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.

 

 

February 8, 2006

 

 

February 3, 2006

 

Obama comes down on Akaka's side

 

The Illinois senator will not support U.S. Rep. Ed Case's bid

 

By Richard Borreca
rborreca@starbulletin.com

 

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat who has been called "Hawaii's third senator," has rejected U.S. Rep. Ed Case's attempt to unseat U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka.

 

Case called Obama on Wednesday and asked whom he is supporting in the Hawaii Democratic primary. Obama said he is backing Akaka.

 

"He told him he supports Sen. Akaka completely, and he is proud to call him a colleague and a friend," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

 

"He told him that he serves with Sen. Akaka on the Veterans Affairs Committee, and he has seen firsthand how hard he works for our nation's veterans and for the people of Hawaii," Vietor added.

 

Case, who represents the neighbor islands and rural Oahu in Congress, shocked Hawaii's political world last month by announcing he would run for Akaka's seat in the primary.

 

The endorsement from Obama is a big plus for Akaka because Obama grew up in Hawaii, graduated from Punahou School and has been called "Hawaii's third senator" by Hawaii's congressional delegation.

 

Obama won his Senate seat in 2004. He attracted national attention after delivering the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic national convention.

 

Case confirmed the telephone conversation with Obama, saying he wanted to know whom Obama would support.

 

"He said he had no choice but to endorse Sen. Akaka, that even neutrality would be viewed as indirectly opposing him," Case said.

 

"It is not unexpected. The Senate is a club. It is not unusual for senators to support each other in primaries," Case added.

 

Akaka has already won the support of fellow Hawaii Democrat U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and of the Senate's Democratic leadership, including Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Friday, February 3, 2006

 

OHA trustees give go-ahead to proposed revenue deal

 

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer

 

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs' board yesterday approved a proposal for a partial settlement between the state agency and the state over ceded lands.

 

Board members voted 8-0 during a closed-door session to approve the plan, which calls for OHA's share of undisputed revenue sources from ceded lands to increase to $15.1 million annually. It now gets about $10 million annually.

 

Trustee Rowena Akana, the only OHA board member to voice opposition to the proposed settlement, was absent.

 

The proposal also calls for a one-time payment of $17.5 million as payment for a share of revenues that the Lingle administration now agrees OHA should receive.

 

The plan must still win approval from the Legislature. The House Hawaiian Affairs Committee yesterday deferred action on a bill approving the settlement until Feb. 15.

 

Ceded lands are the 1.4 million-plus acres of former crown and government lands — once part of the Hawaiian kingdom — held in trust by the state.

 

The state constitution earmarks a share of revenues from the use of ceded lands for the benefit of Native Hawaiians, with OHA given the duty to manage and administer those funds. The Legislature, however, has final say over how much OHA should receive.

 

The proposal does not address revenue sources under dispute by the Lingle administration and OHA such as revenue for use of sections of land beneath Hilo Hospital, the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, the Honolulu and Hilo airports and DFS shops throughout the state.

 

Those disputes are being litigated and are subject to ongoing talks.

 

Dante Carpenter and Oswald Stender, two of the four trustees who made up OHA's negotiating team along with OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o, said after the meeting that they are pleased with the agreement, which was reached during talks that lasted more than a year.

 

"The governor's team was very forthright in all of our discussions," Carpenter said.

 

"It's about time," Stender said.

 

Akana, who was on her way to the American Indian Economic Development Conference in Las Vegas, gave her colleagues a memo explaining her concerns about the proposed partial settlement. Akana questioned the $17.5 million for the one-time portion, as well as the future payments.

 

She said that she and other board members did not receive enough information to make a decision and that "we had not had the opportunity to decide as a group that these amounts were acceptable."

 

Akana said she's inclined to think that the numbers are too low, particularly since they are similar to what OHA was receiving from the state in ceded revenues in the mid-1990s.

 

OHA administrator Namu'o said the $17.5 million payment is not meant as a settlement of "back due" amounts, but represents additional revenues — from categories not paid since at least 2001 — that the administration now agrees OHA should share.

 

Namu'o declined to disclose further details about settlement figures, citing the need for confidentiality during negotiations.

 

OHA members cited the pending negotiations and ongoing litigation as the reasons for yesterday's closed-door proceedings.

 

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Sunday, February 5, 2006

COMMENTARY

Our need for oil can be reduced

 

By Sen. Daniel K. Akaka

 

We all want better gas prices. But a recent U.S. Department of Energy report projecting that the price of crude oil will stay at or above $50 per barrel for the foreseeable future is bad news for Hawai'i and our nation.

 

This challenge presents our state with a real opportunity to become a leader in the nation's effort to identify and develop energy alternatives. Gov. Linda Lingle and state lawmakers should be commended for putting Hawai'i's energy future at the top of the list for legislative action.

 

On Capitol Hill, we're working to ensure that the federal government does its part to help Hawai'i move away from oil dependency. We have made significant progress on several fronts.

 

We now have a federal mandate to use ethanol in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Coupled with the state mandate, which will take effect in April, Hawai'i's refineries will have to blend a percentage of ethanol with gasoline. Two provisions have been amended to ensure sugar-cane-to-ethanol production in Hawai'i — a $36 million demonstration program for a production facility and up to $50 million in loan guarantees. At present, we are importing ethanol. We need to turn to our own homegrown sources for fuels for gasoline, biodeisel and other feedstock.

 

Although I was pleased to hear President Bush commit to increasing funds for alternative energy initiatives, efforts to conserve also can be bolstered. Congress must renew discussion of higher vehicle fuel economy standards. Hawai'i has an opportunity to increase efficiency of air conditioning even further by supporting proposals to use cold-water air conditioning in Honolulu. Leading our state in this area is the University of Hawai'i's John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kaka'ako, which uses cold ocean water to cool its buildings. This saves $100,000 a year in electrical costs and reduces the need for fresh water supply. Right now, this facility is the only public building in the Islands using this seawater cooling system.

 

Tax policy can encourage investment in and use of renewable energy. The Energy Policy Act extends tax credits for the production of electricity from renewable sources. The act provides tax credits for residential solar and photovoltaic equipment, and it provides tax credits for hybrid vehicles. Proposals for state tax credits and excise tax breaks for buyers deserve full attention and discussion.

 

At the federal level, we're working hard to promote renewable energy and electricity through production tax credits and research and development. Hawai'i can be a renewable electricity leader in the nation.

 

Focusing on the path ahead, I strongly believe in the potential of hydrogen as an energy source, and I will continue to push for investment in hydrogen and the infrastructure that is needed to deliver it. The Legislature should support the governor's proposal for a $10 million fund for hydrogen power potential.

 

And finally, we also must fully weigh the costs and the benefits of moving off "the oil standard." If we reduce crude oil imports, what happens to the price of gasoline? In some cases, alternatives may make energy cost more, at least momentarily, unless we have a plan to offset costs in the future. The Energy Policy Act includes my request for a Department of Energy-sponsored assessment of Hawai'i's dependence on oil and the economics of moving to alternative or renewable sources.

 

 

 

 

January 30, 2006

 

Pacific Business News (Honolulu)

 

Business community votes on surplus

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii says its members seem to prefer spending state surplus funds on education and tax relief.

 

Calling it "the $574 million question," after the most recent estimate of the surplus's size, Chamber President Jim Tollefson invited chamber members to prioritize what to fund with the extra money. Results were distributed in his weekly Monday Report newsletter to members.

 

Members were asked to place a percentage toward the category they felt the surplus should go to, to equal a total of 100 percent distribution:

 

 

Tollefson said for education to come in first, while the two tax relief options added up to an even larger percentage, correlated to the policy priorities that chamber members previously established for 2006, "the cost of doing business, which includes finding ways to relieve the tax burden and the second, workforce development, which includes improving Hawaii's educational system -- our future employees."

