Bringing you todays 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.
May 4, 2005
· Legislation would be a first step on path toward redress
· Auditor: OHA falls short on its obligations
· Filibuster squabble may stall vote on Akaka bill
· Indian studies are now required
· Hud Approves Indian Area Expansion for Five Tribes
· USDA offers Asian Pacific Islander Scholarships
· A strong, quiet force for community change
· Minority businesses find support
· PBN Kupuna of the Year shares her legacy as entrepreneur
· North Shore noni aimed at health-supplement market
· Ho-Chunk, Inc.
· Vatican reschedules beatification of nun
· Na Hoku nominees announced
· Quiet Title Notices
Posted on: Sunday, May 1, 2005
ISLAND VOICES
Legislation would be a first step on path toward redress
By Walter M. Heen
The Advertiser's editorial on April 24 calling for new hearings on the Akaka bill is tantamount to an invitation to its opponents to collaborate in the destruction of Native Hawaiians' dreams and ambitions for justice and for self-governance.
The bill is the highest point yet reached on the Native Hawaiians' long, tortuous journey in search of justice. Any hearings held now will revive the atmosphere of contention and confusion that accompanied the previous hearings and can result in denying Native Hawaiians the opportunity for reconciliation and justice, perhaps forever.
The Advertiser states that "it would be difficult to fathom the depth of changes" that could come from federal recognition of sovereignty for Native Hawaiians. Of course it is. But that's because the bill does not seek directly to define or resolve the issues that have propelled the sovereignty movement till now and that will arise between the two sovereigns after enactment.
Simply put, the bill establishes a process to do that. The bill authorizes the formation of a Native Hawaiian governmental entity that will, as a sovereign state, negotiate with the United States government the settlement of those issues of citizenship, governmental authority and ownership and control of governmental and natural resources, including ceded lands, and any other issues.
Those are the very governmental powers that were stripped by the minions of the United States from the Hawaiian government in 1893. Yes, the process probably will create enormous fundamental changes for all of Hawai'i's citizens. But further hearings on the bill will not fathom the depths of those changes because the changes will take place in the future in the process of negotiation.
In fact, any hearings will only add fuel to an already overheated issue.
The same editorial noted that missing from the discussion at the previous hearings was the voice of "non-Hawaiian residents." We believe that those non-Hawaiian residents harbor a fundamental belief that the wrongs inflicted on Native Hawaiians need atonement, and the Akaka bill process is at least one way of doing so. We predict that if further hearings were held, the same opponents, mostly Native Hawaiians striving for complete independence, would appear and dominate the discussion.
The "non-Hawaiian residents" would again be conspicuous by their absence. Nothing will be gained from further hearings, except further confusion, which will play right into the hands of the opponents, native and non-native.
It should be clear to all that the self-governance movement is multifaceted. On one hand, several groups of Native Hawaiians have opted for complete independence from the United States. They oppose the Akaka bill because it represents less than their ideal model of self-governance.
They would reinstitute a government existing independently of the United States or anyone else. These independence-seekers view the Akaka bill as a capitulation to the power of the very government that they are trying to replace. For them, the true solution is for the United States to cede absolute governmental powers to a "reformed" Hawaiian government. They have sought for years, without success, to develop a model of that reformed government that would receive some form of acceptance by their peers.
They will continue in their efforts, as well they should, because the Akaka bill does not represent a completely adequate restoration of Native Hawaiian sovereignty. However, other Native Hawaiians, including Na'A'ahuhiwa, recognize that the Akaka bill, with its formation of a sovereign entity and negotiation with the United States, is at least a means to begin addressing and resolving the iniquities that arose from the overthrow.
The Native Hawaiian opponents of the bill argue that complete independence is the only means of obtaining complete justice, and that the United Nations is a forum which can hear their case and afford them that justice. However, in the present circumstances of world order, the United Nations is a vehicle which the United States has chosen not to ride, or at least will not ride unless it is driving.
The United States recently refused to submit to the jurisdiction of the U.N. Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague in a case essentially challenging the United States' takeover of the Hawaiian kingdom. The ideal of justice is always tempered by political realities. The Akaka bill addresses those realities.
Another important aspect of the Akaka bill is that it can be a vehicle to protect federal funding of programs, similar to those benefiting Native Americans, designed to assist Native Hawaiians in the pursuit of education, healthcare and housing. Without the Akaka bill, that heavy financial load could well be transferred to the state.
Additionally, the bill's enactment can result in the protection of private programs that provide for the education and social growth of Native Hawaiian children. As has been the case elsewhere in the United State where programs such as affirmative action have come under heavy attack by reactionary groups, our Native Hawaiian children's benefit programs also are being challenged here.
The Akaka bill can provide an umbrella of protection for those programs. The result will be beneficial to the entire population of the Islands.
Native and non-Native Hawaiians must support the Akaka bill because it represents the means for all who love our fair Islands to begin a process of reconciliation and recompense for the illegal overthrow of Hawai'i's lawful government.
Na'A'ahuhiwa believes that non-Hawaiians recognize the wrongs that were committed by those who overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy, including the United States. We also believe that they stand willing to discuss and develop mechanisms for righting those wrongs.
The negotiation process outlined in the bill will provide a framework for true reconciliation as envisioned by University of Hawai'i law professor Eric Yamamoto in his book "Interracial Justice: Conflict and Reconciliation in Post Civil Rights America."
The real resolution to the conflict arising from the Native Hawaiian self-governance effort is for the two sides to engage in an interchange of concerns, ambitions, proposals and resolutions that will allow all of us to establish a long-range, long-lasting relationship in which each side will feel a larger degree of comfort than will be felt if the process is not begun through this important piece of legislation.
Submitted on behalf of Na'A'ahuhiwa, an organization of retired Native Hawaiian judges. Walter M. Heen is its president.
Posted on: Thursday, April 28, 2005
Auditor: OHA falls short on its obligations
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer
After 25 years of operation, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is still run like a fledgling agency, with no master plan and questionable accounting of its more than $300 million in assets, the state auditor said yesterday.
