Letters to the Editor
CAMPAIGN TRIP
LINGLE FULLY ENGAGED IN DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS
The editorial on Gov. Linda Lingle's Mainland trip is misleading and creates false impressions on several fronts.
The editorial overlooks the fact that for months the governor has been fully engaged and working efficiently on a comprehensive plan to address the projected revenue shortfall. Our budget office is working with state departments to cut expenses, and the governor has consulted with leaders from the visitor industry, banks, business and labor as we address the challenging economic situation.
Gov. Lingle has been very visible laying out plans to chambers of commerce and industry associations, radio/Internet broadcasts, e-newsletters and the news media. A detailed overview by the governor was printed in newspapers statewide Sept. 21.
The administration's plan includes investing hundreds of millions in capital improvement projects to stimulate the economy; advocating increased tourism marketing; lowering fees and taxes; and attracting investments in renewable energy and technology along with other federal dollars for new opportunities.
When the governor travels, whether on state business or personal time, she remains engaged in the state's day-to-day operations.
It is misleading to compare actions on a national level by a presidential candidate who is a member of Congress to a governor and our part-time Legislature. Congress is in session, its leadership is in place and it is considering one piece of legislation. Our Legislature will not convene until mid-January, we won't know the leadership or committee assignments until after the November election and there is no pending legislation. Regardless, the governor is always available to meet with legislators in person or over the phone.
Gov. Lingle's leadership has been consistent and effective and she will continue to lead our state through the current challenges and into the future with a strong hand.
Robert PiperDeputy director, Department of Budget and Finance
MCCAIN CAMPAIGN
JUST WHAT EXACTLY DOES GOV. LINGLE STAND FOR?
So Gov. Linda Lingle is racing off to the Mainland to campaign for McCain/Palin.
It should be obvious why our governor is doing so, given that McCain/Palin oppose the Akaka bill, oppose a woman's right to choose, oppose reasonable stem cell research, oppose responsible environmental protections, oppose clean energy research (including McCain's stunning failure to support federal funding on eight separate occasions), oppose equal rights for gay Americans, and have for two decades championed, with Sen. Phil Gramm, the precise forms of deregulation and abandonment of oversight of the banking and financial sectors that are the primary cause of the current market troubles.
Oops. Wait a minute — hasn't Lingle campaigned in Hawai'i on the platform that she supports these issues? I think our governor owes Hawai'i an explanation as to why she is abandoning her post to campaign for the policies she told us she opposes, just as we face a $1 billion state budget deficit, rising unemployment, the inability to place state bonds, and incomplete infrastructure necessary to support our primary industries. I hope people remember what Gov. Lingle stood for when it mattered for Hawai'i.
Barry SullivanHonolulu
BUDGET CUTS
PEOPLE TURN TO LIBRARY IN BAD ECONOMIC TIMES
A 4 percent budget cut for everything in state government is as bad an idea as flat-rate income tax.
Options must be considered and allowances made for maximum efficiency. Freezing and eventually abolishing positions as a painless way to deal with budget cuts is a stupid and primitive practice. It is a quick and dirty way to accomplish fiscal stability without making waves. I don't think people realize how they will be affected.
The cuts to the public libraries are a prime example of dumbness. Why handicap an agency that more people turn to in times of economic stress? I'm going to give you two examples of how cuts have already affected public libraries even before the staff freezes hit the fan.
Auwe! Isn't there a better way?
Sylvia C. MitchellBranch Manager, Liliha Public Library
DOE BUDGET
SWEAT INVESTMENT GOOD IDEA FOR KIDS
These Department of Education budget cuts are not the end of the world. Times are hard, which is why we need to look outside the box for solutions. I work in the DOE and see how kids take things for granted simply because they are "free." Graffiti, trash and vandalism are rampant.
Many kids don't value their school or their education because they don't see what it really costs.
My solution is to make school service and volunteerism a mandatory part of each student's education. Got graffiti? Have students cover it up. Got trash? They can pick up trash and clean classrooms. Short-staffed in the office? Students who volunteer can learn administrative skills.
This can be instituted easily and will make kids responsible for their educational environment while teaching them valuable life and work skills.
If kids are required to participate, they will take pride in their school - and themselves -and learn the value of giving back.
They will also learn that public education is not "free" and that it is very costly: and they will see how it's partly paid for by their own sweat investment.
Shana LoganKa'a'awa
KAPI'OLANI PARK
PARK IS FOR RECREATION, NOT A HOMELESS CAMP
The homeless people are God's children. They certainly should receive our help, and they have. The state has provided housing for them. This country is the land of second chances, and the homeless have available to them every opportunity for second chances.
Our children are also the children of God. They are trying to seize upon their first chances in life. Are we to surrender that chance? I just want a safe place to practice and play soccer. Monday night I was truly concerned. I sent my children to use the restroom and they immediately returned to tell me a guy with a shopping cart was living in there.
I looked and he had definitely taken over the place. I noticed a urinal had been broken within the past two weeks. My kids found a syringe package outside of the restroom.
The field upon which we practice soccer was once clean green grass, and is now saturated with little scraps of trash littered throughout.
As I said my final words to my little soccer players I had to raise my voice so they didn't overhear the foul language of a verbally abusive homeless person nearby. What do we do?
Geoffrey AkeyHonolulu
E-MAIL CONTROVERSY
JOHNSON HAS DISGRACED GOOD NAME OF HAWAI'I
I am appalled by the lack of judgment shown by Senate Tourism Committee Chairwoman Donna Kim, who indicated that Rex Johnson did not "utter" or "write" the racist and sexist comments but rather just "forwarded" such comments - as if that was acceptable.
Was she born yesterday? Think about how it may look for any recipient of such e-mails that bear the name of Rex Johnson, CEO of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, that depict Sen. Barack Obama as a "coon" and Sen. Hillary Clinton as a "beaver" — regardless of whether Rex Johnson penned the language or not.
His e-mails still bear his name and the good name of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.
Rex Johnson should voluntarily resign from his $200,000-a-year job for the disgrace that he has bestowed on the citizens of Hawai'i.
Unless Rex Johnson is removed from his position, our state will certainly not be known for its aloha spirit, but rather the Hawai'i Tourism Authority will be known as a racist and sexist body without regard for civil rights and equality. How shameful. Auwe.
Randy S. BeardKane'ohe
ELECTION
POLLING PLACE OPENED LATE, ALSO UNORGANIZED
I didn't vote in Saturday's primary election, for the first time since becoming eligible in 1970.
I requested an absentee ballot, but decided to vote in person. I arrived at my polling place around 7:25 a.m. to find 14 people waiting. The polling place didn't open until 7:57 a.m.
I patiently waited, then presented my ID. I wasn't listed. The staff asked if I voted absentee. I said I had decided to vote in person. She asked if I brought my absentee ballot; I was unaware this was required. Another staffer said it wasn't, but they said they would have to call the Elections Office.
Someone eventually came over and again I was asked if I brought my absentee ballot. I again said I hadn't; he said they'd have to call. It was now 8:10 a.m. and I had to leave for work.
Before departing, I asked if he was in charge. He was from another polling place. The captain was home, ill. He didn't know her name. Was it so unorganized that he didn't have her name? "Yes."
Nobody offered explanations or apologies for the delayed opening. If they had opened on time, I would have waited and voted. This souring experience left me feeling disenfranchised.
Roger KimuraHonolulu
