Letters to the Editor

Kakaako homeless getting a free pass

In Kakaako, the real problem of homelessness is the absence of enforcement of the rule of law as it applies to city ordinances prohibiting storage of personal property on public space for over 24 hours.

Mass media sensationally exposed removal of property on city sidewalks and parks from Moiliili and South Beretania after establishing the 24-hour law, but the same violations are ignored in Kakaako.

Mother Waldron Park has been used to store property for months; Ahui Street to Kakaako Park and Ohe Street to the Children’s Discovery Center are impassable due to tents permanently established on the sidewalks. This makes it impossible for a pedestrians and/or strollers or wheelchairs to access these locations without using the street.

Kakaako is as much a family community as any other and such unsafe conditions and unenforced laws have no place in any Hawaii community.

Mary Hardy
Kakaako

Give special heed to needs of Waikiki

Waikiki needs reassessment by the Legislature.

If tourism is the economic engine for the state, Waikiki is its heart. It should receive recognition as the economic center for the state, with laws governing all aspects of its existence, from moving out the homeless to forcing graffiti control and cleanliness.

When people write to the editor about their Hawaiian vacation, they should be able to say pleasant things about their Waikiki experience.

The area is undergoing a renaissance. Even the run-down blocks of Kuhio are getting two new world-class, high-end condominium towers that will revitalize that street, along with the redevelopment of Waikiki Trade Center and all the activity scheduled for Kalakaua Avenue. The tax base will broaden.

Give the area a special designation that will allow laws to be enacted that have teeth in them so they can’t be challenged. Make it a world-class destination.

Gordon Wolfe
Waikiki

Kudos to governor for preschool stance

We applaud and are encouraged by Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s comments in his State of the State address in support of a public and community partnership to extend preschool to Hawaii’s 4-year-olds. It is a fiscally prudent and educationally sound decision to move forward in this way.

Our local nonprofit preschools have been delivering high-quality preschool to Hawaii’s keiki for decades, so a partnership with the state Department of Education to get the funding and services to Hawaii’s 4-year-olds and their families sooner rather than later just makes sense.

There is no greater investment we can make than to ensure that Hawaii’s children are healthy and ready to succeed in school, as it will have the greatest return for our state. The facts are clear — the longer we wait to invest, the more Hawaii stands to lose.

Deborah Zysman
Executive director, Good Beginnings Alliance

Letter contained unjustified attack

I am responding to the unjustified attack by Kahala Motoyama accusing attorneys in the Department of the Attorney General of "lying" and "providing false evidence" ("Judge Kobayashi unfairly dissed," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 22).

Motoyama’s comments were unrelated to the news story she was ostensibly commenting upon, a case involving a judge and the federal government, where the state was not even a party. Motoyama has filed two lawsuits against the state contesting her termination as a state employee and claiming that her civil rights had been violated.

Both lawsuits were summarily dismissed. Neither of the judges involved questioned the professionalism or conduct of the dedicated and hardworking state attorneys. Publication of unverified personal attacks violates the newspaper’s stated policy and debases our civil discourse.

David M. Louie
Hawaii attorney general

Apply all of surplus toward pensions

Gov. Neil Abercrombie proudly takes credit for putting Hawaii’s finances on "solid ground" with a budget surplus of more than $800 million, in spite of facing unfunded pension liabilities of some $25-$30 billion.

So now he wants to spend the surplus, cut some taxes and start new programs.

How much additional pension debt have the larger-than-private-sector teacher and police pay raises added to our children’s tax burden? Why do our politicians not put all surplus toward paying down the debt?

We are more accurately standing on shifting sand than solid ground. And who knows when high surf will sweep our economy off its feet again?

Mark Torreano
Waikiki

Hawaii can’t afford more UH spending

Here we go again. First it was the bottomless pit that is the pharmacy school, and now Senate Bill 2011 proposes opening a school of physical, occupational and speech therapy at the University of Hawaii.

We are a small state. We do not have the money to provide every kind of postgraduate or doctoral education, nor should we.

Spend the money on providing full scholarships for our brightest young people to go to the best colleges on the mainland, learn from the innovators in their fields and require that they return home to work for five years to repay their loans.

They will bring back the newest developments and advances in their professions to revitalize and modernize Hawaii.

Ann M. Low
Kaimuki