JPAC should focus on identifying unknowns

I am a Korean War veteran.

The Star-Advertiser asserts that the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) must be stopped from trying to identify missing American servicemen buried as unknowns in U.S. national cemeteries ("JPAC mission needs reform," Our View, Aug. 17).

If implemented, this proposal would be a monstrous betrayal of the unknown servicemen, their comrades in arms and, most important, their families.

Contrary to your editorial, the unknowns are not resting in peace. The unknowns will rest in peace only after they have been identified and sent home to their families.

All of the unknowns buried in U.S. national cemeteries were recovered from overseas battlefields. Each unknown that is identified is sent home to a grateful family, which means there is one less missing person to search for in the field.

Your paper’s idea to ignore the missing we have already recovered in order to make more overseas recoveries is fundamentally unfair to those who recovered long ago who have been waiting to be identified for decades.

The families want all of the unknowns, regardless of where they are found, to be identified and then sent home.

Frank Metersky
New York, N. Y.

Local leaders lagging in opposing Jones Act

Mahalo to Keli‘i Akina for his advocacy of repealing the Jones Act, which has a stranglehold on Hawaii’s economy and growth ("Nonpartisan effort needed to change harmful Jones Act," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Aug. 21).

This act requires that only U.S.-built ships carry goods shipped between U.S. ports, thus eliminating free-market competition from foreign-built ships to carry those same goods at lower costs.

The impact of the Jones Act on residents increases the cost of living by one third.

Among other goods, we have among the highest gas, utility, rent, home and food prices in the nation.This high cost of living obviously affects the quality of life for our residents and visitors alike. It limits educational, economic and business opportunities.

It is time for our government leaders to awake and recognize the huge economic drag the Jones Act imposes on our quality of life and future progress.

They should take action to abolish this penalty from all who call Hawaii home.

John Nakao
Aiea

U.N. can help with Hawaiian sovereignty

The reason there is no clarity on Hawaiian issues is because the state and federal politicians in Hawaii continually try to usurp the inherit sovereign rights of Native Hawaiians.

Native Hawaiians are not American Indians. As members of a unique culture on this planet who once governed themselves, Hawaiians have the right to claim and determine their own destiny.

Restoration of a Native Hawaiian government should be overseen by the United Nations. There are international rules and regulations that govern the process of restoration andself-determinationof sovereign cultures.

Until a fair and unbiased process takes place among the Native Hawaiian people to educate themselves on their choices of government under international law, then no government or state entity can take their inherit sovereignty away from them.

The state Office of Hawaiian Affairs cannot legally waive or extinguish Hawaiians’ inherit sover- eignty, whether they sign up for Kanaiolowalu or not.

John Kirkley
Waimanalo

More can be done to replenish fish stock

It has been estimated that the population of reef and shore fishes in theHawaiian islands is one-fourth what it was 100 years ago.

Variousthings have been tried to maintain fish stocks, such as quotas, sizelimits, gear restrictions and temporary closure of fishing areas.

None work in the long term.

The proven answer is to establish asystem of permanent marine-protected areas for a minimum of 20 percent of thecoastline.Fishes then grow to full reproductive maturity in thereserves (one female 24-inch red snapper produced the same number ofeggs as 212 females 16.5 inches long).

The larval fishes from theclosed areas recruit to the remaining 80 percent of our coast where we canfish.

However, we should also ban gill nets, spearfishing with scuba,and the sale of fish that have been speared.

In addition, buildartificial reefs in the vast open areas of sand and coral rubble.

John E. Randall
Senior ichthyologist emeritus, Bishop Museum

DLNR should have managed shark hunts

State Department of Land and Natural Resources Director William Aila reported last week that due to the recent rash of shark attacks and sightings on Maui, the state will conduct a two-year study of the sharks in the area.

For what? This study will not stop these attacks that are occurring now or during the next two years.

The elements that exist that are causing these attacks will not go away — the murky water, many beachgoers, the presence of protected turtles, which are a shark food source, and an overpopulation of aggressive tiger sharks.

DLNR should have a campaign of controlled shark hunts. If you have fewer sharks, there will be fewer attacks. Maybe the reality TV show "Shark Hunt" can do the job for us.

As a Hawaiian, I do respect the cultural aspects of protecting the shark. However, protecting life and limb far outweighs the cultural aspects of preservation.

Steven Burke
Aiea

Kolea evoke thoughts of Advertiser writer

Have you noticed that the kolea are back from Alaska, having returned to their favorite spots of grass?

Their voices at sunset tell us first of their return.

