GOVERNANCE

CAN LEGISLATURE FOCUS ON IMPORTANT ISSUES?

The Hawai'i Legislature is misguided; maybe more than ever this year.

There is crime in the streets, there are issues with affordable housing and, of course, there are problems with education. Yet while these grave issues continue to dwell in this great state, the Legislature seems to want to deal with every other so-called "problem."

Currently, there are bills that deal with clotheslines, honey, and how many fish can be caught. There are also numerous bills that are redundant with laws already on the books.

The people of Hawai'i deserve a Legislature that knows how to focus on the pressing issues that make up their daily lives.

TOURISM

UNREALISTIC TO ENACT CRUISE PROTECTION LAWS

It is unrealistic to continue to have special laws and rules to promote and protect the American cruise industry. It has been tried for decades and all have failed.

The failure of the cruise lines is usually blamed on cheap foreign labor. A bigger reason is that it is difficult, some say impossible, to recruit and keep enough Americans to fully crew a cruise liner.

Cruise liner jobs are mostly service industry jobs, and Americans do not like service industry jobs. And the jobs usually include long shifts, split shifts and just hard work. Just ask hotels and restaurants why they have so many foreign workers; many Americans don't want to work in the service industries.

A more realistic approach for the United States would be to modify or completely scrap the Passenger Vessel Services Act to allow foreign ships to service routes that are not serviced by U.S. ships. That would open routes from western ports directly to Hawai'i.

In just a few years, the cruise industry would bring business and tourists to all American port cities.

Trying to protect an American cruise line industry that doesn't exist is a exercise in futility. Let's get realistic.

FEDERAL BUDGET

ELIMINATING EARMARKS NOT SOLUTION WE NEED

Eliminating congressional earmarks (or pork projects) would do almost nothing to solve federal budget problems. At $29 billion, this year's congressional earmarks are only about one- tenth the size of the budget deficit of $250 billion and less than 1 percent of the total federal budget.

Opposing earmarks is stylish, but most of the federal budget is in Social Security, healthcare, defense and interest payments on the national debt, each of them costing us about $500 billion every year. Managing these giant programs is where the real work is.

Opponents of congressional earmarks also assume it is all bad and wasteful.

I think a local congressman knows the special problems of his district better than some faceless bureaucrat in D.C. I think letting that congressman spend a small part of our federal tax dollars on what we really need makes sense.

Congress spends one penny of each of your federal tax dollars on earmarks, and all of that comes back home. The earmark debate is a distraction from the real problems of spiraling federal healthcare costs, the coming bankruptcy of Social Security, increasing defense spending and interest on the national debt.

RECYCLING

LET'S ALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN ACTIONS

Instead of Styrofoam containers and bottled water or canned soda, why don't we just use the faithful lunch pail, permanent plastic containers or even just dinner plates, actual forks, spoons, jugs or cups from home.

Then you just take them home and wash them. Or just take your own lunch to work each day from leftovers, fruits, homemade desserts, etc.

We have to save the 'aina. Doing just a little bit extra such as packing your own lunch, taking your own containers for takeout, recycling bottles, cans, newspapers and corrugated boxes can do much for the environment. And get re-usable cloth bags and totes for shopping.

What a price we pay for convenience. Think ahead and think of the world. We don't need laws against plastic bags and containers; we just need to be responsible for our own actions and how it affects everyone and everything else.

TOURISM

CUTS IN B&BS ONE CAUSE FOR SLOWDOWN

In response to the Page One story published in The Honolulu Advertiser on Jan. 27, "Tourism slowdown felt across Isles," I want to say I think it left out a contributing factor — the dwindling supply of B&Bs and vacation rentals.

More and more, visitors do not want to pay large sums of money to stay in some cramped Waikiki hotel with all the traffic and noise, opting instead to stay in a quiet home and experience local life and culture.

As Hawai'i slowly becomes more hostile to the B&Bs and vacation rentals, it is, by proxy, becoming more hostile to the visitors themselves.

The article mentioned that tourism is down about 1 percent. That is a small percentage. The number of slowly disappearing short-term rentals is also a small percentage of the tourism market. Coincidence? I think not. We should welcome short-term rentals back, and the visitors who make our economy survive.

AGRICULTURE

GE PRODUCE SHOULD BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED

Some people may think it's not that important to eat healthy, but I do. I'm asking my elected officials to do the right thing and help not only my family but all the people in Hawai'i.

Recently I became aware of two bills introduced in the Senate (SB 3232 and SB 3233) concerning genetically engineered food, sometimes referred to as GMO. While there may be some benefits to GMOs, it's relatively new technology and we simply don't know if there are any long-term effects for human consumption.

SB 3232 labels GE fruits and vegetables sold in Hawai'i. This makes total sense to me. As a consumer, I should be able to decide whether I want to buy produce that is GE, organic or conventionally grown.

The other bill (SB 3233) identifies where GE crops are being grown. This also seems logical. Again, biotech farming is relatively new technology. There is simply no long-term data on the effect this will have on our precious 'aina.

If a farmer moves in next to me, I want to know if he's planting GMOs, because I've got a small organic garden that I'm attempting to cultivate.

I hope these bills pass this year.

WAIKIKI VIOLENCE

KEEP SMOKERS INSIDE, CUT BACK ON PROBLEMS

In response to the Page B1 story on Feb. 13, "Waikiki violence denounced":

It is unfortunate and sad that one legislative issue, "not smoking," has to take precedence over common sense and 50 years of established liquor laws intended to keep customers inside and supervised. Twenty feet past a doorway is on public property and beyond the premises, where a bar owner has no legal way to supervise what is not his property.

Don't blame the bar owner, blame your Legislature. Let customers smoke inside and supervised. You will have fewer fights, less noise and less littering.

The Hawai'i Bar Owners offered legislation (SB 2792) this session that would have provided common-sense relief for this situation, but the Health Committee deferred the bill. Call Sens. David Ige, Rosalyn Baker and Carol Fukunaga, who would not let this bill get to a vote on the floor.