I am appalled by the travesty that is occurring at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
The inability of our government leaders and unions to manage Maui’s hospital transition is staggering. For many years, MMMC has struggled with huge losses. Now, when a solution is available, we lurch from roadblock to obstruction with no end in sight.
Because of the uncertainty, lawsuits and months of turmoil, it is virtually impossible to recruit desperately needed doctors and nurses. With 400 position vacancies, something is going to break. Patients’ lives are at grave risk.
Reducing hospital services is unacceptable. Leaving Maui health care in limbo is unacceptable. Matters of life and death must take precedence over every other issue facing the state.
Gov. David Ige and union leaders need to settle this matter now.
Anne Leung-Stevens
Kihei
Conservation has a spiritual component
In their commentary, Koohan Paik, Nelson Ho and Tom Luebben write about “Hawaii in the late stages of ecological destruction” (Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Sept. 8).
One positive development in the recent World Conservation Congress here is that, increasingly, scientists are recognizing the relevance of religion and spirituality for conservation.
Thomas Berry, a Catholic priest and scholar, wrote in his book “Evening Thoughts” that “the universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.”
Undoubtedly, most Native Hawaiians understood and applied such wisdom for well over a thousand years.
While naturally they had an environmental impact, trends since James Cook are qualitatively different and increasingly unsustainable and ecologically destructive.
The health of any population, society and economy can only be as healthy as its environment.
It is not too late to take far more seriously Native Hawaiian knowledge, wisdom, culture and spirituality toward a better future for every being in these islands.
Leslie E. Sponsel
Hawaii Kai
Homeless should be in condos, not houses
Land in Hawaii is scarce. If we are to build houses with yards for homeless people, we are making them become middle-income families with federal assistance.
We should build condos or apartments, with unit sizes that should start from 300 square feet. They do not need extra space.
Let us be fair and have some mercy for the hard-working class.
James J. Yi
Kailua
Asset forfeiture flies in face of due process
Mahalo to Sophie Cocke for reporting on “policing for profit” (“Policing for profit,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 4).
The claims made by its defenders are misleading.
First, the notion that there are no cases of assets being seized without compelling reason is belied by the stories detailed in Cocke’s article and other reporting.
Second, the nature of the program itself, requiring no proven connection to crime, flies in the face of due process.
Our organizations supported real, comprehensive reform as well as the establishment of a working group in 2016. Unfortunately, these measures failed.
We anticipate that the results of the proposed audit — which would be the first in over two decades — will support what reform advocates have been saying all along: that despite its purported objective of targeting drug kingpins, this program disproportionately impacts those financially unable to challenge forfeitures and ultimately serves as a fundraiser for police department budgets.
We hope this article provokes public conversation.
Carl Bergquist
Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii
Mandy Finlay
American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii
Oahu grid can handle more solar electricity
The recent headline, “Not much room on Oahu’s solar grid for solar juice” (Star-Advertiser, Sept. 8), suggests that Oahu’s electric grid is unable to accept more solar energy.
This is not accurate and could confuse the public.
The vast majority of neighborhood circuits on Oahu still have room for solar electricity, thanks to advancements in photovoltaic technology and recent low- or no-cost circuit upgrades installed by HECO.
The Public Utilities Commission’s 25 megawatt cap on the grid-supply program is described in the PUC’s October 2015 order as an “interim” policy-related cap — not a permanent limitation of solar energy on the grid — and the solar industry has formally asked the PUC to raise the grid-supply cap.
In the near future, a wide array of new state programs, policies and technology will become available to allow the grid to progress from its current 20 percent renewable level to 100 percent renewable by 2045, or even sooner.
In other words, Hawaii’s energy transformation is just getting started.
Colin Yost
Chief operating officer, RevoluSun Smart Home
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.
“Ruling goes in favor of aquarium fish trade” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 5:
>> These guys are rapists of the ocean. I have watched them destroy coral reefs in Kaneohe Bay and take all the fish stock. To this day, Kaneohe Bay reefs have not recovered the numbers of tropical fish.
>> How are aquarium fish collectors any different than other local fishermen who “rape the reef”? What about surrounding huge schools of akule with nets, or taking scores of tiny aku and other tuna while trolling? How about all our large tuna that end up in Japan while tuna prices in the local market skyrocket as local supplies dwindle? Perhaps there should be “environmental assessments” for those practices, too. Why target just the local aquarium fish collectors?
>> Aquarium fisherman are ordinary working people like you and I — not greedy — and nobody’s getting rich off of it. They care a great deal about the ocean; if the fish disappear, they’ll be out of a job.
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“Robinson ohana acts to preserve farmland” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 5:
>> This application should be supported and will create open space agricultural land forever. Look at Honolulu and see what development has done to areas that were in farming. The Robinson ohana cares about its lands. They are not trying to position for highest value or they would have retained the 5 percent development bonus.
>> Corporate welfare is what this ag land preservation law is all about. The state and counties already control how land can be used through zoning and land use laws.Why do taxpayers need to pay private landowners via tax credits to keep the land designated as ag land? This is nothing more than payback to large corporate landowners for the money they “donate” to Democrats.
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“Loud phone yakking ruins otherwise pleasant bus ride” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 6:
>> All cellphones should be turned off on public buses, similar to all airline flights. If not, require that our bus drivers make periodic announcements on what type of usage is allowed. Turning them off makes the most sense, and if people need to use their cellphones, walk and no ride da bus.
>> What’s next? No talking to the person next to you either? No? How come? What really is the difference between talking on the phone or talking to the person next to you? Talking is talking. If people don’t like it, they can buy a car and be all by their lonesomes.
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“Isle Reserve unit loath to relinquish patch” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 6:
>> What’s the big deal with allowing the 100th Battalion to continue to wear the current patch? It will make it easier to ID the reservists when consolidated training takes place. If command staff cannot make this work, then we have problems larger than we can imagine.
>> You don’t need a patch to tell the difference between reservists and active duty during combined training. Just good eyesight.
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“Cost of homeless care increases” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 7:
>> Instead of going to private hospitals, the homeless should be going to a public clinic operated by the state with federal backing. This is one reason why our health insurance is sky high; we’re paying for the uninsured.
>> This is blatant abuse of services and should be treated as a criminal matter. Maybe a 30-, 60- or 90-day jail stay would get their minds right.
>> What’s wrong with this picture? A homeless guy who has made consistently poor life choices has his major medical bills fully subsidized and now is living in government-subsidized housing. But when a hard-working middle-class family has a member come down with cancer or some other grave disease, they have to pay the medical bills and often go into long-term debt.
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“Council delays its decision on permit for hotel-condo” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 8:
>> The City Council has to do a better job in supporting Honolulu’s affordable housing problems. Developers know what is required yet they sing and dance around our city officials.
>> Don’t let developers ignore height and density limitations or parking requirements. The city is ruining the downtown environment and turning it into Manhattan.
