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Letter: U.S. losing hard-earned leadership of Free World

Love of country is a powerful thing. It is how most of us are connected to the land we live on; the comfort of our own culture; the home of our families; a place worth fighting for. We are witnessing America give up its hard-earned reputation as the leader of the Free World; while forgetting its purpose as a nation of a diverse, free people with constitutionally guaranteed values and rights. What does it mean to be an American today? Are we still the “land of the free and home of the brave?” Your recent story on the Nisei of WWII reminded me of presentation of the story of ...

Letter: Slow ambulance responses may lead to more death

Local EMS provider American Medical Response has arbitrarily began significantly slowing ambulance responses and care for trauma, cardiac, and stroke patients here in Hawaii. Once AMR began mandating drive cameras in all of their ambulances, the AI software in ambulances will trigger an alarm in the ambulance to warn the person driving that they are speeding. If you get a few of these you get remedial training. If you get more then you could be fired for violating the driving policy. Both the fire and police department have similar policies but they are not enforcing them and ...

Letter: Local protest Saturday part of action nationwide

The next “No Dictators” protest on Maui is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday in front of Queen Ka‘ahumanu Shopping Center. This protest coincides with over 3,000 other protests nationwide.   Over five million people came out to protest the Trump Administration in June and more than seven million took to the streets in October.   March 28 will be the largest protest in American history.  Everyone is welcome regardless of political affiliation. It isn’t about politics. It’s about morals, ethics and human dignity. No matter how much the administration tries to justify and ...

Letter: Hemp ban added to federal funding bill is concerning

Living and working in Ha‘ikū, Hawai‘i, I understand how policy decisions made thousands of miles away can have outsized effects on local communities. That is why the hemp ban quietly added to a federal funding bill is so concerning. Changes with consequences this serious should not be made without transparency, especially for states like Hawai‘i, where access and supply chains already come with unique challenges. Hemp-derived products play a role in many people’s daily lives across the islands, including small business owners, veterans, seniors, and ...

Letter: Old dogs not giving up their fat paychecks

In all professional sports, your longevity as a player is very short. On the average, football players last 3.5 years. Basketball player last 4.5 years. Baseball players are out three to four years. If you can last for five years and retire at age 30, you are lucky. Injuries are a major problem because of the intensity of the game; the human body can only take so much of the pounding of competition. Cooper Flagg is only 19 years old. Just a kid, first round draft pick, extremely successful in the NBA. He already is injured, can’t play, on injured reserve. The old players know ...

Letter: Who knew that genealogy could be so interesting?

My brother, Lorenzo, spent two years in Italy, tracing our family tree. Because Catholic Churches have kept meticulous records over centuries, he was able to reach into the eleventh century, before being called away. During those days of his search, it was assumed that Italians, other than those of the upper north and very south, including Sicily, of course, were pure, unmixed people. Now, however, we know that was a false assumption. In my own life, my dearest friend, who is Ashkenazi, on her mother's side, and I seem to have a strong blood affinity. The science of genetics has ...