Bringing you today’s stories on issues important to Native communities.  NewsClips is a complimentary service of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.  For information and updates on our training workshops and events, please visit our Web site at: www.hawaiiancouncil.org.

 

 

January  25, 2006

 

 

 

Posted on: Friday, January 20, 2006

 

Case shakes up Democrats

 

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer

 

In a campaign that will test the heart and loyalty of Hawai'i Democrats, U.S. Rep. Ed Case will challenge U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka in the Democratic primary for the Senate in September.

 

Case said he respects and admires Akaka but feels the party needs to make the transition to a new generation of leadership. His announcement, which had been rumored in political circles for months, left many Democrats stunned and disappointed, and triggered an immediate scramble within the party for Case's congressional seat.

 

"I have the deepest aloha for Senator Akaka and truly honor his decades of selfless service," Case said at an afternoon news conference yesterday, with his wife, Audrey, by his side. "But we all know that we are in a time of transition in our Hawai'i's representation in Congress and especially in the Senate. This transition requires that we phase in the next generation to provide continuity in that service."

 

Case said he called Akaka, U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie with his decision yesterday.

 

Akaka was in Washington, D.C., and could not be reached for comment last night. His campaign chairman, Wayne Yamasaki, told reporters, "We welcome challenges because challenges toughen the candidates."

 

Inouye and Abercrombie both said they would stand behind Akaka, which could isolate Case within the party.

 

"I intend to continue to give Senator Akaka my support," Inouye said in a statement. "I hope Congressman Case will reconsider his decision to challenge Senator Akaka, and will instead seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Also, I have been advised that Senator Akaka has the full support of the leadership of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee."

 

An emotional Abercrombie said Akaka is beloved in the Islands and Washington. He predicted the campaign would be about values like loyalty, humility and compassion. "This will be a test of whether Hawai'i is still Hawai'i," he said.

 

Political parties usually discourage bloody primary fights because they can strain resources and cause internal divisions that can take years to heal.

 

Case, who has cast himself as a political moderate, will have to overcome resentment from the party's elders in taking on the grandfatherly Akaka. Case said he hoped in a few weeks, after the initial surprise had worn off, that people would consider whether the time is right for a transition.

 

Akaka, who comes from the more liberal wing of the party, had not been expecting a primary challenge or an especially difficult re-election campaign. People who spoke with him yesterday said he seemed disappointed but not angry.

 

Brickwood Galuteria, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawai'i, said Democrats have gone through internal struggles before and emerged stronger. "I wish them well and the party remains committed to whoever emerges," he said. "We're obviously pleased with Senator Akaka and all he has done. I guess the congressman felt it was the right time to seek higher office."

 

Case often differed from the party's establishment and its labor union base when he was in the state Legislature. Behind the scenes, some in the party frowned on his unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2002. Some also were surprised when he aggressively jumped into the special election to fill out the final weeks of U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink's term when she died in 2002 instead of clearing the field for Mink's husband, John.

 

Case, who easily won both special elections to replace Mink, has shown strength as a statewide campaigner. The congressman has been compared to Republican Gov. Linda Lingle for his appeal among voters who do not always follow party labels. He has held dozens of "talk story" sessions across the Islands over the past few years, which have allowed him to quietly build name recognition and connect with potential voters.

 

Akaka has not been in a tough campaign since he narrowly defeated Republican Pat Saiki 16 years ago. The senator, who is known as friendly and compassionate, can expect many of the party's faithful to vigorously defend him. According to SurveyUSA, a New Jersey polling firm, Akaka's approval rating was 64 percent in December.

 

Akaka also apparently has a fundraising advantage over Case. The senator had about $591,000 in cash for his re-election, according to his October quarterly report to the Federal Election Commission. Case had about $174,000 in cash.

 

"Ed is his own man. He always has been," said Abercrombie, who plans to campaign for Akaka. "Everybody's virtue is their vice."

 

Case said he would continue to support Akaka's efforts to pass a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill, known as the Akaka bill. He said he also would work with the delegation on other Hawai'i issues in Congress during the campaign.

 

He said he realizes it is unpleasant, with Akaka and Inouye both in their 80s, to talk about transition but he wants to give people the chance. "We have to think about how we move on."

 

Tom Coffman, an author and historian, said he was shocked.

 

"I don't think it's going to play well," Coffman said. "He's going to have to run as an independent and try to get those independent voters to carry him."

 

Former Gov. Ben Cayetano also was surprised. "I think Ed is the definite underdog," he said. "But it really depends on the kind of race that he runs."

 

Within hours of Case's announcement, several Democrats said they were interested in replacing him in the 2nd Congressional District, which covers Central, Leeward and Windward O'ahu, the North Shore and all of the Neighbor Islands. More than three dozen candidates stepped forward after Mink died four years ago, and leaders from both parties expect a crowded field this year.

 

State Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, who represents the Leeward Coast, and Sen. Gary Hooser of Kaua'i said they would run. Mazie Hirono, the former lieutenant governor, and state Rep. Brian Schatz of Makiki said they would likely run. Honolulu City Councilman Nestor Garcia said he is seriously considering the race.

 

Mike Gabbard, a former Hono-lulu city councilman who lost to Case in 2004, said he is considering the Republican primary.

 

Sam Aiona, chairman of the Hawai'i Republican Party, said Case's decision gives the party a chance to break the Democrats' lock on the congressional delegation. A Republican would likely have a better shot at the congressional seat against a Democrat potentially bruised from a tough primary than in taking on Akaka or Case for the Senate.

 

"I think it's a great opportunity for the state of Hawai'i to have a Republican in Congress," Aiona said.

 

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Saturday, January 21, 2006

 

Akaka does not feel betrayed by Case

 

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer

 

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka said yesterday he does not feel betrayed by U.S. Rep. Ed Case's decision to enter the Democratic primary for the Senate but said other prominent Democrats would have tried to talk Case out of running had they known.

 

"I won't say that he was disloyal, but he did not discuss it with the delegation," Akaka said in a telephone interview from Washington. "And, if he did, I think the delegation would have tried to persuade him not to run."

 

Akaka said he was energized by the support he has received in Hawai'i and Washington since Case's announcement on Thursday. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., backed Akaka yesterday and personally asked Case if he would reconsider. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which helps elect Democrats nationally, also endorsed Akaka.

 

"There was a feeling here that he should not run against me," Akaka said.

 

Akaka said friends had told him for months that Case might run but he had not heard anything directly from Case until the two Hawai'i Democrats spoke over the telephone on Thursday.

 

"Let me say, I'm still friendly with him," the senator said. "I know he feels strongly that he will be able to represent Hawai'i here in the U.S. Senate. I don't feel badly about him."

 

But Akaka said he is ready for a campaign. "I want to do the best I can for Hawai'i with the experience I have here and the influence I have here now," he said. "I feel like I can use my influence to help the people of our state and I want to continue to do that."

 

CASE: UP TO VOTERS

 

Case said yesterday he expected the initial criticism from the party's establishment, and a backlash from Akaka's friends in Hawai'i, but said he also heard a volume of support. He said he thought it would take longer for people to accept the idea of a generational transition within the party but he believes that his message has broken through.

 

"I think what I have said was already on the minds of virtually everybody and just needed a little articulation," he said. "Now it's up to them to make the call."

 

The congressman said he thought the reaction would be worse. "I've done something that was not in the mainstream of the political culture of Hawai'i," he said. "One of my basic points is that that culture has to change, that it is holding Hawai'i back."

 

Some of the reaction yesterday was visceral, a disbelief that Case had the nerve to challenge Akaka and, by extension, the delegation and the party's leadership. But some of the immediate surprise has begun to ease and people began talking about the campaign and what it might mean for Hawai'i politics.

 

In Washington, Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Akaka "has been an effective senator and it's our privilege to support him for re-election."

 

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, who along with U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie has supported Akaka, said he would treat Case as a member of the delegation. "He will still have a place at the table. That won't change," Inouye said.

 

Stuart Rothenberg, a national political analyst, said he is not surprised that the party would back Akaka.

 

"They don't want some younger insurgent to come along and say the incumbent's time is up. Time to move on. It's just not the way things are done," Rothenberg said. "I don't think it's so much about Ed Case. The issue is about what he is doing and the timing and his kind of failure to accept and live by generally accepted political practices here."

 

In the Islands, some Democrats felt Case was putting his own ambition over what is right for the party.

 

"I don't think it's good for the party and it looks like a pretty selfish act," said Susan Arnett, an active Democrat who is a deputy public defender. "It doesn't respect the years of service that Senator Akaka has given to the state of Hawai'i and will continue to give."

 

Randy Perreira, deputy executive director of the Hawai'i Government Employees Association and president of the Hawai'i State AFL-CIO, said the unions would aggressively support Akaka's re-election campaign. He said the congressman's decision "is proving that Ed Case was never part of the team, which is very unfortunate."

 

State House Majority Leader Marcus Oshiro, D-39th (Wahiawa), who is considered part of a new generation of Democrats, said he would tend to support Akaka. But he also said a contested primary might help the party attract new voters in a year when Republican Gov. Linda Lingle is up for re-election. "It will be a time for us to showcase who we are as Democrats," he said. "It will give us an opportunity to reach out to new voters."

 

Lingle also said it was a positive development for voters. "It will increase awareness of the upcoming election. It should boost voter turnout. And I think anything that involves more people in voting is a positive thing for our state and for our country," she told reporters.

 

Robin Danner, chief executive officer of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, said she expects the Hawaiian community to rally around Akaka.

 

"He is well-liked and respected by his peers on both sides of the aisle, and for many in Washington, D.C., is the only Native Hawaiian they may ever meet," she said. "His humility and dignity are as powerful as the next person's aggression."

 

'LIGHTNING BOLT'

 

But others said Case has been bold and had forced a discussion on the direction of the party into the open. Some also said the party had become too captive to its old guard and risked losing touch in a changing Hawai'i. The party's frustrating inability to find a candidate to challenge Lingle in the governor's race, some said, is a symptom of how the party's structure is flawed.

 

Several Democrats interviewed by The Advertiser did not want their names published because they did not want to offend party leadership or seem insensitive to the popular Akaka.

 

"That was a lightning bolt," one Democratic lawmaker said of Case's announcement. "It just shook up the entire apparatus and the old boys can't handle that."

 

One state worker said many in his office were planning to support Case, not just with their votes, but with campaign contributions as well. Coming from what he described as an "ILWU plantation family," he said it is clear that "the old boy network is trying hard to survive."

 

Bill Richardson, a venture capitalist who lives in Manoa, said he would back Case. "Generational transitions within parties are always tough," he said. "I think Ed represents change that is difficult for a lot of people to accept. But it's good change."

 

 

 

 

Posted: Friday, Jan 20, 2006 - 05:28:10 am HST

 

Hooser to run for U.S. House

 

By The Garden Island

State Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kaua'i-Ni'ihau, said yesterday he is going to run for the U.S. House seat vacated by Rep. Ed Case, D-Neighbor Islands-rural O'ahu.

