PHOTO EXHIBIT

DONORS PROVIDED OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUTHS

Of the numerous public charities and private foundations in the state of Hawai'i, many serve as beacons of hope for those less fortunate.

One such foundation is The James and Abigail Campbell Family Foundation. Part of the foundation's mission is to support programs that address the challenges of young people from West O'ahu.

Twelve youths attending "Women In Need" programs and living in a transitional housing project in Wai'anae Valley received foundation funding for a photo exhibit through ProjectFocus Hawai'i.

The combined support of our major sponsors, The James and Abigail Campbell Family Foundation, Fuji Film Hawai'i Professional Imaging, Aloha Tower Marketplace and others, demonstrated that caring runs deep in our community.

For one night these children and their families experienced much more than an "artist's reception." For the first time in their lives, they were the stars and received accolades from more than 350 guests, including Gov. Linda Lingle. This night served as a life-changing moment for them.

We thank our contributors for providing the opportunity for that to happen.

TRANSIT

DJOU, LAGARETA SHOULD GIVE UP ASSAULT ON RAIL

Councilman Charles Djou has wasted a lot of time and taxpayers' money trying to derail rapid transit and to cause trouble for Mayor Mufi Hannemann. Djou and fellow Republican Kitty Lagareta have tried and failed three times to manufacture a controversy about the awarding of transit consulting contracts.

Their initial challenge to the State Procurement Policy Board was tossed out, Lagareta's lawsuit was dismissed by the Circuit Court, and now the Federal Transit Authority has rejected their claims. Whatever political intrigue or business jealousy motivated their behavior has failed to gain any credence at any level in any venue. It's time for them to set aside their petty assaults and start working to solve problems — not create them.

POST OFFICE

JUNK MAIL SITUATION CURRENTLY UNTENABLE

I agree wholeheartedly with Jack Telaneus' comments about junk mail. I also get irked by trashing 90 percent of the mail that I take from my mailbox. By allowing advertising to be sent at a much lower rate than other mail, the U.S. government is subsidizing companies that send the junk.

Why should we pay for the advertising that generates profits for the companies that pay multi-million dollar salaries and bonuses to CEOs while paying workers a barely livable wage?

Although not quite Dickensian England, the current state of affairs is untenable.

The post office should charge first-class rates for advertisements and leave the bulk rates for registered nonprofit organizations and make for-profit companies pay for their advertising.

I'm tired of walking to the mailbox to pick up trash!

ELECTION 2006

AKAKA BILL MISGUIDED, FAILS TO SERVE RESIDENTS

I read with interest the comments in Sunday's paper (Akaka vs. Case) stating that "Akaka has promised to bring the (Akaka) bill back at the first opportunity and predicts it will pass." He says this based upon the prediction that the Senate may go Democratic in the upcoming elections. This would surely be a waste of time and effort.

While the Akaka bill failed by four votes this last time around, that procedural cloture vote count does not tell the whole story. A number of Democratic and Republican senators who voted with Akaka on the cloture vote said they would not have voted for the bill's final passage. Included on this list is Sen. Jon Kyl, Sen. John McCain, Sen. Ted Kennedy and undoubtedly many others. They all felt that the bill was unconstitutional.

I have to believe that Sen. Dan Akaka and his staff must have known they did not have the votes to move the bill forward. They also must know that they will not have the votes to pass the bill after the election even if the Democrats control the Senate.

The whole idea behind the Akaka bill is misguided. Federal Indian policy on the Mainland is in shambles. The last thing most senators want to do is create another constitutionally questionable, race-based, quasi-governmental entity to be managed by the Department of Interior.

Sen. Akaka's position regarding Native Hawaiians is wrong-minded and does not serve the interests of the majority of the residents of Hawai'i or the interests of the country as a whole. The majority of the U.S. Senate understood this and hopefully always will. Maybe it is time for a change.

