Don't underrate our Ambassadors of Aloha

Good job on the May 23 article "Homegrown talent preferred." The rise of local workers into the management ranks of our hotels and resorts is linking visitors more tightly into the fabric of the host culture.

Locally born and raised employees bring a realness to the visitor experience that cannot be duplicated by training. Murray Towill, president of the Hawai'i Hotel & Lodging Association, reports that 40 percent of the hotel managers are now born and raised in Hawai'i.

However, as Paul Harvey would say, your article left out the rest of the story. This is the story of hotel departments that have 100 percent born-and-raised workers. In your article I got the impression that Walter Jamieson, dean of UH's Travel Industry Management School, referred to these folks as simply "vocational positions." These workers are the most important element contributing to the visitor experience. They are often the visitor's first and last impression, and the cause for return visits to Hawai'i.

In Waikiki, we refer to these super-important, and often well-paid, local folks as "Ambassadors of Aloha." They are our beach boys, lifeguards, security officers, bellmen, concierges, valets, front desk attendants, house-

keepers, groundskeepers and servers. They are proud of Hawai'i, and they know the definition of aloha is more than a formulaic way of saying "Hi." These are the true practitioners of the host culture, and they are the ones who "deliver the experience."

They deserve our respect and aloha.

Two good parties are needed for real choice

Your "Hawai'i still last in voter turnout" article (May 26) is a depressing wake-up call for those not apathetic about state and national elections.

Even though both parties and the news media made Hawai'i a "battleground state" in last year's presidential election, it still wasn't enough to get Hawai'i residents to vote. If such national attention can't get us to the polls, what will?

To me, the real problem is, as professor Neal Milner states, that Hawai'i's "a one-party state." And the remedy is two good parties, providing needed competition and balance.

Right now, the people who profit from the status quo are the ones who vote. Others believe that the system will never change, and they don't bother to show up. To attract more voters, we need two good parties offering one real choice.

More government means more taxes

Ronald Lim's observations regarding housing and transportation (Island Voices, May 20) certainly give pause for thought. But his recommendation of more government involvement makes all the economic sense of the former Soviet model.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that driving an extra 15 miles a day is going to cost more money. However, let's not forget one of the cornerstones of Economics 101: There's no such thing as a free lunch. Implementing the policies Mr. Lim suggests is going to cost money. More government spending leads to higher taxes, which will ultimately put the brakes on and stymie a robust economy — detrimental to us all.

We all want affordable housing and a 5-minute commute — who doesn't? But higher taxes and more government bureaucracy will add to our housing costs and diminish our lives in a much greater way than letting the free market run its inevitable course and allowing responsible citizens to manage their own lives.

Mr. Lim's recommendations will neither ease congestion nor put a cheap roof over anyone's head. His policies would only hurt the very ones he is trying to help.

Harris 'improvements' a driver's nightmare

I read with great amusement Libby Tomar's May 19 letter. Apparently our former mayor, Jeremy Harris, has at least one fan.

Personally, I curse Harris and his sidekick, Ben Lee, every day as my morning commute takes me down Ala Wai Boulevard at 7:40 a.m. Now one lane thinner, the Ala Wai is jammed with traffic, and it takes at least 10 minutes to travel the 1-mile stretch.

Do we notice a few more coconut trees planted along the canal? Not really. Has it made the place more beautiful? Again, that's personal preference, but I am sure that all the cars backed up next to me would rather have that lane to drive in and the coconut trees along the beach where they belong.

If Waikiki was Harris' masterpiece, it should be clear that he did not intend for any local cars to drive through it. He not only shrank Kalakaua by one lane, but somehow got the city bus to now run down this artery. I thought the whole point of repaving Kuhio was to keep these giant sloths off Kalakaua so that traffic would flow better.

