City Human Resources Director Kenneth Nakamatsu's response to Dave Shapiro's Oct. 21 column reinforces Shapiro's message that "(Gov.Linda) Lingle was sandbagged at virtually every step by grandstanding mayors led by Honolulu's Mufi Hannemann, who all but sat on the side of the bargaining table to make themselves look good at the governor's expense — and shamelessly tried to take credit for the agreement."

Nakamatsu's claim that Gov. Lingle refused to participate in bargaining is patently false. She and her negotiating team started discussions with the unions in summer 2008 and continued to negotiate in good faith.

When it became obvious at one point that the unions were not serious about reaching an immediate settlement, the governor said the state would meet with the unions only if the meeting was on the record.

Once the unions were ready to meet on the record, the governor said the state would meet at any time, at any place the unions decided. That is exactly what happened.

For the mayor's administration to falsely accuse the governor of leaving a leadership void is laughable, considering when the final settlement was reached, Hannemann was out of state, out of the country, and frankly out of touch.

JONAH KAAUWAI | Hawaii Republican Party chairman

MEDICAL CANNABIS

SHARE CONCERNS ON PROGRAM AT MEETING

Now that the Obama administration is honoring the autonomy of the 14 states that have legalized medical use of cannabis, we hope that 2010 will see legislators and the governor working together to pass and implement legislation to ensure that Hawaii's program fulfills the original intent of the law — to serve sick and dying patients.

Gov. Linda Lingle has repeatedly cited the federal government's opposition to medical cannabis as an excuse to prevent legislators from revising Hawaii's 9-year-old law to better serve their seriously ill constituents. Since that excuse is no longer valid, we hope that the governor and the Legislature will address patients' most pressing needs, including developing and implementing a system for patients to gain access to cannabis without having to purchase it illegally from drug dealers.

Sen. Will Espero has convened a medical cannabis working group, comprised of patients, physicians, caregivers and advocacy organizations to conduct a study and make recommendations to the Legislature to improve the program. To inform the study, the public is asked to share their concerns about Hawaii's program at the Medical Cannabis Talk Story at the state Capitol, room 329 tomorrow from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

PAMELA LICHTY, Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, and laurie a. temple, American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii

FURLOUGHS

DON'T BLAME HGEA, HSTA WORKERS

Your poll question "Do you think the HGEA contract is a fair deal for taxpayers?" is irresponsible, because it suggests that Hawaii Government Employees Association members aren't taxpayers themselves. The more appropriate poll question would have been: "Do you think the HGEA contract is a good deal for Gov. Lingle?"

No one wanted this to happen. But now that reality has finally set in, all of you non-HGEA and non-Hawaii State Teachers Association taxpayers are up in arms asking, "How can government employees do this to us?"

Stop whining! HSTA and HGEA members were forced into this corner by Gov. Lingle. Believe it or not, she had options for balancing the state budget. But she refused to consider any of them because she knew it would cost her votes when she runs for Congress.

All you whiners and complainers who refused to stop your governor from forcing this issue to begin with are to blame for this mess, not the HGEA or HSTA.

I'm paying over $3,000 out of my own pocket this year alone to help balance your state budget but I don't mind, because I can at least take comfort in knowing that I still have a job. What I refuse to take, however, is this ridiculous notion that your readers might somehow view this as a "good deal"!

JAMES KAUHI | Makawao, Maui

PUBLIC DOESN'T GIVE EDUCATION PRIORITY

Exactly who is to share the pain?

Those quick to condemn teachers for the furlough situation should remember that the first to utter the word "furloughs" during state union contract negotiations was the chief negotiator herself, Gov. Linda Lingle.

Purposefully, misinformation has been disseminated to make it appear that teachers are responsible for imposing furloughs that only now are hitting people, primarily parents of public school students, in their wallets.

Speaking of wallets, those belonging to teachers are noticeably thinner these days. The younger teachers, those who we depend on to replenish our teacher labor pool, have been struggling to make ends meet, even before the furloughs.

Shall teachers give away professional development days when most of them are facing restructuring, supposedly for their teaching inadequacies? How hypocritical is that? When are teachers to gain in-service required of them for re-licensing every five years? Many will not even be able to use the summer break because they are teaching summer school, trying to make up some of the pay lost to furloughs.

The public and the government that caters to it should finally admit that Hawaii has never deemed public education a high priority —despite the political correctness of saying otherwise.

ALAN ISBELL | Third-grade teacher Wailuku Elementary School

BUDGET CUTS

FILM OFFICE GOOD FOR HAWAI'I'S YOUTH

Kamehameha Schools and other high schools in Hawaii have made huge investments to train students in video production so our students can tell their own stories.

We have a growing film industry, bringing in revenue and showing the beauty of Hawaii Nei. We have one of the most outstanding film festivals in the world, an excellent film school at University of Hawai'i and other colleges that are training our young people. We have an incredibly successful television series, "Lost," that has given many local people jobs.

Now the governor tells us we cannot have a film office to support these young eager filmmakers who want to tell their stories to the world. It is too bad that Gov. Lingle did not attend the Hawaii International Film Festival "Lost" seminars; she could have learned how incredibly difficult this work can be and how important a film office is to making it all happen.

Not only is our public school system suffering, but now an industry that many of us have been working the last 25 years to build up, will greatly suffer.

Cutting the state film office is a false economy that will harm our future and the future of our children.

PATRICIA GILLESPIE | Retired video production teacher, Makiki