Many were stunned by Case's announcement yesterday that he is going to challenge U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, for the Democratic primary berth on Sept. 23.

 

Hooser did not hesitate long to step into the vacuum created by Case's challenge of Akaka.

"I have been thinking about the issue, and decided I am going to run for the seat he (Case) sits in right now, covering rural O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands," Hooser said by phone late yesterday.

"If I am elected to Congress, I will represent the entire district, but Kaua'i will have someone serving in Congress who understands and appreciates the values that are important to the people of Kaua'i, more so than anyone else," said Hooser.

Hooser said he knows it will be an uphill battle, and he has a lot of work ahead of him.

"Most likely there will be numerous challengers, and most will be from Honolulu," Hooser said. "Some would say it's a gamble (for me to run), but if I lose I still keep the same seat I have right now."

Hooser is in the middle of a four-year state Senate term, and does not have to resign to run for the U.S. House seat.

If Case loses, he will not have his current seat to fall back on.

Hooser feels his chances are as good as anyone's. "I am sure there will be numerous challengers announced in the days to come," he said.

Case, in a surprise move that irked fellow Rep. Neil Abercrombie, announced Thursday he will challenge Sen. Daniel Akaka in the September Democratic primary.

Hawai'i's senior senator, Democrat Daniel Inouye, said he was stunned, and advised Case to reconsider.

Case said neither of Hawai'i's long-term Democratic senators will be able to serve the state indefinitely. Akaka and Inouye are both 81, and Case is 53.

He said his Senate candidacy, which opens up a race to succeed him in the 2nd District, does not target Akaka's performance.

"I think it is a matter of transition, and it's a matter of how Hawai'i can best be represented throughout the next generation," the two-term congressman said at a news conference.

Case said he wanted to give control over that transition to the state's voters rather than leave open the possibility that a successor could be chosen by the governor, who would have the responsibility of naming a new senator should either Inouye or Akaka pass away while in office.

Akaka already has indicated he will run for re-election for a fourth term this year, and no Republican challenger has emerged.

Akaka was not immediately available for comment, and his campaign chairman, Wayne Yamasaki, said he had not been able to talk with the senator.

"We welcome challenges, because challenges toughen the candidates," Yamasaki said shortly after Case's announcement. He said Akaka is "ready to run on the issues and his accomplishments for the people of Hawai'i and the country."

Abercrombie, who is expected to seek his ninth consecutive term in Congress, said he did contact Akaka, and immediately endorsed his re-election bid.

Abercrombie, appearing with Yamasaki, was visibly agitated over the development.

"And I'm filled with a lot of emotion right now, I can tell you, because Danny Akaka is the Hawaiian heart of the Hawaiian delegation," Abercrombie said, his hands and voice quavering.

Abercrombie said the fact that Case has declared when it's time to make a transition says more about him than it does about Akaka. Abercrombie himself has been considered a possible candidate to succeed either of Hawai'i's Democratic senators.

If both Case and Akaka stay in the Senate race, they will face off in the state primary election on Sept. 23.

Inouye said in a statement Thursday that he was "rather stunned" by Case's announcement.

"I hope that Congressman Case will reconsider his decision to challenge Senator Akaka, and will instead seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Also, I have been advised that Senator Akaka has the full support of the leadership of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee," he said.

Case was elected to Congress in a special election in 2002 to fill the seat vacated with the death of Rep. Patsy Mink, D-Hawai'i. He later was elected in a special election to serve a full term when the late congresswoman was re-elected despite her death.

Akaka had served 14 years in the U.S. House before he was appointed to replace U.S. Sen. Spark Matsunaga when he died of cancer in 1990.

A cousin of America Online co-founder Steve Case, the congressman was born in Hilo. He received a degree in psychology from Williams College in 1975 before earning his law degree from Hastings College of the Law in 1981.

After serving as a legislative assistant to Matsunaga, Case was a law clerk to Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice William Richardson. He also served in the state House of Representatives from 1994 to 2002.

Case and his wife, Audrey Nakamura, have two children and two stepchildren.

Akaka was the first Native Hawaiian elected a voting member of Congress.

He became a special assistant to then-Gov. George Ariyoshi after losing the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in 1974.

Two years later, Akaka easily won election from Hawai'i's 2nd Congressional District, and was re-elected six more times with at least 86 percent of the vote.

Akaka, the youngest of eight children, graduated from Kamehameha Schools before earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in education at the University of Hawai'i. He was a public school teacher, principal, and program specialist for 18 years before becoming director of the Hawaii Office of Economic Opportunity in 1971.

 

  The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

 

 

 

January 24, 2006

 

Community Associations Partner to Open Technology Center

 

Honolulu, Hawaii - Hawaiian Homestead Technology, Inc. (HHT) a wholly

owned subsidiary and initiative of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) has partnered with Papakolea Community Association, Kewalo Hawaiian Homestead Community Association and Kalawahine Streamside Association to open a Technology Center to create jobs inside and near their communities.  

 

The partners held two community informational briefings on January 9th and 10th, 2006, with Myron Thompson, HHT President, and Robin Danner, CNHA President conducting a review of the Technology Center approach, the type of jobs that will be available in the first quarter of 2006 and the social enterprise model that promotes the reinvestment of profits back into community initiatives. 

 

 "Our successes in Anahola, Kauai, and recently in Waimanalo here on Oahu in the document and graphic digitization processes are paving the way to our third location," says Thompson.  After the presentation, questions from members of the audience included overviews of the document conversion processes, employment opportunities and current Native Hawaiian issues.  Thompson was encouraged by the unity and partnership of three different community associations, stating that "it's great to be working with communities that can see the opportunities when one site is opened to serve all three."

 

CNHA and its HHT subsidiary are part of a national coalition of Indian Tribes and Alaska Native firms that established the first document conversion initiative focused on creating technology jobs in rural Native communities across the country.  Utilizing the Small Business Administration Native 8(a) program to support contracting by federal agencies and Native community-owned firms, a total of 13 technology centers are operating inside Indian reservations, Alaska villages and Hawaiian Homelands. 

 

"Partnerships among Native peoples have been a terrific way for us to learn and bring best practices in the social enterprise arena to Hawaii," said Danner, CNHA's President & CEO.  "Had we attempted this approach alone, I'm not sure we would have been able to create more than 30 jobs over a 2-year period in this new and emerging technology field."  She also remarked that the SBA and its 8(a) program "made all the difference -- without this small business tool, we would not have been able to move as quickly to provide our clients with conversion product in the rural locations that we and the tribes are in."

 

HHT is a community-based economic development and social enterprise initiative of CNHA, a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit with more than 140 members working in Native Hawaiian communities.  All profits from HHT are invested back into the community-based initiatives.  For more information about HHT, e-mail info@hhtech.net or visit www.hhtech.net. 

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Friday, January 20, 2006

 

Akaka bill put to test on civil rights

 

By Dennis Camire
Advertiser Washington Bureau

 

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will consider opposing arguments today on a bill to allow Hawaiians to form their own government. Opponents say the measure could have wide-ranging implications for state governments across the nation.

 

The bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawai'i, is opposed by some conservative Republicans in the Senate. Opponents say the measure is unconstitutional because it would create a race-based government.

 

"The supporters consider it to be a potential fundamental breakthrough. The opponents have described it as a form of racial balkanization," said Kenneth L. Marcus, staff director for the civil rights commission.

 

The commission, which has no enforcement powers, could make a recommendation to Congress after the hearing, making it the latest in a long line of governmental groups trying to deal with Hawaiian issues.

 

"We're going to be commissioned to death," said Frederick Holck of Kailua, a retired Army colonel who is of Hawaiian ancestry. "It should be an open and shut case for federal recognition."

 

But opponents see the issue differently, said Ken Conklin of Kane'ohe, a retired teacher and longtime critic of the so-called Akaka bill.

 

If successful, "then the way I see it, the state of Hawai'i enters an apartheid sort of system" since it would create a tribal organization with about 20 percent of the state's population, said Conklin, one of 13 people who won a court case eliminating the Hawaiians-only restriction for election as an Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee. "That new tribe would be authorized to negotiate for land and money and political power. It will affect all of us."

 

Noe Kalipi, counsel for Akaka, and Viet Dinh, a professor at Georgetown Law Center and former assistant attorney general at the Justice Department under President Bush, will support the Native Hawaiian bill before the commission.

 

Dinh co-wrote a paper in 2005 that argued Congress has both the moral and legal authority to enact the bill.

 

"The Supreme Court has confirmed that Congress has broad ... constitutional authority (to) recognize indigenous governments and to help restore and restructure indigenous governments overtly terminated or effectively decimated in earlier eras," he wrote in the paper, prepared for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. "That authority extends to the Native Hawaiian people and permits Congress to adopt the (Native Hawaiian bill)."

 

Kalipi said she plans to show the commission why Hawaiians are an indigenous people and not a racial class under federal policies and should be recognized by the government.

 

Of the five groups of indigenous people in the United States, Hawaiians are the only ones who do not have a political mechanism to deal with the federal government, Kalipi said. The other groups are American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Chamarros on Guam and American Samoans.

 

"The bill provides parity with respect to this federal policy and in respect to the other groups," she said. "It brings Native Hawaiians up to a level playing field ... where everybody else is right now. It doesn't even give (them) any special rights."

 

But H. William Burgess, a Honolulu attorney and strong opponent of the Native Hawaiian bill said he will urge the commission to reject the bill as having "terrible" consequences for the country because it would recognize a new privileged class consisting of anyone with an indigenous ancestor.

 

"It would give them political status and power and entitlements and privileges that are denied to all other citizens of the United States," he said. "It would assist and enable and aid and abet people of one racial group.

 

"It would have within it the germ of eventually breaking up every state into separate sovereign governments."

 

Gail Heriot, a professor at the San Diego University School of Law, also will oppose the bill before the civil rights commission, arguing that it is unconstitutional on due process and equal protection grounds.

 

The Supreme Court bolstered that idea in 2000 when it ruled Hawai'i could not discriminate and prevent nonethnic Hawaiians from voting in state elections for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees.

 

"With the bill, they (supporters) are trying to do indirectly what they can't do directly," she said.

 

Reach Dennis Camire at dcamire@gns.gannett.com.

 

 

 

 

January 23, 2006

 

USDOE Announces Availability of $9.5 Million in Competitive Grants

 

“The United States Department of Education today announced the availability of $9.5 million in competitive grants to Native Hawaiian educational organizations, public and private non-profit organizations, agencies and institutions with experience in developing or operating Native Hawaiian programs or programs of instruction in the Native Hawaiian language,” said Colin Kippen, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Education Council, the local agency charged with ‘assessing, evaluating, and coordinating’ activities under the federal Native Hawaiian Education Act within which this grant program resides.

