Tuition costs for private schools are rising (“Increases stacking up,” Star-Advertiser, July 12).

We’re led to believe these costs are justified. Do the parents ask for any financial statements from these schools?

It was stated that parents give up their summer vacations together. My kids went to public school and graduated with a 3.8 grade point average. We had wonderful family vacations together, travels to Europe, Hawaii and Canada, enriching us with culture and memories a classroom could never provide. Nothing can take the place of spending quality time with your children.

Then we’re led to believe the state Department of Education spends $14,600 per public student per year. With classrooms averaging 30 students, that’s $438,000 a year per classroom? Yeah, right.

Jon Norris
Kapahulu

Rest of the story of Hawaiian flag

Arsenio Ramirez Pelayo wonders if the Hawaiian flag should be removed since it has the British Union Jack in one corner, and he recounts the 1843 incident where the British forced King Kamehameha III to surrender his kingdom (“U.S. flag not much to brag about either,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 13).

That is only half of the story, because Kamehameha III filed a letter of protest with the British government, which acted in his favor. Adm. Richard Thomas then was sent to give the official apology in Honolulu, confirming Hawaii was a sovereign nation entitled to fly its own flag. It was then that the king uttered the words that became the Hawaiian motto, “Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono (The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness).” The place where the speech was given became Thomas Square, the first public park in Hawaii.

Dexter Wong
Kahala

Harbor provides low-cost housing

As regards the shortage of boat slips and the resulting long waits to obtain one: Every incoming administration for the past many years has grappled with Ala Wai boat harbor problems. Nothing has changed.

The harbor survives on self-serving inefficiency. Those who benefit from the inefficiency have always seemed to be in control, with the end result being that nothing improves or changes — exactly the way the harbor beneficiaries would like to keep it.

The original purpose of the harbor was to provide slips for recreational boaters. It has since been turned into a low-cost housing development by those who use their vessels as waterfront homes. How did they come by this privilege? Rent of several hundred dollars a month includes water, electricity and guaranteed parking. Wow, what a deal.

More importantly, why is this privilege not available to you or me? Perhaps privatization is the answer. Let’s try it.

Robert Vogtritter
Waikiki

Kauai leads in B&B enforcement

Residents of Kauai appreciate recent actions by the County Council and Mayor Bernard Carvalho to control unpermitted transient vacation rentals (TVAs), including bed and breakfast and homestay businesses.

Council leadership included Chairman Mel Rapozo, Vice Chairman Ross Kagawa and Planning Committee Chairman Mason Chock. Supported by the Council, the administration is identifying unpermitted operations and closing them down.

Meanwhile, the Council and the administration collaborated to pass a law controlling issuance of permits to unpermitted bed and breakfast and homestay operators. With the signing of the ordinance on June 19, only 10 applications per year are accepted for processing. An applicant must now notify area residents of their plans, residents are allowed a say as the application is processed, a public hearing is held on the request before a decision is rendered by the planning commission.

Thank you, Kauai County, for your leadership.

Sam Lee
Poipu

Statutes do target sex trafficking

By seeking comments from my office but then choosing not to include them in “Sex trafficking targeted at isle hotels” (July 13), the Star-Advertiser failed to provide readers with a vital perspective on sex trafficking.

While the issue has generated many strong and emotional opinions, the prosecutor’s view is the only one that comes from actually taking cases to trial.

As such, it was important to point out that existing statutes are effective in sex-trafficking cases and do not need to be changed. We know this because in the last three years, we have initiated cases against 22 defendants, seven of whom have thus far been sent to prison.

The independent Polaris Project confirms this, ranking Hawaii as a top-tier anti-sex trafficking state and recognizing our promoting prostitution law as a sex-trafficking statute evenwithout specific wording.

We are committed to prosecuting sex traffickers and we know what works.

Keith Kaneshiro
Honolulu city prosecutor