Mail, Ticketing Mrs. Mufi, Zoom

The MidWeek readers always write.

About my suggestion that perhaps too many Special Needs kids with behavioral problems are allowed to disrupt mainstream school classes, a thoughtful reader (and parent of a Special Needs child) says:

It’s supposed to be a team decision to mainstream kids, but if the school can’t handle doing this (regular education teacher does not have enough support, not trained, etc.) then why are they agreeing to it? You are giving them the excuse of being afraid of lawsuits, but does that make it justifiable? DOE has a team of lawyers to go to court on their behalf. Some schools do take advantage of parents and their kids: they need lawyers to gain some equal footing. Some parents demand outrageous services: they need the schools to stand up to them.

And from a reader who wants to know more about my views on education:

I take it you’re against teaching creationism and having the Core Knowledge curriculum now used by some of our public schools. What would you teach?

I’d require Standard English and at least one major foreign language; familiarity with Western and Oriental great literature and philosophy; essential math and measurement systems; a history overview of North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and the Orient to include its sub-continents; physical science to include crustal geography, land and marine biology and evolution; astronomy; a substantial exposure to music, painting, sculpture, architecture, dance and theater.

Mr. Jones, I don’t know how you can attack an icon of our community like Aaron Mahi, the best Royal Hawaiian bandmaster we’ve ever had. They shouldn’t allow writers to say things like that, especially not fat men like you.

Ah, but I never wrote a bad word about Mahi. I only said it struck me as foolish to pay any bandmaster almost $100,000.

And I like to think of six feet and 240 pounds as sturdy oak rather than fat.

Lastly, this one:

I read about your upbringing and considering all the things you did with your life, why don’t you write a book?

I did. It was rejected by three local publishers, one local literary agent and a senior editor for Random House.

I’ll have to wait for my death to be discovered as a giant of American literature. Meanwhile, I’ll live on the royalties from my wife’s very successful War Torn.

I met an elderly Waikiki resident who told me of going for his 10 a.m. walk on Lewers Street on May 25, felt some chest pain and dashed across the street mid-block to get the nitro pills he’d left in his apartment.

He was stopped by a trio of policemen. They weren’t buying the pills story and made him stand there while they wrote a citation for jaywalking.

“I’ll be taking this to court,” said the elderly man.

“Good,” said the ticket writer. “Then I’ll have to go, and that means overtime.

More money for me.” Sounds like an easy one for Chief Correia to check out.

The cops pulled over Gail Hannemann (hizzoner Mufi was on board) for speeding and chatted her up to check for evidence of alcohol or drug use — standard methodology.

Mufi called the chief to “talk about policy and procedures.” True, the mayor doesn’t hire or fire the police chief, but he appoints the Police Commission members who do.

I bet the chief checked out that ticket.

Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona chose a King Street crosswalk as the site to announce the signing of a new crosswalk law to give pedestrians a better break.

Finished, he got in his official car and his driver zoomed through the crosswalk, right in front of a nurse crossing to Straub Hospital. It’s immortalized on KITV-4 News videotape, in case the chief wants to check it out.

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