 

 

 

 

February 6, 2006

 

USDOE Announces Workshops on How to Apply for $9.5 Million in Competitive Grants

 

“United States Department of Education employees Francisco Ramirez and Beth Fine will be traveling from Washington D.C. to Hawaii the week of February 13th through 18th to provide information to interested parties about how to apply for approximately $9.5 million in funds available under the Native Hawaiian Education Act,” said Colin Kippen, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Education Council, the local agency responsible for ‘assessing, evaluating, and coordinating’ activities under that Act. “They will be accompanied by Kamuela Chun of the Native Hawaiian Education Council as well as myself,” said Kippen.

 

“These federal grants created under the Native Hawaiian Education Act are designed to support innovative projects that increase the education of Native Hawaiian students,” said Kippen, “and we encourage as many organizations as possible to apply.”

 

“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 Hawaiian language in instruction,” said Kippen.

 

The awards are expected to be from $375,000 to $1,100,000 in size, approximately 20 in number, and cover a period of up to 36 months. The deadline for applying for these funds is March 24, 2006. 

 

Workshops for those interested in learning more about how to apply for these grants will be held at the following locations and on the following dates:

 

·        West Oahu

Monday, February 13, 2006

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Ma‘ili Elementary, Library

87-360 Kula‘aupuni St.

 

·        Central O‘ahu

Monday, February 13, 2006

3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

JCCH, Manoa Grand Ballroom

2454 S. Beretania St.

 

·        East O‘ahu

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Kahuku High & Intermediate School

56-490 Kamehameha Hwy.

 

·        Windward O‘ahu

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Waimanalo Elementary & Intermediate School, Library

41-1330 Kalanianaole Hwy.

 

·        Maui & Läna‘i

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

11:00 a.m – 12:30 p.m.

This workshop can be attended via polycom (two-way teleconferencing network between Kahului and Läna‘i)

 

UH – Maui Community College, Ka‘a‘ike 103

310 W. Ka‘ahumanu Ave.

 

UH – MCC, Läna‘i Education Center

329 7th St.

 

·        Moloka‘i

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Kualapu‘u Elementary School, Cafeteria

260 Farrington Hwy.

 

·        Waimea, Kaua‘i

Thursday, February 16, 2006

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

West Kaua‘i Technology & Visitor Center

9565 Kaumuali‘i Hwy.

 

·        Lihue, Kaua‘i

Thursday, February 16, 2006

4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Queen Lili‘uokalani Children's Center, Kaua‘i Unit

4530 Kali Rd.

 

·        Waimea, Hawai‘i

Friday, February 17, 2006

10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Kahilu Town Hall / YMCA

Waimea

 

·        Hilo, Hawai‘i

Thursday, February 16, 2006

4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

UH – Hawai‘i Community College, Bldg. 379, Rm. 1

200 W. Kawili St.

 

For further information about the federal Native Hawaiian Education Program, including the FY 2006 awards process, please contact Beth Fine, or Francisco Ramirez, U.S. Department of Education, at: (202) 260-1091 or (202) 260-1541. E-mail: beth.fine@ed.gov or francisco.ramirez@ed.gov.  Further information and application materials can also be obtained 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-

 

For local information contact Heather Kina at (808)845-9883 or E-mail:  nhec@hawaii.rr.com 

 

 

 

 

February 6, 2006

 

Hawaiian home-buyer training expanding as a founder departs

By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer

 

WAILUKU – Hawaiian Community Assets is expanding homeowner education programs while saying goodbye to one of its founders.

 

Blossom Feiteira, who helped organize the nonprofit five years ago and was working as a community services specialist, resigned Tuesday, saying her work as a startup person was done, as HCA was moving into an established, statewide program.

 

"It’s a stand-alone organization, and it’s time to move on," she said last week.

 

Hawaiian Community Assets offers classes and one-on-one counseling, mainly for Native Hawaiians preparing to be homeowners through the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands program.

 

DHHL provides lots on 99-year leases to qualified Native Hawaiians, but many eligible families have trouble getting a loan to purchase or build homes on the lots.

 

Interim Executive Director Michelle Kauhane said HCA still had its offices in Paukukalo, where it started, but was expanding to other islands. The agency started offering homeownership training on Oahu a year ago, and trainers and counselors travel to Kauai to provide services there. They recently added their first counselor in Hilo, while trainers travel regularly to the Big Island.

 

Kauhane said the expansion was in response to Department of Hawaiian Home Lands developments on all islands, which opened up homeownership opportunities to Hawaiians across the state.

 

"The demand for homeownership training and counseling has increased," she said.

 

The group has also reached an agreement with Maui Land & Pineapple Co. to provide homeowner training programs for buyers of affordable housing at the Pulelehua development, Kauhane said.

 

HCA is also one of the main agencies contracting with the state to provide training for DHHL’s homeowner assistance program. There are 18,000 people on the waiting list for Hawaiian Homes.

 

"The number of people on the wait list, on a statewide level, is forcing us to increase our capacity to fulfill the demand," Kauhane said.

 

She said a number of rumors have been swirling about HCA ever since Feiteira announced her resignation, but the organization is stronger than ever.

 

"She’s left us in a position that we’re now looking at becoming a statewide provider of homeownership training," Kauhane said.

 

Feiteira said she was proud of the organization she helped found. Hawaiian Community Assets has trained 1,200 families and graduated about 500 who have actually bought their homes. In addition, the mortgage branch of HCA, called Hawaiian Community Lending, has closed more than 300 home loans since it started in 2001.

 

"Things are changing at HCA, but it’s all for the good," Feiteira said. "The grass-roots era is slowly phasing out. It’s time to stand up and be an institution."

 

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

 

 

 

 

Posted: January 31, 2006

 

Extension gives groups more time on development money

 

by: Mark Fogarty / Today correspondent

 

WASHINGTON - Native community development groups are getting an extra couple of weeks to apply for federal assistance from a program that in 2005 granted more than $4 million to American Indian groups for economic development.

The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, a unit of the U.S. Treasury, announced it will accept applications for 2006 funding under its Native American CDFI Assistance, or NACA, program until March 1. That date is a two-week extension from the original Feb. 14 deadline.

The fund, in a notice of funds availability published in the Federal Register, said it expects to award approximately $3.5 million to Native groups this year through NACA.

For fiscal 2005, CDFI funds made $3.45 million in awards to 22 Native groups. In addition, two other groups planning to invest in Native communities received more than $1.1 million in aid through a non-targeted general assistance program. Nine applications were not funded.

The 22 groups are located in 13 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Maine, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin.

Three types of groups received NACA assistance: groups that have already been certified as Native CDFIs (six), eight that will use technical assistance money to become certified CDFIs and eight ''sponsoring entities'' that want to start new Native CDFIs.

Assistance ranges from $40,880 for the Cherokee Nation Economic Development Trust Authority of Tahlequah, Okla., to $650,000 for the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corp. of Shawnee, Okla. The Tahlequah group will use the funds for staff training, salary expenditures and technology, while the Shawnee group plans to use the funds to expand to Kansas and increase its loan offerings.

The biggest grant went to a group not in NACA but in the general CDFI Fund awards: Community Development Bank, in Ogema, Minn. CDB, located on the White Earth reservation serving local farmers and tribal members, received $877,800 to establish the Native and Emerging Markets Fund, ''a $2 million loan pool to make home mortgage and consumer loans to low-income minorities on the White Earth Reservation and in the nearby rural community of Blackduck.'' The group also got a $50,000 Technical Assistance Award.

The second grant from the non-NACA fund went to Sovereign Leasing and Financing Inc. of Ronan, Mont. This group received $300,000 as equity for lending activities that target business and members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes living on the Flathead reservation.

