ALA WAI

STATE'S HANDLING OF HARBORS INCOMPETENT

I certainly support Roy E. Disney's Island Voices commentary (Aug. 13) on Hawai'i's boat harbors.

As a marine surveyor working on the waterfront, I have watched docks in the Ala Wai Boat Harbor and other state harbors slowly deteriorate over 34 years.

"Malicious neglect" is a mild substitute for incompetence.

I have come to the conclusion that the state of Hawai'i prefers not to have any water surrounding "the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean."

KAHALA MALL

OUSTED RESTAURANTS PART OF CENTER'S APPEAL

Ditto to Lloyd J. Wood's Aug. 9 letter regarding the loss of three restaurants from Kahala Mall.

I will miss Yen King, Ginza Kimuraya and I Love Country Cafe very much, too. Will The Patisserie be forced to go as well?

What a shame. These eateries and the fine people employed there (many of them familiar faces for years) added so much to the mall's appeal.

The article described Whole Foods as "upscale." So I guess the above eateries and those of us who patronize them are not? I get the hint — we're too old.

HDTV

URGE KGMB TO SHOW ALOHA FOR ISLE PEOPLE

So KGMB plans not to add HDTV. No HDTV football or other HD programs.

Let's show KGMB the power of the people. I haven't watched a KGMB broadcast show in months.

How much business sense does it make that nobody watches your shows or, more importantly, your commercials?

Let's show them, Hawai'i. Let's urge KGMB to show their aloha for the people of Hawai'i.

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

KICK OFFICIALS OUT OF OFFICE WHO DON'T LISTEN

The mayor and his supporters in the City Council are all dead set on forcing rail transit down our throats.

The only way to make them back down on their intent to foist upon the people a gargantuan public expenditure is to make rail transit the major issue in the coming election.

Let the people vote whether or not to kick out of office all the elected officials who advocate rail transit.

And while we are at it, let voters decide whether or not to kick out of office all elected officials who will not reduce the property tax rate by $1.

All those who rent or own property would love to see their rent or property tax reduced.

Include elected officials who will not exempt food and medicine from the general excise tax.

Elected officials who do not listen to the voice of the majority of the people deserve to be kicked out of office.

GEOLOGICAL TREASURE

STATE SHOULD TAKE ON KULEANA FOR SINKHOLES

Advertiser science writer Jan TenBruggencate continually shows an extraordinary capacity to simplify and illuminate complex scientific subjects.

His recent "Sinkholes yield tales of birds" article (Aug. 7), with beautiful photographs by Bruce Asato, is a fine example. He provided the fascinating historical context of the sinkholes. Then, he took us on the hunt for the bones of extinct crows and moa nalo on a six-acre piece of land currently stewarded by Kapolei Property Development.

The importance of this site is recognized by scientists from the Smithsonian and the Bishop Museum, as well as many universities. A concerted effort to maintain this educational community resource as a Natural Area Reserve protected by the state has been undertaken by the Conservation Council of Hawai'i.

Mahalo to Jan TenBruggencate for this story.

I hope that the state will be encouraged to take on the kuleana for this historically rich area.

HIGH SCHOOL

KANE'OHE MARINES ALSO HOSTED ROTC CADETS

In response to your July 30 story, "Calling all CADETS," we just wanted to let you know that Schofield was not the only military post hosting ROTC cadets this past month.

My 15-year-old son, Andrew Lane, of Castle High School, spent eight grueling days at Marine Corps Base Hawai'i with his fellow cadets led by 1st Sgt. Pete Thornton. They also hosted approximately 60 cadets from all over the Mainland.

Each teen was pushed to his or her maximum potential in mind, body and loyalty.

Andrew returned home tired but also elated, healthy, happy and very sure of himself. He made many new friends and got re-acquainted with some old ones.

I want to thank 1st Sgt. Thornton, Sgt. Maj. John Ah Chick and the troop handlers, and, of course, the U.S. Marines.

