Raise for coach seems like misplaced priority

Does anyone else think it’s ridiculous to offer the University of Hawaii basketball coach a $105,000 raise, bringing his salary to $345,000?

I don’t understand why anyone would think it’s a good use of money, considering that there are lots of buildings around UH that are in need of repair and improvement, and UH professors (and public school teachers) are paid less and work harder than he does.

Let’s not forget that this is coming at a time when UH Manoa is raising tuition on its students, knowing full well how difficult it is for many of my classmates to afford to go to school at its current rates.

Am I to understand that UH is asking us to pay more money so that it can use some of it to increase this man’s salary?

Thanks, UH, for showing us how much you really care about your students.

Aurora Pascual
Kapolei

Don’t let rich pay less than middle class

Bob Lamborn recently wrote that Democrats are demanding rich people to pay more taxes so lower-income people will get more ("Better to emulate than envy the rich," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Sept. 29).

I think he mischaracterizes the Democratic position.

At present, some rich people don’t have to pay any taxes at all, due to deductions and writeoffs unavailable to the less well-to-do.

I think a more accurate depiction of the Democratic position is that the rich should not pay less than middle-class Americans. It’s a simple matter of fairness. It is a simple matter of patriotism.

James B. Young
Honolulu

Times, Foodland did right thing on pigs

Thanks to Foodland and Times supermarket for standing against the Big Lie of those bringing in live pigs to Hawaii from far-off places and labeling this meat as "fresh or local pork."

These markets will no longer sell this meat, as air-flown, fresh pork carcasses are available at the same cost. Hopefully other food markets and venues will follow.

It was hard reading Myrone Murakami of the Farm Bureau Federation defend this practice using terms such as "Hawaii lifestyle," and comparing shipped-in pigs with locally grown produce ("Times, Foodland yield to activists," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Sept. 28).

There is a tourist destination on Kauai where live pigs (from the mainland) are piled up in the back of the grounds waiting their turn for the luau ceremony, this bringing Hawaiian aloha entertainment. I will not be sorry about the demise of this abhorrent Hawaiian business practice.

Barbara Jessee
Ewa Beach

Slaughterhouse helps provide food choices

Your editorial covering the supermarket pressure on your slaughterhouse appears to be economically sound, but it is way more than that ("Resist appeals to prop up Oahu slaughterhouse," Star-Advertiser, Our View, Sept. 24).

The decision limits our choices of animal products, and by extension, it causes shortages of micronutrients from animal-based foods. This is not good.

I worry whenever I see economic pressure put on our food supply, and recent telomere research clearly shows that it shortens your life whenever you limit your diet.

We humans are at the top of the food chain: We are designed by Mother Nature to eat what we crave.

In my view as a retired medical examiner, veganism is one of the most dangerous experiments you can try. So I would caution you to proudly hang on to your only Oahu slaughterhouse, as it is one of your rare sources of vital animal products.

Thomas J. Bassler
Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif.

Tokuda’s reaction on schools seemed phony

I was trying to figure out whether Sen. Jill Tokuda was being hypocritical or just tone-deaf to irony when she said, "I was stunned that we didn’t have performance contracts in place [for charter schools]. It’s important for everyone to know where they’re going" ("Charter school panel fails to home in on results," Star-Advertiser, Sept. 26).

Really? The chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, who is pretty much a fully owned subsidiary of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, whose committee has stoutly resisted holding regular public school teachers or administrators accountable in any meaningful fashion, is concerned that the better-performing charter alternatives — competition that the HSTA would love to eliminate — need more state oversight?

When she introduces legislation requiring performance contracts for both regular and charter schools, removes barriers for firing underperforming educators, and requires that chronically underperforming public schools be replaced with charter or private schools, then maybe her statement won’t seem quite so much like payback to her HSTA bosses.

Jim Henshaw
Kailua

Coverage of disasters abroad is uneven

Throughout the years, the local media’s inability to provide equal, unbiased coverage of natural disasters that do not occur in Japan never ceases to disappoint me.

Take into account the reporting of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that occurred in Japan this year. I recall a follow-up article a few weeks after the incident about how villagers were learning to cope with having to deal with exposure to radiation from the damaged nuclear plant nearby. The coverage was thorough and compelling, and rightfully so.

And yet, back in 2009 when the Philippines were struck by a number of typhoons in rapid succession, the coverage was not nearly as complete. Look at the response to Typhoon Nesat, which struck last week. All that got is a quarter-page article that seems like an afterthought.

Jeremy McGrew
Kapalama Heights

Child agency’s secrecy easy to understand

So that’s it! The state Department of Human Services has ruled. The circumstances that led to the death of baby Jayvid Waa-Ili will remain confidential.

