Letters to the Editorhttp://www.eastoahusun.com/letters-to-the-editor/en-US2009-07-09T23:52:39ZSquarespace Site Server v5.5.4 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Budget cuts jeopardize proposed Wailupe science centerhttp://www.eastoahusun.com/letters-to-the-editor/2009/6/22/budget-cuts-jeopardize-proposed-wailupe-science-center.htmlEast Oahu Sun2009-06-22T23:00:00ZThe state’s budget woes and subsequent funding cuts to public schools may prevent the Department of Education from embarking on an exciting initiative in East Oahu.

The Education Department’s proposed conversion of the now-closed Wailupe Valley Elementary School into a science center is in jeopardy after a study found that it would cost some $2 million to retrofit and equip the campus.

Faced with the daunting task of slashing $468 million from public schools over the next two fiscal years, a Board of Education Committee on Administrative Services earlier this month was forced to recommend the return of the Wailupe Valley campus to its owner, the City and County of Honolulu.

Unless an outside donor were to step in and help support the center’s creation, it is likely – and unfortunate – that the school board will have to approve the committee’s decision and postpone indefinitely any plans for the envisioned science center.

Karen Knudsen

First Vice-Chairwoman

Hawaii Board of Education

]]>Pedaling Toward a Bicycle Safe Hawaii - Same Roads, Same Rules, Same Rightshttp://www.eastoahusun.com/letters-to-the-editor/2009/5/9/pedaling-toward-a-bicycle-safe-hawaii-same-roads-same-rules.htmlEast Oahu Sun2009-05-09T01:00:07ZLack of physical activity, particularly among children, has raised concerns about the health of young and old alike. Diabetes and other diseases once only common in adults are now routinely diagnosed in children.

In addition, we have traffic problems in many places on Oahu. People think nothing of driving a mile or two to drop their children off at school.

Approximately 82 percent of trips five miles or less are made by car. Imagine the impact on traffic if those trips were made by bike or on foot.

On May 12, Hawaii will have its first-ever Bike and Walk to School Day. All schools are encouraged to participate in this event by asking parents, students and teachers to bike or walk to school. Participants can register at www.hawaiipedalpower.com to be eligible to win a commuter bicycle.

Over the past several years, the federal government has allotted Hawaii funds to be used under the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. Approximately $3.5 million of these funds are currently available to schools and others interested in improving safety for bicyclists and pedestrians near schools. This is a comprehensive program that involves engineering, education, enforcement, evaluation and encouragement to improve the safety of our roadways and sidewalks. Bike and Walk to School Day can be used to make a preliminary survey or evaluation of ways to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians. Let's get out of our cars and bike or walk with our children to school on this special day.

As a long-term solution to inactivity and traffic congestion, we need to look at how we design our communities and motivate people to travel from one location to another. Complete Streets is a policy that considers all users of our transportation system. Senate Bill 718, Complete Streets, has been sent to Governor Lingle. I urge her to sign it into law.

Natalie Iwasa, a.k.a. Bicycle Mom

]]>Hawai'i Tea Party Participants Say "Enough!"http://www.eastoahusun.com/letters-to-the-editor/2009/4/16/hawaii-tea-party-participants-say-enough.htmlEast Oahu Sun2009-04-16T23:09:07ZApril 15, 2009 ended up to be an amazing day! People around the country are tired of BIG Government and even BIGGER Spending. My family and I were fortunate enough to attend today's Tea Party at the Hawai'i State Capitol. I was so proud of both my sons as they sign-waved, people-watched and listened to the speakers. This wasn't a "Right Wing Radical" Protest as the current administration was trying to warn the public about. This was a gathering of people who are getting together to say enough is enough!! 

All Tea Parties around the country were people of every walk of life, race and political parties standing up and ultimately drawing a line in the sand. Stop the spending! Stop big Government! I for one believe in capitalism and the freedom to work hard and enjoy the fruits of hard work. Let me be clear that this isn't a political party issue, as I have checked my beliefs at the door long ago. This is so much deeper. This is about what is right and what is wrong.

I hope today sparks something inside of everyone to detach from emotion and look at the situation we are in today and what we can do to prevent our freedoms, taxes and fundamentals of what America was founded on from being wiped away for good.
 
Ending here, again this isn't a political party issue, this is the everyday person tired of petty politics and foolish spending over the last few presidents to the current administration. It has come down to this, National Tea Parties today... accountability of our politicians tomorrow!
 
Heidi M. Kaumaka Wong   

]]>Ward Withdraws Supporthttp://www.eastoahusun.com/letters-to-the-editor/2009/3/20/ward-withdraws-support.htmlEast Oahu Sun2009-03-20T21:00:38ZMs. Nomura forgot to mention in her coverage of HB1310 (jet skiis in Maunalua Bay) that Rep. Gene Ward had withdrawn his support of that bill and the issue was dead. This was noted in the Town Hall meeting that she was writing about. But apparently, she didn't receive a copy of my handout that evening or hear my comments on the 10 o'clock news (Channel 4) stating my withdrawal of support.