"Overall, OHA has shown little improvement in meeting its obligation to improve conditions of all Hawaiians," state auditor Marion Higa concluded in a new audit, the latest in a series of critical reviews.
OHA's administrator, Clyde Namu'o, bristled at the report's language, saying it overstates the audit's findings and ignores many good things the agency has accomplished in recent years.
"It's offensive to those of us who are working so hard here," Namu'o said. "They are absolutely ignoring a lot of the good work OHA has done. That's what bothers me the most. We've given out more than $5 million in community grants in recent years. Ask those people if they think we are a fledgling organization."
The main problem, Higa said, is that the independent state agency has yet to develop a comprehensive master plan to marshal public and private resources to fulfill its constitutional mandate to help Native Hawaiians.
"It is still struggling to put its own house in order and remains casual in the administration of the funds over which it has a fiduciary duty of loyalty to its beneficiaries," Higa said.
While OHA hasn't published a master plan, it has accomplished most of the things in its legal mandate under a strategic operations plan that has been in place for years, Namu'o said.
Lela Hubbard, founder of the Hawaiian sovereignty group Na Koa Ikaika and a sometimes OHA critic, said the agency has improved in recent years.
"I see a big improvement in their relationship with the beneficiaries," she said. "They're definitely reaching out to more Hawaiians. Things still move slowly, but they used to move like molasses. It's taken a long time, but finally they are really looking out for the benefit of the Hawaiians."
Among the findings in the latest report and responses by Namu'o:
Despite at least three previous recommendations, OHA has never developed a comprehensive master plan for Native Hawaiian services and activities. "The plan is critical," the audit said.
"The only thing we've never done is formally publish a master plan," Namu'o said. "So the audit concludes that nothing more can be done. In fact, all the elements of the law are in place. Ninety-five percent of what's required has been done."
The agency is still grappling with effects of a poorly planned reorganization in 2001 that resulted in the resignation of half the division-level officers and severe morale problems throughout the staff. "OHA is still reeling," the report said.
Namu'o said that might have been true more than a year ago when auditors visited OHA's offices, but "those charges are no longer relevant. We've moved way beyond that issue, but the auditors never came back to do a follow-up visit."
OHA lacks adequate accounting control over its finances, with possible abuses noted in its protocol funds, petty cash and trustee accounts, and needs tighter oversight of its Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund, which provides business loans of up to $75,000 on favorable terms to Hawaiians who can't get conventional financing.
Of the 121 outstanding loans totaling more than $3.3 million, half were in default, meaning payments had stopped altogether, and 20 more were delinquent. As a result, the fund "continues to lose resources that future Hawaiian entrepreneurs could benefit from," the audit concluded.
Namu'o said the auditors included nonperforming loan amounts that OHA intended to write off, which have left a default and delinquency rate of only 10 percent to 15 percent.
State auditors, however, stood by their calculations, saying they gave a fairer overall assessment of the loan fund's status.
Hubbard said OHA could improve the way it handles and accounts for its money.
"I'm still critical about the way they tally up costs for projects," she said. "Sometimes you can't follow where the money is going."
An attached audit conducted on behalf of the state by the private KPMG firm reviewed OHA's investment portfolio and found the "agency has taken a number of important and well-reasoned steps in investing its assets," retaining two investment advisers to oversee selected money managers.
However, KPMG also found that OHA's investment oversight procedures still lack some key components and prevent the board of trustees from receiving sufficient information to evaluate the advisers' performance.
Report offers solutions
State auditor's recommendations for OHA:
Create a comprehensive master plan and develop new management tools and procedures for
Revise its financial guide to clarify the uses of petty cash, protocol allocations and trustee allowances. planning and budgeting.
Create tighter oversight of loans from the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund.The organization is governed by a board of nine elected trustees and has an administrator who is responsible for executive board policies and carrying out the agency's goals and objectives.
Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Posted on: Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Filibuster squabble may stall vote on Akaka bill
By Dennis Camire
Advertiser
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON Legislation recognizing Native Hawaiians could be among the bills facing delay in the Senate because of the unrelated dispute simmering over President Bush's judicial nominees.
Senate Republican leaders promised Hawai'i's two Democratic senators at the end of the last congressional session that the Native Hawaiian bill aka the Akaka bill after its sponsor, Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawai'i would come to a vote by Aug. 7.
But if majority Republicans exercise a so-called "nuclear option" and change rules to stop filibusters of judicial nominees, Senate Democrats have threatened to retaliate.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said that if the Republicans change the filibuster rules, Democrats might use other Senate rules to slow or stop all but the most essential legislative business.
Exempted would be military and national security legislation and bills related to the continuation of critical government services, Reid said.
The Akaka bill would be stalled along with everything else.
The legislation, originally introduced in 2000, would lead to federal recognition for Native Hawaiians in the same way that it recognizes American Indians and Native Alaskans. It would create a framework for Native Hawaiian governance.
The fight over judicial nominees could also delay the transportation bill, which includes an authorization for a proposed Honolulu rail transit system, and the energy bill, which could lead to oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
"If the Republicans go ahead and push the button on their 'nuclear option' and Democratic leadership reacts, it will most likely cause the Native Hawaiian bill to stall," said Mike Yuen, spokesman for Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i.
Both Inouye and Akaka are working with the Senate leadership to have the bill, which has three Democratic and four Republican co-sponsors, scheduled for full Senate consideration.
"Thus far, we have not received a commitment because of the heavy schedule," Akaka said. "But they are considering it. We're going to push again ... to get a time specific."
Inouye also is requesting a debate and vote at the earliest opportunity, Yuen said.
In the meantime, the senators have been conducting a low-key information campaign to persuade other lawmakers to support the Native Hawaiian bill.
