TRIBUTE

KELLY EXEMPLIFIED BROTHERHOOD OF MAN

The remarkable life of John Kelly was richly detailed in Catherine E. Toth's Page One story (Oct. 5). He will be honored by many for his foresight and work in saving our Islands' surf and beach sites.

I will remember him as the skillful and patient director of the Honolulu Community Chorus who, week after week, honed the chorus for its performance in December 1957 of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 "Choral" with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Barati.

It was most fitting that John Kelly should have directed the chorus to sing of the brotherhood of man, an ideal he believed in and exemplified.

John Kelly's contributions to our community will long continue to enrich our lives in many ways.

SUPERFERRY

WRONG TO SIDESTEP ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

I sincerely hope our governor and Legislature will not try to set aside the findings of our courts in the Superferry matter by passing a law to create a special exception.

This situation is the fault of a private business and the administration attempting to evade the law requiring environmental review.

If the Legislature wants to signal support to the Superferry, it could ask to delay payment on public loans made to the company, even if this does reward careless and possibly illegal behavior.

To attempt to deny the efforts of concerned citizens to have a voice in affairs that affect their environment and economy was wrong to begin with, and it is even more wrong now that courts have reaffirmed that right to justice.

If the Superferry really is good for Hawai'i, they had nothing to fear from genuine review. Please do not attempt to sidestep review before giving away the keys.

PLEASE LEAVE KAUA'I AS PRISTINE AS POSSIBLE

Please help us halt the Superferry until after an environmental impact statement is completed.

An environmental assessment and then an EIS are required by law for the Superferry.

The ferry and the Lingle administration broke the law. They were told they broke the law years ago. Gov. Linda Lingle was presented with a petition for an EIS signed by more than 6,000 Kaua'i residents a year ago. She refused to accept the petition then, and only accepted it when she finally came to our island to learn how we feel about this.

Without mitigating measures, the Superferry will do untold harm to Kaua'i. An EIS will define possible harmful effects, and will also show us the way to take mitigating measures to stop the destruction of Kaua'i.

We understand that residents of O'ahu cannot understand our determination to preserve our island. O'ahu was destroyed years ago, and no person who enjoys Honolulu would feel the same way as Kaua'i residents feel about Kaua'i.

Except for a few who sing "Waimanalo Blues," most people in Honolulu prefer a city lifestyle, the shopping and the night life, enjoy high rises, are generally in favor of city living and freeways. That's fine. May you be blessed and happy there.

Please leave us our island as green and pristine as possible — we are trying to save as much of it as we can!

PROTECTION OF WHALES HYPOCRITICAL AT BEST

Those Superferry opponents who hide behind the humpback whale protection banner should look themselves in the rear view mirror next time they get into their cars.

Ask yourself: Will I hit another vehicle today? Will I run over a pedestrian today? Will I cause an accident resulting in the death or serious injuries to a human being including myself? If the likelihood of a "yes" answer to those questions does not stop you from driving your car, then why should the Superferry be subjected to the same line of reasoning for opposing it?

Are we saying that the humpback whales are more valuable than human beings? Is the Superferry more likely to hit a whale?

I am all for protection of the whales. But to use it as an excuse to stop progress is hypocritical at best.

ALL OF US WILL PAY FOR MULTIMILLION LAWSUIT

Who will pay for the multi-million-dollar lawsuit?

Rest assured, it will be coming if the Superferry has to pull out.

The taxpayers will, including all protesters as well as Pacific Whale Foundation President Greg Kaufman, attorney Isaac Hall, Maui Tomorrow President Judith Michaels, members of the Sierra Club, and, of course, Maui Judge Joseph Cardoza.

JUDGE CARDOZA ISSUED THE RIGHT DECISION

Maui Judge Joseph Cardoza must be congratulated for his excellent decision in the Superferry case.

To allow this company to proceed, knowing as it did from the very onset that its operations were likely to cause irreparable damage to the fragile environment (which is why most tourists come here and why we all live here), would have been wrong.

And Gov. Linda Lingle's actions in this matter should cause a call for her impeachment. As our governor, she is charged with the responsibility of preserving these pristine waters, not only for residents and indigenous people, but for the millions of tourists who visit our Islands annually.

LONGTIME VACATIONERS OPT TO GO ELSEWHERE

My good friends from Washington state, who have been coming to Hawai'i twice a year for the past 20 years, planned a trip to Kaua'i during the Christmas holiday. After watching the ferry protesters on Kaua'i beating on the hoods of cars, screaming at the drivers and letting air out of tires on the news multiple times, they canceled their trip to Kaua'i. They said they didn't want to go where they're not wanted, and they booked a trip elsewhere rather than switch to another island.

I tried to explain to them that it's only Maui and Kaua'i that don't want people coming to their islands, but they no longer want to come to Hawai'i, period.

Soon the people of Maui and Kaua'i may get what they wished for. The tourists and people from O'ahu will stop visiting their islands. However, massive unemployment will then follow. Be careful what you wish for. You may have destroyed aloha forever.

CLUTTER

DO WE REALLY NEED SO MANY PHONE BOOKS?

In my mailbox today, I received my 11th phone book.

Between separate yellow pages books and white pages books, I have four sitting in yellow plastic bags in my garage, I have four in a white bag at my doorstep ( in addition to the one received today) and two more actually at my phone.

What an environmentally wasteful product. I will feel guilty, but I will toss them all in the garbage.

We have no use for them. I am not listed in any of the books, the friends we call are not listed but are stored in our personal files or phones.

If someone feels they have a need for a phone directory, it should be by request only.

Are 11 phone tomes necessary or useful for a single-family residence?

SHARE THE ROAD

MORE IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED ON BIKE PATHS

This is in response to Mr. Richard Torres' letter, "Biking and walking can be a mainstream choice" (Oct. 8).

Much remains to improve bike paths on O'ahu. The Pearl Harbor Bike Path, a major bike route, is used extensively by motorcycle and moped riders trying to circumvent Kamehameha Highway. Four-wheeled vehicles also use the bike path to access homeless living areas and to illegally fish along Pearl Harbor Middle Loch.

There are pot holes that must be filled and numerous locations where tree roots are about to break through the asphalt. These conditions are a safety issue and greatly increase the risk of injury to bicyclists.

The Honolulu Police Department doesn't have sufficient staffing to do everything demanded of it, but it seems that routine patrols would help reduce illegal vehicular traffic on the bike path. When individuals see that organized events at Waipahu High School are allowed to use the bike path, they no doubt believe it is acceptable for anyone to do so.

Mr. Torres touts the honorable mention award that Honolulu recently received from the League of American Bicyclists. Honolulu is far from being a bicycle-friendly community. Public service announcements to promote "Sharing the Road" are a Band-Aid approach to a growing safety problem for bicyclists. Strict and proactive enforcement of laws to protect bicyclists is necessary both on roads shared with vehicles and separate bicycle paths.

I would much rather see the bike paths we already have properly maintained, rather than reading repeated promises by the city to update the Bike Master Plan and possibly add more bike paths.