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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, November 30, 2009

Furloughs

BOE FAILED TO REPRESENT THE KEIKI

My point of view on the student furlough Fridays: I know where to point the finger — at the Board of Education.

The governor made a mistake. She signed a contract without considering the consequences. After sleeping on it, she realized it, admitted she was wrong, and took action to correct the problem.

HSTA manipulated the system by playing politics, but did their job. Teachers underestimate the power and influence they have. I would like to see them represented by leaders who have not only their best interest in mind but also share their values. This contract was contrary to the ethics of every teacher that I have come in contact with.

The real mistake here was made by the Board of Education. I keep hearing, "Who was representing the children?" Should that not have been their job? And now HSTA and the BOE are going back to the table. Can we trust the Board of Education? No.

My question is: Who is going to oversee them this time? Let's hope voters remember all of this in November 2010 and 2012.

MELANIE BAILEY | Kailua

TEACHERS SHOULD KNOW HOW TO TEACH

To Matthew LoPresti (Letters, Nov. 27): Replacing teacher prep days with instructional days is absurd baby-sitting, a compromise by irresponsible parents and irresponsible politicians. You've got to be kidding!

He is saying that if these college-educated professionals miss prep days and instead do their job and teach, the children are poorly served.

It is the irresponsible teachers' union that wants the kids to sit at home while these already educated, so-called professionals learn to teach and our keiki fall further behind.

CYNTHIA LOCK SIMS | Honolulu

CITY'S POSITIVE TRAITS HAVE A STEEP PRICE

Gee, I'm happy that Danny Kaleikini (Letters, Nov. 25) had a good time in Singapore, which he calls "a clean, efficient, beautifully landscaped and vibrant city" and all but suggests that we should emulate in Hawaii to "keep the aloha spirit alive."

But Mr. Kaleikini might want to do some research on what made Singapore what it is today — a series of actions that could and should not be permitted in our American democracy. President Lee Kuan Yew's policies have been described as totalitarianism, authoritarianism and rampant capitalism. But whatever the nomenclature, the process has been neither democratic nor beneficial to the population at large.

Imagine destroying everything in Waikíkí but The Royal Hawaiian hotel, as was done in Singapore with the neighborhood surrounding the famous Raffles hotel. Imagine being fined $500 for chewing gum, or imprisoned for littering.

Good ideas taken to the extreme turn into bad ideas. (Remember the Oahu freeway van cams and how soon we got rid of them?) The media is state-owned and state-controlled, so the news is always positive and criticism of the government is absent.

I don't think Mr. Kaleikini would want this kind of change to come to Hawaii.

JOHN WYTHE WHITE | Haleiwa

CENTRALIZED FINANCE BETTER FOR SCHOOLS

Grant Kim makes a compelling case for decentralizing the management of Hawaii's public school system ("Centralized system hurts schools," Nov. 24). However, he points out disadvantages associated with decentralizing the financing of schools and mistakenly assumes that financing must follow management on the same path.

In fact, the current centralized financing system can be maintained while decentralizing the management function. Independently managed regions with their own school boards — or even independently managed schools — can be created, thereby closing the pernicious communications gap that Mr. Kim describes.

Meanwhile, state government can continue to collect taxes to fund public education, with money distributed to regions or individual schools based on enrollment and the types of students enrolled. This would maintain equity in financing public education that would be lost with decentralized financing.

In this way, Hawaii would have the best of both worlds — the equity of centralized financing and the healthy communication of decentralized management.

JOHN KAWAMOTO | Honolulu

FOR BETTER HEALTH, IMPROVE INGREDIENTS

Food and beverage manufacturers just don't get it. The article "Better nutritional labels sought" (Nov. 10) represents an initiative that will accomplish little other than giving the general public a false impression that something is being done to protect their health.

Certainly, there are products out there that have a respectable level of nutrition, labeled just as accurately as those that are merely corn sugar and flavoring; I contend that most people do not read these labels and the ones that do have no analytical reference to understand the difference. How about just improving nutritional content?

The most well-known soda manufacturer in the world recently announced that they are going to be more responsible in providing content information on their products, many of which contain mostly sugar and water.

Is not the impact of improving the content of their product far more beneficial to our health than making the profound declaration that they are increasing labeling accuracy?

rick parlee | Mililani

ILLEGAL EXPLOSIVESA THREAT TO PUBLIC

Two years ago they started on Halloween. Last year was Oct. 13, this year Oct. 3. The intensity and frequency of the illegal fireworks will grow as we get closer to the end of the year.

These illegal devices present potential harm to every one of us through the danger of house and brush fires, noise and smoke.

My main concern is that illegal incendiary devices are being smuggled into Hawaii. If smugglers can get illegal fireworks in quantity into the state without detection, what else might they be bringing in? Could there be far more dangerous items coming in? Items that could harm a large portion of the population?

Is someone on the take within the system? Who's watching the store? Aren't there explosive detection devices in place at the ports and airports? What is being done to protect us from criminal or terrorist attacks via smuggled items?

I would advocate a complete ban on private fireworks use if I thought it had a chance. It may only happen after a catastrophic event. I would much rather see common sense be the prime mover of a complete ban than a tragedy.

JIM FROMM | Waipahu