"We're not formalizing it like having appointments, but I see them on the floor or as we have a minute or two, we can just mention it," Akaka said. "But I never really say what position are you going to take. I try to act like a good lobbyist by giving them all the information and letting them think about it."
The senators remain cautiously optimistic about the bill's chances, if and when it comes up for a vote.
"I still feel that we have a good chance that we can get the votes we need to pass it," Akaka said. "But we need that floor time, and as the days roll by, I'm getting more anxious to be able to get a time certain."
Inouye still expects that those opposed to the bill will do all they can to derail it, Yuen said.
"He and the members of the Hawai'i congressional delegation believe that the biggest challenge to enactment will be the support or lack of support from (President Bush's) administration, Yuen said.
On the House side, both of Hawai'i's congressmen said the support is there for the bill's approval.
"No question," Rep. Neil Abercrombie said. "We've had it over and over and over again, including even passing it out of the House (in 2000)."
Both Abercrombie and Rep. Ed Case said they were concerned about the impact of the Senate battle over the filibuster of judicial nominees.
"I think that would present the greatest unknown right now to putting that bill on the (Senate) floor," Case said. "It has nothing to do with the Akaka bill. It just has to do with the flow of legislation through the Senate."
Senators could come to a full-scale confrontation over the judicial nominee issue as soon as next week when they return from a weeklong recess. The stakes are high since the battle's outcome is likely to determine who will fill future U.S. Supreme Court vacancies.
Both Republicans and Democrats already have offered compromises in the struggle only to have them rejected by the other side.
The Republicans, who control the chamber with 55 members compared with 44 Democrats and one independent, say all of Bush's nominees deserve a vote on the Senate floor and the Constitution guarantees it.
The minority Democrats say the filibuster is a well-established Senate rule and a 200-year-old tradition that protects the rights of the minority party, no matter which party is in that position.
Democrats also note that only 10 nominees have been blocked since 2001 when Bush took office, compared with 206 that have been confirmed. That includes J. Michael Seabright, who was confirmed last week to be a U.S. District judge in Hawai'i.
Published: Friday, April 29, 2005
Indian studies are now required
Washington state history classes must include information on local tribes.
The Herald - Everett, Wash. - www.HeraldNet.com
By Eric Stevick
Herald
Writer
High schools must include the history and culture of local American Indian tribes in Washington state history classes under a new law signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire on Thursday.
"I think it's a positive step," said Mike Wilson, who teaches state history at Cascade High School in Everett. "I have followed the bill and was hoping it would be signed."
Wilson said American Indian culture is sometimes misunderstood, and the new emphasis should provide better information for classrooms.
State history is a half-credit class required for graduation.
State Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, pushed for two years to get the legislation through. The state's only American Indian lawmaker said the law should have several benefits, including better understanding of local tribes and their histories, improved relations between schools and tribes, and lessons with more academic relevance for tribal children.
"The ultimate goal is to begin building a trust relationship of all the communities, because there is a lot of misinformation about tribes going on out there," he said.
The fact that their heritage will be discussed in class sends a positive message to Indian children, he said.
They "will feel proud about who they are and what they are, and know it's OK to be Indian," McCoy said.
Gregoire said the law should help all students.
"It is critical that Native American students and their nonnative classmates understand one another so that coming generations can continue to build strong relationships between our communities," Gregoire said.
The new law encourages the Washington State School District Directors Association to have regional meetings with Indian tribal councils and to develop tribal history and culture curricula. The association is required to report on the progress in 2007, 2009 and 2011.
The Marysville School District already has been working with the Tulalip Tribes on teaching materials.
"We meet regularly," Superintendent Larry Nyland said. "We're working together to make this happen."
McCoy hopes the new law will bring non-Indian students face-to-face with tribal members. "I would encourage the participation of the tribes in the delivery of the curriculum," he said.
There are 29 federally recognized tribes in Washington, and seven other tribes that are not federally recognized. Those include the Tulalip, Stillaguamish and Sauk-Suiattle in Snohomish County.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
For Release Wednesday April 27, 2005
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today approved the request of two Northeastern, one Southern Plains and two Southwestern tribes to expand their "Indian areas" solely for the purpose of HUD's Section 184 lending. The approval allows these tribes wider use of a HUD guaranteed home loan program that will help Native Americans throughout Maine, Mass., Kan., Calif. and Nev. to become homeowners.
"This program has already helped thousands of Indian families purchase or rehabilitate their existing homes," said HUD Assistant Secretary Michael Liu, who signed approval documents at HUD's Headquarters in Washington. "These approvals and the revision to the Section 184 program plays a vital role in keeping the President's commitment to create 5.5 million minority homeowners by the end of this decade."
The Penobscot Indian Nation and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) Indians will expand their respective Indian areas to include the entire state of Maine and Massachusetts. The Citizen Potawatomi Nation will expand its Indian area to include the entire state of Kansas. The Pala Band of Mission Indians will expand their service area to include the entire state of California and the Yerington Paute Tribe's Indian area will now include the entire state of Nevada.
These tribes join tribes in Florida, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, and Colorado that are using HUD's recent expansion of the Section 184 Loan Guarantee program to increase the number of Native American homeowners outside reservation boundaries. Tribal housing agencies can now designate wider regions as an "Indian area" - meaning tribes can go beyond their reservation borders to assist tribal members and members of other federally recognized tribes obtain loans through the Section 184 program. Allowing the expansion of tribal Indian areas provides greater opportunity for banks and other lenders to make mortgage loans to Native Americans.
Previously, Native Americans participating in the Section 184 program were limited to the purchase of homes on land owned by the tribe, usually known as "trust" or "restricted" lands. As a result, Native American homeownership opportunities remained primarily on reservations.
Under the new guidelines, tribes and tribal housing entities can provide Section 184 homeownership opportunities beyond their reservations if they submit documentation demonstrating that the tribe has a historical connection to the areas to be served or if tribal members reside in those areas.