 

“These federal grants created under the Native Hawaiian Education Act are designed to support innovative projects that enhance educational services to Native Hawaiian children and adults,” said Kippen. “Competitive preferences will be awarded for grant applications addressing beginning reading literacy of Native Hawaiian students in kindergarten through third grade, the needs of at-risk Native Hawaiian children and youth, the needs of Native Hawaiians in fields or disciplines in which they are underemployed, and the use of the Hawaiian language in instruction,” added Kippen.

 

“The awards are expected to be from $375,000 to $1,100,000 in size and may cover a period of up to 36 months. The deadline for applying for these funds is March 24, 2006,” said Kippen. 

 

Information about this announcement may be viewed at http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2006-1/012306c.html

The application may be viewed and downloaded through grants.gov and on the Native Hawaiian Education Program website http://www.ed.gov/programs/nathawaiian/applicant.html

 

 

 

 

January 23, 2006

 

Kamehameha Schools 76th Ho‘olaule‘a

 

The 76th Ho‘olaule‘a at Kamehameha Schools once again features a “Who’s Who” line-up of Hawaiian entertainment, great food, and lots of fun and shopping.  From 9 am to 4 pm on Saturday, February 25, 2006, Kōnia field and the surrounding areas of the high school’s Kapālama Campus will be home to a day of crafts, music, rides, food, activities, and games.

 

This year’s theme is I Mua e Nā ‘Ōpio a Pauahi – Forward Youth of Pauahi – and features vocal and musical performances of Kamehameha Schools’ celebrated student groups as well as the sounds of Puamana, Nā Hoa, Nā Palapalai, Inner Session, thick tubes, Nā Leo Pilimehana, and Genoa Keawe and Her Hawaiians.

 

For the keiki, the day includes Xtreme Fun inflatables, keiki crafts and teen activities, and a dunking booth.  If you get hungry, try any of the international foods and sweets, or head over to ‘Akahi dining hall for the ‘ono Hawaiian plate.  Shopping opportunities abound with products from the neighbor islands, a country store, and Kamehameha Schools’ infamous brownies.

 

To help with parking, “express” shuttles will be running throughout the day from the Kamehameha Schools bus terminal on School Street, Kapālama School and Damien High School.  Limited parking will also be available on campus.  Please no outside food or coolers.  Alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited and Kamehameha is a smoke-free campus.  Lawn chairs and mats are welcome.

 

Ho‘olaule‘a is a fundraiser sponsored by the Association of Teachers and Parents of the Kamehameha Schools with all proceeds going to support student enrichment grants.

 

 

 

 

January 18, 2006

 

53 Take Trek to Taro Patch in Maunawili

 

Honolulu, Hawaii – On Saturday, January 14, 2006, 53 participants jumped into 4-wheel drive vehicles to participate in the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s (CNHA) first Native Hawaiian cultural excursion, Huaka‘i of the new year.  Deep into the lush ahupuaa of Kailua, Mark Stride, his ohana and other caretakers of the Maunawili Lo‘i (taro patch) gave participants a tour of the property, shared legends, and guided participants in hands-on activities including picking, cleaning, pounding taro and finally, tasting the fruits of their labor, freshly pounded poi.  

 

Hosted by Papaku no Kameha‘ikana (Papaku), CNHA coordinates Huaka`i events “to fulfill our kuleana of preserving and protecting our resources,” said Robin Danner, CNHA President and CEO.  “It was energizing just to be in the presence of such dedicated individuals from Maunawili and, definitely to experience the passion of the land first hand.” 

 

Participants met at the gate of the Maunawili valley, participated in traditional chant and were provided an expert guide by Mark Stride, a Maunawili farmer dedicated to the restoration of the ahupuaa, and the cultivation of taro.  The fascinating tour included stories of the area, including the Queen’s bath near the Boyd estate, and centered on learning about the ancient taro patch terraces, the location of mountain springs and working in the taro patch, with the final activity to pound taro into poi.  Many participants remarked at the inspiration and amazing work of Mark Strike and his ohana.

 

Huaka‘i  are held twice annually by CNHA in partnership with a member Native Hawaiian organization.  The outings provide individuals from every walk of life, whether an office manager, a banker, or community advocate the opportunity to fellowship and energize by engaging in cultural activities, most times in a location not far from home or employment.  Huaka`i are in the works for several other activities including, working with lauhala, learning ancient oli or mele and visiting fishpond.

 

“Participating in intimate events such as Huaka‘i is important,” remarked Kumu Hula Leina‘ala Kalama Heine of Na Pualei o Likolehua.  “Our cultural heritage is inherent in each of us and it is vital to the perpetuation of our living traditions to awaken this sleeping giant within us all.”  Auli‘i Hirahara, President of Papaku, said “We were really excited to host this event as our mission is devoted to planning, organizing and coordinating activities that promote cultural practices.” 

 

CNHA is a national, member-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting community development in Native communities.  For more information about upcoming events, please contact CNHA via telephone at 808.521.5011 or toll free at 808.709.2642, via e-mail at info@hawaiiancouncil.org or visit our website at www.hawaiiancouncil.org.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Sunday, January 22, 2006

 

Success stories show public testimony's clout

 

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Government Writer

 

In the coming months, lawmakers will discuss the changes they would like to see at the state level.

 

Now that the Legislature has opened its 2006 session, it is time for private citizens to start talking about the changes they want to see, too.

 

While many residents are content to watch things happen and grumble with friends and family later, that isn't the way to effect real change, say those who have successfully involved themselves in the process.

 

"If you don't like something, go do something about it," said 46-year-old Wayne Dang, a state-employed messenger. "People really need to get out there."

 

He should know. When the East Honolulu fisherman noticed that bright lights shining on the ocean were scaring away nocturnal fish, he spent two years getting a "light pollution" bill introduced and passed to set clear limits on illuminating the ocean with artificial light.

 

In a political arena where some of the biggest stakeholders hire professional lobbyists to advance their positions, the average person, especially one with a full-time job, might be overwhelmed at the thought of competing for lawmakers' attention.

 

It is worth the effort, legislators say.

 

Whether it's testifying at a public hearing, visiting a lawmaker's office or simply attending a rally, the very fact that a person has taken the time to express his or her views speaks volumes.

 

When large numbers turn out, "it makes a visible point," said Sen. Clayton Hee, D-23rd (Kane'ohe, Kahuku).

 

Waiahole farmers turned out by the busload last session to oppose a land transfer that they feared would jeopardize their rural community. While more than 70 members of the Waiahole-Waikane Community Association appeared at a public hearing, "they limited the testimony to maybe a dozen or so people who each had a different slice of perspective," said Hee.

 

"That's effective in its presentation," he said.

 

Also effective are individual speakers who can bring a human dimension to pending legislation.

 

Manana Elementary School pupil Natasha Garcia, 10, saw potentially lifesaving legislation passed last year after she helped educate lawmakers about the challenges of dealing with juvenile diabetes at school.

 

"Oftentimes when children come before our legislative body in hearings, they have been able to share firsthand experiences," said Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, D-13th (Kalihi, Nu'uanu). "(Natasha) was able to tell her story about the need for someone at school to always be in a position to help children with these chronic conditions."

 

Natasha's father, Leo Garcia, submitted written testimony explaining the importance of having someone at the school trained to administer lifesaving glucagon shots, but he left most of the talking to Natasha.

 

"It's compelling when a child gets involved," he said. "When you put a face to a cause, it makes a big difference."

 

Natasha was so persistent that she not only appeared at every hearing, but when the bill passed, she followed up with the governor and was invited to be present when the bill was signed into law.

 

Now a member of the Legislature's Keiki Caucus, Natasha said: "Voting is not enough. You have to get involved if there are concerns and issues that require your attention."

 

In an island state, where the location of the Capitol on O'ahu can make it difficult for Neighbor Island residents to appear in person or even pay for long-distance phone calls, it is important to remember that some House and Senate members have offices on other islands, as well.

 

According to Hee, Sen. J. Kalani English, D-6th (E. Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i), and Sen. Paul Whalen, D-3rd (Kohala, Kona, Ka'u), were able to present compelling testimony on behalf of their constituents on the impact that a graduated driver's license for teenagers could have in small rural communities, particularly when those teens are the primary way their younger siblings get to and from school

 

"By limiting the number of riders, you could limit the ability of a small community to provide transportation," Hee said he learned from his colleagues.

 

While the Neighbor Island residents might not have been able to turn out in droves to represent themselves, Hee said, English's and Whalen's testimony led to changes in the crafting of the bill.

 

English, who considers his office in Honolulu a home base for Neighbor Island visitors, welcomes the opportunity to talk to members of the public, but warns there are times when eagerness to testify can backfire.

 

He has seen bills that otherwise would have passed die in committee because testifiers did not give the members time to vote before the deadline. "Please give us time to vote," he said.

 

English also stresses the importance of written testimony. Submitted one or two days before a hearing, well-written testimony will be given more thought than spoken testimony or testimony submitted on paper after the hearing, "when we might already be moving on to something else," he said.

 

For those unsure of how to navigate the legislative process, the Public Access Room on the fourth floor of the Capitol offers workshops and everyday assistance to help citizens participate.

 

Harold Kahikina, a brain-injury survivor who now advocates for other survivors and their families, has been using the Public Access Room for 11 years.

 

"I could not have, would not have and can never accomplish what I do without the Public Access Room," said Kahikina, whose efforts have led to the creation of state advisory boards on traumatic brain injury and neurotrauma.

 

The Public Access Room staff keeps Kahikina updated on votes, hearing notices and bill status so he can stay on top of issues even when he is too busy to track them himself. "They are extremely extraordinary," he said.

 

While time restrictions may cause some people to rely solely on testimony, some suggest that advocating for an issue requires talking to lawmakers outside of committee hearings.

 

George Honjiyo, 71, spent a decade fighting for long-term- care insurance, which was his initiation into the political process.

 

For complicated and costly issues, those arguing for a cause need to do their homework and make sure they believe that what they are doing is for the good of the people, he said.

 

"It's a work of patience and education, and educating the right people," he said, pointing out that it is important to talk to key lawmakers, such as the heads of committees and those who can swing the vote.

 

"You always have to talk in person. They need to know who you are. They need to check your credibility," he said.

 

You also have to accept the possibility that all your hard work will be for naught, said Honjiyo, who saw a proposal for a long-term-care program pass through the Legislature, only to be vetoed by Gov. Linda Lingle.

 

"It really takes the wind out of you when it's something you've worked for for 10 years," he said.

 

Nevertheless, Honjiyo has not given up on the power of people to effect change.

 

"I'm getting involved in some other things this year," he said.

 

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

January 21, 2006

 

Club Seeks Help on Canoe Work

 

Healani Canoe Club is launching a three-year project to restore two of the oldest koa canoes in Hawai'i with an informational gathering from noon until 2 p.m. tomorrow at the Kamehameha Schools campus, Konia rooms 101 and 102.

 

The canoe club is seeking 25 high school students to work on the restoration alongside master builders and another 10 who will film and edit a documentary on the project, said Rosie Lum, Healani project coordinator.

