Your editorial (Feb. 25) hit the nail on the head about internal controls in the DOE. Newly elected in 2004, I chaired the Support Services/Facilities Committee where we found several contracts to be mysteriously procured.

But when we questioned the procurement of the contracts that revealed change orders of the same amount, we ended up with that old game of "Well, he said and she said." Thank God for Marion Higa and e-mail!

WATER QUALITY

STANDARDS KEY FOR SEA WE PLAY IN, EAT FROM

I am very disappointed with the recent forward movement of a bill that undermines Hawai'i's valuable water quality standards and increases associated health risks. After careful analysis of House Bill 834, it is obvious it was designed to significantly decrease Hawai'i's deliberately set water quality standards to less-strict federal levels without scientific precedent.

Hawai'i is unlike any other state in the U.S. and therefore should not be subjected to the minimal EPA standards. A large percentage of Hawai'i's residents spend recreational time in the ocean year-round; surfing, swimming, diving, and paddling are integral parts of our modern culture. On average Hawai'i residents consume three times more seafood than any other state. Furthermore, a large portion of this consumption is of local seafood, some of which people already have to be wary about eating due to toxin levels.

I hope all others who also find the forward movement of this bill disheartening take action. The more of us that speak our mind, the better the chance that we are heard.

COQUI FROGS

SAVOR THE QUIET NOW, BEFORE INVASION GROWS

O'ahu is now coqui frog territory, but unfortunately coqui aren't cute anywhere but Puerto Rico. It starts with one lone chirp; a year later normal conversations will be difficult.

Reports say "chirps" are equal to the decibel level of a running lawnmower. That's an understatement. You'll be wishing your only problem were lawnmowers, roosters, mosquitoes or bullfrogs. Coqui will keep you awake, and erode your nerves.

Chickens and ducks will eat them, but it's not clear if they can control them. There's a citric acid treatment; it killed all the fish in my pond. The next treatment killed my anthuriums. Baking soda and coffee treatments are popular. All must be repeated often and forever.

Coqui are "difficult" to control, probably impossible; they're extremely invasive. They're fast, loud and prolific.

Coqui are a result of the Department of Agriculture's failure to properly regulate imports by commercial nurseries. Why would Hawai'i nurseries ship plants from Puerto Rico?

Remember the quiet sounds of Hawai'i, the valleys and peaceful nights, because soon you'll only hear the racket of coqui frogs.

HMSA EXEC RAISES

WHERE'S COMPARABLE PAY FOR PHYSICIANS?

In Tuesday's article regarding HMSA giving big pay raises to their executives in spite of multimillion-dollar losses, Insurance Commissioner J.P. Schmidt is quoted as saying "They do have to pay what's comparable with what comparable companies are paying."

Oh, really? If that is true, it should follow that HMSA also should be paying Hawai'i's doctors at rates comparable to similar locations. Yet the fact of the matter is, HMSA has been systematically lowering physician reimbursements below the cost of living for 20 years.

Physicians are now paid so poorly compared to the Mainland that doctors are leaving for greener pastures, and new doctors decide against setting up practice in Hawai'i. This is the real reason for our physician shortage, and it is only going to get worse.

PRO BOWL

TOURISM AUTHORITY RIGHTLY STOOD UP TO NFL

Kudos to the members of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority who had the audacity to stand up to the 800-pound gorilla known as the NFL.

These astute HTA members figured out the NFL only has so many warm-weather sites that can host the Pro Bowl. They also know the players come here with their families on a "playcation" to celebrate the end of a successful football season. They are intelligent enough to know many NFL players live in warm-weather climates and will have already traveled to many Pro Bowl-hosting cities earlier in the season.

Bottom line, dare the NFL to hold the Pro Bowl elsewhere and see who actually shows up. It will undoubtedly deteriorate into a game of second- and third-tier players while the stars stay home due to "injuries" and count their millions.

Thanks to the clear-thinking HTA members who know the cold, crowded beaches of San Diego and Tampa Bay will soon wear thin with NFL players, fans and TV viewers, thus providing the HTA with a more financially equal playing field when negotiating for future Pro Bowls.

USE MONEY AS CASH INCENTIVE FOR TOURISTS

Hawai'i should not work to keep the Pro Bowl.

Instead take the $4.2 million annually that the NFL demands each year, add another $300,000 for a total of $4.5 million and offer it as an incentive to all who want to come to Hawai'i.

Divide that by $50 per visitor (90,000) that is reimbursed in cash by showing their airline ticket at selected HTA locations across O'ahu (sorry, outer islands, but most of the 28,000 annual visitors do not go off to another island).

If each visitor were to spend $600 per trip here, that would equal $54 million in direct visitor spending — a far greater amount than the Pro Bowl generates each year, and this would be every year, not just a maybe for the next two years. And then what? Probably more demands and higher fees by the NFL.

Now you have Hawai'i probably being one-up on most destination spots, and this will generate untold PR that can only help keep Hawai'i in the eyes of the vacationer each year.