HUD's Section 184 Loan Guarantee program, created in 1992, was established to address the lack of mortgage lending for Native Americans and give Native American families the opportunity to purchase their own homes. Since 1995, when HUD guaranteed its first loan, there have been 2,254 loans guaranteed with a dollar-value of approximately $227 million. The Section 184 program provides a 100 percent guarantee for mortgages on Indian lands, enabling private sector lenders to make mortgage loans to eligible Native American families, tribes and tribal housing entities. The program can also be used to rehabilitate existing homes, build new homes and refinance higher interest rate loans.
HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.
April 21, 2005
USDA offers Asian Pacific Islander Scholarships
(PRESS RELEASE) - U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Bruce Knight announced yesterday that the 2005 Asian Pacific Islander (API) Scholars Program and the new Tribal Scholars Program application period is April 4 through May 13, 2005.
"These scholarship opportunities strengthen the conservation partnership with state colleges and land-grant institutions and help attract outstanding students from underrepresented groups to pursue careers in agriculture and natural resource sciences," said Knight.
"Workforce planning and scholarship programs help create a more effective government by providing the tools and experience these students need to perform at high levels and become quality employees," he added.
This is the first year of the Tribal Scholars Program, which was created to help the agency accomplish its workforce diversity goals and improve interaction with tribal partners and customers.
Five scholarships will be awarded to U.S. citizens who are seeking a degree in agriculture or related natural resource sciences at a 1994 tribal land-grant institution. There are 34 tribal colleges and universities nationwide.
The API Scholars Program awarded five scholarships last year and will offer five in 2005. The program is open to U.S. citizens at universities with high percentages of Asian and Pacific Islander students in California, Hawaii, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Pacific Basin.
Both scholarship programs provide full tuition, employment, employee benefits, fees, books, use of a personal computer and software while on scholarship and room and board each year for up to four years.
In addition to general eligibility criteria, each scholarship may have unique features due to differences in the target institutions or communities.
Detailed information on the Tribal and API scholars programs is on the Web at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/scholarships or from Larry Holmes, NRCS Outreach Division Director, at 301-504-2229 or larry.holmes2@usda.gov. Information on the USDA/1890 National Scholars Program is at http://1890Scholars.program.usda.gov . Information on the Public Service Leaders Scholarship is at http://www.hsi.usda.gov/Scholars/main.html.
IN DEPTH: WOMEN WHO MEAN BUSINESS
From the April 29, 2005 print edition
A strong, quiet force for community change
Pacific Business News
The noisy dissolution of the leadership of the Bishop Estate in the late 1990s brought prominence -- some might say fame -- to a handful of people, among them Crystal K. Rose.
The lawyer with the memorable name was among those most deeply involved in the effort to reform one of the state's most powerful institutions.
Rose represented trustee Oswald Stender, seen by some as the hero who challenged the leadership of the other four trustees and their management of the multibillion-dollar trust. Rose was not only Stender's lawyer, but his spokesperson to the community and one of the driving forces behind the effort to build a new model of stewardship of the estate, now known as Kamehameha Schools.
While her most recent work hasn't generated the kind of attention associated with the Bishop Estate controversy, she has still been involved in some of this decade's most significant business negotiations and court cases.
"I've been extremely busy," said Rose, a partner in the firm Bays Deaver Lung Rose Baba. "It never lets up, but I love what I do. I love the strategy and creativity required in complex matters."
For the 47-year-old Rose, one stretch last year took her from helping Central Pacific Bank close its merger deal in September to defending Kamehameha Schools in a legal challenge to its admissions policy in November to representing Xerox Corp. in a multimillion-dollar settlement in January with families of the seven men killed in a workplace massacre in 1999.
These were three vastly different cases that played into her varied professional strengths.
The bank merger involved complex numbers that had to show huge cost savings from eliminating redundancies and melding two companies.
The Kamehameha Schools case hinged on whether the school could give preference to Native Hawaiian students without running afoul of federal anti-discrimination laws.
The Xerox lawsuits raised legal questions about the responsibility of employers to prevent workplace violence.
By being deeply involved in such complex cases, Rose accounted for between 25 percent and 35 percent of operating revenue last year at her firm.
At the same time, she earned back-to-back appointments in February to two high-profile corporate boards: Central Pacific Financial Corp. and Hawaiian Electric Co.
Rose brings to these boards obvious diversity, in that she is an influential businesswoman and a Native Hawaiian.
She also brings an intellectual intensity, a sense of humor and a reputation for toughness earned during the fight for control of the Bishop Estate.
"Crystal knows no fear," said Clint Arnoldus, chief executive of Central Pacific Bank. "Nothing intimidates her. She never backs down. Yet she gets things done without irritating people. She combines tenacity with finesse."
Robert F. Clarke, chairman, president and chief executive of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., called the timing of her appointment to subsidiary Hawaiian Electric Co. coincidental with the Central Pacific appointment.
"It wasn't coordinated," Clarke said. "But she brings an intense love of Hawaii and close ties to the community to our utility board. Also, she's a female, which helps the diversity of our board."
Born and raised on the Big Island, Rose is a 1975 graduate of Kamehameha Schools.
She earned her undergraduate degree at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., where she received a double-major in psychology and sociology.
She studied law at the University of California Hastings College of Law in San Francisco.
After graduating in 1982, she worked as an associate for three years at the Honolulu law firm Carlsmith Ball. She and her current partners left Carlsmith to form their own firm in 1986, and she spent most of the next decade specializing in commercial litigation.
In 1997, Rose agreed to represent Stender, a decision that put her in opposition to a powerful piece of the state's political establishment.
"I didn't feel ostracized, but it was a huge gamble with lots of risks to lots of people and therefore lots of pressure," Rose said. "It wasn't just about a case anymore. It was a major need to reform an institution that was dear to the hearts of many Hawaiians."
In her fast-paced corporate world, Rose still finds time to do volunteer work and work behind the scenes in politics.
She has managed Ed Case's campaigns for governor and for Congress since 2000.
