DON HO

LOSS FOR HAWAI'I AND ALSO FOR THE COUNTRY

I was saddened to learn of Don Ho's death.

In the 60s, I attended his show while on R&R from Vietnam.

Although he expressed no personal or political feelings about the war, he acknowledged all of the military attending his show and made one feel that he was performing just for us.

He lifted my spirits at a very troubled time for me, and for that I have always been grateful.

I had the opportunity to attend one of his performances in 2003, and although old and tired, he still put on a great show.

I have some of his recordings, and played them the day I learned of his passing.

He is not only a loss for the state of Hawai'i but, in my opinion, a loss for our nation. May he rest in peace.

ENVIRONMENT

LISTEN TO JACK JOHNSON: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

The use of the magnet at the Waimanalo Landfill is a great program, and I support the efforts of our city government to create solutions for our 'opala.

We should have been doing it years ago. Just think how much metal we could have prevented from going into the landfill.

Unlike some residents who complain about the inconvenience of recycling, I understand what the big picture is — to preserve the beauty and cleanliness of our home.

When you recycle metal, glass, plastic and paper so that it can be used again, you've prevented these things from being buried into a nearly full landfill.

O'ahu is not big enough to waste what little land is left for landfills. Listen to Jack Johnson, and reduce, reuse and recycle, O'ahu.

TRASH

CITY HAS DRAGGED ITS FEET ON GOOD SOLUTIONS

Johnny Brannon's story on April 15 ("Study: Recycling and H-Power both beneficial to environment") suggests that Hono-lulu must choose between recycling or expanding H-Power.

With H-Power running at capacity for several years, we have needed both effective curbside recycling and expansion of H-Power by appropriate technology. That technology should be one that can run efficiently from various sources including biomass.

The city has been dragging its feet too long, hoping for perfect solutions while not acting on good ones.

It is disappointing that the link to the R.W. Beck report was not available April 15 on the city's Web site. Making the report available before the public hearings seems like common sense.

CONGRESS

REMEMBER YOUR TAX BILL WHEN YOU VOTE

I agree with Jay Hancock's April 16 commentary on federal taxes ("Taxes needn't be so complex, burdensome"), except for his prescription for change.

Writing to your congressional delegation and asking for a less-complex tax code won't work. Those elected officials are indebted to the special interests who financed their re-election campaigns and who, in return, received all the special breaks cluttering up the tax code.

The real problem? Your congressional delegates are counting on your memory of the ordeal of tax filing fading by election time. It is no coincidence that the tax filing deadline is about as far away from the general election date as is possible.

If you want real change, demand that your congressperson move the tax filing deadline to Oct. 15. The memory of both the complexity of the filing and the avariciousness of all levels of government will be fresh in your mind when you step in the voting booth or mail in your ballot.

EDUCATION

PAY FOR SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS A MORAL ISSUE

Put yourself in the shoes of a substitute teacher.

You have been underpaid by thousands of dollars annually for the past 10 years. Your pay was cut twice in a few months.

Your employer exempts itself from providing health insurance, although you work most of the school year.

You have no right to file grievances, since you do not belong to a labor union. You are prevented from joining a union. And now, even though a judge has ruled in your favor, the state is saying that state workers cannot sue for back pay.

Substitute teachers ask the governor, legislators and everyone involved to intervene to expedite the settlement of this dispute.

Hawai'i's students, teachers and public school system are being hurt by the legal haggling.

The Department of Education is losing more and more experienced subs each day.

Some students must remain in the cafeteria without any instruction, since there are not enough subs to go around.

The law is our only protection. We plead with our legislators to remember that it is your moral obligation to uphold the laws that you have passed and to pay substitute teachers what the law has provided.

SEWAGE

EPA SHOULD BE ABLE TO VERIFY TREATMENT FACTS

Professional civil engineer Roy K. Abe's article (Island Voices, April 12) substantiates our present method of handling disposal of secondary treatment for sewage. It should be easy for the Environmental Protection Agency to verify these facts.

Why spend millions of taxpayer dollars if the present method meets all current standards? If only our city engineers can stop the constant pipe breaks and overflows that pollute our streams and that eventually flow to the ocean.

With the current housing boom, can we continue to support the infrastructure?

SPORTS

UH'S SOFTBALL TEAM QUIETLY MAKING HISTORY

In a quiet way, our University of Hawai'i softball team has been making history.

Thanks to diligent and continued efforts of coach Bob Coolen, they have climbed nationally from 21st to 18th, and now to 15th place.

Bob has woven a group of very skilled players into a force to be recognized.

PALM OIL

BIODIESEL REFINERIES JUST A DEAD-END ROAD

Green-sounding plans to build huge biodiesel refineries on Maui and O'ahu are leading our state down a dead-end road.

The April 10 story on Imperium Renewables' proposed facility at Kalaeloa included a colorful photo of oil palm fruit, the preferred oil source. But there is nothing pretty about the palm oil industry, which has been an ecological disaster. Tens of millions of acres of rainforest have been lost in Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, Thailand and elsewhere.

Worldwide pressure to replace fossil fuels with renewable biofuels critically threatens dwindling habitats for rare orangutans, and Sumatran rhinoceroses and leopards.

There is a world of difference between renewable and sustainable. All sustainability is local. Biofuel efforts for Hawai'i should be tailored to the scale that can be supported by local agriculture.

And, of course, energy conservation is preferable to continuing to try to satisfy our consumptive habits with more and more fuel.

POLLUTION

U.S. LARGEST CONSUMER OF OIL IN ENTIRE WORLD

Americans are concerned about rising fuel costs and about global warming.

We complain that the rising prices of oil and gas hurt everyone.

What many people do not realize is that while America has only about 4.5 percent of the world population, we consume nearly 25 percent of the world's output of oil. We consume more oil than the next five countries (China, Japan, Russia, Germany and India) combined.

We have to realize that our lust for SUVs and trucks is a major contributor to our hunger for gas.

If all the people who own a large vehicle who did not really need one had purchased a more efficient car, imagine how much less oil we would consume on a daily basis.

America, wake up. We are the largest polluter in the world, and it's our responsibility to fix it.