Inouye And Sexual Harassment

Hold off on naming things after him (April 4, 2018)

The Civil Beat Dan Inouye/Megan Bailiff story by Anita Hofschneider shines some light on a long-overlooked corner of darkness — powerful men pushing themselves on unpowerful women (“#MeToo: One Woman’s Story Of Sexual Harassment By Hawaii Sen. Dan Inouye”).

But there’s another, unmentioned issue: the naming of things after powerful men of the past without waiting to see what will be said about them in the present.

Inouye has our main airport named for him. A highway outside Waimea on Hawaii Island leading up to the Pohakuloa Army Training Area. And a major combat ship bearing his name is being built at the Bath Shipyard.

If even more women should come forth with stories of bad behavior (he’s previously been accused of rape) we’d be in the very embarrassing situation of having to fly into/out of his airport, drive on his highway, and a generation of sailors (some female) would have to serve on his ship.

If that isn’t enough impetus to hold off on the naming-game, I don’t know what more is required.

— Bob Jones, Honolulu

Gut And Replace? Auwe!

Toss the rotten vegetables (April 5, 2018)

The Legislature is running amok!

How is it that our lawmakers feel privileged to first write laws and then, at their whim, change them without public input? This is how unchallenged power operates (“What’s Up With All The Gut-And-Replace Trickery At The Legislature This Year?”).

We have seen the works of both Donovan Dela Cruz and Sylvia Luke in the past. Perhaps the people who elect these representatives should take a look at what they do once they are “in power.” Maybe, like stale vegetables, they need to be removed from the legislative table before they get completely rotten.

These are the people who desperately want to remove Gov. Ige from the executive branch so they can lock up government decisions with a backroom friendly candidate rather than an honest guy trying to do the right thing for the people of Hawaii. 

Auwe! Let’s get responsible government back in place.

— John and Rita Shockley, Makakilo

Déjà vu all over again (April 5, 2018)

In 1979, Rep. Bob Dods complained to this intern that only original thing left in the bill he introduced was its title.

— Penelope Hazzard, Honolulu

Expanding Oahu’s Sit-Lie Ban

Free up the police first (April 6, 2018)

If the mayor is unable to enforce the current sit-lie ban then what good does it do to expand the measure? (“Caldwell Wants A Sidewalk Sit-Lie Ban Everywhere On Oahu.”)

Example: At the bus stop at Kuhio and Paoakalani avenues (mauka side) there has been and still is a woman who resides at this address. Many Waikiki residents (myself included) have requested that the police remove the woman and yet nothing has occurred.

There have been witnesses who call in when she urinates on the bus stop. The bus stop is then taped off until city workers come and sanitize and clean the stop.

Of course there are so many other obvious examples, but you are aware and do not need me to point them out for you.

Perhaps the mayor should concentrate on forming a sit-lie enforcement agency which would then allow the Honolulu Police Department to keep officers on the streets of Waikiki where they are needed.

Recent reports by HPD to the Waikiki Neighborhood Board have stated that there are only 10 officers assigned to all of Waikiki. Obviously, Waikiki needs more officers, and the enforcement of homeless issues are not part of their job description.

Free up the police to do their jobs and enforce the current law before adding another layer of laws which do nothing.

— Kathryn Henski, Honolulu

The Anti-Hee Super PAC

A gaping failure of journalism (April 5, 2018)

The only “gap” is Civil Beat’s failure to report all relevant facts on political candidates (“Super PAC’s Attack Reveals Gaps In Hawaii Campaign Finance Law”).

This journalistic “gap” should be of concern to anyone who is a survivor of domestic violence, because it smacks of lame rhetoric: “There’s no police report filed, so it must not be true,” and, “If there is a lapse in the abuse and public reporting of the abuse, that it must not have occurred or is too “remote.”

This stale approach by the writers is akin to the old shaming, shunning and silencing techniques that have long been in place, and is at complete odds with what the reporters are suggesting: that Hawaii residents and Super PACs need be concerned with “transparency.”

So, PACs are required to exercise transparency, but a gubernatorial candidate can duck and weave to conceal their own criminal history?

Civil Beat has supported women who have come forth to expose abuse by those in power, so it is puzzling that Civil Beat now wants to demonize a woman for doing just that.

Instead of using their platform to help shine a light on abuses by those in power, Civil Beat is giving political cover to abusers. That’s journalist malpractice and it’s just shameful. 

— Ilima Nakapuahi, Volcano