UH administration needs more openness

As a Hawaiian graduate student, daughter of University of Hawaii-Manoa alumni, and former UH employee, I am deeply concerned by Chancellor Tom Apple’s dismissal.

Especially disturbing is the UH administration’s blatant disregard for student, faculty, staff and public interests and stunning lack of transparency in recent campus decisions.

Concerned individuals on campus now obtain UH news from outside media. President David Lassner’s silences speak volumes.Is this a healthy environment for education and research?

Not everyone is comfortable speaking out, yet we can all demand transparency; our silence signals acceptance of a broken system.

I urge students, faculty, staff and alumni to unite and demand that UH leadership openly address its recent failures, beginning witha 360 evaluation ofLassner, Apple and Cancer Center Director Michele Carbone.

With collective vision and courage, we must break this cycle of poor leadership.Much work lies ahead, but together we can make positive and lasting change.

Aurora Kagawa-Viviani
Makiki

Next UH president should be a puppet

The job posting or requirement for the next University of Hawaii president should require the candidate to be a puppet.

Students protesting Tom Apple’s firing will learn an important lesson in life:Although you may be good at the job you do, you may be ousted because someone higher up may not like you. Perhaps UH should change its acronym to UGHH.

Matt Hee
Kakaako

Put pain on Putin for downing of airliner

The investigation into who shot down flight MH 17 has been stymied. But it is clear that Russia or its proxies in Ukraine fired the missile.

Weak sanctions have been applied by the U.S. and European Union against three Russian banks and one arms company. While some Russian oligarchs might feel the pain of these sanctions, it is unlikely these patrons of Russian President Vladimir Putin will apply the pressure necessary to get Russia to stop its recklessness in Ukraine. Sanctions with clear linkage must be felt by large numbers of Russians in order to be effective.

The U.S. and EU should completely cut off all commercial passenger flights to Russia and ban Russian flights from operating in our regions. This sanction would freeze tourism. A flight ban would affect Russian restaurants, taxis, hotels, tour operators, food suppliers, airport services and much more. Unemployment in these segments would pressure Putin to change course and take responsibility for the murder of 298 passengers.

Ed McCauley
Kalama Valley

Deny federal funds to corporate deserters

There are many large companies with billions of dollars in profit that have moved or are going to move their headquarters to Europe or other foreign countries in order to eliminate their U.S. income tax obligations.

Washington must pass a bill stipulating that companies that do not have their headquarters in the U.S. will not be eligible to collect Medicare or Medicaid dollars. For Walgreen’s, which recently threatened to move its headquarters to Europe, nearly $18 billion of its sales last year came from Medicare and Medicaid.

Everyone needs to remember that all these tax dollars these companies eliminate must be made up by the American taxpayer.

James Robinson
Aiea

BOE making progress on ‘leave without pay’

I’ve been a staunch critic of the state Board of Education and yes, I think it needs to improve Department of Education and BOE transparency, accountability and community involvement.

Nonetheless, I was pleased with the outcomes of the Aug. 5 audit committee meeting. When the minutes are posted next month, you can read BOE members’ poignant statements about reasonable deadlines for completing DOE projects, serious oversight of gasoline expenditures for DOE maintenance equipment and a 30-day deadline for the internal auditor to report on DLWP (Department Leave With Pay) expenditures incurred by DOE investigations.

When an employee is placed on DLWP, the DOE general fund pays for the replacement personnel, plus Human Resources continues to pay the employee’s salary.

Investigations can last for months for no reason other than incompetence or administrative bullying. After Tuesday’s meeting, I am thrilled the board is finally addressing this problem, and hopeful that the future will bring positive changes.

Vanessa Ott
Naalehu, Hawaii island

Immigrants welcome, but balance required

We should all remember that all our families ultimately came from somewhere else. We all have that in common.

New immigrants provide fresh ideas and experiences to us in the U.S. that enrich us economically and culturally. Closing our borders is not in our best interest.

But the U.S. of today is very different than that of even 50 years ago. We provide many welfare services now that are drawing immigrants to us, as seems to be the current case from South America. President Barack Obama says he wants a smarter immigration policy. I hope he does not mean allowing everyone in so our welfare services just solve all their problems.

We have to balance what we can realistically do for noncitizens against our own internal needs and resources. That means saying no to some immigrants in some cases.

Wise decisions are required.

David Vornholt
Kapahulu

Pedestrian cops could stem traffic fatalities

There is a crisis in Honolulu regarding pedestrian fatalities.

Pedestrians need to change their habits and be more careful when crossing Honolulu streets. But Honolulu drivers also should be more responsible because they are driving the machines that are killing pedestrians.

