HISTORY

SEAFLITE STORY COULD TEACH ON SUPERFERRY

Please run a story on the 1975 SeaFlite commercial hydrofoil passenger ship that could fly smoothly over 12-foot waves at almost 45 knots (51.8 mph). What happened? Why did this project fail?

What is the difference between the Superferry and the old SeaFlite ship? How do we know that this ferry system will succeed? Please inform your readers on the Superferry Web site, history of successful operations, etc. How did the SeaFlite ship get approval regarding environmental laws?

What exactly has to be done with harbor improvements for the Superferry to succeed? What cost? Who pays, etc.?

Tom Sebas | Honolulu

LINGLE

REPUBLICANS JOINED IN IN OVERTURNING VETOES

In her July 15 letter, Linda Smith, Gov. Lingle's policy adviser, demonstrates that she is out of touch with Republicans and deliberately misleads Hawai'i residents by not mentioning the overrides were bipartisan.

Of the governor's 28 vetoes, 12 bills were overridden and four of those were done so with the full backing of Senate Republicans. In addition, the House minority leader voted with the majority to override Senate Bill 1473, rightfully helping Pearl City residents.

Ms. Smith states that overriding Senate Bill 1685 jeopardizes a person's confidential taxpayer information. And that overriding Senate Bill 960 is "tempting fate." Rather than address her scary metaphors, I encourage Ms. Smith to ask Republican Sens. Bob Hogue, Gordon Trimble, Fred Hemmings, Paul Whalen and Sam Slom why they voted with the majority on these two overrides.

Tom Brower | Communications director, Democratic Party of Hawaii

HANSON

COLUMNIST ADDS WISE INSIGHT TO OP-ED PAGE

I would like to voice support for recent columns by Victor Davis Hanson. He has earned the right to be featured on a regular basis, and I very much enjoy reading his column when it appears on the editorial page of The Honolulu Advertiser.

Victor Davis Hanson holds a Ph.D. in classics from Stanford University and has taught the classics at the university level in California since 1984. He has received awards for excellence in teaching, and has served as a visiting professor at Stanford and at the U.S. Naval Academy.

In addition to having written or edited 11 books, he has written articles and reviews for many publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, International Tribune, Wilson Quarterly, Weekly Standard and Washington Times. He has been interviewed by National Public Radio at least 10 times and has appeared on PBS' "Newshour with Jim Lehrer." He also writes a regular biweekly column on contemporary culture and military history for National Review Online.

Hanson's vast study of history, of the behavioral sciences, of the classics, of wars through the ages, and of man's response to a changing environment over time gives him the knowledge and the background to make the observations he makes. I may not always agree with him, but the presence of his column on The Advertiser's editorial page has raised the level of intelligent, learned and historically fact-based rhetoric on that page.

Anne Kent | 'Aina Haina

RAIL TRANSIT

NOW LET'S FOCUS ON THE REAL PROBLEM

It's funny to see that all the attention about Pearl Harbor is finally over. Anyone with common sense would know that Pearl Harbor was in no real danger of shutting down.

Too bad it's a diversion from the real problem, which is raising taxes and creating a rail system that will not work for our city. Too bad the real people who live and work each day in our great city are not being heard.

Are politicians, the media and unions the voice of the City and County of Honolulu? I don't think so! Too bad for the broken promises from our governor, who pledges not to raise taxes. Just remember the people will remember in the next election.

The media should also stop being one-sided and let people who live, work and sweat for a living have a voice in this tax issue that will impact not only today's generation but the future generation as well.

Carlos Garcia | 'Ewa Beach

STANDARDS

ADMOBILE FIRM STRIVES TO BE POSITIVE OPERATION

Regarding The Outdoor Circle's July 10 letter ("Rolling billboards must be curbed"): As we all know, Hawai'i is a difficult economic environment, and businesses need all the help they can get to survive. Admobile Hawai'i strives to create positive and affordable advertising solutions for our customers and community.

We support renewable energy. Our vehicle uses Pacific Biodiesel — a clean-burning, biodegradable alternative fuel, produced in Hawai'i.

We enforce stringent content standards. You'll never find tobacco, adult entertainment or political campaign ads on our vehicle.

We create less roadway use than most companies. Yes, we rely on a few vehicles to make money. Many companies do. In fact, many rely on a whole fleet of vehicles.

We are locally owned and operated, and certainly community-minded. Hawai'i is our home. In our effort to give back to the community, we reserve approximately 20 percent of our ad space for charitable organizations to use for free.

Many of The Outdoor Circle's efforts are appreciated. We all need to keep Hawai'i beautiful. It would be nice if O'ahu had no roadways, vehicles, tall buildings, airplanes and other forms of progress. But, if you took these all away tomorrow, we would have a million people out of work with no place to live.

We appreciate all feedback on our product. This is how we can make the Admobile even better for Hawai'i's businesses and community.

Beth Vaughan | Account manager, Admobile Hawai'i