Statehood Day barely celebrated

Happy Statehood Day, Hawaii!

I mean, seriously. No celebrations. No parade.No gathering of the people of Hawaii to honor and recognize our statehood.

Are we or are we not the 50th state of the United States?

Fourth of July, we celebrate. New Year’s, we celebrate. Thanksgiving and Christmas, we celebrate. And all of the other holidays we celebrate as a nation right here in Hawaii. But the one day that we should be celebrating every year is our statehood.

Do we even understand what the impact was to becoming the 50th state? Do your children know? Do we even care anymore?

Wait, we do celebrate statehood day. State and county offices are closed. Buses are on a state holiday schedule and on-street parking is free except metered stalls along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue and Kapiolani Park.

Kauai Sasano
Kapolei

Put ‘Wondergate’ behind us ASAP

If the Watergate scandal taught us anything, it was that if something smells fishy, it usually is, and you can’t hide dead fish forever.

Now we have Wondergate. I can only hope that University of Hawaii officials will come clean sooner rather than later so that appropriate steps can be taken. Only then can the UH athletics department resume its proud tradition of dedication to the highest standards of sportsmanship, resiliency and achievement.

Gene Altman
Kailua

Jet ski driver treated unjustly

It seems the prosecutor’s office, and to a certain extent your newspaper, are intent on convicting the defendant in the jet ski accident well before the trial ("Bail stays at $100K in jet ski homicide," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 15).

To demand a $100,000 bail in a misdemeanor is ludicrous — yes, a girl died, but either the charge needs to be increased to justify the bail, or the bail has to be reduced to fit the charge. It’s nonsense to justify this pre-trial persecution on the grounds that he might flee, especially when his passport has been confiscated.

I feel for the family of the victim. But it is beginning to look like the defendant also is a victim — of the system.

Mark Zeug
Waialae

Cited fluoride study was not conclusive

We are responding to a letter about dangers of water fluoridation and the ostensibly supportive findings in a recent scientific publication ("Fluoride used on military bases," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 18).

The study, which combined the results of 27 previous studies on fluoride exposure in children in China, reports that a high level of fluoride exposure is associated with lower cognitive functioning.

While fluoride in our drinking water might not be harmless, the findings in this paper do not warrant public panic here in the U.S. People living in China are exposed to much higher levels of fluoride than the U.S. populace.

Another important point to keep in mind, as the authors themselves note, is that many other possible contributing factors to the lower IQs could not be controlled for in this study.

The authors consider their analysis an important first step in evaluating the potential risk of fluoride, one that "has the potential for helping us plan better studies."

Gay Armsden and Ken Berkun
Kailua

More candidates should say mahalo

Win or lose, candidates running for office should make every effort to thank the people who voted for them.

In the Leeward area — Honokai Hale to Waianae — only one candidate came out, not once, but three times within the week to wave and say mahalo and in return, received waves and honks from supporters and probably non-supporters. Thank you.

And to those campaign leaders/coordinators who worked so hard in representing their candidates but were unsuccessful, please remove the signs hung on fences or trees. They are pau already. Why keep it up? They go up real fast before every election but are slow to come down.

Ditto to those who were elected — take them down. They become eyesores after a while.

Charlotte Keala
Waianae

Elections proved shaka sign lives on

As sign wavers for our political candidate, and on behalf of other sign wavers out there, we just wanted to share: The shaka sign still lives on, and with lots of aloha.

For those stuck in traffic in your air-conditioned vehicles, and then come upon us sign wavers standing in the heat or cold, it is so refreshing to see someone just stick out his or her entire arm with a shaka to all of us, and this is even before we wave to them first. For the horn beepers, right on!

There is no other place like Hawaii where strangers can just feel the happiness, see the smiles from one another and receive the worthwhile moment of aloha. Mahalo plenty!

Ben and Di Kuahine
Pearl City

Some political funds should go to charity

The U.S. Congress, state Legislature and City Council should all pass a law that states that whoever runs for political office at any level of government should give 1 percent of their political donations to a charity.

With the amount of money they collect in donations, they should help the charity of their choice.

It’s not their money, anyway.

Clyde Sasamura
Aiea