature is tempting fate by raiding the Hurricane Reserve Trust Fund (Senate Bill 960). Hurricane mitigation projects can and should be undertaken, but not when they place in jeopardy the fiscal integrity of the fund set up to pay claims and purchase reinsurance following a hurricane. It is only a matter of time before a hurricane hits Hawai\'i and we will need this fund to bail us out of an insurance crisis.

Finally, the Legislature took action on Senate Bill 1808 to arbitrarily suspend for two years the authority of the director of labor and industrial relations to improve the workers\' compensation system in Hawai\'i. Our system is a national disgrace. It has received a grade of F, failing year after year to help workers return to their jobs and employers to cut their insurance costs.

Linda L. Smith | Senior policy adviser, Office of the Governor