Hawaii lacks tourism savvy

I spent four nights on Victoria Island this summer. There were three visitor centers near the small town of Sidney, B.C., which were manned by volunteers. If our politicians don’t even want one in Waikiki ("Signs will replace Kapiolani Park kiosk," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 16), maybe we should get out of the tourism business.

Bush tax cuts haven’t helped

The Republicans justify their desire to continue the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of the population by saying it will stimulate the economy and promote more jobs.

Haven’t these cuts been in effect since 2002?

So how have they helped stimulate the economy and jobs over the last eight years? Haven’t we just gone through the worst recession since the Great Depression during this same time?

All they have done is raise the income of the same wealthiest people and cost the jobs, income and homes of many lower- and middle-income workers. This is what we can expect if the Republicans increase their influence in Congress.

‘NIMBY-ism’ charge is unfair

Mufi Hannemann, in discussing the homeless situation, said it is "patently unfair" to locate all the homeless assistance projects in West Oahu ("Candidates let barbs fly," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 14).

He touted his controversial Housing First project in Chinatown and characterized the opposition as "NIMBY-ism."

Nothing is further from the truth. The community, tired of being a dumping ground for all of society’s ills, is pushing for a sustainable plan for Chinatown. It believes senior housing would be a better fit in the compact geographical area populated by temples, schools, businesses, hundreds of children walking by each day and thousands of residents, instead of housing for the chronically homeless, defined as those with severe mental problems and substance abuse, who would not be required to seek treatment.

Ewa Beach team did a great job

Congratulations to the new Bronco World Series Champions: Ewa Beach, Hawaii ("Ewa takes Bronco World Series," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 13).

It was a pleasure to watch these boys playing teams from not only the United States but other countries as well. And they played hard and were undefeated — great pitching, great fielding, great hitting and great coaching.

All the parents and grandparents and aunties and uncles should be very proud. You represented your town and your state very well.

We hope to see teams from Hawaii here again next year.

JetBlue flight attendant just a shoddy circus act

With flight attendants like JetBlue’s Steven Slater, who needs terrorists? He made big news this month when he cursed a passenger out over the public address system, grabbed some beer and exited the aircraft, presumably for the last time, via an inflated evacuation slide. Surly workers like Slater, who use their tempers to cow passengers into submission, give the rest of us hard-working flight attendants a bad rap. I’ve apologized for their worthless conduct a hundred times too often.

The press is now reporting that he wants his job back. He should have thought about that long before his feet hit the ground. JetBlue Airways ought to fire him. He’s lucky his actions didn’t kill someone. As a crew member, I’d refuse to fly with him; as a union officer, I’d sooner resign than represent him at a hearing. A cynical nation is calling him a folk hero. Captain C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger is a hero. Steven Slater is nothing but a shoddy circus act.