GAS CAP

PRICE CONTROLS ALWAYS DISTORT THE MARKET

Legislators just don't get it ("Gas cap may drive prices up," Aug. 14). Price controls always distort the market, usually leading to shortages or lower-quality goods or services.

It is hardly surprising that government meddling may now lead to higher gas prices. "Unintended consequences" as usual!

Adam Smith discovered it over 200 years ago: Government regulation of the natural marketplace always harms consumers directly in proportion to the degree of interference. Recall the Carter administration's gasoline allocation mismanagement of the '70s: surpluses and shortages across county boundaries, odd/even days and long lines.

It sure would be nice if legislators were to demonstrate a basic understanding of Economics 101 as a prerequisite for electoral candidacy. Lord, spare us from the good intentions of know-nothings!

SECOND CITY

GO WEST, YOUNG MAN

What ever happened to the city's plan to make Kapolei a second city? Wasn't that supposed to decrease traffic to town? If the city is serious about making Kapolei a second city, it shouldn't be investing millions in a transit system headed toward town. What the city needs to do is create more incentives for businesses to move out west, or at least let the public know why that idea failed.

SOVEREIGNTY

HAWAIIANS DESERVE TO THRIVE IN THEIR LAND

When I saw how many Kamehameha graduates, concerned Hawaiians and equally concerned non-Hawaiians came together Aug. 6 in the wake of the 9th Circuit Court ruling, I was amazed by the sheer power of our commitment to this uniquely Hawaiian school, and I wondered just what that strength can do when focused again.

Surely with the righteous moral indignation focused on a single goal that we manifested that day, we would prove unstoppable in the pursuit of justice for our people.

I never want us to again break down into the warring tribes, causing our fight for justice to bog down in technicalities.

At the Kaua'i meeting and rally, Nainoa Thompson spoke of the mindset of a Polynesian voyager who never loses sight of the island. That goal focuses all energies and decisions upon the wa'a.

As our Hawaiian community debates the pros and cons of the Akaka bill, questions the holdings of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and jockeys for position among various sovereignty groups, it becomes quite clear that we have lost sight of the island. We have, however, only lost sight collectively. Each of us in our na'au knows what that island is.

We deserve to be the Hawaiian people thriving in our Hawaiian land.

Every other goal of preserving culture, preserving entitlements, preserving our 'aina falls under this one goal.

ADMISSIONS

IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO RACIST SCHOOL POLICY

After reading this newspaper and the other local papers about the recent court ruling on Kamehameha Schools, I do not understand the stir that was made by it. Nowhere else in this country is a racial group allowed to segregate any school, public or private.

Furthermore, in some of these articles, many Native Hawaiians felt as if this ruling was a slap in the face or a act of oppression. Well, why doesn't each of these people who truly feels oppressed go talk to some African-American families who have roots in the slave movement or maybe even true Native Americans from the Cherokee Indian tribe who had family in the Trail of Tears?

This idea that Hawaiians can allow whomever they feel like going to the Kamehameha Schools based on bloodline comes down to one word and one word only: racist. Let the poor kid go to school there and allow him the right to a good education.

PLANNING

MASS TRANSIT: NOW THE HARD WORK BEGINS

Congratulations to the members of the City Council and to Mayor Hannemann on making the right decision to fund mass transit for Honolulu, a tough decision and one long overdue.

After 30 years of exhaustive studies and debates, Honolulu finally can now look forward to getting out of the traffic jam road it's been on, and to joining the great cities of the world that provide alternative means of transportation beyond the automobile as a means of enhancing the quality of life for its citizens and visitors.

Now the hard work begins; a mass transit system can only work if properly planned with appropriate design, technology and execution.

Paramount to its success is the integration into land use, servicing high-demand destinations like the University of Hawai'i (Manoa and West O'ahu campuses), while helping direct density in growth destinations like downtown Kapolei, and nodes along the Primary Urban Center, creating opportunities for neighborhood places in which to live/work/play.

Aesthetics will also play a critical role; if properly designed, the system and its stations can reflect their unique location in Hawai'i and enhance the areas it will serve. As Mies van der Rohe used to say, "God is in the details."

In making the right decision to fund mass transit, the City Council and Mayor Hannemann have shown how much can be achieved by constructively working together toward the good of Honolulu. Congratulations. You're on the right track.

1960S

CREDIT LIPPY ESPINDA FOR ORIGIN OF THE SHAKA

I believe the origin of the shaka, or the association with shaka and the hand sign, is Lippy Espinda in the early '60s. Espinda, who had a daytime movie-of-the-week show that featured adventure films and "thrillers," would end his commercial breaks during the movie by making a pretend telescope with his right hand, looking through it with one eye, and saying "shocker" (which, in pidgin, came out more like "shaka").

After doing years of commercials, the tube-like pretend telescope gradually became a halfhearted facsimile of what it used to be and lapsed into a chest-high lazy half tube with his thumb and baby finger sticking out.

People and kids watching this popular daytime show would start saying "shaka" and doing their interpretation of the hand symbol at every chance they got (maybe thinking Lippy Espinda was doing a hand sign generally associated with fisherman, tug-of-war champion and hukilau organizer Hamana Kalili, who had the three middle fingers missing from one hand).

Gradually it turned into a type of greeting. When one saw a friend or someone they knew, they would say "shaka" and do the sign.

Thus the association of "shaka" with the hand symbol.

YOUTH PRISON

ABUSE? LET JUVENILES KNOW WHAT THEY FACE

Kudos to The Advertiser on the excellent story of the alleged abuse at the youth correctional facility. These stories should be printed on a weekly basis so the word can be spread throughout the Islands of the life that can be expected if you do the crime.

