ENERGY OFFICE MOVING QUICKLY AND EXPERTLY

It was disappointing to see the headline in the May 24 Advertiser ("DBEDT slow to use stimulus").

As we explained to your reporter, the "stimulus" is not just the recovery act, but the reinvestment act. For several years, Hawai'i has been fully engaged in the process of transforming our state's energy systems. This process is multifaceted and our efforts need to be strategic. It is not a matter of simply spending money and spending it fast.

It is starkly ironic that you chose to go with a newspaper-selling headline on the very day that hundreds of Hawai'i residents lined-up to make use of the appliance rebate program set-up through the stimulus funds.

Hawai'i is on track to meet the U.S. Department of Energy's spending requirements for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. Just two weeks ago, the department came to Hawai'i to monitor our ARRA energy spending and affirmed that the state is on track.

When everything is said and done, the residents of Hawai'i will have benefited from the thoughtful and strategic spending of their ARRA money.

The real shame is the short shrift this article gave to the people who have worked hard to do this right and do it quickly.

LEAF BLOWERS

NEW RULES ADDRESS REAL NOISE COMPLAINT

Jeremiah Hull (Letters, May 21) is quick to criticize the leaf-blower legislation, but obviously he didn't bother to read the bill. If he would have taken the time, he would have realized that SB 466 is a common-sense bill that simply prevents a landscaper from cranking up a leaf blower at 6 a.m. or leaving the debris on public property.

There is nothing in the legislation that will result in "soon-to-be-unemployed landscapers" as any landscaper who followed the bill will attest.

Our elected officials have a responsibility to listen to their constituents, whether it's a noise complaint or anything else.

I commend Sen. Gabbard for caring and doing what he can to give us some peace and quiet.

PHONE BOOK

BIG ISLAND DIRECTORY FILLED WITH MISTAKES

I got my new Hawaiian Telcom phone book today for the island of Hawai'i.

I decided to use it to look up a phone number in the state directory section, only to find the entire section is filled with county phone numbers.

There are no phone numbers listed for any state department in the entire book.

The second page has a letter from our governor and lieutenant governor with a heading that says Maui Directory.

The shopping pages say O'ahu Shopping, but list Big Island shops.

The high school section lists the phone number for the Maui Interscholastic League, not the Big Island Interscholastic League.

How can a company make such a big mistake? They ruined many, many trees making all of those phone books with so many editorial mistakes.

I wonder if they'll do a reprint. I've lost all faith in Hawaiian Telcom, so I guess I'll just wait until the Paradise Yellow Pages comes out with their new directory.

GOVERNOR'S RACE

ABERCROMBIE BACKERDIDN'T TELL FULL STORY

Neil Abercrombie loyalist Mila Kaahanui's defense of her candidate overlooked a number of key points (Letters, May 24).

Abercrombie resigned from Congress by choice, when by seniority he was ranked as high as 65 in a legislative body of 435. There was no legal requirement for him to resign to run for another office.

Rather, he hastily chose to resign in an attempt to jumpstart his campaign at a time when his votes were needed in Congress (i.e., health care, bank reform, and the Akaka bill).

Moreover, the loss of his seat to a Republican represents not only a blow to President Obama and the traditionally strong Democratic delegation, but now puts Hawai'i at the very bottom of the seniority scale in Congress. And Abercrombie would have us applaud his ill-conceived decision to resign?

Mufi Hannemann will be resigning at the appropriate time, as the law requires. He does not campaign on city time; his hours campaigning are personal, vacation time.

Hannemann works tirelessly for the city. When he does resign, it won't cost taxpayers $1 million for a special election.

NO CREATIVITY

NEW 'FIVE-0' SERIESIS SILLY, UNORIGINAL

I must retract my earlier letter complimenting the new "Hawaii Five-0" series. We saw the YouTube trailer The Advertiser wrote about last week.

Auwē! Danno is a clown. Kono for a nickname, OK, but who names their daughter Kono? She surfs, therefore she is a detective? Punches to the jaw are the most frequent moves made by the characters.

Where is the creativity of the criminals and the perceptive analysis of the detectives that made the original "Five-0" exciting? Unfortunately, Hawai'i is portrayed as a place to fool around. The show is silly.

SPECIAL ELECTION

DEMOCRATIC SPLIT CAUSED GOP VICTORY

Mr. Case, Ms. Hanabusa, I hope that you are pleased with the predicted outcome of the recent congressional election.

Both of you clung to personal ambition over what is best for your constituents. I reviewed both your positions on the issues, and in comparison to your opponent, they are virtually identical. Based on the combined vote count, both of you better reflect the values of the voters of our district, with the one exception that most of us know that we sometimes need to sacrifice self for the good of our families. You will both have to work very hard to regain my respect.

Mr. Djou, in your excitement for your victory, please remember two things. One, less than 40 percent of the vote is not a mandate in any reasonable person's opinion, and two, your job is to represent all of your constituents and their values, not just the values of the minority who voted for you. I wish you luck and hope that your experience tempers your partisanship.