 

The club was awarded a grant of $270,000 by the Administration for Native Americans to conduct the project, Lum said.

 

"This grant is enabling us to bring the old with the young," Lum said. "This is a one-time opportunity."

 

The canoes, the Papaloa and Ho'olale, were launched in the early 1950s and are considered among the oldest in the state.

 

The project is being called "Kueolakekoa," which translated as "to stand tall with the koa."

 

For information, call Lum at 226-1495.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Monday, January 23, 2006

 

Agencies take services on road

 

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

 

The YMCA of Honolulu and the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai'i are teaming up to establish the state's largest after-school program for middle school students, which will bring services to small, underserved communities on O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands.

 

The two agencies will split financing and responsibilities tied to a two-year, $6 million federal juvenile crime prevention grant secured by U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye.

 

"The purpose of the rural youth crime prevention program is for staff to go out to the communities, on the streets and at schools to create a relationship between trained adults and kids just hanging out," said Tony Pfaltzgraff, co-executive director of the Kalihi YMCA. "In rural communities, fewer options are available to kids."

 

There are about 35,000 middle school students on O'ahu and few after-school programs for them other than athletics, Pfaltzgraff said, adding, "This gives us an opportunity to apply proven ways to intervene."

 

The crime prevention program will target youths ages 10 to 14 because research over the past 15 years shows that unsupervised youths who do not participate in activities in the hours after school lets out, 3 to 6 p.m., are more likely to experiment with alcohol, drugs and sex, and perform poorly in school, Pfaltzgraff said.

 

"It's a time when parents exercise less focus on how their kids spend time and young people have less contact with adult role models," he said. "So their decision-making process is being influenced much more by peers than their parents. The tendency is to engage in negative risk-taking behavior, like climbing up three floors of a building to graffiti a wall."

 

Inouye, D-Hawai'i, pursued the grant as a means to step up drug prevention efforts amid Hawai'i's ongoing crystal methamphetamine troubles, said Jennifer Goto Sabas, chief of staff for the senator's Honolulu office.

 

The YMCA is developing elements of the crime prevention program with input from school administrators at Wahiawa Middle School, Waialua High & Intermediate, Waipahu High and Waipahu Middle School, and yet-to-be identified schools in Wai'anae.

 

Boys & Girls Club, meanwhile, has purchased three custom vehicles to bring after-school activities to rural areas on Kaua'i and Maui. The bookmobilelike units, which cost between $85,000 and $90,000 each, are equipped with computers and athletic equipment and feature a foldout panel that can be used as a performing stage or movie screen.

 

On Kaua'i, where the Boys & Girls Club has building sites in Lihu'e, Kapa'a and Waimea, two mobile units will be used to bring activities to underserved communities such as Koloa and Kekaha. Youths served by the mobiles will be bused once a month to Boys & Girls Clubs to experience on-site activities.

 

The other mobile will be on the Big Island, where the independent Boys & Girls Club of Hilo is subcontracted to extend services to Honoka'a.

 

The Boys & Girls Club of Maui, also an independent, is contracted to expand services to Paukukalo Housing in Wailuku. Other plans include a mobile unit for Maui and expansion of programs to Lana'i and Moloka'i.

 

"Transportation is a huge issue on the Neighbor Islands. We can't build buildings every time we want to reach out and serve a community that's underserved, said David Nakada, Boys & Girls Club of Hawai'i's executive director. "What we are going to do would be impossible without the mobile units."

 

The mobiles will be available in late March or early April. Outreach efforts on Kaua'i began last month with leased vehicles.

 

Some ongoing programs, such as Boys & Girls Club's "Smart Moves," which helps young people make wise decisions, cannot stand alone, Nakada said. "You have to make programs around it attractive, like sports or computers, to make them want to come."

 

Last year, The YMCA enrolled about 225 youths in substance-abuse programs in Wahiawa alone.

 

As part of the crime prevention program, YMCA staff and Wahiawa Middle School principal Carol White are now preparing to kick off a 12-week challenge that uses a ropes course featuring 35- to 40-foot towers as a tool for lessons in honesty, caring, respect and responsibilities. The challenge starts at ground level, with youths strapped together finding their way out of a maze or taking a blind walk to learn trust. The challenge then moves above ground level, and involves tackling fears.

 

"The program has great potential," White said of the challenge, which will take place at O'ahu's Camp Erdman.

 

Both the YMCA and Boys & Girls Club are hiring staff to help implement various parts of the rural youth crime prevention program.

 

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

January 20, 2006

 

Mobile bank rolls on reservation

 

By Jomay Steen, Journal Staff Writer

 

PINE RIDGE - A bank on wheels has made inroads to better customer service on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and has slowly started the process of converting a predominantly cash society, officials said.

 

Nearly 30 years ago, Oletha Mousseau opened her first bank account with a Rushville, Neb., bank.

Mosseau wanted the security and services that First Security Bank offered, and she was willing to drive the 26 miles from Pine Ridge to Rushville to get it. Although she would have preferred to bank locally, Mousseau had no other choices at the time.

“There are no banks in Pine Ridge and none on the reservation,” she said.

That changed in 1997 when First Security Bank launched its mobile banking unit called Badlands Express to reach customers in Pine Ridge, Manderson, Oglala, Kyle and Wanblee.

Mousseau appreciates the convenience of having a bank in her hometown on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, rather than spending the time and expense involved in banking in Rushville or Martin. “It’s good for people who don’t have transportation,” she said.

Badlands Express has made financial inroads by not only increasing its customer accounts but also converting a society that operates for the most part on cash.

Last week, Mousseau, Christine Eagle, Elaine Quiver and others waited in line outside the converted recreational vehicle to talk to Angie Witt, mobile branch manager, and Tom Thomas, Security First Bank assistant vice president, about managing money or creating new accounts.

Quiver, 73, director of the Foster Grandparents program, had taken a noontime break from her job to walk to the Badlands Express’ temporary parking lot. It took only minutes to arrive at the mobile bank’s doorstep compared to the time it would take to go to First Security’s nearest branch office.

“It’s easier for me to take time off to come here than to go to Rushville,” she said.

Eagle, 20, a first-time bank customer, wanted to open a new account. Eagle regularly pays a $7.50 fee at a local shopping center to cash her paychecks, and it costs $40 to pay for a ride to Rushville. An account with the mobile bank would free her from these costs.

“It also would help me to manage my money better,” she said.

Eagle said that she would like to get a cash card that she could use for direct payment from her account or have the option to go to an ATM when she needs cash.

Currently, the full-time Pizza Hut employee pays a $7.50 check-cashing fee to cash her paychecks and then must carry hundreds of dollars in her purse. Eagle knows that if she opens an account at Badlands Express, she could avoid fees and the possibility of losing her money and could build a credit history.

“I would like to think that I’m careful with my money,” Eagle said.

“Young people are way ahead of the game as far as banking is concerned,” Thomas said.

Parked next to Big Bat’s convenience store in Pine Ridge, Thomas sits at a small desk behind a laptop computer with account applications neatly arranged on his desk. A cardboard box of customer files sits on the floor next to him and two folding chairs are set up for clients. A cash dispensing machine separates Thomas’ cramped work space from that of Witt, who works with a customer on a loan application.

With thousands of miles logged and its dependable service, the mobile bank typically opens eight to 16 accounts each week, bringing new customers into the banking community — many of them young people, he said.

“We can just about do anything here that we do at our main branch,” he said of his mobile office.

In its weekly schedule, Badlands Express arrives at midmorning Tuesdays in Pine Ridge and rotates between Manderson and Oglala on Wednesdays. The mobile bank is in Kyle on Thursdays and rotates between Wanblee and Pine Ridge on Fridays. Thomas and Witt see about 70 customers a day in Pine Ridge and Kyle and about 40 customers at the other sites. They close the doors at 2 p.m.

“We cash checks, process loans, open accounts,” Thomas said.

They also want to change some of the more troubling money practices on the reservation, such as that of signing blank loan contracts, Thomas said.

Often desperate for transportation, people sign off on car deals for no down payment but often don’t understand the length of the contract or the interest rate of the loan, he said. For those who have had bad credit ratings or repossessions, it seems like an answer to a need, he said.

Such a contract could tie up income for longer than the person would own the car, he said.

Thomas said one of the bank’s goals is to educate its clients to question loan contracts that sound too good to be true.

“We want them to make sure they know what they’re signing,” he said.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Thursday, January 19, 2006

 

Healthcare for more children is common goal

 

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer

 

Thousands of Hawai'i children with no health insurance may soon be eligible for free coverage, as the state attempts to extend its safety net much wider across the Islands.

 

The Lingle administration is planning to raise income eligibility limits for Quest, the state's health insurance program for the poor, so children from more families would qualify for free healthcare. The administration also is working on substantially reducing the premiums for some middle-income families who now pay $60 a month to get their children into the program.

 

Democrats in the state Legislature are talking with the Hawai'i Medical Service Association about a plan to offer free coverage to children from families who earn too much money to qualify for Quest but do not have private insurance.

 

The new plan, while not as comprehensive as Quest, would provide basic primary health and dental care and limited hospital coverage. Generic prescription drugs would be available with a $5 co-payment. It would cost an estimated $4 million a year, which would be split between taxpayers and the HMSA, the state's largest private insurer.

 

Together, the new coverage proposals by the administration and the Legislature would mean every child in Hawai'i would have access to health insurance.

 

"It's critical in terms of receiving appropriate preventative care but also for things as essential as school physicals and immunizations," said Paul Strauss, executive director of the Waikiki Health Center, a community clinic where many of the clients are uninsured.

 

BEYOND THE CLINICS

 

Strauss said children and their parents can turn to clinics for routine care but can run into trouble if their medical conditions are more complicated or require hospitalization. "They're really caught in an unmanageable situation," he said.

 

State Rep. Josh Green, a Big Island doctor leading a state healthcare task force, said it is unacceptable for any child in the state to have to go without health insurance.

 

"We want to make sure that no kid falls through the cracks," said Green, D-6th (Kailua, Keauhou).

 

Hawai'i has traditionally had among the highest rates of health-insurance coverage in the nation. The Prepaid Health Care Act of 1974 requires companies to provide health insurance for employees who work at least 20 hours a week. The state's job and income growth over the past few years has also led to a drop in the number of uninsured, as more people get insurance through their jobs or can afford to pay on their own.

 

9% MAY NOT BE COVERED

 

Tracking the uninsured can be daunting, but as much as 9 percent of the state's population — or about 120,000 people — may lack health insurance, according to the task force. An estimated 16,500 children have no health insurance but about half would qualify for Quest if their parents applied.

 

The Lingle administration has been aggressive about bringing more children into Quest, which now covers more than 100,000 children, and anticipates thousands more would be eligible under the new income limits. The income threshold for free coverage is now about $44,500 for a family of four, but would increase to about $55,650. The administration also wants to relax premiums for some middle-income families who pay for Quest down to $30 or $15 a month, based on income level.