We are very proud of all our high school children who choose to participate in this ROTC program, which takes guts and endurance.

CRIME STORIES

NOT RESPONSIBILITY OF MEDIA TO SHELTER YOUTH

It is not the responsibility of newspapers or other media to shelter children from the media. It is the responsibility of the parent, just as it is the parent's job to filter the TV, computer, movies and video games.

The story mentioned by Lissa Cockett in her Aug. 13 letter ("Stories about youth, crime are disturbing") was aimed specifically at keeping Hawai'i safe.

We, as citizens and a society, are responsible for keeping each other safe. If this means putting the truth out so justice is served, so be it.

WWII

MERCHANT MARINERS SHOULD GET OUR THANKS

There are two resolutions in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives asking for a belated thank you to the merchant mariners of World War II.

The Senate version (S 961) has 47 co-sponsors, and the House version (HR 23) has 244 co-sponsors. None of our elected officials from Hawai'i, namely Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka and Reps. Mazie Hirono and Neil Abercrombie, has supported these resolutions.

The efforts and sacrifices that were made by the Merchant Marine in World War II are staggering.

With Hawai'i an island state and totally dependent upon merchant mariners to bring everyday supplies, I find it curious that those elected officials don't offer their support.

EDUCATION

MUSIC BUSINESS CLASS ALREADY OFFERED AT LCC

You wrote on Aug. 9 about two classes at Honolulu Community College dealing with the business of music ("Making money with music at HCC"). The classes are offered through a partnership with Belmont University's Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business in Nashville.

Leeward Community College has offered MUS146 "The Business of Music" for some time now as part of its music program.

It doesn't make sense to send state tax dollars to Nashville for a distance-education program when it is already available 20 minutes away at LCC.

Wouldn't it be better to build on what we already have?

DEPARTURE

IMAGINE IF ROVE HAD USED ABILITIES FOR GOOD

Can you imagine what America would be like if Karl Rove had applied his huge abilities, his genius for strategy for the betterment, not to the detriment, of this country?

No war in Iraq. More than 3,500 American soldiers still alive. More than 50,000 American soldiers not wounded or maimed. No unsolvable national debt. Instead, a huge surplus to help the 45 million uninsured. No risk of insolvency of Social Security. Faster and more help for Katrina victims. Safeguarding the nation's borders. Proper inspection and maintenance of our infrastructure.

There is no end to what should and could have been done.

And if he had applied his mastermind to foreign policy, our image would not be in such a deep quagmire. No torture, no killing of 100,000 Iraqis, no bombing of villages in Afghanistan. Our former clean image would not be soiled.

Mind you, our inept president took his evil advice and our do-nothing Congress just went along.

History will ask whatever happened to the once-great United States.

KAKA'AKO

INFECTIOUS-AGENTS LAB SHOULD BE OF CONCERN

Recently we have been hearing that a new laboratory for highly infectious agents is to be created at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in increasingly populated Kaka'ako, between Honolulu's urban center and our visitor destination, Waikiki.

I was struck by the dismissive "just trust us" tone of the official response to the idea that anyone has concerns about the plan.

Then, The Advertiser ran a story on Aug. 6, "Animal lab suspected source of cattle virus," about the current outbreak of serious disease among British cattle. The second paragraph begins: "Officials increasingly suspect that the lab — home to a government research center that makes foot-and-mouth vaccine — was the source of the outbreak on a nearby farm." The rest of the story only shows the logic of this concern.

As a proud University of Hawai'i-Manoa graduate who has published research in respected journals and has had the honor of working as a consultant to a program at JABSOM, I am a huge fan of our medical school, faculty and students. But I resent being told yet again that "the experts know best" until facts later prove otherwise.

The concept of "first do no harm" is still a valid part of medical practice. The experts, whether they desire to clone the taro plant or build a bio-hazard lab, must respect the public and not just dismiss our apparently valid concerns as primitive ignorance and superstition.