From: CNHA Mailing List [mailinglist@hawaiiancouncil.org]
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2005 6:57 PM
To: annie@hawaiiancouncil.org
Subject: CNHA's NewsClips - April 20, 2005

Bringing you today’s stories on issues important to Native communities. NewsClips is a complimentary service of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. Please save the dates for our Fourth Annual Native Hawaiian Conference from August 30 - September 2 2005, at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. For information and updates on our training workshops and events, please visit our Web site: www.hawaiiancouncil.org.

 

 

April 20, 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Tuesday, April 19, 2005

 

500 expected at Native Hawaiian Conference

 

Advertiser Staff

The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) has set the fourth annual Native Hawaiian Conference for Aug. 30-Sept. 2 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

More than 500 conferees are expected to meet, discussing development issues in the Hawaiian community, ranging from health- care to education.

The conference theme is "Na Wai Ke Kuleana? Na Kakou!" ("Who Is Responsible? We All Are!").

In addition to Native Hawaiian representatives and leaders, the 38-member board of directors of the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN), representing hundreds of Native Alaskan nonprofits, governments and communities, will join the conference.

Members of the InterTribal Economic Alliance, a coalition of tribal leaders focused on business development and creating economies in their homelands, also plan to attend.

Registration fee for the entire conference package is $350 for CNHA members and $480 for nonmembers. A two-for-one rate is offered to people who attended last year's conference. Daily rates of $120 for members and $160 for nonmembers also are available. Discount hotel rates also are offered.

Participants will be entered in a drawing for a seven-day Norwegian Cruise Line vacation.

Information: 521-5011 or visit www.hawaiiancouncil.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, April 17, 2005

 

Akaka Bill plans future

Maui News

 

Editorial

An influential state senator worries about lawsuits filed against the state. A non-Hawaiian resident of Maui worries about the islands facing problems involving Indian reservations on the Mainland. Hawaiians worry about losing self-help programs on one side of the issue and on the other side whether it will mean the last step in destroying aspirations for sovereignty.

The worries all center on the Akaka Bill. The 38-page “Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005” says its purpose is “to express the policy of the United States regarding the United States relationship with Native Hawaiians and to provide a process for the recognition by the United States of the Native Hawaiian governing entity.”

Note the words “provide a process.” The act defines “governing entity” as “the governing entity organized by the Native Hawaiian people pursuant to this act.”

The senator was concerned about the definition of Native Hawaiian since it was defined by Congress in 1920 as a person with 50 percent Hawaiian blood.

The Akaka Bill defines Native Hawaiian as an individual who is “of the indigenous, native people of Hawaii and who is a direct lineal descendant of the aboriginal, indigenous, native people who resided in the islands that now comprise the State of Hawaii on or before January 1, 1893; and occupied and exercised sovereignty in the Hawaiian archipelago, including the area that now constitutes the State of Hawaii; or an individual who is one of the indigenous, native people of Hawaii and who was eligible in 1921 for the programs authorized by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (42 State. 108, chapter 42) or a direct lineal descendant of that individual.”

Note the use of the words “and” and “or” in the above definition.

The Akaka Bill calls for the Secretary of the Interior to appoint nine “Native Hawaiians” who “shall have expertise in the determination of Native Hawaiian ancestry and lineal descendancy” to a commission to prepare a “roll of the adult members of the Native Hawaiian community who elect to participate in the reorganization of the Native Hawaiian governing entity.”

Note the words “who elect to participate.”

And, for those transplanted Mainlanders worried about casinos in Hawaii, the Akaka Bill says “Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the Native Hawaiian governing entity to conduct gaming activities under the authority of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.”

The act gives Hawaiians 20 years to file land and other claims against the federal government and calls for conflicts between federal, state and Hawaiian law to be resolved by negotiation, along with “the transfer of lands, natural resources, and other assets, and the protection of existing rights related to such lands or resources.” The act also specifically says it does not eliminate or limit existing programs designed to help Hawaiians help themselves.

The Akaka Bill, as does any legal document, attempts to limit interpretation. Only the future will show how successful it is in that regard.

What seems clear is that the “Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005” recognizes the Hawaiian people as being culturally and politically unique and that the Hawaiian Islands are their home – yesterday, today and in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, April 15, 2005

 

Clash possible between state, Akaka Bill

 

By Ron Staton
Associated Press

The matter of blood quantum could become a thorny issue for the Legislature if a bill granting native Hawaiians federal recognition is approved by Congress and becomes law, a key legislator said yesterday.

The so-called Akaka Bill, which would grant native Hawaiians the same rights of self-government enjoyed by American Indians and native Alaskans, leaves the definition of who is Hawaiian to the native governing entity that would be formed under provisions of the bill.

However, the 1920 federal Hawaiian Homes law provides that a person must have 50 percent Hawaiian blood to qualify for homestead leases. And there is a general belief that the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands would be folded into the new native government.

This is cause for concern for state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, who raised those concerns yesterday at a briefing for her committee and the House Hawaiian Affairs Committee by Attorney General Mark Bennett, Hawaiian Homes Director Micah Kane and Office of Hawaiian Affairs Administrator Clyde Namuo.

The briefing was intended to explain to legislators the Akaka Bill's impact on the state. However, much of the briefing and questions from lawmakers centered on the status of the bill and its chances of passing this year.

The state has a responsibility to beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes trust, but if Hawaiian Homes becomes part of a native government entity that will decide the blood quantum issue, Hanabusa asked how that will affect the Hawaiian Homes beneficiaries.

"Who are we as a state responsible to?" she asked. "The state has a fiduciary responsibility to this group. What do we do?"

Hanabusa also noted that by state law, revenues from ceded lands -- crown lands first ceded to the U.S. government in 1898 that came under state control when Hawaii became a state in 1959 -- that go to OHA must be used for those with 50 percent blood quantum.