 

'GOOD, HEALTHY START'

 

Quest and a companion Medicaid fee-for-service program for the poor and disabled account for about $1 billion in state and federal money each year. Lillian Koller, the director of the state Department of Human Services, said there is federal money available to help the state cover more children.

 

"It gives them a good, healthy start on life," Koller said.

 

Democrats and the HMSA are targeting the estimated 8,000 children who now fall outside of Quest and private insurance. Some of the parents of these children could be self-employed or part-time workers who earn too much for Quest but feel they cannot afford to buy private insurance. Others could be full-time workers who for whatever reason are not being covered, or choose not to add their children, to their health plans at work.

 

MANY ARE FULL-TIMERS

 

The task force, in its initial report to the Legislature, found that a sizable number of people who are uninsured are apparently full-time workers who should be covered by their employers under state law.

 

Parents would be able to enroll children for free in the new plan being developed by Democrats and HMSA even if they get their own medical care from other providers. HMSA now offers a similar plan for $50 a month with about 970 children enrolled.

 

"It's the Volkswagen, not the Cadillac," said Jennifer Diesman, HMSA's director of government relations. "We just want to ensure that every child in the state has access to basic health coverage."

 

House and Senate Democratic leaders support the plan in concept and will decide over the session whether to approve the state's share of the program. Green, the only physician in the Legislature, said providing preventative care for children would help reduce healthcare costs in the future.

 

"We know the reality for people. It's hard out there and we need to help them navigate the healthcare system," Green said. "From my standpoint, it pays for itself tenfold."

 

Barbara Luksch, the project director for Hawai'i Covering Kids, said when children do not have health insurance their parents often are afraid to let them play sports or get involved in physical activities for fear they might get hurt. She also said children with no insurance are more likely to miss school and have medical conditions such as asthma go untreated, causing unnecessary suffering.

 

Over the past six years, through extensive outreach to parents and in collaboration with community and state agencies, the group has helped thousands of children enroll in Quest.

 

"If they don't have a pediatrician to call, they end up in the emergency room," Luksch said.

 

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

Posted: January 20, 2006

 

Religious Freedom and Restoration Act tested

 

Indian Country Today

 

by: Tanya Lee

 

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - In a stunning Jan. 11 opinion, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Rosenblatt rejected every argument American Indians presented to prevent further desecration of the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona. The Peaks, sacred to 13 tribes, are federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Despite decades of protests, a ski resort has operated there since 1938.

''This is another slap in the face,'' said Rex Tilousi, tribal council member and former chairman of the Havasupai Tribe, who testified during the trial on religious freedom issues raised by the lawsuit.

The suit, brought against the Forest Service by six tribes and three environmental groups, was filed in June 2005 after the Forest Service approved Arizona Snowbowl owners' 2002 application to make changes at the ski resort. The most controversial is a plan to use recycled wastewater to make snow.

The application triggered an Environmental Impact Statement under provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act. In February 2005, Coconino National Forest Supervisor Nora Rasure approved snowmaking and the construction of related infrastructure. Tribes filed an appeal, and Southwestern Regional Officer Harv Forsgren affirmed Rasure's decision.

Nine days later, the tribes filed suit.

The judge consolidated the lawsuits and ordered an October bench trial to hear arguments on the matters related to the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act of 1993.

The six tribal plaintiffs - Navajo, White Mountain Apache, Yavapai-Apache, Havasupai, Hualapai, and Hopi - were joined by plaintiffs Norris Nez, Navajo, Bill ''Bucky'' Preston, Hopi, Rex Tilousi, Havasupai, Dianna Uqualla, Havasupai, and three environmental groups.

Defendents were the Forest Service, Rasure and Forsgren. Rosenblatt allowed Snowbowl's current owner and operator to intervene. Attorney and former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt represented the owners.

The case is one of the first legal challenges to RFRA and as such has set an important precedent.

Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Chairman Jamie Fullmer and Apache Historian Vincent Randall said in a Jan. 12 statement: ''Recent history has shown the federal courts are not supportive of Native American sensibilities and traditions when it comes to issues concerning the landscape and spiritual health of our People.''

The plaintiffs argued that the EIS was based on an ''impermissibly narrow'' premise - ''to ensure a consistent and reliable operating season, thereby maintaining the economic viability of the Snowbowl.''

Rosenblatt disagreed: ''The Court concludes that the Forest Service's statement of purpose ... is not unreasonable ... [T]he goal of providing a reliable ski season is consistent with the Forest Service's multiple-use mandate.''

Once this premise was accepted, other arguments fell by the wayside.

Phoenix attorney Howard Shanker, who represented the Navajo, Yavapai-Apache and White Mountain Apache tribes and the environmental groups, said in a statement Jan. 12: ''[T]he federal government felt, and the court affirmed, that the economic viability of the Arizona Snowbowl Resorts Limited Partnership was more of a priority than the beliefs of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans.''

NEPA requires that federal agencies consult with tribes on projects that could impact them. According to the judge, the Forest Service fulfilled that obligation:

''[T]he Forest Service made over 200 phone calls, held 41 meetings, and exchanged 245 letters with tribal representatives. Although the consultation process did not end with a decision the tribal leaders supported, this does not mean that the Forest Service's consultation process was substantively and procedurally inadequate.''

This conclusion jives with what Heather Cooper (now Heather Provencio) said in 2002: that there was no provision in NEPA by which a tribe could state an adverse effect serious enough so that the Forest Service supervisor would be required to deny an application.

The most far-reaching element of this case is the challenge to RFRA. At issue is whether RFRA protects American Indians' religious rights as they themselves define those rights and the necessary circumstances for practicing their religions, or whether it simply extends to American Indians the right to practice their religion in a way and to an extent that the federal government deems appropriate and adequate.

Rosenblatt's opinion strongly favored the federal government, though tribal leaders and religious practitioners testified at length about how the use of reclaimed wastewater to make snow would negatively impact the very foundations of their religious beliefs.

Hopi Cultural Preservation Office Director Leigh Kuwanwisiwma testified for seven hours on Oct. 17, 2005. ''[The proposal] violates the basic principle of what the mountain stands for in the spiritual life of the Hopi people. To make snow on the mountain does not just desecrate the mountain; it defiles it.''

Under RFRA, the government may not impose a ''substantial burden'' on the practice of religion without a compelling reason to do so. So two issues must be decided - whether a substantial burden exists and, if it does, whether the government has an interest sufficient to allow imposition of such a burden.

After the Native witnesses testified, two Forest Service archaeologists, Judith Propper and Heather Provencio, were asked to evaluate whether tribes would suffer a substantial burden.

Read the opinion, ''Propper testified that although practitioners sincerely felt that the Forest Service decision would impact their beliefs and exercise of religion, the impacts did not amount to a substantial burden.''

Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council Lawrence T. Morgan said in a statement, ''The sanctity of our cultural and spiritual relevance has been violated. The U.S. District Court has now seemingly underscored this without hesitation.''

''This is a devastating tragedy for all those who value environmental health, culture and religious freedom.'' said Save the Peaks Coalition's Klee Benally in a press release.

''The tribe is devastated,'' said Alicia LaCounte, an attorney for the Havasupai Tribe, on Jan. 13. ''The San Francisco Peaks are part of every religious ceremony the Havasupai perform. Every aspect of my clients' religion is related to that mountain. It is the equivalent of the Garden of Eden in the Judeo-Christian tradition.''

Shanker said in a statement, ''This decision further eviscerates the rights of Native Americans to protect sacred lands that are essential to their belief systems.''

He continued, ''It seems to me that requiring 'objective' proof that something is sacred makes no sense. Short of producing God at the trial, it is not clear how this could be accomplished ... Based on the reasoning by the court, no substantial burden can ever be demonstrated by Native American practitioners under similar circumstances.''

According to Shanker, Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. has said, ''[The] Navajo Nation will do whatever it takes to try to stop the use of reclaimed sewer water to make artificial snow on the sacred San Francisco Peaks.''

Kuwanwisiwma said on Jan. 16 that he had been assured the Hopi Tribe would appeal.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Wednesday, January 18, 2006

 

43% of 1st-timers buy homes with no cash

 

Advertiser Staff and News Services

 

WASHINGTON — As housing prices soared last year, an eye-popping 43 percent of first-time home buyers nationwide purchased their homes with no-money-down loans, according to a study released yesterday by the National Association of Realtors.

 

The trend is potentially ominous. The real estate market is cooling in some areas, and rates on adjustable-rate loans are creeping up. As a result, some no-money-down buyers could owe more than their homes are worth.

 

The proportion of no-down-payment buyers is smaller in Hawai'i. John Gray, executive vice president at Bank of Hawaii, one of the state's largest mortgage lenders, estimated that 5 percent to 10 percent of first-time buyers in Hawai'i used a zero-down mortgage.

 

The reasons: Compared to the Mainland buyer, local first-time buyers tend to be more conservative and are more likely to turn to relatives and savings to help with their first purchase, he said.

 

What's more, a local seller is more likely to accept an offer with a substantial down payment since that buyer has a better chance of completing the purchase than a buyer who is putting no money down, he said.

 

Nationwide, the median first-time home buyer scraped together a down payment of only 2 percent on a $150,000 home in 2005, the NAR found.

 

Already, home prices in many areas are declining, and the "For Sale" signs are posted longer. There's now at least a 50 percent risk that prices will decline within two years in 11 major metro areas, including San Diego, Boston, Long Island, N.Y., Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to PMI Mortgage Insurance's latest U.S. Market Risk Index.

 

"In a number of areas, particularly on the coasts, they have a high risk of price declines in the next two years," says Mark Milner, chief risk officer of PMI.

 

Red-hot home building, acquisitions, remodeling and refinancing in recent years helped drive the economy and raise fears of a real estate bubble. Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research says that if housing prices fall at least 10 percent, it could be even more damaging than the collapse of the high-tech stock bubble in 2000.

 

"If we do get a spike in mortgage rates, and a modest decline (in the housing market) turns into a rout, there's almost no bottom to that," Baker says. "That's a crash scenario."

 

Baker and other economists are concerned that many lenders have pushed a series of creative but potentially dangerous loans to help more Americans afford a home. The traditional 30-year loan with a fixed rate remains the most popular way of financing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But about one-third of homeowners take out riskier loans, such as interest-only or flat-minimum-payment mortgages.

 

"These nontraditional loans transfer risk to the borrower," Milner says.

 

NAR President Thomas Stevens says he isn't worried that nearly half of first-time home buyers put no money down, but adds, "If the number was higher than that, I'd be concerned."

 

USA Today contributed the national elements of this story. Advertiser staff writer Rick Daysog contributed the Hawai'i sections.

 

 

 

 

Published on Saturday, January 21, 2006

 

Fort Bragg officials consult with Indian tribes

 

By Henry Cuningham
Military editor

 

Fort Bragg ended two days of consultation Friday with representatives of federally recognized Indian nations about what to do if remains or artifacts are unearthed during the coming construction boom.

