MAHALO

LOST WALLET RETURNED, NOTHING WAS TAKEN

Several weeks ago, I was visiting O'ahu when I dropped my wallet at the Best Buy near Nimitz Highway in Kalihi.

When I realized it was missing, I called the Best Buy, which reported that my wallet had been turned in by someone who found it in the parking lot.

Not one item was missing from my wallet. My faith in humankind was once again affirmed.

Many, many mahalos!

MIDEAST

U.S. SHOULD HEED PLIGHT OF IRAQ WAR REFUGEES

There are so many casualties of the war in Iraq.

Each American life lost in this war, in my opinion, has been one too many. But have we given any attention or sympathy to the tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis who have died and been injured?

Our actions have wreaked havoc in their nation. In addition to their dead, we have created a situation where there are 2 million refugees — a million have left the country; a million are refugees in their own country.

Can any of us imagine being a refugee in our own country? Or having to start over in a foreign land, split apart from everything we hold dear and cherish?

Is the liberation yet complete; has our mission been accomplished?

Of course, I pray for peace for our country and theirs.

God bless the USA and Iraq and have mercy on us all.

CAUCUS VOTE

SUPERDELEGATES SHOULD NOT GO AGAINST RESULTS

One thing is certain, if enough superdelegates "trust their own initiative and experience and not necessarily the results of the Hawai'i caucuses" as Sen. Daniel Inouye counsels, it could well be the end of the superdelegate protocol as we know it.

In the spirit of the no-loser-left-behind initiative, Inouye and others would have the superdelegates pull a candidate who is behind in pledged delegates into nominee status. If that happens, I suggest that the Democratic party would almost certainly face pressure from the party faithful for major reform and overhaul of the process.

There is an alternate theory on the perceived role of the superdelegate in the nomination process that is gaining some traction. Many feel that the superdelegate role is more of an honorarium — a reward for loyal hardworking party members, a way to recognize and honor members of the party hierarchy — not to use their votes to reverse the voice of the pledged delegates.

MOLOKA'I

RESIDENTS ARE SEEKING DEVELOPMENT THAT FITS

Molokai Ranch wants to blame the activists for the failure to develop La'au? In truth, they never had a guaranteed source for water, nor the community support required for any successful venture in Hawai'i.

The harsh reality of finite resources on small islands is being overlooked in the search for a scapegoat.

The majority of our residents are not activists, but advocates for development that fits our size and nature.

Our future is already in the works by those of us who choose to live here. Who are we? We are this last Hawaiian place.

ALOHA AIRLINES

CALIFORNIAN THANKS ALOHA'S EMPLOYEES

Please know how sad I am for the loss of Aloha Airlines. As a frequent visitor to the Islands, I always considered Aloha the best!

Boarding the plane in Oakland was the real start of my time on-island. I always looked forward to the video of "I Miss You My Hawai'i."

While I had many miles on my AlohaPass account, that loss pales to the loss of so many jobs. I had many wonderful and memorable experiences, all because of the warmth of the employees. Mahalo to all of you.

IT'S TIME TO SHOW 'LOCAL LOYALTY' TO GO!

I happen to like go! They have pleasant employees, good service, and short lines with fast baggage retrieval because the planes are small. Like Discovery, Mid-Pacific and Mahalo before them, go! returned us to reasonable fares at times when Aloha and Hawaiian charged high fares and restrictive fees that kept many of us from flying.

This time, however, Aloha was beaten at its own game, and that is the logical outcome of a competitive process that Aloha successfully engaged in for decades.

While I have empathy for the Aloha employees, let's also have some empathy for those of us who need to fly.

It's now time to show some "local loyalty" to go!, which will hopefully continue to provide us with reasonable fares, and to the loyal go! employees who will need to work overtime to provide the added seats.

ALOHA DIDN'T CORRECTLY REACT TO MARKETPLACE

I find it surprising that Aloha Airlines CEO David Banmiller now blames the state and Gov. Linda Lingle for its failure.

When emerging from bankruptcy in 2004, Aloha's management took the easy road to fix its problems by stripping its labor groups of pay and benefits, in some cases up to 50 percent. Aloha continued to fly inefficient 30-year-old aircraft interisland, narrow-body aircraft with high seat-per-mile cost to the West Coast, and did not hedge fuel. In other words, Aloha did nothing to change its business model.

