TOP 25 TEAM

TIME TO STOP CRITICISM OF JONES, UH FOOTBALL

A few weeks ago, Joe Moore wrote a letter explaining his disapproval with the job that June Jones has done. Now we are a top 25 team, knocked off a quality Big 10 opponent and are riding a nine-game win streak.

Eight years ago, Hawai'i was the laughingstock of NCAA football.

With the arrival of coach Jones, we have sent many players to the NFL, have consistently gone to a bowl game and have instilled fear into our opponents.

Let's take a break from criticizing the team and enjoy what it has done for our state.

SOLUTION

LOCKING UP SPRAY CANS WOULD CURB GRAFFITI

I moved to Hawai'i from Los Angeles about 17 months ago. I was disappointed to see that graffiti is as bad as Los Angeles.

On Nov. 12, you asked for help on a solution to this problem. Here is a suggestion:

In Los Angeles, all spray-paint cans are locked up. You have to be 18 or older to buy spray paint.

I have spent a lot of time on my "fixer-upper," which means that I have been to Lowe's and Home Depot quite often. One day on my way out of Lowe's, a man told a manager that some boys had stolen spray cans. It took so long for the employees to figure out what was going on, the kids were long gone.

At the Pearlridge Home Depot, I watched four boys 12 to 13 years old standing in the spray paint area, actually spraying on a sample board! How obvious was this?

If these items were locked up, we would have far less graffiti. If there was even a little more awareness to the potential problem, maybe the store employees would have taken it more seriously and been more aware and prepared!

RAIL

SUBSIDIES, RIDERSHIP NOT FULLY EXPLAINED

As the rail project rolls along, it is getting more and more obvious who really wants this huge construction project. Witness the first reading of Bill 83 at the City Council last week. It was all union leaders, land developers, banks and big landowners.

The bill makes a lot of sense, saying, basically, don't tax us until we know some more of the facts. However, what they cannot explain away is the large subsidies this project will require. We will be, by far, the smallest metro area in the country with rail. Miami is the smallest now with a population of 4.5 million.

The other thing they cannot explain is the low ridership projections. However, make no mistake, it will go through because rail means budgets, perks, votes and employees to the politicians, most of whom will not be around when the bill comes due.

Does anyone think the power brokers pushing this through will use rail? They don't even use TheBus.

Also, don't you wish they would be honest with names? It is not light rail and it is not rapid transit. Light rail uses existing roadways, and this thing will only go 15 to 20 mph.

AKAKA BILL

Are we heading for casinos in Hawai'i?

Would passage of the Akaka bill pave the way for legalized gambling, or is this just an 800-pound gorilla sitting in my living room?

I noticed the side-by-side articles on the front page of The Advertiser on Nov. 11 — Trump's sold-out condos and the Akaka bill article — thus, the reason for this question. Also, with all the recent press on how to pay for the proposed mass-transit system on O'ahu, poverty among Native Hawaiians, fixing earthquake damage on the Big Island, it looks as if we need a whole lot of money. Would passage of the Akaka bill grease the skids for building casinos here in Hawai'i? And if so, let's begin that discussion while we can, before we're all "sold-out."

ARCHAEOLOGY PROGRAM

ISLAND LIFE STORY FAILED TO INCLUDE KUPUNA

I'm writing about your Nov. 28 Island Life story on University of Hawai'i lecturer Robert Bollt's program on Hawaiian archaeology. Kudos to Mr. Bollt for his dedication and passion for educating our youth.

However, there was one glaring omission: the failure to incorporate the archaeological expertise and input of Hawaiian kupuna, some of whom were specifically trained by their elders about old sites and lifeways. The information box on Page E3, for example, should have included this information, not only because it is culturally sensitive, but also because it is more accurate and informative.

KAHUKU HOSPITAL

MALPRACTICE REFORM WOULD HELP EASE COSTS

One of the factors forcing the imminent closure of Kahuku Hospital is the high cost of medical malpractice insurance. Reportedly, the premiums for Kahuku Hospital rose from $70,000 to $400,000 per year within a short period of time.

