POLITICS

DUKE BAINUM HAS BEEN RESIDENT HERE 25 YEARS

At the recent Honolulu Advertiser/KGMB mayoral debate, Mufi Hannemann said something he knows is untrue. He said I am "not a resident" of Hawai'i. This is categorically false. I have been a resident for more than 25 years. I pay taxes in Hawai'i, I live here and I vote here.

I made no deal with Ann Kobayashi. She said during the debate and at the Manoa Neighborhood Board meeting that she decided to run for mayor on the day of the filing deadline. Also she stated that she called Kirk Caldwell and four other people that morning whom she thought might want to run for her seat. She did not call me.

I had not talked to Kobayashi since last May, when she said that she was not running. Over the next few months, the rumors of her running continued, these rumors escalated in the week before the filing deadline.

And, yes, at the time I was on a trip to the Mainland. First because I was attending to my family's business interests and, more important, because my baby boy, Kona, was undergoing medical testing for a possibly significant medical condition. I returned home Tuesday not knowing what Councilwoman Kobayashi decided.

The truth is three people did file. One was disqualified, the other withdrew and that left me. I fully expected competition.

Come on, mayor, let's be big about this.

B&B

VACATION RENTAL BILL WILL AFFECT RENTERS

The City Council is again considering permitting vacation rentals in our residential neighborhoods in the form of B&Bs (breakfast not required), even though they know from the current mess of illegal vacation rentals that the city cannot enforce the law once the vacation traffic is started.

Even though five Neighborhood Boards, the Planning Commission (unanimously), and informed public opinion oppose permitting, the council trudges on. The next council hearing is at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the council's committee meeting room.

For those renting in neighborhoods who don't think this will affect them, think again. The permitted properties will no longer be allowed to rent to anyone but short-termers (30 days or less). We have an islandwide housing market, and we know that shrinking the available housing supply drives up prices everywhere. Take a house off the market on the North Shore and rental prices in Palolo Valley go up just a little. Take thousands of houses off the market and the rental prices go up a lot everywhere.

Isn't there a housing crunch already? Why take more housing out of the rental market? What is the council thinking?

TEACHERS

WORTH IT TO SPEND THE MONEY ON DRUG TESTS

I have to agree with the letter Paul Theisen wrote ("Isle citizens have right to drug-free teachers," Sept. 17).

Children are being taught by teachers. Parents trust them to do their job in teaching them well. That goes hand in hand with being drug free. If I were a teacher, I would agree to take a random drug test to ensure these kids are getting the best education.

When you influence minors, there should never be a doubt that the children must be protected. And I believe we can do that with drug tests.

Why is it so much money is wasted here in Hawai'i on small issues, but when it comes to something as important as this, money becomes a concern? This is worth it.

ENERGY

ELECTRIC CAR OPTIONS A GOOD FIT FOR HAWAI'I

An alternative to Hawai'i's highest-in-the-nation gasoline prices may be coming soon from Silicon Valley, and it seems like a perfect fit.

Tesla Motors says it'll build a plant in San Jose and start in late 2010 producing a five-passenger, all-electric sedan getting an equivalent 130 miles per gallon, a range of more than 200 miles and with a three-hour full recharge.

The company, which already is producing, and has a yearlong waiting list for its sharp-looking $109,000 all-electric roadster, says it could reach an annual production of 30,000 sedans. There's also been talk of a future compact version.

Even though the sedan is expected to cost about $60,000, a Hawai'i commuter now spending $60 a week on gasoline would instead plug in at home and save $25,000 in "fuel" costs over 10 years, putting the net cost of the Tesla sedan at a more reasonable $35,000.

The state might consider a zero-emissions tax incentive and Zipper and HOV lane use for electric-car users, although the state would be losing the gasoline tax revenues. A sales representative at Tesla's Santa Monica showroom told me recently that the only drawback for Tesla sales of its cars in Hawai'i is the current lack of qualified maintenance service here.

Maybe someone like Jiffy Lube should arrange to provide that service. General Motors also plans an electric car, the Volt, in 2010 with a battery-only range of only 40 miles before a small 1.2 liter gasoline engine kicks in to recharge the battery to extend the range.

RAIL

SPREAD THE PAIN, BUILD HOMES ELSEWHERE

Last Sunday's ad for Stop Rail Now says correctly that 45,000 new homes are planned for the 'Ewa plain.

Since Stop Rail Now does not want to give the 'Ewa plain any relief, there is a solution. Let's spread the aloha and the traffic. Let's put the next 25,000 homes on the Windward side and also the following 20,000 homes in East O'ahu.

REX JOHNSON

HTA BOARD IS IGNORING OWN VALUES, PRECEPTS

Rex Johnson is being paid a salary to work, to promote tourism on behalf of Hawai'i, not spend time reading and transmitting inappropriate and offensive messages using his state government e-mail account.

If another state employee did what he has done, they would have been terminated instantly. If he were in the private sector, he would have been fired for cause.

On its Web site, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority states: "as an organization, and among ourselves and others, we value social responsibility to our community, excellence and integrity in who we are and what we do."

So far, the HTA board is ignoring its own precepts. HTA needs to put its words into practice, on behalf of the people of Hawai'i and the people who visit our beloved island home.

The HTA board needs to act decisively in terminating Mr. Johnson from his position without delay.

DISABLED STUDENTS

SPECIAL OLYMPIC FUNDS WENT TO CORE ACTIVITY

Thursday's Honolulu Advertiser editorial supporting the Board of Education's decision to eliminate funding for Special Olympics Hawai'i and exhorting us all to understand that tough times call for tough decisions misses the point.

The relatively modest amount the Department of Education pays to Special Olympics (around $130,000 per year) is not a donation. DOE contracts with Special Olympics to provide a service, just like it does with countless other vendors, that service being to conduct the athletic program for intellectually disabled students within the school system.

This is not a "nice to have," but a core activity, and should be recognized as such, just as the JV athletics program is for the majority of the student population.

To arbitrarily cut funding to a minority of the student body with special needs who have little influence or political clout and restore funding to the remainder — for exactly the same type of activities — is cynical and discriminatory.

Unfortunately, the author of the editorial missed the real story, and so apparently has the BOE.

ECONOMY

HAWAI'I COULD HELP AIRLINES WITH COSTS

The present economic crisis is causing a detrimental effect on our largest industry, tourism. At this juncture, the state has quite a limited cash flow.

The Hawai'i Tourism Authority has contemplated using millions of dollars for advertising. The airfares are high and most travelers coming to Hawai'i are reluctant to travel.

Here are some options to consider that have worked in the past: