EDUCATION

TAXPAYERS HAVE DONE THEIR SHARE FOR SCHOOLS

In his Dec. 3 commentary in The Advertiser, Roger Takabayashi, president of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association, berates the people of Hawai'i for their lack of support for public education. He says "Hawai'i should invest adequate resources in public education to build our schools' capacity to deliver excellence." He also states "Hawai'i needs to make a massive investment in public education."

According to figures released by the state, we've already made a massive investment in public education, but the results have been disappointing. Between 1975 and 2005, the money spent for K-12 education in Hawai'i rose from $195 million to $2.158 billion. The money spent per student increased from $1,099 to $12,265. Both represent a gain in spending of more than 1,000 percent. During that period, the number of Department of Education employees nearly doubled (10,833 to 20,530.)

All this was happening while the total number of K-12 students in our public schools decreased. Yes, while the people of Hawai'i were pouring huge and increasing amounts of money into its education system and the number of DOE employees was expanding, the number of students was dropping.

It seems to me the taxpayers of Hawai'i have done their share. Now it's time for the DOE to produce.

OIL

SERIOUS CHOICES FACE US ON ENERGY DEPENDENCE

Victor Hanson's assessment of our dependence on foreign oil is spot on. Americans need to wake up to the reality that we need to make serious choices regarding energy. The choices we are now making, which amount to doing nothing, will lead to future wars, economic and political instability, and death of America's best and brightest. Unless we make the right choices on alternative energy, domestic production and conservation, we will sink deeper into the clutches of radical nations who want to bring the American economy to its knees.

The war in Iraq is, among other things, about control of oil supply. If the bad guys gain control we can count on major disruption of world supply. Things will get much worse when Iran and Iraq control the Persian Gulf. If you go down a list of major producers, it goes something like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela. We empower these unstable regimes each time we fill up a gas guzzler, and with each day that passes without a national energy policy which focuses or reduced imports.

The U.S. is the largest consumer of oil in the world. Significant reductions in imported oil, on the order of 50 percent initially, should be a national strategy. The reduction will result in lower revenues to nations promoting instability and open their eyes to a new reality, one where radicalism leads to no oil sales, which leads to no revenue.

KAILUA

VACATION RENTERS DON'T FOUL THE COMMUNITY

I have spoken with many residents and small-business owners in Kailua regarding the effect vacation rentals have on them. None agrees with Don Bremner's assessment (Letter, Dec. 1), that visitors "foul our residential community."

Furthermore, visitors staying in vacation rentals do not increase the resident population as he insists. They merely substitute the presence of the homeowner or some other renter. A far more scientific survey (2004), conducted by John Knox of the Kauaian Institute found that 70 percent of O'ahu residents felt short-term rentals were a "good thing." Planning Director Henry Eng stated in a June 5, 2005, Honolulu Advertiser article that the ordinance outlawing vacation rentals was virtually unenforceable.

The point is that neither an outright ban nor unfettered growth is acceptable policy. Like building permits, vacation rentals should be charged a permitting fee and regulated. By requiring State of Hawai'i licensed property managers and instituting a standards code with substantial fines for those in violation, most all of the legitimate complaints would disappear.

Long-term rentals operate under the auspices of the Landlord Tenant Code. Why is it so difficult to develop an operating procedure for someone who wants to rent for 29 days?

SOLUTIONS, NOT RHETORIC, NEEDED IN B&B DISPUTE

This letter proposes to address the conflict over vacation rentals in Kailua. Both sides are engaged in emotional rhetoric that is not producing a solution. Each side operates from dubious or questionable paradigms that only inflame the conflict. Let's look toward a solution.

One of these paradigms is that vacation rentals have a negative impact. There are good drivers and bad drivers, visitors and locals alike. There are quiet people and noisy people, visitors and locals alike, and so forth. Vacation rentals have been around for more than 50 years, and will continue operating, above or below the legal radar.

Another dubious paradigm is that it's permissible to run an unlicensed vacation rental. Unlicensed vacation rentals are illegal. Regardless, all sides should recognize there is an obvious demand for vacation rentals in our community. We all have family visiting and want them close by.

The vacation rental industry is proposing solutions that have been successful in other communities. Let's use these proposals as guidelines that the city and state governments can use to implement intelligent and thoughtful laws that will satisfy both sides of this civil war that increasingly pits neighbor against neighbor and mother against son.

RAIL TAX

VOLCANIC ASH COLUMN RAISES SOME QUESTIONS

If Dave Shapiro's recent column (Volcanci Ash, Nov. 29) on the former Gov. Ben Cayetano's position on the issue of when to begin collecting the rail tax is correct, one has to wonder where the former governor is coming from.

The first question he ought to be asking is the legal aspects of a proposed bill by a council member to change an existing state law. The second issue is what would happen to the collected taxes — taxes that could only be spent for rail transit, by law — if there is no rail project. Clearly, in that instance, the city administration would take the responsible action to have the money returned to the taxpayers or take some other appropriate action required by law. Councilman Charles Djou and the former governor could hold the city administration's feet to the fire to assure this. On the other hand, if the collection of the taxes is delayed, the total amount collected for the rail project would be decreased, since the additional taxes cannot be collected beyond 2022. The former governor is said to be concerned about the plight of the small businesses. The former governor wouldn't be related to anyone who is associated with or in charge of such a business, would he?

GOVERNMENT 2007

SHOULD BE YEAR FOR CAMPAIGN REFORM

The mid-term election is over and our nation has voted for change — primarily in the direction we take in the war in Iraq. On Nov. 20, you stated in an editorial: "Dissatisfaction with the conduct of the Iraq war has been widely cited as the principal factor in the change of command triggered on Election Day. But not far below that on the scale of voter outrage was widespread disgust with the way lobbyists' campaign contributions have corrupted lawmakers." My hope is that our newly elected and re-elected leaders will listen to the will of the people on both issues.

It will be difficult for our nation to set a course that will lead to a more peaceful world. However, voters have mandated that our leaders take bold measures to quell violence. My wish is for peace in the Middle East in the coming year.

Locally, it should be much easier for legislators to enact true campaign finance reform, which would go far to restore confidence in our elected officials. Several states are already providing candidates with meaningful public funding options, and the number of candidates taking advantage of the public campaign finance option is growing. We do not need to reinvent the wheel to set up a good public campaign finance system. The Voter Owned Hawai'i organization has been lobbying for excellent legislation for several years.

As we look to 2007, the League of Women Voters of Hawai'i hopes for bipartisan progress toward peace and restoring respect for our leaders through meaningful changes in our campaign finance laws.