"The question is, When the state negotiates with the native governing entity (on land issues), will the state be indemnified?" she said.

Bennett responded that there might need to be a provision in the bill stating that by participating in negotiations, the state is not giving up its responsibility to those who are native Hawaiian by 50 percent blood.

Hanabusa also questioned if the situation would create two classes of Hawaiians. Bennett said that was possible, and that it was an important question that would have to be defined in law after the negotiations conclude.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Wednesday, April 6, 2005

 

Key senator opposes Windward land deal

 

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writer

Following pleas by dozens of residents and farmers, the head of a Senate committee will recommend against land transfers in Waiahole/Waikane valleys from the state Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawai'i to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

A vote on the issue by the committees on Water, Land and Agriculture, and Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing will take place today.

The committees held a joint meeting Monday afternoon on Senate Concurrent Resolution 178, which opposes the land transfer. After more than two hours of testimony Sen. Russell Kokubun, chairman of Water, Land and Agriculture, said he will recommend approval of the resolution. Kokubun, D-2nd (S. Hilo, Puna, Ka'u), said he also would recommend an amendment to the resolution calling for the two agencies to undo an agreement for a land transfer that took place in December.

More than 70 farmers and residents from the two valleys squeezed into a Senate committee room to plead their case, sometimes through tears and as a group, in song.

HCDCH manages 92 leases for property in Waiahole and Waikane Valley, which was purchased by the state in 1977 to stop urban development there. The agency also controls land there that is not leased out. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has 20 leases there.

Robert Fernandez, who spoke of the ethnic and cultural diversity in the valleys, said he and others feared the land would eventually be given to Hawaiians, at the expense of the other cultures.

HCDCH wants to transfer the land to Hawaiian Home Lands because it has the experience to manage the water resource there, said Stephanie Aveiro, executive director of HCDCH.

David Chinen, president of the Waiahole-Waikane Community Association, said many of the people are concerned about the possible development of the water in the valley for use on the Leeward Coast.

Micah Kane, director of Hawaiian Home Lands, said DHHL would improve the water system for its beneficiaries and others.

"We're not interested in evicting families," Kane said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 18, 2005

 

Business Tenants Fuel Hawaiian Home Lands Future

 

The Hawaii Channel.com

 

HONOLULU -- The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands said it's started the first of many long-term leases with local companies, meaning more financial security in the future for the program.

 

D. Otani Produce broke ground Monday for its new warehouse and office in Kalihi.

The produce company entered into a 65-year lease. That will generate $250,000 each year for the Hawaiian Home Lands Department, officials said.

 

DHHL Chairman Micah Kane said revenues from long-term leases will help the department develop more homes for Native Hawaiians.

 

"It gives us some certainty for the future. The department can plan long-term for development; leverage our resources," Kane said.

 

The D. Otani Produce facility is expected to be completed by March of next year.

 

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands said it has about a dozen properties under negotiation for long-term leases.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted:  April 19, 2005

 

Native Individual Development Accounts funded

 

 

By:  Mark Fogarty/Today Correspondent

 

WASHINGTON - The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund has pledged $1.2 million to help develop American Indian Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). The accounts are intended to stimulate Native homeownership, secondary education or business creation by matching individual dollars saved.

Separately, the CDFI Fund, a unit of the U.S. Treasury, has published reassurances that its upcoming switch to the Commerce Department will not affect its 2005 set of awards.

The CDFI Fund has three separate programs that benefit Native people. Many American Indians fear that the CDFI Fund's move into Commerce, part of a huge conglomeration of community development programs called for in the 2006 budget, will cut Native project funding.

The IDA initiative, which will include financial education, will be implemented by CFED, a Washington-based nonprofit. CFED is designing the three-year program with First Nations Development Institute of Virginia and its First Nations Oweesta Corp.

Other groups involved include Native Nations Institute and the Asset Alliance.

The effort is an outgrowth of the CDFI Fund's influential 2001 report on Native lending, which recommended expanding financial education and asset building in Indian country to remove barriers to

capital access.

''The partners will develop culturally-relevant training and resource materials, offer a state of the art training institute and provide customized technical assistance to Native CDFIs and other Native organizations on how to implement and sustain IDA programs,'' the CDFI Fund said.

One result will be a ''train-the-trainers'' session in August, followed by training for Native CDFIs at eight regional trainings beginning this fall.

CDFI Fund, on its Web site, is reassuring CDFIs that the 2006 budget proposals will have no effect on 2005 programs. But they can offer no assurances for 2006.

The fund, through its NACA (Native American CDFI Assistance), NACD (Native American CDFI Development) and NATA (Native American Technical Assistance) programs, has been a substantial funder of American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native community development. It has also funded the Native American National Bank through its mainstream Bank Enterprise Assistance program.

A CDFI makes loans or invests in low-income areas. In recent years private groups and the government have stumped for more of these institutions in Indian country, since so few banks or other financial institutions are located on reservations.

Prominent Native CDFIs include the Lakota Fund, Kyle, S.D.; and Hopi Credit Association, Keems Canyon, Ariz.

In 2004, the CDFI Fund made 41 grants totaling $8.5 million through the three Native initiatives. It received 76 applications requesting $23.5 million in assistance from Native groups.

In all, groups in 19 states were funded, including 19 groups that wanted to develop Native CDFIs, five ''emerging'' Native CDFIs and 15 existing Native CDFIs.

Fiscal year 2004 ''represents the first time the fund has specifically focused on providing financial assistance awards to Native CDFIs,'' the fund reported.

The Native initiatives also offer technical assistance grants, which awardees may use to acquire prescribed types of products or services including technology (usually computer hardware and software), staff training, consulting services to acquire needed skills or services (such as a market analysis or lending policies and procedures) or staff time to conduct discrete, capacity-building activities (such as Web site development).