This is just one more sickening move by Hawaii’s DHS and its administrators. But I can see why they want to keep things secretive. One could probably write quite a book on state abuses and screw-ups.

When will lawmakers learn that the Child Protective Service needs an overhaul from the inside out. It’s broke, so, for goodness sake, fix it.

Mike Young
Makiki

Breakwater missing from marina drawing

Regarding your cover story about the proposed 428-slip marina at Sand Island, surely the drawing that was included wasn’t the right one ("State proposes to redevelop waterfront at Sand Island," Star-Advertiser, Sept. 22).

It does not show a breakwater or any kind of protection at all to keep waves and surges from thrashing the 428 boats, nor is there any mention of that in the article.

Anyone involved with the ocean at all knows that some protection is mandatory.

Rick Ermshar
Kaneohe

Sand Island was in good shape years ago

The state wants to redevelop the Sand Island waterfront for ocean sporting? Not too long ago (maybe less than a decade) my son played baseball on a brand spanking-new Sand Island waterfront sporting complex that had been newly developed by the state. Hmmm. What happened to it? The state could make some money if it could figure out how to sell the 10-foot-tall weeds that quickly took over.

James Hochberg
Honolulu

FROM THE FORUM

"Council might ban personal property on city sidewalks,"Star-Advertiser, Sept. 29:

» American Civil Liberties Union attorney Dan Gluck said that bill essentially made it "unlawful to be homeless and have any possessions of any kind." Come on Dan, it’s not about being unlawful to be homeless, it’s all about using the sidewalks, paid for by taxpayers, as a storage facility. Perhaps Dan should transit the area in front of the Old Stadium Park, on South King Street, where items spill out onto the sidewalk from the grass median between the road and the sidewalk, preventing pedestrians and the handicapped from access to a clear sidewalk.

» About time!

» Right on, Councilwoman Tulsi Gabbard. I hope you run for mayor.

———

"Race boats tax Molokai fish supply,"Star-Advertiser, Sept. 29:

» Sorry, but when residents of other islands visit any other island, they go fishing, including people from Molokai!

» This is only the first step in Molokai trying to fence off its coastal waters from all Hawaii residents. If they succeed, look for other islands to stake out claims on whatever they have.

» This problem is easy to solve. All escort boats must be inspected and have all fishing equipment removed during the races. Anyone caught with fishing equipment on their boats will be fined $5,000. Also, that club will be banned from racing for five years. Do that and it will stop.

———

"Arnold offered $105K a year raise,"Star-Advertiser, Sept. 29:

» After one season with a 19-13 record and a berth in a little known post season tournament, we want to give him a 44 percent raise?

» We didn’t even qualify for the WAC tournament.

» Sounds like serious progress and hope. Gib Arnold is a serious winner, and Hawaii needs winners.

———

"EIS edict makes future Army training iffy,"Star-Advertiser, Sept. 28:

» The Army is doing Hawaii a favor by putting up with environmentalist hooey. All it really needs is congressional authorization to train on federal government land. Don’t push your luck, Big Island people.

» We like the hooey and our luck. If the Army wants to do the full study, it’s welcome and capable. And if Congress wants to grant authority, that’s fine and it’s probably capable. Of course, if the Army weren’t in Afghanistan, we wouldn’t have this problem.

» Wrong. The Army still needs to train, Afghanistan or not. Afghanistan brings a stronger sense of urgency to the training.

———

"HGEA backs Hirono in U.S. Senate race,"Star-Advertiser, Sept. 28:

» I’m still waiting for someone, anyone, to enlighten me as to what U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono has done for the people of Hawaii, or even Americans in general. Randy Perreira, the HGEA’s executive director said, "We are confident that she will work well with Sen. Daniel Inouye." So Dan gets to keep another flunky to "just say yes."

» I am voting for Ed Case. He should run as an independent.

———

"Sweep of illegal immigrants nabs 2,900, 6 from Hawaii,"Star-Advertiser, Sept. 29:

» Only six? I’m sure that there are more running around here.

» There are two classes of people in the U.S. now — those of us who are here legally, whether because we were born here or immigrated legally and have a green card, or are naturalized citizens — and those undocumented, illegal immigrants who break the law every day they are here. They get a free pass because of the so-called immigration advocates. If those of us who are legal break any law, we are arrested. The illegal immigrants are breaking the law by definition and should be arrested and deported.

———

"PUC rejects biofuel plan as too expensive,"Star-Advertiser, Sept. 30:

» Who cares how much it costs? It’s green, and that makes it politically correct.

» Another loss. Also, a potential source of local jobs flushed down the tube. How many jobs would have been created through this? Probably at least 100. It would have also kept a bunch of money in Hawaii instead of shipping it off to Indonesia or some other country that hates us.