Taxpayer don't register
on Mizuguchi's scale

I was astounded by Sen. Norman Mizuguchi's June 6 letter to the editor. "Our objective was to find a balance between the counties' desire for blanket authority to privatize services and the need to protect public employees from the effects of privatization," he wrote.

Nowhere in his letter was there any acknowledgment that the taxpayers need to be protected from the escalating costs of government. When Mizuguchi refers to "all the stakeholders," he clearly is referring only to government entities: the state, the counties and government employees. Taxpayers exist in his world only as passive milch cows to provide the money to support the "important" players.

I suggest that if Mizuguchi really wants to protect government employees, he should have the integrity to resign as a senator and take a job with the union. Those of us in the private sector who have to open our economic veins so that the government can suck out our tax blood have no protection from the economic downturn. Why should government employees believe they deserve such protection?

My wife's company has gone from 50 employees to eight in the last three years. Where was Mizuguchi's concern for those employees?

Andrew Rothstein

Forbes' article on Hawaii
made 'bizarre' criticisms

The Star-Bulletin editorial of June 3 in support of the Forbes' article leads me to suspect your editor did not actually read the article in question. Your criticisms are not the same as those found in the Forbes' piece.

A major criticism of Hawaii in the article was "tourism bureaucrats are trying to funnel Japanese tourists to...the Big Island...where an airport runway was recently lengthened!" I do not recall the Star-Bulletin's previous opposition to lengthening the runway.

The article's primary example of a poor business climate is Hawaii's pre-paid health law which "means employees get a free ride." Does the Star-Bulletin believe the pre-paid health law should be repealed?

Furthermore, the Forbes' writer is horrified that "native Hawaiians are demanding government compensation for...the illegal taking of their land." Does the Star-Bulletin believe no funds should be paid to Hawaiians from ceded lands?

The article is very, very bizarre.

Bill Boyd
(Via the Internet)

City policy on reporting
sex harassment is flawed

Regarding the Sharon Black/HPD sexual harassment story -- both HPD's and city and county sexual harassment policies contain a non-retaliatory clause to protect the victim reporting incidents of harassment.

That clause states, in part, "Any retaliatory or discriminatory action should be reported by the individual and dealt with promptly and severely by management." Unfortunately, the policies don't address the remedies or consequences for retaliation when it is enacted BY management.

Discrimination and retaliation for the reporting of sexual harassment violates not only city policies, but state and federal laws as well. And speaking of our city and county, since the Aug. 17, 1994 Revised Sexual Harassment policy (Directive No. 94-6) originated from and was handed down by Mayor Jeremy Harris' office, why has our self-proclaimed pro-women's rights mayor remained mute on this problem?

Cinde Fisher

Prosecutor's office stages
campaign against Kealoha

I am Gabriel Kealoha's aunty and I am continuously distressed and disgusted by the prosecutor's office staging of media against my nephew. Again, the other night, Peter Carlisle displayed his audacious attack on Gabriel in order to elevate his personal ambitions to obtain SHOPO securely in his pocket.

Our community must ask why he entered this case in the first place and why he isn't addressing the "early release" issues of real criminals at the youth facility or adult prisons. He is trying, on behalf of the police department, to gather public and political sentiment to hold off Gabriel's release from the youth facility. This case has always been political and racist. Dead cop -- someone pays!

Unfortunately, that someone is my nephew, who I know to be innocent of this bogus charge. Carlisle knows that when Gabriel walks out of the facility, the boy will finally tell what really happened on the freeway to not only the local media but also a national media investigative reporter. That is one of Carlisle's main fears at this moment.

When the true story is told by Gabriel, Carlisle's career will be finished, and he'll be on the first rowboat back to New Jersey!

Sharon Kamalii

Hawaii won't be able
to handle the Missouri

Moving the battleship Missouri to Hawaii is typical of the decision-making process of our senators. What Dan Inouye fails to realize is long-term porting of this ship that is too big for any drydock in Hawaii makes no sense at all.

Bremerton would have at least been able to keep this ship in repair.

Again "visitor to the attractions" creates a greater tax burden to the local residents than they can already justify in today's high cost.

Michael Penton
Garden Grove, Calif.
(Via the Internet)

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Same-sex archive

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