As an example of the kind of CDFI funding given last year to Indian country, the Hoopa Development Fund in Hoopa, Calif. received $144,000, split about 50-50 between loan capital and technical assistance. The fund provides home loans, debt consolidation and educational loans to Hoopa Valley Reservation residents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 14, 2005

 

Singling out Superferry for EIS unfair, Lingle says

By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer

 

Maui News

HONOLULU – Gov. Linda Lingle says she does not believe the Hawaii Superferry should be subject to an environmental review.

It would not be fair to require the Superferry to complete an environmental impact statement when other shipping companies that use state harbors haven’t had to undergo the same review, she said Wednesday during a media session held in the governor’s offices.

“I think they should be treated like everybody else,” she said.

And while state senators last week took steps to remove $40 million for harbor improvements from the state budget, Lingle said she did not think the cut would go through.

“I expect the funding will be included in the budget,” she said.

Superferry executives have said the harbor improvements are needed if their plans to start up a high-speed interisland ferry are to move forward. Cutting the harbor funds would be a “deal breaker,” Lingle said.

“That would be too bad,” she said.

A coalition of Maui groups has filed a civil suit in 2nd Circuit Court asking that the state be required to prepare an EIS for harbor improvements to accommodate the Superferry, which would provide daily interisland service among the major islands carrying vehicles as well as passengers.

While Kahului Harbor is crowded with commercial and recreational users competing for space, Lingle said her administration would meet with the community before creating a plan for future expansion.

“The immediate steps are more public dialogue,” she said.

The controversial “Pier 2C” that would have extended into canoe-paddling waters came from an old, outdated plan that should not have been put forward, Lingle said. The proposal to extend Pier 2, which now is used primarily by the Young Brothers barge operations, was withdrawn by the Harbors Division after harbor users protested.

Lingle said any harbor expansion plans should weigh the needs of shipping companies, cruise lines and recreational users, including paddlers, fishers and surfers.

“We need to do what’s best overall,” she said.

During her session with reporters from the Neighbor Islands, Lingle also weighed in on plans for a second hospital on Maui although she did not indicate that she favored either of two competing proposals.

“I think additional facilities are important on Maui,” she said. “The population is growing.”

She had met with groups proposing a West Maui hospital to discuss their plans, as well as with Sen. Rosalyn Baker, whose district includes West Maui and South Maui and who chairs the Senate Health Committee.

The West Maui Taxpayers Foundation is sponsoring a long-standing proposal for a full-service, acute-care hospital, with a 15-acre site near the Lahaina Civic Center. Maui Memorial Medical Center, with a 15-acre site provided by Maui Land & Pineapple Co. at Mahinahina, announced earlier this year it is planning an urgent/emergency-care center with long-term care beds that could be expanded into an acute-care hospital.

Lingle said she wanted to see the different groups, each of which has a different idea of the best solution to West Maui’s health care needs, reach a consensus.

“Everyone knows West Maui needs more health care, but in what form?” she said.

Lingle said she responded to the West Maui need by taking steps to divert state funds from a long-term care facility in Kulamalu to one in Lahaina.

“Clearly the need was in West Maui,” she said.

She said legislators have indicated support of the funding move, although for a lesser amount than she originally had recommended.

Lingle said the move showed why she needed the power to decide when to release funds and when to save them for another purpose.

“An appropriation being made doesn’t make it right,” she said.

In this case, the need for long-term care was greater in West Maui than in Kula, she said.

“I didn’t get a call from anybody about ’Why did you take it and give it to West Maui.’”

But later, Democratic Sen. Colleen Hanabusa had a different take. She said it was an ongoing concern in the Legislature when funds allocated by legislators are held up in the Governor’s Office.

“What we don’t want to see is . . . where we have all this money appropriated for programs and they don’t do anything,” she said.

On another spending issue, Lingle said she would support a proposal moving forward in the Legislature to give counties the power to impose a general excise tax to pay for mass transit projects.

Under the plan, counties could implement an excise tax of up to 1 percent, as long as the money would be used to solve transportation problems.

Lingle said that while she would prefer allowing counties to decide how to use the money, she was glad the bill would give them a degree of home rule.

“Counties should have that authority,” she said.

Hanabusa thought it was appropriate to restrict the use of funds to transportation issues, and that the counties should not have free use of the excise tax revenues. Ultimately, excise taxes are under state authority, so the state is responsible to see they are implemented fairly and the money is used for a valid purpose, Hanabusa said.

“It would be irresponsible to let them have a state tax, and we, the state, not keep track of where the money is,” she said.

While much of the focus for the excise tax bill has been on the City and County of Honolulu and its plans to develop a mass transit system, Big Island Sen. Russell Kokobun said Neighbor Island counties also could use the money to deal with their own transportation issues.

“Each county has roads that need to be fixed,” he said. “This is just a way to make it happen sooner.”

Lingle also weighed in on legislative bills designed to promote affordable housing. While she felt a Senate version of the bill was positive, she was concerned about a companion bill in the House, because it would eliminate a proposed tax credit for developers of affordable homes, it would raise the conveyance tax, and it wouldn’t prohibit the state government from “raiding” housing funds for other purposes.

While Lingle said she didn’t plan on vetoing the bill if it passed, she said it would be weak.

“It won’t address the crisis, and in some ways it’ll make it worse,” she said.

On an issue that has received national attention, Lingle said she was optimistic the Native Hawaiian recognition bill – commonly known as the Akaka Bill for its introducer, Sen. Daniel Akaka – could be passed into law this year – and that President George W. Bush will not stand in its way.