 

“Even though we have all these things that we hold against the United States, what they’ve done to us and our people, we are still here dealing with them,” Chief Stuart Patterson, a Tuscarora representative, said after the meetings. “We’ve heard our elders tell us these are things we have to pass on to our young people. We have something that is worth fighting for. It’s unique in the world.”

 

Patterson, 71, lives in Sanborn, N.Y., and represents the Haudenosaunee Delegation of the Tuscarora Nation. He has a Haudenosaunee passport for foreign travel. The Tuscarora left eastern North Carolina after a battle in 1713 and settled in New York in 1722. The Haudenosaunee is a confederation of five nations in New York state.

 

Federal law requires federal agencies to notify the Interior Department, the public and interested parties and take other steps when their activities involve historic landmarks or “historic properties to which an Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization attaches religious and cultural significance.”

 

Fort Bragg may have $1 billion in construction under way in coming years, said Col. Al Aycock, Fort Bragg’s garrison commander.

 

“We know as we dig we are going to find things,” Aycock said.

 

Fort Benning, Ga., brought in tribal representatives to talk about its projects, Aycock said.

 

“What we would like to do is expedite the consultation process so we don’t have to slow down,” Aycock said.

 

Charles R. Coleman, 70, of Weleetka, Okla., represented the Thlopthlocco Creek Tribal Town.

 

The Creeks and other tribes gathered in small groups, which evolved into communities, towns and confederacies through trade and language around the eastern United States, he said.

 

Highway construction and other federal projects unearth artifacts and human remains and disrupt burial mounds, Coleman said.

 

“We don’t want to stop the building, but we want any remains and items that are found to wind up in museums,” Coleman said. “We want them to be taken care of respectfully.”

 

Different tribes have different opinions, Coleman said.

 

The tribes asked that remains be put in cotton rather than plastic bags, Coleman said.

 

“Fort Bragg has said, ‘How do you want us to take care of them?’” Coleman said.

 

The tribes will sign a “government-to-government” memorandum of understanding on communication and are working to develop a cultural preservation plan, he said.

 

“Basically signing a treaty.”

 

Patterson said human remains are a concern.

 

“It’s not our intention to take them from here, but to see that they are reinterred in a proper manner, in a proper place where they aren’t going to be dug up again,” Patterson said. “This is a process we are trying to work out with Fort Bragg.”

 

Also represented were the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Chickasaw Nation, the Catawba Nation, the Tuscarora and the Muscogee Creek Nation. Invited but unable to attend were representatives of the United Keetowah Band of Cherokee. The Lumbees of southeastern North Carolina have not received federal recognition and were not included.

 

Fort Bragg and other Army posts preserve churches and cemeteries that existed before the federal government took over the land.

 

“It’s our job as the owners of this resource to be culturally aware of what’s important to each of the groups,” Aycock said.

 

Military editor Henry Cuningham can be reached at cuninghamh@fayettevillenc.com or 486-3585.

 

 

 

 

Posted: January 23, 2006

 

Construction of homeless center to begin in February

 

by: Richard Walker / Indian Country Today

 

Chief Seattle Club moving to renovated historic hotel

SEATTLE - Forty-five homeless people died on the streets of Seattle in 2005. Each death shows how nightmarish life on the streets can be.

Rhonda Starr, 39, Warm Springs, died of unknown causes in January 2005. Susan Eileen Redhorn, 51, Yakima/Blackfeet, died of an infection in May. Jesse Madera, a 55-year-old American Indian, died of unknown causes in June. Alpheus George, 38, Tlingit, fell onto Interstate 5 in September. Davina Garrison, 43, Navajo, was murdered in November.

All told, six homeless people were murdered; seven committed suicide. Others died of an overdose, heart disease or infections. One was run over by a train, another by a truck.

When Chief Seattle Club opens at its new site in January 2007, it won't be able to give American Indians and Alaska Natives a place to sleep at night because of neighborhood

regulations preventing the establishment of a homeless shelter. But the club will be better equipped to help homeless Native people get off the streets.

The club is $650,000 short in its fund-raising goal of nearly $5.4 million, but a donor has pledged to donate whatever the club doesn't raise, clearing the way for construction to begin by mid-February, club Executive Director Jim Burns said.

Chief Seattle Club will redevelop the former Monterey Hotel, a historic structure in Seattle's Pioneer Square, into an 11,000-square-foot center. The project was designed by Seattle-based architect Johnpaul Jones, Cherokee/Choctaw, lead designer of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

As with his other Indian country projects, Jones incorporated Native culture, history and art into the building design. ''When a Native American walks in the door, he or she will know they're home,'' said Margo Spellman, who is promoting the fund-raising campaign.

During the day, club members will be able to visit the center for showers, laundry and meals; use computers and telephones for job searches; get transportation for hospital visits and emergencies; and get help accessing health care services and substance abuse treatment. They will be able to get clothing, blankets and personal hygiene items. The club also offers cultural activities and rides to gatherings and religious services.

The club currently provides its services out of two locations - a leased day center with limited hours, and an office.

''We will be open longer so members will be able to be indoors in a safe environment,'' said Program Director Jenine Grey, Tlingit. ''And they'll get more help.''

Grey said the new site will enable the club to offer Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, casework and counseling. There will be a gallery to sell art made by club members. She'd like to start a job placement program, too.

Ultimately, the club wants to develop some kind of housing, Grey said.

Arlene Zahne, Navajo, a secretary at the club, knows the dangers of living on the streets. Until two years ago, she was an administrative assistant at U.S. District Court and lived in Seattle with her two teenage daughters. Her life took a downward turn when she got into debt. ''I was in over my head. I didn't know how to handle it,'' she said. She turned to drugs and alcohol and, because of it, lost her job. Arrested for domestic violence, she was kicked out of her subsidized home.

''I never thought I'd be homeless,'' she said.

She lived on the streets for two years, became accustomed to sleepless nights and being forced to move at midnight, and was beaten up. ''I had two black eyes for two weeks,'' she said. In jail in July, she signed up for drug and alcohol treatment. ''I didn't want my children to see me like this.''

Zahne has been sober since November, is living in ''clean and sober'' housing and is employed by the club. She knew two of the people who died on the streets in 2005 and wants to help others get sober and avoid that fate.

Chief Seattle Club was an important part of her recovery. ''It felt safe to be around people who shared a culture,'' she said. ''Being here is important to me.''

Grey said keeping people off the streets is crucial to keeping them sober. ''Most people relapse because they're out on the street,'' she said.

Through the state Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment and Support Act, a club member can get treatment and housing for three months. When they get out, and until they are employed or qualify for other financial assistance, Grey can connect them with a general assistance grant from the BIA so they don't have a lapse in income.

The reasons for homelessness are many. Some club members wound up in Seattle looking for work that didn't pan out. Others suffer depression or addictions. Being raised in foster homes, sent to boarding schools or being otherwise displaced are common causes of the substance abuse that leads to the streets, Grey said. Although American Indians and Alaska Natives are traditionally communal peoples, two-thirds now live in urban areas.

In Seattle, the traditional home of the Duwamish people, only 1 percent of the population - some 5,659 people - is full-blooded American Indian or Alaska Native. A total of 10,417 Seattle residents claimed mixed American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry in the 2000 Census. Seattle's total population is 563,374.

''Anytime people have been displaced from their homes, they are going to suffer a trauma there,'' Grey said. ''Everything around you is a reminder of your people. It's where you are from. I'm always intrigued when I meet someone who is Duwamish or Suquamish, because we are on their land.''

About Chief Seattle Club

Chief Seattle Club was founded in 1970 by the Rev. Raymond Talbott as a day center for homeless American Indians and Alaska Natives. The club's mission is to ''provide a sacred space to nurture, affirm and renew the spirit of urban Native Peoples.'' It has 741 members, up from 726 in 2005. To be a member, you must be American Indian or Alaska Native and you must be sober when using the club. About 130 men and women are served daily.

The clublub is a nonprofit run by a 13-member board of directors. The annual budget is $275,000 and is composed of contributions from individuals, charitable foundations, churches, corporations and tribal governments.

Foundations have donated more than $1.5 million toward the new center, half of which came from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Corporate donors have contributed more than $60,000, including $43,500 from the Boeing Employees Charitable Fund. Private contributions total $2.6 million and include the purchase of the building by board members Steve and Tricia Trainer.

Contributions to the club's capital campaign may be mailed to 113 Cherry St., Seattle, WA 98104. Call Grey at (206) 292-6214; e-mail jgrey_csc@qwest.net or visit www.chiefseattleclub.org.

Richard Walker is a correspondent reporting from San Juan Island, Wash. Contact him at rmwalker@rockisland.com.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Sunday, January 22, 2006

 

Six honored this year as Living Treasures

 

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

 

A Hawaiian conservationist, an Iwakuni singer, an expert on native ways, an old-style fisherman, a doctor and an artist are the Living Treasures designated for 2006 by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i.

 

The Buddhist mission each year recognizes individuals from the general community who contribute to preserving the culture of Hawai'i. The honorees for 2006 are Uncle Eddie Ka'anana, James Kunichika, Richard Paglinawan, Uncle Walter Paulo, Dr. Terry Shintani and Carol Yotsuda.

 

"This year the honorees are strong in the Hawaiian culture," said Margaret Oda, Living Treasures Committee chairwoman at the mission. "We're quite impressed by the current recommendations. Many have volunteered without any formal recognition. They they do it because they want to share."

 

Oda said the honorees over the past 30 years have been chosen because they demonstrated continuous growth and learning in their particular field; made significant contributions toward a more humanitarian society; and strive toward excellence.

 

Dr. Terry Shintani's multi-cultural approach to nutrition helped participants succeed in weight loss during the Hawaii Health Foundation's three-week diet program that included former Gov. Ben Cayetano, members of his Cabinet, community leaders and Native Hawaiians.

 

Shintani is the founder of the Integrative Medicine Center at the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, and is credited with being instrumental in legalizing native Hawaiian healing practices.

 

Now with the Hawaii Health Foundation, Shintani is working to reduce the cost of healthcare, using pre-Western diet traditions and cultural values to combat obesity.

 

In choosing Shintani, the mission said he is determined to "conquer Hawai'i's health problems, one meal at a time."

 

In 2004 Shintani received the Integrative Medicine Award from the Hawai'i Wellness Institute, and in 1999 he was named a distinguished alumnus of the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. In 1993, he received the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services' Award for Excellence, recognizing his promotion of health in the community.

 

"It is a real humbling experience," the 54-year-old Shintani said of being designated a Living Treasure. "Most of these people who are this year's honorees have spent many more years in their careers than me. I have spent my career serving the community and to uplift Hawai'i's status as a healthy place."

 

Richard Paglinawan, a cultural practitioner, was chosen because he is an "enduring model of philanthropy, volunteerism and community outreach," the mission said.

 

He shares his mastery of lua, an ancient Hawaiian martial art, in classes, in lectures at the Bishop Museum and in books, all of which have helped regenerate an emphasis on cultural values, self-esteem and spiritual balance. He also is credited with expanding conservation and preservation efforts throughout the state.

