EARLY EDUCATION

PROVIDE MORE FUNDING TO EXISTING PRESCHOOLS

Thanks to Alfred Castle for his commentary about the benefits of pre-kindergarten education ("Quality early education critical to success," June 26). He stops short of saying which agency should provide pre-kindergarten education, but the Department of Education (DOE) should not be the one to do it.

The DOE has proven that it is unable to do what it is supposed to do — provide quality education for students in kindergarten through grade 12. So it is unlikely that the DOE will be able to take on the additional responsibility of pre-kindergarten.

Many years ago, before the DOE incorporated kindergarten into its curriculum, it was provided by the private sector. As Mr. Castle says, "Hawai'i's privately funded, integrated kindergartens — led to spectacular results in literacy, numeracy and school readiness." They were so successful that they were "studied by educators from around the world."

But ever since kindergarten was taken over by the DOE, the results have been less than spectacular. Let's not make the same mistake with pre-kindergarten.

Fortunately, Hawai'i has the foundation for a quality pre-kindergarten program, which consists of the many preschools throughout the state. They are doing as well as possible with the resources available to them. But the fact is that most are severely underfunded.

If Hawai'i's preschools were funded at an adequate level, the result would be a substantial upgrade in the system.

So let's keep what we have, but provide the needed funding. Our children will thank us for it.

HAWAI'I KAI

ADDING SIMPLE THINGS MAY IMPROVE PARK

I think that the year-old park on the corner of Hawai'i Kai Drive is a waste.

When I saw the construction going on in the grassy, forest-like area, I was excited that a new park was going to be there.

When I saw the finished product, my heart sank. There was just a small pyramid made out of plastic blocks and two workout benches. The highlight of this small, useless park is the white, shiny fence around the site.

No one goes to the park, because there is nothing to do there. You can't even have a picnic there, because there is no shade.

A park should be a fun place for kids to play, adults to work out and families to bond.

Also, the park is only open to the people who live in those new apartments, which are far from the park site. I have never seen anyone going into that park.

To improve the park, I would add a few simple things. Slides, swings, rope-swings, and monkey bars would be a nice addition for a child-friendly park. For adults to exercise, pull-up bars and balance beams would help. There also should be benches or trees to give comfort to the park.

HOLIDAY MEAL

TRY VEGGIE BURGERS, SOY DOGS ON THE FOURTH

What happened to the good old days when the worst things we had to fear on the Fourth of July were traffic jams and wayward fireworks?

According to the government's Meat and Poultry Hotline, this year's top fear is food poisoning from inadequately grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. They don't mention that high-temperature grilling forms cancer-causing compounds.

Enterprising food manufacturers have met this challenge by developing a great variety of healthful, delicious, convenient, veggie burgers and soy dogs. They are available in every supermarket.

Let's stay safe and healthy on this Fourth of July.

Let's declare our independence from the meat industry, and enjoy wholesome veggie burgers and soy dogs at our holiday feast.

HB 91

LINGLE SHOULD VETO CPA REQUIREMENT BILL

HB 91, relating to experience and education requirements for CPAs, was included on Gov. Linda Lingle's potential veto list. HB 91 should be vetoed.

This bill reduces the experience requirements for CPAs by eliminating relevant experience in industry and government.

This legislation will make it harder for businesses and government to hire accounting staff. CPAs know well that we can provide fully relevant experience for accountants preparing for certification.

The bill also eliminates the requirement for any accounting education prior to sitting for the CPA examination. This will reduce the quality of audit work by some firms and will lower Hawai'i standards since it would be the only state not requiring prerequisite accounting education before taking the CPA examination.

Those opposed to HB 91 were supported by the AICPA, HSCPA, the state auditor, Hawai'i Accountants Coalition and more than 130 business leaders, CPAs, university faculty, tax professionals and accounting students. Despite overwhelming opposition, HB 91 narrowly passed based on testimony provided by just one accounting organization and fewer than 40 of its members.

The state Board of Accountancy, rather than new legislation, is the proper venue for determining the qualifications of persons seeking public accounting certification.

MARKETPLACE

BLAME HIGH GAS PRICES ON OIL COMPANY GREED

Mr. Joe Sparano (Island Voices, June 28) attempts to blame government for high gas prices because of taxes and regulation. This is hogwash.

The primary reason for the high prices is greed by the big oil companies. They are controlling supplies to prop up prices so they can reap huge profits.

In Hawai'i, where there are only two or three oil companies, they charge high prices by manipulating the market.