There will be enough Republican votes to “guarantee passage,” as long as Democrats deliver the votes they have promised, said Lingle, who has been lobbying GOP members of Congress on the bill.

She felt the fact that Bush has not commented publicly on the bill was a good sign.

“The president has not vetoed one bill in the four years he’s been in office,” she said. “If Congress passes this bill, I think there’s good reason to believe it will become law.”

She said the form of Hawaiian self-government was still being worked out in the language of the bill, and that final details would be determined by the federal Department of the Interior, which already has established an Office of Native Hawaiian Relations to be a liaison between Native Hawaiians and the United States.

Lingle envisioned an arrangement that would incorporate existing state agencies.

“I see both Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs eventually being part of this Native Hawaiian governing agency,” she said.

Lingle said there were many “misconceptions” about how Hawaiian self-government would work under the Akaka Bill. The measure would serve mainly to protect existing Native Hawaiian programs and resources. It would not give them new money or land, and it would not give them special rights in the criminal justice system, zoning laws or the tax code, she said.

But she said the federal recognition bill would be vital to institutions already serving Hawaiians such as Kamehameha Schools and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Both are “under attack” from groups that object to providing special benefits to Native Hawaiians.

Two lawsuits now before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals challenge the constitutionality of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which provides $1-a-year leases for homes and farms to Native Hawaiians, and the Kamehameha School’s admissions policy giving preference to Native Hawaiians.

There would be “massive social disruption” if either of those programs to benefit Hawaiians were eliminated, she said.

“It gives a higher level of protection for programs that benefit Native Hawaiians – and thereby the State of Hawaii,” she said.

Hanabusa challenged Lingle’s assertion that open support by Bush is not needed to assure passage of the Akaka Bill, noting that both houses of Congress are controlled by Republicans.

“I think that the White House role is critical,” Hanabusa said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, April 14, 2005

 

Indianz.Com. In Print.
URL: http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/007615.asp

 

Contracts still an issue despite Supreme Court win

The Indian Health Service is still not treating tribes fairly despite the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in favor of self-determination contracts, tribal leaders said on Wednesday.

 

On March 1, the high court ruled 8-0 that the IHS must fully fund contracts, including support costs, with tribes and tribal organizations that carry out federal programs. The justices said the federal government must uphold its promises to Indian people.

 

The decision was widely hailed as a victory for Indian rights. But in testimony to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, tribal leaders cited persistent inequities in the funding of self-determination contracts.

 

"Failure to adequately fund contract support costs is defeating the very programs that appear to be helping improve health conditions for American Indians and Alaska Natives," said Sally Smith, the chair of the National Indian Health Board.

 

The testimony was backed up by internal IHS figures released by the Cherokee Nation and the law firm that brought the case to the Supreme Court. The document showed $99 million shortfall for health care contracts for this year, and predicted a $126 million shortfall for next year.

 

The decision came out after Congress finalized the 2005 federal budget. But the Bush administration has not asked for supplemental money to patch up the holes and has only asked for an additional $5 million for next year, Dr. Charles Grim, the director of the IHS, said in his testimony.

 

Nevertheless Grim pointed out that the agency's commitment to the policy of self-determination is reflected in the budget. "The share of the IHS budget allocated to tribally operated programs has grown steadily over the years to the point where today over 50% of our budget is transferred through self-determination contracts," the testimony stated.

 

Rachel Joseph, the chairwoman of the Lone Pine Paiute Shoshone Tribe of California, testified that self-determination contracting has improved over the years. The IHS at first refused to fund contract support costs but later changed its position, she said.

 

"Funding CSC removed a deterrent to tribal contracting," her testimony stated. Tribal leaders have said they are unwilling to contract for IHS programs because they know they will not receive all the money needed to provide services.

 

In addition to the IHS, the Supreme Court decision affected the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Yet no new funds have been addressed to address an estimated $37 million shortfall.

 

In testimony to the Senate last month, Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the decision would not have a major impact on her department. She cited a Congressional rider that allows federal agencies to limit contract support costs.

 

The rider is different from the one considered in the Supreme Court case. That one only applied for the years 1994 through 1997, while a subsequent rider, according to Norton, covers later years.

 

The issue is expected to be raised today as tribal leader testify before the House Appropriations subcommittee that handles Interior's budget bill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Thursday, April 14, 2005

Unexpected grant delights health clinic

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

KAHUKU — An unexpected $650,000 federal grant to the Ko'olauloa Community Health and Wellness Center surprised members of the clinic who had been told that they had virtually no chance of receiving the funds.

The Bureau of Primary Health Care announced the award Monday, but the clinic won't receive the funds until December. The clinic's board of directors are walking on air, said Mike Hopewell, financial officer for the group.

The center, which treated 927 patients last month, was told there was virtually no chance it would receive funding, Hopewell said. The funds were earmarked for clinics that treat migrants and the homeless, he said.

So the Ko'olauloa clinic set out to find other resources. But the award means the clinic can expand services, he said. The money will allow the clinic to expand primary medical and mental health service and provide dental service as well, Hopewell said.

"We're so ecstatic, it's hard to be a little disappointed that we're not getting the money until December," Hopewell said.

With the award came other good news. For certain patients, the center will be paid cost-base reimbursement that translates into more money for patient care. Hopewell estimated that would bring in another $100,000 a year through this program.

The center can also apply for protection under the Federal Tort Claim Act that would mean the clinic wouldn't have to buy medical malpractice insurance, Hopewell said.

Also, the center will be able to purchase drugs from the federal government at reduced cost and pass that savings to its clients, he said.

After two years of planning, the center opened in November despite receiving word that it would not receive the coveted federal grant. Loans, donations and contributions from the community, doctors and staff made it possible. In its first month of operation, 700 patients showed up.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka and Rep. Ed Case sent out notices of the award Tuesday.

