Carlisle's defense of police shooting is disappointing
I read with dismay City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle's decision that the police acted justifiably in shooting that Palolo man 20 times.I voted for Peter because I thought he was a man with the courage of his convictions. I now see that he has clay feet and is nothing more than a stool pigeon for the mayor and police chief.
Randy Olson
Zap the fruit flies instead of the fruit
While food irradiation is embroiled in a controversy on the Big Island, no one seems to have noticed that Okinawa licked the problem 10 years ago by irradiating the fruit flies, not by irradiating the foods.Would it be possible for the State of Hawaii to ask the Okinawan government to reactivate its irradiation facility and produce sterilized male fruit flies, which could then be released in Hawaii? The sterilized flies would mate with the wild female fruit flies here to produce eggs that would not hatch. Eventually, our fruit fly population could be reduced to zero.
For further information, one may contact the Okinawa Prefectural Fruit Fly Eradication Project, 123 Maji, NAHA 902, Japan.
Rijo Hori
Don't blame Abercrombie for taking care of Hawaii
Ty Spalding's supposed concern about "excessive junk mail" from Congressman Neil Abercrombie (Letters, July 13) masks yet another tiresomely predictable partisan tirade about Abercrombie being a "far-out liberal," etc. Any tax hikes and fee increases passed in Congress over the last four years were Republican proposals, approved by the House and Senate Republican leadership.The most important decision Congress makes is how to formulate our nation's budget. Face it, it's all "pork," if you really think about it! Would Spalding be pleased if Abercrombie told his colleagues that Hawaii doesn't need or want federal funding directed out here?
Donald Koelper
Waimano Home residents to be displaced in 1999
The approach of the year 2000 brings challenges in addition to the reprogramming of computers. One such challenge involves people with developmental disabilities.Waimano Training School and Hospital will close just six months into 1999. Those developmentally disabled persons presently residing at Waimano need state support to become integrated and active members of their community. Through community-based services and person-centered planning, the remaining residents of Waimano should be able to enjoy many of the benefits that most of us take for granted.
The state, service providers and the public must work together to provide the necessary supports that persons with disabilities need to live satisfying and productive lives as our neighbors and friends.
Rep. Cynthia Thielen
49th District, R
Public schools should get bulk of funding
With our economy still in a slump, you'd think our lawmakers would make more conservative decisions. Specifically, I am referring to the impending Waikiki improvements approved by the City Council and perhaps funded by the state.City officials want to dredge the Ala Wai Canal and close one lane of Kalakaua Avenue for construction of a promenade. Are these projects absolutely necessary right now? Do we allow our politicians to allocate away valuable funds, while the shape of our public schools is embarrassing?
Our elected officials, and those who voted for them, must prioritize the essentials. The smaller pool of money we have should be redirected to tackle the shortcomings of our education system.
Tarek Willeby
Cayetano doesn't know how to improve education
Governor Cayetano's TV spots about his commitment to education is just another example of how this administration equates spending with accomplishment. Building additional schools may provide jobs but it does nothing for SAT scores.A real commitment to education has little to do with money and everything to do with motivated students and quality teachers.
It begins with families placing a high value on education and being involved in the education of their children, including cooperation with the education system.
It includes standards of scholastic performance that challenge students to learn and even excel. It includes enforcing those standards and rewarding superior scholastic performance. And it includes attracting and hiring teachers who can turn out students able to function in the 21st century.
Any objective study of educational performance will find that dollars spent per year per student and class size are secondary factors, at best. Cayetano's TV spots prove that he understands spending our money, but not the real issues in education.
Robert R. Kessler
Why does Hirono need security while jogging?
I walk the Diamond Head area three to four times a week and, every Sunday, I see Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono jogging up the hill by the lighthouse. I am glad to see a politician mingling with the citizenry. What I find difficult to understand, however, is why the lieutenant governor needs to have her limousine following behind her at 2-5 miles per hour.Why do the taxpayers need to fund a limo with a driver/security man following her up the hill? Most people would not even know her by sight so it could not be a security issue. And at 6:30 in the morning, there aren't a lot of people in the area to bother her.
If it is a security issue, wouldn't it be better to have the security man follow on foot? Even the president of the United States does this.
J. Dolder
(Via the Internet)
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