RUNAROUND

CUSTOMER SERVICE AT UH-MANOA NEEDS HELP

Neal Smatresk, vice chancellor of academic administration at UH-Manoa, needs to look around at the rest of Manoa's "customer service."

Last week I registered and stood in line to validate my student ID so I would have a U-pass when classes started. When I went to get the U-pass, I was told I needed a new student ID card, which meant I had to stand in the same line again, plus another one to get a new picture. Nobody I talked to at the ID office knew about the need for a new student ID card; they would have given me a U-pass the first day if I had $100 in cash. My neighbor's grandsons encountered the same problem, and one of them is a new student.

As for academic administration, it's nice to see that UH-Manoa has finally accomplished what most universities took care of decades ago: making sure that there are enough seats for the students to take their required courses.

CAP LAW

ARE GASOLINE PRICES BEING MANIPULATED?

It seems that The Advertiser has failed to portray the truth in regard to the soon-to-be gas-cap law. To paint a picture that the law will artificially inflate prices on Sept. 1 is not accurate.

If The Advertiser were to investigate the facts, it may find that Hawai'i gas prices have been manipulated by the oil companies to create a perception that the gas cap will cause prices to rise artificially.

In testimony before the Legislature, the oil companies said that the gasoline tax in Hawai'i is 17 cents higher than the national average gasoline tax; this means that Hawai'i should be 17 cents higher than the national average, all other things being equal. In fact, Hawai'i is usually 30 to 50 cents above the national average price, and only in 2002 when the first version of the gas cap passed, in 2004 when the amended version passed, and now before the implementation, does the O'ahu average gas price come within a few pennies of the national average price. It seems that the oil companies have chosen to absorb costs for some reason, and this reason could very well be to create a controversy.

NAPA Auto Parts and Redline Automotive recently had trade fairs at the Best Western Hotel, and I had an opportunity to talk about gas prices on the Mainland. I cannot ever recall Hawai'i gas prices being lower than in so many Mainland states, lower by 20 to 25 cents per gallon. Even the sales reps who had come to Hawai'i before were amazed by the lower prices. At the PGA championship in Baltusrol, N.J., the Golf Channel reported gas prices in the area at $3.31 per gallon.

All things being equal, Hawai'i gasoline prices should be higher than they currently are. Logic says so.

AKAKA BILL

ALL HAWAIIANS MUST NOW COME TOGETHER

Now would be the appropriate time for Hawaiians to speak up. All Hawaiians, not just the ones you constantly see and hear in the press. We need to take a good, hard look at what is really happening to our culture and what will probably happen in the next few years.

The Akaka bill is just one means for the Hawaiians to have a voice and authority to deal with the U.S.A on a more democratic basis; as it is now, we really have no voice.

Then there is the Kamehameha Schools ruling on allowing non-Native Hawaiians into the school. The best way to have fought this was to have never let Brayden Mohica-Cummings in by fighting tooth and nail then, not now.

As for the past, the best we can hope for is that the USA incorporate us into the foldings of the democratic process and let the law of the land preside over what we can get or not.

There is no looking back except for information and study. We must adjust and move forward, never to forget, but realize what we can truly accomplish now, today.

ALCOHOL BAN

TRY SMARTER WAYS

Do not ban beer sales at Aloha Stadium. For the first purchase of a cup of beer, the drinker must pay $1 for a plastic wrist band with the time punched out. The purchaser would be limited to buying only one beer an hour for that event. If the purchaser appeared drunk on his original purchase, he could be denied purchase at vendor discretion.

SACRED SITES

LUNCH WAGONS ARE OUT OF PLACE AT PARKS

So the tourists want vendors at our historic cultural sites. So instead of showing/teaching them Hawai'i is different from the Mainland, we should feed their bodies, not their souls.

When we moved here in 1986, we traveled to each island and explored the sites. I remember distinctly hearing the chants of the kupuna in my mind as we stood at Akaka Falls. There we were, alone except for a local or two. The peace and quiet and gentle breeze helped you to understand mana. The song "Akaka Falls" was also going through my mind. It was like that at site after site. For years we went twice a year to the Big Island, where I was always spiritually renewed. We don't travel interisland much anymore or go to Diamond Head or Hanauma Bay since all the changes.

Thanks to the Year of the Hawaiian, when we first moved here, TV had show after show about the Hawaiian culture. You learned that hula was not just an entertainment dance but a spiritual dance that could bring tears to your eyes. A few evenings ago, PBS ran Part 1 of 3 of one of the accounts of the Hawaiians, and I am once again watching it.

I learned about the true Hawaiian nature of kindness, hospitality, humility and the ability to ignore thoughtless actions or remarks with silence. It brought me even closer to God than I already was, and showed me how to become a better person (hopefully). All of this was made a reality by the beautiful 'aina around us. This is what people should be thinking about at the sacred sites — not food (we can carry our own water).

Please, no commercialism at historic cultural sites, but if you must, all I can say is shame.

LEFT BEHIND

WHAT CAN COMMUNITY DO TO HELP CHILDREN?

How sad! In the No Child Left Behind plan, we left two-thirds of them behind. This is obviously a scream for help from our public schools.

My question to the teachers is: What kind of help do you need? What do we (the people in the community) need to do to help our children?

Maybe some of the schools can put lists at the grocery stores for supplies that are needed and people can donate while they are buying groceries. Maybe the newspaper should publish a list of what kind of help is needed at the various schools, i.e. someone to help with reading, people to help with math, supplies needed, etc.

These are our kids, and we need to do whatever is necessary to help them take control of their future.

HEADLINES

DIFFERENTIATE OWENSES

Memo to sports headline writer:

Regarding the Aug. 18 headline "Owens returns to camp": Effective immediately and until further notice, only — repeat, only — one Owens will be referred to by last name. Terrell Owens will be "T. Owens" or "TO." The real professional NFL player, Chad Owens, has earned his right not to be confused with "Terrible Obstructionist."

IN USE IN '50S

SHAKA SIGN PREDATED THE LATE LIPPY ESPINDA

Mr. Donn Terada's letter regarding the origin of the shaka sign is not correct. The late Lippy Espinda did popularize use of the sign through his weekly show, but surely he did not originate this local gesture.

I'm a product of the '40s and '50s, and we were flashing this sign in 1952 during grade school. Moreover, we did not say "shaka" when doing it, but instead said "easy, brah."

Maybe other "old-timers" can shed more light on this unique local custom.

HONOLULU CONVENTION JOB WELL DONE, AMERICAN LEGION

I am proud to join with President Bush and all Americans in congratulating the American Legion on the occasion of its 87th National Convention this week in Honolulu. I am also honored to be here to address the attendees, who are representing the nearly 3 million members of the American Legion.

Over the years, the American Legion's accomplishments have been legend, including one of its past national commanders being credited with writing the first draft of the GI Bill of Rights. The American Legion also: