PRIVATE SECTOR GREED HARMED ECONOMY

It is a popular partisan ploy to portray Hawai'i's public employees as somehow responsible for the economic woes of the state.

I would like to remind your readers that, despite what some elected officials say, it was not the public sector in America that was responsible for the recent economic downturn, it was the unbridled rapacious greed of the private sector; specifically the banking and investment industries that led to economic contraction and ultimately needed to be rescued by public funding.

The public workers in Hawai'i represent a very significant block of consumers of private goods and services. Any impact to their purchasing power will ultimately turn around and bite private business in Hawai'i.

James Petersen | Mililani

CLEAN ENERGY

HAWAI'I HOSTS KEY SUMMIT ON ENERGY

Hawai'i will once again fulfill its role as the ideal meeting place at the crossroads of the Pacific as we host the Inaugural Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo (today-Thursday) to focus on the development of clean and renewable energy resources. This meeting, in conjunction with the seventh Korea-U.S. Economic Conference, will enhance economic and energy security and environmental protection throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Hawai'i's success in achieving an economy based on 70 percent clean energy, through the Hawai'i Clean Energy Initiative, will be a model for other states and nations. The summit will highlight the progress Hawai'i has made in charting a new course to energy security and independence.

The summit will set the stage for the continued sharing of ideas, experience and technical solutions among nations and regions that face the same global energy and environment challenges. It will feature speakers from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea, China, Philippines and Taiwan, among others. Energy companies and organizations will showcase the latest products and services supporting clean energy development and adoption.

The Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo is sponsored by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism in cooperation with the Defense Logistics Agency and U.S. Pacific Command. To learn more and register: www.asiapacificcleanenergy.com.

Ted Liu | Director, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism

STUDENT SCORES

LONGITUDINAL VALIDITY LACKING IN TESTING

Hooray! The scores are published. The overall performance was poor. The teachers at our school felt the Hawai'i State Assessment was deceptive by design. Test items were deliberately contextually constructed to confuse the students.

Is there an outside consortium to validate our perception of deviancy on the part of the designing of the test?

A fair test of our students on the selected benchmarks is responsible. We teachers fully support the evaluation. Let's have clearly defined targets that are not dismissed by some "top dog" who wants to star in the design of the test with a hidden agenda.

The scores are dismal. Teachers are not happy.

Teachers are passionate about seeing our students excel and surpass the No Child Left Behind benchmarks for achievement. We are working diligently to meet the individual needs of our students.

We are not surrendering to lowering the standards. We just want a fair and valid assessment with some longitudinal validation. Changing testing vendors every three to five years voids statistical longitudinal validity. This requires a fair and just evaluation of our students.

We can't achieve any standard with the deviancy behind the design of the test.

Kalaukieleula Hergenrader | Wahiawa

STREETLIGHT REPAIR

MAHALO TO CITY OFFICE FOR QUICK RESPONSE

So often people criticize our local government. This is not one of those letters.

A speeding car severely damaged a light pole in front of our home about 4 a.m. one morning last week. I called the city and county streetlight maintenance office to see if someone would just check on the safety of the large pole.

It was as if they were wizards. The problem was fixed in less than two hours after my call. Hats off to the city and county workers!

Sometimes it's nice to tell people when they do something right instead of the other way around. Mahalo!

Judi Moore | Wai'alae Nui

STATEHOOD PROTEST

BURNING FLAG'S STAR WAS NOT PONO

He Hawai'i au (I am Hawaiian), kanaka maoli. As I read the Honolulu Advertiser article on Aug. 22 about protesters desecrating the American flag by cutting out a star and burning it in protest, I cannot help but wonder how desecrating another person's culture can somehow enhance your own.

While I support the ikaika (warrior) spirit and tenacity that our culture is known for, I cannot support this. There are kanaka maoli who are working very hard, addressing the injustices of the past while, at the same time, preserving our culture and teaching the importance of pono in everything we do for the present and future. They are doing this with the same tenacity and spirit except that their ihe (weapon) is their brain.

Burning a national symbol and desecrating the American culture does little to promote progress. In fact, it has the opposite effect. It has done more harm than not. Why? Because it is not pono. Auwe.

Manu Josiah | Hilo

HEALTH CARE

KENNEDY BILL WOULD BE WONDERFUL LEGACY

Now's the time to scrap all the misinformation and infighting and pass a Kennedy health care bill that's Medicare for everyone. Simple, easy to understand, doable and tweakable when necessary. What a wonderful legacy that would be for Sen. Kennedy's untiring work on behalf of the health, financial stability and security of all Americans. I challenge every member of Congress to find a way to make this happen.

Francine Pearson | Hilo

RAIL TRANSIT

IT'S NOT NEWS REPORTS THAT ARE 'MISLEADING'

On Friday, Aug. 21, I received an e-mail from the "damage control" branch of Honolulu Rail Transit. I deeply resent their characterizations of recent newspaper reporting as "misleading and irresponsible."

Whose information is truly misleading? Those who are making apples-and-oranges comparisons to other metropolitan areas' transit systems.

Who is being truly irresponsible with taxpayers' hard-earned money? Those who are hell-bent on ramrodding elevated light rail through to completion, ignoring other more sustainable (and less financially catastrophic) alternatives.

David Kammerer | La'ie