David Shapiro attack on Hee over the top

I usually agree with much of what David Shapiro has to say in his Volcanic Ash columns. His May 11 comments, however, on "Does it matter who heads the state Senate?" was off the mark.

Of course it is of critical importance who leads in the state Senate and other key state government institutions. It is unfair and even a bit arrogant for Shapiro to denigrate and dismiss the leadership and many years of service that Sens. Clayton Hee, Colleen Hanabusa and Donna Mercado Kim have given to their respective constituencies and people of Hawai'i.

Shapiro's attack on Sen. Hee in particular was over the top and filled with sarcasm. Those familiar with Hee's record appreciate the fact that he is perhaps one of the best prepared and experienced senators to become chair of the Higher Education Committee. Before being elected to the state Legislature in 1984, Hee, who is a product of Kamehameha Schools (1971 student body president), received a B.A. and a professional diploma from the University of Hawai'i in 1975, and a master's in Pacific Islands studies at UH-Manoa in 1979. He was an instructor at Windward and Maui community colleges, Micronesia community college, and taught at the high school level at Kalaheo, Kailua and Moloka'i.

At the Legislature, Hee served in the Senate as Judiciary Committee chair and later as chair of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Because of his vast experience and tested leadership, Clayton Hee was elected by the people of the 23rd Senatorial District in 2004. Clearly he has firsthand knowledge of the challenges facing higher education in the state.

No senator substance

So what was it that Senate President Robert Bunda said in his letter to The Honolulu Advertiser the other day? There were a lot of platitudes about the high quality of his leadership, but there was no substance. If he is the leader of the pack, so to speak, and this is indicative of what's happening in the Senate, he may not be the only one who needs to move on. I say kudos to those trying to remove him.

Great plan, but what about Second City?

If ever there was an example of say one thing and do another, surely Mayor Hannemann and the City Council deserve the highest possible award.

From the May 31 front page: "The city plans to build a seven-story, $28 million traffic management center and mass transit facility on Alapa'i Street across from the Municipal Building in Honolulu by 2008."

What has happened to the idea of moving city offices to Kapolei? Surely this would be a prime office to put in Kapolei. How can it possibly make sense to build a seven-story building in Honolulu when buildings and land sit vacant at the old Barbers Point? And I understand many of the city offices in Kapolei are not being used.

Money for the building aside, let's see seven stories even with our grand city planning. With at least 200 people per floor, that would add up to 1,000-plus more cars per day going in to Honolulu during rush hour. Guess it gives them job security — more traffic to (mis)manage. Oh wait, I guess you'll all ride the train, right?

Picking of plumeria clusters self-defeating

On May 27, you printed a beautiful front-page color photo of a huge pile of plumeria that were picked at the city's Koko Crater Botanical Garden for lei for Punchbowl. However, on closer look, it was clear that not just flowers were picked but the entire blooming/budding clusters, making any further blooms impossible.

No doubt that was done for expediency, versus picking individual flowers.

There are some basic rules we all learn while growing up, and I can still hear the stern voices of my kupuna who always said: never take more than you are going to use, whether it be food, flowers, foliage, fish from the ocean; always leave some for the the next person, don't break the branches or the budding clusters, etc.

All of the blooming heads that were removed from the trees at the botanical garden will no longer bloom.

Motorcycle riders should wear helmets

Why are motorcycle drivers not required to wear helmets when riding?

There was a deadly accident on University Avenue a few days ago, and probably other accidents where the riders would not have been killed if they were required to wear a helmet.

There is such a big campaign about wearing car seat belts and "Click It or Ticket." I think the emphasis is on the wrong area. The government should require motorcycle riders and passengers to wear helmets.

Bus problems show light rail's problems

The Thursday Advertiser report that the bus hasn't recovered from fare hikes (more people are driving instead) is an indicator of the true economics of mass transportation. The same dynamics would apply to O'ahu's now-notional light-rail system.

So why is it that the proponents of an expensive and perpetually tax-subsidized light-rail line along O'ahu's southern half won't base their support on its real benefits? Certainly a light-rail line would permit smarter, higher-density development along its route — and if O'ahu is to continue to grow, this may make sense instead of opening up ever-more-unspoiled landscape to development.