She has served on the board for the Boys and Girls Club of Honolulu for the past six years.
And she remains committed to Kamehameha Schools, where she has sat on its advisory board for four years.
"She listens, pitches in and makes good things happen," said Dee Jay Mailer, chief executive of Kamehameha Schools. "When a number of students needed scholarships, she decided she would find the needed funds. Crystal tapped into her extensive network, explained the situation and secured the money for these children."
Rose makes time for her family on weekends and enjoys sailing with her husband, contractor Rick Towill, and their two sons, Ian, 13, and Mark, 16, who attend Punahou School.
She drives her sons to school nearly every day and puts her drive time from Kahaluu to work by discussing everything from the breaking news on the radio to going over spelling words to sorting out family issues.
"We use the travel time positively," Rose said. "But for me, it's a constant juggle that includes time for myself and family."
hnedd@bizjournals.com | 955-8039
Posted: April 26, 2005
Minority businesses find support
by: Jim Adams / Indian Country Today
MASHANTUCKET, Conn. - Nervous minority businesses said they felt some
reassurance after hearing from panels of government diversity specialists at the
recent 5th National Multicultural Business Conference, held at Foxwoods Casino
Resort March 30 - April 2.
The speakers emphasized their commitment to
doing business with minority- and women-owned companies, even though new
government policies seemed to signal a chillier atmosphere.
''You mean I
can start sleeping again at night,'' said Ellen Faris, director of marketing for
Native American Management Services, at one session. Faris later told Indian
Country Today that she was concerned that government trends toward consolidating
contracts and standardizing equipment would make it harder for small businesses
to compete.
As an example, a speaker from the Transportation Security
Administration said that the Homeland Security Department was working toward
issuing the same type of sidearm for different agencies, so that the government
would be procuring two or three brands instead of 30.
Faris said that a
small minority business would not ''have a large enough footprint'' to bid
successfully for a contract that size.
In addition, she said, there was
a backlash in Washington, D.C. against the extensive use of subcontractors in
Iraq. She said private companies had become scapegoats for scandals like the Abu
Ghraib prison abuses.
The sequence of panels strove to overcome these
concerns. Durie White, operations director of the Office of Small and
Disadvantaged Business Utilization at the U.S. State Department, responded to a
complaint about lack of response from her office by giving out her own telephone
number.
The panelists, seasoned veterans of the conference trail, also
advised applicants on how to make an effective presentation. Ralph Thomas,
associate administrator of NASA, urged businesspeople to give detail about the
product or service they offered and how it fit the needs of his department, not
simply to ask for help.
Thomas said minority businesses should try
teamwork with each other, not just with large corporations. ''What's going to
make diversity people across the nation hold hands and sing 'Oh happy day' is
when instead of partnering with a big company, three or four minority- or
women-owned businesses say they are going to partner together and take on the
big guys,'' he said.
The private sector also emphasized that it was
serious. Home Depot outlined the company's elaborate Internet-based system for
screening sales pitches from minority businesses and putting them in front of
the procurement officers at its far-flung stores. Applicants with minority
business certification could log on to HomeDepot.com/supplierdiversity and fill
out a form that would go into the procurement system.
The conference
also featured an awards banquet to honor Fortune 500 companies and government
agencies most dedicated to supporting diversity. Several events, including a
reception at the spectacular Pequot Museum, promoted networking. About 850
people from the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and even South Africa
attended the sessions, arranged by DiversityBusiness.com of Southport, Conn.
IN DEPTH: WOMEN WHO MEAN BUSINESS
From the April 29, 2005 print edition
PBN Kupuna of the Year shares her legacy as entrepreneur
Pacific Business News
Lei Mamo Howell, PBN's 2005 Business Kupuna of the Year, has built a strong legacy as an entrepreneur, high-fashion model and hula icon and is teaching other model hopefuls and aspiring designers that perseverance is key to a thriving career.
Howell, the recipient of the Gladys Kamakakuokalani 'Ainoa Brandt Kupuna Award, has worked tirelessly to be accepted in the high-fashion industry both on the runway and in retail.
Her persistence and hard work has set her apart from other local designers, many of whom have followed the trend she set in Hawaiian couture.
Howell, 75, is a mentor to the Miss Hawaii Scholarship Pageant winners, whom she sponsors with her latest fashions each year, and design students who seek out her advice to help them start their careers.
"It takes hard work and persistence and I say you just can't give up," she tells the students she mentors. "If you really want to do this you can't take no for an answer."
Miss Hawaii 1987, Luana Alapa, whom Howell mentored in hula and modeling, says Howell has been integral in helping boost the careers of many young beauty pageant winners.
"It was pretty much a stepping stone for quite a few model hopefuls and pageant title holders who have been fortunate to model her outfits and to be seen in many of her ads," Alapa said. "She's always willing to help out our local women just to give them a little step up in the business -- that's her role. She's always open to helping others; you've just got to ask."
Confidence is crucial
Though the highly competitive fashion and modeling industries aren't easy careers, she instructs models and students that confidence -- despite people who discourage you -- is crucial in any industry.
"You have to really believe in yourself and don't let anybody turn you away from what your dream is because a lot of people do that," Howell said. "They used to always tell me, 'You're going to be up against the big boys, the big companies. How are you going to compete?' I was told that many times and my answer was, I don't intend to compete with them. I'm going to start my own designs and that's what I did to set myself apart."
Design students from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and its community colleges often seek out Howell's advice to learn about how she started the business and how they can reach their goals in fashion design. Her advice is simple: do something you truly believe in, research the market to find out what's needed and find a niche.
Despite her busy schedule, she also takes apprentices under her wing to show them the ropes of the business and speaks to middle school students about the fashion industry.
Howell teaches the young Miss Hawaii winners during advertising photo shoots for her clothing line about the basic modeling techniques she learned while on the New York, Los Angeles and European runways.