Honolulu drivers routinely run red lights. They barely slow down when doing right turns on red.

Currently, the police are rightly focused on speeding violations. But I urge the chief of police and the mayor to devote just one police officer to walking the busy streets of Honolulu. Not in a car, not on a bicycle, but just walking the streets.

Just stand on a busy street corner and record all the violations that I guarantee will be observed.

If Honolulu drivers are alerted that there will be pedestrian police officers watching for violations, it just might save someone’s life.

Gary Kishida
Kakaako

Vacant land could be used for urban garden

When I read about the parcel on Kapiolani and Pensacola with no immediate plans for use, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the high demand for urban gardening space ("Construction workers clog Ala Moana park parking lots," Star-Advertiser, Kokua Line, Aug. 5).

Opening this parcel to the public to grow food would be a perfect interim use that could go on for many years and be easy to start and easy to end when the time comes.

It could be done at little to no expense to government entities (and should not be put under City Department of Parks and Recreation, which cannot manage the gardens it already oversees).

How about it? Why not?

Mary Spadaro
Makiki

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.

"Waikiki’s residents vulnerable in storms," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 4:

>> Sure, always be prepared, but the inner islands have basically never been hit by a hurricane full on. They are naturally deflected and either hit Hawaii island or Kauai.

>> If things get bad just camp on the street. No law against that. You can even urinate and defecate there. No problem.

——

"Violence in Brazil prompts ‘illegal’ life," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 4:

>> The government should make a way for these kinds of immigrants to become legal. At least (get them) green cards so they can legally work and contribute to the community and pay taxes. As long as they are illegal, they may be working but not paying taxes.

>> Brazil should take care of its own problems. We can’t take in every unhappy person in the world. We’ve done more than our fair share already. I’m tired of these immigrant sob stories.

——

"State vows to stop Alzheimer’s disease during next 11 years," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 5:

>> Hawaii is going to stop Alzheimer’s by 2025? Really? Don’t treat science like politics.

>> If you have ever cared for a person with Alzheimer’s, you should be thrilled that the state is trying to address this awful disease. At least we are not like most states that think if they ignore the problem, it will go away. Helping patients and their families in any way possible is the first step. Let the medical experts continue to search for a cure. Meanwhile, those in the trenches need our help now.

>> Another example of idiocy from the Abercrombie administration: Sure, you are going to prevent Alzheimer’s. Have you lost your mind?

——

"VA halves wait times for patients in Pacific," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 5:

>> With the spotlight on them, now they are doing their job.

>> And I’ve climbed Mount Everest three times. Just ask me.

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"Pilot in aerial advertising case to answer charges in late August," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 6:

>> The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overstepped its bounds and has no jurisdiction in this matter. Sorry, Hawaii and The Outdoor Circle can’t have a carve-out in this right of freedom. 

>> Get these bums out of our air space. These outsiders continue to think that they can assimilate Hawaii to their unethical behavior. If we have to follow the laws here, so should they.

>> This is a very important issue. It is much like the billboard issue. Keep the skies clear!

——

"Scientists study whether vog weakens storms," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 6:

>> It’s just Madame Pele at her finest: protecting the aina.

——

"UH regents chairman backs Apple’s ouster," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 7:

>> Randy Moore thinks he understands what happened? He’s not sure? If you do understand then explain what happened. If you don’t then you should be asking for an investigation.

>> The University of Hawaii Board of Regents is hunkering down, circling the wagons, burying their heads in the sand, hoping this fiasco will just blow over. It will not. Already UH-Manoa is spiraling down to another bureaucratic fiasco. No credibility from anyone. We would do well to fire Lassner and the entire BOR, getting rid of the "Good Ole Boys."

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"Lassner speaks on UH’s public image," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 8:

>> Infrastructure improvements and revenue opportunities? Last I heard there was a large backlog of infrastructure maintenance. Please take care of that before any improvements. And rather than selling off the land, please try some spending controls, such as having a budget and sticking to it.

>> The University of Hawaii definitely has a tarnished image and it can be attributed to the Board of Regents circumventing the convention of hiring a president and, in effect, hiring David Lassner as president.

>> From what I hear, the UH has a lot of respect from the community from students and their families. The UH and Lassner should pay attention to what they and the faculty say.

>> Lassner couldn’t be any worse than the previous presidents we’ve had.

——

"Ex-postal clerk gets jail time for stealing mail, gift cards," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 8:

>> Seven days in jail? I wonder how these judges make their decisions.

>> I’m hoping that’s seven years, not seven days. The effort of booking him in would hardly be worth the effort.