Remove football from UH programs

Many university presidents have football at the root of their problems. Penn State coach Joe Paterno was taken down by his assistant, a pedophile. In the name of football, the fans and the money, Jerry Sandusky’s crimes were ignored.

The University of Hawaii has seen much involvement by politicians and football fans. Now politicians investigate the scam that was the Stevie Wonder concert fundraiser for UH football.

We need to remove football from our university programs. Rather, license school names to a collegiate football league, a minor league for professional football. The league would rent university athletic facilities; coaches and athletes would be paid by the league.

Who runs UH? Politicians and football.

H.C. "Skip" Bittenbender
Honolulu

Child sexual abuse can be prevented

Former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky has been sentenced.

We applaud the male survivors for their strength and courage, and hope that the outcome offers some justice and healing.

We encourage people to engage in protecting children. Ask schools and programs about their policies to protect children from sexual abuse and their reporting procedures.

Adults, please take time to talk with children about personal safety and believe them when reporting any suspicious behavior.

The harm endured by the child victims in the Sandusky case strongly reaffirms the need to create safer environments for children. Child sexual abuse is preventable, and there is a proactive role for all of us.

Sandusky’s sentencing also serves as a message to survivors that you are not alone. We firmly believe in providing a safe place for survivors to heal.

Adriana Ramelli
Executive director, The Sex Abuse Treatment Center, Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children

Closing restrooms is unfair to public

Homeless people have no homes so they have no bathrooms.

So where do they go when the use of a bathroom is required?

A law was passed that made it a criminal offense to relieve yourself in public. Where does a homeless person, tourist, a sick person or child find a restroom to use when necessary?

So much concern is focused on the negative problem of vandalism and criminal activity that may occur in public restrooms.

Why is it that the police can’t patrol these areas, but time is found later to arrest non-criminals who just want to use a restroom?

The criminals are a minority, but so much effort is made to restrict their activity without regard to providing a public service to law-abiding citizens.

It’s an easy solution to close all restrooms at night, but is this how we express our aloha to tourists and the law-abiding people of Hawaii?

Leonard Leong
Manoa

Fixing roads is not a one-time deal

Have either the state or city governments heard of continuous process improvement (CPI)?

We pay taxes and they spend, but we see little, if any, process improvements to help save money in the future. It appears our agencies just approve and spend money on jobs, without looking at ways to improve.

A big example is our roadways. We keep repairing and patching. You get the impression our governments are not worried about spending in the future — just doing their job one day at a time.

We would be best served by implementing CPI in each and every department of government — what can be done better and more economically, and what areas can be eliminated if they serve no real purpose anymore.

We should have a long-range plan to continuously repair and upgrade things like roads, sewers, waterlines and parks.

Clif T. Johnson
Waikiki

DLNR overreacted to hiker’s mishap

It was with sadness that I read about the hiker who fell off the ridge at "the Notches" of Kona-huanui ("Hiker is critically injured in 300-foot fall from trail," Star-Advertiser, Sept. 19).

These people probably did not know that since 1998 rock climbers have been climbing safely on Oahu at two main sites: Mokuleia near Camp Erdman and Makapuu near the Rabbit Island Overlook. At these areas there are anchors drilled into the rock, and people use ropes, harnesses and other gear to climb safely.

There is no reason to tiptoe along the edge of a knife-edge ridge, if there is a sanctioned rock climbing area where your partner can stand on flat ground as he belays you.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is being extremely short-sighted in closing these two areas. Rock climbing with ropes and anchors is much safer than the "extreme hiking" that many people do on Oahu.

Steven Poor
Haleiwa

UH power brokers should be sacked

Why does Bert Kobayashi, the man who personally takes the Koa Anuenue fundraising efforts for University of Hawaii athletics onto his shoulders for up to $3 million a year, have to resign?

Rather, why isn’t UH President M.R.C. Greenwood, Chancellor Tom Apple and the entire UH Board of Regents — led by chairman Eric Martinson — doing the resigning? They are the ones who orchestrated this entire financial debacle, and we’re not even talking about the bloated salaries that these Manoa misfits are drawing down.

With UH-Manoa salaries, plus the alleged search for a new athletic director, plus legal and future economic ramifications, plus Kobayashi’s departure, plus the consulting fees being piled on, we’re talking close to about $5 million here. It’s time to get rid of those in power and the ones who put them in power. Now!

Chip Davey
Honolulu