STARVED GIRL

ABUSE CASE SHOULD HAVE BEEN FOLLOWED UP

As a member of the "public," I take offense at the insinuation that somehow the public should have been responsible for reporting the abuse suffered by the Wright child ("Starved girl like 'wild animal,' " July 15).

Human Services Director Lillian Koller, Jonathan Won of Prevent Child Abuse Hawai'i and deputy city prosecutor Maurice Arrisgado all state that the public needs to step forward and call Child Welfare Services when abuse is suspected.

In fact, one of our citizens, Nicole Jordan, did report the abuse in 2000 at which time the child, who had been starved and locked in a room, was removed from the family for one month while her parents went to parenting classes.

What I'd like to know, Ms. Koller, is why your department never followed the family after the child was returned to the Wrights? And Mr. Arrisgado, you yourself state that "from 2000 to 2007, nobody knew this girl existed," so how could anyone from the public have reported the abuse?

The citizens of Hawai'i are not an uncaring people, especially when it comes to our children. So don't insult us, Ms. Koller, when the responsibility for protecting this child, who was incapable of protecting herself, lies with the Human Services department.

JUSTICE

FAMILY COURT RIGHT TO WAIVE CHILD OFFENDERS

Jonnete Adler's letter of July 11 dealt with the "unfairness" of Family Court consistently waiving juveniles to be tried as adults.

When I got to the closing line ("Let's not give up on our youth quite so easily. They are our future, the future of Hawai'i.") I had a tear in my eye, but then I realized that it was from a piece of dust.

Those who have lost an innocent family member might feel differently.

Child offenders do not deserve a chance to become contributors to society. They chose to forfeit their chance, and additionally forfeited the chance of their victim.

The families of the occasional No. 2 victim should not have to go through their pain because there are those who believe one murder may not be enough in some instances.

The number of ex-murderers busy forging society's future pales in comparison to the number of repeat offenders.

Praise be the courts.

APARTMENTS

CITY STUDYING OPTIONS ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING

It is unfortunate that Advertiser reporter Mary Vorsino jumped the gun and arrived at her conclusions from a discussion of options. ("Tenants wary of leasing proposal," July 14).

As the mayor stated in his Feb. 9 press conference, we must first decide on the process we'll adopt, using Kulana Nani as a test, before moving on to other properties.

This does not preclude strategy discussions on the remainder of the city's affordable housing portfolio, with a clear mandate to maintain the inventory and keep it affordable.

It is true that one of the options is leasing, especially for land with higher property values. This can allow an affordable housing partner to finance without the high land cost and allow them to devote their resources to the maintenance and upkeep of the housing. It might also reassure tenants that with public ownership, affordability can be a factor in future leases.

We have many other ideas from potential partners, and we continue to research all options to present to the City Council.

Ms. Vorsino has interpreted our options as policy. She also reported that the residents waited weeks to schedule a meeting with the administration, when in fact that meeting was arranged the day I received the request.

We will continue to move forward carefully, ensuring that these properties are kept affordable, as was promised by the mayor.

LEGISLATURE

SPECIAL SESSION WAS DEMOCRACY AT ITS BEST

Jerry Burris' column (July 13) regarding civility in response to the recent special session has merit.

In my opinion, the special session was democracy at its best. Thirty-three bills were on the governor's potential veto list, six she passed into law, leaving 27 for consideration for override by the Legislature. Of that 27, 16 vetoes were not overridden and 11 were — several by close margins.

The spirited and civilized public discourse between the Republicans and Democrats and the legislative versus the executive branch of government was productive and beneficial for the people of Hawai'i.

This is the way state government is supposed to work, as opposed to the "one-party dictatorial monopoly" of the past.

What Burris conveniently forgot to mention is that in the previous 40 years of the Democrats' monopoly of the executive and legislative branches only one veto was overridden.

In the five years that Republican Linda Lingle has been governor, there have been four override sessions and many veto overrides.

The only year there wasn't one was the election year of 2006.

Where were the Democrats in the past 40 years before the Lingle administration?

