ECONOMY

GAMBLING WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO ISLANDS

Whenever Hawai'i's economy begins to falter, letters appear claiming that "gaming will definitely bring in tourists," keep residents from traveling to Las Vegas, and fund our schools, health and elder care, and reduce our taxes.

Academic studies of the impact of legalizing gambling on local communities, however, reveal darker truths.

Economically, revenue will be drained from local restaurants and retailers. And since the lion's share of casino revenue will go to off-island owners, Hawai'i will experience a net loss as Island residents — who will be the majority of attendees — drop their dollars in the casinos or gambling ships.

Gambling comes with high social and economic costs, including divorce, abuse, welfare, court, incarceration, work absences, homelessness, bankruptcy and crimes as many pathological gamblers commit thefts to support their addiction.

Economists tell us that the dollar costs of social problems generated by pathological and problem gamblers exceed the income benefits by $3 to $6 for every dollar going to government.

It's unlikely that a bevy of casinos will attract more tourists. The University of Hawai'i Travel Industry Management School found only 5 percent of our tourists favored gambling.

As the former executive director of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission told legislators: "Not having legalized gambling in Hawai'i is increasingly being seen as something to be proud of by others — something that is very attractive in a world obsessed with sex and money. Let them go to Vegas for glitz and gambling. Let them come to Hawai'i for the wonder and beauty of Hawai'i."

UH FOOTBALL

BOOING UNCALLED FOR, LET ALOHA SPIRIT PREVAIL

I had the pleasure of attending the University of Hawai'i-Weber State game last Saturday. The fans witnessed a great comefrom-behind victory and everyone went home elated.

However, I was so disappointed that at the end of the first half some people actually booed their home team.

Although the Warriors didn't have a productive first half, the booing was uncalled for.

True fans would support their team no matter what the outcome. And, there are many of us out there. We have the ability to uplift our team's spirits.

Let us all remember to cheer with pride and let the aloha spirit prevail under any circumstance.

Congratulations Warriors!

MAYORAL RACE

ANOTHER REASON PEOPLE ARE FED UP WITH POLITICS

At the mayoral debate Tuesday, we got a glimpse into Ann Kobayashi's version of transparency in her administration should she be elected mayor.

What shocked me most was when she told us that when she made her last-minute decision to run for mayor she only called five people. She didn't call a press conference so everyone in her district would know about her decision and there would be time for people to ponder the possibility of running for her office.

Never did I think that if you wanted to run for public office, Ann needed to have your home phone number. Especially since Ann had done a good job representing her district, which was demonstrated by the fact that she was running unopposed.

All of her good work was thrown out in my eyes when she tried to name her successor with those five phone calls.

Ann's last-minute stunt is just one of the many reasons people become disillusioned with those who run for public office.

MAYOR MUST SAY NOW IF HE WILL SERVE FULL TERM

At the mayoral debate Tuesday night, Ann Kobayashi asked Mayor Mufi Hannemann the same question he asked of then-mayor Jeremy Harris: "Will you run for governor before your term is up?"

Hannemann's response was that he wanted to keep his options open and be able to entertain the idea of running for governor. He wants to be able to put his talents where they are needed.

What is there to entertain? The seat will be open. There is no incumbent so it's a wide-open race. It's already expected that Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona will run. So again, what is there to entertain?

The filing deadline to run for governor is July 2010. If he is reelected as mayor, he must resign as mayor to run for governor. That means he will only be serving as mayor for 19 months.

The people of Honolulu have the right to know before going to the polls if he will be a 19-month mayor or a 48-month mayor.

DIABETES SERIES

STATE NEEDS TO TACKLE CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE

I want to thank The Honolulu Advertiser for the excellent series on diabetes in Hawai'i. It's important to add that diabetes can lead to chronic kidney disease, which is the ninth leading cause of death in Hawai'i and on the rise.

CKD affects 1 in 7 of Hawai'i's population. A great majority of dialysis patients in Hawai'i are of Asian ethnicity, with the two highest being Japanese 28 percent) and Filipino (21 percent).

This past session, the Legislature was informed that we will not have the medical infrastructure to handle CKD, a disease that is often linked to diabetes.

We debated HB 2913, which proposed a public-private demo-nstration project to build the infrastructure needed to address this crisis. The bill did not pass but would have awarded a grant to the St. Francis Healthcare System to support the modified home care and community health demonstration project, requiring $1 million in matching funds.

I traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with our congressional delegation, and each pledged support and assistance in reversing what may become a health crisis in Hawai'i. I can assure you that we will be back next session to work on new legislation.

It is my contention that if this disease is allowed to progress unchecked, the state and the healthcare system in general is at risk of not being able to provide the resources necessary to care for these patients.

Your series has helped increase the public awareness, including the Legislature, of the seriousness of diabetes and the alarming number of residents who struggle with the management of the disease.

POLITICS

FLAWED REASONING IN CRICITISM OF LINGLE

State Sen. Gary Hooser recently slammed Gov. Linda Lingle with inflammatory political rhetoric and claimed she is out of touch. Reviewing the governor's record exposes his flawed reasoning.

Gov. Lingle has reduced taxes and fees for small businesses, salvaged the state mental hospital system and appropriated hundreds of millions of federal dollars for human-service programs.

Through emergency power acts, six emergency shelters for the homeless were built and construction of more than 5,000 affordable housing units was approved.

The Lingle administration has facilitated renewable-energy projects and instituted energy conservation initiatives. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands averages 375 Hawaiian homestead leases per year. In the past 81 years, only about 70 homesteads per year were awarded.

Sen. Hooser and his colleagues have blocked distribution of federal money to many local charities serving the poor, raided special funds, increased taxes and introduced legislation eliminating the governor's emergency power flexibility at the expense of the homeless and needy. They have controlled the Legislature for more than 40 years, leaving Hawai'i more fossil-fuel dependent than ever.

I wish Sen. Hooser could work constructively with those of us who feel so positively about the future of Hawai'i. Linda Lingle is in touch with the people of Hawai'i. To quote Gov. Sarah Palin, we have to "challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it." That is exactly what Gov. Lingle continues to do for Hawai'i.

ENERGY SUPPLY

GOP WILL USE UP WHATEVER OIL WE HAVE

Not only are the Republicans going to leave our grandchildren with $1 trillion or $2 trillion of extra debt, they are also going to use up whatever oil and gas we have.

Not too many years ago, the thinking was that since the world's supply of oil was finite, it was better for us to use up the other guy's oil first.

As time goes by, the oil we still have in the ground gets more valuable and more essential. The longer we save it, the better off we are. I don't think $4 gasoline invalidates that argument.