 

Paglinawan conducts workshops on ho'oponopono — conflict resolution in the traditional Hawaiian way — and founded the biannual meeting for cultural exchange between Hawai'i and the Pacific peoples of Raiatea, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), the Cook Islands and Aotearoa (New Zealand). He co-established postgraduate studies at the Hawaiian Learning Center at the UH School of Social Work.

 

In 2004, he was recognized nationally for Outstanding Leadership in Education for Asian and Pacific Islanders.

 

"Ever since I started in social work, in 1962, I've been very active in volunteering and lecturing, and educating on Hawaiian cultural practices," said the 69-year-old Paglinawan.

 

"I was very surprised to be nominated by the students who are now instructors in lua. ... It once was considered a dying art. And now it isn't, because of the teachings I and others have continued to do."

 

A self-taught Iwakuni singer, James Kunichika has earned accolades such as the Pan-Pacific Festival's 2003 Silversword Award for cultural excellence. His music has been recorded and archived by the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, the Bishop Museum, and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

 

The 91-year-old Kaua'i-born Kunichika is considered a master artist, winning a grant from the State Foundation for Culture and the Arts to train an apprentice, Ralston Nagata, in the lilting Iwakuni tradition of Japanese song.

 

Kunichika is recognized for his contributions to the community and lifelong efforts to preserve Japanese culture in Hawai'i. He is a founding member of the O'ahu-based Iwakuni Odori Aiko Kai bon dance group.

 

"He is very committed to the bon dance," said his daughter Caroline Miyata.

 

"He's been singing like this since he was in his late teens. He's self-taught and has perfected his own style over the years."

 

Walter H. Keli'iokekai Paulo, known as "Uncle Walter," is recognized for sharing his love of fishing. Paulo, a resident of the Big Island community of Miloli'i — the only remaining fishing village in the Islands — has spent much of his 82 years fishing and sharing his techniques. He's active in the statewide coalition of Native Hawaiian fishermen and is a featured kupuna demonstrating traditional fishing methods in a documentary titled "The Kupuna of Miloli'i."

 

He co-developed the Miloli'i-Ho'opuloa 'Ahahui, an organization that promotes events for children.

 

He also helped conduct oceanographic research for the National Marine Fisheries Service.

 

"I never went to high school," said Paulo. "I went all over the South Pacific, teaching about longline fishing. It's all I know how to do. I have no trade. So I volunteer. I always try to help someone if I can. That's my philosophy — and to be honest."

 

Edward "Uncle Eddie" Ka'anana spent many years fishing with Paulo and has incorporated experience into his makeshift classroom, a taro patch in Miloli'i. He teaches students traditional Hawaiian values of life from the standpoint of the environment: preservation of the land, respect for the family and service to the community.

 

The 79-year-old Ka'anana has served as an expert adviser on subsistence and commercial fishing, and has focused on preserving the art and practice of traditional 'opelu fishing. He is fluent in Hawaiian, working with students at UH, and is the kupuna at 'Anuenue School, a Hawaiian immersion school in Palolo Valley.

 

He has served as an adviser at the Bishop Museum, the UH Department of Hawaiian Studies, the lo'i kalo at Kanewai, the Opinapa'a Na Hui Kalo Statewide Taro Farmer's Association, and kumu hula Mapuana de Silva's Halau Mohala 'Ilima.

 

"I feel very honored to be selected," Ka'anana said of being named a Living Treasure. "There are so many of us out there sharing what we know, and many of them don't get recognized. It's fortunate for me that I have been mentioned and approved and named as a Living Treasure — honored for doing the things I know."

 

Carol Yotsuda is the executive director of the the Garden Island Arts Council, a volunteer position she's held since 1998. She is also a teacher and artist.

 

She was named the 2004 Peacemaker of the Year from the Kaua'i Peace Project, and was the recipient of the 2004 Maile Award for Outstanding Culture Service.

 

Mostly, she's known for her mixed-media murals at Ala Moana Center, the Kaua'i Hilton and Lihu'e Airport. She also has done several pieces for schools, including a 5-by-32-foot Venetian glass mosaic at 'Ele'ele Elementary School.

 

The 65-year-old Yotsuda said she has been active in Hawai'i's art community since the 1970s. During the past couple of years, she's spent most of her time promoting art and artists through the arts council.

 

Being named a Living Treasure took Yotsuda by surprise. "When I look at those who came before me, I question what I'm doing here and wonder even if I deserve the recognition," she said.

 

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

LIVING TREASURES BANQUET FEB. 3

 

A banquet at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 3 at the Sheraton Waikiki will honor the six Living Treasures of Hawai'i designated for 2006 by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i. Reservations are $50 per person. To make reservations, call 522-9200 or mail checks to Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i, 1727 Pali Highway, Honolulu, HI 96813.

 

 

 

 

January 20, 2006

 

She's an old-fashioned girl

 

Raiatea Helm will be the youngest headline performer ever to do the "Hana Hou!" concert series

 

By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com

 

YOU CAN call her a "new traditionalist" in Hawaiian music if you need to hang a tag on Raiatea Helm, but the young rising star feels she's just giving the beloved music of the islands its due.

 

Helm, 21, along with 24-year-old Kaumakaiwa "Lopaka" Kanaka'ole, will be the youngest headline performers ever to do the "Hana Hou!" concert series at the Hawaii Theatre.

 

Recovering from a cold she originally got while in Honolulu performing as part of the Hawaiian Grammy award nominees bill at the Hawaii State Art Museum during the monthly First Friday downtown, Helm realized the importance of Friday's concert.

 

"This is a big deal. It's at the Hawaii Theatre, and every year, as part of the Hana Hou series, people like Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, the Makaha Sons and Na Palapalai get invited, and look at us, with people saying, 'Wow, you guys young!' So people will be curious about what we got, and we're excited about it.

 

"I first met Lopaka a while back through a relative," the Maui resident said earlier this week by phone. "We became close -- he's a really nice guy -- and we've recently, over the last couple of months, went on tour with the Makaha Sons to San Diego."

 

Helm herself has toured places like the West Coast, Texas and Japan over the past three years, "sometimes with my own band, or with the Sons."

 

Helm is a multiple Hoku award winner, and her Grammy-nominated sophomore album, "Sweet & Lovely," garnered her a second consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year, as well as this past year's Favorite Entertainer of the Year kudo.

 

WITH AN enthusiastic tone in her voice despite her frequent coughing, she gladly embraces being typed as a new traditionalist. "To me, it means perpetuating an older style of music. It's rare that people our age carry on this legacy," one that her late uncle, activist-musician George Helm, kept close to his heart.

 

"I wasn't introduced to my uncle's music until I was in my young teens. I think, when I was younger, I wouldn't understand what he passed on to the music. But when I found out about him, I fell in love with his music and style of singing. He helped motivate me. It was a nice feeling to know that I had a family member, my dad's brother, who other musicians who knew him say he was a nice guy, and very talented."

 

And it's not hard to hear a bit of George Helm's moving leo ki'eki'e (falsetto) voice developing in Raiatea's own vocal style.

 

While she's been favorably compared to such legends as Lena Machado and Aunty Genoa Keawe, Helm also found inspiration in the classy stylings of Nina Keali'iwahamana.

 

"Nina has such a different style," she said. "I remember one year, I just happened to see her performance on TV during the hoike of the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest. She sang 'Pua Tuberose,' and her sound was more of leo ki'eki'e. Her range was so beautiful. Since we recorded the contest, my dad would teach me the chords, and I would mimic what I saw.

 

"Looking back, I was disappointed I wasn't introduced to this kind of music at first. It was like held back a generation, so it's rare that a 20-year-old like me would sing like a 50-year-old. My friends don't listen as much to Hawaiian music, so I've had to go on my own, I've had to find the old style for myself. I'm just trying to perpetuate this beautiful music as much as I can."

 

BORN IN Honolulu, but raised mainly on Molokai until age 18, Helm made the decision several years ago to join her brothers to live on Maui.

 

"I had a choice to go the University of Hawaii at Manoa to pursue music or start a music career and go to a two-year college. Because of my brothers being there, plus having lots of family on Maui, I decided to go there. Since then, I've made a lot of friends here, and I love it. You know, not too much traffic compared to Honolulu.

 

"Right now, full-time school is on hold. I really haven't decided what my degree will be, but I am taking Hawaiian language at Maui Community College."

 

Her toiling over a six-month period to complete "Sweet & Lovely" has paid off with a Grammy nomination in the Best Hawaiian Album category. "The quality is so nice, compared to my first album, so much pureness came out. ... And it's under my own label, so all the hard work paid off, yeah? It was tough, stressful, and I learned that you got to be on it ... got to be focused and take care of yourself."

 

It's an album that, with her family's help, has some real musical jewels on it. One of her heroes, Aunty Genoa Keawe, is part of a loving, nearly poignant duet with Helm on one of Keawe's signature songs, "Hu'i E." Helm successfully captures "that Iz style" with her solo rendition of "Kahealani," a fine balance between her voice and her ukulele. And father Zachary joins his daughter in a harmonious blend of voices on "Sweet & Lovely's" showcase number, "Kalama'ula."

 

And she'll be working with co-producer Dave Tucciarone again soon on a third album that should be out sometime around the end of summer and the beginning of fall.

 

Needless to say, this is an exciting time for Raiatea Helm. "My dad and I know my limits, when it's time it's cool down, but I do work hard."

 

Plus there's this Grammy award ceremony thing next month. "I'm so excited to go! Isn't that great, for someone like me, to come from Molokai, such a small island, and be discovered in mainstream music? I'm someone who listens to Mariah Carey, and she'll be there and, wow, I'm going to be there, too."

 

 

 

 

January 21, 2006

 

Catholic day of recognition for Mother Marianne Cope is Monday

 

By Star-Bulletin staff
features@starbulletin.com

 

Hawaii Catholics will celebrate a new liturgical feast day Monday in honor of a woman whose path to sainthood included her work among leprosy victims a century ago.

 

Mother Marianne Cope will be remembered at a 5:30 p.m. Mass at Our Lady of Peace Cathedral on Fort Street Mall. Hawaii's Bishop Larry Silva will preside at the service, which is open to the public. Members of the Sisters of St. Francis will participate in the service.

 

Cope brought a group of Franciscan nursing nuns from their Syracuse, N.Y., headquarters to Hawaii in 1883. They were responding to a call for help from the kingdom of Hawaii, which faced an epidemic of leprosy in the mid-1800s.

 

After five years of providing medical care for patients on Oahu, Cope went to Kalaupapa in 1888 and lived in the remote Molokai settlement, where leprosy victims were quarantined, until her death in 1918.

 

The Catholic Church has recognized Cope's life of heroic virtue by elevating her through the first two steps in the three-step process of being named a saint. She was beatified, declared "blessed" in a May 14 ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Her birth date, Jan. 23, was established on the church's liturgical calendar, indicating that she will be remembered at Masses said that day in the places where she served, Hawaii and Syracuse.

