Prison companies wrongly motivated

It would be a mistake to build a new prison on Maui, and it would be equally shortsighted for the state to partner with a for-profit prison company, like Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), to build or run a prison.

The conflicts of interest and the serious ethical concerns with private prison companies are obvious. Private prisons profit from imprisonment and benefit from people being incarcerated. CCA touts "recidivism" and "inmate growth" as good reasons for potential investors to buy its stock.

Prisons hurt our communities, and it is a poor reflection on our state government to contract with for-profit prisons.

If we want to increase law-abiding behavior, we should support education and families, not prisons.

Lorenn Walker
Waialua

Try to be nice and look what happens

I would like to reinforce Birch Akina’s enlightening letter ("Junk-mail scams target the elderly," Star-Advertiser, Letters, April 9).

I am one of those elderly. Iam aretired schoolteacher scraping by on a very small pension.

Last fall I made a donation to a local charity to provide Thanksgiving dinners for the homeless, a very worthy cause.Since that time I seem to have made "The List." I havebeen bombarded daily by at least two or three donation pleas from various charities, some as far away as Texas.

The question is: How did I make "The List"?

It would be very interesting to know the answer.

Tom Nilsson
Waikiki

Non-smoker tenants deserve protection

The issue of banning smoking in public housing needs legislative intervention so things get done in a timely manner and get done, period.

Too often, things fall by the wayside until a law is needed to force action. It’s common knowledge that government agencies can be slow to act, or not at all, unless properly motivated.

Secondhand smoke in public housing is just as important as security. People’s health and quality of life are at stake.

Non-smoking tenants deserve a fair choice, other than deal with it and hope they don’t get sick, or move out, which probably isn’t possible for those on government support. These people need legislative support by passing a bill to ensure that their right to a safe and healthy environment is done promptly and with certainty.

Smokers can still smoke, just not in a way that harms others.

Scott Goto
Moiliili

Apply Dalai Lama’s values to homeless

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, is visiting Hawaii. Does he know how much money the city of Honolulu spends for police officers to race up and down the beaches and parks looking for someone sleeping after hours?

The Dalai Lama writes or preaches about compassion. Do the homeless of Hawaii not deserve the same compassion? Not all the homeless are drug addicts; some are homeless because of bad decisions or having experienced a tragedy, such as losing a loved one.

Anyone who has read about the Dalai Lama knows his views about China and Tibet.So what is the Dalai Lama doing here in Hawaii?

Chris J. Torres
Kaimuki

Use lottery funds to repair state roads

The recent Mega Millions lottery didn’t seem to arouse much interest in Hawaii.But after an Easter dinner, we came up with several items the state should consider for a lottery proposal.

After riding to and from church Sunday morning, we saw the need for a road recovery program, which should be near the top of the state’s list. Joining a national lottery program would be a lesser evil and a high percentage of the lottery revenues could be designated for road recovery.

Let’s get local travelers to put forth their feelings on the matter and maybe our Legislature can catch the hint and really do something for the people of the state.

Burton Barr
Honolulu

IME doctors put in difficult position

Having been through the system from a severe accident at work, I disagree with Ira Zunin ("Shelving of 2 bills hampers reform of workers’ comp," Star-Advertiser, Wealth of Health, April 7).

The independent medical evaluation (IME) was essential to unfolding the truth about what damage I had suffered, and it was not biased on the side of the insurance company. I rejected the initial rating of my injury and I was promptly reviewed, with satisfactory results. The system worked.

This is a very complex arrangement. I have heard of many people whoget the most money from an injury, and horror stories of substandard emergency care that resulted in permanent damage that should have been avoided. IME doctors have an unsavory task in such cases.

It is easy to point to one aspect of a system as the root of its evil. Dr. Zunin needs to look at the larger picture. He may be barking up the wrong tree.

Nick Blank
Hawaii Kai

Senate bill a threat to isle environment

Hawaii’s legislators are showing their true colors with Senate Bill 755. This bill proposes to bypass environmental checks, and has a clause for no responsibility if anything goes wrong.

The audacity of trying to pass a law that could cause permanent damage to our precious island and provide an out if you screwed up makes it worthwhile to vote legislators out of office. No wonder we have so little faith in our so-called democratic process.

Emalia Williams
Kapahulu