CHILDREN'S WELFARE

FOSTER PARENT SELECTION NEEDS MORE SCRUTINY

I am writing in response to the article, "Abusive foster parents get 1 year." When are we going to fix the screening process involving foster parents?

The children are the ones who pay the price in the end. Does the sentence fit the crime? Barbara and Gabriel Kalama, trusted agents of the state to provide guardianship, will receive one year in prison with five years probation regarding their treatment of their five foster children. The court will allow one parent at a time to serve their sentence while the other parent cares for their own children at home.

How can they continue to care for their own children, if they abused their foster children? Child Protective Services needs to be more involved and investigate the care of children who have foster parents.

Let's get serious about the welfare of our children. It is time for the state to act more responsibly in the selection of the foster parents.

PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA

INAUGURAL BALL COST GOES AGAINST THE GRAIN

I am offended at the cost of tickets to Hawai'i's inaugural ball. The announcement for the ball reads: "Tickets to the Democratic Party of Hawai'i fundraiser are $250, although there will be a limited number at $50 for some students and for a few people of limited means."

Isn't Hawai'i the place where the middle class has almost evaporated? Don't most folks work three jobs just to make the rent and buy food for the family? Don't you know that the people with "limited means" are the people who worked for nothing to get Barack Obama elected?

I am a local girl who came to Richmond, Va., for a job. Throughout the fall, I worked for the Obama campaign in Richmond. Most of the volunteers were young people who, on their own dime, came from all over the country to organize, educate and get out the vote.

Most of us do not have $250 to go to an inaugural ball in D.C. or in Honolulu. Yet most of what made Barack's campaign phenomenal was, in part, his ability to convince folks who do not have big bucks that we can make a difference anyway.

So I say later for your "ball." The rest of us will dance in the streets and sing from on top of Punchbowl, Haleakala, Mauna Kea and Na Pali, that our local boy, our own Barack, is the president, "of the people, by the people and for the people."

RENEWABLE POWER

WAVE ENERGY HOLDS MUCH PROMISE FOR ISLES

In his Nov. 30 letter, Mark Slovak urges Hawai'i to rely upon "proven technologies," and discount wave energy converters as "fledgling efforts."

Yet these fledgling efforts, when responsibly installed, can wean Hawai'i off its oil dependency.

Estimates by the Electric Power Research Institute, the group referenced by Slovak, has estimated that wave energy converters could deliver 100 percent of Neighbor Island power needs and 80 percent of O'ahu's.

Undersea cable is not a cost-killer, as the wave energy converters will be anchored a mile or two offshore and some possibly at shore-based appropriate locations.

While in initial stages wave energy converters cost more than wind turbines, that cost ultimately will converge to about half the cost of wind systems.

Even more telling is the fact that an impressive and diverse group has formed to encourage President-elect Obama to support ocean renewable energy. This group includes the Environmental Defense Fund, Pacific Gas & Electric, Natural Resources Defense Council, Florida Power & Light, Surfrider Foundation, Oregon Wave Energy Trust and others.

Group representatives are scheduled to meet with President-elect Obama's transition team in Washington, D.C., in mid-December to present principles to guide the development of wave, tidal and ocean renewable energy systems.

These groups, echoed by me, clearly say "yes, we can, and here is how we do it responsibly."

TICKETS

ARE POLICE IGNORING SOME ROAD VIOLATIONS?

Are police only writing tickets for speeding, even if it is for driving only slightly over the speed limit? Or, are police also writing tickets for those vehicles that have expired safety checks, tires that stick out beyond the fenders and for too-dark window tints?

I notice that there are more and more vehicles that have equipment violations or expired safety checks.

And these violations don't require a radar gun to see. Are the police only concentrating on moving violations? Shouldn't they also issue tickets for these other violations?

Many times when I see vehicles with equipment violations, I also notice that the vehicle has a decal showing a police badge on it. The police deny that it does any good to have one of these decals on the car. However, the fact remains that these vehicles, with the decals, are still on the road.

Honolulu is still a "small" town and having "connections" can mean the difference between getting a ticket or just a warning.

BUS STOP SHELTERS

BE COMPASSIONATE TO HOMELESS IN OUR MIDST

The cement stools at the bus stop on Queen Street near the elderly residence are there to prevent people without homes from living in the stop. It is inconvenient for elderly people.

Right after the beautiful landscaping was finished at Keola La'i across the street, the bus stop was restored. As soon as it was, it was occupied all the following weekend. This is also inconvenient.

There are huge inconsistencies in the bus stops I have noticed. Around the corner on South Street at a No. 42 stop there is no shelter at all, and unless you bring an umbrella and fold-up stool it is a hot and uncomfortable place to wait.

If we had no homeless people, many problems would not exist. Riding my bike home one night, I was forced into the street because a homeless person with many carts and bags took up all the sidewalk at another stop on Queen Street. I had to swerve fast into an oncoming traffic lane to avoid hitting her. Fortunately, no cars were coming.

It's Christmas time again. Let's try being compassionate and thankful there aren't more of us living in bus stops!