FALSE CREDIT

PEARL HARBOR BRIDGE IDEA ISN'T COUNCILMEN'S

Oh, this is great. It is hilarious. Sept. 29, the paper includes a letter to the editor from two city councilmen. A direct quote from their letter: "The City Council is now looking at a proposal we introduced that extends the existing Iroquois Road from Fort Weaver Road over Pearl Harbor."

Are they really trying to take credit for the idea of a bridge over Pearl Harbor? I myself proposed this idea in a May 21, 2004, letter to the editor, and, after doing a simple search in the archives of The Honolulu Advertiser, found that I wasn't even the first one!

Does the City Council just steal people's ideas, wait a year (when it may have been forgotten) and claim the idea for themselves? Is this why it takes so long for the city to do anything?

HALL OF SHAME

HARBIN RECORD CLEAN AMONG DEMOCRATS

Hawai'i Democrats are howling over Gov. Lingle's recent appointment of Beverly Harbin to fill the state House seat vacated by Ken Hiraki. Disclosures of her tax problems and a misdemeanor conviction 18 years ago have Democrats in a tizzy.

This, from the political party that gave us Milton Holt, Marshall Ige, Danny Kihano, Nathan Suzuki, Rene Mansho, Andy Mirikitani, James Aki, Dwight Takamine, Marvin Miura, Ken Kiyabu, Steve Cobb, Mike Amii, Leonard Leong, Michael Kahapea ... the list goes on and on.

At this point, Bev Harbin's record as a state legislator is clean. Give her a chance and then if she screws up, she can join the countless members of the Hawai'i Democrat Hall of Shame.

VACATION RENTALS

BE CAREFUL IN CALLING BUSINESSES 'ILLEGAL'

Stu Simmons of Kailua ("Vacation rentals and B&Bs must be curbed," Sept. 9), stated he has 14 vacation rentals and B&Bs in his neighborhood and "The majority of the illegal businesses are owned ..."

If they do not have a GET or TAT license, he is correct, they are illegal. But if they have the proper Hawai'i state licenses, GET and TAT, they are legal. If they do not hold a city nonconforming use permit, they are prohibited from renting for fewer than 30 days in certain residential neighborhoods. If they have the proper tax licenses and they rent fewer than 30 days, they have violated one of many city ordinances. But this does not make their business "illegal."

So Mr. Simmons states: "The city administration must enforce our current laws and shut down all illegal B&Bs and vacation rental businesses. This would be a win-win solution for our residents and tourism."

I agree — if he means to shut down the ones that failed to get the proper tax licenses. If his personal business, a medical office or the studio production of "Lost" violated a city code, or if a delivery truck parked in a no-parking zone, would he advocate that the business is illegal and the city should put it out of business? I doubt it.

As for the win-win, I would love to swap some of my boarding-house neighbors, with their constantly barking pit bulls, for his B&B and vacation-rental neighbors. I wonder if he has ever made a formal complaint to the HPD over a vacation rental.

SURPLUS, SCHOOLS

WHERE HAS LINGLE'S MISSION, FIRE GONE?

Regarding your Friday editorial "Schools deserve a slice of the state surplus pie": I quite agree that Hawai'i's schools should receive one-time monies from the state surplus for overdue repairs and maintenance.

Frankly, I'm amazed that Gov. Lingle can't see this need herself, particularly after the many recent reports of problems ranging from asbestos to falling ceilings to overheated classrooms. Could it be that she is hoping continued deterioration will help her win approval for her plan to decentralize the school system?

While I agree with the governor on that issue, I don't agree with holding student and staff safety hostage to a political agenda. We saw yet another example of political opportunism trumping the people's best interests in the governor's dubious appointment of Bev Harbin. All this from a governor elected as a reformer and a change agent, whose self-described mission was to eliminate the abuses of power in state government.

The governor's preference for returning the surplus to the taxpayers, rather than addressing a critical state need, is also all the more surprising given her recent approval of an increase in the GET at the county level. Where was her concern for taxpayers then?

WIND FARM

LEGISLATURE HAS PLENTY

The obvious location for a wind farm is the Legislature. A single legislative season could power the entire state for 50 years.

FEEDING HOMELESS

OPPOSITION TO LADY'S GOODWILL IS SHOCKING

How sad it was to read in Friday's Advertiser about the plight of Sharon Black being required to have a permit to hand out food to the homeless near Chinatown. This sure smells like "sour grapes," especially when I read that "an anonymous complaint" led the Sanitation Branch to investigate.

Most shocking was IHS Executive Director Lynn Maunakea's statement that Ms. Black's service "doesn't fit neatly within the IHS structure." Sour grapes? You bet.