Other hospitals and many doctors are facing the same escalating insurance premiums. That is why Gov. Linda Lingle has proposed medical malpractice insurance reform over the past three years. The Lingle-Aiona proposals would cap non-economic damages, avoid shifting the entire payment burden to doctors and put a lid on lawyers' fees.

Now is the time to enact these reforms. Sen. Clayton Hee, whose district includes Kahuku, is the new chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. His prompt passage of the Lingle-Aiona medical insurance reform bill would be an early sign that the state genuinely wants to keep doctors in business and hospital doors open.

Rep. Sylvia Luke, who stopped these reforms in prior years, is no longer House Judiciary chair. So there is a chance this is the year we will see the House and Senate enact this bill.

Let's hope they do so before any more hospitals have to shutter their doors.

TRANSITIONAL HOUSING

CITY HAS NO SURPLUS LAND BEYOND KAIMUKI

In response to a letter from Mr. Charles Soon (Nov. 17) regarding the identification of city properties that may be considered for transitional housing: The list of city properties that may be considered for low-income rental housing or transitional shelters for the homeless was created through input from various city agencies on properties that were surplus to their needs, vacant or underutilized.

There were no properties identified for transitional housing in 'Aina Haina, Kahala and Hawai'i Kai because the city does not have any surplus lands suitable for development in these areas.

COPPER

REQUIRE RECYCLERS TO GET ID WHEN WIRE SOLD

Here is a suggestion to stop the copper-wire thefts. Have the city issue digital cameras to the copper-wire recyclers, and require them to get a clear picture and a copy of the driver's license of anyone selling copper wire or piping. If it is a legal transaction, the customer shouldn't mind, and if it isn't, he will know he has a good chance of getting caught.

Then, put an article in the newspaper explaining this new requirement. Hopefully, even these thieves will realize that it isn't worth stealing the copper if they can't sell it safely.

CLEAN ELECTIONS

PUBLIC FUNDING SYSTEM MUST BE IMPROVED

Your Nov. 20 editorial mentioned clean (publicly funded) elections as a remedy for the oceans of money that favor-seekers pour into campaigns.

The 110th U.S. Congress will include 106 members who support public funding of congressional campaigns.

In Hawai'i, all 76 of our representatives and senators were asked to sign a Voters First Pledge to put ordinary voters before lobbyists and special interests. Only eight signed: Sens. Les Ihara and Suzanne Chun Oakland; and Reps. Josh Green, Joe Bertram, Della Au Belatti, Sylvia Luke, Corinne Ching, Karen Awana, Cynthia Thielen and Tommy Waters.

Business donations to one state Senate campaign here can easily top $100,000.

It's high time we beefed up Hawai'i's measly 26-year-old partial public funding system so people can afford to run without taking money from rich donors who only want favors. Many of our representatives will change the system that elected them only if they hear from constituents.

With each election, Clean Elections gains momentum at the city, state and national level. Hawai'i's campaigns need to join in.

Either the public buys the elections, or special interests will continue to.

POST OFFICE MAILINGS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED

Last Saturday, I received four pieces of unrecyclable mail (two sent first class) from the U.S. Postal Service, touting their extended holiday hours, post offices in stores and online mailing. When I called to complain that one mailing would have sufficed, I was told there was nothing they could do locally, that it was ordered by Washington.

When I asked to be removed from the mailing list, I was told that the Postal Service is required by law to deliver all the mail that senders have paid to have delivered. When I asked local employees to pass my complaint on to Washington, they were reticent. There was no sympathy when I explained that my condo would be discarding 1,600 pieces of mail, and that we had to pay the garbage-hauling costs for this.

How many pieces were sent in these nationwide mailings? How much money was spent on this self-promotion? While the post office bombards us with numerous solicitations at taxpayer cost, postage rates will be going up.

Happy holidays! It is time for a congressional investigation.