Publicly financed elections way to go

Now, in these last days before the election, take this action: Demand that your candidate publicly support publicly financed elections if they want your vote.

We will follow up before the next election and support those candidates who won and diligently worked to enact publicly financed elections.

I will urge organizations such as Public Citizen, Occupy Wall Street and the League of Women Voters to rally with public campaigns or work independently in urging their members to take this action.

Imagine millions of voters demanding that our legislators serve the general public, not the organizations as they do now, and bring back government of, by and for the people.

Lois Tyler
Moiliili

Ignore ugly ads from third parties

Well, Pacific Resource Partnership is back with a new label, now calling itself Forward Progress.

That has a really nice sound to it, doesn’t it?

I am concerned that potential voters who do not know better will fall for these terrible TV ads and mailers without realizing they are not produced by the candidates, or candidate parties, but third parties with a vested interest in particular races. It worked to prevent Ben Cayetano from becoming mayor.

The scare tactics being used against James "Duke" Aiona are especially bad and are falsehoods. Aiona has publicly stated that although he is personally not in favor of abortion, he will uphold the law and that is not an issue with him. Improving our economy, improving our schools and affordable housing are his major concerns.

The ugly ads are impartial and are hitting Republicans and Democrats alike. The disclaimers on TV are impossible to read and can barely be heard. I hope Hawaii voters can ignore all the falsehoods being thrown at them and make informed decisions on Nov. 4.

Shirley Hasenyager
Kailua

Preschool measure will benefit neediest

It was concerning to read the inaccurate statement made by the League of Women Voters, stating that children with disabilities would not be included in a future preschool program when the early childhood education ballot question passes ("Early education proposal lacks specifics on the basics of the program," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Oct. 22).

Existing state and federal law ensure this. One of the most important reasons for voting yes on ballot Question 4 is it will help level the playing field for families wanting to send their keiki to preschool. Voting yes would place Hawaii families on an equal playing field with 40 other states that already work in collaboration with nonprofit private preschools to deliver preschool.

Let’s also be clear, our neediest and middle-class families will benefit the most from the passage of this amendment, and no child would be discriminated against based on race, religion, sex, ancestry or disability. That’s the law now. To say otherwise is misleading.

Jacce Mikulanec
Good Beginnings Alliance Children’s Action Network

Students will thrive under Common Core

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, the developers of the Smarter Balanced Assessments, which Hawaii public schools will use this spring, recently hosted an achievement level-setting workshop in which educators, parents and community members were invited to participate.

We are a parent and a community member who participated in the workshop. The Smarter Balanced Assessments are aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts and math for grades 3-8 and 11.

The state Department of Education began implementing CCSS in grades K-2 and 11-12 in 2011-2012, and in all grade levels in 2013-2014. While the implementation has not been easy, we believe the shift to a more rigorous set of standards is the right direction for our students. We witnessed firsthand how the new assessments will challenge students to think critically and problem solve. We know that our students can rise to the challenge if we as a community rally to support student success. More information on the Smarter Balanced System for parents and students can be obtained at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/ parents-students/.

Stephen Terstegge
Kaaawa
Cheri Nakamura
Makiki

Everyone should sing anthems at games

As a citizen who enjoys watching our athletic events on TV, including the University of Hawaii sports, I am very disappointed with the way our national anthem and Hawaii Pono’i are handled.

In previous years, the audience and fans all sang the national anthem and Hawaii Pono’i. It was one of the few times we got to sing them and it was thrillingly patriotic to hear all the voices singing the national and state anthems.

Why couldn’t we recognize the soloist as our song leader?They can help us start the songs. They would still get their recognition on TV as their face and voice would be so close to the TV camera and mike.

Come on Hawaii, let’s start a national trend and have everyone sing the anthems again.

Roy L. Benham
Hawaii Kai

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.

"Gubernatorial rivals play guilt-by-association game," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 19:

>> Most of these negative ads come from mainland interests and are not endorsed by the candidates (tongue in cheek).

>> Watching the boobtube ads for three of the candidates for governor, I think the only rational choice is for the Libertarian.

——

"Officials will establish safety procedures for hospitals across state," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 19:

>> The chain of events leading to the infections was caused by the weakest link: carelessness. What’s wrong with fear? It’s built into our survival instincts and serves a purpose.

>> Using the right bio safety protocols and learning from all the mistakes in Dallas, we will be just fine. Compared to previous health issues like polio, flu and other diseases, which have killed far more, we will win this one too.

——

"Gubernatorial candidates weigh in on Common Core," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 20:

>> We should have had an education debate between these three. There is so much that we don’t know about these guys’ actual positions on so many DOE and UH issues.

>> The real problem, and perhaps most revealing, is how many principals, vice principals and teachers in public schools send their children to ‘Iolani and Punahou.

——

"Input is sought on fireworks plan," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 20:

>> Why not work with the Department of Defense, U.S. Army, and ask permission to use military firing ranges at Schofield?

>> Take the fireworks out to sea on a barge and light them off, preferably on a celebration day like the Fourth of July.

>> And let our politicians drive the boat.

——

"Dumped bombs’ effects set to be checked," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 21:

>> Hmmm … Godzilla comes to mind. But in reality these things shouldn’t have been dumped there in the first place.

>> Back in those days, Hawaii was just another island in the Pacific, at the command of the U.S. military. Do you think they gave a hoot about the natives back then? No.

——

"Officer suspended after video captures game room assault," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 22:

>> The public should be able to depend on those representing and handing down the law, and it is sad when you can’t really tell the difference between the good guys and the bad.

>> And without the video what would have happened?

>> In general, many officers are polite and helpful. However, several bad apples can do a lot to mess up that image.

——

"DOE seeks $19 million to cover lunch, bus programs," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 22:

>> They simply need to lose a few Third Deputy Assistant Vice Administrator to the Substitute Superintendent-type positions.

>> City bus routes all go right by almost all public schools, especially on Oahu. There is no reason whatsoever for DOE to provide bus service that is completely redundant with public bus routes.

——

"Ige leads gov race," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 23:

>> Of course the poll found that Hannemann is drawing more from people who usually vote for Democrats because people in Hawaii usually vote for Democrats.

>> Ige is ahead in the polls not because of his character or leadership but because of party affiliation. 

>> Ige is ahead simply because Republicans don’t offer anything of substance.

——

"How did he do?," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 24:

>> (Gov. Neil Abercrombie) did one thing right, which was to stand up to the government and teachers unions. That sealed his fate.

>> He was correct to continue pay cuts but wrong to embarrass and demean the very people who helped elect him in the first place.