EDUCATION

SCHOOL UNIFORMS TEACH DISCIPLINE, BRING UNITY

I am a parent who has a child who insists Kaimuki Middle School "forced" students to wear uniforms this year, too.

Uniforms are to take away "fashion" competition and relieve the school of enforcing student dress codes that are always being abused. It's to teach discipline and to give young adults a feeling of unity, not to take away freedom of speech.

Would you tell your future employer that you won't wear a uniform because he's compromising your constitutional rights?

As a parent, I like the concept, especially when I need to identify what school students are from.

Charging students a fee for not wearing a uniform and another fee to purchase a new one is the school's way of saying, "get with the program."

It may not be fair, but it should teach a lesson.

Let it go and move on — you have bigger fish to fry than fretting over what you're wearing to school the next day.

SUPERDELEGATES

OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS REPRESENT ALL PEOPLE

The letter writer ("Attitude over delegate vote 'incredible,'" March 5) who wants U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa to remember "we elected them to represent our will" might want to study a little history.

I don't think superdelegates were created by the Democrats necessarily to represent that writer's "will" or whoever else "we" is meant to encompass.

It might also help the writer a bit to study the form of government we have.

"We" elect people to represent all the people. Decision-making votes are supposed to be in the best interests of all those people, not just those folks who may or may not "clearly prefer" one thing or another.

CAMPBELL HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENT WANTS TO HELP IMPROVE HIS CAMPUS

I am a student at James Campbell, and I want to find out what I can do to help the school get better landscaping and nicer bathrooms.

Students should get paid to clean the bathrooms. And they should pay some landscapers to fix the entrance, and they should have a nicer modern building for learning.

There is some graffiti around the buildings and in the bathrooms.

We should collect bottles and cans, and sell them and use the money for the school so they could buy all these things needed.

WAI'ANAE COAST

BRIDGE IN NANAKULI PROMPTS QUESTIONS

The excerpt from the Hot Seat session with Senate President Colleen Hanabusa (Focus, March 2) raised a few questions in my mind.

Why was the big, expensive bridge that sits parallel to Farrington Highway in Nanakuli built? Who paid for it? Why is it closed off on both ends so no one can use it?

LANDSCAPING

OVERGROWN BRUSH JUST PART OF OUR AMBIANCE

Everyone, stop complaining about the overgrown brush all over the roadsides.

Don't you know it's the city's plan to let visitors from out of state experience the "natural" ambiance of the Islands?

NORTH SHORE

THE TIME TO PRESERVE TURTLE BAY LAND IS NOW

It is critical that we support Gov. Linda Lingle's proposal for the state to buy the land surrounding Turtle Bay Resort.

We need to preserve and protect this undeveloped land for ourselves and future generations. Once it is dug up or paved over, it will be gone forever.

The governor has a great idea, and the Legislature is considering a bill to approve the purchase. The people of Hawai'i need to voice their support to keep this part of the country country.

We will not get a second chance to do it right.

TORT REFORM

CHAIRMAN SHOULD NOT STIFLE DEBATE ON ISSUE

We are indeed in troubled waters when one man can thwart our democratic process.

This session, two medical tort reform bills passed out of both the health and consumer protection committees.

There were no "no" votes in the consumer protection committee. Thirteen members of the committee are also members of the 16-member Judiciary Committee. But its chairman, Rep. Tommy Waters, refused to even have a hearing despite most of his committee being in favor.

When I called his office, an aide went through the trial lawyers' company line about tort reform not helping costs, etc. When I said that Mr. Waters is entitled to his opinion but holding a hearing is not equivalent to passing the bill and that this important issue needs to be debated, she was strangely silent.

Mr. Waters received an incredible 88 percent of his contributions from attorneys in the last half of 2007 ($10,500 out of $12,000). Looks like it was a good investment for the lawyers.

Not all of us are lawyers, but all of us are or will be patients. It is to be hoped that these future patients in his district will go to the polls next time and turn out Mr. Waters.

The larger issue is that the chairs in the Legislature should not have the power to kill bills single-handedly. We are supposed to have a representative government.

KAPAHULU

INCREASE IN BUS STOPS WOULD CUT GAS USAGE

In the Feb. 2 Advertiser there were articles on the cost of gas and the cost of driving.

If we had our bus stops returned, especially in Waikiki and also Kapahulu and Cartwright, we could ride the bus again.

Four condominiums and Cartwright and Lemon Road all used to use that bus stop.

Now they have to get off at Paoakalani and walk to Kapahulu. That is a long walk, especially if you have groceries.

I remember the saying "ride the bus, leave the driving to us." Let's bring back the good bus system and save on gas.