More than 38 percent of the residents in the community served by the Ko'olauloa health center fall below the federal poverty level, Akaka said. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders comprise 61 percent of the region's population, Akaka said, and more than 40 percent of the center's clients do not have health insurance.

"Given the limited access to health and dental care services for residents of the region, the funding (the clinic) will receive is important and timely," he said.

Another $650,000 was granted to establish the West Hawai'i Community Health Center in Kailua-Kona, Case said.

Case said he lobbied the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support the two clinics last year. The grant will allow for a "circle of primary and preventive health care on Hawai'i island," he said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.

 

 

 

April 19, 2005

Ni‘ihau Students Earn Licenses

By Dennis Fujimoto - The Garden Island

LIHU‘E — The big Fredstan Kaluahine rig shuddered and groaned under the guidance of Laua‘e Kanahele as Commercial Driver License (CDL) instructor Steven Carvalho watched the big wheels negotiate orange safety cones in the parking lot of Vidinha Stadium.

Kanahele is one of seven Ni‘ihau residents who make up the dozen students who started the current CDL class headed up by Ilei Beniamina of Kaua‘i Community College.

"Nine of them have already passed their tests," Carvalho noted, while keeping a keen eye on the truck. "The others take their tests on Friday."

The successful passage of the CDL tests marks the close of the program, now in its second year. A commencement program will honor the graduates this Wednesday, April 20, at the KCC Performing Arts Center.

Carvalho noted that one of the dozen students withdrew from the class, but Carvalho heaped praise on the student for his decision to withdraw.

"We tried everything," Carvalho said. "We moved the seats up as far as we could. We used cushions and bolsters, but somehow, he could not reach the pedals right."

Carvalho said that, after several sessions, the student came up to him and said, "Boss, I'm not comfortable with this, and if I continue, I might become a big problem on the road." This decision is what gives Carvalho the insight that goes beyond just teaching the CDL course.

"My teacher, Steven Carvalho, taught me more than CDL," one of the four Kanaheles said. "I will remember his calm persistence in the classroom, and strict demeanor on road instruction. I would have been that student left behind if he wasn't patient with me."

Uniquely tailored to a Hawaiian-speaking community, the KCC Office of Continuing Education and Training's evening CDL course has received support for its curriculum from community partners like representatives of ‘Aha Punana Leo, Kamehameha Schools, Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i, Alu Like, Inc., the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Workforce Development Division of the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Beniamina said the history of CDL at KCC is both community and industry-driven, and with the economic growth on Kaua‘i, these programs necessitate programs like CDL, which benefits the Ni‘ihau community enormously.

Beniamina added that the Ni‘ihau community is exhilarated at their people's accomplishments that will be highlighted at the Wednesday commencement program. One student noted, "Now, I can get a better job, thanks to this class."

Scott Bukoski, another student, added, "I was ready to quit. These Ni‘ihau guys are so supportive that we pule when we get in the truck, and we pule after we pau. Now, with my CDL license, I have a whole new outlook on life. I'm already hired by a local company, and I never graduate yet."

Students in the class include Rogelio Bocalbos, Bukoski, Jonathan Gladman, Greg Kaaumoana, John Kahokuloa, Chris Kanahele, Douglas Kanahele, Tony Kanahele, V. Laua‘e Kanahele, Dana Kaohelaulii, Richard Medina and John Silva.

  Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.

 

 

 

April 14, 2005

 

Abercrombie awarded medal by Army Engineers

 

WASHINGTON DC - Congressman Neil Abercrombie was presented today with the Silver de Fleury Medal by Lieutenant General Carl A. Strock, the U.S. Army Chief of Engineers, at Corps of Engineers Headquarters in Washington, DC.

 

The de Fleury Medal is named after French engineer Francois Louis Tesseidre de Fleury, a volunteer who served with distinction with the American Army in the war for independence. The Silver de Fleury Medal is awarded to individuals who have provided significant contributions and support to Army engineering.

 

According to the citation accompanying the medal, Abercrombie was selected for his  "exceptional contribution to the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Armed Services and the Nation" and for his "tremendous impact on the mission readiness capabilities and quality of life of all the members of the Armed Services and the Nation."

 

In presenting the medal, General Strock cited Abercrombie's work in:

            Army's Schofield Barracks, a 20-year program to upgrade enlisted quarters;

 

 

 

 

 

Article published Apr 20, 2005

House committee to hear testimony on war claims

By Steve Limtiaco

Pacific Daily News
slimtiaco@guampdn.com

Early tomorrow morning, Guam time, several current and former Guam government officials will talk to the House Resources Committee about a bill that could lead to as much as $180 million in war reparations for the island.

The Resources Committee will hear testimony in Washington, D.C., on H.R. 1595, the "Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act," which was introduced last week by Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo.

The bill includes the recommendations of the federal Guam War Claims Review Commission, which gathered information on Guam in 2003 and which determined that Guam residents were not adequately compensated for the hardship inflicted on them by the Japanese during the war.

The commission, in a report last year, recommended paying $25,000 for those who were killed during the occupation and $12,000 for all others adversely affected by the occupation. Any uncollected money would be deposited into a trust.

Although Guam residents were mistreated by the Japanese military, the federal government is being asked for compensation because the United States signed a treaty with Japan that erased Japan's responsibility to pay war reparations.

Former Guam congressional Delegates Ben Blaz and Robert Underwood are scheduled to testify, followed shortly afterward by a panel that includes Lt. Gov. Kaleo Moylan, Republican Sen. Tony Unpingco and Democratic Sen. Benjamin Cruz. Unpingco and Cruz were the local representatives on the war claims commission and helped gather testimony and prepare the recommendations.

Controversial date

The most controversial recommendation was to limit reparations payments to those who were alive in 1990, which is when Guam's last war reparations effort failed.

