Turnout starts with Kids Voting

CNN’s "Change the List" project is attempting to bump Hawaii off the bottom of the U.S. voter turnout list. Hawaii’s 2008 general election turnout was 48.8 percent — but in that same election, 119,756 students k-12 cast ballots online with Kids Voting Hawaii.

Everything from apathy to time zone differences has been blamed for Hawaii’s consistently low voter turnout. CNN recommends sending emails to non-voting friends and tapping into social media to support voting. Kids Voting Hawaii is dedicated to getting students into the habit of voting, by giving them hands-on experience in democracy, enhancing the civic education of the next generation, and offering kids the chance to inspire their parents to vote.

Now through the general election, students are logging on to www.kidsvotinghawaii.org. They are also voting on age-appropriate issues concerning their schools and community. Hopefully, participation in Kids Voting Hawaii will prepare them to vote responsibly in future, and result in reversing the embarrassing Hawaii adult voter turnout.

Linda Coble
Chairwoman, Kids Voting Hawaii board of directors

Balanced-budget plan won’t work

Former U.S. Rep. Charles Djou, who has never voted for a tax increase, would seek a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

We’ve read about the costs of homeland security; President George W. Bush’s response to Hurricane Katrina; war hawks who want active involvement in Syria; and the Obama administration’s failure to beef up security at the embassy in Libya. All of these cost money. It is impossible to budget for everything that might happen to our nation in any year. Our federal government must fund emergencies as they occur and if it can’t borrow the money, it must increase some taxes.

Much as the Republicans feel that private enterprise will do the job better, it is private enterprise standing in line for the government funding to take care of emergencies. A city or state may balance its budget regularly, but the federal government rarely. Djou belongs at the state level where his ideas are achievable. At the national level, his actions will be obstructive.

Ronald Wong
Salt Lake

Hanabusa failed to deliver change

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, at a talk story session two years ago, promised that she would collaborate with U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye on a bill requiring the federal government to assume responsibility for the costs of Micronesian health and education needs currently funded by the state of Hawaii to the tune of $100 million per year. Our congressional delegation failed to achieve this change, despite having a Democratic president and secretary of state and a Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

This change would have freed up $100 million for Hawaii’s education and infrastructure needs. Recall this failure when you consider our current representative’s campaign slogans such as fighting for the people of Hawaii.

Jim McDiarmid
Mililani

It’s not Christmas yet at City Hall

Christmas decorations are up at Honolulu Hale already. Can we have Halloween and Thanksgiving first? In so many ways, this is just wrong!

Annie Perry
Kaimuki

Sign wavers get ‘stink eye’

I’m proud to be homegrown in Hawaii, and now live in Washington, D.C. This month, I returned to the island on vacation, and committed to volunteering my time for the Mazie Hirono, Colleen Hanabusa, Tulsi Gabbard and Barack Obama campaigns. In the 17 years since I left, the local tradition of sign waving has sadly become one littered with intermittent obscene gestures, rude verbal comments and "stink eye" given by passing motorists.

Of course, it isn’t everyone — and by no means is it the majority — but surely our aloha spirit is better than that. In Hawaii, we’re known the world over for our laid-back and genuine, welcoming nature as a people and a community. Differences of opinion or political disagreement, shouldn’t be an excuse for these unnecessary forms of negativity — because we’re better than that.

Darren Shiroma
Washington

Nishimura gave his best to music

I was saddened to read of the passing of Yoshihisa Nishimura. He was not just a piano technician but also a teacher of music craft. He was respected and liked not only by the piano students at the university but also by all music majors.

He showed his concern by providing the pianos at the music department with his best effort. Our group of singers and instrumentalists were grateful for his work that allowed us to perform at our best. He was also willing to answer questions and share his knowledge with me. He even adjusted my saxophone once.

This is a loss that will be felt in Hawaii’s music community as well as past and future students of the university’s music department.

Egan Kawamoto
Ewa Beach