Other hefty 2005 grants include $525,000 for the Four Directions Development Corp., Orono, Maine; and $420,000 for First American Capital Corp., West Allis, Wis.

Four Directions, which serves the four tribes of Maine through affordable housing and business financing, will use $425,000 for loan capital and the rest to support operations.

First American, an affiliate of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, also tries to stimulate Indian-owned businesses and will use its award to make more loans.

The next-largest grant, $150,000, went to the Turtle Mountain Housing Authority of Belcourt, N.D., for consulting services and technology.

The fiscal year 2005 totals are only about half of what Native groups got in 2004. The CDFI Fund made 41 awards for $8.5 million in local economic development that year.

Also in 2004, Native American Bank became the first Native-owned commercial bank to receive an award under the CDFI Fund's Bank Enterprise Awards. The bank has offices in Denver and Browning, Mont.

A second program, called the New Markets Tax Credit, is being administered by the CDFI Fund. NMTC will benefit Native groups. And in a recent round of funding, one Native group, Alaska Growth Capital BIDCO in Anchorage, Alaska, was allocated $35 million in credits.

CDFIs make loans in or invest in economically distressed areas. Some of the better-known Indian CDFIs include the Lakota Fund, Kyle, S.D., and the Hopi Credit Association, Keems Canyon, Ariz. Rare until recent years, the government has invested time and money into getting local groups certified as Native CDFIs and thus eligible for money from the fund.

Interestingly, the Federal Register's funds availability notice raised the possibility that there would be no funding for NACA in fiscal 2007. Although it set a deadline of Feb. 14, 2007 for applications, it warned that funds for 2007 may be less than for 2006, or none at all.

 

 

 

 

February 3, 2006

 

Akaka critical of VA budget report

 

The senator says that budget savings claims are unfounded

 

By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

 

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka said he is "distressed" that the Department of Veterans Affairs' health-care budget for the past three years has been "built like a house of cards."

 

Akaka was commenting yesterday on a Government Accountability Office report that said the VA "lacks adequate support for the $1.3 billion it reported as actual management efficiency savings achieved for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 because it lacked a sound methodology and adequate documentation for calculating and reporting management efficiency savings."

 

Akaka said that replacing the Bush administration's unfounded savings claims in the VA budget would have averted the need for the $1.3 billion supplemental request in 2005.

 

"It would have prevented the administration's need to increase all pharmacy co-payments since 2002 and allowed 260,000 veterans access to VA's health-care system instead of being denied."

 

The Hawaii Democrat said the GAO report confirms his concerns that the VA has relied on "gimmicks and invisible savings to fund the VA health-care system."

 

A spokesman for the VA in Honolulu said local officials have never seen the GAO report.

 

"There is nothing to comment," said Fred Ballard, VA spokesman, "since all of this was done on a higher level."

 

There are nearly 105,000 veterans in Hawaii. Of that number, 40,759 veterans are older than 65.

 

Akaka, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said the VA has to be careful with its money because there will be growing demand for its services.

 

Current VA estimates indicate that up to 30 percent of service members returning from the Middle East will require some mental health or readjustment counseling, Akaka said.

 

Of the 25 percent to 30 percent of the vets receiving mental health services from the Hawaii VA, more than one-third are diagnosed with debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder, he said.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Tuesday, February 7, 2006

 

Hooser first in race for House

 

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

 

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — State Sen. Gary Hooser, D-7th (Kaua'i, Ni'ihau), yesterday became the first candidate to file for Rep. Ed Case's 2nd Congressional District seat.

Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser

Case has announced he will run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Daniel Akaka. Several state lawmakers have expressed interest in Case's seat, which covers Central, Leeward and Windward O'ahu, the North Shore and all of the Neighbor Islands.

 

Hooser, 52, of Wailua Homesteads on Kaua'i, said he is a traditional Democrat whose positions are similar to Case's on social issues, but who is generally more liberal on other issues.

 

"Many of the issues at the national level are the same as at the state and local level: affordable housing, the environment," he said.

 

Hooser said he would work for an end to the Iraq war, urging the administration, Congress and the military to bring troops home as soon as possible, and work with international partners to provide needed security forces in Iraq.

 

"We've achieved all the objectives in Iraq that I've seen enumerated," he said.

 

The candidate said he has specific concerns about the erosion of civil liberties and the loss of the "social safety net" in America, the protection of the working person and the weakening of environmental protection.

 

"There is a need for stronger advocacy on these kinds of issues," he said.

 

Hooser said he is an opponent of drilling for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, and a supporter of renewable energy.

 

"The president talked about coal and nuclear in the State of the Union address. I think that's the wrong direction," he said.

 

Hooser served four years on the Kaua'i County Council and has served four years in the state Senate. His first term was for two years due to reapportionment; the former publisher and small businessman is now in the middle of a four-year term.

 

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

February 6, 2006

 

Kamaka Hawaii Celebrates 90th Anniversary with Ukes for Kids Benefit Concert

 

- Proceeds will go to ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii’s “Ukes of Kids” program

 

HONOLULU, HI - In celebration of Kamaka Hawaii’s 90th Anniversary, the company is organizing the Ukes for Kids Benefit Concert, an event supporting the ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii’s “Ukes for Kids” project which provides ‘ukuleles at no cost to Hawaii’s underprivileged keiki.

 

The event will be held Saturday, March 18 at 6:00 p.m. at the Hawai‘i Convention Center’s Lili‘u Theatre. Emceed by Karen Keawehawai‘i and Ku‘uipo Kumukahi, the concert will feature headliner, Jake Shimabukuro, and performances by renowned musicians including:

 

·        Aunty Genoa

·        Ho‘okena

·        Holunape

·        Round & Round

·        Byron Yasui

·        Benny Chong

·        Bryan Tolentino

 

 “Our goal is to donate 100 percent of the event proceeds to the ‘Ukulele Guild’s Ukes for Kids program,” said Fred Kamaka, Jr., business manager of Kamaka Hawaii. “We’re pleased to expose children, especially those who are unable to purchase ‘ukulele, to the instrument.”

 

Ticket price is $30 and includes complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, beer service provided by Kona Brewing Company, and parking at the convention center.

 

Tickets go on sale on February 7 at noon. General admission tickets can be purchased through the Honolulu Box Office at 550-8457 or online at www.HonoluluBoxOffice.com.

 

The Ukes for Kids project started in 2004 with a donation of 125 new ‘ukuleles to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu. Free lessons were also given at various Big Brothers Big Sisters sites throughout the state.

 

The ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawaii began as a group of ‘ukulele builders sharing a common interest and desire to exchange information, techniques and experiences. In September 2001, a group of 18 people led by founder Mike Chock met to officially create a membership forum. The make-up and direction of the Guild was created and steps to form a non-profit corporation were initiated. Today the Guild enjoys a worldwide membership of 350.

 

Kamaka Hawaii was established in 1916 in the Territory of Hawaii, and is a family-owned and operated business. The Kamaka family has been dedicated to building skillfully-handcrafted ‘ukuleles for nearly a century. The heritage of ‘ukulele making at Kamaka Hawaii is preserved by second and third generation Hawaiian luthiers, as well as the many talented craftsmen at the Kakaako factory in Honolulu.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Saturday, February 4, 2006

 

Gifts to Cook come back to Pacific

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer

 

The largest collection of rare cultural artifacts gathered during British explorer Capt. James Cook's Polynesian area voyages touched Pacific soil yesterday for the first time in nearly 225 years.

 

As the 350 items arrived in Honolulu they were greeted at the Honolulu Academy of Arts with a Hawaiian blessing. Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser: Gregory Yamamoto

 

A three-month exhibition of the Cook/Forester Collection, which has never been displayed publicly before, is to open Feb. 23.