The oil companies complain that doing business in Hawai'i is expensive, but they show record profits. The same is true for the large oil companies on the Mainland; they complain that their costs are increasing, yet they show record profits.

The oil business here is an oligopoly, so true economic forces are not present to provide the lowest market prices. Hence, some kind of government intervention is necessary to prevent price gouging by the oil companies. Whether that form is by price control or an excess profit tax, something needs to be done.

Even though Hawai'i has higher gas taxes, they benefit the state in maintaining our roadways, etc. Conversely, the excess profits are lost to the people of Hawai'i.

POLITICS

Can more responsible days be ahead of us?

Bravo to Michael Lauck for his letter ("After Bush debacle, cannot tolerate GOP," June 27) about the nightmare of the Bush administration.

I, too, could tolerate the self-righteous Republican outlook until the "if you're not with us you're against us" campaign started as the invasion of Iraq began to be criticized. I'm disappointed that Democrats in Congress allowed that patriotic blackmail to go on for so long.

Like Mr. Lauck, I'd vote for a stack of dishes before I'd vote for a Republican, but hopefully some political will is stirring and more responsible days are ahead.

FAA

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS SEEK INPUT IN CHANGES

As an air traffic controller I would like you to know that Rep. Neil Abercrombie is looking out for your safety in Washington.

Congressman Abercrombie is protecting his Hawai'i constituents by working to allow controllers and pilots to be involved in the national airspace system's planning process by cosponsoring HR 2443, the FAA Facility Consolidation Moratorium Act.

This bill would prevent the FAA from continuing its dangerous practice of consolidating and deconsolidating air traffic control facilities without input from air traffic controllers and pilots.

Input from these groups is vital so that safety and efficiency will not be compromised.

PSYCHOLOGISTS

GOVERNOR SHOULD VETO PRESCRIPTIVE AUTHORITY

The governor should veto SB 1004, relating to psychologists prescribing drugs.

Psychologists, who are not medical doctors, have been attempting to bypass medical or nursing school to gain prescriptive authority for 23 years. Past bills were deemed discriminatory and unsafe for Hawai'i's ill residents. Only since the bill was touted as a solution to "access to psychiatric services" in rural areas did the bill get support.

Access is an issue, but this bill does not solve the problem. Nothing in SB 1004 mandates psychologists who receive a certificate to prescribe to practice in rural areas or in federally qualified community health centers. Only during their one-year supervisory period are they compelled to serve in those health centers.

Since when do we propose inferior healthcare to citizens just because they live on Neighbor Islands?

Hawai'i was recently awarded a Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration Grant in the amount of $11.2 million to transform our mental health system. It is a five-year grant designed to resolve issues such as access and lack of community services.

The mental health community has been in turmoil over the psychologists' push for crash-course prescribing. It is time we take a break, work with the Mental Health Transformation Grant Work Group, the Psychiatric Access Collaboration and the Hawai'i Departments of Health and Human Services to find solutions to access and delivery of mental health services.

ELDERLY POPULATION

WE MUST ACT TO MAKE CARE AT HOME MORE FEASIBLE

Regarding your June 25 editorial concerning caregivers for an aging population:

We definitely need trained caregivers and must work together to develop this workforce. However, we are ill prepared to cope with an aging boomer population.

It is interesting you include the challenge to prepare people to "finance some of the costs themselves." This is a simplistic statement about a very complex side of the issue.

Some families would tell you that they are financing all of the costs themselves as they struggle to keep their family members at home. The total share of the cost of long-term care includes a very large proportion of out-of-pocket costs from users.

The majority of care occurs at home. It really makes sense to help folks with the finances for in-home care as well as developing the workforce needed to help out at home.

When in-home resources are no longer adequate, disabled folks move into institutions, where costs are much higher.

It is very difficult to find home care at a reasonable cost. Some families are able to pay for this kind of care and others are eligible for Medicaid assistance. Yet the majority of folks here and across the country do not have adequate support to keep their family members at home in a safe environment.

In spite of the many articles that appear in your newspaper, too many readers still believe long-term care is primarily provided in institutions.

Bricks and mortar are an important and necessary part of the spectrum of long-term caring, but we must also recognize and act to increase care in the home and hopefully keep folks out of institutions until it is truly the only option. Some parts of the country have emphasized the development of home care and they are rewarded for these efforts.

We have miles to go in Hawai'i to meet this challenge. Let's work toward developing home-care opportunities.