RESPONSIBILITY

UNATTENDED-CHILD LAW WOULD BE A MISTAKE

Regarding the letters printed Nov. 8 and 13 about an unattended-child law: I completely agree with the idea that an individual stealing a car with a child in it should be punished to the full extent of the law.

But whatever happened to personal responsibility? If you know that your child is not safe sitting in the car by himself, then take him with you into the store, regardless of the time it takes. Your child's safety should be your highest concern.

Legislation aimed at every bad decision people make isn't the answer. People need to start taking responsibility for their own actions. I would think that losing a child because of one's own actions is punishment enough; why does the state or federal government need to be involved?

If we're not careful, soon there will be legislation planning out our entire crime-free day, since none of us is able to conduct ourselves properly. Won't that be fun?!

STADIUM

THERE'S NO WAY TO ENFORCE DRINKING BAN

On Nov. 12, we attended the UH v. Utah St football game. When we arrived at the entrance, we paid our $5 and received a ticket stub and a notice, "Aloha Stadium Tailgate Policy," containing nine no-nos the stadium would be boldly enforcing.

Number 5 on the list: "Ball playing and frisbee tossing, etc., is prohibited."

Number 8: "Live bands and broadcasting of loud music is prohibited."

Two parking stalls away from us, a group of adults with one or more small children was playing music that included profanity and other words that didn't rhyme, with the volume turned up for the benefit of people 15-30 stalls away. We pointed out Number 8 to them and they complied for awhile until the security people disappeared, then they turned up the volume for more excruciating, scatological verses. Security was advised, but they did nothing to help (their judgment call, you know.)

Two or three stalls away from us and across the lane, two young boys were tossing a football both before and after the game. No action by security. No action taken by the parents (they probably used the notice to light their hibachi).

Because security was neither active nor proactive, I'm sure these infractions occurred throughout the entire parking area. I recommend getting rid of them.

Enforcing non-drinking in the parking lot? Fat chance.

LAWS IN PLACE

FOSTER CARE POLICY NOT NEW BUT NEEDED

Regarding the Nov. 3 letter to the editor "New foster care policy shocking": The new policy is not something new, but something that is needed.

Hawai'i has had laws in place the whole time, but no one, and I mean no one, has enforced them, and the family did not take the time to know it either. CPS just uses standard templates for their reports and forms. This is the reason there is so much misrepresented information. It has no clue on the laws or Hawai'i Administrative Rule Title 17 that was set forth to regulate foster parents. The laws that Hawai'i already has in place can be viewed at the following sites: www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrs current/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0587/HRS_0587-0021.htm; www.capitol.haw aii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0587/HRS_0587-0024.htm.

NO POLITICS

WITH OUR LIMITED SPACE, WE NEED PORT AUTHORITY

Time is getting short. With our scarce and limited harbor space, Hawai'i is backing itself into a corner. The Superferry is just another in a long list of maritime and non-maritime users competing for space. Squeezing them into limited harbor space has already resulted in complaints from other operators.

Hawai'i needs a port authority consisting of maritime, business and government representatives that would be free of direct government control. Almost every port in America, Canada, Mexico and the Pacific Basin is controlled by a port authority. They have all found out that the ports need dedicated, focused, efficient and accountable management, free from bureaucratic influence and red tape.

Ninety-eight percent of all of our goods come through our harbors. Unlike the U.S. Mainland, where goods are received through ports all along the coast and railways and highways, we have only one major avenue. We cannot afford not to focus on maritime needs.

The problems will multiply with time.

Its time to wake up! I hope our political leaders have the vision and guts to take action.

PARK FEES

YOUTH SPORTS PROGRAMS SHOULDN'T BEAR BURDEN

While I totally agree with the statement in your recent editorial that the upkeep of public park facilities is a basic governmental responsibility, to be paid from basic municipal revenue sources, your support for park user fees is absolutely wrong.

With all of the headlines about juvenile crime, obese children and overcrowded youth correctional facilities, the last thing that your newspaper or any elected official should be doing is picking on youth sports programs that provide a successful and cost-effective alternative to these community problems — not to mention the revenues generated by bringing national soccer tournaments to our sports facilities or the tourism generated by the favorable national exposure Hawai'i receives from its very successful Little League, Babe Ruth and other youth sports teams.

The institution of park user fees for youth sports programs or cutbacks in the availability of these sports facilities is bad public policy.

