Nene on Oahu signal need for protection

The news of Oahu’s first nene geese since the 1700s, described as a result of natural migration and nesting, signifies an ecological paradigm shift that highlights the need to mitigate development on the North Shore.

It is not only the endangered nene, but also the Hawaiian owl, Hawaiian monk seal, green sea turtles, humpback whales, migratory birds and rare coastal plants that seek refuge in the last vestiges of green space and habitat on a rapidly urbanizing Oahu.

This is hard biological evidence for the state’s bipartisan and worthy effort to acquire Turtle Bay, as well as an impetus for political leaders to provide protections for threatened areas at Kawailoa and Malaekahana. A bio-diverse Oahu will ensure that locals and visitors alike will continue to see the island as an ideal destination for eco-tourism.

Matthew Cabamongan
Waialua

Long-term care issue ignored for too long

The Affordable Care Act rightly promises Americans that health insurance companies can no longer deny insurance to those with pre-existing conditions.

We have now learned that this does not apply to those seeking long-term-care health insurance, which still cannot be obtained at any price for those with pre-existing conditions.

Because long-term care is one of our major caregiving health problems, in terms of expense and compassion, the burdens of same remain with government Medicaid for those eligible, and to individual home caregivers for those not eligible for Medicaid.

Many of these home caregivers are elderly and not able to adequately care for others without endangering their own health, both physically and mentally. This situation often causes a further financial burden on Medicare and other health insurance, raising health care costs for everyone.

I believe we, as a compassionate society, have ignored these long-term care problems for far too long.

Bill Russell
Mililani

Make transition from hospital to home easy

I am disappointed that the Legislature transformed the caregivers bill, Senate Bill 2264, SD1, into a resolution that will call for more studies and review.

More can and should be done to assist with the transition from hospital to home and community-based care. Families face the monumental burden of navigating long-term-care financing options, coordinating care, managing numerous medications and learning new medical skills quickly, while assuring that mom remains at home safely.

Hospitals have a community responsibility to assure that transition planning and education occur with the primary caregiver if available.

This is not a mainland-versus-Hawaii issue or hospital-versus-a-community issue. This is something that we are all affected by and one that will require our best efforts for the sake of our kupuna, our ohana and our Hawaii.

Cullen T. Hayashida
Kupuna Monitoring Systems Aiea

Use Natatorium for sand soccer games

Every year we have been putting on the Hawaii Sand Soccer Championship. This year we will not.

We live on an island surrounded by sand and water, yet we do not have a venue to showcase our volleyball and soccer stars.

Converting the Natatorium into a sand stadium could be the solution. In its heyday, the Natatorium hosted diving and swim meets. This is a sport complex and should remain one. It would still be a memorial to our war heroes by having a facility honoring them; it would no longer be a condemned, dangerous derelict. Let’s do something already.

Ronald Paul Tario
Nuuanu

Maybe trademark Hawaiian words?

I recently enjoyed Hulihe‘e Palace in Kailua-Kona for its educational and entertaining features.

Outside, Hawaiian singers and dancers shared part of their culture. Inside, historical photographs illustrated the confluence of Hawaiians and whites.

I felt sad realizing how much of Hawaiian culture was undermined and how difficult it was, and still is, for Native Hawaiians to maintain their heritage. So when reading about the Hula app that helps people "get lei’d," I found it distressing ("‘Hula’ name of STD app is insensitive, critics say," Star-Advertiser, March 26).

Dropping the tag line is positive but the term hula will remain as a term to achieve the same ends. How insensitive. If companies like Coca-Cola or organizations like the Olympics can protect words with copyright law, then why not the words of the Hawaiian culture?

Wayne Peterson
Victoria, Canada

Stop demonizing win-win e-cigarettes

It is high time that this maniacal histrionic response to e-cigarettes be re-thought.

It is simply a knee-jerk reaction by the anti-smoking crowd, who obviously do not know that it is not the addiction to nicotine that kills smokers early; it is the inhaling of highly chemically enhanced carcinogenic smoke into the lungs — the "delivery system."

There should be no need to explain thecomparatively mild effects of inhaling water vapor infused with nicotine (this, by the way, is available in the desired amounts to the customer, including zero nicotine), and the effects of super-heated smoke laced with not only the natural nicotine found in tobacco but also with countless other "additives" to further increase addiction.

This is a no-brainer but alas, it is clear that those insisting that e-cigarettes are as bad as regular cigarettes lack common sense, even in a win-win situation.

Michael Gilleland
Kailua

Sometimes none is better than some

I was disheartened to read Cal Thomas’ support of the movie "Noah" ("Movies about Christianity better than no such movies," Star-Advertiser, April 1).

Like Thomas, I am an evangelical Christian, but I disagree that Christians should be happy that Hollywood is producing movies about the Bible and that we should be supporting such films even though they don’t always "get it right." I would rather have no movie than be grateful that we "are getting something."