Cruz said even that date is not a sure thing, since the federal government has never paid reparations to anyone who was not alive at the time the reparations law was passed.

As an example, he said, Japanese-Americans who were interned by the federal government during World War II were given compensation, but only those who were alive on Aug. 16, 1988, were paid.

Cruz said the U.S. Justice Department opposes retroactive war reparations payments for Guam.

"That's their biggest stumbling block in supporting the bill right now, this 1990 date. If you break precedent, then you're setting precedent, then it's gonna break open all kinds of other cases," Cruz said. "They are lawyers. It's not an emotional issue to them. They're just looking at the legal precedent. The legal precedent that currently exists is 'date of enactment.'"

Emotional issue

But it is an emotional issue for many on Guam, and hours before the testimony begins, the Chamoru Nation indigenous rights group plans to hold a vigil in Hagåtña to express their objection to the 1990 cutoff date. The vigil is scheduled for 6 p.m. today at the Angel L.G. Santos Latte Stone Memorial Park.

Trini Torres, 63, the Maga Haga of the Chamoru Nation, said the purpose of the vigil is to help elected officials "to be conscientious and not be insensitive to our people, to the suffering and pain that our people endured and were subjected to."

Residents after the war were unaware of a brief reparations program that was available to them, she said. Reparations should be paid to residents all the way back to the war, she said.

"They need to treat us as a unique case because we are unique. We don't have to be compared with the Japanese that were interred. We were subjected to killings, brutality," she said.

Torres said her father was killed by the Japanese, which left her mother to struggle alone to raise a large family.

Torres said she personally would be eligible for a reparations payment, but said there also should be payment on behalf of her mother, who died in 1976.

Elected Public Auditor Doris Brooks this week sent testimony to the congressional committee, saying she appreciates that Congress is willing to reopen the reparations issue. However, she said she is "conflicted" by the 1990 cutoff date.

"The bill would provide compensation for my stepmother, who died in 2000, but not for my mother, who died in a Navy hospital in San Diego in 1962," Brooks wrote. "I have to ask myself, why should one be recognized and not the other? I know from the stories that they told me of their wartime experiences that they suffered equivalently." Both were beaten by the Japanese, she said.

While some in the community are unhappy with the commission's recommendations, it already received the endorsement of the Guam Legislature, which passed a resolution supporting it, by a vote of 12-3.

The only lawmakers to vote against the resolution were Democratic Sens. Judith Won Pat, Rory Respicio and Lou Leon Guerrero.

Support for bill

Former Delegates Blaz and Underwood submitted a letter to the opinion page in today's Pacific Daily News, discussing the 1990 cutoff date.

They said Bordallo was correct when she introduced a bill that mirrors the commission's recommendations, including the controversial cutoff date.

"Introducing a bill that is consistent with the recommendations ensures that the administration must respond to the fundamental question of whether it would support giving the people of Guam a new opportunity for war claims in light of the commission's unequivocal recommendation to do so," they wrote.

Only after the administration's position on Guam war reparations is determined should any changes to the bill be pursued, they wrote.

Bills are rarely perfect, they wrote, but in order to improve them, the legislative process must be understood and the obstacles should not be underestimated.

Cruz said the fact that some on Guam are opposed to a 1990 cutoff date and asking to push Guam war reparations back to 1945 is drawing unwanted federal attention to the issue -- attention that could make the 1990 cutoff date unrealistic.

"If there were no cutoff date, the only ones that would be able to get compensation for personal injuries would be those people that are alive the day the bill is enacted," Cruz said.

 

 

 

Apr. 18, 2005 12:00 AM

Loop 101 driving businesses to tribe

Maggie Galehouse
The Arizona Republic

 

Today, empty desert and farmland frame the 9-mile stretch of Loop 101 that cuts through the Salt River Reservation.

Ten or 15 years down the road, the picture will be quite different, when the booming commercial corridor welcomes as many as 70,000 jobs to the area.

Slowly but surely, development is sprouting along both sides of the freeway, from the Salt River north to Via Linda.

"The Indian community was incredibly smart in the early years, getting the freeway on their land," said Pete Bolton, senior managing director at CB Richard Ellis, a commercial real estate firm. "They drove an incredible bargain with ADOT (Arizona Department of Transportation) and got a tremendous amount of money for that right of way."

Now, Bolton said, the community has nine miles of freeway frontage on a very heavily traveled road.

"Does it get any better than that?" asked Bolton, who has been working with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community for two decades. "I don't think so."

The 9-mile strip is a stone's throw from Mesa and Tempe to the south, yet the entire stretch boasts a Scottsdale address. That address is attractive to businesses, especially those seeking significant acreage; there are almost no large parcels left for development in Scottsdale itself.

Scottsdale stands to lose a significant amount of potential tax money as businesses locate on the tribal land.

"As with any community on our border, we are concerned about losing retail sales tax," said Dave Roderique, economic vitality director for Scottsdale.

Scottsdale Pavilions, Fender Musical Instruments Corp. and Cold Stone Creamery - all housed on Salt River property - were big losses for the city, he said.

Most parcels in Scottsdale range from 5 to 10 acres, so the city may send developers looking for more space to the tribal land.

"We'd prefer they stay in the region," Roderique said, "so we may try to hook them up with Salt River Devco, the tribal community's development arm."

Devco was born five years ago, in response to the steady hum of developers angling for spots along the corridor. Its mission is to help tribal landowners find commercial uses for their properties.

So far, most of the development along the corridor is managed by outside companies. But Devco's presence is solid and growing.

The company is expanding the Chaparral Business Center and broke ground two months ago on an 83-acre project north of Jackrabbit Road, with plans for retail and office space, a hotel and a biomedical campus.

