Big business rules in Kailua

I am sadly disappointed in the relationship between Kaneohe Ranch and Kailua residents who supported the Koolaupoko Sustainable Communities Plan.

The plan was initiated to give people a voice as to the type of community they envisioned. It was the hope of the majority who participated in the survey to keep Kailua a community beach town. The vision included supporting local businesses, creating pedestrian/bike-friendly walkways and no big-box stores. Kaneohe Ranch once shared this vision.

Unfortunately, big business now rules at Kaneohe Ranch. Target and Whole Foods are not the bad guys here; it is Kaneohe Ranch that has disappointed the residents of Kailua by deciding upon itself what is best for Kailua.

War on drugs can’t be won

Richard Lee says we need U.S. government funding to prevent us from becoming like Mexico in the drug war ("Hawaii needs funding to fight drug problems," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Dec. 10). People get alarmed at the latest drug scare so they say spend more money, give police military hardware and ignore the usual Fourth Amendment courtesies of knocking on the door before knocking it down. What we have to show for it is more drugs and more violent criminals.

The way to avoid the fate of being a narco state is simple — egalize and regulate drugs. Apply similar requirements as alcohol and tobacco so as to keep kids from getting them, dissuade irresponsible behavior and require accountability among producers and retailers. 

Homeless have lifestyles, too

In response to Karyn Abe ( "Homeless are abusing our sense of decency," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Dec. 11): So now we criticize the homeless for entangled bare legs. Love doesn’t stop because you’re homeless — but privacy sure does. Of course something should be done, but being upset because of someone’s lifestyle does not solve the problem. If you don’t like seeing homeless people, visit the governor, mayor or Legislature. Don’t criticize — organize (and show aloha).

Obama runs up massive debt

Rick Lloyd says, "By my calculation, roughly 80 percent of our current $13 trillion-plus national debt was run up by Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bushes 1 and 2" ("Conservative tax policy resulted in huge debt," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Dec. 10).

That equates to $10.4 trillion during 20 years in office for the three GOP presidents. How much longer did it take to add the remaining 20 percent, or $2.6 trillion?

Two years, and one president!

Damien’s president served his students with wisdom, passion

It is with great sadness that I hear of the passing of Brother Greg O’Donnell, former president of Damien Memorial School. I had the opportunity to work with him while I was serving as the chairman of the board of directors of Damien and we often met over lunch to discuss school matters. I will always remember the lunch where Brother Greg posed a question to me. "I’m thinking about forfeiting a football game against Saint Louis; what do you think?" After a lengthy discussion, it was clear that he had put deep and thoughtful prayer into the idea and that his intentions and his heart were with the young men of Damien. Brother Greg should be credited as one of the true forefathers of the current classification system we have in high school sports.

I’ll also never forget his e-mail address, "god@damien.edu" (Greg O’Donnell).

He had his detractors, as forward-thinking and passionate leaders do, but he lived his life for the men of Damien and lived up to the school motto: "Viriliter Age" — "Act Manfully." Aloha, Brother Greg.

HECO to test biofuels, not palm-oil plant

Tom Tanton’s viewpoint on Southeast Asian palm oil contains significant errors Hawaiian Electric Company must correct ("Palm oil-into-biodiesel is heart of Hawaii’s green energy future," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Dec. 14). He does not speak for Hawaiian Electric.

Mr. Tanton states, "Hawaiian Electric has announced plans to build a facility to convert palm oil into biodiesel." Hawaiian Electric has no such plans.

Hawaiian Electric worked with another firm on a proposed biodiesel processing plant on Maui in 2007, but that did not happen. A Public Utilities Commission application in 2007 also proposed the purchase of biodiesel from imported feedstock processed by an independent plant to be built on Oahu, but that also did not happen and the application was closed.

Our goal was and remains a Hawaii-based agricultural energy industry. We asked for proposals earlier this year for supplies of sustainable biofuels from local sources. These could include algae, jatropha or other energy crops such as switch grass or sorghum.

Biofuels are just one source of renewable energy Hawaii needs to replace oil; others include solar power, wind, biomass, hydro and ocean energy and geothermal where available.

Today, we use biodiesel at the new Campbell Industrial Park (CIP) plant and plan to test biofuels in existing generators on Maui and Oahu in 2011. As sufficient biofuel is not produced locally, we have approval from the PUC to buy biodiesel made from waste animal fats from the U.S. mainland for the CIP plant. Hawaiian Electric and Maui Electric also got PUC approval in June to buy test quantities of palm oil-based biofuel from Malaysia under one-time contracts.

Finally, not just "radical environmental groups," as Mr. Tanton states, worry about the consequences of biofuel. Hawaiian Electric has a firm commitment that all biofuels we use be sustainably grown by workers whose human rights are respected. We have an agreement with the Natural Resources Defense Council that all sources of biofuel we use must meet or exceed standards of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and we support the Hawaii Biofuels Foundation’s work to create clear sustainability standards for all biofuels including those made from local feedstock.