Ha out of line
Ha out of line
Richard Ha’s “Stay home” commentary on April 22 lacks diplomacy (Tribune-Herald, Your Views).
It is very rude of him to attack prominent and respected voices of pono, such as he did in the Civil Beat commentary (April 6) telling Walter Ritte: “Go back to Molokai, you are not welcome here.” Walter, among others, worked tirelessly in the 70s and 80s to end the mindless bombing of Kahoolawe.
We are fortunate to live in a country where one is not afraid to take a stance and voice his/her opinions. Let’s use respectful dialogue, even if testifying on the opposite side of one’s stance.
After all, if we use the “stay home” mindset, we can apply that to the supporters of Thirty Meter Telescope, which may come from Canada, France, Germany, Japan and elsewhere.
Kapu Aloha will guide us to pono.
Steve Hirakami
Pahoa
Fund sports
In today’s generation, sports play a prominent role in our schools across Hawaii. Sports not only keep students out of trouble, but also provide an opportunity to make high school more enjoyable. Every year, the Department of Education spends about $812.9 million on athletics and other major school programs. The level of competition across the state is very high, and it is not easy to qualify for state or BIIF tournaments.
The DOE gives a very generous amount of financial support to athletics every year. Knowing that students work hard to not only excel in sports but also maintain their education, I feel that the schools should provide funding as a reward for the team’s accomplishments. Many sports teams today have to fund-raise on their own and pay out of their pockets. Since there are multiple sports going on at the same time year round, it is hard for teams to fund-raise knowing that consumers can really only afford to support one team.
In addition, there’s a program called S.O.S, also known as, “Save Our Sports.” It is a program established in 2011. More than $1.5 million dollars were raised in this program to help support athletic programs throughout the state of Hawaii.
From my personal experiences, my school has a lot of pride in their sports programs. However, our performance partially depends on the facilities and equipment we can get, knowing the department has a budget.
Although we are very thankful for the significant amount of financial support we get from the DOE, Hawaii’s sports programs should be fully funded so we can improve our performance and competitiveness.
Tiana Agdeppa
Honoka‘a
Dear Dr. Djon Lim:
Thank you for your lifetime of gracious service to our community and for your personal kindness and care. It is with sadness that I will miss the opportunities where you and I could sit and talk story following my examinations.
God bless you, and I am certain that He will accept you, a great man and caring cardiologist.
May your soul rest in peace. You, my friend, earned it!
Ron Baptista
Mountain View
Animal euthanasia
The front-page article on April 23 (“More than 10,000 animals euthanized”) points out that this number is an improvement over previous years. In my opinion, 10,000 is still an unacceptably high figure.
Spaying/neutering helps a lot, but many people can’t afford it, and it behooves government and the Humane Society to seek more funding to help those pet owners. To ensure that there is no hanky-panky, perhaps holders of EBT cards could get a “scholarship”so that people with the means will not take advantage of the program.
Years ago, the Humane Society would put photos of their adoptable animals in the newspaper. They haven’t done it for a long time. It worked. I saw a kitty pictured and adopted her. Bluebell and I had many wonderful years together.
I urge the Hawaii Tribune-Herald to work with the Humane Society, and also with the no-kill sanctuaries, to publicize their adoptable animals, as a public service.
The article also mentions that many of the animals euthanized are farm animals. Surely, with the public becoming increasingly aware of the need for sustainability, there are people who would willingly adopt horses, sheep, goats, etc. if only they knew.
If the Humane Society were to put the word out, many of these animals would not have to be euthanized and could live long productive lives with people who would care about them. Certainly worth a try.
René Siracusa
Pahoa