Support plans to keep college affordable

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz’s legislation to make college more affordable resonated ("Middle-class families need cost-of-living relief," Star-Advertiser, Insight, Jan. 5).

I am the first from a middle-class household to graduate from college.I worked two part-time jobs and made many sacrifices to pay my way through undergraduate and graduate school at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.

Since graduating from UH-Manoa, I worked for a U.S. senator in Washington, D.C., graduated from law school, clerked for a judge, served as corporation counsel for Maui and Honolulu and practiced law in a private law firm.

I currently serve as a director in the Abercrombie administration.My college education from UH-Manoa has enabled me to volunteer, contribute to my community and provide for my family, ensuring the continued upward mobility of the next generation.

The above situation would have been unlikely for me, and others I know who shared this experience, if the tuition at UH-Manoa when I attended was as high as it is today.

With the gap between the rich and poor widening, it is now more important than ever that we ensure that higher education and early childhood education are within reach for working families.

Jesse Souki
Honolulu

UH could use help with executive search

Bill Myers may have picked an unfortunate target for his frustration about University of Hawaii spending ("UH regents haven’t learned from past," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 9).

I have been in the executive-search business in Hawaii for 34 years.It has long appeared to me that UH may not understand the search business and process well enough to get good results, even from an excellent contractor.

Qualified mainland firms may be handicapped by not adequately understanding either Hawaii or the university and thus cannot carry on a valid candidate vetting and information/preparation process.

If the university finds it prudent to eliminate local search firms during its selection process, it might nevertheless consider contracting with an experienced local search firm to assist it in managing the selected search contractor and the process.

The small additional expenditure would pay real dollar dividends in avoiding costly mistakes such as those recently experienced.

Peter Glick
Waialae Nui Ridge

Laniakea barrier working out fine

I have lived on the Waimea side of Laniakea Beach for more than 40 years and pass the beach on Kamehame-ha Highway two to four times a day.

Although originally opposed to the temporary parking barriers, I now find that they have provided serious relief to the congestion and a much safer condition.

I find letter writers who don’t even live on or near the North Shore quite amusing, to say the least.

Since when is blocking off a mauka stretch of raw dirt(previously used for parking and the homeless) and preventing hundreds of thousands of jaywalkers each year from crossing a state highway a violation itself?

Comparing this psuedo parking area to Ala Moana Beach Park is a puzzling perspective ("Blocking beach violates state law," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 9).

Surely more research by these occasional North Shore visitors would help provide a more learned andintelligent prospective.

Michael Farrell
Haleiwa

Comparisons unfair to insurance firms

As a person who has spent more than 40 years in the insurance industry, I think it inappropriate to publish "high" and "low" rates on property/casualty coverages for home and auto without indicating that there are major differences in what the policies include in coverage — such as whether hurricane coverage is included in one homeowner policy but not the other, or the breadth of coverage one policy may have compared to the other ("State publishes the prices firms charge for home and auto insurance policies," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 9).

Your article appeared to imply the policies were equivalent but widely different in premiums, which is not the case.

Lance Bateman
Kalihi Valley

Seems Abercrombie trying to buy votes

In an attempt to show us how busy he is and how helpful he is before re-election time, our governor is asking for $6 million for state-funded private preschools, plus another $4.5 million for this and another $1 million for that, plus another $218,000 for three more employees and $2.5 million to help co-pay for something or other.

This is before we get a chance to approve or disapprove a constitutional amendment saying that this is even what we think we should do.

And, don’t forget the $6 million approved last year.

Arg Bacon
Kahala

FROM THE FORUM @ STARADVERTISER.COM

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.

"Big Island gets ready for ban on plastic bags," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 6:

» Self-righteous poseurs who think they are saving the planet are eroding our freedoms with laws like this. I like plastic bags, I use them responsibly, I don’t pollute the environment, yet I’m being punished.

» My wife and I bring our bags with us and actually carry some items with our hands. We have gotten along just fine without plastic. Banning bags won’t solve every environmental problem, but it is an easy step in the right direction.

———

"New health plans may leave some ‘underinsured‘," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 6:

» The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as "Obamacare," can be summed up quite simply: Health plan premiums are going to skyrocket for not only the wealthy but also the middle class. This is because the feds and the state need that extra money to pay for the millions of poor and "chronically ill" who will now be insured under ACA. If that’s not the textbook definition of "redistribution of wealth," I don’t know what is.

» Obamacare not only involves making plans competitive and available to the public with no preconditions, but it is also concerned with controlling costs with best practices. This will also improve services when doctors can focus on a good diagnosis and also have the tools for treatment.

———

"HTA gives out $2.7M," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 7:

» The government cannot "give out" $2.7 million without first taking it from someone else. This giveaway is nothing more that pre-legislative posturing by the Hawaii Tourism Authority to garner support in the forthcoming session.

» Dissolve the HTA. Tourists will still come.

———

"Modest increase in market sets record high prices," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 7:

» Locals should never sell their homes, even if they think they are getting a huge windfall profit, because they will never be able to buy it back. They should pass their homes to their children, who will not be able to afford a home here and have to move to the mainland.

» I feel sorry for the next generation, as owning a home on Oahu will be next to impossible. I’m not sure if building more homes on every last piece of agricultural land would help, either.

———

"State revenue projection revised downward to 3.3%," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 8:

» This has been a story for at least three months. Tourism growth is down. Something is very wrong with our economy. The tough call is telling the truth about the economy in Hawaii, what we can expect, and laying out a course to deal with it now.

» Why don’t our politicians plan the spending part after the growth part becomes fact? Planning to spend money you don’t have makes no sense.

———

"State investigating dentist whose patient died," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 8:

» I don’t get it. If there is a death, shouldn’t the police or the prosecuting attorney get involved? Sounds like manslaughter to me. Malpractice at the least.

» Maybe the police are "getting involved," but they aren’t at the stage where they can arrest anyone yet.

» Spending a lot of money on baby teeth seems suspect in itself. My sister is a dental hygienist who has worked for many different practices and says many pad the bills by recommending unnecessary work, but this goes beyond just that. How sad and tragic. Let this be a lesson to us all to always get a second opinion for any major work.

———

"First lady’s stay with Oprah on Maui frustrates some residents," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 9:

» It’s good to be queen!

» I couldn’t be more grateful to the president and his family. This is a thankless job. The risk of being killed is borne by the entire family. I live in Kailua and welcome the Obamas, one and all. Leadership has its costs and I guess the grumblings of the ungrateful is one cost.

———

"Turtle Bay, state look to settle land deal," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 9:

» A reduced development footprint and preserved open space are both highly desirable outcomes. Strangely, a successful negotiation is generally characterized as one in which both parties are unhappy.

» We pay $40 million and the state gets an easement. No land. It is a win-win for the developer and the protesters on the North Shore. The rest of the state has to pay for the bonds. We lose.