"I'm always open to helping these young women -- I do it without any problem," she said. "Sometimes you have a girl who comes in and she doesn't have the confidence. I tell them if they're thinking about becoming a model they have to have it in their heads while on the ramp that they're the best-looking person in the room, but when they get off the ramp they better get back to normal and don't let it get to their heads."
Today, Howell is best known for her beautiful Hawaiian quilt designs on muumuu, shirts and even home dιcor items. But before she was famous for her designs, she was a household name known for her hula dancing -- earning $2.50 a show as a teenage performer at Waikiki hotels and night clubs with legends such as Hilo Hattie in the 1940s.
She raised three children while working in the highly competitive modeling industry on the Mainland and in Europe. And then in her 50s, she became a pioneer in Hawaii's fashion industry, building on the distinctive Hawaiian quilt and lei patterns passed down through generations in her family.
Overcoming female stereotypes
Over the years she has overcome the stereotypes about hula dancers and models and the perceived inability of a woman to be a serious businessperson.
After struggling for years to get respect as a designer, her persistence paid off when Mainland buyers gave in and her clothes became a hot commodity, recognized as the model Hawaiian muumuu.
Her bold signature designs -- featuring breadfruit, taro and native flower prints -- have been made for hundreds of local entertainers and stars such as Michael Jackson.
Howell, president and CEO of Mamo Howell Inc., started the company in 1978 with a $3,000 loan from her brother. She and her one employee worked from a back lanai at her Kahala home. Today she has 13 employees and a factory on Queen Street but she still does all the marketing and sales herself.
"I don't have as much time as I would like for mentoring because I'm running my business here -- it's almost like a one-man band," she said, adding that she also does a lot of charity work, receiving as many as 25 requests a month for donations. "We can't do it all but we try."
ksawada@bizjournals.com | 955-8036
EXCLUSIVE REPORTS
From the April 29, 2005 print edition
North Shore noni aimed at health-supplement market
Pacific Business News
Noni, a knotty, green fruit with legendary healing powers and a distinctive pungent odor, is being positioned as the latest breakthrough product for Hawaii's diversified agricultural industry.
Used for centuries as a healing plant in Polynesian cultures, the South Pacific fruit is now being distributed worldwide as noni juice, noni tea and noni capsules.
The fruit, leaves and seeds are believed to help treat a variety of ailments, from diabetes to arthritis, asthma, eye problems, fever and skin wounds.
While skeptics may deride noni as another one of those exotic cures of questionable effect, there is a growing worldwide market for noni.
Utah-based Tahitian Noni International, established in the 1990s, claims it brings in close to $500 million annually in sales.
Now processor Kamauoha Farms on the North Shore of Oahu is hoping to cultivate as well as process the fruit, with its own brand name, to be sold exclusively to another Utah-based firm, Innomark Inc.
"There's a huge and growing market for noni," said Spencer Kamauoha, project manager of Kamauoha Farms. "The economic potential is huge. It's expanding to Japan, Korea and Germany."
Innomark, a 6-year-old company, sells about 30 tons of noni in various products monthly, according to president Casey Foster. It also has a plant in Papeete, Tahiti.
Innomark sealed an agreement with Kamauoha Farms last September to purchase all of its noni products.
"I want to build the majority of our business eventually from Hawaii," said Foster. "Kamauoha Farms is very detailed in processing and making very clean stuff."
He estimated sales at Innomark have grown about 20 percent in the last year.
The noni industry is well-known in Tahiti, but farms are sprouting across the Pacific, including Fiji, Tonga and Niue.
Kamauoha believes there is great marketing potential for Hawaiian noni.
There are already about 100 small farmers on the Big Island who have been supplying Innomark with noni. In September, they joined Kamauoha Farms, which now manages the farms.
Seeds will soon be planted by Kamauoha Farms on an 80-acre plot in Waialua, and the plants should begin bearing fruit in a year.
The potato-like fruit grows from the Morinda citrifolia tree, native to the Polynesian islands. It does not require much water, according to Kamauoha, and produces fruit year-round. "To me, it's an ideal product to sustain an income," he said.
In fact, noni can be found along mountain trails and in backyards. But it has a short shelf life and begins to go soft within a day of being picked.
With federal grants provided by the Administration for Native Americans and the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kamauoha Farms bought its own juicing machine and a commercial dessicator.
Kamauoha estimates he ships about 16,000 litres of noni per month to Utah, where Innomark bottles the juice and sells it wholesale to distributors.
Just last week, Innomark sent Kamauoha Farms its first shipment of labeled bottles of North Shore Noni.
Unlike any other noni products on the market, according to Kamauoha, this noni juice has a lighter, reddish-brown amber color and fresher taste due to a carefully refined filtering system.
It's clear there are no flavors added to cut the unmistakably sour taste of the noni juice, which is being marketed as a "liquid dietary supplement," not a thirst quencher. Only one tablespoon per day is recommended.
A bottle of North Shore Noni is expected to sell in stores for $18.95 per 18-ounce bottle.
North Shore Noni will bear Innomark's "Natural Styles" brand name, but also a Made in Hawaii label. And it's certified as kosher.
nwu@bizjournals.com | 955-8038
Posted: May 03, 2005
Ho-Chunk, Inc.
by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today
Beyond business as usual
WINNEBAGO, Neb. - Recipe for success: take one obscure
tobacco brand, invest in a Web site, sell tobacco products out of a garage and
basement office, and voila - success.
That is pretty much what Ho-Chunk,
Inc. did when the company was started as the brainchild of CEO Lance Morgan. The
brand of cigarettes, Omaha, is named for and owned by the Omaha tribe. Ho-Chunk,
Inc. packaged, stamped and marketed the smokes over the Internet. The Smokin'
Joes brand of cigarettes was the next addition, then teas and other items to the
Web site - AllNative.com - and the company.
After its fledgling start,
AllNative.com's estimated gross income is $10 million, according to CEO Erin
Morgan. Last year set a record of $8 million. Now with two retail stores - one
in a Sioux City mall, another on the Winnebago Reservation - plus a bi-monthly
catalog and Web sales, the company offers thousands of products and services.
