No wonder Davis feels he’s ignored

I attended the gubernatorial forum Friday hosted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii ("Candidates open to change to federal shipping rules," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 23).

The three candidates present — James "Duke" Aiona, Mufi Hannemann and Jeff Davis — each commented on the topics mentioned in the article, including the Jones Act, high taxes, term limits, Hawaiian sovereignty and extending the general excise tax surcharge.

Yet only comments made by Aiona and Hannemann were mentioned. Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Ige got more mention in the article for not participating than did Davis, the Libertarian candidate, who participated.

Is there any wonder he feels his candidacy is ignored by the news media?

Merrill Cutting
Wilhelmina Rise

Makakilo ecosystem could use some rain

I watched the story of the Makakilo fire unfold, heart broken.

The upland areas here provide habitat to many rare native plant, mollusk and insect species. This ecosystem constitutes a rich assemblage so rarely found and easily accessible.

These organisms can’t be evacuated. The rough terrain that hampers firefighters is that which protects these species from a host of destructive forces.

Pray for rain.

Ardis Shaw-Kim
Makiki Heights

Sai memo confirms illegal occupation

David Keanu Sai’s memo is well documented and is the first due-diligence effort funded by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs regarding an international perspective of the consequences of the 1893 overthrow ("Memo implies nation effort leads to war crimes," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 24).

Former Gov. John Waihee is quoted in the memo with Trustee Oswald Stender agreeing: "I have absolutely no doubt that Hawaii is in an illegal occupation, I have absolutely no doubt. I mean, you’ve got to be illiterate not to finally get to that point."

Obviously, relegating Hawaiians to an Indian tribe is a political effort. Legally, the U.S. viola- tion of its own Constitution and domestic laws as well as international laws is at this point in time unquestionable.

The independent political status of the Nation of Hawaii is an indelible DNA that cannot be extinguished. OHA trustees should finally get the point.

Jimmy Wong
Heeia

Family Court judge makes great points

Your Name in the News article by Vicki Viotti ("R. Mark Browning: The Family Court judge wants to treat juvenile offenders before it’s too late," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 22) should be read by everyone for the benefit of our society.

All state employees working with children should be required to attend training sessions from three days to one or two semesters — depending on their job responsibilities — starting with teachers and school advisers such as principals, vice principals and all in the judicial system. Instructors should include experienced judges like Browning.

Based on the development of this new program, improvements would be made.

Wilbert W. W. Wong Sr.
Kaneohe

Wage floor hasn’t caused collapse

In response to Chauncey Hew ("Wage increases lead to inflation," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 23): In fact, wage increases have been enacted since minimum wage laws were originally written. The sky has not fallen.

Inflation is nothing new, either.

Yes, businessowners will pass on cost increases; no big surprise there.

The real issue is this: Do you care enough about the employees you hire to showthemrespect or don’t you?

If everyone knew the statistics of the percentage of businesses that do not report their income wholly or partially, they would be shocked. The number of businessesthat defraud the state and federal coffers of income, or do not inform employees of their rights as mandated by state and federal law, is huge.

The real problem today is greed, not increased minimum wages.

David Moskowitz
Waikiki

Time running out to do Kakaako right

A major problem with Kakaako is lack of planning.

There effectively is no community or city plan that accommodates many of the basic needs of those who will live there.

The current so-called plan only locates buildings, creating pockets of anonymous groups and ignoring essential social and communication needs of people.

A truly comprehensive development plan for a large portion of a city will include land-use designations for residents’ needs, such as schools, play fields, community centers, convenience shopping, offices and others, as well as the supporting infrastructure. Ignoring the importance of the social fabric of a community is what leads to congestion, crime, pollution, higher taxes and decreased quality of life. There is only a narrow window of time to get it right in Kakaako.

Chuck Prentiss
Kailua

‘Inouye century’ ended in 2008

Kudos to Richard Borreca for seeing the Daniel Inouye political obituary inherent in U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz’ victory over U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa in the U.S. Senate Democratic primary.

Stunned to see Gov. Neil Abercrombie trounced by state Sen. David Ige in the gubernatorial primary, I wrote an imaginary headline: "Inouye wins governor race."

But that was probably the last hurrah for the most powerful politician in Hawaii history.

My other headline read, "Schatz edges Inouye in Senate primary."

The end of the Inouye century began in 2008, when Hawaii Democrats defied Inouye’s command that they back Hillary Clinton in presidential caucuses, and instead chose Barack Obama. Obama was aided here then by a little-known political comer named Brian Schatz.

Walter Wright
Kaneohe