Fiascos at UH never seem to end

Commentary by the Star-Advertiser’s Dave Reardon (twice), Ferd Lewis and "Our View" editorial regarding the "Stevie Blunder/athletic director" fiasco all hit the proverbial nail on the head.

The University of Hawaii-Manoa chancellor’s office, itself in danger of extinction not too long ago, not only survived but now has the authority to expand its bureaucracy by creating a lucrative position for the beleaguered Jim Donovan?

So rushed is this newly created position that it still doesn’t have a title or clear cut job description.

What?

Donovan gave blood, sweat and tears to a university he loves, but this is not about loyalty or popularity. This is about accountability and, for the moment, there is absolutely none.

Has it been that long that we’ve already forgotten the Sugar Bowl fiasco? When, in the euphoria of an unbeaten season and millions in BCS bowl money, our UH administrators saw fit to invite everybody and their auntie along for the ride? We know how that one ended — the same way as this one.

If we don’t learn from our mistakes, history will repeat itself. And for UH, it just did.

Orson Moon
Aiea

Is UH another ‘Broken Trust’?

Yet again, non-accountability results in financial windfall at the University of Hawaii. Things are rotten to the (Tom) Apple/administration core.

M.R.C. Greenwood’s fiefdom once more blatantly misuses students’ tuition dollars.Jim Donovan is the next Doctor of Spin.What we need is a "Broken Trust" remedy at UH.

Joseph Young
Downtown Honolulu

Charity deductions shouldn’t be capped

The state of Hawaii put a cap on the amount that can be deducted for mortgage interest and charitable donations beginning with tax year 2011.

My mortgage interest exceeded the $50,000 ceiling, and I made over $7,000 in charitable donations in 2011, which I could not use to reduce my taxable income.

Hmm, let’s see: How much do I want to give to charities this year when none of it will be tax deductible?

Maybe not so much.

Kathy Leong
Niu Valley

Sometimes there really are accidents

We are all saddened by the jet ski tragedy at Keehi Lagoon, and we all feel for the family of the girl.

However, when will the Prosecutor’s Office recognize accidents for what they really are: accidents?

Overzealous prosecutors do not need to charge people to the full extent of the law every time an accident happens. Unfortunately, most of the time, like in the case of Tyson Dagley, they do.

The girl’s family can get closure through the civil suit it is currently pursuing.

Andrew Beh
Kailua

Rail stations need adequate restrooms

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s construction and operation plans provide for only one restroom at each rail station.

The restroom will be secured and passenger access will be controlled by the rail station attendant.

With only one restroom at each station, passengers will sometimes have to wait in line to use the restroom, hoping that they will not miss the train.

It’s questionable whether the rail station attendant will always have enough time to comply with passengers’ restroom-access requests in a timely manner and still have time to perform other duties.

To provide for an adequate number of restrooms, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation should plan for the construction and operation of separate and readily accessible restrooms for men, women and disabled persons.

Although more restrooms, and perhaps sewer capacity, would add to the cost of the rail system, the cost is necessary to adequately provide for passengers’ needs.

Robert Thomas
Manoa

DOE shortchanging Waianae children

Disabled students aren’t the only ones getting a raw deal from the Department of Education ("Disabled students get raw deal at DOE," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug 14).

Our kids on the Waianae Coast have been used to provide experienced "tenured" teachers to schools outside of its area for decades.

It’s not uncommon in some years for our elementary schools to have three or four inexperienced teachers on some grade levels, and to have many students completing primary school without having an experienced teacher. This teacher turnover problem also exists in intermediate and high schools.

The result of all this is more than 40 percent of our kids never complete their schooling.

The consequence of this becomes a headache for all taxpayers in dealing with welfare, unemployment issues, problems with the law, etc.

The governor, Department of Education, Hawaii State Teachers Association and even the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are not willing to stop this act of robbing the needy to benefit the more fortunate. What a shame.

Bill Punini Prescott
Nanakuli

Kailua folks getting what they wanted

Kailua folks say they are "engulfed in tourism."

It appears to me they have worked for years to appeal to some demographic not already there. They have invited mainland chain businesses, displacing small local stores, and have been busy replacing affordable housing with "high end" units.

Perhaps they have forgotten the famous line: "If you build it, they will come."

Barbara Mullen
Waimanalo