Don’t sensationalize allegations about UH

The allegations made by Dennis Mitsunaga, a "politically prominent Democratic fundraiser," are simply that — allegations ("UH VP accused of mismanagement," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 19).

I am in no way suggesting that the questions raised not be investigated. However, I feel very strongly that the way that this story has been presented on the front page is not fair to the University of Hawaii or to the individual singled out by these quite possibly unfounded accusations.

As it is currently playing out, it is becoming increasingly clear that this is purely political theater.

Not only that, some of Mitsunaga’s statements exhibit a surprising ignorance of construction practices.

I ask you to not sensationalize this story, and I would suggest that it could be reported with a more balanced viewpoint in the Business section.

Jack Arnest
Maunalani Heights

Policymakers should try living on streets

Regarding the eviction of people from sidewalks, how cruel and mean it is to remove the only home these people have because people find it inconvenient to step around a tent on the sidewalk.

And to add immense pain and suffering, after the tent and belongings have been swept up — many times, including crucial documents like state ID or birth certificate — the owners must reclaim them for $200.

Without ID, they cannot pick up their prescriptions, may have trouble contacting case managers, etc. How many of these folks have that amount of cash to reclaim their goods?

Shame on you and the officials who want to pass this law. Perhaps you and the lawmakers need to spend a few days homeless without a tent.

Alvin E. Murphy Jr.
Moiliili

Raise, don’t cut, price of special bus passes

City Councilman Ernie Martin wants to give seniors and disabled passengers free bus passes.

I have been a city bus operator for 27-plus years and I strongly disagree with his proposal. It may seem gracious, but it’s already very affordable, almost like free.

If you do the math, $30 a year for a senior/disabled bus pass, that’s $2.50 a month for unlimited rides anytime, anywhere? Great deal; sweet deal.

The regular fare-paying passenger pays $2.50 just to step on the bus, receive a transfer that lasts for two hours to get to his or her destination.

I love seniors/disabled and wish they could get free medication and housing and not be taxed, but the reality is that things cost money and the fraction of what they contribute to ride the bus is actually too low. Martin should propose to double their yearly pass from $30 to $60. TheBus is a great service.

TheBus is a business, and with the cost of fuel, insurance and maintenance, everyone needs to contribute for such an awesome service. Let’s keep ’em rolling.

Koren Hannemann
Aiea

TV shows and movies make guns seem cool

You want gun control that would really work?

A ban on showing any guns on TV or other "entertainments."

Guns have been so glamorized they seem "cool," the choice of heroes and easy problem solvers.

Peace be with us, please!

Madolon Li Chan
Salt Lake

Give UH athletics back to the fans

The taking of "Rainbow" out of the Hawaii college men’s sports nickname is the third example of individuals hired from out of state implementing policies that adversely affect the fan base.

The first was pay-per-view.

The second was taking the players’ names off their jerseys.

Why didn’t the University of Hawaii get some input from the fans about the Rainbow name omission? Were the powers that be afraid the response might have been overwhelming?

Pay-per-view is an example of the university putting financial gain before catering to its fan base. Who expects a family on a tight budget to spend money to watch a football game?

Finally, put the names back on the jerseys so families and friends can identify and be proud of the athletes’ accomplishments. This would mean more to the players and fans than simply "buying into"team Ohana. Ohana does not have a price.

UH is the only game in town. Give athletics back to the fans. It will work.

Phil McInerney
Kailua

Apply $20M toward state retirement fund

If the governor has an extra $20 million in taxpayer money to give away, shouldn’t he first repay the state retirement and pension fund ("Abercrombie wants to give $20 million to business entrepreneurs," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 25)?

The fund would have been able to pay off those debts, had our elected officials not borrowed and neglected to repay. The rest of us repay our obligations before we give away other people’s hard-earned money.

Pauline Arellano
Mililani

Military pension tiny by some measures

Thomas Sowell, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, criticized politicians for spending on "huge" pensions while skimping on military defense ("Government mindset seen in attitude toward pensions," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 23).

How huge is huge? Let’s compare: President Barack Obama’s annual salary is $400,000 and his pension is $199,700. In 2008 the president of Stanford University earned $1,091,589, with $702,771 base pay, $259,592 in deferred benefits and $129,226 in non-tax benefits.

I have two government pensions, one military and one civil service. Neither could be considered huge. I earned them by defending our nation and have awards and commendations to prove it.

Congress’ support for neutrality and isolationism prevented President Franklin D. Roosevelt from preparing the nation for war.Maybe our army was smaller than Portugal’s because our colonial empire was not as huge as theirs.

Thomas Dickey
Salt Lake

Oscar awards should have been shown live

Last Sunday was the Oscars, one of the biggest entertainment events of the year, right up there with the Super Bowl and New Year’s Eve.

So I ask, why do we who live in Hawaii get all those events live, but have a four-hour delay on the Academy Awards broadcast? Why are we the only state in the union that has a delay? Alaskans don’t have to wait. Why do we?

By the time we got to see the show, it had finished an hour before. The whole world knew who won except us. Why? The advertising gods are holding us hostage. In this day of social media, it makes no sense for network television and cable companies to delay the news, sport scores, or stock market quotes. Then why delay the Oscars? It’s news.

Shame on you, ABC and Oceanic Cable!

Mark Hickson
Hawaii Kai

Red-light cams should catch pedestrians, too

If cameras are set up to catch violating drivers, will they also catch violating pedestrians stepping into the intersection after the walk signal is no longer showing and the countdown has begun?

This action by pedestrians puts them in possible danger and prevents the drivers from safely executing their move through the intersection within the expected time allowed by the designers of that particular intersection.

Jamie Tengan
Hawaii Kai