Rep. Gene Ward, Hawaii Kai

]]>Tokuda: Lone Ranger of Coastal Zone Management Protectionhttp://www.eastoahusun.com/letters-to-the-editor/2009/3/20/tokuda-lone-ranger-of-coastal-zone-management-protection.htmlEast Oahu Sun2009-03-20T20:00:24ZAnyone interested in mauka to makai land and water use preservation and planning should take bold action like Senator Jill Tokuda did and oppose SB 1318 SD 1. Tokuda seems to be the lone ranger of Costal Zone Management protection and understands that its repeal removes most statutory protections for our beaches. SB 1318 SD1 relating to planning and economic development titled, "Coastal Zone Management; State Planning; Repeal" does just that: "repeals the chapters relating to coastal zone management and state planning, and transfers the authority and functions of the office of planning to DBEDT" despite DBEDT's public opposition to this proposed action. Unfortunately, SB 1318 SD 1 just crossed over to the House and made the Monday, March 16, 9:00 AM agenda for the Committee on Water, Land, and Ocean Resources. One can only hope our Representatives read SB 1318 SD1 and quickly understand the need to oppose it like Senator Tokuda did. Please help protect the state Office of Planning and the Costal Zone Management program from the pressures of the State's economic development arm. Contact your Representative today and ask them to oppose SB 1318 SD1.

Elizabeth Reilly, Hawaii Kai

]]>Paradise for Sale: $1http://www.eastoahusun.com/letters-to-the-editor/2009/2/5/paradise-for-sale-1.htmlEast Oahu Sun2009-02-05T19:21:57ZAt 75 years old, I would have preferred not to have to fight any battles. But when I learned the State plans to commercialize the Pali Lookout and Ka Iwi Park to accommodate visitors in order to collect a fee, I told my grandson that it is time to put on the war paint. Shame on the Department of Land and Natural Resources for peddling paradise for $1 and further weakening Hawaii's gracious aloha spirit. But more importantly: this action promotes segregation between "us," local people and "them," the visitors. We need to strike Ka Iwi and the Pali Lookout from the DLNR's hit list, buried well within the glossy title of the state's "Recreational Renaissance." The overall plan had merit, but got sloppy towards the end when it took the "status quo" route to commercialize two important landmarks. Today's Diamond Park, complete with information center, T-shirt sales, nonstop huge buses of tourists and two fluorescent-lit soda vending machines represents changes we should not be proud of. This is not proper care of special places and it is very inconsiderate to future generations. I can only hope our Legislators see the writing on the wall: "Paradise for Sale for $1." "Visitors Keep Right, Locals Stay Left." Please join me in the protest to stop this madness. Email DLNR at: Laura.Thielen@hawaii.gov or get involved with an area grassroots group like Ka Iwi Coalition at www.hawaiikaihui.com.

Sara Yacuk, Hawaii Kai

]]>Djou Should Get On Boardhttp://www.eastoahusun.com/letters-to-the-editor/2009/1/23/djou-should-get-on-board.htmlEast Oahu Sun2009-01-23T00:22:01ZIt’s about time Councilman Djou got on board with rail transit for our island (1/9, “Do Rail Properly”). I hope he sticks to his word and supports building rail transit, something our island has needed for at least 20 years. I may not use rail because I live in East Honolulu, but I have plenty of friends and family who live on the West side who will use rail. They deserve rail for traffic relief, just like we deserved the widening of Kalanianaole Highway in the early 1990s.

Rail is a wise investment for our entire island. It will do much more than reduce traffic congestion: it will shrink the amount of oil we import, reduce our island’s carbon footprint, our emissions of greenhouse gases and support the development of UH West Oahu into a true university. We will become a much more sustainable island with rail. I voted for rail. I support rail. Now let’s build it!

Jonn Serikawa, Hawaii Kai

]]>ACLU of Hawaii Sets the Record Straight About False Statements Regarding the City and County of Honolulu's Camping Lawshttp://www.eastoahusun.com/letters-to-the-editor/2008/12/9/aclu-of-hawaii-sets-the-record-straight-about-false-statemen.htmlEast Oahu Sun2008-12-09T21:36:04ZDear Councilmember Djou:

The ACLU has been troubled by the patently false and misleading public statements that you have made, in your official capacity as a Councilmember, about the cause of homelessness in Hawaii. We are writing you to correct the record.

Repeatedly, you have publicly and mistakenly claimed that the City and County of Honolulu's camping ordinance was invalidated as a result of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii (ACLU). Your statements suggest that the ACLU is to blame for the increase in the number of homeless individuals and families in City and County parks.

