MICHELLE WIE

THERE'S ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT GOLF DQ

In regard to Michelle Wie's disqualification, consider this:

Imagine I'm a spectator in the stands of the world volleyball championship — say, U.S. against China. It's the semifinals. The next point will determine if the U.S. makes it to the championship round, which is worth $50,000. The U.S. spikes a ball in the far corner, but the line judge calls it out. The top referee also calls it out. The TV slo-mo replays are inconclusive. China beats U.S.

But wait. I was videotaping the game, and from my angle, I have proof that the ball was actually in! The next day, I show my video to the organizers of the tournament. My evidence is undeniable. The U.S. should have won.

I wasn't an official at the game, but do I have the authority to change the outcome, even if I'm right? Does a reporter?

JUNE JONES

MISTAKES, MY FOOT

June Jones says if we didn't make mistakes, we would have won the game. That's a ridiculous statement. All teams make mistakes. The idea is to overcome the mistakes and win the game anyway. Good teams do that all the time.

Get rid of those ugly uniforms and change the nickname back to "Rainbows."

SECOND CORRIDOR

PEARL HARBOR TUNNEL WOULD FIT OUR LIFESTYLE

I agree with the O'ahu Metropolitan Planning Organization's chair, state Rep. Marilyn Lee (Letters, Oct. 27), who made it clear that rail is indeed needed in order for us commuters to avoid traffic altogether. However, her assessment that a tunnel under Pearl Harbor won't ease traffic warrants a response.

The real debate here is not about buses, ferries or trains, but rather that the majority of us commuters want to preserve our private, personal means of transit by dictating the most efficient way to get from point A to point B — and that is in our own car. Transportation woes will not be solved by forcing commuters into boats, trains or buses, but rather by building alternative routes, and the tunnel concept makes the most sense.

Because we foolishly rely on just one vein, the H-1 Freeway, to serve motorists getting from county seat to county seat, university to university, state office to state office, besides all the recreational activities and events that propel our businesses and residential communities to be linked to one another, warrants that our leaders explore an alternative route.

I hope Rep. Lee remains open to listen to us on the Leeward Coast who accept the fact that financing a tunnel would empty the piggy bank but are willing to sacrifice. OMPO's own estimates illustrate that even with rail and ferry service in operation by 2025, our driving time from the 'Ewa Plain to downtown will double unless an additional transit corridor is available.

OPPOSING VOTES

WHY ARE ABERCROMBIE, CASE SILENCING HAWAI'I?

Ed Case and Neil Abercrombie have again voted to effectively cancel out the voice of Hawai'i in Washington by having opposing votes on all legislative issues in Congress, as reviewed in The Advertiser last Sunday.

The people of Hawai'i deserve an explanation. Are they voting the voice of the people or the special interests who contribute the most to their campaigns? Shouldn't our representatives work together to do the most for the people of Hawai'i?

READING SCORES

HELP LIBRARIES GET OUR KEIKI HOOKED ON BOOKS

I was sorry to see that our eighth-grade reading scores are rock-bottom on the U.S. list. It makes it seem as if our kids are dumb or something. For the ones I know, this is just not true.

Somewhere there must be research that shows that children brought to the library on a regular basis eventually find items of interest and develop the reading habit. Ironically, most public schools are so busy with the No Child Left Behind mandates, there seems to be no time to bring students on monthly visits. (In the 1980s, I used to host grades 4, 5 and 6 monthly and worked with fantastic teachers to grow readers.)

Public libraries are full of the best materials our publishing industry has to offer. We need a way to motivate elders to bring the young ones shopping for reading. Perhaps a weekly sales sheet similar to Longs and the major supermarkets, circulated via the newspapers, could deliver the pitch. These stores feature low-cost, high-use items that motivate us to visit. Libraries already have a newsletter with featured titles but, of course, you have to go to the library to get a copy.

The big catch is money. Our stuff is free so we do not have profits for a big advertising budget equal to commercial clout.

Maybe some reader has a bright idea.

How do we draw children to libraries like a magnet to metal?

HIGH PRICES

SO WHAT HAPPENED TO STATE GAS TAX RELIEF?

I think we citizens should call the governor's office and thank her for the great relief we got from the repealed state gasoline tax she espoused — especially in light of the enormous profits the oil companies are now reporting.

Oh yes, and let's not forget the huge tax breaks that the oil companies are getting from President Bush's and the Republi-cons' energy bill. I sure am glad we have a Republi-con Congress and a Republi-con governor, aren't you? I can't help but think of that adage, "With friends like that, who needs enemies?" It is heartwarming when our politicians (Demon-crats included) think about us little folks, the public, so highly.

Thanks again, Gov. Lingle, for the tax relief. Wait, what do you mean it never happened? Am I dreaming?

