Letters to the Editor
STEREOTYPING
HELP NEEDY PEOPLE BASED ON NEED ALONE
Kippen de Alba Chu's March 4 letter complains about negative racial stereotyping.
He says, "Native Hawaiians are a part of every single community... We attend every school ... occupy every social class, and serve in every capacity throughout the private and government sectors ... Isn't it time for Hawaiians to no longer be put down in our own homeland?"
Yes indeed. But wealthy institutions persist in trumpeting negative stereotypes that ethnic Hawaiians are poor, downtrodden, diseased, homeless, incarcerated, druggies, child abusers, etc. They revel in these negative stereotypes, seeking race-based government and philanthropic grants.
But suppose we help needy people based on need alone, regardless of race. Then the negative statistics, if true, prove that ethnic Hawaiians would get the lions' share of the help simply because they are the neediest.
Let's stop throwing money at race-based institutions like OHA that are probably illegal and certainly immoral.
Help needy individuals for the best reason of all — because they are needy; not because of their race.
Let's put an end to demeaning racial stereotypes and to arrogant institutions whose bureaucrats grow wealthy by claiming to serve needy people when in fact they serve a racist power-grabbing agenda.
Kenneth R. ConklinKane'ohe
ELECTIONS
LOYAL OPPOSITION WILL HELP HAWAI'I POLITICS
In a recent letter, James A. Hildenbrand specifically identified a presidential candidate who knows enough to help Hawaiian people.
However, our help will not come from Washington, not with our two senators holding the 35th and 39th most powerful lawmaker status out of a 100-member Senate. Look at the state Legislature, which is heavily tilted to the majority party, basically making politics in Hawai'i a one-party system.
There is no oversight, no effective loyal opposition, but instead one party (committee chairpersons) can unilaterally decide which bills get to see the light of day and brought to the floor for debate.
Using a basketball analogy, is it more exciting to see a close game rather than a team winning 100-20? This presently represents our state Legislature.
It is time to get back to voting for the best candidate for Hawai'i instead of the one with the old-boy hidden special interests.
Phil PowersHonolulu
HUMANE SOCIETY
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CATS NOT ADOPTED OUT?
I did the numbers and wish I hadn't. The Hawaiian Humane Society published its 2007 report to the community.
On Page 7, it tells us they took in 15,168 cats last year. Then, three pages later, it said they adopted out 2,488 cats last year.
What happened to the missing 12,680 cats and kittens? Were they "euthanized and incinerated?"
Barbara IkedaHonolulu
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS ALREADY REACHING OUT
In his March 2 letter, Arnold Naumu suggests a variety of ways Kamehameha Schools can be "more resourceful" in serving Native Hawaiian children.
Happily, much of what Mr. Naumu suggests is already in place.
Since our Education Strategic Plan was approved by trustees in June 2005, we have increased the number of children and families we serve through campus and community programs by 61 percent — to nearly 36,000 — and we are on track to raise that number even higher. We invite Mr. Naumu to visit our Web site to get the full breadth of what we offer. But here is a sampling of what's available outside of our campuses:
Nearly one-third of last year's educational budget — $78 million — supported community programs or high-quality educational programs run by our 60 collaborators. We are proud of that.
We have also taken a hard look at using our campuses more efficiently, considering but ultimately dismissing multi-track and extended-day uses. These methods would require eliminating all co-curricular activities, a key component to success in life.
If we are to fulfill our mission to improve the well-being of Native Hawaiians through education, we must reach far beyond our campus and into our communities. We are well on our way.
Ann BotticelliVice president, Community relations & communications, Kamehameha Schools
TRANSIT
RESIDENTS IN KAPOLEI RESPONDED EAGERLY
I had the honor of representing the transit project at an information display at the Kapolei Shopping Center last weekend.
Even as a dedicated project team member, I was astounded by the enthusiastic support of residents in the area. Throughout the day I heard these comments: "Great, we need this," "Let's just get it done," "Bring it here," "It can't come fast enough."
People driving by shouted and honked their support.
I met parents, employees, managers and citizens who commute daily from Kapolei to town and beyond who said their regular commute is well over 1 1/2 hours each way, every day.
I even met one of the infamous "early crew," who wakes up at 2:30 a.m. to leave the house by 3 a.m. for the daily commute from Kapolei to Hawai'i Kai.
University of Hawai'i students commented that although they won't benefit from the system during their academic careers, they support the project because they don't want others to be limited by the transportation challenges they face.
So, for those who are spending too much time stuck in traffic to write letters — we hear you.
Jennifer RussellSenior planner, Parsons Brinckerhoff
AUTO NETWORK WILL BE COMMUTE OF THE FUTURE
It's amazing to me that we are about to invest millions upon millions of dollars into metal wheel on metal track technology that evolved around the time of the Declaration of Independence.
Just about everything we enjoy today did not exist in 1776, yet this is the best idea we have for Honolulu.
Dare we try to accommodate futuristic travel with computerized technology in your own personal vehicle? That will most likely be the choice of commuters of the future.
Wouldn't it be nice to enter your destination into the dashboard, read the news and enjoy a cup of coffee as your vehicle is routed through Honolulu's traffic network? Most major auto manufacturers are quickly evolving the automobile to one that will follow sensors, monitor braking, allow destinations to be entered in advance of travel. Wait a minute we already have all that!
I very much fear that here in Honolulu we'll still be shackled with paying for the train while many people in forward-thinking cities around the world will be enjoying their innovative, relaxing commutes via the auto network.
Brian ZinnHawai'i Kai
CAMPBELL HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENT DEPLORES BATHROOM CONDITIONS
I am a student at James Campbell High School. I want the community to know that the bathrooms in our school are horrible.
In our school, we have no privacy in the bathroom because there are no locks on doors.
We have soap dispensers, but no one refills them. When we wash our hands, there are no paper towels to wipe our hands with. Also, the mirrors are so dirty that we can't even see our faces.
So our school asks if we can have funding for our school to make it better. If we get the funding that we need, we can use it to restore our bathrooms.
Diana Seveses'Ewa Beach