The message is that democracy works better and Hawai'i's citizens benefit with a genuine two-party system.

CEMETERIES

CREMATION SPARES MORE SPACE THAN BURIALS

The July 10 Page One article concerning the possible increase in cemetery plots on O'ahu should help start an important debate: burials vs. cremation.

Other places in the world, such as Japan and the United Kingdom, that have large populations and limited land have chosen cremation. When comparing costs in the U.S., cremation is far less expensive than a typical burial.

Educating people about the benefits of cremation will take time, so we need to start now.

The cremation option is dramatically more space-efficient. Baby boomers are a flexible-minded generation and can make the transition.

If you factor in this change of mindset, the estimates for needed space may not be accurate.

Our crowded island cannot continue to cut down trees and waste precious resources on projects such as cemeteries when there are better alternatives.

In the case of the proposed Hawaiian Memorial Park expansion, the entire project site is conservation land presently covered in trees that will have to be cleared.

POLITICS

CANDIDATES MAY NOT BE IN PUBLIC-SERVICE ADS

In June, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona announced his intention to run for governor in 2008 and has since held a number of fundraisers statewide.

At the same time, he is the principal spokesperson in a series of taxpayer-funded "Start Living Healthy" commercials — also known as public-service announcements — that are receiving a great amount of print and air time on broadcast and cable.

The state should enlist great role models such as Tadd Fujikawa, Colt Brennan or Clarissa Moore to promote healthy living, for the lieutenant governor is campaigning and should step down from this role.

One of the first bills to pass the Legislature this session was HB 389, which Gov. Linda Lingle signed into law as Act 54.

The law now states that candidates for public office are prohibited from appearing in public service announcements from the time they file their nomination papers until the time they are no longer a candidate.

Certainly, the lieutenant governor would not like to contradict his previous press release of Feb. 1, 2006, in which he believed it would "not be appropriate" to appear in any public-service announcement, since he was running for office.

Again, he may not be in violation technically, but as a former judge and as someone who aspires to be governor, I'm sure he would want to be sensitive to the spirit of the law and not stoop to a technical loophole.

While the lieutenant governor has not filed papers, he is obviously and visibly in campaign mode.

I would like to remind all potential candidates of this new addition to campaign law.

HARRY POTTER

MUGGLES WANT SILENCE ON SECRETS OF BOOK

Given the fact that Hawai'i is the last place on Earth (midnight Friday) to get the new Harry Potter book, we muggles (kids and adults alike) ask media to not reveal the secrets in the final book.

We want to be able to read the book and savor every word and when we finish to be happy or be sad with our own experience with the book.

The secrets will be available starting at midnight Friday, Hawai'i time.

I guess that means that the PC has to stay off all day Friday so we don't surf the "all-revealing" Web sites accidentally.

Do we also have to leave the TV and radio off and not read the daily newspaper?

We Harry Potter fans just want would-be spoilers to know that there is no joy in revealing the secrets. So silence, please, for 24 hours at least.

SAFETY

MORE BICYCLE LANES ARE NEEDED ON O'AHU ROADS

I am writing to say that we should have more bike lanes on O'ahu.

I am a 13-year-old boy. I ride around a lot, and I've been close to being hit several times.

I've been close to being hit when I ride to school or on the Century Ride or the Hale'iwa Metric Century Ride.

I think bike lanes would help because you have a better chance of not being hit.

There are also bike lanes that are unfinished. If they went all the way through, it would be safer.

Having the bike lanes would make drivers aware that there might be bicyclists.

I would really like it if we got bike lanes in Kailua, Waimanalo and Sandy Beach, because that's where I usually ride.

GOLF

TURNING PRO GIVES TADD OPPORTUNITIES

Turning pro affords Tadd Fujikawa opportunities to realize his dreams, earn money through tournaments and endorsements, and eliminate future financial strains on his parents.

While it's easy to say he should stay in school, go to college or compete in amateur tournaments, one must be realistic. It costs money.

So I say, go Tadd! It's not often that a 16-year-old can live his dream — while still in high school.