It is also an insult to the hundreds of volunteer coaches, administrators, parents, businesses and other supporters of youth sports in Hawai'i who contribute funds and thousands of hours of their time at no cost to the city.

Mr. Mayor and members of the City Council, if you enact these user fees or otherwise try to balance your budget at the expense of youth sports programs, you will be doing a disservice to the community at the peril of your political futures. We volunteer, and we vote.

DRAFT CONTRACT

UARC IS LOOKING MORE LIKE A BAD DEAL FOR UH

The draft contract for the proposed university affiliated research center (UARC) delivers little to UH.

The $50 million promised by UARC supporters may be gone, replaced by an amorphous promise of "1,000 staff hours." Five years of work has been reduced to three, with renewal not guaranteed.

The Navy may prohibit publication of both classified and unclassified research deemed "sensitive and inappropriate for disclosure," with no criteria offered for such decisions and no appeals process. Once the curtain of secrecy is established, few safeguards would remain.

As professor Pete Britos recounts of his experience with UARC projects at the University of Southern California, once you are "inside the system," the rules and guarantees become irrelevant. As MIT is now discovering, it is very difficult for a university to keep its academic integrity if the military can prohibit access to research materials.

The lawyers' report rightly states that ethical issues are best left in the hands of the faculty. I hope my colleagues will take up these issues in a forthright manner. Our responsibilities to create and share knowledge, involve students in research and serve local communities should not be compromised by this flimsy arrangement. Some money is too expensive.

MONEY

WHAT'S WITH ALL THE SHIBAI ON KAKA'AKO?

Kaka'ako — enough is enough. I have run out of room on the bumper of my car. I've got Save Sandy, Save Sunset, Save Sharks Cove, Save V-Land!! When is it going to stop?

What are the developers talking about in making Kaka'ako more accessible? That place is an oasis, and if it were any more accessible, it wouldn't be a park, it would be a parking lot. It's fine just the way it is. Don't fool us with your polished statement — we know that it's about money, not accessibility.

You say some of the plans call for residential condos, but the hottest trend is turning condos into time shares, which means there will be visitors, not taxpaying Hawai'i-loving residents.

This whole idea was done very quickly, and no one really knew anything about it, which is kinda scary when you consider we are talking about developing land near the ocean.

Save Kaka'ako!

YOUTH FACILITY

COURT CAREFUL IN COMMITTING KIDS

I applaud The Honolulu Advertiser for spotlighting reported problems at the Hawaiçi Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF) in a Nov. 6 editorial: “Better ways needed to help troubled youth.”

Also, I would like to correct a statement blaming the Family Court for “referring kids with probation violations and other lesser offenses to the facility” and thus causing overcrowding problems.

During the 2005 fiscal year, judges statewide committed 70 boys and girls to HYCF. To put this in perspective, 42 of those youths were from Oçahu, which has about a million residents. In addition, there are currently about 990 boys and girls from Oçahu under court supervision, including law violators on probation and status offenders under protective supervision.

Initial charges for the 70 juveniles at HYCF included car theft, drug possession, domestic abuse, terroristic threatening, possession of a deadly weapon and assault, none of which would be described as “lesser offenses.” Family Court judges take these crimes seriously, as well as any subsequent probation violations.

Although some youths are committed to HYCF as soon as they are adjudicated of their charges, the majority are placed on probation so the Family Court can concentrate on making restitution to victims and rehabilitating the offenders, if it’s possible to do so without jeopardizing public safety.

The court makes every effort to rehabilitate the youths, despite the fact that there are “insufficient alternatives in place,” as the editorial pointed out.

Probation officers work very hard at using whatever alternatives are available, however limited, and sometimes that means using multiple approaches to help meet the special needs of a single child. For instance, Family Court placed one youth in Kahi Mohala (for mental health treatment), a Hale Kipa foster home (there was domestic violence in the home and the parents had separated repeatedly), the Bobby Benson Center (for substance abuse treatment) and Hale Oçpio (out-of-home group care).

Although probation officers worked closely with the child and the family in an attempt at rehabilitation, unfortunately this individual was committed to HYCF after several probation violations.

Juveniles who repeatedly violate terms of their probation must be held responsible because accountability is an important part of the process. Giving someone too many chances with no consequences is counterproductive and does not address public safety.

It is my hope that bringing greater attention to this important issue will result in more community resources for our troubled children, and foster the understanding that these are “everybody’s kids.”