 

With items ranging from a brightly feathered deity image to ceremonial garb and fishhooks, the collection on loan from Germany's Georg August University of Gottingen offers a glimpse of life in the Pacific during the pre-western 1700s.

 

Museum director Stephen Little stressed that the exhibit is not a tribute to Cook, who made three voyages through the Pacific before he was killed at Kealakekua Bay on Feb. 14, 1779.

 

"We recognize that the legacy of Cook's voyages included disease and death for many cultures throughout the Pacific — a fact Cook himself recognized. The purpose of this exhibition is not to glorify Cook but, on the contrary, to celebrate the brilliant cultural and spiritual lives of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific as they existed prior to the first contact with Westerners."

 

What also makes the show significant, Little said, is that "it demonstrates that all these (Pacific) cultures are connected to each other."

 

Thirty-five of the objects are from Hawai'i with the bulk of the collection from New Zealand (formerly Aotearoa), Tonga and Tahiti. Other items were collected from sites ranging from the Alaskan coast to the tip of South America.

 

But some of the Hawai'i objects are among the most significant, including a feathered image of the deity Ku, also known as Kuka'ilimoku, which is made of wicker, bird feathers, dog teeth and mother-of-pearl.

 

"That's a particularly sacred image," Little said. While there is a similar figure at the Bishop Museum, "this one happens to be very pristine."

 

Because of the sensitive nature of the image and various other items, the Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts was tasked with escorting the items back from Germany.

 

Blessings, ceremonies and other protocol — as established by group founder La'akea Suganuma in consultation with other experts in Hawai'i and the other Polynesian cultures — were held in Germany and again yesterday when 22 metal crates arrived on two trucks. Additional ceremonies will be held when the items are uncrated next week and again when the display opens.

 

"Some of the things here are so well done, I think it's going to renew cultural awareness in a lot of people," Suganuma said. "They've survived wars, traveled across the Pacific, you name it."

 

Most of the items came from Cook's second and third voyages. Upon their arrival in England, they were handed to King George III, the British sovereign from whom American revolutionists won independence.

 

George, a descendant of a German royal family, gave about 500 artifacts as a gift to Gottingen's institute of anthropology. The institute learned of the items through Johan Reinhold Forster and his son, Georg — German natural scientists who accompanied Cook on his second voyage and helped him collect and document many of the objects.

 

A small portion of the collection is made up of objects that were collected by and belonged to Reinhold Forster, which is why the exhibit is known as the Cook/Forster Collection.

 

As far as is known, all the items were given to Cook as gifts or elese were received in exchange for other items. Therefore, Little does not anticipate any criticism of the exhibit.

 

"The Germans are legally the owners" of the Cook artifacts, Little said. "Everything in the show is either a gift to Cook or traded with Cook for something he had. So there's nothing in the show that was stolen; there's nothing in the show that was a burial object. These were all things that were above ground."

 

Besides hiring Suganuma's group, Little consulted with several other cultural specialists including kumu hula John Keola Lake, Nathan Napoka and Rubellite Johnson here, as well some of their New Zealand and Tongan counterparts.

 

Little and local cultural experts also stress that the Cook exhibit items should not be confused or associated with the high-profile court case involving 83 priceless objects that were borrowed from Bishop Museum in 2000 and then placed in the Kawaihae Caves on the Big Island from where they were taken more than a century ago by Westerners.

 

Suganuma and his group are among the groups who have sued the museum and the group Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei, which returned the items to the cave. The dispute is currently in mediation. Suganuma and others believe the items should be returned to the Bishop Museum since not all groups entitled to a voice disposition have had a say. The hui believes all the items are burial objects and therefore are now in their final resting place.

 

Edward Halealoha Ayau, Hui Malama executive director, congratulated both the Honolulu Academy of Arts and Suganuma for their hard work in bringing the items back to Hawai'i. "I think it's absolutely incredible that these mea kapu (sacred items) get to come back to Hawai'i," he said.

 

Asked if the items are something Hui Malama believes should stay in Hawai'i, Ayau said he could not comment because it is not an area he is trained in. "It is not our kuleana to comment on that," Ayau said. "The only items we primarily focus on are the items that belong to the dead."

 

Jon Osorio, the director of the Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, said that if it's clear the items were gifts or exchange items received by Cook, ownership belongs with the German museum.

 

Osorio, however, added: "It would be an enormously wonderful gesture if those things were housed here permanently." The decision to make such a donation, he said, "is something left up to the conscience of the people in the museum in Germany."

 

Suganuma agreed, although he quickly noted that was not an issue discussed during his visit to Germany.

 

"If someday they would want to have them returned I think we would receive them very graciously," he said. And it's not something that people in Hawai'i should ask for. "I think it would be more proper for someone to offer."

 

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

Graphic courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser

 

 

 

 

February 1, 2006

 

Dental dilemma

 

By Andrea Gusty, CBS 11 News Reporter


KTVA The American Dental Association has taken an issue to Superior Court saying that a program allowing dental assistants in Alaska's rural villages to perform procedures such as tooth extractions, violates state dental licensing laws. The Tribal Health Consortium is federally funded, and so its leaders argue that its dental therapy program is subject to different standards then other dental programs in Alaska.

 

The American Dental Association argues that the Alaska dental therapists are not qualified to perform dental procedures in rural Alaska. But the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium says the dental therapists are well-trained, going as far as New Zealand for training.

 

New Zealand started a similar program in their schools more than ninety years ago. Today they have almost eradicated tooth decay completely. Alaska's dental therapists train there for two years before coming back to work under a dentist for another year. Native health advocates say there are few other dental options for those in rural communities and the residents are lucky if they get their teeth looked at once a year.

 

“We have concerns that our effort to move this forward is being blocked by economic self-interest of organized dentistry and that is disturbing," said Paul Sherry, CEO Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

 

"As an Alaskan Native, I am personally offended by the notion that somebody is making the assumption that simply because we are providing the service on our own behalf, that we are providing substandard and sub quality care,” said Valerie Davidson, Senior Director Alaska Native Health.

 

It's estimated that Alaska Natives have double the amount of dental problems as the rest of America. There are currently eight dental therapists working in rural Alaska. The Alaska Native Health Consortium hopes to have fifty more within the next ten years. The program is the first of its kind in the United States.

 

To contact Andrea, call 907-273-3146

 

 

 

 

February 4, 2006

 

As Tribal Leaders, Women Still Fight Old Views

 

By MONICA DAVEY

New York Times

 

PINE RIDGE, S.D.— Political life has been tense for Cecelia Fire Thunder since a little over a year ago, when she defeated Russell Means to become the top leader of the Oglala Sioux tribe, often remembered for its male leaders of long ago, men like Crazy Horse and Red Cloud.

 

Mr. Means, an American Indian activist and actor, challenged Ms. Fire Thunder's election in a federal lawsuit. Months later came the calls from some tribe members for her impeachment, amid complaints she had unilaterally made questionable financial choices and ignored the wishes of respected elders.

 

The Tribal Council voted in December to drop the impeachment complaint and keep Ms. Fire Thunder, but by then she and many of her supporters had come to believe that her sex was really at the root of so much turmoil. Though some disagree with Ms. Fire Thunder's assertion of bias, she stands as an illustration of the shifting role American Indian women are playing in tribal governments.

 

Ms. Fire Thunder is the first woman to be elected president here on Pine Ridge, the country's second largest reservation in land area, and one of a growing group of women Indian leaders. Since 1999, at least 11 leaders, including Ms. Fire Thunder, have become the first women elected to the top post on their tribes' governing councils.

 

In the past quarter-century, the number of women serving as top tribal leaders has nearly doubled. In 1981, a study paid for by the Department of Education and called "Ohoyo One Thousand" found that 69 of the more than 500 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages were headed by women. (Ohoyo means woman in Choctaw.)

