STADIUM PARKING

TAILGATERS MUST BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHERS

As a rabid fan, I agree with the decision to crack down on illegal tailgating at Aloha Stadium.

Parking at the stadium is limited to begin with. By taking up extra stalls for their tailgating, fans cause more traffic on the freeway and entering the stadium.

Since parking is limited, people have to drive around looking for parking. Usually, these people end up in adjacent lots. Although these are fairly close, they are not at the stadium. You have to walk a significant distance to get to the game.

I often spot stalls that would be available were there not a large truck taking up both stalls or a tent, a barbecue and a group of people. It upsets me that people are inconsiderate enough to think that the extra space they are occupying will not be missed.

I understand that the policy is first-come, first-served, but if you are planning on having a large tailgate party, it would be more considerate to utilize the space between your party's vehicles.

Facilities may be partially to blame, but if fans extended their usual aloha spirit to parking, more could enjoy the game and tailgate as well.

FINANCE ENTERPRISES

FIRM'S DISAGREEMENTS MUST BE DEALT WITH

I am the only director of Finance Enterprises, the parent company of Finance Factors, who is truly independent — I am not a shareholder, executive or consultant, nor am I related to any of them.

John Andrews' letter (Sept. 20) as a director of Finance Factors was a shock. I have tried in writing for nearly one year to learn his thoughts about that company and its future. Mr. Andrews, chair of Finance Factors' audit committee, has never responded in any way. It is bizarre to refuse to cooperate with me and then communicate his personal views about an FDIC-insured institution to the general public via a letter to the editor.

I am concerned that his letter may misstate and omit important facts.

Mr. Andrews credits current management with 10 years of "operating the company in a sound manner, in accordance with FDIC regulations." Perhaps he forgot the "cease and desist order" of 2000 prohibiting engaging in unsafe or unsound banking practices and violating banking laws and regulations. Perhaps he also forgot the written agreement between the FDIC and Finance Factors which followed the cease and desist and was lifted slightly more than four years ago in June 2003.

Depositors' funds are safe and FDIC insured. Finance Factors continues to be regulated both by FDIC and the Hawai'i Department of Financial Institutions on the same basis as its peers. It is not necessary to rewrite history.

It is necessary to deal with the serious and legitimate disagreements among the shareholders of Finance Enterprises. Mr. Andrews needs to correct his facts and to shift his focus.

SUPERFERRY

CONTROVERSY EXPOSES DEEP CULTURAL CHASM

The Superferry was supposed to be that bridge that would bring the Islands closer together. Instead, it exposed a cultural chasm that is far wider and deeper than most of us realized.

The real threat is not to the humpbacks, but to the Neighbor Island's rural lifestyle.

The invasive species is not the miconia but the native Oahuan.

Out-of-state tourists by the thousands are welcomed, but Oahuans by the hundreds are not. Neighbor Islanders tell us to come and stay at our Grand Waileas and our Hyatts, but don't come to share our camping spots. Come charter our boats and catch a marlin, but don't fish our ulua.

Come to our beaches and enjoy the sunsets, but don't pick our limu and 'opihi. Come and eat at our resort restaurants, but don't crowd our local diners.

For decades, tourists and locals have accommodated each other in parallel worlds, but now the Superferry is poised to blur those worlds.

So, we've come to the very edge of this crossing and discover ourselves to be less Hawaiian and more Kauaian, Mauian and Oahuan. For Oahuans the term "Neighbor Islands" has lost some of its warmth; it's more like the "Outer Islands" now.

We just want to visit. Why is that so hard?

HI-5¢

SURPLUS SHOULD GO TO RECYCLING, NOT TO CITY

Whoa there, Mr. Hannemann, HI-5¢ money is not yours to salivate over, much less to spend.

Long before HI-5¢ money should be spent on the landfill in Waimanalo or on any other pet project that you or any other politician might have in mind, money should be spent to facilitate the recycling of containers.

It is easy enough for the state to take our money at the cash register; it is expensive (think gas), time-consuming (think traffic), and a farce (weighing containers in place of counting) for us to redeem our cans and bottles at recycling stations.

HI-5¢ is a deposit, not a tax. Hopefully, state lawmakers will honor their responsibility to return that money to its owners. The best way for that to happen is to increase the redemption rate.

IF PEOPLE RECYCLED, 2ND PICKUP UNNECESSARY

I usually agree with Lee Cataluna, but on Sept. 9 we parted ways regarding the recycling program and the bottle law 5-cent deposit.

It would be nice if the city could count our returnables, Lee, and leave an envelope with our "20 bucks a month" redemption fees attached to the blue trash can, but do you have a suggestion about how a city could accomplish this miracle at a reasonable cost?

You needn't lose your bottle deposits if you continue to take bottles and cans to the recycling center. If you do what you're doing now, the city won't be "keeping your deposit." But it will be recycling your non-deposit recyclables — a big step forward.

And if people take the (minimal) trouble to sort and recycle, they won't need to pay that extra $10 a month for a second garbage pickup. Or — if they make that much 'opala, they are just buying too much junk wrapped in too much junk and they ought to pay to get rid of it. Somebody has to.

PHONE BOOKS

IT'S DIFFICULT TO RECYCLE UNWANTED DIRECTORIES

As if finding unwanted, unwieldy bright yellow bags with heavy phone books in your driveway is not enough humbug (Letters, Sept. 15), try getting rid of them in a meaningful and socially responsible way.

The Paradise Pages bag has a huge "Recycling?" note on it, with a Web site. But none of the listings on the Web site accepts phone books. None.

It gets worse. The phone books' own Web site lists no address where the books can be dropped off. And an e-mail to them is a lost cause: no response.

Now what?