The Chaparral Bio-Medical Campus, as it is currently known, is still in the planning stages.

"The community could potentially be a venture partner, a place to provide labs," said George Bosworth, head of Devco's asset-management division.

The Salt River community and the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix also are discussing ways to work together on medical research that might benefit the community directly.

Based on leases already signed through Devco and outside developers, the corridor has potential for 10 million square feet of development. Up to 70,000 jobs could be created, said Hans Klose, director of community development at Salt River. Because the tribal workforce is relatively small, most of those jobs could go to other Valley residents.

Of the 5,000 tribal members who live on the Salt River Reservation, half of the population is under 21, and about 800 are 65 or older, said Jacob Moore, the community's special assistant on congressional and legislative affairs. Factoring in those families in which one parent stays home, the actual labor force is somewhere around 1,500.

Moore said there are no strict mandates for businesses operating on tribal land to hire Salt River community members, but developers are required to let the tribe know of job openings.

While many businesses are interested in the land, most Salt River community members do not feel a keen urgency to build.

"The community has always been very deliberate about what they want to see with commercial development," Moore said. "They don't want to regret anything, so there's no rush."

Land is sacred to the community's culture, seen as a legacy to be passed on to rather than an opportunity to make money now.

Businesses that have set up shop on Salt River land have agreed to very specific requests related to building heights, signage and color. For example, no building on the tribal land can exceed 40 feet, for fear it would interrupt the view of the Red Mountains, which are sacred.

"The community continues to redraw the map of their commercial boundaries," said Mitchell Parks, Devco's chief executive officer.

He said many members want less commercial space than they did in the past.

 

 

 

Posted: Sunday, Apr 17, 2005 - 05:31:50 am HST

 

Smiths, Kahns honored at Chamber event

 

By Andy Gross - The Garden Island

KALAPAKI - Thursday evening's Small Business Administration (SBA) awards presentation brought the business community together to honor its own.

But the tone of the event, which featured tears and cheers, and more than a few laughs, put the accent on "community" as much as it did business.

The event was hosted by the Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce at the Kaua‘i Marriott Resort & Beach Club.

All three winners expressed care and concern for the community, the importance of family, and gratitude to the employees who helped make their businesses successful.

In return, they were praised for representing what was truly good and reflective of Kaua‘i's extended ‘ohana.

Marty and Carole Kahn, owners of Kahn's Galleries, won the SBA Small Business Persons of the year award for Kaua'i County.

Smith's Motorboat Service, Inc. was named the SBA's familyowned small business of the year. The Smiths won this national award for this first-ever category and will be going to Washington D.C. for additional recognition.

Olin Kealoha Lagon, CEO of Hawaiian Homestead Technology (HHT), won a state award as minority SBA Business champion of the year. The company now reports seven-figure revenues generated by contracts for digitization work, such as digitizing manuals from their paper form.

HHT has brought the creation of cutting edge technology services for national companies like United Airlines to rural Anahola.

All three winners were nominated for their awards through local representatives of the Bank of Hawaii.

In addition to their awards, the winners also displayed a great deal of modesty and humor.

After accepting his award from Mayor Bryan Baptiste, Kahn quipped, "I'm truly qualified for the small business person of the year because I'm five-foot seven"," he said.

Baptiste told the Kahns, "you have always put the people of Kaua‘i's benefit before your-selves; we congratulate you not for your business, but your hearts."

Kahn also got a warm hug from state Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kaua‘i-Ni‘ihau.

Kahn thanked his employees, who he called "the real winners of this award," and thanked his wife for all her inspiration.

Carole Kahn grew tearful when talking about the Kahns' love of Kaua‘i and their feeling of family.

It was truly a family affair for the respected Smith clan. Four generations of Smiths were on hand to watch Walter Kamika Smith, principal of Smith's Motor Boat Services Inc., accept the award.

Baptiste hailed the Smiths as a cornerstone of the community and said to much applause, "one day I will make you an historical treasure."

Smith, who admitted he's not one to court accolades, said: "It really means lot to our family. We've been in business 60 years and to receive national recognition is an amazing feat."

According to Jane Sawyer, assistant district director, Honolulu District U.S. Small Business Administration, the Smiths had to satisfy daunting criteria to gain national recognition.

She said the category required a business must be in existence at least 15 years and must show consistent revenue growth. It also must be passed on to succeeding family generations. Smith became the third generation to manage the business started by his grandfather Walter Smith, Sr. in the late 1940s. Currently, the company employees 140 people, 15 percent have direct family ties to the Smiths. Smith drew some laughs when he told the audience the family might never have been in contention for the award because he at first hung up on the person who wanted to nominate them.

"I was very busy. I said, its OK, but we don't need it. Then I hung up, but I said good-bye first," Smith said.

The publicity-shy and reticent Lagon, who had to be coaxed to say a few words by Baptiste and Master of Ceremonies Dickie Chang, who did a bravura turn impersonating Kaua‘i County Council vice-chair James Tokioka who was unable to attend the event. Lagon also thanked his associates.

"We've gone from zero to creating work for national brand names, and all in rural Anahola," Lagon said.

Lagon said his award recognized the achievements of under-represented minorities.

HHT is the for-profit arm of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. Lagon established the company's first technology center in Anahola three years ago, bringing training and employment to the economically-challenged Hawaiian Homestead village. The Anahola site created 12 new jobs. HHT opened a second center in Waimanolo in Windward O‘ahu in 2004 and a third center is planned to open later this year.

·  Andy Gross, business editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or agross@pulitzer.net.

 

 

 

Posted on: Monday, April 18, 2005

 

Club back paddling thanks to hard work, community

 

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

WAIMANALO — In November 2003, a storm ravaged the entire fleet of the Waimanalo Canoe Club and devastated its members.

