FAMILY CRISIS

MISSING CHILDREN'S DAY A REMINDER FOR ALL

Just ask a parent whose child has been missing, and the truth of the matter is, just one missing child is too many.

Sharon Martinez faced a devastating crisis in 1991 when her former spouse abducted her three young children.

Working tirelessly to find her children and get the legal support she needed, it wasn't until 2 1/2 years later, on Mother's Day, that her 12-year old son escaped the father's hideout and found his way to the U.S. embassy in Mexico.

Sharon worked with other advocates to form the nonprofit organization Friends of the Missing Child Center-Hawaii, to give additional financial support and assist efforts on behalf of the families of missing children.

The Missing Child Center-Hawaii is a program of the state Department of the Attorney General that helps families facing crisis by supporting them with education, reunification efforts and assistance for recovery of a missing child.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an estimated 750,000 children were reported missing nationwide in 2007.

Today is National Missing Children's Day to remind us of the missing children, their families and to renew our efforts nationwide to reunite children and their loved ones.

For prevention tips and more information, visit the Missing Child Center-Hawaii Web site or call 586-1449.

TRANSIT

RAIL WILL MOVE PEOPLE QUICKLY, ECONOMICALLY

I recently was asked to sign a petition by proponents of the Stop Rail Now movement, which is calling for a referendum vote on this issue in the upcoming elections.

When asked if they had any positive alternatives to help relieve the present and future traffic congestion on our freeways, they had none other than to improve on what we have in place already. This is not good enough.

With the residential and commercial growth in Central O'ahu, we will need the light-rail system to move people quickly and economically.

Sure, the light-rail system will not be the panacea for all our traffic woes, but along with TheBus, TheBoat, Van Pool Hawai'i, our personal carpooling, and the usage of our enhanced bike path system — we can all help to alleviate and minimize the potential traffic crunch on our freeways and highways.

HAWAIIANS

BUILDING A RACE-BASED NATION IS UNDIGNIFIED

Please stop petting people trying to take over the government. There's OHA, the Akaka bill, and racist Kau Inoa commercials blasted into our living rooms, all paid for with government money.

There's the palace gang, blatantly saying they're not protesters but revolutionaries asserting permanent control of "their" government.

What happens? Gov. Linda Lingle tried to guarantee money and land to OHA. The palace gang got weekly permits to keep meeting, plus bags of donated parking meter money.

Denied a permit, they showed up even without one, with vehicles having no legitimate license plates; and didn't feed the meters. They got rewarded with no arrests, no tickets for parking/license violations, and another permit. Go figure.

Wayne Harada's Monday column publicized a record album containing "a multitude of tunes that advocate support for Hawaiians who celebrate their culture and struggle to maintain their dignity as they seek sovereignty and to sustain the Hawaiian Renaissance."

Nonsense.

The wonderful Hawaiian cultural renaissance deserves everyone's support. But seeking to build a race-based "nation" is undignified. It deserves scorn and rejection; not respect, coddling and stroking.

SAFETY

SERIOUS ACTION NEEDED TO ENFORCE TRAFFIC LAWS

Enough is enough!

I hear people and pundits alike bemoaning this scourge, but I do not see serious action. I do not see serious action by HPD to ruthlessly enforce traffic laws.

I do not see the courts ruthlessly sentence repeat offenders for DUI, reckless endangering or illegal racing on the highways by not only jailing them for a long time, but also confiscating all motor vehicles they own and crushing them, like one California city does.

All I do see and hear is people from all walks of life and demographics continue to show a selfish and blatant disregard for traffic laws. That must be because people have a belief that laws are for everyone else except for them.

I hear them whine when they get caught, because they all seem to feel that they are above taking the consequences for their stupid illegal choices and actions.

Until we purge the Legislature and city and county councils of do-nothing lawmakers; until the public puts the screws to police and the Judiciary to really start enforcing laws; until we start policing ourselves and take responsibility for our own actions, nothing will change.

GET ON BOARD: YOUR OPINION MATTERS

Join our Community Editorial Board

What's needed to improve our public schools? How should we deal with our energy issues? What's happening with affordable housing in Hawai'i?

These are just some of the issues our Community Editorial Boards have addressed.

Is it your turn? We're looking for our next slate of board members to offer insight on important issues facing Hawai'i.

The Community Editorial Board meets weekly with our in-house editorial board over an eight-week period to share perspectives. Board members also sit in on our meetings with some of Hawai'i's key decision-makers.

To apply, tell us about yourself in a few sentences, including your occupation and topics of interest. Include your name, phone number and home address in an e-mail to our editorial page assistant, Stacy Berry at: sberry@honoluluadvertiser.com

You can also fax your application 535-2415, or mail it to: The Honolulu Advertiser, Editorial Pages, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802.

Calling high school students who want to make a difference

From the quality of our schools to the economy to politics to Hawai'i's job market. When it comes to these issues and more, there's no shortage of opinions among our high school students.

The Advertiser is looking for its next Teen Editorial Board — a top-notch team of high-school students who want to learn first-hand how their opinions can make a difference.

The Teen Editorial Board meets monthly to offer its views on key issues and news of the day throughout the 2008-2009 school year.

Our Teen Editorial Board members meet with Hawai'i's key decision-makers, with the mission of making a difference through civic engagement.

To apply, send us an e-mail with your name, phone number, address, age, the name of your school, and a paragraph on why you would like to be on the board. It's competitive, so apply promptly.

Send your e-mail to our editorial assistant, Stacy Berry, at: sberry@honoluluadvertiser.com or call us at 535-2414.