I challenge nearby businesses and churches to provide the required kitchen facilities to Ms. Black so her badly needed service to the homeless can continue.

THANKS, DOT

RENOVATED WILSON TUNNEL LOOKS GREAT

I just wanted an opportunity to congratulate the Department of Transportation on doing exactly what it said it was going to do with the repaving and restructuring of the Wilson Tunnel (Kane'ohe-bound bore).

In the midst of these heavy rains, the road bed has remained dry, much to everyone's amazement, and no longer becomes an automobile slippery slide after just one heavy rain. So their efforts at waterproofing the ceiling and providing adequate drainage have worked perfectly.

Thank you, Rod Haraga, et al. I feel like my tax dollars have been incredibly well-utilized in this project!

FREEWAY SIGN

LITTLE WARNING BEFORE TRAFFIC WOULD BE NICE

Wouldn't it be nice if, driving toward downtown from Hickam, the airport, Pearl Harbor or points 'ewa, on the overpass, there would be an electronic sign that directed traffic choices?

For example, it might say "Freeway choked up to Punahou, Take Nimitz or Dillingham." Thus, we wouldn't make the turn toward the freeway only to find the traffic backed up around the off-ramp when we could have gone on Nimitz or Dillingham.

STADIUM

SELECTIVE ALCOHOL BAN REEKS OF CORRUPTION

The initial joke was the fact the Aloha Stadium Authority needed a "special task force" to study the issue of alcohol consumption at events held at the stadium — specifically, University of Hawai'i football games.

If it wasn't clear to anyone that there was a problem with disorderly drunks at UH games, there's nothing a special task force is going to discover to change that denial.

But, for the task force to recommend banning alcohol from the parking lot only is a total joke and reeks of corrupt ignorance. Alcohol would still be served inside the stadium, where the problems of disorderly drunks exist.

At least they had the guts to admit that banning sales of alcohol would mean the loss of huge revenues. And there's no doubt that the revenues from alcohol sales are huge, with the prices of alcohol beverages sold inside the stadium representing nothing short of gouging.

Essentially, the task force's recommendations put profit over the safety of the general public. The least UH football fans should do is boycott the alcohol vendors inside the stadium.

Or, just don't go to the game at all.

HSTA MUST FOCUS ON EFFECTIVENESS IN CLASS

Roger Takabayashi, president of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association, inadvertently revealed a central problem in an opinion piece, "Fixing teacher shortage will require commitment," (Sept. 25).

Indeed, the teacher shortage will take commitment, but not the sort Mr. Takabayashi describes. He claims the problem is not enough "permanent, highly qualified" teachers. But that is not the problem at all. We can have an abundance of highly qualified teachers who do not produce the results desired.

Those results are children who are prepared to excel in life. Thus, our objective should be to get effective teachers into the classrooms and the ineffective ones out. If the ineffective ones are "highly qualified," they still need to go. The HSTA, as it does so often, is focused on the needs and wants of the HSTA instead of the students.

Putting individual student and parent needs and wants first will indeed take commitment. The concept is simple. Focus on results desired and find a way to measure and adapt for success. Otherwise one always gets form prevailing over substance, as Mr. Takabayashi's essay so well illustrates.

ABERCROMBIE

HAWAI'I WILL SUFFER FROM OVERHAUL OF SPECIES ACT

Last week, a congressional committee voted in approval of a bill that would dramatically weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA). I am deeply disappointed that Congressman Neil Abercrombie was one of a handful of Democrats who voted for this bill in committee.

On Thursday, by a vote of 229-193, the House approved the bill, which will dramatically weaken the ESA, arguably the world's most powerful environmental law. Why should we care? Hawai'i has more endangered species than anywhere else on earth.

Currently, the ESA helps more than 300 imperiled plants and animals in Hawai'i. This bill will seriously weaken protection of their habitats. It creates more red tape, which already slows protective measures for months, even years on end. It gives greater leeway to developers, federal agencies and others to harm species or their habitats.

Supporters claim the bill will improve the use of science in endangered species management; whereas, it actually creates more opportunities for political and interest-group interference in decisions that currently have significant scientific review.

Those in favor of the bill apparently believe that no restrictions should be placed on developers, industry or other landowners to protect our environment. That is, unless they are compensated. The bill would require the Department of the Interior to compensate developers, industry, etc. if they promise not to carry out activities that are now prohibited by the ESA.

The Endangered Species Act may not be a perfect law, but the bill, House Resolution 3824, will not improve it. In a nutshell, the bill would wrap the ESA in an endless supply of bureaucratic red tape and starve it of the resources it needs to succeed.

I can remember when Rep. Abercrombie ran for political office for the very first time. I supported him then and have ever since. Perhaps I'll rethink my position.