Ho-Chunk, Inc. has been the topic of conversation over the years. When
it was created, a stable tribal government and a separation of powers was needed
to keep politics out of business.
Business watchers have kept track of
the growth of Ho-Chunk, Inc. and its subsidiary companies; there are now 12
different business ventures that meld into an economic and employment family for
the Winnebago Tribe.
From telecommunications and marketing to home
building, car sales, motor fuel distribution and convenience stores,
AllNative.com and Ho-Chunk, Inc. have become formidable employers: and they
still sell cigarettes.
AllNative.com will move into a new building this
summer, located at the new Ho-Chunk Village. The facility will include
warehousing, office space and a retail outlet. Illustrating how the mother
company works, the office furniture will be purchased from its own company,
AllNative Office Products. This company, which sells office products to tribal
and non-tribal entities, was acquired as an existing company, and one of its
previous owners came with the deal.
For AllNative.com, it means
purchasing office furniture at a discount.
After two successful years
with the WinneVegas Casino in Iowa, the state expanded gaming to non-Indian
entities in 1994, a move that cut drastically into the Winnebago's casino
revenues.
For the first two years, revenues from the casino were
directed to Ho-Chunk, Inc. with the intent that any profits shown by the company
be applied to investment. The first outside ventures for Ho-Chunk, Inc. were the
purchase or investment in regional hotels.
Now, jobs are available and
more are expected.
From the very beginning, the goal has been to provide
the Winnebago Tribe with enough of a revenue stream, through non-gaming business
ventures, to create employment opportunities on and off the reservation and
enable the tribe to reach total economic self-sufficiency.
Some of the
products sold by AllNative.com are not American Indian in design or origin, but
most are. A quick trip around the retail store and through the catalog shows
items ranging from handcrafted jewelry and home d￩cor to food products, video
tapes and CDs, clothing and much more.
The catalog is created in-house,
according to Erin Morgan, by Blue Earth Marketing, the marketing, graphic design
and media-buying arm of AllNative.com. Blue Earth Marketing has six employees
and also does outside work for other clients.
Blue Earth customizes
marketing programs for clients, offers direct and internet marketing and Web
site development and public relations. AllNative.com acquired the marketing firm
to reduce its own costs and provide services to outside customers.
A
major contract for AllNative Systems, the information and technology company,
with Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Neb. will provide information technology
support services. AllNative Systems was chosen by the Computer Science Corp. to
be part of the team that provides infrastructure support.
The
Winnebago-based company will provide technical assistance, maintenance,
logistics, engineering and other tasks for the U.S. Strategic Air Command's
information technology infrastructure. Thirteen employees will be housed at the
offices at Offutt Air Force Base; another seven employees are located in
Winnebago.
AllNative Systems began by acquiring and assembling computer
components and selling an in-house brand of computers. That work was abandoned
due to expansion, and now the company, under the direction of CEO Terry
Morgensen, seeks out information technology talent to fill employment slots from
education to national security.
Computer hardware, software and
peripherals are sold throughout the United States through AllNative Solutions.
The company resells major brand name computers and provides networking
solutions. AllNative Solutions is an SBA 8(a) company and is Buy
Indian-certified.
Since Ho-Chunk, Inc. first appeared on the pages of
Indian Country Today in 1995, its growth has been exponential in expansion and
financial worth. Today, the company owns gasoline retailer Heritage Express and
has grown to become one of the largest gasoline retailers in the region around
northeastern Nebraska, northwestern Iowa and extreme southeastern South Dakota.
Other Ho-Chunk, Inc. ventures include:
* HCI Distribution, the
tobacco distribution company, was named Nebraska's largest minority-owned
business in 2003. Tobacco products manufactured by four other tribes and one
non-tribal entity are marketed to 60 tribes and affiliates through the firm.
* Rez Cars has revolutionized used car sales with its reasonably-priced
vehicles and creative financing options designed to help improve credit ratings
for tribal members with a poor credit status and prepare them for homeownership
or business investments.
* Dynamic Homes is the largest modular
manufacturer in Minnesota and markets homes throughout the region. Dynamic Homes
offers a discount to families who want to purchase land and build on the new
Ho-Chunk Village's 40-acre site.
* HCI Construction provides all of the
new village's construction, including the large buildings, infrastructure and
road systems.
* Ho-Chunk, Inc. is also in the business of providing news
for Indian country; it is the owner of Indianz.com, an online news
organization.
Posted on: Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Na Hoku nominees announced
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser
Entertainment Writer
Na Hoku Hanohano Award nominations have been announced, and The Brothers Cazimero, Raiatea Helm and 'Ale'a each received seven, more than all others in the 2005 balloting.
Nominations for the Brothers Cazimero included Hawaiian album of the year, album of the year and group of the year for their disc "Some Call It Aloha ... Don't Tell." Helm's nods for her "Sweet & Lovely" disc included Hawaiian album of the year, album of the year and female vocalist of the year.
'Ale'a's nominations for its "Kaulupono" disc included group of the year and contemporary Hawaiian album of the year.
Kawaikapuokalani Hewett and Owana Salazar each received six nominations.
The Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts' 28th annual competition is set for June 3 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Coral Ballroom at 5:30 p.m. The awards ceremony will be shown live on KFVE at 7:30 p.m.
Members of the music-industry organization will vote in 19 of the award's 22 categories. Public voting, starting next month at statewide Borders Books & Music stores, will decide the favorite entertainer of the year category.
Tickets range from $95 to $200 each. Reservations: 235-9424.
Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.
May 3, 2005
Vatican reschedules beatification of nun
By Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.com
The beatification of Mother Marianne Cope, which was scratched from the Vatican calendar last week, appears to have been penciled in once more.
Pope Benedict XVI will not officiate at the ceremony in Rome, and it will not be on May 15 as planned by the previous pope, but "we were told there is no doubt it is going to happen," said Sister Mary Laurence Hanley, of Syracuse, N.Y., who heads the Cope sainthood cause.
