Editorials
Monday, June 2, 1997THE rape and murder of 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson in Nevada is not only tragic, but a chilling reminder of one of the pitfalls of legalized gambling. While a suspect in the crime is in custody, it is Las Vegas -- and its growing propensity to draw parents who ignore their children while playing adult games -- that is being interrogated in news reports. Hawaii should remember the facade of gambling's "family appeal" the next time its lawmakers mull the idea of raising state revenues via this questionable practice. Gambling can produce
tragic consequencesIt is a sad story. According to officials at the Primadonna Casino resort, Sherrice was left unattended and allowed to roam the casino without parental supervision. Over the Memorial Day weekend, surveillance cameras captured her -- at 3 o'clock in the morning -- going into a women's restroom alone, followed by a young man. After her body was discovered, and an all-points-bulletin was put out, 18-year-old Jeremy Joseph Strohmeyer of Long Beach, Calif., was arrested. He has been charged with kidnapping and murder.
Sherrice's father, LeRoy Iverson, immediately hired an attorney from Johnnie Cochran's law firm to represent him. The attorney said that Iverson rarely let Sherrice out of his sight during the trip to the casino, and that she was in the company of other children, ages 8 through 16. Kids watching kids.
Unfortunately, unattended keiki in Las Vegas aren't an anomaly and, in fact, the practice may become more widespread if the city continues to market itself as a place for family vacations. Get real. It is Hawaii that is a true family vacation destination and we should keep it that way, by deflecting attempts to establish legalized gambling here.
THE arrest of the former president of Nomura Securities, Japan's largest securities company, on charges of approving illegal payoffs to corporate racketeers is another blow to confidence in Japan's financial system. Hideo Sakamaki was arrested on suspicion of authorizing payments of $30,000 to a "sokaiya" racketeer. Sokaiya extort money from companies by threatening to disrupt stockholders meetings with embarrassing revelations. It's hard for Americans to imagine people getting away with such tactics, but it happens in Japan. Securities arrests
PRESIDENT Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress have come up with an attractive concession to the middle class as part of their budget deal: a $1,500 tax credit for the first two years of higher education. It's hard to be critical of a measure to make it easier to afford college. But the estimated $35 billion it would cost would be better used for lower education. Tuition tax credit
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
