Increase the planting of sandalwood to sell
A while ago, a native of India told me that I could make good money selling index-finger-sized pieces of sandalwood which would be placed symbolically among the wood of funeral pyres in India. The very rich are cremated with large amounts of sandalwood.
I got about 50 sandalwood seedlings from the state tree nursery in Waimea for a little more than $1 each, with dreams of making money selling twigs in India. After planting the seedlings on my farm, a severe drought killed many of them. Only a few did grow. I soon realized that they were very slow growing and it would be a long time until harvesting. I’ll be dead by then.
Recently, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources proposed rules to ban harvesting of rare woods like sandalwood, even on private land. Instead of pulling back the few crabs who want to escape the bucket, DLNR should increase the seedling supply of sandalwood on all islands.
Richard Sasaki
Captain Cook, Hawaii
How to write us
The Star-Advertiser welcomes letters that are crisp and to the point (~150 words). The Star-Advertiser reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length. Please direct comments to the issues; personal attacks will not be published. Letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone number.
Letter form: Online form, click here E-mail: letters@staradvertiser.com Fax: (808) 529-4750 Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 210, Honolulu, HI 96813
|
Waikiki needs to clean up for locals, visitors
I am glad attention to the condition of our public restrooms is being raised at last. I swim regularly at Queen’s Surf Beach and have been horrified for years at the unclean conditions of the restrooms: toilet paper, feces, dirt on the floors, broken doors, no soap or towels. I have wondered why the government built the restroom but apparently made no provisions for cleaning them.
I met a tourist in the bathroom of one of the nearby hotels one day. As she walked in she said, "Thank God this is clean." She and her husband had been enjoying a walk along the ocean, but when she needed a restroom and went to the entrance of the public restroom, she said, "I couldn’t go in. I just couldn’t go in."
The ocean, the beach and the park are so beautiful, surely it is worth having clean restrooms for all park users, residents and tourists alike.
Barbara Downs
Honolulu
Test public housing tenants for drugs
We need to weed out illegal drug users from our public housing units. Too many poor decisions are made by people on drugs. Too many bystanders, including children, become victims.
Demand for low-income housing exceeds supply. All things being equal, why should the drug-using applicant have as much chance at getting into public housing as the law-abiding one? Clean tenants have a better chance at improving their situation so they can eventually move out of public housing to give future tenants a chance to turn their lives around. Isn’t this the purpose of public housing?
What are the chances that the lifestyles of drug users will improve? They end up staying in public housing forever, terrorizing tenants on the process.
It is not unreasonable to test applicants. At least 36 other states have proposed drug testing for people receiving benefits such as welfare, unemployment insurance, food stamps and public housing, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Pat Cariaga Bolo
Ewa Beach
Republicans must tone down rhetoric
During the 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush reintroduced the concept of compassionate conservatism to soften the Republican Party’s image, seen by many as mean-spirited and insensitive to the plight of poor Americans. However, judging by the Republican presidential candidates’ campaign rhetoric, compassion is not in their agenda as demonstrated in their unified opposition to the food stamp program that helps the poor. One of them even called the president the "food-stamp president."
Instead of talking about ways of boosting the economy, reducing the deficits and balancing the budget, they continue to preach the gospel of hatred and intolerance. They demonize the president by creating an impression that there is something "alien and illegitimate about the Obama presidency," and even questioning his loyalty to America. This "dog whistle" politics must stop.
This is not what the American people want to hear. They want an honest and substantive discourse on issues affecting their livelihoods.
Rod B. Catiggay
Mililani