UH FOOTBALL

BCS GAME THEORY WILL BE TESTED NEXT YEAR

Just a few months ago everyone was upset because the UH did not have a football schedule that included any big-time programs. Now, if I understand Ferd Lewis's article, "BCS game realistic for UH Warriors" in Wednesday's Advertiser, it is in the best interest of the UH Athletic Department not to have any big-time program teams on the regular schedule.

That big-dollar payout for playing in a BCS game for winning all your games with a weak schedule would give UH a lot more chances for the big payout. That theory will be tested next year, when the team plays Florida in the first game. If they win, there is still a chance for a BCS game; if they lose, no chance for a BCS game and it's big payout.

TRUANCY

WAI'ANAE PARENTS CAN USE KAPOLEI'S PROGRAM

This is a challenge to all Wai'anae high school parents to adopt the Kapolei "skipping school" watch program.

Instead of seeing 20 to 40 students behind Makaha Surfside and across the street at the Lutheran church and going down 'Alawa Place and at the closest bus stops every day, let's see 20 to 40 parents patrolling this area.

Kudos to the gentleman who does his best, but the skipping students are way too many for him to handle. It is up to you parents: Is Kapolei town better than Wai'anae town?

ENERGY

LOOK AT NUCLEAR POWER FOR ENERGY DEMANDS

The requirement for additional electricity is growing rapidly and no end is in sight. If you doubt this just look at the construction industry and industrial development; and add to this the probability that a substantial part of the next generation cars will be electric "plug-into-house-current" models.

The HECO monopoly tries to placate public fears with ads for alternative, eco-friendly energy sources, implying that somehow we can meet the demand by investment in solar panels, wind generators and the like. While the wind, wave, solar, green alternatives are promising and can add meaningful power, recent studies show that even with maximum effort they can provide only a small fraction of our needs in the foreseeable future.

And what are HECO's plans? Oil generation at some time in the future.

Obviously, HECO is out of step both with our needs and the national effort to self-sufficiency (free of foreign oil dominance) and massive efforts to an ecological cleanup. HECO would put us further at the mercy of foreign oil (both cost and availability) and continue to foul our state.

Now is the time for HECO to move away from reliance on dirty, foreign-controlled oil. Now is the time to move toward eco-friendly — now safe — nuclear generation. It is the only reasonable and feasible alternative and it is ideally suited for Hawai'i. Yes, it is safe: Developments over the past decades have made it even more so.

It is time to quit posturing and procrastinating; it is time to get it going. The lead time is fast ticking away.

TRAFFIC

OPEN SHOULDER LANE TO EASE RUSH-HOUR CRUNCH

It's 5:30 a.m. or so, Monday through Friday (workdays), and traffic begins to stop on the H-1 freeway town-bound, shortly after the Makakilo/Kapolei on-ramp.

There are several hundred new homes in development in the area and we must prepare now for the added traffic. The Department of Transportation, City and County of Honolulu, and/or the state should consider opening the right shoulder (emergency) lane of the freeway during traffic peak hours, from Makakilo-Kapolei to the Waipahu exit, to help remedy this ongoing problem. Without addressing this concern, the traffic will start to snarl back to Nanakuli.

Another option would be to use the Superferry to transport our vehicles to work and school. Anything that can be immediately implemented would be an improvement.

CITY BUS

NEW EAST HONOLULU ROUTE HARD FOR SENIORS

Currently, three buses travel within 'Aina Haina: Hawai'i Kai Drive, Lunalilo Home Road, and Upper 'Aina Haina. Passengers can go downtown or to Hawai'i Kai using a single bus.

Under TheBus' new plan, only Upper 'Aina Haina would run once every hour within 'Aina Haina. The lower loop on East/West Hind would be eliminated. Going downtown would require a transfer at Kahala Mall; going to Hawai'i Kai would require crossing busy Kalaniana'ole Highway to transfer to another bus.

Many seniors live alone, don't drive, and depend on TheBus to go to medical appointments in Hawai'i Kai. Crossing Kalaniana'ole Highway would be difficult and dangerous. Coming home from downtown with bundles and having to transfer at Kahala Mall would be difficult for those with limited mobility. The old system works for our kupuna. Why change it?

IRAQ

BUSH'S LATEST VIEW ON COST OF WAR IS TELLING

The claim that President Bush has been less than honest in his dealings with the American people can now be laid to rest.

When the Congressional Budget Office announced that our current wars may cost taxpayers as much as 2.4 trillion dollars over the next 10 years, the Bush administration immediately responded that, "We don't know how much the war is going to cost in the future."

What could be a more honest answer than that?

