Support growing food in Hawaii

All of us interested in food self-sufficiency need to get behind the Legislature this session.

We need to support a new generation of farmers. House Bill 749 and Senate Bill 681 aim to make this a reality.

Please support these bills in our Legislature because they are working on establishing food security task forces that will analyze our problem and come up with a solution.

The state Department of Agriculture reports that in 2010, the total value of crops grown in Hawaii was $597 million.Of that, $247.2 million was seed (mostly tax-exempt GMO exports) and $69.8 million was sugar. Sugar and GMOs were more than 50 percent of the 2010 crop value.That same year, 8.3 percent of crops grown were edible, yet we import 92 percent of our food. We need to change the way we farm, and we need locally grown food we can afford.

Simon Russell
Legislative chairman, Maui Farmer’s Union United

Freedom allows for disagreement

Cal Thomas once again gets it wrong ("Religious freedom at stake in debate over birth control," Star-Advertiser, Feb 5).

Like many other overreaching conservatives, he confuses his First Amendment constitutional right to religious freedom by expanding it to attempt to force his religious belief on others.

If he and other conservatives feel contraceptives, abortions and birth control measures are against their religious beliefs, then fine, they are perfectly within their constitutional right to believe and practice such.

However, I, my daughter who works for a religious organization of which she is not a practicing member, and every other citizen in this country, also have the religious freedom to worship, or not worship, as we see fit.

Conservatives and religious organizations need to recognize the boundary at which their right to freedom of religion ends and mine and every other American’s begins, and that is where they attempt to force their beliefs on me.

Joseph W. Turban
Kapolei

Turn Pro Bowl into a fun event

Here’s an idea on how to save the Pro Bowl:

This year, Jeff Saturday delighted fans when he crossed the line of scrimmage to snap the ball to his old teammate Peyton Manning. It reminded me of the long-popular Harlem Globetrotters, who were top-notch athletes but whose antics were a huge draw for fans.

Exhibition games like the Pro Bowl have an inherent problem. Especially in football, where a guy can really get hurt, naturally the players are cautious. So why not recognize that. Stop berating the players and obsessing about whether they’re trying, and instead make the Pro Bowl a fun event — a real football game, but full of humor and jokes.

The NFL could bring in comedy writers to script some antics, and everybody could relax and have a good time. This approach would also make the Pro Bowl unique, and would help keep the event in Hawaii, which is universally perceived as a fun place.

Eleanor Boyle
Vancouver, Canada

Provide details on care homes

Kudos to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, the state Senate and long-term-care ombudsman John McDermott for taking up the issue of transparency with care homes. This matter has been closeted for years by industry lobbyists and several legislators whose districts include a large number of care homes.

Hawaii’s unusually high level of reliance on care homes for long-term care makes the case for reform even more imperative.

Why would we have limited information when it comes to placement of a loved one in a LTC facility? This is disrespectful to the thousands of people who will find themselves in the extremely stressful position of having to quickly find a room for someone they care for.

And it is equally unfair to those who will actually end up finishing their lives in these facilities.

Now, it is up to House Speaker Joe Souki to show that the new leadership in the state House stands for a step forward, not backward.

Marc Delorme and Audrey Kubota
Ala Moana

Okino doesn’t speak for most

Peter Junker tells us that he was "taken aback" because columnist David Shapiro said legislators should approve same-sex marriage because the majority of Americans nowbelieve in marriage equality ("Okino had courage to speak his mind," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Feb. 3).

Hetold us that fortunately we have public officials like Gary Okino, who is opposed to marriage equality. Okino, says Junker,has the courage to say whathe believesand he does not kowtow to political pressure. Huh?

Let me refresh the memory of people like Junker. Okino is not a public official, as Junker claims. Okino was voted out of office and replaced by gay Blake Oshiro because his views were out of the mainstream andcompletely at odds with public opinion.

Marriage equality is coming to Hawaii along with all the money that marriage ceremonies will bring to our state. Okino may speak his mind, but he doesn’t speak for the majority of the people of Hawaii.

Walter Mahr
Mililani

Marriage here never defined

Richard Borreca’s column on gay marriage was a good civics lesson ("Legalizing gay marriage could backfire for gays," Star-Advertiser, On Politics, Feb. 1).

He stated that pushing a gay marriage bill might prompt politicians to support a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, which I thought we’d already done in 1998.

I checked, and the amendment’s wording is, "The Legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples."

So, after all the money and debate in 1998, we never actually banned gay marriage, but rather only reserved the right to do so, someday.

Regardless of one’s opinion on the issue, I’d bet most Hawaii citizens are unaware there is still no defined state constitutional position on gay marriage, despite the 1998 amendment. That’s typical political waffling.

Sean Goodspeed
Ala Moana

Infrastructure is a public good

Chip Davey makes a curious assumption about public infrastructure ("Rail will never pay for itself," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Feb. 1).

While rail won’t pay for itself, neither will public school buildings, streets and highways or the Pearl Harbor naval base. That doesn’t mean they’re a waste of money.

Does Davey not understand that infrastructure and public services are essential for our health, safety and a better quality of life? Rail will make it possible for a large number of Oahu residents and visitors to get where they need to go on a quick, reliable, safe transportation system, for an affordable fare.

In addition to savings in money and time, there are other economic benefits from rail for employers and workers, as well as for transportation companies and delivery-dependent businesses that will benefit from less-congested highways.

Rachel Yamaguchi
Kaimuki