END OF LIFE

MAHALO NUI LOA TO CARING HOSPICE TEAM

I said goodbye to my dad this last December. He passed away Dec. 4. He had entered into the Hospice Hawai'i program 15 months earlier.

More than an end of life program, we were treated to a team of loving and supportive men and women who were both professionals and volunteers.

Dad wished to be at home in his familiar surroundings with his family. He was given his wish. At first denying assistance, he began to look forward to the visits and laughter that accompanied our hospice team.

Our family was taught how to care for him and what to expect as his condition worsened.

I am writing this letter to The Honolulu Advertiser with the hope that someone who is caring for a father or mother with an incurable, declining condition will be made aware of the awesome services that Hospice Hawai'i and its people provide.

Is anyone ever really prepared to watch a parent decline and pass away? The careful, considerate guidance we received all 15 months Dad was in the program was priceless.

We salute the men and women of Hospice Hawai'i and say mahalo nui loa.

DRUG TESTS

GOV. LINGLE SHOWED CONTEMPT FOR TEACHERS

A big mahalo to Gov. Linda Lingle for her recent stand on drug testing of teachers.

A lifelong Democrat, I thought long and hard before voting for Gov. Lingle, a Republican.

But her recent stand on drug testing and the teacher contract reveals her utter contempt for teachers and the teaching profession.

I'll know better the next time I vote.

STOPPING PAY RAISES A CONTRACT VIOLATION

The agreement between the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the state Board of Education calls for both parties to "establish...reasonable procedures applicable to all bargaining unit 5 employees that are intended to keep the workplace free from the hazards of the use of alcohol and controlled substances - and implement such a plan no later than June 30, 2008."

HSTA has been working toward such a plan, although it is likely to be thrown out as unconstitutional by the courts.

It is the employer, the BOE, who has said that any such plan is extremely expensive and will require additional annual funding to implement.

If a contract calls for an employee to perform a specific act that requires materials or funding by the employer, and the employer does not provide the materials or other funds necessary for the act to be carried out, it is not the fault of the employee if the job is not done.

Gov. Linda Lingle can complain about the BOE all she wants, but they do have an obligation to fund education rather than teacher harassment.

If she tries to stop the pay raises agreed to in the contract, then the government is the one violating the contract, not the teachers.

CITY CREWS

LAUKAHI PAVING REPAIR DONE IN TIMELY MANNER

A mahalo to Mayor Mufi Hannemann's pothole department for the timely response to my request to rectify the work of the paving contractor.

I suggested raising utility covers to the level of the recently paved Laukahi Street on Dec. 30.

My suggestion was completed satisfactorily on Jan. 19. The city is responsive and attentive to ordinary citizens.

WAI'ANAE

ARMY HAS PROVEN IT NO LONGER NEEDS MAKUA

I would like to thank U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie for calling attention to the arrogant and indifferent response he received from the Army in response to his request for alternative sites to training at Makua.

The Army's response of $600 million and six years to replace Makua Valley is ludicrous.

The Army has clearly demonstrated that it can train Hawai'i-based soldiers elsewhere. In six of the last nine years, the Army has done zero training in Makua, and trained minimally during the other three years. Each unit sent to Iraq and Afghanistan has been praised by their generals as being the best trained.

The terrain at Makua is not unique and looks nothing like the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan. No training at Makua in the last three years proves our point. The Army no longer needs it! It may want it but, through its own actions, it has made our point.

WAI'ANAE COAST BEAUTY SHOULD NOT BE MARRED

Engineer Alan Lloyd is undoubtedly correct that the use of steel poles for the utility line corridor along the Wai'anae Coast would be less expensive than undergrounding the lines.

The point missed, however, is that the Wai'anae Coast has some of the loveliest mountain and ocean views in the Islands.

That view is marred by the ugly utility corridor and a highway in need of landscaping.

Let's do for Wai'anae what we did for East Honolulu with the fabulous road improvements between 'Aina Haina and Hawai'i Kai.

UH BASKETBALL

MATT GIBSON DEFINITELY A FAVORITE OF THE FANS

The Jan. 29 column by Ferd Lewis ("It's time to adjust his attitude") had one true statement in it - "a fan favorite with a relentless crowd pleasing style" certainly describes Matt Gibson.

We loved watching him play in high school, and only hope he returns to the Mainland to wow crowds at a professional level.

Considering the often criminal behavior exhibited by some college and professional athletes, Matt's transgressions are small indeed.

I am willing to bet professional coaches and team owners will overlook his spats of frustration to have a player with his dedication to winning and love of the game.

Let's add to that his skill, knowledge and, oh yes, the money he will bring to a professional program for that "crowd-pleasing" style.

Keep playing hard, Matt - we love watching every point you score and that is often quite a lot!

FOOTBALL

UH SHOULD CHANGE TO RAINBOW WARRIORS

Much thanks to June Jones for bringing the University of Hawai'i football team back to its winning ways and new heights.

Also, thanks to Herman Frazier for bringing the athletic program out of the red.

I have one suggestion for the next athletic director. How about changing the football team name back to what it should be: Rainbow Warriors.

This is no slight to June Jones. In fact, I like the new colors, but Rainbow Warriors just fits Hawai'i.

If the haka is part of the football experience, why run away from Rainbow Warriors as a name?

SUPREME COURT RULING

Sunday's editorial about the Supreme Court's decision to bar the sale of the ceded lands - the crown and government lands of the Hawaiian kingdom - pointed only to the process of reconciliation and the difficulties of negotiating that reconciliation with the United States and the state of Hawai'i.

From this the writer leaps to the conclusion that only the passage of the Akaka bill can provide a native agency that can negotiate a claim with the state and lead to a settlement that will close "the book on Hawai'i's turbulent past."

I can understand why Hawai'i residents would want this resolved as expeditiously as possible, but as one of the original plaintiffs in this case, I think there are other concerns about the state's control of these lands that are just as important, especially since Hawaiians are not responsible for the theft of their lands nor of the continued denial either of the right to self-determination or the restoration of their national government.

Theft is the most accurate description of the taking of the crown and government lands by the republic in 1894 and the cession of those lands to the United States. The United States did not conquer Hawai'i, but it prevented the kingdom from extinguishing the insurrection in 1893, disregarded its own constitution by assuming an annexation even when it could not secure enough votes for a legal annexation and took possession of lands that the kingdom's legislatures and chiefs had reserved for its monarchs and national well-being before 1850.

Neither the state nor the United States has legal title or moral claim to the ceded lands.

I, too, would like to see a reconciliation, but our people did not create this pilikia and we should not be admonished to hurry through the "settlement" just because it is inconvenient to the state.