 

By 2006, the number of woman leaders of tribes was 133 among more than 560 recognized tribes, according to documents from the National Congress of Indians.

 

Among those leaders, Vivian Juan-Saunders, 46, who became the first woman to head the Tohono O'odham Nation in Arizona in May 2003, holds a master's degree in public policy. Erma J. Vizenor, 61, was elected in June 2004 as the first woman to lead the White Earth band of Ojibwe in Minnesota and holds a Ph.D. from Harvard. She is now known by tribal members as Ogimaakwe (pronounced oh-gih-maah-quay), or boss lady in Ojibwe.

 

Ms. Fire Thunder was trained as a nurse and spent years in California pressing for health clinics for American Indians before returning to Pine Ridge and working as a community organizer against domestic violence.

 

"I never thought my being a woman was a big deal until I got in," Ms. Fire Thunder, 59, said in an interview, as she glanced around Billy Mills Hall, a chilly faded auditorium here where a small cluster of residents men and women, young and old who had called for her ouster. "A woman may not seem traditional to some, but in the traditional Lakota teachings I grew up with, you are required to do what you can with what you have. That's been my whole life."

 

In part, the shift may reflect the other roles women have come to fill on reservations. Increasingly, women have become the administrators, the teachers, the community organizers, and more and more, the ones to receive broader education or work experience beyond the reservation.

 

In the late 1970's, slightly more American Indian and Alaska Native men than women were receiving bachelor's degrees, a 2005 study by the National Center for Education Statistics showed. But by 2002-2003, those figures had shifted: American Indian and Alaska Native women were far more likely to receive associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and doctoral degrees than were men.

 

That year, 5,945 American Indian women got their bachelor's, compared with 3,858 men.

 

Just as women returned to reservations, opportunities were opening up for new leadership. Some came about because of accusations of mismanagement or wrongdoing by longtime leaders, some because residents were ready for a change after years of stagnant economic growth. Tribes turned to women after the arrival of the new, more complex management and accounting challenges that accompanied the rush of new revenues from casinos and other programs. All of the 11 women tribal leaders since 1999 are from tribes that have casinos.

 

"This may not be so much a sudden change as a natural outgrowth," said Stephen Cornell, director of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona. "Over the last 20 to 30 years, as tribal governments have grown — partly because of the aggressive moves of tribes to take over governing functions and partly because of funding issues — tribal administrations have tended to be filled with women, and now that is reaching into senior leadership."

 

The downside, some of the women said, is that the rise of women may also reflect the struggles that some men are wrestling with on reservations — joblessness, alcoholism, poverty. Even with disparate tribes in distant places, a movement appears to be quietly building momentum among these women. Last summer, 150 of them gathered at Prior Lake, Minn., for the first conference of Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations, or WEWIN, a network for American Indian women pressing for political roles at the tribal, state and federal levels.

 

"What I know is that once you see other women do it, you have different dreams for yourself and that perpetuates more women leaders," said Susan M. Masten, who was the chairwoman of the Yuroks, a tribe in Northern California, until 2004, and is the former president of the National Congress of American Indians.

 

Change has also brought growing pains, both trivial and vast. How to adjust titles for constitutions (and parking space signs) that anticipated the possibility only of a chair-man. How to cope with council members or tribal elders who, some women leaders say, ignore their comments, repeatedly interrupt their speech making, or assume they are members of the secretarial staff. Some of those most critical of female leadership, these women said, have been other women.

 

Tensions were far more pronounced in tribes that elected women earlier. Wilma Mankiller, who was the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and is considered the first modern woman to lead a major American Indian tribe, recalled the comments she heard when she was running for chief in 1985.

 

"I remember people saying that I wasn't — quote, unquote — chief material," she said. During a meeting, one man rose and told the assembled crowd of his fears: "If we elect a woman," Ms. Mankiller remembered him saying, "we'll be the laughing stock of all tribes."

 

Once elected, Ms. Mankiller consulted a communications expert, she said, because one council member repeatedly interrupted as she was speaking during meetings. Ultimately, she installed a switch for the microphones so that she could decide who would be heard.

 

Traditionally, leadership of tribes took different forms. In some tribes, clan mothers had a direct say in picking leaders, and female tribe members might be medicine women, holy women, or responsible for deciding whether to approve a war, said Jace DeCory, who teaches American Indian studies at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, S.D.

 

Now, with a rush of new women in tribal governments, the major agendas of those governments seem to be changing, leaning toward issues of child welfare, social services, education and Head Start programs.

 

In 1996, Kathryn Harrison became the first woman to lead the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde in Oregon. "I think it's been kind of hard for men to back off," said Ms. Harrison, who is 81 and now retired. "I think what has happened is that one tribe has seen another have such good luck with a lady in charge. So then they kind of put away their usual tradition and move ahead."

 

For some of the women, moving ahead also means an awkward balancing act. Last spring, Rebecca A. Miles, 33, became the first woman to lead the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee in Idaho. She won the post largely after making herself an expert on a water rights question, which had become the tribe's most pressing and controversial issue.

 

"We've become less traditional, and I'm part of that, and that is a tough thing for me to say," Ms. Miles said. "I'm a modern leader in a modern government, and that is good and bad. How does somebody like myself ensure that my leadership works to protect the traditions that are so sacred to us — and that may not have included a woman in this role?"

 

Here, along more than 3,100 square miles of bare, rolling reservation land, Ms. Fire Thunder will serve as president until the end of the year. Only her sex, she said, could explain why people were attacking her so often and with such vehemence for circumstances — such as the tribe's deeply-strained finances — which had been created by the male-led administrations, long before she came along. "I ran on my merits, not a woman card," Ms. Fire Thunder said. "But I walked into a hornets' nest. I didn't want to acknowledge it at first, but of course it has to do with me being a woman."

 

Mr. Means and others say she has little chance of winning re-election. And that, he said, "is not any way, shape or form about her sex." He said Ms. Fire Thunder, faced with previous leaders' financial failings, had laid off workers and failed to get proper approval from her people before getting a $38 million loan from another tribe.

 

Marie Randall, who is 86 and worked to have Ms. Fire Thunder impeached, agreed that sex was not the issue. Ms. Fire Thunder does not listen to the wishes of elders, as required by tradition, Ms. Randall said. She also left the reservation, went to school, held jobs, and, only then, came back, Ms. Randall said, contrary to the Lakota tradition of women of being "the generation keepers."

 

When Ms. Fire Thunder put on traditional clothing after being elected, Ms. Randall said, "It looks to me more like a dress-up."

 

She added, "It's not that she is a woman that I have a problem with, but I would trust her only if she would be herself as a woman."

 

Gretchen Ruethling contributed reporting from Chicago for this article.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

 

'Most students speak non-standard English'

By Marconi Calindas

Reporter, Saipan Tribune


Bilingual issues directly affect "in several ways" the Northern Marianas College's School of Education baccalaureate degree program in Elementary Education, according to the recently released NMC 2005 Annual Report.

Most students of the School of Education, as well as in public schools in the CNMI, speak non-standard English, said the report, although the textbooks, standards, tests, and curriculum standards, plus the curriculum for NMC, the CNMI Public School System and local private schools, are based on U.S. mainland curriculum standards, where Standard American English is also the official medium of instruction.

"To further complicate the situation, the PSS has a bilingual policy that does not follow the usual procedure of providing mother tongue instruction to students as a transition to English," said the report.

The report further stated that the policy of the PSS is to maintain the Chamorro and Carolinian languages and children whose mother tongue is other than English, Chamorro and Carolinian should attend either Chamorro or Carolinian classes.

