Be responsible for own safety

The City Council wants to pass a law that makes it illegal to use or hold a hand-held electronic device while in a crosswalk. Why?

I don’t want to sound cruel and inhumane, but if a phone call, text or listening to your favorite music is more important than your personal safety then you deserve what you get. With such a high concentration of cars and people on Oahu, you need to be aware of your surroundings. Being oblivious makes the situation dangerous and possibly fatal.

"You reap what you sow." Nuff said.

Robert K. Soberano
Honolulu

Don’t annex Molokai again 

Jay Fidell argues that Gov. Neil Abercrombie must exercise the state’s power of eminent domain to make the obviously unwilling folks on Molokai become part of former Gov. Linda Lingle’s big wind proposal ("Governor must ensure wind farm moves forward," Think Tech, Star-Advertiser, May 10).

In the late 1890s, Native Hawaiians lost their land and their political independence through annexation. Now, in the year 2011, an island with more than a 50 percent Native Hawaiian population is again threatened with "Annexation: Part Two" — the eminent-domain taking of their island.

Have we learned nothing from our history? Is the enrichment of a few mainland developers, the provision of perhaps 10 percent of Oahu’s electricity, the irrevocable alteration of pristine landscapes and historic cultural sites, the incredible expense to state taxpayers who have just seen their officials cut off Medicaid to 4,500 individuals for lack of funds — is all that worth overriding a Native Hawaiian community’s strong objections to a condemnation of their island?

Robin Kaye
Friends of Lanai

Help improve public schools

I would like to reframe Mary Vorsino’s story ("Education Reform Evokes Frustration," Star-Advertiser, May 5). The town hall was specifically designed to target the community and to encourage individuals to take action in the multitude of ways possible, through mentoring, providing internship opportunities, partnerships with schools, designing extracurricular programs to boost student outcomes, etc. If we desire a systemic change, we need everyone: policymakers, community organizations, parents, the Department of Education and the media working together. We cannot continue to perpetuate negativity about our public schools; it’s about new beginnings. The attendance and enthusiasm was a great start — come join us!

Kerrie Urosevich
Our Public School board member
Kaneohe

Issues, solutions are not simple

Edward Gutteling complains that President Obama is a complex thinker who simultaneously considers all aspects of an issue ("Don’t betray fundamentals," Letters, Star-Advertiser, May 4). He contrasts this with what writer Dana Milbank called a "simple thinker" like Winston Churchill.

Winston Churchill was not a simple thinker. That is an insult to a man who guided his country through hell and back. Edward Gutteling of the Conservative Forum for Hawaii is showing the effects of a closed mind, which hopes for simple solutions during complex times.

Roy Kamisato
Honolulu

Who will control health care? 

Your recent article stated that the "medical home model" is the future for Hawaii Medicaid ("State’s new Medicaid plan is aimed at improving care," Star-Advertiser, May 7).

Traditionally, medical records have been the property and responsibility of the medical provider. The backbone of this new medical home model will be an electronic health record. If many medical providers are to access health care information for a medical home model, it will necessarily be over the Internet. I predict the information eventually will be owned by the government.

When Americans chose to not pay for their own health care, they started down the path to where the Big Brother of government will make health care decisions for them. Some will welcome this as a necessary evil in order to control costs and help our fellow Americans. Prepare for the day when the government says you are too old to get that fancy new treatment, too fat to eat that Big Mac, and your health record goes viral over the Internet.

Rhoads E. Stevens
Hawaii Kai