LITTLE LEAGUE

WAIPI'O COACH'S TALK INSPIRED PLAYERS, FANS

First of all, the Saturday Little League World Series U.S. championship game was the best and most exciting I have ever witnessed. Congrats to the entire team, the coaches, the families and supporters.

Yet what really stood out was the coach's talk with the team at the top of the sixth inning. I watched and heard his calm and team-spirited comments. It was chicken-skin time. He never raised his voice or got heated. He also was passing on a huge lesson in life and sportsmanship.

I do not awe easily. I was proud to hear and see this bit of history. It was a "Gipper" moment.

The torch still burns and was passed to these young men and any who heard. The young men soaked it in and went out and did themselves and Hawai'i proud. Kudos to all.

MAHALO

FINDING JOY IN LETTERS REFLECTING ALOHA SPIRIT

I've always enjoyed reading letters to the editor from local folks who had a tire changed by a stranger on the H-1, got a wallet returned by the child who found it — full of cash — or was mailed a long-lost class ring from somebody on the Mainland.

Last Friday, 25 friends and I dined at The Little Village restaurant Downtown. We had such a delicious meal and wonderful time, it never even occurred to us to check the bill. Sunday night the manager called me to apologize profusely, as they hadn't deducted our deposit and wanted to return the overpayment as soon as possible.

Lucky we live Hawai'i.

HONOLULU ZOO

ZOO'S KEY MISSION TO INSPIRE STEWARDSHIP

I take exception to Shelly R. Brown's letter to the editor (Aug. 15) stating that wild animals should not be "incarcerated."

The mission of the Honolulu Zoo is to inspire the stewardship of our living world by providing meaningful experiences to our guests. Animals are not brought into captivity for visitors to ogle at, rather to provide our visitor with an opportunity to connect with nature and see how their lives impact the ecosystems that these animals are dependent upon.

Throughout zoos today, animals are used as ambassadors for their wild counterparts and try to provide visitors with the knowledge and ability to have a positive impact on wildlife conservation. Zoos are heavily focused on preserving habitats and species in the wild.

Modern zoos are very concerned about the welfare of the animals we keep and we are governed by standards set forth by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums as well as the USDA-APHIS, which enforces the Animal Welfare Act. Animal keepers are animal activists and they strive to provide the animals with natural environments that promote natural behaviors.

NUCLEAR POWER

RELIABLE, RENEWABLE — AND IGNORED AS A SOURCE

The Advertiser's latest desperate cry for perseverance in the pursuit of ever-receding "renewable" energy sources for the islands (Editorial, Aug. 21) continues the conspiracy of silence on the one reliable, currently available, renewable source of energy: nuclear power.

Although nuclear already safely provides 20 percent of U.S. electric power, Hawaiian Electric, the Chamber of Commerce, the sustainability commission and both local newspapers refuse to even mention nuclear as a possibility.

And the state constitution, unwisely, forbids nuclear power in Hawai'i without a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature. Fortunately, this can be corrected at a ConCon.

But if we continue to pretend nuclear power does not exist, where will this leave Hawai'i when oil becomes scarce at any price? When Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz after Israel bombs its nuclear weapons facility, or Russia cuts off the oil it supplies to Europe, or Russian-backed "irregulars" bomb the oil pipeline through Georgia, the only area pipeline Russia does not already control?

In a world oil shortage, Hawai'i will not be near the top of the priority list for oil deliveries.

Think about weeks, or months, without electricity!

Then we will wish the "greenies" had not stifled talk about nuclear power for Hawai'i.

TOURISM

HAWAI'I IS GETTING TOO COMMERCIALIZED

I do not usually respond to these things, but after reading the article in the paper in regards to the decline in visitors, I had to write.

We have been to Hawai'i (O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island) many times. Each time we go to O'ahu (which is always your favorite stop) we find it has become more and more commercial.

The last time we were so sad to see Louis Vuitton, Coach, etc. (all high-priced stores). If I wanted to see these stores I would stay in Boston and go to the mall. These stores are right on the main streets and took the place of the small quaint stores that represent Hawai'i to me.

What happened to the little man? What is happening to what attracts people to Hawai'i? Such as the culture, kindness, people! Maybe someone should look into this and maybe it would draw folks back to paradise.

'IOLANI PALACE

PROTESTERS PUT UNIQUE TREASURE AT RISK

As a native Hawaiian, I would like to comment on Akahi Nui's (James Akahi) and his group on their recent attempt to storm the 'Iolani Palace and chain "his royal majesty" to the throne.

The police should have "chained them in the barracks and thrown away the keys." The assault against a palace docent is an embarrassment and disgrace not only to the Hawaiian community, but all the people of Hawai'i nei.

Besides being the only palace in the U.S., the building is unique in its architectural grandeur and "one-of-its-kind" in the nation. One example is the replication of the etched glass windows to its original stature. If damaged, it would be nearly impossible to replace.

Under the leadership of the late James Bartels, the restoration of the palace took years to complete. Countless hours went into working on the special koa design throughout the palace, especially the koa staircase leading into the grand ballroom.

As a former volunteer on the project, I along with many community volunteers worked for months on the restoration of this historic site. Akahi Nui and his "hui" lack the knowledge and respect for all the people who worked on this major project.

I would like to focus my closing comments on some of our Hawaiian cultural values which embraces all people throughout the world. These values include: aloha — love and respect for Ke Akua, our natural world, and one another; malama — to care, protect and attend to; ho'omau — to preserve and to perpetuate; kuleana — area of responsibility.

Let us remember some of these values, and I trust that we can all learn from this incident.

ECONOMY

MILITARY SPENDING SHIELDS STATE ECONOMY

Your Aug. 18 front-page article on the state's DBEDT forecast misleads the public into believing that the current recession is part of the normal business cycle, and that the national economy will rebound like past recessions.

But the three mainstream economists quoted in the story apparently have been asleep at the wheel, for the present economic disaster is a major Wall Street-created credit implosion, the biggest financial fiasco since the Great Depression.

The only reason Hawai'i's economy hasn't completely fallen into the abyss is because it is surviving via a "surge" of bloated military spending.

As with the rest of the nation, the only "growth industries" in this robber-baron economy are only in weapons exports, prison building and the rapid creation of part-time workers. If economic "gurus" like Pearl Iboshi, Paul Brewbaker and Carl Bonham think there'll be a robust turnaround shortly after 2009, they are truly living in a bushed vision of Fantasyland.