This school has operated under its policy as long as it has stood and has an important role to play in keeping alive the Hawaiian culture and history. Pauahi understood that need and willed it, but for the most needy as well. Let all sides honor her will.

NOT RAIL

HIGH-OCCUPANCY TOLL LANES THE ONLY ANSWER

What is all the fuss about fixed rail? Has anyone been to Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta or New York? These cities have a fixed-rail system and they still have a traffic problem. Because not many people use it, they still drive their cars. So having a rail system will not work in Hawai'i.

I believe that high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes will work. An expressway is needed that will start from downtown Honolulu and end at Makakilo and Mililani. It should not have any on-ramps, just off-ramps at Kunia, 'Ewa Beach, Mililani and Makakilo. It should have at least three lanes.

Since the plans call for having it above existing freeways, it will work. Having the right plan and the right idea, the HOT lanes will solve Hawai'i's traffic problems — and fixed rail won't.

AFTER INCREASE

GENERAL EXCISE TAX WILL REALLY BE 4.7%

The current GET of 4 percent is really 4.166 percent since the state Tax Department considers all revenues collected, including the 4 percent tax, to be subject to taxation.

This means that the proposed GET tax increase of .5 percent for a total of 4.5 percent results in a new tax rate of 4.712 percent if the same method of tax computation is used.

EDUCATION

DUE PROCESS HEARINGS HURT PARENTS, TOO

Rebecca Rosenberg states in a rebuttal to Larry Geller that due process hearings are so scary for some teachers, they've changed jobs (Letters, Aug. 3). As a parent of a special-needs child, my heart bleeds. I can't change jobs! Who's going to look after my child if I burn out? While I have to take time off — without pay — to attend my child's due process hearings, DOE personnel don't have to do this; it counts as a workday for them.

It is also true that if my child hadn't been reading at just under first-grade level at the end of third grade, she'd still be in public schools. My husband and I were completely educated in public schools and saw no reason to do otherwise for our daughter until they failed her dismally.

HAWAIIAN AIR

COSTLY 'SUCCESS FEE'

The Hawaiian Airlines bankruptcy resolution appeared to be highly successful right up to the point where they had to pay the bankruptcy trustee a "success fee" of $8 million.

FUNDING MAKIKI LIBRARY MUST LOOK TO CITY

Recently I had the opportunity to tour the Makiki Community Library, a nonprofit facility that operates out of a city building at Makiki District Park. I appreciated spending time with the dedicated volunteer staff and board members to learn more about the operations of this community gathering place.

The Makiki Library is not part of the State Public Library System, and based on my discussions with the board members, it does not wish to become a certified library under the state system. Instead, their vision seems to focus on creating a community learning center, where residents can access donated reading material.

I admire and appreciate the volunteers and board members for all the time and effort they have dedicated to the Makiki Library, but I was struck by the poor condition of the building. It appears that years of neglect, vandalism and lack of funds have resulted in severe deterioration. In addition, the building suffers from a lack of basic upkeep, maintenance and renovations, and does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

I was glad to see that the city is investing $1.7 million in needed repairs.

The state Legislature appropriated a $4.5 million grant-in-aid in state funds for renovations and improvements to the Makiki Community Library. After visiting the facility and weighing all the information available, including the lack of ongoing operational, maintenance and security funding, I do not believe releasing the $4.5 million in state funds is in the best interest of the state taxpayers.

The building that the Library operates out of is city-owned and city-operated. The city, not the state, is responsible for the building's upkeep and any desired renovations or improvements. While I admire the board's commitment and desire to have this type of "reading room" available to their community, the facility is not a functioning full-time state library with a full-time paid staff to serve the needs of the area, as is the McCully-Mo'ili'ili Library, which is only 1.1 miles away down King Street.

The state has many pressing needs, and I have the responsibility of balancing those needs against the availability of funding. Although the state revenue outlook is positive and we now have more money to repair and renovate the many state facilities that have been neglected over the years, our state funds are not unlimited.

Although I am not able to approve the use of these state funds to renovate and repair a city building, my administration is willing to work with the board and the city to locate funding to help with various community-focused programs that the board spoke to me about.

WASTE RECYCLING

MAUI HOTEL DEMOLITION WILL KEEP DISRUPTION TO MINIMUM

In response to the Aug. 1 letter "Maui hotel demolition will cause problems": Kapalua Bay LLC (owner of the Kapalua Bay Hotel) and Maui Land & Pineapple Co. would like to assure the author and the Maui community that we are actively evaluating all measures available to minimize the noise, dust and overall disruption the restructuring of the Kapalua Bay Hotel may have on the immediate neighbors and surrounding community.

In addition, Kapalua Bay LLC has designed a preliminary plan to address the amount of debris our project will generate, with the ultimate goal being to minimize the amount of waste disposed of at the Maui County landfill.

The preliminary plan calls for much of the rubble generated by the hotel to be processed on-site for reuse as structural fill for the new facilities. Kapalua Bay LLC has begun discussions to salvage materials from the Kapalua Bay Hotel for use at other projects throughout the island. We have also met with local nonprofit organizations to see what materials, such as furniture, they may be able to use at their facilities.

All material suitable for recycling, such as metals, rubble, drywall, wood and green waste that we will not reuse, will be taken to appropriate recycling centers. While the amount of material not suitable for recycling is currently unknown, our goal is to reuse or recycle up to 90 percent of the material from the existing hotel, thus significantly limiting the impact of our activities on the county landfill.
The preliminary plan, which will be finalized once a general contractor is hired and is ultimately subject to approval by the County of Maui, was outlined for our employees in the May 13 issue of Ho'omana'o, ML&P's employee newsletter. A copy of this article may be found by visiting http://www.mauiland.com/pdf/vol2issu10.pdf.

Maui Land & Pineapple Co. is dedicated to protecting and preserving Maui's beauty and natural resources. As we reshape our company and work with Kapalua Bay LLC and our other resort partners to make improvements to the Kapalua Resort, we promise to do so with continued respect for the 'aina and our neighbors.