 

Last January, the Sisters of St. Francis had Cope's remains exhumed from her burial place in Kalaupapa and taken to Syracuse, where a shrine will be built.

 

The feast day of Blessed Marianne Cope will be celebrated by Kalaupapa residents and Franciscan sisters at a 10 a.m. Mass tomorrow at St. Francis Church in Kalaupapa. Bishop Silva will preside at the Mass.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Saturday, January 21, 2006

 

Bioprospecting stirs controversy

 

By Paul Elias
Associated Press

 

On an idyllic spit of lush landscape at the University of Hawai'i sprout the massive heart-shaped leaves of hundreds of taro plants.

 

Native Hawaiians hold the plant sacred, which is why many are now demanding that the university relinquish three patents claiming ownership to taro varieties developed by one of its scientists.

 

It's just the latest collision between indigenous people and commercial interests over so-called biological prospecting, the growing practice of scouring the globe from the Amazon to the deep ocean for exotic plants, microbes and other living things with biological properties ripe for commercial exploitation.

 

A United Nations report concluded that 62 percent of all cancer drugs were created from bioprospecting discoveries.

 

The patenting of such living things has exploded in the last few years from less than a dozen in 2000 to more than 100 last year, according to UH researcher Stuart Donachie.

 

"There are things here worth looking for," said Donachie, who has discovered five new bacteria on remote islands in the state. "They could provide something new that benefits society."

 

For example, the key ingredient in the breast cancer drug Taxol owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is taken from the bark of the yew tree and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil.

 

Such bioprospecting is on the rise and has huge potential for good, according to the researchers trekking to obscure corners of the world in search of exotic and undiscovered life.

 

The expeditions could ultimately make hazardous waste cleanup more affordable, reduce pollution and make better medicines — if genetic discoveries can be exploited and controlled.

 

Pharmaceutical companies view bioprospecting as an alternative drug development process. Other companies are looking to nature for industrial applications such as using an enzyme found in deep sea vents to streamline ethanol production while still others are hunting Antarctica for useful microbes.

 

But tough ethical questions are being raised about allowing private companies to patent and profit from nature: Who owns the living thing that yields the revenue? Are companies pirating knowledge and resources from indigenous people?

 

"With more pharmaceutical companies turning to exploring other new technologies as sources for new drugs, it is becoming increasingly clear that poor countries might never realize the full benefits of their genetic endowments," the United Nations said in April.

 

The area is mostly unregulated, especially in international waters, and there are mounting calls to establish legal frameworks for such work.

 

A bill in the Legislature to ban bioprospecting has stalled, though lawmakers are expected to soon release an inventory of all bioprospecting agreements that the UH has with industry.

 

The Convention on Biological Diversity has been ratified by 188 countries, but not the U.S., and enforcement provisions appear weak, said intellectual property attorney Seth Reiss.

 

Nowhere is the bioprospecting issue more contentious than in here in Hawai'i, the most biologically diverse state in the country and home to more than 22,000 species of plant and animal. Close to 9,000 of those species are found only here.

 

The patenting of the taro plants is just the latest dust-up between Hawaiians and UH.

 

Eduardo Trujillo, the researcher who developed the three disease-resistant strains and patented them, said his work saved the sacred plant from devastation. "The patents are intended to protect the new hybrid taro cultivars for exclusive use by our farmers," Trujillo said in an e-mail reply to questions from The Associated Press.

 

According to Hawaiian tradition, the cosmic first couple gave birth to a stillborn, Haloa, from whose gnarled body sprang the broad-leafed taro plant.

 

The Hawaiian people, it is believed, came from a second brother, making the taro plant part of a common ancestry.

 

"Our genealogy arises from the taro," said Hawaiian activist Mililani Trask. "The taro patents are a desecration."

 

 

 

 

January 19, 2006

 

Nene on Maui to be released

 

Advertiser Staff

 

HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK, Maui — The first major release of nene at Haleakala National Park in 30 years will take place Tuesday when 17 Hawaiian geese raised in captivity will be set free.

 

The nene were hatched and reared at the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda. State biologists will place the birds in crates and drive up to Hosmer Grove within park boundaries, where a helicopter will fly the nene to the crater's Paliku backcountry.

 

The Friends of Haleakala National Park's Adopt-A-Nene program is paying for the flight.

 

National Park Service wildlife biologist Cathleen Bailey said the Haleakala nene are "barely surviving," with an estimated population of 250 that has not grown over the years.

 

Limited food resources have made it difficult for young birds to survive, she said.

Biologists are hoping the 17 nene to be released next week will become part of the breeding population and help boost the Haleakala numbers.

 

The geese were once extinct on Maui. The state began recovery efforts on the island in 1962, when 36 nene were taken into the crater in boxes carried by Boy Scouts.

 

From 1962 to 1977, about 500 birds were released at Haleakala, and several smaller releases have occurred since then. The last release was in 2002, when four nene where flown into the Paliku area.

 

A separate population of nene roams the West Maui Mountains.

 

Nesting season is from October through March. Park officials ask that visitors stay on trails and keep their distance from nesting nene. Any disturbances can separate females from their young and lessen their chances for survival.

 

Motorists are asked to use caution on roads in and around the park. Geese that have come to expect handouts from humans frequent parking lots and roadways, and have been killed by cars in the past.

 

 

 

In an effort to increase the usefulness of this service to our subscribers, CNHA is now including a section for Quiet Title Notices at the end of each NewsClips.

 

 

CIVIL NO. 05-1-0521(3) IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND CIRCUIT STATE OF HAWAII TO: HEIRS AND ASSIGNS OF KAHUHU; and Heirs of persons named above who are deceased, or persons holding under said Heirs, and spouses, assigns, successors, personal representatives, executors, administrators, and trustees of persons named above who are deceased; DOES 1 through 100, and all other persons unknown claiming any right, title estate, lien or interest in the real property described and TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that Plaintiff ELISE MARIE GARRIGUE claims fee simple ownership, together with others, to: All of Land Commission Award Number 5498-B to Kahuhu) at Kahauiki, Hamakualoa, Island and County of Maui, State of Hawaii, Tax Key (2) 2-8-004-025, containing 0.938 acre, more or less. TOGETHER WITH a perpetual easement, 12 feet wide, for access and utility purposes, as granted by AGREEMENT dated May 23, 1986, recorded in Liber 19569 at Page 727. YOU ARE HEREBY FURTHER NOTIFIED that Plaintiff ELISE MARIE GARRIGUE has filed a Complaint to Quiet Title in the Second Circuit Court, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii, requesting that title to the above-described real property be determined quieted as to any and all adverse claims not presented and/or adjudicated in this action. YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to appear in the courtroom of the Honorable Joseph E. Cardoza, Judge of the above entitled Court, Hoapili Hale, 2145 Main Street, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii, on Friday, the 17th day of February, 2006, at 8:30 a.m., or to file an answer or other pleading and serve it before said day upon Plaintiffs' counsel TOM C. LEUTENEKER, Carlsmith Ball LLP, 2200 Main Street, Suite 400, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii 96793, to show cause, if any you have, why the prayer of said Complaint should not be granted. Unless you file an answer before the time aforesaid or appear at the Second Circuit Court, Wailuku, County of Maui, State of Hawaii, at the time and place aforesaid, your default will be recorded, and said Complaint will be taken as confessed and a judgment by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint. DATED: Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii, Dec. 27, 2005. D. KEYES CLERK OF THE ABOVE ENTITLED COURT CARLSMITH BALL LLP TOM C. LEUTENEKER 721-0 2200 Main Street, Suite 400 Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii 96793 Telephone No. 808.242.4535 Fax No. 808-244-4974 Attorney for Plaintiff (Hon. Adv.: Jan. 4, 11, 18, 25, 2006) (A-267695) Posted on 1/4/2006

 

 

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT STATE OF HAWAII SUMMONS TO DEFENDANTS Kahuenui (w); Mahelona (k); Charlene P. Johnson; Ora Johnson; Oralene Levi; Pamela Nalani Fujimoto; Lisa Ann Kahalewai; Ann Johnson-Kekaulike; Judi L. Johnson; Joseph P. Johnson; Mary Pung Sue; Wallace H.L. Wong; Carol Kiesel; Corrine Bailey; Wendi Chong; Robin-Jeanne Toledo; Darrin P. Chong; David-Nathan Chong; Andrew-Mark Chong; Jered-Michael Chong; Paul Puaa III; Vanessa Puaa; Paulette Moore; Mary P. Murray; Phillip Murray; En Sue P. Puaa; Kyle L. Nees; Jonne N. Field; James L. Nees; Dale K. Nees; Lahela T. Roback; Moses C. Pung; Sandra J. Rodrigues; Charmaine Kim; Charla Chandler; Becky K. Pung; Albert Bush, Jr.; Charles E.M. Bush; Palmroy Bush; Bernard Y.T. Ho; Grace Kinohi Simon; Bernard P. Ho; Lindsay N. Ho; David Rocky Ho; Davis K. Ho; Inez Dos Remedios; James Dos Remedios Sr.; Jaqueline Pung; Sonia Leilani Case; Sandy Shore; Hana Camara; John Shore; Barnette Fischer; Rosalia Kaluapanaio Luka; Joseph L. Wharton; Teta Wharton Koga (w); Mele Kaiaikawaha (w); Ana Honu (w); Rebecca Aina; Hana Kapeliela (w); Daniel Kaiaikawaha; Poaka Kealoha (k); Rebecca P. Akioni; Lemon Wharton (k); Lusia Kuaimoku (w); Meleaka Kahoiwai Jones (w); Emily Kaiaikawaha (w); Kapeliela (k); their respective Heirs or Assigns; Doe Defendants 1-50; And All Whom It May Concern: YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that Plaintiff, North Shore Land and Farming Company LLC, has filed a complaint in the First Circuit Court, State of Hawaii, Civil No. 05-1-2127-11, to partition and quiet title to: (1) Grant 1649, at Waialua, Oahu, Hawaii within TMK (1) 6-6-028-003; (2) Grant 1667, Apana 2, at Waialua, Oahu, Hawaii within TMK (1) 6-6-028-007; and (3) Grant 1337, Apanas 1 and 2, at Waialua, Oahu, Hawaii within TMK Nos. (1) 6-6-028-008 and 009. YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to appear in the courtroom of the Honorable Karen S. S. Ahn, Judge of the First Circuit Court, on February 21, 2006 at 9:00 A.M., or to file an answer or other pleading and serve it before said day upon Plaintiff's attorney, Philip J. Leas, whose address is Cades Schutte LLP, 1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1200, Honolulu, HI 96813. If you fail to do so, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint. DATED: Honolulu, Hawai i, December 19, 2005. F. OTAKE CLERK, FIRST CIRCUIT COURT (Hon. Adv.: Jan 2, 9, 16, 23, 2006) (A-272834) Posted on 1/2/2006

 

 

 

 

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