VOTING RIGHTS ACT

BALLOTS SHOULD NOT BE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

The editorial on the Voting Rights Act (July 12) was off the mark. Voting ballots and material should only be in English.

Our family has many adult Ilocanos who came from the Philippines in the last 10 years. At first, we spoke to them only in Ilocano, but after about four years they still weren't even attempting to communicate in English, which meant they were isolated from the community except for Ilocanos. So, we started to speak to them in only English and voila, in six months they were communicating, including reading in English and understanding. It's about the same time it took me in the Philippines to learn Tagalog and Ilocano.

So, the Voting Rights Act should have deleted any requirement for material and/or ballots to be in any foreign language. If people are required to learn the language, they will.

IMMIGRANTS SHOULD LEARN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

It's amazing that The Advertiser and our elected politicians discourage immigrants from learning the English language.

Gov. Lingle just signed the Language Access bill that provides anyone, citizen or not, the right to have documents translated into their native language. The Advertiser supports extending the federal law to print ballots in any language that one desires.

The state Legislature has appropriated almost half a million dollars to start the program; the following years will require many times that amount of tax money.

Every tax dollar spent on such programs means one less dollar for homeless shelters, affordable rentals, poverty programs, etc. These programs are more deserving of our tax money.

NORTH SHORE

DO SHARK TOURS PUT SURFERS, DIVERS AT RISK?

Despite the article on sharks on the North Shore and the recent sighting of a shark at Hale'iwa's Ali'i beach as well as other recent incidents, the "powers that be" do not seem much concerned. The shark tour companies and others deny that the chumming they do to attract sharks has anything to do with this problem. I personally have seen sharks following the boats in toward Hale'iwa Harbor, during my routine flights as a pilot at Dillingham Airfield.

I have no problem with people making money and I applaud anyone who can make a living from the sea. However, when surfers, divers, swimmers are put at risk, I would want to take a second look at the activity.

Since the "powers that be" are saying it's not a problem on the North Shore, then it shouldn't be a problem on the South Shore. I think I'll apply for a permit to run shark tours out of the Ala Wai or Kewalo Basin, or better yet, just shuttle people off the beach from Queens or Canoes to a shark cage three miles off Waikiki. We could have multiple tours, multiple cages and chum so the tourists can see sharks. Shouldn't be a problem with sharks on the beach at Waikiki, right? Right?

KAMEHAMEHA

MOVE SCHOOL ONTO HAWAIIAN HOMELANDS

There have been several letters with suggestions for Kamehameha Schools to consider, but one that hasn't been mentioned is to move the school onto Hawaiian homelands. Race no longer would be an issue by doing so and more importantly they would be reaching out to those students Bernice Pauahi Bishop intended to assist.

HOMELESS

BUILD SHELTERS NEAR EXISTING SOCIAL SERVICES

Mufi Hannemann and Linda Lingle are thinking about building a homeless shelter in Wai'anae. Supposedly, this is because this is where most of the homeless can be found. The truth is they have been allowed to live here.

There are no homeless in Hawai'i Kai, Kahala or 'Aina Haina beach parks. They even cleared the homeless out of Ala Moana Beach Park.

The new scheme would build a homeless center where there are zero resources for social services, medical and mental health services, or even reasonable shopping. A place where there are many liquor stores and only seven police on duty from Kapolei to Makaha.

To build such services in Wai'anae ignores the fact that Honolulu already has all of these services. Perhaps the biggest tragedy is that no neighborhood child from Kapolei to Makaha can enjoy a single beach park without fear from the numerous pit bulls chained to tents lining the beaches.

JONES ACT

AKAKA UNDERSTANDS NEED TO KEEP U.S. JOBS

I am visiting the Hawai'i Federal Employees Metal Trades Council, which represents shipyard workers at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, this week.

Ed Case's position against the Jones Act provides the best rationale yet for voting to re-elect Dan Akaka to the U.S. Senate.

Sixty years ago, the U.S. shipbuilding industry provided the vessels that kept Hawai'i from becoming an appendage to the Japanese empire. Surely, the world today has become every bit as dangerous as it was then.

The AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department is battling a serious threat to the Jones Act, triggered by the efforts of Aker Shipyard of Philadelphia. At stake are 1,000 direct and indirect jobs and the domestic shipbuilding industry.

Aker has decided to build 10 double-hulled tankers more cheaply by skirting the Jones Act. The tankers are being assembled in Philadelphia, but are full of Korean parts and modules. An initial Coast Guard determination gave Aker the green light. That contradicts the Jones Act and we have appealed.

If Aker succeeds, every U.S. shipbuilder will be knocking on the doors of Korean, Chinese and Polish shipyards to get pre-fabricated ship sections.

Sen. Akaka understands the threat and has worked closely with us to address them.

HOUSING

STIPENDS FOR TEACHERS IS A BETTER SOLUTION

The solution to the teacher housing repair problem is to plan on a transfer of responsibility from the housing department to the Department of Education. Again, the solution is to plan a plan! That plan is to have the Department of "Education" manage "housing."

Give the teachers housing stipends. Problem solved.