State Labor Director Lorraine Akiba (also an attorney), after disclosing that she had exceeded her budget and transferred funds, should tender her resignation to the governor. Hawaii has major economic challenges to overcome with the private and public sector leadership working together. We must never tolerate decisions that break the law.
I have learned and practiced as a past president of the Honolulu Jaycees that "government should be of laws, rather than of men." Governor Cayetano was probably aware of the decision made by his cabinet member and approved of the decision.
JOHN KUROIWA JR.
Chairman
Honolulu County Republican Party
Regarding the clean-up of Kahoolawe, Inouye is merely honoring a promise that was made by the U.S. Navy and then-President Eisenhower to return the island in a safe condition to the people of Hawaii when it was no longer needed for national security.
However, CAGW is perhaps furthest off-base when it comes to the brown tree snake. Inouye's work to stop the spread of this insidious invader is of critical importance to Hawaii, other Pacific islands and the U.S. mainland.
The brown tree snake has already been found in Hawaii on six different occasions. Fortunately, it was caught at or near the airfield where it arrived - by the safeguards that are in place because of Inouye's long-standing commitment to stopping the snake from becoming established in the islands.
CAGW's assertion that the brown tree snake won't survive in North America contradicts the opinion of brown tree snake expert Dr. Thomas Fritts of the National Biological Service. Fritts, former curator of reptiles at the San Diego Zoo, is confident that the brown tree snake would thrive in southern California, Florida and other southern mainland states, and that it would cause significant harm there.
States prone to the brown tree snake should expect it will cause the same problems with electrical utilities in their states as it has on Guam - where it has caused more than 1,200 power outages (about one every four days) by climbing utility poles and short-circuiting transmission lines.
And although this snake is not lethal to adult humans, it is by no means harmless. Of the 200 people in Guam who have received hospital treatment for snake bites, 73 percent were bitten while asleep in their beds; more than half were children under 5.
Citizens Against Government Waste should check its facts before criticizing the hard work of one of our nation's most dedicated public servants.
REX D. JOHNSON
State Director
The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii
How is local programming going to survive if local TV stations keep turning to mainland programming?
Funny, you can catch Gilad's show just about everywhere else but you cannot find it in Hawaii where the show is based and taped! What's wrong with this picture?
ELIZABETH C. YACUK
But that is only part of the story. Given sufficient incentives, it is indeed possible to go against one's nature. Presumably those who insist that being gay is the result of an immoral choice recall their own struggle against temptation and assume the rest of us faced it as well. One can understand their obvious pride in having had the "moral strength" to make the right choice and even admire them for having been able to do so.
But those of us who know better mustn't allow such religion-distorted views to bamboozle us into doing silly things like cheapening constitutions with amendments about who can marry whom. I guess left-handed people should be glad there is no religion against left-handedness. I bet there would be laws against that, too.
BART MATHIAS