OHA

ALL MUST HELP BUILD THE NATION WITHIN A NATION

I am a long-time supporter of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and its mission to serve Native Hawaiians.

Recent efforts by OHA in the wake of the failed Akaka bill to begin the process of building a nation have been featured in our local media. I support these efforts, as do many other non-Hawaiians in the community, in order to secure basic rights for Hawaiians and to preserve a culture that we love and respect.

I am, however, worried that OHA and its elected trustees may be taking a big risk in not reaching out more to the entire community to teach, explain and build broad support for OHA's nation-building initiatives.

The entire community in Hawai'i must be consulted and disagreements aired if we are to understand and support OHA's efforts.

The entire community can and should help build the nation.

OHA 'NATIONHOOD' LOGIC IRRESPONSIBLE

The irresponsible logic in support of OHA's obsession for "nationhood" is misleading. Most readers know better. To compare incorporating a municipality (a sub-division of the host state and entirely accountable to the state) with a separate, race-based "nation" disassociated from its host state, is quite a stretch.

Do you really claim that the new "OHA nationhood" would be entirely "self-sufficient, using its own resources?" Do Sens. Inouye and Akaka plan to rescind the hundreds of federal "Native Hawaiian" programs funded annually by taxpayers? Nope.

OHA's "Plan B" vigorously pursues the federal Indian policy model of separate, race-based governance, that enjoy enormous tax-exemptions, "sovereign immunity," exemption from federal, state and local regulations and ongoing annual federal funding in the millions for each separate (race) tribe.

That's what this country needs: one more race-based government to shackle upon taxpayers. We're fighting the global war on terrorism to replace tribalism with democracy, while imploding domestically with great thinkers like the folks at the Advertiser and OHA.

ALA WAI

BOAT HARBOR OPERATION SHOULD BE PRIVATIZED

Excuse me, but I don't have much sympathy for the displaced boat people who are living on their boats in the Ala Wai harbor.

How did it ever come about that these people have the right to live on their boats on the waterfront for rent of $150 a month? If it's true and I'm sure it is, where can I sign up? I would also ask how did it ever come about that the Ala Wai boat harbor, which was originally built to provide slips for recreational boaters, turn into a low-cost housing development subsidized by Hawai'i taxpayers? Let those living there pay for necessary repairs, not the taxpayers. Better yet, lets turn the operation of the harbor over to private enterprise where it should have been all along. This change would benefit both the yacht harbor and the taxpayers.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOW TEST SCORES SHOW FAILURES BY LEADERS

Hawai'i's repeatedly low test scores should not be interpreted to mean that Hawai'i's children aren't good learners or that Hawai'i's teachers aren't good teachers.

Rather, the low scores mean that Hawai'i's education leaders do not have the understanding or the courage to make the organizational changes needed to enable teachers to teach and students to learn.

Those leaders responded to this latest round of low scores by making various excuses rather than taking responsibility for their failures. That was to be expected since they and their predecessors have been recycling the same excuses for the past 30 years.

If our education leaders can't even come up with new excuses for their failures, why should we believe they can come up with new ideas for improving public education?

MALULANI

ANOTHER MAUI HOSPITAL WOULD OFFER OPTIONS

I support the certificate of need for the Malulani Health and Medical Center. And I find it outrageous that we have to fight for our own medical care against a monopoly that has not served our community to its best ability.

This much-needed competition will be best for all and will push the Maui Memorial Medical Center to provide better care as well as provide another option for the people on Maui. I would fly to O'ahu if I could to testify before the panel to decide our fate, but as with most people I work for a living. It's nice that Wesley Lo and his crew of dissenters get to fly to O'ahu on our dime as taxpayers to push against something that all of Maui wants.

If the Maui Memorial Medical Center truly cared about Maui and its health care needs it would be supporting more options for the betterment of the community and provide what the people want. If Kaua'i can support two hospitals, Maui can support three.

BUS STOPS

CHANGES ON N. KING HARDSHIP FOR RESIDENTS

Letters and phone calls to the people at City Hall who are making decisions on the elimination or relocation of the bus stops on North King Street seem to do no good at all.

The removal of the bus stops at the Kokea Street/N. King Street makes it a real hardship for the residents of Kokea Gardens who ride the bus.

Is this the same city department that is going to run our rail transit system? Auwe.

WAI'ALAE PARK

UNDERGROUND PARKING ONE KAIMUKI OPTION

Has the city and county looked into the viability of constructing an underground parking lot under the existing Kaimuki Community Park on Wai'alae Avenue between 10th and 11th avenues?

The recently constructed city park/parking garage in Chinatown on Smith and Beretania streets solved the problem of parking and a community park.

It seems to me the Kaimuki park isn't that critical that it couldn't be shut down temporarily while an underground parking lot is constructed. A new park could then be topped off the new garage with improved playground equipment and basketball courts.

HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

IMMEDIATE CEASE-FIRE NEEDED IN MIDEAST

I disagree with James Tweedie's letter (July 25) criticizing Rep. Abercrombie's vote against House Resolution 921, which supports Israel's vicious and illegal attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. As a Jew and an American, I thank Abercrombie for showing moral leadership on this issue by supporting House Con. Res. 450 calling for an immediate cease-fire and multi-party negotiations to end the violence.

Israel's air and ground assaults in Gaza and Lebanon constitute collective punishment on Palestinian and Lebanese civilians. They are a horrifically disproportionate response to the actions of Hezbollah and members of Hamas, are creating unimaginable humanitarian crises in both areas and must be stopped immediately.

While Israel's U.S.-made missiles and U.S.-supported troops murder hundreds of innocents and flatten city blocks, the Bush administration condemns the victims and kills talk of an immediate cease-fire. This course of action will only lead to more death and destruction. America's blind support of Israel's actions, along with our illegal occupation of Iraq, only serves to increase the dangers Americans face by inciting more opposition to our policies — exemplified by H. Res. 921 — and more despair in the Arab world.

We should join with Rep. Abercrombie to support an immediate cease-fire, and tell our government to support real efforts at a just, sustainable peace in the region.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

OTHER FUEL OPTIONS MAY SURPASS BIOMASS

I applaud Rep. Kirk Caldwell's enthusiasm and his vision for Hawai'i freeing itself of its dependence on petroleum. Biomass has its place in what will undoubtedly be a puzzle of alternative energy sources that will take petroleum's place, but I doubt that we can count on it being as big a piece as he may believe.

In Brazil, a higher land-to-people ratio and lower irrigation and labor costs all contribute to better economics for ethanol production than we could ever achieve in Hawai'i. Studies even question the use of ethanol at all since some sources of ethanol actually consume more energy to produce (the energy used for farming, delivery, irrigating, etc.) than the energy that ethanol has stored in every gallon.

Our islands are in a unique situation — surrounded by the vast heat sink that is the Pacific Ocean and placed upon an upwelling of geologic heat on the Big Island. Pent-up energy is already there waiting to be harvested. We would be greatly remiss if we did not give proper study to these alternatives playing a bigger role in meeting our energy requirements.

At the Natural Energy Lab on the Big Island, cold, deep ocean water is used to air-condition buildings — a huge energy hog. Imagine the energy savings if a similar system were to be used for downtown Honolulu or Waikiki. One of the biggest problems with this alternative is where to put the big pipes that will be required to carry the cold water. With all the study going into a route for mass transit, could some thought go into running some cold water pipes in the same structure?

We might have different ideas for energy solutions, but Rep. Caldwell and I both share a common hope and goal and I thank him for his contributions toward that end.