In my opinion, the Noah movie is not only unbiblical, it is anti-biblical. It so grossly twists the character of Noah that he is anything but a righteous man of faith. The movie’s storyline perverts the nature of God and distorts the message and meaning of the original story.

If the film’s director, Darren Aronofsky, a self-professed atheist, can get it right when he called his Noah movie "the least biblical film ever made," then why can’t Christians call it for what it truly is?

Suzie Lum
Hawaii Loa Ridge

Government shirking responsibility to vets

How many more Fort Hoods will it take before the U.S. government assumes the responsibilityof caring for the veterans it so cavalierly sends into battle?

When will the American people begin to recognize a problem that has been swept under the rug, only to be addressed when there is a tragedy? This is not a flash-in-the-pan issue. It is chronic and should be taken care of by the people who started the problem to begin with.

We shouldn’t need a Wounded Warriors organization, begging for donations from the public, when this is a government responsibility.

Vic Craft
Kapolei

FROM THE FORUM @ STARADVERTISER.COM

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.

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"Lex Brodie’s gets out of gas," Star-Advertiser, March 31:

» "Thank you, very much" for all the years of quality gas sales and related services. I understand the economics of selling gas today. It is time to go. I know if Lex was still with us today he would take a well-deserved bow.

» Too bad about the gas. No one’s better than them when it comes to tire service, though.

» I’ll miss the friendly attendants who filled my gas tank. Thank you, very much, to all those fine men and women.

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"Community groups dismayed by befouling of site’s monuments," Star-Advertiser, March 31:

» I say make it illegal to sleep on the streets, but at the same time offer facilities where the homeless can find shelter. Either that or they get arrested and go to jail. Whatever. As long as they’re not on the streets.

» I understand the homeless don’t always have bathrooms to use, but deliberately targeting statues and monuments is just an insult from the homeless to the rest of us. The city needs to set up homeless shelters someplace cheap on the mainland, like Arizona or Nevada, and send the homeless there for "rehab."

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"Innovator’s designs brought surfing, sailing to masses," Star-Advertiser, April 1:

» My first board was a Hobie. Loved that board.

» What a lucky genius. Right place at right time. Just when the war babies were growing up looking for sports to direct their energies toward. Invention of styrofoam. Rise of surfer lifestyle, Surfer Magazine started. Surfing movies spread the craze. Gidget and Annette surfing movies, Beach Boys music, bikinis and canvas board shorts, Rick Griffin comics, "Endless Summer" movie and music, beach parties, and so on. What a fantastic place California was to grow up. Greg Noll and many other surfboard manufacturers did the same thing but not on a mass scale as Mr. (Hobie) Alter.

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"Health law enrollment falls short of 8,000," Star-Advertiser, April 1:

» So the Connector points the finger at the Department of Human Services and DHS throws it right back at the Connector. The applicants? They’re the ones left out in the cold. They had years to work out the exchange of information between the two systems. Yeah, let’s throw $15 million a year at this pathetic incompetence.

» This may not have been the smoothest start (for the Affordable Care Act), but it is working and it will continue to work. It is not as good as a single-payer system, which most industrialized countries have, but it is an improvement over what we had.

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"Court OKs migrant health care cuts," Star-Advertiser, April 2:

» The U.S. needs to get rid of COFA (the Compact of Free Association) entirely. I’m not a Republican by any means, but limiting benefits after federal funding dried up was a smart move by Gov. Linda Lingle. Hopefully Gov. Neil Abercrombie will do the same, but I doubt it.

» We cannot afford to pay for the whole world’s medical needs. People who come here, having never paid a dime in taxes, should not be eligible to receive benefits.

» Federal mandates must be fully funded by the federal government and not have the states responsible for the fiscal and political promises of past and future executive branch agreements.

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"Micronesians’ lawyer to fight ruling," Star-Advertiser, April 3:

» I don’t think we should be carrying more than our fair share for something that the federal government did to Micronesia.

» Let’s nuke ’em! Oh, yeah, we already did that. And they didn’t even thank us.

» What’s messed up about this whole issue is this could have been resolved decades ago by the U.S. building modern medical facilities and infrastructure in Micronesia. It would have been a heck of a lot cheaper than having them come to the U.S. for medical care.

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"Ducks spoil pool for swimmers in Kailua," Star-Advertiser, April 3:

» People are more important than ducks.

» Looks like it’s time to open up duck hunting!

» Kailua’s NIMBY attitude can’t keep the ducks out?

» Having a trained, barking dog or two inside the fence when the pool is closed will solve the problem. Sadly it will take the governor to appoint a blue-ribbon panel, set up an agenda, find a place to meet, and set up the rules and first meeting date. Figure March 2016 before they get started.