However, light-rail supporters persist in the fiction that a train will significantly reduce vehicular traffic on east-west commuter routes. Why is it our leaders so fear open, honest debate? Are they simply too accustomed to sliding stuff by us dummies out here in voter-land?

Medical malpractice letter was erroneous, misleading

James Krueger, noted Maui plaintiff's attorney, wrote an interesting but erroneous and misleading letter May 26 about medical malpractice.

The gross misstatement in his presentation, which is perpetually repeated by trial attorneys, is the accusation against the insurance carriers. If providing medical malpractice insurance is so lucrative, why would the profit-making insurers leave the market? For-profit companies across America are deserting doctors and medical facilities.

The two major underwriters for medical malpractice in Hawai'i — Medical Insurance Exchange of California and Hawai'i Association of Physicians for Indemnity — are both doctor-owned and -managed companies and are not for-profit. All dollars paid in excess of actuarial reserves are returned to the physicians as dividends. Through the 1990s, malpractice rates were stable, and Hawai'i physicians enjoyed 12 years of no premium increases, and often received dividends. Those days are over.

The major cause for the increase in malpractice premiums relates directly to the huge pain-and-suffering judgments juries now reward injured parties, as well as the increase in expenditures for attorneys' fees and expert witnesses that must be provided.

The average malpractice award has increased steadily for the past 10 years, always exceeding inflation, and increasing by 80 percent in the five years 1998 to 2003, according to Law Journal Newsletters. Bear in mind that the expenses for medical care are covered entirely. The grossly inflated, unpredictable awards are for "pain and suffering," a purely American add-on that no other legal system in the world allows. European legal experts call it the "American disease," and it is the reason hospitals, clinics and physicians want it to be capped.

One additional error is the attack on Kaiser and HMSA, their methods of reimbursement, and their massive financial reserves. Doctors certainly agree with him on that issue, but it has nothing to do with malpractice insurance. If he wants to go to battle with them, he will find plenty of physicians joining in.

GOP housing attack unfounded

Brennon Morioka's Island Voices column of May 23 is so very typical of those regularly put forward, on talk radio and in print, by overly eager political hacks seeking to promote the Bush/Lingle Republican agenda.

I was amazed that he would choose the affordable housing legislation as a point upon which to denigrate Democrats. Either Morioka did not bother to review the affordable housing legislation, or he did not understand the significance of what was passed, or for some perceived political benefit he is intentionally misrepresenting the facts.

If Morioka had done his homework, he would have known that this legislation had the broad-based support of not only Democrats and Republicans, but also of many members of the real estate development community, as well as affordable housing advocates. The Legislature's Housing Omnibus Bill, Senate Bill 179, passed unanimously with enthusiastic bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. The minority leader in the Senate even referred to the legislation as "a good bipartisan effort."

In addition to the comprehensive legislative components contained within SB179, the Legislature dramatically increased the amount of money available to build affordable rentals statewide and provided critical funding to construct and operate new homeless shelters in areas that are currently underserved. We also funded the expansion of critical water and highway improvements in areas where development is presently constricted by the lack of adequate infrastructure.

Can we do more? Yes, of course we can, and we are committed to the task.

Morioka is correct in stating that the 2004 Legislature mandated the forming of an affordable housing task force that would study the issue and make recommendations for possible legislation. As the primary introducer of the resolution mandating establishment of the governor's affordable housing task force, I am keenly aware of the shortcomings of the administration's efforts to manage the affordable housing issue in our state.

The Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawai'i (HCDCH) is a quasi-independent state-run organization operating under the direction of its board of directors and controlled by the governor. One of the primary missions of HCDCH is to lead and manage our state efforts in developing and maintaining affordable housing.

Why does it take a special legislative resolution in order to force the administration to merely fulfill its stated mission? While the message from the governor's office repeatedly touts affordable housing as our state's No. 1 priority, why has the administration not stepped up to the plate and provided HCDCH with the leadership and resources so desperately needed? Where is the "A Team"? Where is the commitment?

Brennon Morioka is the former chairman of the Republican Party of Hawai'i and was recently appointed the deputy director of state highways. I am hopeful that he will soon realize the differences between the two roles, and that taking cheap shots at Democratic legislators is not conducive to making positive things happen for the people of our state.