Letters to the Editor
U.S. TROOPS
PATRIOTS ARE ILL-SERVED BY MOST AMERICANS
America's true patriots are being ill-served by their leaders and the majority of Americans.
While many hail "Support Our Troops" in speeches and on bumper stickers, the reality is very few are making true sacrifices in America's war efforts.
The all-volunteer service has protected most of us and our families from having to perform any type of service.
Even the hardiest military families have now been strained to a severe level.
It is not unusual for soldiers stationed in Hawai'i to have served two, three and four combat tours. Their families are living these tours right along with them, and sweating out each and every deployment.
Politicians from both parties suggest we have years of combat ahead before Iraq is stable. Is it really reasonable to ask our bravest volunteers to return for five, six, seven or eight tours while the rest of the population sits around concerning themselves with the exploits of Paris Hilton?
Kent YouelKailua
ALOHA AIRLINES
NOW WE SEE HOW GO! VIEWS HAWAI'I'S PEOPLE
"Due to a recent increase in demand," says the front page of the go! Web site after the Aloha closure.
Now we get a real glimpse as to how Mesa Air Group really sees the people of Hawai'i: load factor. The demand was caused by the death of a noble local airline with honorable employees.
Mr. Ornstein, we are not cattle for your transport business.
Mike DahiligMililani
ALOHA COULDN'T HANDLE ALL THE COMPETITION
When Aloha Airlines was charging $125 for one-way interisland flights, the only ones that I heard crying were fellow passengers, not Aloha airlines or Hawaiian.
Just goes to show, they can't handle competition.
Vernal StevensHonolulu
SHUTDOWN BLAMED ON ALL BUT MANAGEMENT
It is sad, indeed, that Aloha Airlines has to close down. Blame it on everything but management.
Now I am wondering, will the CEO will be getting all those fancy perks as a "going away" golden benefit?
Rosita Sipirok-SiregarMakakilo
ROADWAYS
BATCH PLANT WAS DOWN, HELD UP POTHOLE FIXES
Regarding Fris Campbell's April 1 letter to the editor:
We are working hard to meet our stated goal of filling potholes within five working days of a call or notice to our www.driveakamai.org Web site.
There are, however, situations that develop that occasionally make it difficult to accomplish.
Potholes on Kupau Street were not filled until April 1. That's only because the Kapa'a batch plant was down for nearly two weeks, and it was simply not possible to get to these potholes sooner.
Yes, the Makakilo plant was operational, but the transport time from Makakilo to Kailua would have resulted in a mix that would have not been useful, if a crew was even available.
We encourage people to report potholes, and we pledge to do everything we can to get them filled as soon as is reasonably possible.
Craig NishimuraDirector, Department of Facility Maintenance
TARO
RESEARCHERS SHOULD FOCUS ON APPLE SNAIL
Regarding Rick LaMontagne's March 26 letter: The real reasons you don't have enough poi and it is expensive is that the cost of growing taro has gone up along with fuel prices, the invasive apple snail consumes 18 to 25 percent of our crop, we don't have enough water in our streams to feed the taro patches or access to enough land to fallow long term or grow more, and there are not enough taro farmers on the land right now.
The apple snail won't care if taro is GMO or not, it will still eat it, and it won't solve these other problems either.
Why haven't researchers solved the apple snail problem instead — there is no money in it for them.
But The Honolulu Advertiser doesn't want you and the rest of the public to know the truth, and probably won't even print this.
Penny LevinWailuku, Maui
JROTC
LEADERSHIP PROGRAM A PRICELESS OPPORTUNITY
Having recently retired, I had the privilege of seeing a shining example of the positive impact a dedicated staff, a shoestring budget and a lot of aloha can have on young people.
The Department of Education's JROTC staff dedicated their spring break to teaching cadets to be better citizens at the JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge.
The purpose was not military in nature; it was about developing the character of 500 cadets from 19 public and private schools on O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i, and Hawai'i.