It is disturbing when a public official makes assertions without even the most basic of fact-checks. Furthermore, your false accusations that the ACLU is somehow to blame for the homelessness epidemic do nothing to address the root causes of homelessness.

First, as to your public misstatements: in your official capacity as a Councilmember, you have made statements - available on the County's website1 - that the ACLU was involved in a civil lawsuit concerning the Hawaii's Supreme Court’s invalidation of the County’s camping ordinances. This is not true. In fact, the Hawaii Supreme Court invalidated the ordinance upon review of an appeal from a criminal conviction. [State v. Beltran, 116 Hawai'i 146, 172 P.3d 458 (2007).] As prominently noted at the beginning of the opinion, the Appellant-Defendant, Ms. Beltran, was represented in the matter by the Public Defender’s office and not by the ACLU of Hawaii. Indeed, the ACLU of Hawaii had no role in this case at all.

Your press release, as well as your November 1 journal article in the East Oahu Sun, Fixing Honolulu’s Illegal Camping Problem,2 appear to conflate the Beltran case with two lawsuits brought by the ACLU of Hawaii. The first lawsuit concerned advocates who were unlawfully arrested while exercising their First Amendment rights, peacefully protesting at City Hall. The second lawsuit (filed on behalf of Reverend Bob Nakata, Reverend Sam Cox and The Interfaith Alliance Hawaii) charged that the County acted unconstitutionally by attempting to restrict the First Amendment rights of one group of people (those people experiencing homelessness and their advocates) more severely than other members of the public. The County promptly settled the cases - a fact of which you are surely aware given that the terms of the settlement were approved by the City Council (of which you were a member at the time). Indeed, the County and the ACLU issued a joint press release setting forth the details of the settlement.

The ACLU filed these two lawsuits in 2006 because the County was violating the First Amendment rights of its citizens. These lawsuits had nothing to do with camping ordinances. As an elected public official, it is incumbent upon you to discharge your duties honestly and truthfully. Therefore, we request that you retract and/or clarify your statements accordingly, and these inaccurate statements should be removed immediately from the County’s website.

Rather than waste precious county taxpayer resources erroneously blaming the ACLU for the homeless crisis, we urge you to focus your efforts instead on helping this most vulnerable population. Regrettably, too often it requires a community advocate like the ACLU to remind government officials of their legal responsibilities towards its neediest citizens.3

In sum, the ACLU requests that you issue an appropriate retraction or clarification of your recent statements. But more importantly, we hope that you will get back to the work of improving the lives of all Hawaii's people. In the meantime, the ACLU will continue to fulfill its mission of protecting fundamental rights for all people, and I and look forward to working with you and with the rest of the County Council in furthering this goal.

Lois K. Perrin, Legal Director

]]>Icebergs Ahoy!http://www.eastoahusun.com/letters-to-the-editor/2008/12/1/icebergs-ahoy.htmlEast Oahu Sun2008-12-01T11:00:00ZAsking Sam Slom and Gene Ward for their views on how to revive the economy is like asking the captain of the Titanic for boating safety tips. Predictable to the point of monotony, Slom and Ward both argue that lower taxes will save the day. Make Bush's tax cuts to the wealthy permanent! Support corporate subsidies! That's the ticket! Get government out of the way and all will be great!

If this sounds too good to be true, it is. Both anti-tax, non-regulatory free-marketers, Slom and Ward fail to acknowledge that these very views helped produce the current economic mess. Remember, while lamenting a lost job or low wages or the lack of job opportunities or high gas prices or the high costs of medical care or a diminished stock portfolio, it was Bush, the self-anointed "CEO President," and his free-market buddies who led us into this grim economic state. Slom and Ward may decry the present economic mess, but in the end they argue, without a hint of self-doubt or ingenuity, for the same policies that helped create it in the first place.

Todd Shelly, Hawaii Kai

]]>East Oahu Sun Submission Policyhttp://www.eastoahusun.com/letters-to-the-editor/2008/12/1/east-oahu-sun-submission-policy.htmlEast Oahu Sun2008-12-01T10:27:00ZThe East Oahu Sun welcomes your letters, photos, comments and other editorial content. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of the East Oahu Sun. "Letters to the Editor" are subject to editing and should be no longer than 300 words. The East Oahu Sun reserves the right to accept, reject or edit any submission. For verification purposes please include your name, address and phone number. Anonymous submissions will not be accepted. The East Oahu Sun does not return letters, photos, poems or any other type of editorial content. Submissions should be mailed to the East Oahu Sun at P.O. Box 25130, Honolulu, HI, 96825, faxed to (808) 395-1998, or e-mailed to info@eastoahusun.com.

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