LAND USE

QUEEN'S RISE REZONING SHOULD BE REJECTED

The City and County of Honolulu zoned the area from Ka Iwi Point to Sandy Beach P-2 to protect the land from hotel and residential development. The city should adhere to the designation that took more than 30 years to achieve. Preservation land should remain just that.

At the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board meeting in June, Westwood Development Group, also known as Moanalua Properties, presented a plan to build 180 cabins on the hillside near the state park. This resort-like development is not appropriate for preservation land. Vacation cabins were intended to be an ancillary use to recreation. The developer in this case is proposing "vacation cabins" (actually houses) and then planning to add recreational facilities to justify them. This subverts the intent of the ordinance — truly the tail waging the dog.

It also sets a terrible precedent. How many mountainsides on O'ahu could be converted to resorts if this use of P-2 land is allowed? If the developer's interpretation of the P-2 designation is deemed to be correct, then the ordinance needs immediate change to clarify that the intent of P-2 zoning is preservation.

A change to the section of the Land Use Ordinance pertaining to P-2 must be an urgent priority to ensure that there are no more similar applications. True stewards of the land would take immediate appropriate steps to preserve the vistas from the mountains to the sea.

The League of Women Voters of Honolulu urges rejection of all applications for development on Queen's Rise overlooking Ka Iwi State Park

DISASTER PLANNING

NEW ADMINISTRATION FOUND PROBLEMS

Courtney Harrington's letter to the editor (Aug. 18) claiming that the city's interoperable communications issues were resolved in the final few months of the Harris administration is not credible. While I don't know whether Mr. Harrington "formed a committee," or "began an assessment" of this or that, I do know that there was no program or policy "put into place." In fact, the Tactical Interoperable Communications Plan was just completed this year and approved by the feds in July.

When we took office with Mayor Hannemann in 2005, the city was aware that interoperability problems did exist and set about fixing them. What this administration found and photographed were rusted towers, insect-infested buildings and properties and lands that had not been maintained for years.

Repair of the radio towers will cost an estimated $25 million over a five-year period and is under way. The inspection of the 14 primary sites was just completed with the consultant identifying eight towers that will need to be totally reconstructed. We will start the review of each of the buildings next.

Mr. Harrington's claim that, "money for their replacement or repair was placed into the following year's fiscal budget" is inaccurate. Funds were available for minimal and long-overdue equipment upgrades. There were no monies in the fiscal 2005 budget for the reconstruction of any facilities.

Whatever "talking" about the problems of communications, interoperability and IT infrastructure that took place in the last months of the prior administration hardly represented a viable solution. Mr. Harrington now has the opportunity to put his experience to good use with the state.

Our aggressive program of repair and maintenance will provide the much-needed communications infrastructure stability needed for the future. That said, we would encourage that the state work with us to continue to improve the facilities to support not only Honolulu's needs, but the needs of the entire state.

LILIHA

NEIGHBORHOOD BRINGS BACK FOND MEMORIES

When I saw your Page One article about Liliha, it sparked my interest. I grew up on Liliha Street just about three blocks up from the intersection where Masu's Massive Plate Lunch and the old Midori Dressmaker building now stand.

Masu's used to be Honda Delicatessen. Everyone would stand in line to purchase the usual delicatessen foods like musubi, shrimp tempura, kinpira gobo, etc ... mmmm, it brings back memories.

There was a service station next to the Midori Dressmaker building. My family would walk down Liliha Street and visit Jane's Fountain to eat saimin and barbeque sticks.

Liliha Street was so mellow. When I was a child I would ride my tricycle right out Liliha Street and come back to the house. After attending Lanakila Elementary School, we walked to Palama Gakuen, the Japanese school right off Vineyard Boulevard. I no longer live in that old white house on Liliha Street where two big lychee trees stood.

Reading the article brought back many childhood memories. Now, traffic is pretty congested. I would also like to see the old buildings saved and preserved to keep Liliha as I remember.