Certainly go! accelerated Aloha's losses, but in itself did not cause their demise.

The airline business of today is dynamic and an ever-changing arena, which requires managers to react quickly and creatively.

Unfortunately, Aloha did not correctly react, and ultimately 1,900 great employees have lost their jobs and the state a friend of 61 years.

OIL COMPANIES ALSO TO BLAME FOR SHUTDOWNS

I was shocked by the news of the closure of Aloha Airlines and the firing of 1,900 employees, given its harmful impact of this action on them and their families. The Aloha Airline employees and the ATA employees who got terminated a few days later are the latest casualties of a massive assault on our livelihoods by the oil monopolies.

Aloha Airlines employees have blamed mismanagement of the airlines as well as government inaction for the airline's shutdown. Also culpable are the oil companies with their unjustifiably high fuel prices and mega-profits, costing airlines and their passengers billions of dollars.

In 2003, the airlines paid under 70 cents per gallon for their jet fuel. In 2008, they are paying over $3.50 a gallon — a 500 percent hike. While people suffer, the oil monopolies are laughing all the way to the bank.

Gov. Linda Lingle and the president are silent about the grossly escalating oil prices, despite their injurious and inflationary effects. Working families have seen their commuting costs nearly triple in the past five years, and prices for food and basic necessities are now rising dramatically. Yet our state and national governments do nothing about the massive rip-off at the gas pumps.

We must speak up. We must support the Aloha Airlines employees and resist the closure of the airline. An emergency loan from the state could get the airline going again and the workers rehired. We should urge nationalizing the oil companies. We must demand that our politicians serve our interests, not Big Oil and corporate greed.

BAD IDEA TO PUT BLAME ON THE COMPETITION

Hummm, let's see: Aloha folds, Hawaiian posts a $7.6 million profit — "Mesa no Aloha?" I don't think so.

I'm as sad as anyone to see a venerable 60-plus-year firm go by the wayside, however it's time for management to take some personal responsibility.

Blaming it on competition? Bad idea. Perhaps it's George Bush's fault.

TIME TO GET OVER IT, MOVE ON TO OTHER WOES

We read all these sensational stories about loyal Aloha customers from Lee Cataluna and other readers with tears, but let's look at the facts.

Do you remember Braniff, TWA, PanAm, Eastern, Western, National, Hughes Air West, PSA and other now-defunct airlines? We believed that we could never fly again with security because our favorite had bitten the dust. But somehow we flew on, and flying actually got a little better.

If everyone had been loyal to the two island carriers then they could have kept ticket prices at $65 and watched go! try to make a go of it.

But there is no real loyalty when it comes to saving a buck, so enough with a boycott. Look at Kaua'i — they don't have Superferry. Now, how is all that air cargo that Aloha supposedly flew in there going to arrive on that island?

Let's not worry too much about Aloha Airlines. We shall all get over it; move on, fly on and worry about the other things, such as foreclosures, Iraq, the economy, Turtle Bay, rapid transit and eggs in Kailua.

PHYSICIANS

PHONE LISTINGS SHOW FEWER M.D.S IN ISLES

The Hawaii Medical Association has raised the alarm that highly trained specialists are leaving O'ahu for the Mainland or they are retiring. Our legislative leaders don't believe this.

Bob Krauss used to say if you really want to know what is going on in our Honolulu, check the phone book, so I went to the 2003 Verizon yellow pages and counted the listings under Physicians and Surgeons, M.D., and then all the listing under various specialties. I counted individual physicians listed by name as well as clinics or groups, then compared it with the 2008 Hawaiian Telcom book.

Under the heading Physicians and Surgeons, there were 666 listings in 2003. This year the number dropped to 565.

With the exception of plastic surgeons, ophthalmologists and infertility clinics, all of which increased, the numbers of specialists declined. Twenty anesthesiologists in 2003, 16 in 2008; 155 internists compared with 100 today.

Non-surgical orthopedic physicians increased from 8 to 19, but orthopedic surgeons doing bones and joints went from 37 to 19. General surgeons, from 30 to 18. Pediatricians, from 91 to 76. This is just a brief sampling.

This raw data clearly indicate that there is a change in O'ahu's medical community, one that our legislative leaders ignore at their and our peril.

Reps. Tommy Waters and Kirk Caldwell need to look at these figures and realize there is something real behind them.