POLITICS

CRITICISM OF RUSH LIMBAUGH OUT OF LINE

I wish to express my disappointment with the recent actions of Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka.

Although not widely reported, on Oct. 2 they signed a letter sponsored by Sen. Harry Reid, impugning Mr. Rush Limbaugh's patriotism. This letter was also read on the floor of the Senate.

As everyone should be aware of by now, that partisan attack was based on a lie. The liberal group Media Matters took a term, "phony soldiers," used by Mr. Limbaugh out of context and incorrectly said Mr. Limbaugh was calling soldiers that disagreed with the war in Iraq "phony soldiers."

What Mr. Limbaugh actually said during his broadcast was Jesse Al-Zaid (a.k.a. Jesse MacBeth) was a phony soldier, which is accurate. Mr. Al-Zaid is a civilian anti-war protester who falsely claimed to be an Army Ranger and veteran of the Iraq War.

Did they listen to the full speech by Mr. Limbaugh before signing the letter? Have they listened to it yet?

I would have expected more diligence on their part before subjecting the Senate of the United States to this shameful smear campaign on a private citizen. Is this what they are being paid to do?

Since the truth of the matter has become known, I have waited for an apology from Sen. (Harry) Reid or the Senate, but none have been forthcoming.

I faxed a letter similar to this one directly to both senators and asked them to take the honorable course and publicly apologize for signing the letter sponsored by Sen. Reid.

SUPERFERRY

COMPROMISE NEEDED FOR EQUITABLE SOLUTION

It's easy to see in Hawai'i why such a vocal minority can have such a visible impact. People from the Mainland moving here sometimes mistake our lack of vocal support for indifference.

Rather it is our humble upbringing and our respect for others that prevent us from banging on elderly people's cars and just general rude treatment of others in support of their own cause. This is not the Mainland, and that in-your-face attitude may work well somewhere else but it has never been part of our culture.

Everyone has their perspective and it appears that the Superferry, along with our leaders, have made some errors in judgment about this entire mess.

It's time for all sides to compromise a little to reach an equitable solution that will satisfy the majority of our population that seem to be in support of Superferry, as I am.

COURTESY CRUISE A SIGN OF SUPPORT FOR TROOPS

On Oct. 20 and 21, my husband and I witnessed the true meaning of "Support Our Troops."

We live overlooking Honolulu Harbor and the dock of the Superferry, Alakai. Walking from our home on business on Saturday morning, we passed the corner of Queen and Bishop where the military personnel and their families were gathered for security checks and marshalling into buses for the short ride to the pier and boarding the ship for the "thank you" courtesy cruise.

Young parents were shepherding children, from toddlers to teens, all neatly dressed, excited and fairly bouncing with anticipation. Adults were also neat, clean, orderly, uniformly smiling and clearly looking forward to a special experience.

From a distance, we watched the families board the ship and then line the open deck and window areas as the ferry pulled out into the harbor.

After their hour-and-a-half cruise along the shores of this beautiful and welcoming island, the ship returned, passengers re-boarded their busses and went home, full of the adventure and hospitality of the day.

I can think of no better meaning of supporting our military than this gesture by the Superferry management. We applaud whoever thought of it, and thank the dedicated crew members who offered their hospitality and care to make this event something to be remembered for a very long time.

Kudos to the Superferry, and all concerned in combining a bit of exercise for the ship with recognition of the military who are so much a part of our lives here.

Thank you on our behalf, Alakai!

SAFEGUARDS NEEDED TO STOP INVASIVE SPECIES

I worked for several years in the field of invasive species. It's grueling work — yanking out sharp pampas grass and scouring hot landscapes for seedlings, fire ants, or contraband animals. These efforts feel futile when confronted with the lack of biosecurity at our harbors and airports.

Aggressive new species waltz undetected into our islands on a daily basis, threatening our economy, health, and way of life. We have nearly lost our wili wili forests to the gall wasp; now mountain apples are dying because of 'ohi'a rust. The varroa mite threatens to extinguish the honey industry. At present, Hawai'i's natural resource managers can barely hold back the tide. Adding fast-ferry transit is akin to opening the floodgates. We will lose the small gains we currently have.

Invasive species can be stopped with proper preventive measures in place.

It is irresponsible of Hawai'i's legislators to allow fast-ferry service without first attending to infrastructure. It is not Hawaii Superferry's responsibility to build roads and inspection facilities, hire enforcement officers, and devise protection for our natural resources. It is our state government's job. These necessary measures need to be in place before fast-ferry service begins.

Otherwise, we are sabotaging the work of many dedicated natural resource managers. Worse, we are neglecting to safeguard the very things that make Hawai'i a paradise.