OCEAN

INVITATION TO HELP KEEP OUR BEACHES CLEAN

What greater gift do we all have here in Hawai'i than our beautiful turquoise ocean alive with fish, honu, birds, surf and fun? We thrive with this amazing gift, but we do not honor it.

Every day I see individuals and families leaving rubbish, plastic bags and cigarette butts on the sand or in the water.

I know there is nothing I can do to make uncaring people take their own mess.

But there is something I can and will do each time I am blessed enough to be at the beach.

I have begun to take two or three grocery plastic bags and pick up any rubbish I see.

It only takes a few minutes. Please join me. Please ask your friends to join you. Let's work together to save our ocean and all it gives to us.

BIG LANDOWNERS

AGRICULTURAL LAND BILL A BETRAYAL OF PRINCIPLE

Since when does giving away the farm equate to saving agriculture? That's the farce our legislative leaders consider one of their "accomplishments" this session.

Instead of important agricultural lands protection, the Legislature gave us the "big-landowner big-payoff" bill. It greases the wheels for large landowners to urbanize any 15 percent of their farm land, in exchange for labeling 85 percent of their land as "important." The "important" designation then grants landowners the privilege to feast at the public trough on millions in tax credits.

Then what happens when the landowners feel the 85 percent portion isn't so important anymore (or developing it is more important)? They just ask to redesignate the land.

Think for a minute who, besides the landowners, benefits as farm land is converted wholesale to developable land. The average kama'aina can't afford the luxury developments invading rural Hawai'i. How does a rural real-estate bonanza help local residents, let alone farmers?

The state Constitution in 1978 mandated the protection of important agricultural lands. Thirty years later, the Legislature has twisted this into a license for big landowners to fatten their wallets and develop rural Hawai'i for the rich.

Future generations will end up paying for this betrayal of principle and failure of vision.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

ENCOURAGE LEGISLATORS TO TAKE NEXT SOLAR STEP

The story in the May 2 paper about Hawai'i mandating solar water heating units on new construction made news in The New York Times and elsewhere, with much praise for the boldness of our politicians. How is that for a change!

Now let's all get together and legislate full solar energy systems on all new buildings, public and private. This will spur new Hawai'i renewable energy businesses, which in turn will create many new manufacturing and service jobs, so the money stays mostly in our Islands.

Let's encourage our elected officials to take the next bold step, and we will have much cleaner air and, over time, almost free electricity. It is simply akamai.

DEPLETED URANIUM

ARMY TAKES HEALTH AND SAFETY VERY SERIOUSLY

This letter is in response to letters from Bill Hambaro (April 27) and Brian Stockes (April 28) regarding depleted uranium.

Your Army takes very seriously the health and safety of the people in surrounding communities and of its soldiers and their families, and its civilian workforce who live near and work on Schofield Barracks' range and Pohakuloa Training Area.

The Basic Human Health Risk Assessment (BHHRA) indicated that the radiological and chemical risks from DU were well within established limits for what is considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The study, which used the same principles as the Environmental Protection Agency for Superfund sites, was based on data from more than 1,400 air, water and soil samples sent to two independent Mainland labs for testing and analysis.

As indicated by the University of Hawai'i's independent review, the average level of DU in the soils at Schofield Barracks' range is elevated, but within the bounds of naturally occurring uranium values in Mainland soil.

The BHHRA also found that DU, which has been in the impact area for more than 40 years, has not been detected outside of the impact area.

The Army has worked closely with the state and other federal agencies to define the issue and determine the effects. It has also asked the Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawai'i at Manoa to participate and review independently the results of its efforts. The Army continues to work hard to ensure that its efforts are completely transparent and encourages participation of these and other agencies to ensure it does not unilaterally make decisions.

The Army will continue to aggressively monitor DU in the environment.

HEALTH

THERE IS A NEED TO BE VIGILANT ABOUT HEPATITIS

A few months ago, hepatitis B and C and HIV became a real threat for nearly 40,000 people who received medical care at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. The culprit: reused syringes by that facility, a practice that apparently had been in place since 2004.

We always need to be vigilant about the threat of hepatitis. Hepatitis B and C are viral infections of the liver spread by blood-contaminated products and bodily fluids, much like the transmission of HIV.

In Hawai'i, nearly 50,000 people have hepatitis B and 23,000 are infected with the hepatitis C virus. Chronic hepatitis B and C can lead to liver cancer, and Hawai'i has the highest rate of liver cancer in the nation.

Hepatitis is a "silent disease" that often goes undetected until the disease's end stage, when the only viable treatment is a liver transplant. Finding a suitable donor can be a long process, and the demand for livers and other organs exceeds available supply. Increasing awareness of the disease is one of our most powerful weapons to address this issue.

On May 19, World Hepatitis Awareness Day, the American Liver Foundation, Hawai'i Chapter will be distributing information about hepatitis and offering free screenings for hepatitis.

We need our liver to live. When we take care of our liver, our liver will take care of us. Please consult with your doctor about getting tested for hepatitis.

'AHUIMANU

GRATEFUL FOR HELP IN STOPPING DEVELOPMENT

We are writing on behalf of our small 'Ahuimanu community to express gratitude to Sen. Clayton Hee for his help in halting an intrusive housing development in upper Kahalu'u Valley. Proposed as The Woods of Ahuimanu, the 46 small lots on 15 acres of rough terrain would have been out of character and disastrous for the area.

Individual wastewater systems would have impacted Kahalu'u Stream, one of the most pristine left on O'ahu. Well over half the subdivision would have been inside the Waiahole Forest Reserve boundary. Unbelievable!

Sen. Hee met with us, gave us support from his staff, arranged sessions with officials and passionately pursued a sane and lawful path for the right outcome.

Inappropriate developments such as the one defeated do nothing to enhance small communities like ours. We are grateful for Sen. Hee's concern and leadership as we endeavor to protect the 'aina and wai of the Ko'olau Poko districts.

A GREAT AIRLINE

THANK YOU, HAWAI'I, FROM ALOHA EMPLOYEES

As a former Aloha employee, recently let go with 1,900 of my co-workers, I'm reminded of how fast times can change.

When passenger flights stopped, an all too important era of "local-style" flying stopped — service that was started in 1948 to serve local people. Going forward, the choices are limited on who to fly, but never again will Aloha be an option, and that's incredibly sad.

Aloha's demise is the product of high oil prices, predatory pricing and some unfortunate decisionmaking on our part. Regardless, Aloha deserved to succeed because of the hard-working employees and because we had a great product. Aloha was consistently No. 1 or No. 2 in on-time performance, fewest customer complaints and in the handling of baggage. Aloha was a great airline, albeit an unprofitable one.

The day Aloha Cargo closed its doors is the same day, 20 years earlier, we lost a family member in flight attendant Clara Belle "CB" Lansing. That infamous flight was handled by heroes in the flight and cabin crews. God blessed Aloha with the reopening of Aloha Cargo this week.

The family that made Aloha great continue to keep Aloha in their hearts.

We appreciate the good wishes of Hawai'i's citizens, just as we appreciated your business. Thank you for keeping Aloha in your hearts. We're so grateful.