Photo illustration was inflammatory

The photo illustration in Wednesday’s paper, implying that vandalism in my district was perpetrated by "anti-GMO" activists, was inflammatory and irresponsible ("Growing concerns," Star-Advertiser, March 12).

There is not a shred of evidence linking these crimes to the GMO (genetically modified organisms) issue.

For all of us involved in the GMO issue, it is clear that an individual farmer is an inappropriate target for GMO anger, and no one advocates vandalism.

The facts of the vandalismpoint to a personal vendetta, since one farmer was targeted twice.

This paper added to the plentiful misinformation on this issue and misled their readers in showing a provocative fictional photo as if it were news.

On behalf of my Puna community and the anti-GMO activists who have committed no such crime, I am disappointed by such irresponsible journalism in a respected paper.

State Sen. Russell Ruderman
D-Puna, Kau, Hawaii island

Activist’ not related to acts of vandalism

What is an activist?

Based on all the sources I checked, the words "activism" and "activist" have neutral or positive connotations.

The Star-Advertiser needs to publish a correction to its March 12 front page headline: "Growing concerns: A Big Island papaya farmer whose lawsuit delayed a law on modified crops says he fears a backlash from activists."

The word should have been "terrorists." If the headline writer was quoting the farmer, then quotation marks should have been used around the word.

So who are those GMO papaya farmers afraid of? Councilwoman Margaret Wille? Molokai activist Walter Ritte? Or maybe those Babes Against Biotech?

If the Star-Advertiser fails to correct this mischaracterization, then I must conclude that it is part of the propaganda effort to smear activists like me who simply want GMO produce labeled and their contamination restricted.

Wynnie Hee
Mililani

Garbage trucks add to rush-hour traffic

After countless times of being stuck behind a garbage truck on my way to work, I thought it time to take action.

Why are they clogging streets, slowing traffic, and adding to the congestion during the busiest time of the day?

As it is, Hawaii has one of the highest rates of wasted time spent on our roadways.

It’s time taxpayers bring back sensible solutions, like adjusting trash pickup to begin at 8 a.m., after schools and most workers are at their job sites. What happened to the 8 a.m.-to-4 p.m. jobs like the rest of us? Are the trash workers still on the "ukupau" system?

Let’s take a look at what modernization has done to this position and change the job description to better reflect the time it does take to pick up trash.

Let’s get these city workers off the streets during the morning commute.

Gail Murakami
McCully-Moiliili

Overreaction to pot ruining kids’ futures

The headline read: "4 Aiea students suspended over drugs" (Star-Advertiser, March 13). The drug was marijuana.

When is this going to stop? When are we going to stop stigmatizing our children when they’re caught smoking pot? This would not have made "news" if it was alcohol or if it was a tobacco product. The police are now involved, charges are pending and this incident has the potential to derail the future success of these kids. This archaic, pompous overreaction needs to stop.

I’m not promoting the use of cannabis. I am promoting the future of our kids. I am promoting eliminating the criminal label associated with people smoking marijuana. I am promoting reducing our prison population of drug users. Our policy makers need to wake up. Attitudes toward marijuana have evolved and changed. While they light up a smoke, pour themselves a stiff one and pop some pharmaceutical drugs to relax, they should think and stop being moral judges.

Chuck Cohen
Kalama Valley

Single payer’ will be all who pay taxes

Single-payer health care is a misnomer.

If such a system were instituted here, there wouldn’t be a single payer. Rather, the 70 percent of the population that pays taxes will pay for everybody’s health insurance.

If it were me paying for your health care, I’dforbid you to smoke, use illegal drugs, drive over the speed limit, drink alcohol, do extreme sports or watch more than two hours of TV nightly, etc.

As an individual, I can’t make you live such a lifestyle, but the government can. For example,New York City bannedtrans fats in restaurants, banned e-cigarettes and tried to ban soda containers over 16 ounces.

Do we really want the government to have that kind of power over how we live our lives?

Mark Felman
Kapolei

Hawaii’s beauty is what lures tourists

Reading a letter to the editor by Ruth Falter brought back many a memory for me of the old International Market Place in Waikiki ("Sadness reigned as trees were cut down," Star-Advertiser, March 13).

The marketplace was very charming back in the late ’50s and early ’60s nothing like what it became and certainly nothing like what it is going to become.

In the same section was a great commentary, "Hawaii has lost its edge as dreamy tropical paradise," by Franco Mancassola.

Mancassola’s contention that visitors to our state "don’t want endless rows of shops; they can buy the same stuff at the many outlets back home at a cheaper price" is right on the money.

We have forgotten that it is the beauty of Hawaii and its people that is its allure to travelers the world over.

Jim Howard
Manoa

Someday soon sky will be hard to see

I first visited New York City about 50 years ago.

I remember having to tilt my head back in order to see the sky between all the high-rises.

Fast forward to the near future in Kakaako. Sadly, I will have to tilt my head back again to see our blue skies.

