Letters To The Editor
July 25, 2007 - MidWeek
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Del.icio.usLifeguard kudos
Your cover story about the new “anti-Baywatch” TV show Beach Patrol Hawaii was great! Hawaii’s lifeguards are among the best in the world. Not to mention the bravest as many work in one of the most dynamic and dangerous ocean conditions in the world. This is especially true on the North Shore.
Sen. Fred Hemmings Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawaii
Kai
Robbing Manoa
Bob Jones’ column about spending $400 million on a new UH-West Oahu campus while the flagship campus in Manoa is beset with problems was right on the money - $400 million worth.
Dick Wilson
Honolulu
Finding Wilcox
So that’s what happened to Leslie Wilcox! I missed her on the news, but now that she’s at Public TV, I’ll have to watch more of that channel.
Merva Chang
Honolulu
Hamada is wrong
This letter is in response to Rick Hamada’s allegations about the city’s Drive Akamai website.
It’s unfortunate that Mr. Hamada is being duped by Councilman Charles Djou into repeating unfounded charges. Mr. Djou has a penchant for being confused and using inaccurate information, exaggerations and other spurious claims to promote himself.
Here are the facts: The proposed interactive website will cost a total of $40,000, paid to Linda Schatz and Associates when it is completed at the end of the contract year. The preliminary static version of the site, which is what Rick Hamada is viewing on the DriveAkamai.org website, cost a modest $5,000 to develop and launch.
The total project contract amount with Austin, Tsutsumi and Associates is $400,000, and most of that money will be spent on field engineers working with City departments, state agencies, utility companies, and private developers to gather and distribute daily information on infrastructure repair/replacement, road rehabilitation, and other construction-related projects that may affect the commuting public within the project corridor area. The remaining portion of the money will be dedicated to a daily project hotline and email page where the public will be able to leave comments/questions and receive timely responses.
Mr. Hamada, and Mr. Djou for that matter, can easily call us for accurate information - but they rarely do. Instead, they rely on Mr. Hamada’s collaborative weekly radio show and his column to float their typically unsubstantiated charges and rumors.
The Hannemann administration has always been open and transparent about City finances, and Drive Akamai is no different. The bottom line is that they should check the facts before they speak.
Richard Torres
Deputy Director, Dept. of Transportation Services
No more guns
Was it really necessary for MidWeek to promote gun use with a story about a shoot-‘emup day at the Koko Head range? The title may have been “Ready, Aim, Safety,” but that obscures the simple fact that guns kill. Surely there has to be a more civilized way to enjoy yourself.
Anita Matsumoto
Pearl City
Watching for Noa
I saw the story about Noa Ornellas on ESPN, and really enjoyed the behind-the-scenes story in MidWeek. His mother Trudy must be very proud. In a few years when he’s old enough for high school athletics, I’ll be watching the newspapers for his name.
Jason Silva
Honolulu
Chuck Shepherd’s Weird
Laugh out loud
News column is a must-read for me every week and always brings a laugh. The story about the mom who called cops to report the theft of her imprisoned son’s bong, because it was all she had to remember him by, was fall-off-the-couch funny.
Kimo Jones
Hawaii Kai
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