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May 28, 2009 WEDNESDAY, MAY 20
As anticipated, I got a couple e-mails about last week's entry on melanoma prevention. One focused on the supposed link between melanoma and sunscreen, but didn't present much in the way of convincing evidence. The message I found most interesting was an unsigned note from a reader that said, in essence: brown skinned people don't need to worry about skin cancer. (Predictably, the letter also contained the well-worn "Haole Times" chestnut, forcing me to remind everyone yet again that it's "Haole Time." Please, if you're going to pigeonhole us, at least get your facts straight.) Anyway, I decided to do a little research into the notion that dark skin equals lower skin cancer risk. On the surface, there's definitely some veracity to the claim—blacks, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders and others with high concentrations of melanin have a significantly lower incidence of skin cancer than do Caucasians. But, according to a January report from the national Skin Cancer Foundation, the melanoma survival rate for dark skinned people is much lower, almost certainly because warning signs are ignored and the cancer is allowed to advance before treatment is sought. (Access to medical care may also play a role.) Quoted in the study, Skin Cancer Foundation spokesperson Mona Gohara added another noteworthy wrinkle: ethnic background and skin color are two very different things. "Within each ethnic group there is a range of skin tones, all of which are at risk for skin cancer," said Gohara. The obvious conclusion: better safe than sorry.
THURSDAY, MAY 21
It's rare that a Maui project of any kind costs less than anticipated or is completed early. When both of those things happen at once, well, let's just say the fates have aligned. And align they did over the Hana landfill cleanup, which, The Maui News reports, SOS Metals Island Recycling finished three months ahead of schedule, and for a bid $1 million lower than expected. In all, about 5 million pounds of junk including old vehicles (shocking, I know), batteries and appliances that had been building up for more than a decade was hauled to Central Maui. From there it'll be shipped off-island according to county officials, and become someone else's problem. That's the thing about garbage: you can clean it up (and it's a good thing they did, for Hana's sake), but it never really goes "away."
FRIDAY, MAY 22
Here's one of those "I'll believe it when I see it" headlines from today's Maui News: "Boardwalk almost ready." The boardwalk in question, as you've probably guessed, is the infamous one along the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Maui, which has languished for years in a state of partial completion because of delays related to a small, 14-space parking lot and various bureaucratic entanglements. In all, the undertaking has cost more than $2 million, reason enough to make the demand: open the damn thing already! Supposedly we're close, just an inspection and a few sign installations away. Lingering doubt aside, I really hope that's true… In other news: NIMBYism is as powerful as it is prevalent. That acronym, for those unfamiliar, stands for "Not in My Backyard." And it was on full display recently on Oahu, according to a report in today's Honolulu Advertiser about a plan to construct longterm housing for the "chronically homeless," whose ranks are rising, in Honolulu's Chinatown. Here's the relevant line, which can be found, with little variation, in every single story about proposals to build low-income housing or homeless shelters: "Some said that they liked the concept but didn't want it in the area for fear it would pose a safety threat." These things have to be built somewhere. The homeless (or "houseless," as some advocates prefer) tend to be concentrated in urban areas, where other, not houseless people also live. If you "like the concept" and yet refuse to allow it to be built near you no matter what, you are not only a NIMBY but a hypocrite as well. (Also: not having a house doesn't automatically make someone a public safety threat, just as having a house doesn't make someone a model citizen. The homeless woman you cross the street to avoid could be a perfectly decent victim of circumstance, while that guy down the block with the two bedroom, one-and-a-half bath might be a raving lunatic.)
SATURDAY, MAY 23
In a victory for anyone who thinks voting technology has gotten ahead of itself, Judge Joseph Cardoza ruled in favor of five Maui voters on Wednesday and ordered state election officials to make rules regarding the use of Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) devices and the transmission of results over phone lines or the Internet. I interviewed attorney Lance Collins, who represents the voters, back in October 2008, shortly after Judge Cardoza ruled the lawsuit was filed too close to the election to force any rulemaking. At the time, Collins said that voting technology in itself isn't a bad thing but that working out the kinks is essential. "You don't experiment with elections," he said. He echoed that sentiment in an e-mail sent yesterday: "The more electronic the voting system becomes, the greater the need for clear rules to guide election officials." Now we wait to see what kind of rules they come up with.
SUNDAY, MAY 24
The long-simmering debate over the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) that the National Science Foundation wants to place on the summit of Haleakala is heating up, as a draft Environmental Impact Statement moves forward. It's being sold as a fight between Native Hawaiian advocates and the scientific community, though, as with all matters related to cultural preservation and progress, it's more complicated than that. You can get a copy of the EIS at public libraries islandwide, or read it online at atst.nso.edu. The deadline for written comments is June 22. You can also offer input at two public meetings: June 3, 5-8pm at the Cameron Center in Wailuku; and June 4, 7-10pm at the Mayor Hannibal Tavares Community Center in Pukalani.
MONDAY, MAY 25
For a thought-provoking examination of the origins and significance of Memorial Day, check out this week's Rob Report (page 5). I'll only add that, on this and every other day, it's important to honor those who have died and to question the wisdom and necessity of the causes they died for. Both are patriotic.
TUESDAY, MAY 26
Speaking of war: It's interesting to note that the two countries currently grabbing headlines for their nuclear ambitions—Iran and North Korea—were the other members of Bush's "axis of evil." One could argue (and I will) that by attacking Iraq, the only member without a nuclear bomb or any real prospects of obtaining one (despite the lies, er, faulty intelligence presented by Powell, Cheney, et al), we sent a clear message to the other two: get nukes, or you're next. Obama has identified nuclear disarmament as a key goal. As with most of his other lofty ambitions, the actions of the Bush Administration are making things exceedingly difficult. MTW
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