Shameful law made good kids criminals

During her summer break from college, my daughter and her boyfriend went to Ala Moana Beach Park a little after midnight to look at the stars together to celebrate their anniversary.

They didn’t see any signs posted and were enjoying the evening, when several police officers arrived. They were charged with trespassing. They were told by the lawyers to plead guilty and not to fight their "criminal" charges,or the consequences could be more severe, including jail time.

Now these two good kids, who have never gotten into trouble their entire lives, both have criminal records. Of course, if they had been tourists, they would have just been given a warning.

I was told that although my daughter was just hired by Microsoft, there has been a delay in her hiring due to her "criminal record."

Two good kids going to look at the stars for their anniversary are now convicted criminals.

Shame! Shame! Shame!

John Shiarella
Kaneohe

State must value teachers and settle

I, along with 13,000 other teachers and Hawaii State Teachers Association members, give our blood, sweat and tears for the betterment of Hawaii’s youth and future.

We rise to meet challenges in classrooms across our state, imparting knowledge, teaching skills, and encouraging our students to dream, persevere and live up to their potential.

Why then are teachers the bad guys? We’ve gritted our teeth in the state’s squeeze for more money. We endured the furloughs with pay cuts, witnessed lawmakers snatch away our VEBA (Voluntary Employees Beneficiaries Association), experienced dramatic increases in health care costs, and felt the stabs in our backs as the "last, best and final" offer was shoved upon us.

Recently, there’s been a ruckus over the breakdown in mediation. We’re tired and frustrated with being disrespected. Teachers want what is fair and honors what we do. We’re not the enemy! The state must value its teachers and settle now!

Michele Sasaki
Pearl City

Clear thinking on rail appreciated

Your editorial ("Transit will require careful adjusting of city priorities," Star-Advertiser, Our View, Oct. 8), coming as it does at the tail end of election-year pyrotechnics, and the usual battery of sniping against rail fromsome so-called "environmentalists" and their hangers-on, is a welcome dose of reason.

I applaud you for clear thinking, which, perhaps more than anything else, we need a lot more ofin our community of residents beset by disinformation, propaganda and distorted thinking.

Jim Anthony
Kaaawa

Voters should look past mudslinging

I cannot believe that your paper would allow such a slam headline ("Hanabusa optimistic, Djou gloomy," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 8). Do you not have someone who oversees such back-handed headlines?

After reading the one-sided article by Derrick DePledge, I hope that the voters can see through the mudslinging and vote for the person who is a highly qualified and decent candidate who will give the people of Hawaii a voice they deserve.

It’s time to look at and decide who is best for Hawaii, and not a rubber stamp.

Jack Murdock
Moiliili

UH leaders lack Hawaii knowledge

I was embarrassed by what has been revealed about our universityby the recent legislative hearings. Having served the students enrolled at the University of Hawaii-Manoa for 30 years, I have experience with our administration as it dealt with the athletic programs.

What concerns me most is how the university recruits its top academic leadership. At a time when costs for higher education nationally has been increasing dramatically, we recruit from pools of applicants who appear to lack sufficient knowledge about our state, community and its economic resources.

The fiasco in hiring Evan Dobelle should have warned us of this problem. He totally failed to understand how our community works in supporting higher education and had to be terminated.

I believe that we have many worthy individuals at our university and in our state who could lead us into our future.

Donald F. Char
Niu Valley

System, not people, are problem at UH

Ted Hong explores the values of autonomy and accountability in university governance ("Revamp role of UH regents but stay true to university’s mission," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Oct. 8).

Universities value autonomy, which fosters free discussion of issues in promoting intellectual life without undue outside interference. State authorities who support public universities are concerned with accountability.

These two values are understandable, but in practice they clash periodically because of ambiguities, mistakes and miscommunication, which result in more misunderstanding.

Autonomy can lead to fiefdoms that sometimes operate with impunity. On the other hand, accountability can lead to interference under the guise of public concern. This appears to violate a university’s autonomy.

Firing one administrator is not the answer to the long-standing malaise in university governance on the autonomy-accountability scale. Mistakes will be repeated only because the fundamental structural problems are not addressed.

Belinda A. Aquino
Moiliili