I’m sure columnist Cindy Luis must appreciate the irony of her fine column on Patsy Mink and Title IX being confined to the Sports section rather than featured on the op-ed page, where it belonged (“Patsy Mink helped changed sports world for women,” Star-Advertiser, June 16).
The editors and the headline writer must have failed to read the payoff paragraph: When a breakfast companion last week said that Title IX was about “women playing sports,” Luis graciously responded with a smile, “It’s about equal opportunities for everyone in programs receiving federal funds.”
Yes! Mink’s signature achievement made its mark well beyond sports and continues to resonate to the benefit of American society.
David Monk
Hawaii Kai
Captured rainwater helps fruit trees thrive
My wife and I have had a rain catchment system in our Wahiawa home for about 25 years.
On a drenching overnight rain, about 500 gallons of rain water drained off our roof into barrels connected to downspouts from roof gutters.
We use the chlorine-free water to hydrate our many fruit trees in dry weather. The trees love it! And our water bills have been reduced.
Ed Kuba
Wahiawa
Voyaging canoes major contrast to megayacht
Last week, three very different ships arrived in Honolulu. The Hawaiian voyaging canoes Hokule‘a and Hikianalia arrived from a 2,500-mile voyage from Tahiti using traditional navigation and cultural practices (“Hokule‘a and Hikianalia return from Tahiti,” Star-Advertiser, June 17).
The third ship was the Amadea, a $320 million Russian yacht seized by the U.S. in Fiji (“Russian yacht, seized in Fiji by U.S., docks at Honolulu Harbor,” Star-Advertiser, June 17).
To me this was a clear comparison of two very different cultures and purposes of ships. The Hawaiian canoes are used to teach a new generation of traditional navigators in preparation for a five-year “Moananuiakea Voyage” in the Pacific Ocean. The Russian yacht was owned by one man for his use, with all the latest navigation systems, helicopter landing pad and more.
I found it very interesting that they arrived in Honolulu on the same day.
Claudia L. Webster
Kailua
Excessive spending caused rapid inflation
A Star-Advertiser editorial taught its readers how to survive rapid inflation, e.g., how to buy groceries and use your automobile (“Act now to ease inflationary pain,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, June 19). But the next day’s front-page headline focused on the COVID-19 pandemic as having caused these economic hardships (“Pandemic takes toll on isle population,” Star-Advertiser, June 20). Nowhere in either article is the actual truth told about the cause of inflation.
The truth is we unfortunately have a government-run economy where trillions of dollars were recently expended, and the Federal Reserve failed to raise interest rates until now. Government overspending and poor regulation caused the inflation as well as a substantial part of our present economic hardship of labor/supply shortages. Not truthfully focusing on government- imposed harms by overspending is adding to our children’s burdens.
Grocery bills and gas prices are out of control. And make no mistake, the same government officials who caused the problems aren’t coming to save you or tell you the truth about why.
Anson Rego
Waianae
City’s missteps led to surfboard locker woes
Sixty years ago Honolulu began a tradition of public surfboard lockers at Waikiki. Everything went smoothly until the city allowed the site to become a haven for crazies and homeless people a few years ago — an area where anything goes. Then suddenly, arson, twice. Sad.
There were many options in addition to cleaning up the area: Sprinklers. Gating the area. Relocation to sites on the sand. Then suddenly, late on a Friday afternoon, e-mails went out that the lockers would be demolished next week.
The mayor and city chose to end something that ran smoothly for decades until their negligence let the area get out of control. Everyone involved should be ashamed.
Ted Miller
Waikiki
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