Sore neck. Auwe!

Mary Chan
Kakaako

Bar wrong to make mere allegations

The Hawaii State Bar Association, having crucified Judge Michael Wilson in a Star Chamber proceeding, now publishes slanderous allegations that no one supports with facts.

I am a member of HSBA because I have to be, but I condemn HSBA’s conduct.

I was honored to serve as counsel to Wilson in 1998 when he served as consumer advocate, and there was never the slightest hint of impropriety.

Why would the Bar make these unsubstantiated allegations?

Perhaps John Grisholm suggested the answer in his 2008 novel, "The Appeal."

There, vested interests sought to defeat a candidate for the Mississippi Supreme Court who might affirm a jury verdict against powerful interests who had damaged the environment.

Perhaps real estate developers and self-interested lawyers oppose the confirmation of Wilson, who has distinguished himself for protecting Hawaii’s environment.

What else could it be?

John P. Dellera
Kahala

FROM THE FORUM

Readers of the Star-Advertiser’s online edition can respond to stories posted there. The following are some of those. Instead of names, pseudonyms are generally used online. They have been removed.

“In Waikiki, panel OKs variance for 350-foot high-rise,” Star-Advertiser, March 10:

>> What about “height limit” is so hard to understand? And if we’re going to vary from it all the time, why have it at all?

>> It’s interesting how buying their way out of following the law is right out in the open, dressed up as “cash contributions for community benefits.”

>> Rules are changed to meet changing conditions. This is nothing out of the ordinary and is common practice everywhere.

———

“Hanohano says she was ‘thrown under the bus’,” Star-Advertiser, March 11:

>> No disrespect was intended toward Rep. Faye Hanohano in the incidents that got her in trouble. It was Hanohano who crossed the line of civil behavior first and severely disrespected others. Hanohano should step down from her position now and save us the drama of a prolonged implosion.

>> Hanohano has never said that the witnesses to her outbursts were not telling the truth. She only implies that somehow she is simply misunderstood. Psychologists would call this “in denial.”

———

“HECO starts trial run of smart-grid technology,” Star-Advertiser, March 11:

>> Being able to monitor our electricity usage will allow us to tailor our usage patterns in order to minimize our electric bills. But how many light bulbs can we turn off or loads of laundry drying in the sun versus using the clothes dryer can we manipulate to effectuate a significant (20 percent) decline in electricity usage? It’s more likely our usage can change about 5 percent in these situations. That’s not enough.

>> Big Brother HECO (Hawaii Electric Co.) can now monitor and deny any and all usage. These “smart meters” are like the NSA.

>> Or perhaps it can prevent house fires by cutting power to a home when there’s a higher than normal draw that won’t trip the circuit breakers of the home.

———

“Growing concerns over GMO registry on Big Island,” Star-Advertiser, March 12:

>> As a farmer, I need to know what my neighbor farmer is doing, from pesticides to waste disposal to what kind of crops they grow. Heck, I need to know his cows from mine as we depend on each other. That’s an unwritten code of farmers since the beginning of agriculture. It certainly ended with GMO corporate farming. 

>> Eco-terrorists probably don’t know this, but their acts of vandalism threaten the entire farming community and will eventually drive long-time farms out of business and threaten Hawaii’s ability to achieve self-sustainability in the process. Pretty soon we’ll be relying totally on mainland produce and the volatile state of that supply.

>> These anti-GMO activists are militant wackos.

>> These GMO zealots are militant wackos.

———

“Permit opens parking lot for Hawaii Kai carnival,” Star-Advertiser, March 12:

>> That has got to be the worst location in Hawaii Kai to have a carnival. It’s about 10 yards from a major highway and seems like a bad choice.

>> Well, they’ll find out once and for all if this is a good idea or not. If it turns into a disaster, then stuff such as this will never be held there again.

>> Welcome to the world that those in the Makiki, Manoa, Punahou areas have lived with for decades.

———

“Chang out as head of state Republicans; Saiki may get post,” Star-Advertiser, March 13:

>> That Republicans have a difficult time in Hawaii is no surprise. Seems to me there are four primary reasons for this: the political apathy of the public (we’re dead last in terms of voter turnout); high union influence (we’re behind only New York in percentage of union workers); island economics, which limits the opportunity for entrepreneurship; and the plantation-era history prior to WWII, which still tars Republicans. This is a real shame because if a state ever needed an opposition party, it’s Hawaii. 

>> Republicans don’t understand what conservatism means. When I was growing up, Republicans stood for fiscal responsibility, limited government and individual responsibility to run their own lives. Unfortunately, Republicans today are not fiscally responsible, have given us huge intrusive government, and believe in the police state. No thanks.

>> The Hawaii Republican Party needs someone who can devote as much time as possible to growing the party.

>> And how old is Pat Saiki?

>> Age is really not that important. It is whether she has any ideas and is able to lead a party that is on a path to oblivion.