2007 SEASON

UH FOOTBALL SEEMS TO BE ABOUT PADDING STATS

I would suggest the University of Hawai'i Warriors might play Mililani, Leilehua, or any other local high school team for the missing 13th game.

This way, the Heisman quest is not jeopardized, and the school can continue to play against sub-junior college level talent (Northern Colorado was 1-10 last year.) That's fun to watch for the first quarter.

Football here is no longer about being challenged as a Top 25 team, it's about padding individual statistics.

Lower the bar for the opposition, raise the stats. How proud can we be of that? Going 12-0 only means something if the 12 were competitive wins.

So maybe we could have gotten a 13th game after all, it's just that all the lousy teams were taken?

CHANGING INTO STREET CLOTHES NOT GOOD IDEA

Yes, the University of Hawai'i-Northern Colorado game was a blowout.

But cleaning up and changing into street clothes before the end of the game was not a good show of sportsmanship.

It was a bit arrogant of the players to do that. Even injured players will suit up to show support.

I'm proud of their win, but this was not the way to show respect to the rest of the team, the school or their opponent.

Please keep the pads on next time.

SUPERFERRY

TACTICS WERE RUDE, CONCERNS LEGITIMATE

To those who are "embarrassed that some people feel that breaking the law is justified to enforce the law" (Letters, Sept. 3), one needs only to consider the Boston Tea Party, Rosa Parks and countless others who employed civil disobedience to right a wrong.

While the precise tactics of some of the Superferry protesters were unfortunately rude and put an embarrassingly bad face on the others, their concerns are still legitimate.

Despite all spin to the contrary, due to its faster speed and addition of traffic, the environmental impact of the Superferry would be distinctly different than that of other ships.

In any case, I am extremely grateful to live in a place in which protest is a long-standing part of the process of improving our way of life.

BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT HAWAI'I RISKS LOSING

I may not visit Kaua'i or Maui again, especially if I try to arrive on the ferry. No problem, I will remain on O'ahu. Aloha, Maui and Kaua'i, I prefer it here anyway.

We have beautiful beaches, better surf, the best shopping, more exciting nightlife, the most revered restaurants, more history, museums, art and, let's face it, O'ahu really is the most beautiful of all the islands.

Don't we have enough real problems to deal with in this state without making up new, imaginary ones?

But wait, O'ahu does have its own problems. We have homeless who live in tent cities on our beaches. Our canals can also serve as sewers. Our second largest city hates tourists and lets it be known as often as possible that visitors are unwelcome.

Sooner or later, everyone on the Mainland and in Asia will get it, too. Via angry mouths and waving fists, the Internet and the press, visitors will finally get it that Hawai'i no longer wants them here, whether on O'ahu or a Neighbor Island.

OK, OK, I get it — I will no longer visit Maui or Kaua'i. I guess this means you will stay on your respective islands as well? Good. Don't clog our streets or shop in our stores. Stay right where you are and stagnate.

People of Hawai'i, be careful what you wish for, you just may get it and in the end, regret losing forever what has made this place so special — the sharing and blending of many cultures and lives. How sad.

SUPERFERRY BEST THING HERE SINCE COSTCO

I have never heard such a ridiculous list of excuses to stop the Superferry.

It would take about four hours to move products every day of the week on the Superferry. Young Brothers runs twice a week.

I shipped a new car from Ho-nolulu to Kawaihae. I had to make a reservation a week in advance and drop the car off three days in advance. It took another week to get the car over here, and then the spare tire was missing.

Start service to the Big Island. We need it. We not only have passengers and automobiles, but lots of produce that could be shipped daily. We don't have surfers in the shipping lanes either.

The Superferry is the best thing to happen in the Islands since Costco opened.

I do not encourage growth, but some things improve the quality of life for everybody. The Superferry will benefit locals the most.

SUPERFERRY IS NOT A THREAT TO ENVIRONMENT

I worked for the dengue crew under the supervision of the Maui Invasive Species Committee, and we cleaned Kanaha Beach Park on Maui of non-native plants, which were brought here by birds, not mankind.

And Maui, like the rest of the Islands, has hundreds if not thousand of species of non-native plants or invasive species. So the Superferry is no threat to our environment at all.

And the Superferry uses both radar and sonar,which together can "see" a whale or other marine life and avoid the threat easily.

FERRY WOULD BE A GOOD CHANGE FOR RESIDENTS

I was astonished and appalled by the response of some of the people from Kaua'i and Maui concerning their opposition to the Superferry and its services.

As I watched the news and listened to some of the reasons, I felt that they were selfish. What gives them the right to stop people from visiting their families or enjoying the beauty that God has given to everyone?

This is a good change for local people. It provides the opportunity to bring the Islands closer together as an 'ohana.

Welcoming change is always difficult, but when you focus on the benefits of change it will be easier to receive.

TRANSIT

EXPRESS BUS SERVICE PREFERABLE TO TRAIN

A train has more carrying capacity than a bus, but it can't match the speed of an express bus on an elevated highway.

An express bus can pick you up near your home, and once full head straight for the elevated highway. It can go nonstop (or very few stops) all the way to town at 60 mph.

A train may have a top speed of 80 mph, but must make many stops on the elevated guideway to pick up and drop off passengers. The 31 station stops that are planned drop the overall average speed to 20-25 mph. Light rail is even slower at 15-20 mph.

One of the worst side effects of choosing rail is that all fast bus service (using H-1) from Leeward and Central O'ahu to town will be eliminated, and bus users will be taken to the nearest train station instead to boost ridership. Fast roads will be replaced by slow tracks.

What good is the large carrying capacity of the train if it is mostly empty?

CITY SHOULD CONSIDER A THIRD OPTION FOR ROUTE

The recent planning contract for the Honolulu rapid transit system highlights the unresolved issue of whether to route the system via the airport or Salt Lake.

However, it amazes me that no discussion is made of a very rational third alternative: running the transit system through both locations. A glance at a map shows that it wouldn't take much of a detour to have both stations on the same line.

Obviously, it wouldn't be the shortest possible route, but transit lines everywhere have jogs in them to include nearby areas with significant numbers of potential riders.

Sure it would cost a bit more money, but it would be much less than the hundreds of millions of dollars that would be required to build an additional spur in the future if we only choose the airport or Salt Lake. Nor would it require the scheduling hassles of having separate lines to service.

Moreover, it ensures even more potential riders (and more supporters) than either location alone. Shouldn't we be thinking about a third option?

EMERGENCIES

GOVERNOR MUST MAKE PET SAFETY A PRIORITY

I agree with Sheila Nakamura's Aug. 28 letter, and would like to express my concern for pet safety during emergencies.

After seeing the effect of Katrina on pets and their owners, I introduced HB 3121, which the Legislature passed in 2006. The new law went into effect in May 2006 and requires the director of civil defense to identify public shelters suitable for sheltering pets.

The law directs the governor to establish criteria for providing shelter for pets during emergencies.

The administration has had more than a year to implement this directive, and I urge Gov. Linda Lingle to make this a priority before we are caught unprepared during the next disaster.

OIA

FOOTBALL TEAMS LEARN A VALUABLE LIFE LESSON

I commend the OIA football committee and the coaches of 'Aiea and Campbell high schools for putting aside their financial concerns and season records to be true mentors to their teams.

By doing so, the boys are being taught that every action has a consequence and they are accountable for their own actions. They are being taught early on that having standards means having them at all times, not just when it's convenient.

At the end of the game, the true victory isn't in scoring more points, but in the players learning a valuable life lesson in doing what's right.

Good luck to both teams for the rest of the season. No matter the outcome, you are already winners.