But there’s no article from Hono-lulu Advertiser columnist Bob Krauss heralding this annual event, this indicator of the change of seasons. I miss Bob Krauss at this time every year.

Welcome home, kolea.And I hope Bob is watching the birds from heaven.We mortals miss him.

Becky Hommon
Iroquois Point

Global warming not to be taken lightly

Alan Lloyd fails to understand the impact of global warming ("Earth better warm than freezing cold," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 20).

Warmer oceans will melt the polar ice caps, raising the sea levels. The polar ice acts like a mirror, reflecting a lot of the solar heat. Without it, the ocean’s temperature rises more, causing a cascading effect.

The loss of the polar ice caps will affect the ocean currents, altering the directions and raising the temperatures even more, with stronger and more frequent hurricanes.It has been affecting the weather pattern around the world, causing devastating droughts and massive flooding in other areas.

Hawaii now has less tradewind weather and a significant reduction in precipitation. We will have a higher possibility of hurricane strikes, more droughts and loss of land as the sea levels gradually rise (which will affect a lot of the beach resorts — goodbye, Waikiki).

If Lloyd is ambivalent about global warming, he should do some serious studying on the subject.

Jon Shimamoto
Mililani

FROM THE FORUM

"Harbor plan leaves LNG out of mix at Kalaeloa," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 19:

» America would soon be energy self-sufficient if the political, not scientific, environmental, or economic, barriers to our own virtually unlimited natural gas reserves were removed. And, best of all, the price of electricity in Hawaii would plummet.

» We are at a crossroads. We have the supply but no infrastructure to make it practical. Foresight and planning is needed today for a feasible future.

"Bonsai haven," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 19:

» Watch those plants. There were some thefts recently.

» Yes, last week, but thankfully some were returned for reasons of unmarketability, thanks to the news coverage and expensive nature of the items stolen.

"Kaiser OKs 24-hour visitation," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 20:

» Been there, done that. Sometimes it does help and sometimes you just wish they’d go home and leave you alone. It can be very tiring/draining to have someone there continuously.

» What about the needs of roommates who may just want peace and quiet? Are they to be subjected to noise and talking 24/7? This is counter-intuitive to the idea of rest and recuperation.

» What about the patient roommate who snores all night, sets off the alarm to his IV drip or oxygen-thingy all night cause he can’t sleep still and coughs all night? That was my last experience after surgery.

» This could probably work well if the patient is in a private room, but it would be disturbing to the roommate if there are visitors after hours. Especially in Hawaii, where there is lots of extended family who could show up at 11 p.m., causing noise. The nurses would then have to be enforcers, telling visitors to be quiet due to complaints.They already have enough to do.

"Rash of attacks prompts study of Maui waters," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 21:

» Tracking and identifying tiger sharks and determining the territories they patrol will be a first good step. We may then be able to determine if certain tiger sharks have developed a taste for humans. If that does indeed prove out, the interesting question will then be if the authorities would ever let this be known to the general public. The politically correct mantra right now is that humans are intruding into the shark’s territory, so it is our fault.

» The reason that the shark attacks have dramatically increased off of Maui this year is because our world is ending and this type of thing is increasing. Study your Bible as never before, not the waters off of Maui.

» Findings: There’s plenty sharks over there. Recommendation: Swim at your own risk. Now where is my check?

"Condo towers planned for Kapolei," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 21:

» Build it and hopefully the "second city" will live up to its name.

» Excellent. Much higher density like this project is needed there. End the sprawl of single-family houses and start condos, townhouses and other medium- to high-density development.

» What is "workforce housing"? If they have 1,000 units, does that mean a majority of the residents will have jobs in the area? There are no jobs in the "second city." Why do you think the H-1 is clogged during the morning and afternoon rush hours? Because most of the jobs are in town, not Kapolei.

"Plan would raise cost to drivers," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 22:

» Modernizing and streamlining a system is supposed to make it cheaper. Leave it to inept Honolulu to find a way to make modernization cost more.

» I’m not so worried about paying a few dollars more; no skin off my back, but for the businesses who have to pay for Internet it’s a bit costly. What kind of plan they are talking about that is $170 a month? Major ripoff.

"Pawn database," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 22:

» The requirements under these bills are onerous. No one should have to have their picture taken and submit all of that private information just to sell some property.

» It’s great that the Honolulu police are looking at this issue in a new light. I only wish that the City Council would add the photo component of the property and allow victims to search a site for their stuff. Because only the victim has the real motivation to recover their hard earned property.

» Excuse me if I don’t feel sorry for these pawn shop dealers. I support any regulations that help the victims of robbery or burglary in this industry.