The CNMI is increasingly absorbing large numbers of immigrants from the Philippines, Korea, Japan, China, and other Pacific islands, yet there is no English as a Second Language instruction provided by PSS. The report said this is due to the lack of ESL specialists and ESL classes in schools, even for students who are just beginning to learn the English language.

The NMC's School of Education therefore remains responsible in providing the CNMI teachers with the necessary language skills to meet the needs of the students for a wider range of English language abilities, the report said.

NMC is now providing a course that intends to meet this challenge. The ED 306 Teaching Linguistically Diverse Students is a required method course that develops the capacity of future teachers to assess language abilities, use second language teaching techniques and design and teach lessons that integrate ESL objectives with content instruction.

NMC said that students who transfer from non-U.S. institutions have English language proficiencies that are often inadequate for college-level standards.

"There is a constant tension between the effort to meet the needs of the CNMI within the realities of the cultural context, on the one hand, and that of meeting U.S. institutional standards of performance, on the other," said the report.

NMC's School of Education is continuously working with the college's Languages and Humanities Department to address the problems in this area. Some of the measures they are implementing right now include strict adherence to the English prerequisites before education courses can be taken and working with other departments to raise the English prerequisite levels for core required courses at the freshman and sophomore levels, in Math, Science, and Social Sciences from "93/94 Developmental English to EN 101," among several other measures.

 

 

 

 

February 5, 2006

 

Bill would license use of biodiversity

 

The measure targets commercial use of isle plant and wildlife

 

By Tara Godvin
Associated Press

 

Researchers looking to make money off products derived from Hawaii's unique plants and wildlife would have to pay the state first under a new bill in the Legislature.

 

Researchers would need to apply for a permit and report any discoveries to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. If a company plans to use its discovery commercially, it would need to enter into a licensing agreement with the state.

 

Revenues from the licensing could then be used for conservation or, if the samples are taken from lands that belonged to the former Hawaiian Kingdom, placed in a special ceded-lands account.

 

"As the law stands now, people can come into Hawaii. They can discover things. They can commercialize things based on the biodiversity found only in this state. And they have no obligation to share any benefits with anyone in Hawaii," said Kevin Kelly, managing director for the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research at the University of Hawaii.

 

The bill would provide the state with the ability to participate in and benefit from that process, he said.

 

The measure comes after several years of contentious hearings on bills that put limits and even moratoriums on such research.

 

The bill discussed Thursday in the House Committee on Economic Development and Business Concerns was authored by the University of Hawaii and the Hawaii Science & Technology Council.

 

Rep. Glenn Wakai (D, Moanalua Valley-Salt Lake), vice chairman of the committee, said the proposed law could have the added benefit of helping the state keep better track of what projects are going on in the islands.

 

The DLNR, however, said it had concerns that the bill was written too broadly and could be interpreted to apply to others who make money off the state's resources, such as fishermen.

 

Annelle Amaral, president of Ahahui Siwila Hawaii O Kapolei, said she also would like to see a clearer role for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in determining who receives permits and what happens to revenues.

 

Under the state's current system, researchers hoping to find organisms with qualities they could sell commercially, known as bioprospectors, apply for the same permits as any other researchers. With a permit in hand, a researcher has few other obligations to the state.

 

And while the possibility of making a worthy discovery is rare and bioprospecting is still a nascent industry here, the profits could be significant. The industry is also growing.

 

According to United Nations University, 62 percent of all cancer drugs were created from bioprospecting discoveries.

 

The goal of a law that clearly states Hawaii's ownership of its resources is not only to provide revenue to the state, but also to let prospecting companies know what their legal rights are.

 

Companies don't want to invest in a product only to have the state sue them later, Kelly said.

 

Countries around the globe, including Russia and Costa Rica, have become well-known for their bioprospecting laws and the ability to use their own biodiversity to promote research.

 

But no U.S. state has adopted legislation specifically for bioprospecting, Kelly said.

 

In the past, the practice has been fraught with controversy after some companies trampled the local environment in an effort to get more of the materials they needed or stole knowledge from indigenous people.

 

"I think that's largely behind us now," Kelly said. "People won't invest in things that have been pirated."

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Friday, February 3, 2006

 

Live-fire training at Makua not allowed

 

By Ken Kobayashi
Advertiser Courts Writer

 

A federal judge yesterday rejected the Army's bid to resume live-fire training at Makua Valley for soldiers scheduled to be sent to Iraq this summer.

 

U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway characterized the Army's warnings that casualties will increase without the training as "vehement pronouncements and speculation."

Graphic courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser

She said the Army has alternative training sites and Army officials have not shown that the training will be adequate only if it can be done with live fire in the 4,190-acre valley.

 

The judge said the Army must abide by federal laws requiring Army officials to complete an environmental study on the impact of the exercises on endangered species and Native Hawaiian cultural sites before troops can resume training there with live fire.

 

The Army expects the study to be completed in March or April. Schofield Barracks is sending about 7,000 soldiers to Iraq in August, some who would have received live-fire training at Makua Valley.

 

The 35-page decision was clearly a setback for Army officials who had hoped the judge would exempt them from the requirement because of what they contend was a pressing need to adequately train troops for war.

 

But it was hailed by Malama Makua, a community group that believes the live-fire exercises threaten the valley's biological, cultural and archaeological resources.

 

"The Army appreciates the court's thoughtful consideration of this matter, but unfortunately the court did not fully consider the training requirements for the global war on terrorism nor the ongoing environmental programs," Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division, said in a statement.

 

He said the soldiers need the best and "most realistic training possible to survive and win on today's battlefield." The Makua Military Reservation plays a "significant role" in providing the training.

 

"Today's ruling makes the task for training our soldiers more difficult," he said.

 

Earthjustice attorney David Henkin, who represented Malama Makua, said Mollway made the right ruling. "It's a difficult decision to make given the political climate, but she saw through the rhetoric and she focused on the facts and the law," he said.

 

Fred Dodge, a member of the board of directors for Malama Makua, said the Army had agreed to complete the environmental study as soon as possible more than four years ago, but still has not done so. As part of the agreement, the group agreed to allow limited live-fire training.

 

"They kind of wanted to have their cake and eat it, too," Dodge said.

 

The Army's live-fire exercises have been a sore point among environmentalists and others seeking to protect historic and cultural sites and endangered species.

 

In 2000, Malama Makua filed a lawsuit and obtained an injunction halting such exercises until the completion of the study required under the National Environmental Policy Act.

 

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Army and the group reached an agreement in October 2001 so the Army could resume limited live-fire exercises for three years. The Army also agreed it would end the live-fire training after three years if the environmental impact statement still had not been completed.

 

The Army's last live-fire training was in the summer of 2004.

 

Although the study was not completed, the Army asked that the live-fire training be allowed for the troops scheduled to be deployed to Iraq.

 

Army lawyers argued the agreement should be modified because the situation has changed since October 2001, with the U.S. now embroiled in a war with an intensity and duration that could not have been foreseen.

 

But Mollway said the request comes after the three-year period that allowed for modifications. In addition, she said the Army anticipated it would go to war and its units would need to be trained.

 

The judge said adequate training is "undeniably critical."

 

"But the Army does not establish for this court that training will only be adequate if live-fire training occurs at Makua," she said.

 

She said there are other training locations, citing live-fire training exercises at the National Training Center in California and the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. She also said many soldiers are scheduled to be trained elsewhere and the need for more training at Makua can only be determined after the other exercises have occurred.

 

"If training at Makua is essential, it is the Army's burden on this motion to show that," she said. "The Army does not do that."

 

She ruled that the Army cannot conduct live-fire training until it completes the environmental impact statement.

 

Sparky Rodrigues, president of Malama Makua, said he was disappointed about the Army's assertions that casualties would increase. He said the group doesn't want to see that, either.

