WORKDAY

TEACHERS ALSO HAVE LIFE OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL

I am a full-time teacher at Dole Middle School.

Last week's article about the average teacher work day caught my attention. 15 1/2 hours! No way!

I have never put in 15 1/2 hours in any one day, nor will I ever in the future. I have a life outside of my school and students. I coach, hang out with friends and family, and if there are waves, go surf.

What alarms me is the public reaction to the headline. There seems to be two camps. One group has sympathy for overworked teachers. The other thinks we are incompetent and need extra time to do what most could do in a normal workday.

Dole is one of the furthest along among Hawai'i schools in meeting the NCLB requirements. My workday has been pretty steady in the 17 years I've put in with the DOE. If I work, on average, nine hours per day, that means there is some poor sucker out there putting in 22 hours per day because of my incompetence.

We go into teaching knowing the shortcomings of the profession. We teach because we want to.

INTERISLAND

SUPERFERRY WILL HELP IN MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION

As an annual visitor and potential Maui resident, I believe the Superferry will play a key medical transportation role.

Maui, Kaua'i, and Hawai'i residents and visitors in need of medical specialists and treatment not available on the island can rely on the Superferry for safe and reliable passage to O'ahu at reasonable cost.

They can also take their cars instead of renting cars on O'ahu, another cost savings. This will provide great relief for the elderly, those facing ongoing medical treatment challenges and those experiencing difficult pregnancies.

This will also unite the Islands' healthcare communities.

SUPERFERRY WILL RUIN HAWAI'I COMMUNITIES

I don't get it. Who wants this Superferry anyway, and how did this all come about?

It's obviously being driven by the dollar, and that's the problem. Hawai'i is an island state. Just because something works in other parts of the world doesn't mean it's going to work here.

Hawai'i's culture is about our lifestyle and our communities, especially in the Neighbor Island communities where everybody knows everyone. There's a common respect, and that's what keeps the balance. It's not about the dollar, it's about our lifestyle.

If this Superferry shows up on Kaua'i, our lifestyle and communities will forever be changed.

What will happen when people who are not familiar with how our community works and the respect that goes with it come over here with their trucks, surfboards, fishing poles, fishing nets, dive gear, hunting rifles, camping gear and who knows what else? What's going to happen?

I'm not willing to sacrifice my lifestyle and our community values for the stinking dollar. As a young man born and raised in Hawai'i with a deep sense of community and our lifestyle, I sincerely hope that this is not the direction our representatives are leading us, because if it is, we'll forever be lost in a sea of disgrace and confusion.

LEGISLATION

CIVIL UNION FAILURE AN AFFRONT TO ISLE PEOPLE

Last week's House Judiciary Committee hearing relating to civil unions was an affront to people across Hawai'i, but not for the reasons James Roller cites in his letter (March 8).

Rather, it was because legislators failed to acknowledge their obligation to pursue justice.

Many of those opposed to civil unions seem to think this issue was decided by voters in 1998. However, that assessment is false.

In 1998, in one of the lowest voter turnouts in Hawai'i history, voters gave the Legislature the right to define marriage (only). The voters did not say anything about civil unions.

Civil unions are a legal status and a compromise measure that is not marriage. Civil unions require no religious solemnification and provide no federal recognition such as Social Security benefits or immigration rights.

This type of compromise has been recognized as a viable solution in Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, California and soon will be in Oregon as well as nearly 20 nations around the world.

Granting equal protections for gay and lesbian families will be a major step toward justice that will strengthen families and our community.

The world has moved beyond 1998, and Hawai'i legislators ought to recognize the opportunity to speak up for equality. Otherwise, they are surely inviting a costly lawsuit that will affirm all families are entitled to equal protection.

BIOFUEL

BLUEEARTH STUDYING MANY SOURCES FOR OIL

In response to the letter (March 4) from Kelly King, vice president of Pacific Biodiesel, we share many of her concerns. We respect what the Kings have done to foster biodiesel production and use in Hawai'i, and would be happy to work with them in the future.

As Maui Electric Co. will be our major customer, its parent company, Hawaiian Electric Co., is working with Natural Resources Defense Council — one of the nation's most respected and influential environmental organizations — to craft an effective and enforceable sourcing model. Once agreement is reached on sourcing standards and the public has an opportunity to comment, it will become the policy specified to all of its biofuel suppliers.

We are evaluating various vegetable oils to determine which will serve as our initial feedstock until locally grown feedstock is available. The list of vegetable oils that we are considering includes soybean, canola, peanut, cottonseed and sunflower oil from the Americas, and various tropical oils from the Pacific Rim and South America.

The Maui biodiesel refinery project provides for a cleaner environment, reduced greenhouse-gas output, responsible feedstock sourcing, totally transparent biodiesel pricing at capped profits, high-paying local jobs, a privately funded, publicly run trust to promote local biofuel development and a clear path to less dependence on imported oil for Hawai'i — all within a few years.