Church, state rightly separated in display

In response to John Nakao’s letter of how the Honolulu City Lights celebration sets religion aside: I am always amazed by how some Christians just don’t understand the separation of church and state (“City Lights sets religion aside,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 13).

I am not a Christian, and if my city tax dollars were to be used for such displays on public property, I fully understand that would be a violation of my First Amendment rights. Our government better not be using my tax money to construct religious displays or I will be the first to protest.

The disclaimer at the Christian displays on city property is not being “politically correct.” It simply reiterates what is codified in our Constitution. There are plenty of church properties on which to display Christian themes at Christmas time. Government property is never one of them.

However, bowing to Christian pressure, the city allows displays and posts the notice as a compromise.

Jeff Merz

Waikiki

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Upgrade flights for state tourism execs

Inadvertent or not, by accepting free business-class upgrades to their flights, Hawaii Tourism Authority officials were found to be in violation of the state Ethics Code (“Tourism officials fined a total of $12K,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 12).

Fair enough. My question is this: Why do important executives, especially those vital to our No. 1 industry, tourism, need to find ways to travel business class when doing important state business? Shouldn’t the state allow them to travel business class in the first place?

If the state wants to keep the best and brightest from the private sector, then it should treat them as such.

Orson Moon

Aiea

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Hawaii represented well in Congress

In lieu of depressing national polls, after 50 years in Hawaii I think I speak for most in holding our Hawaii U.S. senators and Congress members in the highest esteem as brave, principled, caring, smart and studiously thoughtful.

Male and female, past and present, they have made wonderful role models for one another, and I think this tradition will continue into the future.

Kent Bennett

Kamehameha Heights

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New solutions are needed, not new jail

I’m an inmate at Women’s Community Correctional Center (WCCC) in Kailua, and have a few questions about plans for a new jail (“Animal Quarantine Station site marked for new Oahu jail,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 9).

The discussed budget for a new men’s facility is $525 million and will include 1,044 beds. Are those beds for the inmates now housed in an Arizona facility? Or are they for more non-violent mentally ill addicts, wrongfully misdiagnosed as felons?

Also: If the women from Oahu Community Correctional Center are expected to be relocated to WCCC, what is the invisible price tag on accommodating 140-plus more women? As of now WCCC has 270-plus women and it struggles to comply with sanitization, plumbing and security.

Our warden tries his best to run an outdated facility with an outdated budget in an outdated system.

I hope the discussion of a new prison shifts to a discussion about a new solution. Prisons aren’t just failing the inmates, they’re failing the communities we inmates return to.

Why is our solution to massively incarcerate?

Lilly Okinaka

Women’s Community Correctional Center

Kailua

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1-party rule simply not good for Hawaii

Richard Borreca was at his biased best when using the national scene to kick local Republicans while they’re down — to just five, but very strong, members out of 51 in the state House and zero Republicans in the state Senate (“Congressional Republicans’ tax-cut reforms will end up slashing Hawaii GOP further,” Star-Advertiser, On Politics, Dec. 10).

Borreca consistently fails to point out that one-party rule, whether Democrat or Republican, is not good for Hawaii. Democrats today are making the same mistakes in Hawaii as Republicans made when they ran everything.

Economic and political monopolies hurt people, particularly in the marketplace of ideas in the Legislature, because by their very nature, it is mandatory that checks and balances in policy-making be jettisoned. This is not rocket science. It’s called democracy and Borreca’s Hawaii will never change with the attitude he is selling about the role of the local loyal opposition.

Rep. Gene Ward

Hawaii Kai