 

"I think that's really an indication of poor leadership if they are going to send troops into battle that are not trained with all of the facilities they have available at their beck and call throughout the United States as well as here," he said.

 

In his statement, Mixon referred to the ruling as a "temporary setback." He said the Army will continue to train soldiers "as thoroughly and realistically as possible in preparation for the upcoming deployment."

 

He said the training will include blank-fire exercises at Makua.

 

"We will continue to complete the environmental impact statement and all other necessary actions to begin training in Makua," he said.

 

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

February 5, 2006

 

Nurturing Makua

 

A native Hawaiian botanist relishes an Army job caring for rare species on a war-game range

 

By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

 

AS A NATIVE HAWAIIAN and an Army botanist, Kapua Kawelo says she knows she walks a "difficult tightrope."

 

She must balance her job of taking care of endangered plants and species in Makua Valley with demands by environmentalists and Hawaiian activists that the military leave area.

 

"I feel torn," said Kawelo. "But also I feel good with what the Army is doing here. Besides protecting the 28 endangered plants and four species, we are providing access for cultural purposes."

 

Kawelo discussed her job and Makua during a media tour last week that included a visit to Ohikilolo Ridge, 2,800 feet above the valley floor. Here Army biologists have been cultivating Kahuli tree snails -- one of the four endangered species that inhabit the 4,190-acre Makua Military Reservation.

 

Makua Military reservation encompasses two valleys -- Kahanahaiki and Makua -- which are the northernmost major valleys on the leeward side of the Waianae Mountain.

 

The valley is considered sacred by many native Hawaiians who do not want the military to train there. Makua, which means parents in Hawaiian, has 20 known cultural and historic sites with another nearly 100 unidentified ones.

 

Kawelo acknowledges that her expertise lies in protecting the valley's native Hawaiian endangered plants and animals and not its archaeological and cultural heritage.

 

"But plants and animals are part of the living culture too," she said.

 

Kawelo said the issue is vexing, referring to an incident where a relative visited Makua. "He was so moved and saddened by the presence of the military in this valley ... I had conversations with him and I asked him to look at from my prospective -- the management and protection of the natural resources of the plants and animals."

 

Kawelo, who attended Punahou School, has been working in the natural resource section of the Army's Directorate of Public Works environmental division since getting her a degree in botany from University of California at Davis three years ago. Even before graduating, she worked as an intern in the valley.

 

She estimates that her staff of 28 people spend about 75 percent of their time tending to plants and animals that live in the rugged terrain.

 

With the Army committed to spend up to $3.4 million annually for the next two decades to protect the endangered species and plants in the valley, Kawelo said "biologically speaking it is more beneficial for the military to stay."

 

"From my perspective I hear we won't get full funding for our program if the Army is not using the valley and is forced to give it up," she said. "In some way, shape or form, I would like the Army to continue using the valley so that our programs can continue to get funding and continue doing positive things to protect our natural resources."

 

Since 1995 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has required the Army to "stabilize" the population of endangered plants and animals found in Makua, Kawelo said.

 

This has been done by developing three different areas in the Waianae area where these 28 endangered plants can be cultivated. For instance, the mao hau hele -- or yellow hibiscus which is the state flower -- is grown on the northern flank of Ohikilolo Ridge.

 

Army biologists, botanists and volunteers hike the ridge line at least once a quarter spending several days there taking population censuses of the endangered plants and collecting seeds.

 

They also inspect the 14 miles of fences built on the narrow ridges surrounding the valley to keep out the goats and pigs that feed on the foliage in the valley. The majority of the endangered animals live on the ridge line 2,800 feet above the training range.

 

Kawelo noted that before the Army began building the fences in 1995, goats had stripped many of the trees on the ridge line of their leaves and branches -- habitats of the endangered tree snail.

 

"It was just bare from five to six feet above the ground," she said. The fencing and a goat eradication by hunters eliminated 2,500 animals over the past nine years.

 

The Army's helicopter tour of the Leeward Oahu training area, which the military has been using as a firing range before World War II, was held as the 25th Infantry Division leaders were awaiting for a ruling by federal Judge Susan Mollway whether soldiers can resume live-fire training in Makua to prepare 7,000 Schofield Barracks soldiers for a combat tour in Iraq.

 

But on Thursday Mollway ruled that the Army failed to live up to a 2001 court settlement requiring the suspension of live-fire training until it completes an environmental impact statement that was due in 2004.

 

The 2001 settlement was with Earthjustice, representing the native Hawaiian group Malama Makua, which contends that the Army has not taken adequate means to protect both the archaeological sites in the valley as well as the endangered plants and animals in the area.

 

The Army now says the EIS will be completed in March or April.

 

Until then the Army can train in Makua but is prohibited from using live ammunition.

 

Soldiers firing live ammunition from rifles and machine guns and setting off mortars have caused valley brush fires in the past. Kawelo said brush fires are a major concern.

 

"Shooting live ammunitions that have a higher possibility for fires bother me more than soldiers using blank ammunition," she said.

 

Another cause of Makua brush fires have been what the Army calls "prescribed burns," planned fires used to clear the training area of unwanted foliage to find unexploded ordnance. In July 2003, about 2,100 acres were accidentally scorched in a prescribed burn instead of the planned 500 acres.

 

Kawelo said the planned burns are a greater danger than the use of live ammunition in training.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Thursday, February 2, 2006

 

BEST HAWAIIAN MUSIC ALBUM GRAMMY NOMINEES

Recognition catches up with Ledward Ka'apana

 

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

 

Ledward Ka'apana has two entries in the competition for the Hawaiian Music Grammy award. If forced to choose, he'd prefer to take the prize for his solo endeavor, "Ki ho'alu: Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar," but he's right there in the mix for the "Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar" compilation, too.

 

Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser - Joaquin Siopack"The music speaks for itself," said Ka'apana of the special tuning style that distinguishes ki ho'alu. "I've been playing it for so long — on the Mainland since 1989, when I was invited by Raymond Kane to join him in shows at the Smithsonian — that I'm glad the award recognition is finally catching up with me."

 

Indeed, Ka'apana has been exporting his instrumental sound worldwide for some time now, via recordings and a succession of concerts. "The music always overwhelms the people," he said. "It's like a new toy they never heard before. ... it's always fun to encounter old folks, who like the mellow slack-key sound, and they say that it takes them back to the old days. They start reminiscing — and crying."

 

For Ka'apana, slack key was a skill passed along from his kin. "In the old days, families all had that knowledge to play but wouldn't teach anyone else outside the family," he said. "So that's how I learned; from family members."

 

Ka'apana has a bright past, musically speaking, having performed with family-oriented groups like Hui 'Ohana (with twin brother Nedward Ka'apana and a cousin, the late Dennis Pavao) and Ikona. He's not merely a storied instrumentalist — he played 'ukulele on two tracks of his nominated disc — but a vocalist, too — a baritone adept at leo ki'eki'e (falsetto).

 

The biggest thrill of being nominated, said Ka'apana, was that it was not anticipated. "Old man, already," he gushed. "But it's been fun. And unreal."

 

Ka'apana did not jump at the ki ho'alu format just because the first Hawaiian Music Grammy winner was a slack-key effort. "I wasn't even thinking Grammy; I didn't even know Charles (Michael) Brotman," he said. "To me, there's nothing wrong about mostly instrumental (nominations). Even if I also sing."

 

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

February 6, 2006

 

The “Duke of Uke” plays with Mihana and Raiatea at the Hawai‘i Convention Center

 

When:  Friday, Feb 24, at 7:30 p.m.

