Kaiser at Pensacola serves patients well

Kaiser Permanente should keep its urgent care center at Pensacola Street open. It provides essential services that could never be replaced by any appointment system.

For instance:

» It provides prompt service in handling urgent patient needs;

» It provides more needed attention for urgent care than that required for routine scheduled appointments; and

» It helps screen and facilitate cases for proper treatment at Moanalua.

It’s a lot more accessible than Moanalua for patients working or living in the area. It also helps maintain a high level of health care. This is what a health-caring nonprofit should be striving for, rather than just cutting costs.

In addition to the effect on patients’ finances and health, Kaiser should consider the precious time and personal expenses of members if the decision was made to close the urgent care center. Keeping it at Pensacola is a no-brainer.

Ted Soong
Honolulu

State trust fund will burden taxpayers

One can only hope that Colbert Matsumoto’s clarion article warning of the collapse of the Employer-Union Trust Fund will grab the attention of our elected officials ("With more retirees, EUTF becomes a ticking time bomb," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Feb. 19).

Matsumoto points out that this fund — administering retirement health benefits for public workers — is more than $18 billion underfunded. We can only ask how is it possible that this could happen?

One of the reasons is the egregiously generous health packages given to retired public workers in this state by our very generous government negotiators: virtually free health care for retired employees and their dependents for as long as they live. This is what is breaking the camel’s back. All this government largess is going on while the rest of us retired persons in the private sector see our health care premiums go up every year, along with increases in co-pays.

Matsumoto does suggest "benefit containment" must be addressed, along with that new phrase for tax increases: "revenue enhancements."

Things never seem to change. Government gets us into these messes, and it’s always the taxpayer who has to pick up the tab.

Art Todd
Kaneohe

Jay made right call on UH team names

In response to Jim Gardner’s letter ("Team name should represent Hawaii," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 19): With all due respect to former Rainbow teams and as a former dedicated die-hard UH Rainbow alumnus, I give credit to our new athletic director, Ben Jay, for tackling a tough, lingering problem by naming the men’s teams Warriors and the wahine teams Rainbow Wahine.

In Hawaii’s past, there were men called warriors, making the word warriors synonymous with Hawaii. Calling men’s teams Warriors makes it a little easier to recruit good, tough athletes to play for Hawaii. June Jones recognized this by using the "Warrior" title. If Rainbows are almost completely unique to Hawaii, as stated in the letter, the same could be said about warriors.

Go, Warriors!

Gene Freitas
Kailua

Courts have become threat to our liberty

In Roger Christie’s case, an American exercising his constitutional rights and privileges as an American is what our court system should be focused upon — not enforcing an ineffective and damaging law founded on the concept of prohibition ("Trial for Big Island advocate delayed," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 24).

This course has proven unworthy of the ideals of justice and has victimized countless individuals merely pursuing their rights to live freely. Increasingly, our court system is employing oppressive and alarming procedures paralleling a time that it’s hoped we’ve lived beyond.

Imprisoning marijuana advocate Christie for an activity that his community voted to allow and refusing him bail as a considered threat to that same community is an egregious example of that process.

It’s time to speak out and stop this, lest we all are enveloped in this dark cloud drifting in from out of the past. It’s the unaccountable court that has become the real threat to our community.

Kelly Greenwell
Kailua-Kona

Direct tuition aid to Native Hawaiians

I do not understand why illegal aliens should be given in-state tuition at the University of Hawaii — or any schools in Hawaii.

We have many worthy Hawaiian students who cannot afford tuition, who could benefit from out-of-state people paying the out-of-state tuition.

Our Hawaiian-born should come first. They are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Hawaiians who worked, paid taxes and contributed to our state for generations. Use the out-of-state money to give more scholarships to native-born Hawaiians.

Sandra Gray
Hawi, Hawaii island

Inouye’s name often mispronounced

Here’s something to consider before renaming Honolulu Airport after our late senator, Daniel Inouye: Many people can’t pronounce his name correctly.

I have heard versions that sound like "Annoy ya," "I know ya," "In a way," "Ennui," and "Wimoweh." Visitors from Japan wouldn’t have a problem, but others would. Many locals can’t even get it right.

John Wythe White
Haleiwa