• Superferry lessons • Follow ferry precedent • Paws for the cause • Coco Palms idea win-win • On drop-out rates for Hawaii Superferry lessons When the Superferry was initially proposed, I supported the idea because I do believe we
• Superferry lessons
• Follow ferry precedent
• Paws for the cause
• Coco Palms idea win-win
• On drop-out rates for Hawaii
Superferry lessons
When the Superferry was initially proposed, I supported the idea because I do believe we need more than air and barge transportation service between the islands, if we are to realize a sustainable future. I had not protested or demonstrated, until it became very apparent that this “situation” has become a multilevel assault on the island and people of Kaua‘i by government and corporate officials. In true military fashion, the attackers must energize themselves with an attitude of superiority and commit themselves to doing whatever it takes to achieve victory. They can be identified more by what they do rather than by what they say, but I should have known right off the bat when I heard the name Superferry.
Let’s also recognize most of us have been born to, and by a culture built upon competition and colonial expansionism. So now we get to live through and actually experience a seemingly more benign form of what other supposedly lesser cultures have endured as militarists (many of ourselves among them) have marched through history.
Mahalo everyone for the big learning experience. But I feel we need to go back to square one on this ferry idea and develop a cooperative, community based inter-island transportation system. It shouldn’t be something we have to fight for. But here we are.
Fortunately, more and more of us are getting it and even dyed-in-the-wool militarists can change, usually when they wake up and learn it’s in their best interest. In the present situation, this will obviously take lots more work. Until then, I like the idea of it becoming just a plain old ferry and circling O‘ahu to alleviate their traffic.
David Martin
Waipouli
Follow ferry precedent
To respond to the people having trouble getting the permits for their alternative energy plans, do not ask for permission. Do it already. It is your right and obligation in these times to use our more than abundant and renewable resources. You are giving power to individuals. It is wonderful that people like yourselves are working for a better cleaner and cheaper lifestyle. And a note to the farmers of Kilauea, I may not be completely aware of all the issues, but, can you get together and co-op a large enough hole, lined and fed by rain on private property without imposing restrictions or impositions on your neighbors? I see that there is obvious costs but freedom ‘ain’t’ never been free. Of course you probably will not need an EA or any legalities, the ferry is setting a statewide precedent. Forever. Again just do it.
Steven Valiere
Kilauea
Paws for the cause
My name is “Bella” and I’m a 1-year-old poi dog born here on the Garden Island. My parents rescued me from the Humane Society. I feel very lucky to live in such a beautiful place.
Last week when my mom and I were running on the beach I cut my leg on a big piece of glass. The vet said I was really lucky that it didn’t cut my tendon or my nerve. I had to have seven staples and had to wear a splint for nine days while the wound healed. I couldn’t go walking, hiking or to the beach. And after all the vet bills it ended up costing $500.
There is a lot of trash on the beach, but I think there is more on the side of the roads. I even see trash flying out of the back of pickup trucks as they drive along.
It’s difficult for me to understand why people don’t take care of such a beautiful place.
I also worry about the children. They could get hurt like I did. And what kind of message does it send to the children when adults don’t take responsibility for the world they are leaving them?
I see my mom picking up trash when we go to the beach, but there is always more the next time we go. The solution seems so simple. Why can’t everyone just take care of their own trash and love the land the way that it loves us?
I hope that people will wake up before it is too late.
Mahalo for listening and making a change.
Bella
Wailua
Coco Palms idea win-win
I support Lynn Brodie’s plan for the Coco Palms property (“Sacred Land,” Letters, Oct. 3), and appreciate the Big Island providing the precedent. Our community would gain a beautiful park in a historical setting. Adding a cultural center and widening the highway makes this a win-win proposition.
Catherine Burns
Princeville
On drop-out rates for Hawaii
The recent Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Summit was a great opportunity for citizens, including many student participants, to envision the future they want for themselves and their children. However, to get to a preferred future, one should start with an accurate view of the present.
In the draft report of the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Task Force, which was prepared by the Office of the State Auditor for the summit, participants were misled with inaccurate statements that Hawai‘i has a high school drop-out rate of 36 percent.
Based on published Department of Education data, the drop-out rate for the last three years has been 14 percent to 16 percent.
The DOE data are based on student information collected over a four-year period on respective first-time ninth-grade student cohorts. This method of student cohort tracking is the most accurate method of calculating drop-out rates. Because of the DOE’s statewide student information system, Hawai‘i is one of a few states that is able to furnish these statistics by tracking individual students over time.
The data used by the Office of the State Auditor are based on estimates derived from formula calculations — not on individual Hawaii student data. The DOE has repeatedly challenged such estimates released by Mainland publications and think tanks.
Patricia Hamamoto
Superintendent of Education
