BARACK OBAMA

NOT BLACK OR WHITE, CALL HIM AN AMERICAN

In a June 9 letter, H. Omori opined that "the media should come up with a more accurate word than only 'black' when referring to Barack Obama."

The letter writer suggested "Afro-Euro" to give credit to Obama's black and white heritage.

Here's an idea: How about American? It's time to stop putting all these ethnic descriptors on people who are citizens of the United States.

Until we stop the labeling, we will never get past the race issue.

GOVERNANCE

HIRONO JUST DOESN'T GET IT ON SUGAR BOWL TRIP

U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono and others who got charter trips to the Sugar Bowl just don't get it.

Season-ticket holders weren't even able to get tickets to the bowl game, much less get transportation and accommodations provided for them.

As season-ticket holders, we would have been delighted to have gone on a charter plane and gotten game tickets and would have paid for all of it. But we never got that chance. Instead, even if we could have gotten tickets, we had to scrounge to find airline tickets and any hotels.

And therein lies the crux of the matter. Mazie, have you bought season tickets to UH football games for the last 20 years or more?

Have you attended the games and cheered on our football teams in losing and winning seasons?

That is what was wrong with many of those 580 people who did get to go to the Sugar Bowl.

ACCOUNTABILITY NEEDED ON SUGAR BOWL TRIPS

Thank you, Advertiser, for getting the full list of those who went to the Sugar Bowl on the University of Hawai'i's tab.

It's time for accountability for those who got free rides for their friends and family. Isn't it stealing when friends and family ride free? Isn't it an abuse of power to get themselves or their friends and family on that plane?

I agree with UH law professor Randy Roth that Hawai'i's governance is "broken." He advocates more government transparency and then accountability when our public servants serve themselves.

UH-Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw should investigate this. Oops, her spouse was on that charter. OK, the UH student body president should do something — maybe have a sit-in at Bachman Hall. Oh, she got a free ride to the game plus hotel and stipend. OK, the UH Board of Regents should look in to this. No, that won't work — four of them were on the flight and got free hotel rooms.

I guess it's up to us citizens to demand accountability. If we want to change the government mindset that allows this sort of thing, then heads need to roll. If not now, when? Complain to your state legislator and UH President David McClain.

CLIMATE CHANGE

FAILURE TO PASS BILL WILL COST US EVEN MORE

On June 6, our brave U.S. senators declined to pass the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill, complaining that it would cost too much.

One wonders whether those who complained gave even a moment's thought to the cost of their inaction, which will surely be many times what the bill would have cost.

VISUAL BLIGHT

STORY ON VEGAS GRAFFITI DISSERVICE TO OAHUANS

As the good people of O'ahu struggle against the blight from vandals with spray cans, I find it interesting that The Advertiser decides to run a story ("Las Vegas tunnels nurture world of graffiti art," June 8) that glorifies this criminal activity.

The article is a disservice to our efforts to curb graffiti, and serves only to encourage more of this destructive behavior.

Amazingly this non-news story ran in Sunday's A section, eclipsing other issues that have real significance.

The article and your decision to run it defy logic.

CARBON FOOTPRINT

O'AHU SHOULD RANK LAST FOR RAIL FUNDS PRIORITY

In the recently released Brookings Institute report on the carbon footprint of metro areas, Honolulu ranks 51st out of 53 metropolitan areas. With its 900,000 residents, Honolulu is a small metropolitan area in the nation and a tiny one on a global scale.

Honolulu's carbon footprint per person is the smallest in the nation due to: (1) the relatively shorter trips made by its residents; (2) its vehicle fleet, which, compared to Mainland metro areas, consists of smaller and more economical vehicles and relatively few large trucks; and, (3) the minimal needs for heating and modest needs for air conditioning.

Honolulu's impact is larger if air and sea transportation is accounted for, but Brookings did not.

The Brookings report recommends rail systems as one of many actions for metro areas with large carbon footprints, but on the national priority list, Honolulu should rank last in priority of funding for a rail system due to its small population and tiny carbon footprint, which will grow larger if rail transit is installed.

Honolulu's carbon footprint can be reduced by adopting effective solutions to traffic congestion and promoting vehicle fleet renewal with diesel, electric, fuel cell, and hybrid power plants.

WAIPAHU

GOAL OF TOD PLAN IS TO KEEP LOCAL CHARACTER

This letter is in response to the article "Hawai'i rail transit will remake Waipahu" (May 25).

Our firm has never spoken to Sean Hao, the writer of the article, and objects to any implication that what is being proposed is a version of downtown Honolulu.

In fact, 95 percent of the Waipahu plan is medium density and equates to about 50 percent of the density that is currently allowed under existing zoning.

The creation of the Waipahu neighborhood transit-oriented development plan has been a community-based process from the beginning.

The community has developed a series of principles with the overall theme of celebrating Waipahu. These principles guide the plan and provide the basis for strategies that allow areas of Waipahu to adapt over time from auto-oriented suburban zones into walkable transit villages.

The intent of the Waipahu plan is to encourage economic vitality while maintaining and strengthening the local character of Waipahu. The city is committed to working with property owners to enhance the green network of parks and gathering places, to create a safe, pedestrian-first environment, to provide mixed-income and affordable housing, and to develop a true inter-modal transportation network in Waipahu.

By planning for future change, we can focus on the preservation of the character that makes the neighborhood unique while ensuring a better future for both current residents and future generations.

GAS PRICES

IS THERE A PLAN FOR HIKE IN RIDERSHIP OF THEBUS?

In his June 5 Island Voices column, Roger Morton, president of O'ahu Transit Services Inc., said: "Today, we average about 25 to 35 times per day when drivers report that they are leaving passengers behind because the bus is completely full."

I can feel the anger of those who are tired after a full day's work watching their bus pass by without stopping. Morton also said: "More buses are not the best solution to our island's growing traffic congestion."

Does the city have any plans for the increase of bus riders when gas goes over $6 a gallon? Will the city be able to keep bus passes affordable after being forced to buy more buses, hire more drivers and the skyrocketing cost of fuel?

Without more buses, many lower-income workers may have to drive themselves into bankruptcy. At least those of us on the Leeward Coast will have a train to ride, but at what cost?

RACIAL SLUR

IGNORANCE MAY NOT BE OFFENSIVE, IS UNIVERSAL

Ignorance (Letter, June 9) may or may not be offensive, but it is universal.

All of us are ignorant to some degree, if not more so on some or many subjects. So, calling someone ignorant is not necessarily offensive, but calling someone "wetback" is definitely offensive and racist.

Like City Councilman Rod Tam, I grew up in Hawai'i. I never knew any black Americans growing up in Hawai'i, or Mexican Americans.

Yet even I knew the n-word and the word wetback were derogatory and offensive words toward blacks and Hispanics.

I would think Tam and his defenders would understand the impact of these words if they were to substitute a racial slur for those of Chinese ancestry.

NU'UANU STREAM

THANKFUL CITY REMOVED CHINATOWN TRELLISES

I and many others were happy to see the city remove the old trellises along Nu'uanu Stream in Chinatown, as so many in the neighborhood had requested.

For far too long, these areas have been monopolized by gamblers, drug dealers and loiterers. In addition, the areas were filthy from public urination and defecation.

Many of us who patronize the restaurants at the Chinatown Cultural Center were afraid to bring our families and grandchildren to the Sun Yat-sen Mall, even though that is the site of a beautiful statue honoring Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China.

Now, the promenade is once again becoming a family-friendly place.

Thank you to the city and the mayor for listening to us, and for the continuing effort to improve our Chinatown neighborhood.