Your Views for Feb. 16

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A police state

Federal spending cuts? Let’s start right here with the air assault teams that terrorize American citizens at home with four helicopters filled with commandos.

They scare the locals and steal their legal meds. That wasted money can be used to feed the 26 percent of our people who don’t know where their next meal will come from.

How about state and county cuts? Like all the new “No! No!” signs and gates at our beaches. When did we vote in a police state?

Who is hiring these intimidating rent-a-cops? Aloha State, my arse.

I love our country — or did when freedom was real. Every year, lawmakers take away one or two freedoms until “we the people” get used to it. Then they take away more.

I and others took an oath to defend our country against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic. It’s time to take care of the domestic.

Edward Connolly

Keaau

Residency program

I encourage (Big Island legislators) to keep the development of the medical residency program a high priority.

The Big Island has a shortage of physicians that will get worse in the next few years. Many people have difficulty finding providers of care. Having insurance does not guarantee that you will be able to find a doctor.

The residency training program is being developed as an association between the John A. Burns School of Medicine and Hilo Medical Center. This will be the only Neighbor Island program. It is a multi-disciplinary training program that is expected to be a model for future medical care. We expect that most of the physicians, nurses and pharmacists who graduate will prefer to practice on the Neighbor Islands.

Hilo Medical Center is investing in this program, but the state’s support is critical. We have an opportunity now to avoid a severe health care crisis by investing in the residency program. Previous funding for this program was passed by the Legislature, but the governor failed to release the funds. We need to encourage our legislators to reappropriate funding and encourage the governor to release the funds.

Robert D. Irvine, M.D.

East Hawaii Regional
board chair,

Hawaii Health Systems Corp.


A police state

Federal spending cuts? Let’s start right here with the air assault teams that terrorize American citizens at home with four helicopters filled with commandos.

They scare the locals and steal their legal meds. That wasted money can be used to feed the 26 percent of our people who don’t know where their next meal will come from.

How about state and county cuts? Like all the new “No! No!” signs and gates at our beaches. When did we vote in a police state?

Who is hiring these intimidating rent-a-cops? Aloha State, my arse.

I love our country — or did when freedom was real. Every year, lawmakers take away one or two freedoms until “we the people” get used to it. Then they take away more.

I and others took an oath to defend our country against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic. It’s time to take care of the domestic.

Edward Connolly

Keaau

Residency program

I encourage (Big Island legislators) to keep the development of the medical residency program a high priority.

The Big Island has a shortage of physicians that will get worse in the next few years. Many people have difficulty finding providers of care. Having insurance does not guarantee that you will be able to find a doctor.

The residency training program is being developed as an association between the John A. Burns School of Medicine and Hilo Medical Center. This will be the only Neighbor Island program. It is a multi-disciplinary training program that is expected to be a model for future medical care. We expect that most of the physicians, nurses and pharmacists who graduate will prefer to practice on the Neighbor Islands.

Hilo Medical Center is investing in this program, but the state’s support is critical. We have an opportunity now to avoid a severe health care crisis by investing in the residency program. Previous funding for this program was passed by the Legislature, but the governor failed to release the funds. We need to encourage our legislators to reappropriate funding and encourage the governor to release the funds.

Robert D. Irvine, M.D.

East Hawaii Regional
board chair,

Hawaii Health Systems Corp.