Yes, the cadets had fun "camping out" — doing rappelling, water survival and the obstacle course.
But, the learning went much deeper:
Life presents few opportunities like these. Thanks to school programs like JROTC, our young people gained priceless experience and learning.
I wholeheartedly encourage parents and administrators to visit next year's JCLC.
Mahalo to these heroes of the DOE for making a positive difference in the lives of our young folks.
Glenn TakemotoMililani
ILLEGAL PRACTICES
NOISE RULES MUST BE ENFORCED IN HAWAI'I
While sitting on my lanai recently and reading The Honolulu Advertiser, I sensed a growing concern of mine about living in Hawai'i, i.e., noise.
Growing noise levels from unmuffled motorcycles and illegally muffled cars and trucks apparently are not being addressed by either law enforcement or governmental authorities.
Yet, our governmental authorities are reviewing and debating excessively the noise levels of mass transit.
These noise reviews, debates and political actions need to minimize all contributing noise sources, and then ensure that enforcement is done to correct illegal practices.
W. D. KrieseWaipahu
LANGUAGE
CORRECT PRONUNCIATION A LOSING PROPOSITION
I realize our languages are ever-changing, but there are some mispronunciations that really gnaw on this old man.
I continue to be bothered by those who make no attempt to correctly pronounce Hawaiian words, names and place names. Cappy o lanny, taught to Hawai'i audiences by Hal Lewis (J. Akuhead Pupule), is a good example. It is Kapi'olani.
And there are hundreds more, including those heard every day on radio and television. The most common mispronunciation of Haleakala usually changes the meaning from "house of the sun" to "pink house." Is it true that local announcers don't care?
I used to think that Americans who say "carry okie" had never heard the correct pronunciation of the simple Japanese word, karaoke. But now I find that, when talking to most folks, they choose to mispronounce karaoke, even after they hear you say it correctly. I'm told that most Americans can't pronounce Japanese. I disagree.
And for years I thought that those who say "relator" for Realtor were dyslectic. But now I hear some of them able to pronounce "realty" and "real estate," but not "Realtor."
God forbid that common usage will change the pronunciation of those and other Hawaiian, Japanese, English words (and other languages) that so many of our fellow Americans seem unable to say. It would be better if we could teach correct pronunciation.
Keith HaugenHonolulu
NATURAL RESOURCES
DLNR SEEKING TOUGHER ENFORCEMENT ABILITY
A bed-and-breakfast operation cuts down mature forest trees on state land that are blocking its customer's view. A man building a golf course on his estate grades state land next to his property, leaving dirt exposed to run into the adjacent bay and reef. A landowner installs an irrigation system that extends his lawn into a public beach area, giving the appearance of private property.
What do these actions have in common? They are real-life examples of resource damage that have been witnessed by Department of Land and Natural Resources foresters and conservation officers; they took place on state land, they damaged our natural resources and environment and they violated state law.
They also have one other thing in common: the maximum penalty DLNR can impose under law for an offense on unencumbered state land is only $500.
If we want people to take resource protection seriously, then we have to change the law.
The Lingle-Aiona administration has submitted three key bills this session that will increase penalties for people violating laws that protect our natural resources, environment and public lands. The goal is to encourage people to respect and protect our resources, and to consider stewardship responsibilities a normal part of doing business in our state.
House Bills 3178, 3177 and 3176, respectively, increase penalties for violations in unencumbered state lands, increase the maximum fine for violating conservation district laws and add provisions to fine by square meter of damaged coral reef, which is more realistic to measure in some large scale violations.
If you support providing DLNR with a real ability to enforce and protect our natural resources, please contact the committee chairmen, Rep. Ken Ito at 586-8470 or repito@capitol.hawaii.gov and Sen. Clayton Hee at 586-7330 or senhee@capitol.hawaii.gov, and ask them to continue their support of these essential measures.
Laura H. ThielenChairwoman, Department of Land and Natural Resources
