TELESCOPE SHOULD FIND ANOTHER HOME

The University of Hawai'i's aggressive campaign for the Thirty Meter Telescope further demonstrates its bad mountain management, including its sponsorship of an incomplete, inaccurate and misleading draft environmental impact statement for that project.

Several people at a recent EIS meeting in Hilo revealed that the EIS presented a lesser number of telescopes in the Science Reserve than in previous documents — by changing how they're counted.

Did this new counting strategy intend to leave the impression that the TMT would fit within the "11 major telescope" limit mandated in the 1985 management plan and approved by the BLNR? BLNR established that limit specifically to prevent astronomy interests from "taking over" the mountaintop's conservation district. One person at the Hilo meeting counted, in front of the group, 21 domes or antennas already on the mountain.

If Hawai'i citizens hadn't intervened in UH's endless building campaign these past 15 years, 90 more antennas — the Sub-Millimeter Array — might now flank the summit cones, plus six Keck Outriggers that were halted by court order since UH and its California partners hadn't followed environmental and cultural laws.

Enough already! No TMT on Mauna Kea.

Catherine Robbins | Volcano, Hawai'i

UNIONS

OTHER WORKERS HAVE ALREADY TAKEN CUTS

Apparently it is not obvious to the leaders of this state's government workers union that telling retail clerks that their members are "doing their part to support Hawai'i's economy" insults the intelligence of the people that are working hard at saving their own jobs.

Many of these workers have not only taken cuts in pay and/or hours, they have gone a long time without pay raises.

These union leaders are crybabies that don't live in the real world. Grow up and get on board to save this state so we don't end up like California.

Steven Norstrom | Honolulu

LOCKER SEARCHES

BOE SHOULD REVERSE INSPECTIONS RULING

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the strip search of a 13-year-old female student by a school official looking for prescription-grade ibuprofen was unconstitutional (Safford Unified School District No. 1 v. Redding).

The court also confirmed that the student "had a reasonable expectation of privacy covering the personal things she chose to carry in her backpack" and that the school official's "decision to look through it was a 'search' within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment" of the U.S. Constitution. A search of the backpack would therefore be unconstitutional unless supported by a "reasonable suspicion" that the search of this particular student's backpack would produce evidence of a violation of school rules.

One week earlier, Hawai'i's Board of Education voted that school lockers "are subject to opening and inspection by school officials at any time with or without cause." These lockers frequently contain students' backpacks and other highly personal items, and the Supreme Court's ruling makes it clear that any "inspection" of these backpacks and other personal items in the lockers "without cause" will violate the Constitution.

The Board of Education must revisit and reverse its recent action or face the certainty that a court will strike down its new language as unconstitutional.

Jon Van Dyke | professor of law, University of Hawai'i

FURLOUGHS

STATE EMPLOYEES NOT ONLY ONES SUFFERING

I can understand the pain the state employees will be going through if and when their salaries are impacted due to budget constraints.

In my previous job, I saw my paycheck reduced by 40 percent when I had a pay cut and had to pay 100 percent of my medical insurance.

However, I do not like the impression they are giving that they are the only ones bearing the brunt of the cuts being imposed. Do they think no one else has suffered during this recession?

The state has doubled its unemployment rate with nearly 48,000 people out of work. Many others are suffering pay cuts, furloughs or reduced hours, but their suffering is not being broadcasted through the media.

The public has been paying the salaries of public employees through previous recessions, and they have never suffered a salary reduction. Their reaction is always to raise the taxes and raid funds, which increases the burden on the rest of the public.

They have to come to grips that the recession is impacting everyone and no one is immune to it.

Hopefully, some sort of compromise can be made, such as maybe a smaller pay cut with some layoffs, but they should not be protected at the expense of everyone else.

Jon Shimamoto | Mililani