SUPERFERRY

LOSSES IN HAWAI'I HAVE BECOME HEARTBREAKING

Even though I was looking forward to taking the ferry to Kaua'i to visit grandkids, I had to agree with Lee Cataluna's column about the insensitivity of the governor's statement that some people "just don't like change."

It is true that Hawai'i's people have seen way too much change.

It would have been great if the Kaua'i protesters had been able to stop the development of their agricultural lands for millionaires' houses, but they couldn't.

It would have been great if protesters on O'ahu would have been able to stop the demise, one by one, of all the small, familiar places now occupied by high-rises and high-end boutiques, but they couldn't.

It is no wonder that frustrated, grieving people did something they could do, stop something big from entering their harbor.

The governor seems to have forgotten that there is no change without loss, and the losses in these Islands are heartbreaking.

And she has played a leading role in many of them.

FERRY IS THE LAST STRAW FOR MANY ON KAUA'I

Kaua'i is a National Marine Bird Sanctuary. Please, this is not a personal assault on the good, hard-working people of O'ahu who only want a vacation.

Superferry looks fun, but remember the hard lesson we all learned as children, "What we want is not always what we need."

The Superferry just happens to be the last straw for many of us. Big business will keep trying to bring the Superferry back and much more, if we allow it.

If we do not stop to address what is now before us, we will surely fail as a democratic community and an environmentally sound government and people. That is not the Hawaiian way nor is it the way of aloha.

Please support all movement that maintains our National Marine Sanctuary and protects our rare island biodiversity, oceans and forests.

Give the children a land, people and culture to be proud of.

FERRY WOULD HELP WITH TRAVEL FOR HIGH SCHOOLS

The ferry would be a good way of allowing Hawai'i's high schools to travel and hold preseason matches.

Just to send two coaches and four players to the HHSAA State Tennis Tournament on Maui cost approximately $2,500. How much more would it cost for a team of 32 players and coaches?

This method of travel would have allowed a lot of student athletes to be exposed to players from other islands, as well an educational trip to see and learn about the other islands.

Please think of how much the student athletes on Kaua'i, Maui, Hawai'i and O'ahu would greatly benefit from this ferry system.

A lot of children and teens rarely ever leave their own island to visit your islands, please think, and give them a chance.

NATIVE RIGHTS

HAWAIIANS SHOULD DETERMINE THEIR FUTURE

Justin Hahn (Letters, Aug. 23) feels that William Burgess and company just want a "say in the political process determining the future of their home."

The truth of the matter, however, is that Burgess and those sharing his beliefs don't just want to get involved in determining the future of "their home."

Rather, they seek to meddle into Hawaiian lands programs, Kamehameha Schools and other areas of interests that are, quite frankly, not their business.

Since 1921, Hawaiians have had lands set aside for them under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. Almost immediately, these lands became a political football as everyone and his brother tried to figure out how to get a piece of them at little cost.

Additionally, Hawaiians are plagued by non-Hawaiians trying to determine our right to self-determination. Hawaiians deserve the same rights, no more nor less, afforded to Native Americans. The best way to achieve this is by amending the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, which is an existing piece of federal legislation.

Hahn seems to advocate for allowing the general populace to vote on Hawaiians' right to self-determination. I'd like to point out that Hawaiians were never afforded the right to vote on the overthrow, or annexation, and therefore we should determine our future for ourselves.

AKAKA BILL

SHAM HEARINGS, BOGUS ISSUES ARE DIVISIVE

The hearing held by the Hawaii Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission on Aug. 19 was embarrassing. The committee was recently stacked with opponents to the Akaka bill who are being used by Mainland far-right Republicans to dismantle affirmative action, which has nothing to do with native rights or Hawai'i.

The hearing was held without proper notice for local speakers, but Mr. Roger Clegg, president of The Center for Equal Opportunity, was given a 20-minute opening statement, question and answer time, rebuttal time, and a lead story in The Advertiser. He represents a neoconservative East Coast think tank which fights bilingual education in schools and Affirmative Action college admissions. What does that have to do with the Akaka bill?

Mr. Clegg admitted he is unfamiliar with Hawai'i's situation and is no expert on the matter.

Meanwhile, the people who really know the issue, including the former chairman of the state committee, were given only three minutes to speak.

Clegg says the Akaka bill would be divisive. No. Sham hearings and bogus issues are divisive.

CIVIL RIGHTS

SEARCHES, DRUG DOGS NOT NEEDED IN SCHOOLS

In his Aug. 28 letter, Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle uses the same tactic that has been used over and over again to get people to give up their civil rights: make them believe their safety is threatened and inflame that fear.

By using words like "drug-infested schools," he creates an alarm that would make locker-searches without cause seem reasonable and drug-sniffing dogs a simple answer to the problem.

This alarm is pure hype, reports have shown. The truth is, science-based drug education and prevention programs have been proven to work. That's what our schools need.

What our schools do not need is tough-sounding, expensive, divisive programs that don't work.