Hanley said the Sisters of St. Francis were told that Portuguese Cardinal Jose Saraiva-Martins, who heads the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will preside at the ceremony to recognize the 19th-century nun's 30 years of service to leprosy patients in Kalaupapa and Oahu. For the cardinal to preside is a resumption of the practice that prevailed until 40 years ago, she said. It is likely to be May 14 or 16.
Franciscans and other people planning to attend the event are cautiously optimistic at that news, which came five days after their spirits were dashed by news of the cancellation. About 50 local residents and more than 90 in a Syracuse delegation were stuck with their travel plans despite the cancellation. Alan Tamai of Seawind Tours and Travel said it was too late to get refunds from airlines and hotels.
Choir rehearsal will go on tomorrow with members practicing "O Makalapua," which they expect to sing in St. Peter's Basilica or St. Peter's Square. The 1912 song by Charles E. King was a favorite of Cope, who lived at Kalaupapa until her death in 1918. Local composer Robert Mondoy has added verses about the love of God to the original song, which honored Queen Liliuokalani. It is still sung at most church and social gatherings in Kalaupapa.
Sister Marie Jose Romano, song leader, said the ad hoc choir of Franciscans, members of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church choir in Pearl City and others on the Cope pilgrimage, will also sing "How Great Thou Art" in Hawaiian as well as English.
The beatification "will be an awesome experience," said Sister Marion Inouye, retired teacher and a Franciscan for 50 years. "We will also go to Assisi," the birthplace of St. Francis, who founded the religious order. "It has always been my dream, and my dream will be realized."
Sister Ancilla Yim, a nun for 55 years, said, "It's a rare historical occasion for people in Hawaii and all the United States."
Hanley said the rescheduling took place after Syracuse Archbishop James Moynihan communicated with Vatican officials about the pilgrims whose travel plans could not be canceled. The Cope celebration was one of four beatification ceremonies planned for May 15. The Americans learned that the beatification was halted in part because the planners for the other ceremonies had dropped their plans because of Pope John Paul II's death.
The Franciscan Sisters "got a phone call the other morning from the Vatican secretary of state's office," said Hanley. "They said, 'The Holy Father wants to know if you are ready.' Certainly we were ready." It's not known whether the other causes -- two founders of religious orders, a French missionary who was killed in Africa and a group of men martyred in Spain -- have gotten their acts together and will still be part of the ceremony.
Cope's skeleton was removed from its Kalaupapa burial place in January and taken to Syracuse, where a shrine will be built. Cope was a nurse and hospital administrator when she left Syracuse in 1883, bringing six nuns to Hawaii in answer to a plea from the Kingdom of Hawaii. After operating a hospital on Oahu, Cope and other Franciscans went to Kalaupapa shortly before the death of Father Damien DeVeuster in 1889. The Belgian priest has also been beatified, the second of three steps to sainthood, for his 16 years of work with leprosy victims before he died of the disease.
The Franciscan sisters remained in Hawaii, establishing schools and the medical system that bears their name.
Said Sister Margaret Antone Milho, born on Kauai, "We have known about Mother all our lives. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for her."
Quiet Title Notices
May 2, 2005
CIVIL NO. 04-01-116K THIRD CIRCUIT COURT STATE OF HAWAI`I NOTICE OF ACTION TO QUIET TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY STATE OF HAWAI`I TO: HAO (k), BEATRICE LEHUA WAIAU, JOHN KEALA ESTATE, THE HEIRS AND SUCCESSORS OF BERNICE LINCOLN, THE HEIRS AND SUCCESSORS OF GEORGE ALANI, THE HEIRS AND SUCCESSORS OF JOHN MAKUAKANE and THE HEIRS AND SUCCESSORS OF DANIEL H. NAHINU; and the SPOUSES, HEIRS, ASSIGNS, SUCCESSORS, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES, EXECUTORS, ADMINISTRATORS, AND/OR TRUSTEES OF ALL THE ABOVE, and all other persons or entities claiming any right, title and interest in the real property described in Plaintiff's Complaint, adverse to Plaintiff's ownership, and TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that Plaintiff, ANDREW DALE LAFAYETTE, claim ownership in fee simple to the following described property. All of that certain parcel of land being Land Commission Award 7500 to Hao, situate at Hookena, District of South Kona, Island, County and State of Hawaii identified with Tax Map Key parcel number (3) 8-6-002-006, and containing 1.570 acres, more or less. You are further notified that Plaintiff has filed his Complaint in the Third Circuit Court, Kealakekua, Island, County and State of Hawai`i, praying that title to the above-described real property to be determined to be in said Plaintiff in fee simple, free and clear of all encumbrances and that his title to said real property be determined quieted regarding any adverse claims thereto. You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon VAN PERNIS - VANCIL, attorneys for Plaintiff, whose address is 75-167F Hualalai Road, Suite B, Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i, 96740 and to file in the above-entitled Court, an Answer to said Complaint To Quiet Title before 8:00 o'clock a.m. on the 16th day of June, 2005, and if you fail to answer, you are hereby cited to appear before the Presiding Judge in said Court in Kealakekua, Hawai`i, at 8:00 o'clock a.m., on the 16th day of June, 2005, to show cause, if any you have, why the prayer of the Complaint should not be granted. And unless you file an Answer before the time aforesaid or appear at said Court at the time and place aforesaid, your default will be recorded, and the Complaint will be taken as confessed and a Judgment by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint and you will be forever barred from contesting said Complaint or Decree entered thereon. DATED: Kealakekua, Hawai`i, April 13, 2005. L. KITAOKA CLERK OF THE ABOVE-ENTITLED COURT VAN PERNIS - VANCIL Attorneys for Plaintiff (Hon. Adv.: May 2, 9, 16, 23, 2005) (A-72853) Posted on 5/2/2005
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