The examples of abuse sound like nothing more than the same types of bad behavior recorded at any middle to high school.

My hat goes off to the men and women correctional officers whose job it is to watch over the youths who have decided (on their own) to make terrible choices in life. Maybe instead of only writing about the "abuse" of youth by officers, you could also write about what kind of behavior from the prisoners is causing this. I have a really hard time believing that they would put their jobs at risk just to get their kicks.

Also, it's amazing how fantastic this place looks. Much cleaner and nicer than any of the schools that are sometimes featured in the paper.

Keep up the good work!

DON'T JUDGE SUICIDES AT STATE HOSPITAL TOO QUICKLY

Sensational headlines such as "State criticized as mentally ill die" and "16 deaths in five weeks" perpetuate the stigma of mental illness. No one can say why the six of the individuals committed suicide.

Consider also the following facts: In 2004, there were three known sentinel (suicide) events with 4,500 consumers being provided treatment. Yes, from Feb. 17 to March 26, 2005, there were six extremely unfortunate suicides among these losses of lives. However, enrollment has doubled to 9,500 almost overnight. Consumers, along with the rest of Hawai'i's aging population, are facing many more age-related illnesses.

Persons who attempt suicide are the most resourceful individuals. No matter where the person is, he or she will find a way to "end it all." The myth that people who attempt/commit suicide are weak is far from the truth. In fact, someone in the throes of suicide takes painstaking planning in his or her demise similar to someone planning the perfect murder.

I know. I speak from personal experience. My first attempt was at age 13. My seventh and hopefully final attempt was just 10 years ago, when I was, for the very first time, diagnosed. Unknown to me, I had been struggling with major depression my entire life (57 years). It finally became apparent to me, about a year later in 1996, that my time on this Earth was not yet done.

Today my life is that of a consumer advocate, fighting for the respectful acceptance and dignified treatment of the mental health community. I still face the urges of suicide daily, but I continue to find ways to cope with this. Yes, I will die one day. But it could just as easily be by diabetes, kidney failure, cancer or even the pain of crippling arthritis.

There is an adage that says "Nothing worth fighting for is easy or comes on a silver platter." I now ask Judge David Ezra and Magistrate Kevin Chang to call for an open hearing involving the division, the leadership and other interested parties, but most importantly, the mental health consumers who are being impacted the most. Listen to the consumers who have benefited by the services provided by AMHD. Listen to the vast majority of us who are surviving our illnesses every day. Listen to the consumer advocates who, through the leadership, empowerment and encouragement provided by Dr. Thomas Hester, are living viable lives today. Helping not just themselves, but the other members of our very own 'ohana.

I appeal to everyone. The time to heal, to come together, is now. Bring to the table your ideas, not continued criticism. Bring your acceptance, not your rejection. Bring your understanding and empathy, not derision. Finally, bring hope, not despair.

TRANSPORTATION

TRASHING SLATER IGNORES THE FACTS

A recent commentary by Mayor Hanneman's press secretary, Bill Brennan, contained the surprising news that "Cliff Slater is no expert in fixing our transportation." In fact, states Mr. Brennan, he "doesn't know what he's saying."

The reason this is surprising is that Mr. Slater has been involved in the transportation field for 17 years in addition to establishing a distinguished record in business, civic affairs and tax policy. In 1991, the Star-Bulletin named him one of "Ten Who Made a Difference"; in 1993, he was Honolulu magazine's "Islander of the Year." In 1997, he wrote "General Motors and the Demise of Streetcars," which is now being used by schools of urban and regional planning at major universities in the U.S. He led the fight against imposition of a tax to fund rail transit from 1988 to 1993. Since then he has been the voice of reasoned opposition to rail transit for Honolulu.

He is concerned enough about the proposed rail transit system and the new tax increase, which will only begin to pay for it, to devote his time trying to explain to people why this system is wrong for Hawai'i, why it won't alleviate traffic congestion and what other alternatives are available.

Two points made by Mr. Brennan require rebuttal. The first statement was "He (Slater) calls the 1992 proposal a heavy-rail project. Typical Slater fudging. It was light rail by any industry standard. Ask the real experts. Check the newspaper clippings."

Actually, Mr. Brennan, the 1992 federal environmental impact statement showed electricity from the third rail and use of exclusive rights-of-way to be components of a heavy-rail system. Light rail, on the other hand, uses overhead electricity and does not utilize exclusive rights-of-way for the entire route.

Mr. Brennan goes on to say that "few have built HOT lanes." That is because it is a new concept, whereas rail has been around for 165 years. In fact, tollways abound in Europe and South America. The concept started in Southern California with SR-91 in Los Angeles, continuing to San Diego, and is now coming to traffic jams in metropolitan areas all over the country. The concept of using free-market-style tolls to make motorists see the cost of their driving decisions has long been a tool in easing traffic jams.

Panos D. Prevedouros, Ph.D., professor of traffic and transportation engineering at UH-Manoa, writes under the heading "Congratulations on Funding a Loser" that "this shows that smart, progressive societies solve 21st-century traffic issues with 21st-century solutions. Ours (Hawai'i's) obviously isn't one since we are going to sink a lot of money in 19th-century technology that won't do much, if anything, for traffic congestion."

Cursing the messenger while ignoring the message is a popular sport these days. The message is an urgent one: Before we embark on a program of continuing tax increases to fund and maintain what would be the most massive public works project in the history of Hawai'i, we simply must stop and consider all aspects of this project. What will it look like? How will it sound? What will it really cost? Can we afford it? And — the most important question — what are the alternatives?