OHA purchase a boondoggle

It never made sense for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to spend $21.37 million to purchase the 80-year-old Gentry Pacific Design Center and spend an additional $6.76 million to convert parts of it into temporary office spaces to house OHA’s headquarters.

Add to that the facts that: 1) OHA can’t make any more investments using our Hawaii Direct Investment Policy unless we can renegotiate our loan terms with Bank of Hawaii and complete the relocation of our offices to Gentry; and 2) OHA has until February 2014, when our current lease expires, to move into a "design center" that wasn’t meant to be an office building. What a complete boondoggle!

We could have saved ourselves all of this aggravation and moved our headquarters to the AAFES building that OHA now owns in Kakaako instead of spending money trying to make an old building fit OHA’s needs.

Rowena M. Akana
Trustee, Office of Hawaiian Affairs

Memorial Day just fine as it is

I respect U.S. Rep. Col-leen Hanabusa, but the idea of moving Memorial Day to May 30 to encourage people to focus on honoring our war dead instead of enjoying a three-day weekend seems to ignore the nature of human beings and the calendar.

More than half of the time (four years out of seven), it would still be a three-day weekend. If May 30 falls on Friday or Saturday, people would get Friday off and if it falls on Sunday or Monday, they would get Monday off.

In either case, those who make an effort now to remember the sacrifice of our veterans will still do so and those who don’t still won’t.

Ronald A. Lynch
Moiliili

Kailua residents lack any control

Good luck, Kailua.

The Kailua Neighborhood Board and various Kailua community groups have made their vision for Koolaupoko well known to our City Council for generations. There is general agreement against growth here. Growth is being directed toward Ewa and Central Oahu, not into Koolaupoko (Kailua, Kaneohe and Waimanalo).

The city Koolaupoko Sustainable Community Plan calls for a decease in population here by 9,000 by 2035. Our Windward families are not to grow and prosper. This also includes the landowner Castle family.

The 2010 U.S. Census shows the Kailua population decreasing. Ordinances and restrictive zoning dating back to 1937 frustrate jobs and obstruct business in Kailua. This is ongoing.

There is no local government in Kailua, mayor or council. We don’t have the ability to manage any of this.

You are correct ("Kailua land offering bears close watching," Star-Advertiser, Our View, May 30). New owners will not be held to a master plan they did not devise.

As for the rest of us, we can only vote with our feet.

Will Page
Kailua

Our soldiers need Strykers

Cynthia Oi’s column, "Strykers not such a good fit for isles" (Star-Advertiser, Under the Sun, May 30), begs a response from Hawaii’s Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Indicating Strykers are not needed, that damage caused frustrates environmental and cultural advocates, reflects a lack of knowledge about Strykers.

The combat wheeled armored vehicle allows our soldiers to attack and secure an objective quickly without, or with minimum, casualties. It does it by firing a mounted 50-caliber machine gun (remotely from inside) while moving up to the objective, then dismounting a squad of infantrymen to quickly secure it.

The training areas, used since WWII, are on military property where animals and plants still thrive.

Determining cultural significance is described as a "subjective" process, according to Bishop Museum and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. Regarding heiaus, they were ordered demolished by Kamehameha II.

Our soldiers need Strykers to do their job in protecting our freedoms, so let’s support them.

Bill Punini Prescott
Nanakuli / Hawaii’s Veterans of Foreign Wars spokesman

Kayaker vendors abusing Kailua

The permitting process for kayaker access to Kealakekua Bay is good.

A similar form of socially responsible action is needed at Kailua Beach Park and Lanikai Beach on Oahu, where commercial activity still operates daily, despite a recent law.

The long-term consequence is a de facto redefinition of Kailua Bay and Lanikai as commercial water parks, open to any vendor, permitted or not.

The effect of the vendors’ Web advertising is a flood of visitor traffic — well beyond capacity, and to the detriment of local quality of life.

By their actions, the commercial vendors have misappropriated public land.

Imagine instead if vendor Web advertising advised the illegality of commercial activity or showed lack of capacity and facilities, or promoted the social motivation behind the parks’ creation as noncommercial public land in perpetuity.

What if the commercial operators adopted JFK’s statesmanship by positing: Ask not what Kailua Beach Park/Lanikai can do for you but, instead, what you can do for the aina.

Ted Ralston
Waimanalo

NBC convenient for all residents

As a former resident of Honolulu, I agree that the Neil Blaisdell Center should stay as it is.

Growing up in Moiliili and going to school in town, I observed that the center served the community for many events. If the city demolishes it, where would Kamehameha Schools hold its annual song contest? Where would the annual crafts show be held, along with other activities?

The Waikiki convention center does not have sufficient parking, as the NBC offers, although it has ample space for future events.

Let’s just keep the NBC as it is. It is a convenient location for all residents to attend local events.

Clayton Lum
Coon Rapids, Minn.

Store owners being unethical

Regarding your story, "Store claims poverty after location switch" (Star-Advertiser, June 2): Whichever way the bankruptcy judge rules, this is no way people should do business in Hawaii, or anywhere else. Simply put, it is unethical!

Shame on all three co-owners: Joseph Fiorilli, Scott Nemeroff and Monique Dehne. Pay up and settle your debts!

How can you continue to make profits at someone else’s expense? I will never shop at your establishment.

Jean Azama
Makiki

Mahalo to Jay for good move

Kudos and mahalo to University of Hawaii Athletic Director Ben Jay for ending the UH nickname fiasco by bringing back the Rainbow name for UH sports. Great!

As an avid fan and longtime loyal supporter of UH athletics, I applaud his decision to restore our true identity.

Now, let’s move on with the job of winning.

Mel Rodenhurst
Kailua