SUSTAINABILITY

TEEN COMMENTARIES HAD REFRESHING VIEWS

The Sept. 23 Focus section with the teen board comments focusing on the theme of "A sustainable future" provided a refreshing view of our Islands' leaders of tomorrow.

I was especially impressed by Megan Kakimoto's essay echoing the ancient Greek philosophers' timeless exhortation to strive for excellence and accept personal responsibility.

The adherence to this positive mindset of advancing a sustainable future by striving for perfection and accepting personal responsibility by a single individual can snowball to envelop an enlightened society — here in Hawai'i, across the nation, and given the communicative miracle of our high-tech age, even across the world.

TEENS' RESPONSES ARE A WAKEUP CALL FOR STATE

As one of the participants at the Hawai'i 2050 Sustainability Summit, I was dumbfounded by the Advertiser's Teen Editorial Board.

Nine very bright young high school students, after giving very erudite answers to questions about sustainability, were asked if they intended to live in Hawai'i, or return to Hawai'i after going to school on the Mainland.

Not a single student said they would be living in Hawai'i. Not one.

How can we build sustainability with such a brain drain of our young leaders?

The Teen Editorial Board was a wakeup call for the sustainability movement, as well as the state Legislature.

SUPERFERRY

KAUA'I PROTESTS TAINTED ISLAND'S ALOHA SPIRIT

I attended the meeting scheduled on Sept. 20 at the Kaua'i War Memorial Convention Center to observe, listen and support the Superferry traveling to Kaua'i, and to respect those who are against the Superferry.

To my amazement, I saw a high volume of anger and heard threatening statements among rude and disrespectful protesters.

I was troubled to see children in this frightening situation. A young boy spoke out and said he was one of the protesters in the water willing to sacrifice his life in front of the Superferry.

What were his parents thinking? I saw and heard protesters at the meeting shouting and displaying disrespect to officials. No aloha.

The protests tainted and jeopardized the aloha spirit of our island, Kaua'i.

My conclusion is these protesters spoke in forked tongues. It went from EIS to everything under the sun. It's a camouflage that masks their own self-centered reasoning. A classic example of how we lost our lands.

INTERISLAND

AIRFARES LIKELY TO RISE, AND WE HAVE NO FERRY

Tuesday's headline: "If go! leaves, airfares go up."

No kidding! There's still no doubt that go!'s intention has always been to force Aloha or Hawaiian airlines out of business. They entered a troubled market with giveaway fares, admittedly backed by deep pockets, in order to help the local people to a "free lunch."

Well, the party's over, one will leave and fares will rise.

And, no thanks to our Department of Transportation, weak county leadership and a handful of uninformed and misled angry people, all of the people may not have the ferry as an alternative.

We will have missed the boat.

NAPPY NAPOLEON

SEA'S IRONMAN IS AN INSPIRATION FOR ALL OF US

Thank you so much for the excellent article about Joseph "Nappy" Napoleon ("Ironman of the sea," Oct. 3).

I had the pleasure of working alongside Nappy during a recent film shoot in which he was the water-stunt coordinator.

I was extremely impressed by his skill, modesty and gracious nature.

This simple family man is an inspiration to me, and should be a role model for all of us.

Go 'Anuenue! We'll be cheering when you arrive.

MAUI

VACATION RENTAL ACTION IS GROSS NEGLIGENCE

The current Maui County administration and the Planning Department have stated over and over that the goal of the crackdown and attempt to eliminate all vacation rentals outside of hotel- and resort-zoned areas is to turn those vacation rentals into long-term rentals for residents.

In the Sept. 28 Maui News there were just over 400 long-term rentals advertised in the classifieds ads. Last Sunday, there were just fewer than 400.

In the Oct. 3 Honolulu Advertiser there are fewer than 300 long-term rentals available.

Given that Maui's population is approximately 120,000, and O'ahu's population is approximately 1 million, Maui has 10 times as many rentals available per person as O'ahu.

Also, rental prices throughout the Islands are approximately the same across the board, depending on neighborhood and size of the rental.

My friends with long-term rental properties have all said that it is getting harder and harder to find tenants, as Maui has an overabundance of long-term rentals.

In eliminating vacation rentals islandwide, thereby putting people out of work, exacerbating a declining economy teetering on recession, alienating a huge segment of visitors worldwide and permanently ruining Maui's reputation, all on a premise that is untrue and unfounded, is gross negligence.

We are still waiting for the true reason for the urgency in shutting down these family businesses. You are free to stop at any time.

GOOD SAMARITANS

ALOHA SPIRIT STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE IN 'AIEA

My BMW heated up and stopped on Ka'amilo Street. Three cars stopped, and the drivers offered to help.

Frank Takenouchi was one of those angels. He looked at my car and found that a hose had broken and the water had run out. He reattached the hose, drove to his nearby house and came back with water, which he filled into my car.

I drove on, but the car stopped again. I called AAA and sat under a tree in a yard to wait. It was in the middle of a very hot day.

Diane, the homeowner, came out and offered me a chair and a glass of cold water. She kept me company until the towing company came. Then, she very graciously offered to drive me to my home.

Later that afternoon, she called to ask if I had enough food at home or if she could go to the store for me to buy whatever I needed.

These wonderful people were strangers to me before. Aloha is very much alive here in 'Aiea.

Thank you so very much.

FOOTBALL

UH DOING GOOD JOB OF PUSHING FANS AWAY

If University of Hawai'i officials have a goal of losing football fans, I'd say they are doing an excellent job.

I've been reduced from being an attendee, to a TV viewer, to what I currently am — a radio listener.

Further success by these gurus will result in my total disinterest in the university's cash cow as well as other athletic programs and promotions.

Am I alone in this thinking?

CLUTTER

QUIT BOMBARDING US WITH PHONE DIRECTORIES

Can somebody please tell me why we get so many phone books, all with introductory letters from Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Gov. Linda Lingle?

Not only do we get two sets from Hawaiian Telcom, but duplicate sets from at least one and possibly two more publishers.

What does one version offer that the other does not except possibly different advertising?

What a waste of advertising money and what a waste of trees.

Apparently Hawaiian Telcom is selling off its directory business and with the resultant money is going to provide a free telephone to all current subscribers. I need another phone like I need a hole in my head.

As for the phone directories, most of them go straight from my front door to the garbage can.

Mayor Hannemann, pay attention. Here is a way to stop the dump from filling up so fast.