Letters

May 2008

April issue

“92 Percent Neglected”  04/08
In his Editor’s Page, A. Kam Napier questioned the city’s proposal to reduce parking requirements at new apartment buildings.

Mr. Napier claims that Bill 11 is an instance of government power run amuck. In fact, Bill 11 would lessen government control over development in the designated areas by reducing regulations imposed on developers. Developers are still free to build parking facilities that will provide two spaces per apartment, they are simply not required to do so. The market will decide if one-stall apartments will attract buyers, and the market will decide what the premium buyers of two-stall apartments are willing to pay. As a seeming champion of laissez-faire government, Napier should be applauding this initiative.

Napier also fails to recognize the realities of our changing world. Our present way of life is simply not sustainable. [Councilman Gary] Okino and others recognize that Honolulu’s future depends on smart growth and a fundamental shift in societal norms. The transit proposal, and its accompanying initiatives, is not a perfect plan, but it is an investment in the future; a future that rejects the destructive practices and shortsightedness that have come to define the present.  

DAVID BRUNNER, HONOLULU

“The Eyre Era”  03/08
A. Kam Napier wrote about two of HONOLULU’s pivotal co-editors, Cynthia and David Eyre. The photo, at left, shows the Eyres, self-professed squares, with the staff of the Hawaiian Love Journal.

Kerry Taggert, today, at left. Photo courtesy of Sumiko Henna

It was a blast from the past to see my 21-year-old self in the photo taken 37 years ago, with David and Cynthia Eyre and the staff of the alternative Hawaiian Love Journal. I’m the dark-haired young woman on the right. We were literally an underground paper, operating out of a small basement downtown. As I recall, David Eyre and Eaton Magoon were the angels for this project. Of the two issues I worked on (after which the paper folded), my best article touted Spalding House, the previous incarnation of The Contemporary Museum. As for your description, there may have been “free love” (including what we now call gender queer) and pakalolo (which was a lot cheaper then), but we did keep our clothes on most of the time.

KERRY TAGGERT, MAKIKI HEIGHTS

“Best of HONOLULU” 03/08
Our annual Best of issue named 119 reader and editor picks.

No one expects everyone to agree all the time, but some of your food “bests” are outrageous. In a city like Honolulu, with some of the finest sushi in the world, that Genki Sushi would win for Best Sushi is absolutely laughable. And Zippy’s for the Best Saimin? You could pick almost anywhere else for both categories. Which readers are voting, third graders? Your editors should have changed the responses or dropped the category just to save face. Here’s where honesty is NOT the best policy.

PAT VALLEY, HONOLULU
    

It is an honor and a privilege to be selected as the state’s 2007 Best Public Official by the readers of HONOLULU. As I expressed in my recent State of the State Address, I truly love being the governor of Hawaii. Each day, I am reminded of the very large responsibility that goes along with my job and I am humbled by it.

I am proud of my entire administration, who have devoted themselves to implementing a clear direction for our state: a direction that encourages personal responsibility, transforms the economy, focuses on energy independence, preserves our cultural and natural resources, and enhances the overall quality of life for the people of Hawaii.

I would like to extend a warm mahalo to the people of Hawaii for making me a part of their ohana and for inspiring me to take on the great challenges of the day.

GOVERNOR LINDA LINGLE, HONOLULU

Letters to the Editor may be submitted online here, e-mailed to: letters_honmag@pacificbasin.net, faxed: 537-6455 or sent to: HONOLULU Magazine, 1000 Bishop Street, Suite 405, Honolulu, HI, 96813.  Letters may be edited for space.