SUPERFERRY

WHAT INVASIVE SPECIES DO PROTESTERS OPPOSE?

So the Superferry protesters are concerned about invasive species making their way from Honolulu to Kaua'i and Maui.

What kind of invasive species are they referring to? I think the only species they want to keep out walk on two legs and have Hawai'i driver's licenses.

The protesters also claim to want to keep crime and drugs from coming to their islands. I guess crime and drugs don't know about these things called airplanes that have been allowing us to travel between islands for decades.

The environment is a precious thing. It's time to stop crying wolf every time you want people to take up your cause.

FERRY OFFICIALS HAVE DISRESPECTED KAUA'I

Kauaians have been accused of being resistant to change and having no aloha for visitors.

To Mr. John Garibaldi and Hawaii Superferry: How can you expect aloha from us if we have been disrespected?

You may have the town politicians and big bucks in your corner, but take a lesson from history. Kaua'i was the separate kingdom. Kaumuali'i was never defeated by force. Diplomacy is your only answer.

These surfers and paddlers out in the water, risking life and arrest, are our sons and daughters. They are resolute in their stance and passionate about the future of our fragile island home. We are very proud of them.

The biggest mistake you could make would be to try and further muscle your way in.

Voluntarily order a complete and unbiased environmental impact statement before the courts order you to do so. In the meantime, the sunset cruise business turns a buck.

APOLOGY OFFERED TO ALL AFFECTED BY PROTEST

I have lived on Kaua'i my entire life and have always been proud of being a Kauaian until I saw the protest at Nawiliwili Harbor blocking the Superferry.

It is a shame how just a handful of ignorant people can make the majority of us look so bad. Surprisingly, a lot of those protesters did not look like people who were born and raised on Kaua'i.

I can only hope that the Superferry supporters can find it in them to get together and rally for the ship. I am sure that we outnumber those who protest it.

I also hope that the Coast Guard and Kaua'i's law enforcement will be better prepared the next time the Superferry comes to dock at Nawiliwili.

I would like to apologize to those who are affected by those ignorant rioters at Nawiliwili.

I can sincerely wish that I won't be treated with the same disrespect when I am attempting to visit O'ahu.

VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAWS MUST BE PUNISHED

Federal security zone laws (35CFR Part 165) have been in effect since Jan. 18, 2006. They state that no person is allowed within 100 yards of a large cruise ship (Superferry included) whenever and wherever it is in a designated harbor (Nawiliwili) or in the area three nautical miles seaward of the harbor entrance. The civil penalty is up to $25,000 per violation per day and the criminal penalty is up to 10 years imprisonment and $10,000 fine and seizure and forfeiture of the offending vessel.

The failure of the U.S. Coast Guard to correct the well-documented (photographed) and publicized (national TV) security zone violations on Aug. 27 resulted in the Superferry being blocked from docking at Nawiliwili.

This made a mockery of Hawai'i's law-enforcement reputation and reinforces and increases unlawful conduct.

Newspapers report that the Kaua'i groups responsible for the blockade are now holding public "victory" parties. They are advertising that, in Hawai'i, the end justifies the means even when it is illegal.

This open violation of the Superferry security zone with no consequences, was the flash point of this sad scenario.

The prescribed penalties must be swiftly administered if we are to mitigate the stigma of mob rule. Then we can concentrate on the basic environmental and socio-economic issues more appropriately conducted in our courts.

HOT SEAT

NEWLANDS RESOLUTION USED TO ANNEX HAWAI'I

During H. William Burgess' Hot Seat exchange (Focus, Sept. 2), reference was made to the Annexation Act of 1898.

That year, there was only the Newlands Resolution, which was signed into law by President McKinley on July 7, 1898, and used as a vehicle to annex Hawai'i. This instrument was a domestic document requiring only a simple majority vote (51 percent) to pass the Congress.

Earlier, there were two annexation treaties submitted. The first was withdrawn by President Cleveland. The second failed ratification during McKinley's term.

According to international law, there are only two ways to achieve annexation between two sovereign governments. These are by conquest and by mutual agreement.

In 1842 and 1843, the United States, France and Great Britain formally recognized the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom through signed treaties.

TRAFFIC

DRIVERS HAVE A LOT TO WATCH FOR ON STREETS

Drivers are asked to look out for pedestrians who can't look out for cars.

The mayor asks drivers to share the road with bicyclists.

Are drivers supposed to look out for other cars, too?

Pedestrians only have to look out for cars, and bicyclists only have to look out for cars.

Drivers have to look out for three out of three! Auwe!

MOLOKA'I

VACATION RENTALS SHOULD NOT BE HALTED

Please don't stop Moloka'i vacation rentals. We need this type of business when we do canoe races from May through October, which also helps support Moloka'i's businesses.

HAWAIIAN RIGHTS

CONSTITUTION WEAPON OF CHOICE OF POWERFUL

We agree with Lee Cataluna: Give Bill Burgess a Kau Inoa T-shirt.

If he chooses to wear it, it will itch. If he wants to enroll in Kau Inoa, let him. His shrill voice is of little consequence and will be drowned out.

If he's unhappy with OHA, perhaps he should present himself for trustee election, as is his prerogative. We would enjoy actively campaigning against him and further enjoy the thrashing he will take at the ballot box.

Burgess brandishes the Constitution in protest. We note that Constitution framers ignored the stain of slavery. This Constitution did not prevent the brutal relocation of the Cherokee nation along the Trail of Tears, nor the slaughter of Philippine nationals by the American military during the Spanish-American War. It did not prevent detention of nisei during World War II. It was silent during the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom accomplished under menacing collaboration of the U.S. Marines, a circumstance duly emphasized in the Hawaiian Apology Resolution of 1993.

To these jaded observers, the Constitution is most frequently the weapon of choice of the powerful, and seldom employed to protect the least among us.

However, it is too often embraced as the last refuge of the scoundrel.

NONBID DEALS

DHHL RESPONDS TO STORIES ON CONTRACTS

The Sept. 2 articles by Jim Dooley about the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands contain several inaccurate and misleading statements.

Mr. Dooley's assertion that DHHL contracts were awarded due to political reasons is false. We have awarded contracts based on expected performance.

Mr. Dooley's articles inferred contracts were awarded because the selection committee members had a relationship with the eventual awardees. This is also false. Just as we expect performance from the businesses with which we contract, we expect performance from the people we hire. The loyalty of the people on the selection committee is to DHHL — not to the awardees.

The article also refers to the term nonbid without clarifying that nonbid does not mean non-competitive.

As required by the state procurement code, under a nonbid award, at least three companies are selected from a prequalified list and then competitively compared to produce a most-qualified selection and the justification. This procedure was followed by DHHL.

The articles attempt to isolate the historical challenges of a specific project, Keokea-Waiohuli, as though they are still common practice for the department. Previous administrations were unable to find a way to feasibly proceed with the Keokea agricultural subdivision promised to beneficiaries more than 20 years ago. That changed with a stable source of funding to DHHL by the Legislature, and a fresh perspective brought by the Lingle-Aiona administration and Community Planning & Engineering Inc.

In the last 4 1/2 years, we have issued more than 2,000 leases. We have projects on every island and we are proud of our work, our employees, and the people and businesses who have helped us put so many Native Hawaiians on the land.