For hours, waves battered the club's seven canoes, which were chained together on Kaiona Beach. One canoe was swept out to sea and only bits and pieces of it were found. Another was destroyed. Three were severely damaged with cracks and holes and almost all of them lost their ama and 'iako, the stabilizing float and boom of the canoe.

Some people believed the club, one of O'ahu's smaller paddling organizations, would have to end its program.

But faced with losing a community tradition, the members showed their spirit. And this week they received the first of two new highly prized Bradley racing canoes, thanks to the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation.

But the $8,750 sleek, lightweight canoes were not a gift: the club had to earn them with sweat equity, performing 2,000 hours of community service, which they completed months ahead of schedule.

Ku'u Reis-Moniz, 12, said after the storm she thought her paddling days were over but now she has a sense of pride in what the club has accomplished and in her contribution. The work was not easy, but Ku'u said she learned much from it.

"I learned that it takes hard work to get what you want, and it's not always easy to get something," she said.

The loss stunned the canoe club, said its president, Nazarene Anderson. But a core of 20 to 25 members decided to conduct fund-raisers and do the best they could to recover.

Other canoe clubs helped out, lending them boats, providing equipment and parts and even donating money so that three boats were eventually repaired, she said, but the grant from the foundation put the club back in the water.

It wasn't smooth sailing.

"At first we thought it was kind of over our heads but we just started doing big beach cleanups twice a month," Anderson said. "Then all of a sudden it started getting bigger and we got organizations and schools that wanted to join in with us."

They were able to attract hundreds of people. Mostly, they stayed in their community cleaning streams, walking for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, helping with security at the Sunset on the Beach and working in the Waimanalo Christmas Parade. The club organized a community exercise paddling program, in which about 50 people were able to learn about the canoe and paddle it for exercise.

They also supported the Na Opio Canoe Racing Association, a children's program for fifth- to 12th-graders in Hawai'i Kai. Operated by the Maunalua Bay Canoe Club and Sammy Steamboat, the Waimanalo group brought canoes, coaches and paddlers to help about 30 kids train in Hawai'i Kai, said Larry Baptista, a Maunalua Bay and Waimanalo paddling coach.

In return the Maunalua club and Na Opio helped Waimanalo with their projects.

The exchange added to the experience for the paddlers and taught them to care for one another, Baptista said.

"They learned the right values and morals," he said. "We're not just teaching them to paddle. We're teaching them a way of life."

The American Cancer Society and the Waimanalo Construction Coalition said the volunteer work from the canoe club translated into money earned and money saved.

The construction coalition organized a Sunset on the Beach weekend and for two days the club provided security service in the parking lot, said Andrew Jamila Jr., coalition president.

Nearly $1,000 was saved by not having to hire an off-duty police officer, Jamila said, adding that his group would have had to raise money to pay for the officer.

"It was a very significant contribution," he said.

Beau Barker, with the American Cancer Society Windward Unit, said the club provided a team for the Relay for Life last year. Not only did it raise money for the Cancer Society, but it also spread the word about programs available.

"That was Waimanalo's second year and it's because of teams like that they doubled their income from the first year," Barker said, adding that the relay earned more than $10,000 last year.

Terren George, executive director of the Castle Foundation, said it normally doesn't support canoe clubs but made an exception because of the loss of virtually all of the canoes, and because canoeing is such a treasured Hawai'i tradition.

"What delights me about the experience is the canoe club 'ohana discovered the transformative power of community service," George said. "It led to the club deciding to continue this as a club tradition well beyond the required hours to earn their canoe."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.

 

 

 

Posted: Sunday, Apr 10, 2005 - 03:31:54 am HST

 

Hoping for the sweet smell of success

By Andy Gross - The Garden Island

Two Kaua‘i young women are hoping to parlay their love of surfing and Hawaiian culture into the sweet smell of success.

Literally.

Coty Duhaylongsod and Kristy Kinimaka, both 26, and Kaua‘i High School graduates in the Class of 1996, have spent the past two years trying to get their fragrance company off the ground and onto shelves.

And, just like a Christmas wish come true, Nalu Fragrances will be ready for retail sales by December.

"It was a lot of hard work. Our main goal is to get the fragrance into Macy's, and then into surf stores," Duhaylongsod said.

She described the fragrance as "high end," with a suggested as "high end," with a suggested retail price of $40 for a 1.7-ounce, surfboard-shaped bottle of the perfume she described as "citrusy, uplifting and soft; not overpowering."

Duhaylongsod said the concept for the fragrance, Nalu, which means "surf," was directly tied into what she described as "how a woman surfer's image comes into play with her sexuality."

Finding the right financial wave to ride was no easy matter. The two women offered their product to Coty Cosmetics Inc. of New York City, which handles fragrances bearing the famous names of Jennifer Lopez and the Olsen twins. After being turned down there, and rejected by two banks, the duo went back to basics, and returned to their roots. "We knew what we wanted. So after being turned down, we went to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) and took classes," Duhaylongsod said, referring to the preparation needed to receive an OHA grant to start a small business.

Duhaylongsod declined to reveal how much of a grant she and Kinimaka received, but allowed it was sufficient for the pair to hook up with the East Coast-based Ungerer company to market their fragrance.

Duhaylongsod said finding just the right fragrance was no easy chore. She said they decided that, rather than sitting around like mad fragrance scientists and mixing ingredients, she and Kinimaka received a number of potential samples from Ungerer before deciding on the right blend.

Some she said were "too orangey, some too sweet." Nalu Fragrances' principals eventually hope to launch a scent for men. Both women have lived on O‘ahu since leaving Kaua‘i. Kinimaka has earned a degree in marketing, according to Duhay-longsod, who is finishing up her degree in political science.

·  Andy Gross, business editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or agross@pulitzer.

 

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