'PEACE IN THE PACIFIC'

VERY FEW REFERENCES FOUND REGARDING BURMA

Congratulations, you put Burma in your "Peace in the Pacific" commemorative section Sept. 2, but, oops, forgot our ally China. There are very few references to Burma.

Support by air over the frozen Himalayas was tried heroically, but failed. U.S. combat engineers were asked to build an impossible road from Ledo, India, across north Burma to reunite China.

Steep mountains by mule convoys, deep jungles, monsoons, raging rivers, malaria, dysentery and leeches were everywhere. Hacking, shoveling, building Burma Road and pipeline, foot by foot for three long years, but doggedly advancing mile per mile, supplying allied troops and fighting side by side to finally sweep Japan out of Burma while reuniting with China.

Your anecdote of Mandalay should have said instead that FE 3 U.S. combat engineers connected Burma Road from India- China. Burma jungles have retaken the Burma Road, but we should not forget the ones who died there or the survivors. There were no flags waving or parades when they finally made it home, and there are few survivors left.

They still display proudly their China-Burma-India patches, and if you see one, remember their long years of sacrifices in the jungles of forgotten Burma, now called Myanmar.

RENTAL MARKET

ELIMINATING RESTRICTIONS ON 'OHANA UNITS WON'T WORK

I would like to respond to Mr. Alan Ewell's letter ("Allow more rentals in existing neighborhoods," Oct. 18) in which he argues that eliminating restrictions on 'ohana dwelling units would be the easiest way to increase the availability of rental housing.

Experience has shown us the fallacy of this premise. Prior to having any restrictions, many early 'ohana units were merely used for investment and sold to non-family members and continue to be resold at market prices.

It is important to note that the 1981 Legislature's purpose and intent in requiring that the counties permit 'ohana units (i.e., two dwellings on a single residential lot) was twofold: to assist families in obtaining affordable housing, and to encourage the extended family. 'Ohana dwellings were never intended as a means to achieve a large-scale increase in rental housing stock.

The city's existing limits on 'ohana dwellings (adequate infrastructure, size, single structure and ownership, and family occupancy) were not part of our original regulations. Some of our current requirements were established after it was found that most 'ohana units were actually being constructed for investment rather than family purposes: A condominium property regime (CPR) was created for these residential lots, and the second ('ohana) dwelling then sold to non-family members.

Typically, only one house is allowed on a subdivided residential lot. 'Ohana units allow a landowner to actually exceed the planned densities associated with the zoning, which is what implements the city's long-range plans for the neighborhood. This type of exemption to the zoning, however, is justified for those explicit reasons established by the Legislature.

In order to encourage more 'ohana dwellings, we are currently processing a proposal to increase the maximum size to 1,000 square feet. If families can be encouraged to build more 'ohana dwellings, then this can help to indirectly reduce pressure on the rental housing market, which is to everyone's benefit.

The Planning Commission will have a public hearing on Nov. 16 regarding two proposals to amend the 'ohana dwelling regulations.

GENTRY PROJECT

WATER COMMISSION ACTED CORRECTLY

Your Oct. 27 editorial concludes that the water commission is not operating with a clarity of purpose and must take a broad, comprehensive look at how drinking water can be managed in the future. The underlying issue in the controversy you cover is whether the state water commission or the counties should decide what kinds of land developments are to proceed.

Managing our freshwater resources are unavoidably linked with land-use policies. The constitutional amendments of 1978 called for a state water commission, but the initial bill in 1987 was opposed by the counties as an intrusion on their powers. The subsequent Water Code requires that applications for a water-use permit conform to county land-use and development policies, but county planning and approval of developments currently proceed under the assumption that water will be available, and the issue comes to a head when developers come before the water commission to request water-use permits.

Ideally, the counties would prioritize proposed water uses, and the commission would rely on that prioritizing in its decision-making.

The Water Code actually calls for such state/county planning, but its purposes have not been achieved, partly because of the difficulty counties have in making those types of decisions and partly because of the lack of funding by the state Legislature for the commission's planning responsibilities.

The commission's policy is that water should be put to its best use, but it also must approve water-use permits if the proposed use is reasonable and beneficial and there are no practicable alternatives.

Kamehameha Schools originally applied for Waiahole Ditch water, but the Gentry project had not yet received county approval, so the commission directed Kamehameha to return when such approval was granted. The Waiahole Ditch waters are still tied up in court, and, whatever its reasons, Kamehameha in its lease agreement prohibited Gentry from requesting the ditch waters. Private parties should not and cannot restrain public action, so the nonpotable ditch waters would be a preferred alternative to potable aquifer waters.

Your editorial assumed that alternatives were currently available. Reclaimed water may be available in the future, as may ditch waters once the current litigation is finalized, but neither is available now. So the commission approved Gentry's request, on the condition that once a practicable alternative becomes available, it must use that alternative, whether ditch or reclaimed water.