Aside from creating traffic nightmares throughout Honolulu, Harris used our tax dollars to create his vision of O'ahu. He let the sewers and roads disintegrate, ignored budgeting for city pay raises and printed a book on himself that has sold only a couple of copies. We should sue him for the cost of printing his fairytale biography and save the city additional money by having him and Ben Lee go dig up and replant all those trees that now have to come down on Kuhio Avenue.

Harris was the worst thing that ever happened to this city, period!

Cool our air, please

I think we should have air-conditioning in every classroom at Kailua High School. It is very hard for us to study and work in hot rooms. At times we get dehydrated.

Indeed, public has a right to official letters

I agree with your May 22 editorial "Lawmakers should obey their own laws." It's crazy that our state legislators think that they can keep the public from knowing what's going on behind closed doors.

Sen. Brian Kanno has done his best to keep the "sunshine" from shining light on his questionable efforts to get a convicted child molester's job back at Norwegian Cruise Line by refusing to allow The Advertiser and the public from getting copies of his correspondence.

I would like to hear why Kanno thinks that he has the right to do this? We are paying his salary and his health insurance with our taxes.

Kanno needs to go back to school and realize that we live in a democracy and that he is accountable to the people. The letters that he and every other politician writes must be public record, just like everything else in government.

Korean War happened: Please remember us

First it was the North Koreans. Then the Chinese entered the Korean War. What at first started out as a skirmish ultimately became a conflict.

With their strength of over a hundred divisions, the Chinese and North Koreans forced our troops all the way south to Pusan. But with the reinforcement from other nations and our own Army and Marine units, we vengefully fought our way north across the 38th Parallel, and there we established our DMZ.

Fighting was fierce at night, and during the day, outgoing and incoming artillery shells would be the pattern. Harassment from snipers was constant.

When you heard the sounds of bugles, you said a quick prayer because you knew the time had come. We fired into their masses with everything we had. They came in waves like the rushing tide. They would repeatedly overrun our position. But somehow we would not relinquish our stand.

We were there because we had a job to do, and we did not raise a fuss. It was a war we did not win or lose, but God knows how we tried. We all had to be there, and so many of us died.

But now we're all but forgotten. No one remembers how hard we struggled. We grow fewer with the years now, knowing that time waits for no one. For more than 50 years, we still do not complain.

But Korea really happened — so please remember us!

Semper fidelis.

Filipino veterans deserve benefits

In response to Bill Bowles' April 16 letter regarding his opposition to full benefits for Filipino veterans, we would like to provide several historical facts that he may not know of or have forgotten:

• On July 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered about 200,000 Filipinos to be drafted into the U.S. armed forces. In return, they were promised the same rights and privileges as their American counterparts.

• After the war in October 1945, Gen. Omar Bradley, then administrator of the Veterans Administration, reaffirmed that Filipino veterans were to be treated like any other American veteran.

• On Feb. 18, 1946, Congress passed the Rescission Act, which effectively took away these benefits.

Under FDR's pledge for equal benefits, many Filipinos fought, suffered injuries and died alongside U.S. soldiers under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur for the sake of world peace and personal freedom. They played a crucial role in delaying the further expansion of the Japanese Imperial Army in Southeast Asia and the eventual Allied victory.

Decades later, these aging Filipino veterans are still waiting for the U.S. government to fulfill its promise. But time is running out for the estimated 58,000 veterans who are still alive. Based on mortality statistics from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, eight Filipino veterans pass away each day.

Filipino veterans are only asking what was promised to them — no more and no less. Several legislative measures currently pending before the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs would do just that. Passage of these bills would officially recognize Filipino veterans as American veterans, and make them eligible for benefits to include, but not be limited to, healthcare, disability compensation, pension and burial. These would be the most pressing needs during their twilight years.

We, the undersigned Filipino leaders, urge Congress to support and pass legislation conferring full veterans benefits for Filipino World War II veterans. We also thank our congressional delegation — Sens. Dan Inouye and Daniel Akaka, and Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Ed Case — for their unwavering support of providing equal benefits to all soldiers who fought under the Stars and Stripes.