The recent events at Kuhio Beach Park involving the beachboys should have never occurred, because it was inevitable that things would blow up due to the various competing for-profit corporations’ self-interest (“City awaits court decision in dispute over beachboy stands,” Star-Advertiser, May 16).

In the 1990s, to protect the Waikiki beachboys as a class, the city determined through the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu Chapter 28-3.3(e) that there is a need for the city to provide concessions or concession spaces to a nonprofit beachboy association whose purpose is dedicated to the preservation of the Hawaii beachboy tradition.

ROH 28-3.3(e) is there to protect the Waikiki beachboys from future disputes. Perhaps it is time for city officials to provide a nonprofit beachboy concession near the Duke Kahanamoku Statue at Kuhio Beach Park — a statue that honors Hawaii’s world-renowned beachboy and waterman: Duke Paoa Kahana- moku.

Thomas J. Copp

Kakaako

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A Waikiki cultural tradition will be lost

The beachboy is the very essence of the surf lesson/canoe ride experience for millions of tourists who come to Waikiki Beach every year.

Barefoot, wearing board shorts, with a smile of aloha and years of experience, the beachboy can turn a farm kid from Oklahoma into a passionate future surfer dreaming of the day he or she can return to our shores.

Instead, what visitors will get is a corporate representative in khaki shorts, collared shirt and closed-toe shoes carrying an iPad. So much for the laid-back atmosphere that is Hawaii (“City awaits court decision in dispute over beachboy stands,” Star-Advertiser, May 16).

It is evident that those who care cannot stop the eradication of the last cultural tradition in Waikiki. It is truly the final aloha to paradise. And, with all the new high-rise condominiums and the multimillion-dollar high-end stores, Honolulu has become just another big city in America.

Kris Pedersen

Waikiki

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A ho‘okupu for Pele should be an option

In days of old it was said that you could appease the fire goddess with an offering.

Maybe the mayor of Hawaii County, as the leader of the community, and the Hawaii Visitors Bureau, because of the impact on businesses, should make a ho‘o-kupu gift offering to Madam Pele as a heartfelt gesture of good will. It should be pondered.

Keli‘i Ching

Kapolei

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Additional tourists support workers

A letter writer concerned about tourism growth failed to empathize with our tourism workers (“Hawaii must control growth of tourism,” Star-Advertiser, May 8). He wants a moratorium in place to stop tourism growth. But tourism is the lifeblood of our island’s economy. More tourism means more money for our state budget, and more money for the thousands of our islands’ tourism workers.

These workers are not the highest-paid group, and a lot depend on tips to earn a living. Mortgage, rent, utilities, food and proper care for their children depend on them making enough money for these essentials. This is especially true in one of the most expensive states to live.

More tourists also are exposed to the beauty of our islands.

He talks of having a tourism- moratorium public discussion. Should it happen, I hope it is attended by the Hawaii Tourism Authority and a group of tourism workers.

Greg Fernandez

Ewa Beach

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Hawaii pediatricians suffer from burnout

The American Academy of Pediatrics, Hawaii Chapter, represents 314 pediatricians in Hawaii. We have heard from many of our members who have or are experiencing burnout (“‘Quadruple aim’: Stop physician burnout,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, May 9).

Burnout in the health field is worrisome as it can lead health-care providers to cut back on their work with patients. It also can lead to early retirement, depression, suicide, as well as contribute to errors in medical judgment.

Let’s work together to avoid and correct the neglect and disrespect that many of our primary-care physicians are experiencing. We all benefit when health-care providers have joy and meaning when caring for patients. We are committed to the Quadruple Aim.

Mae Kyono, M.D.

McCully-Moiliili

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We should control our own life, death

This is a response to the letter about repealing the new assisted suicide law (“Lobby for repeal of medical aid in dying,” Star-Advertiser, May 13). That law is a huge relief to myself and other incurable pain sufferers. Painless relief from incurable pain is not “violence.” Forcing people to live in a state of pain is violence.

Life is terminal; no one survives. We all have a right of choice as to how long and under what conditions. Anyone who wants to deny others their rightful choices is cruel.

Bert West

Kalihi

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Don’t wear out teeth with gum-chewing

I am a retired dentist, so I don’t have any financial interest in what I’m writing about — gum-chewing.

All that chewing has very bad consequences. It causes teeth to wear, without any dietary benefits. When the sharpest of teeth get worn, more pressure is needed to grind down food, which causes the socket bone that holds teeth in place to deteriorate.

The gingiva (gum) follows the socket bone and teeth roots are bared. Roots are relatively soft and wear easily from tooth brushing and acidic foods. In extreme cases, the enamel wears all the way and exposes the underlying dentin, which is softer than enamel and so wears faster.

I’ve seen where the dentin got so worn that the underlying pulp (nerve and blood vessels) chamber becomes exposed. Root canal treatment or extraction is needed, but to restore a set of badly worn teeth properly requires extensive treatment.

Dental insurances don’t usually reimburse a patient for restoring worn teeth. My advice is to save what you have.

Irwin Tamura, D.D.S.

Manoa