 

HONOLULU, HI (January 30, 2006)—The Hawai‘i Convention Center continues its new series of Hawaiian Music Nights, Friday, February 24, with a concert by the legendary “Duke of Uke” Bill Tapia with Mihana Souza, and guest appearance by Raiatea Helm. Tickets are on sale now from Honolulu Box Office at 550-8457 or www.honoluluboxoffice.com.

 

‘Ukulele legend Bill Tapia continues to delight audiences with jazz chops and sharp wit both intact at age 98. Working with award-winning Hawaiian singer Mihana, plus full band, the Convention Center concert is the final leg of his “Duke of Uke” tour, which logged dozens of dates in fall last year, from Monterey to Seattle.  

 

“To tell you the truth I don’t even know how I’m living because I didn’t have an easy life,” Tapia told the Redding Record Searchlight before a recent sold-out show. “They took me out of school when I was 12 and half years old...so I worked in vaudeville. I worked all the time until now.” Tapia is the only musician on the planet who can say these words: “here’s a song I performed in World War I,” introducing the unique version of “Stars and Stripes Forever” he came up with in 1918 at the age of 10.

 

Tapia’s youth was spent performing and jamming with the top names of the day, including Charlie Barnet, Billy Holiday, Fats Waller, Bing Crosby and many more. While in Hawaii he led his own big band and also worked with Island luminaries like Sol Hoopi‘i and Johnny Noble. After World War II, Tapia and family settled in the San Francisco area, where he largely abandoned performing for the greater stability offered by teaching guitar full time. Re-discovered several years ago, “Tappy” has embarked on perhaps the unlikeliest career resurgence ever, 98 and hotter than ever.

 

Part of one of Hawaii’s greatest musical families, Mihana has followed up many years with her family group Puamana with two diverse and much-acclaimed solo releases – “Rust on the Moon” and the brand new “One Little Dream.” In addition to her fine originals, Mihana’s sweet and sultry takes on standards and Hawaiian classics create the perfect live complement to Bill’s tasty uke stylings.

 

Guest artist Raiatea Helm burst onto the Hawaiian music scene in 2000. It was hard to believe that the music on “Far Away Heaven” was the work of an 18 year old, much less someone’s first recording. The depth of vocal talent she demonstrated in her first recording and subsequent live performances was stunning. Many aficionados of the Hawaiian falsetto were dumbfounded that this young woman, so small in stature, was opening her mouth and these beautiful renditions of Hawaiian songs were released like a storm from heaven. Now her “Sweet & Lovely” album confirms her promise and stakes her claim to the status of Hawaiian music’s new “it” girl. Her Grammy Award nomination certainly acknowledges her developing as a world-class performer.

 

The Hawai‘i Convention Center will offer full complimentary buffet and bar at intermission in the beautiful Charlot Courtyard, included in the price of the ticket.  Parking is free. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $27.50 for general admission, on sale from Honolulu Box Office at 550-8457 or www.honoluluboxoffice.com.

 

Hawaiian Music Nights is presented by the Hawai‘i Convention Center, produced by Tim Bostock Productions, and sponsored by Hawaii Tourism Authority, Hawaiian Airlines, and Kona Brewing Company.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Saturday, February 4, 2006

 

Beach reclaimed from homeless

 

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

 

KAHULUI, Maui — After finding used syringes in the sand and losing thousands of dollars in equipment to thieves, Hawaiian Canoe Club members decided it was time to clear out makeshift shelters from a section of shoreline at Kahului Harbor.

 

About 40 club members and a half-dozen police officers were present Thursday when a handful of homeless campers were evicted from land the club leases at Hoaloha Park from Alexander & Baldwin. Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser: Christie Wilson

 

Paddlers returned yesterday to clean up rubbish and will cut back the naupaka thickets that provided cover for the campers.

 

"This is not a witch hunt to make anybody feel low. We are reclaiming our beach and making it safe for our keiki to run up and down the beach and on the grass and not worry about getting hurt," said Hawaiian Canoe Club member Iokepa Nae'ole.

 

The situation is an offshoot of a problem involving a larger encampment of between 100 and 200 homeless people that has been allowed to grow at the Kahului Harbor breakwater. Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa has said there's no point in moving them along because they'll just set up camp elsewhere.

 

Arakawa said letting the homeless people stay at the centrally located breakwater makes it easier for them to get access to schools, jobs, clinics and other services.

 

Maui's lack of affordable housing is keeping some from finding traditional shelter, and the county has been working to relocate those who are willing. But officials who work with agencies that deal with the homeless say many at the harbor are not interested in participating in assistance programs.

 

Hawaiian Canoe Club executive director Mary Akiona said four syringes and numerous empty plastic drug packets have been found on the property or on the beach, and that at least $5,000 in tools and kitchen equipment have been stolen during break-ins.

 

In addition to offering a summer paddling program, the five-time state champion canoe club hosts paddling teams from King Kekaulike High School and Seabury Hall, a hula halau, and programs that attract hundreds of youngsters. Next door is Na Kai 'Ewalu Canoe Club, whose site is also used by Kamehameha Schools-Maui.

 

"We have nothing against the homeless, but we've worked all these years to create a safe Hawaiian environment for our kids," said Paul "Kauhane" Lu'uwai, a coach with Hawaiian Canoe Club and King Kekaulike.

 

Paddler Katie McDougall, 16, helped haul rubbish from the campsites to a large trash bin yesterday. "It's very uncomfortable when you see beer bottles and trash when you're running on the beach, and the fact they found needles is kind of scary," she said.

 

Teenagers yesterday removed plastic crates, tarps, broken bicycle frames, lumber and even drug paraphernalia for smoking crystal methamphetamine.

 

Akiona said officials with the two canoe clubs hope to meet with managers of the Maui Beach, Maui Palms and Maui Seaside hotels that share the harbor shoreline about conducting regular beach cleanups and vegetation control.

 

Michelle Awong, front desk manager at the Maui Seaside Hotel, which is adjacent to Hoaloha Park, said the hotel routinely trims the naupaka bushes on its property and that security patrols check the area at night.

 

"During the day it's pretty noticeable. At night you can't see them," she said.

 

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

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.

 

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT STATE OF HAWAII CIVIL NO. 05-1-1833-10 (BIA) (Other Civil Action) SUMMONS FRANCIS W. K. CHUN, Administrator of the Estate of Mew Ung Au Chun, aka Au Mew Ung Chun, Plaintiff, vs. Kamoa (k), Polani (w), Polani (k), Kuaaina (k), Paikauai (k), Peekauai (k), Kaomea (w), Luhau (k), Lukahili (k), Antone Lukahili (k), Akoni Lukahili (k), Kaleimakalii (w), Kaakolu (w), Makahula (w), Haaheo (w), their heirs and assigns or persons holding under such heirs; The International Church of the Foresquare Gospel; Ernest M. Azama, as Trustee of the Ernest M. Azama unrecorded Semi Revocable Living Trust dated September 10, 1993; Guy S. Azama, as Trustee of the Ernest M. Azama Generation Transfer Trust for Guy S. Azama, an unrecorded Irrevocable Trust dated July 15, 2004; State of Hawaii; City and County of Honolulu; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; JOHN DOES 1-20; JANE DOES 1-20; ALL OTHER PERSONS OR CORPORATIONS UNKNOWN CLAIMING ANY RIGHT, TITLE, ESTATE, LIEN OR INTEREST IN THE REAL PROPERTY DESCRIBED HEREIN; AND TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, Defendants. SUMMONS STATE OF HAWAII To Defendant(s): KAMOA (K), POLANI (W), POLANI (K), KUAAINA (K), PAIKAUAI (K), PEEKAUAI (K), KAOMEA (W), LUAHU (K), LUKAHILI (K), ANTONE LUKAHILI (K), AKONI LUKAHILI (K), KALEIMAKALII (W), KAAKOLU (W), MAKAHULA (W), HAAHEO (W), THEIR HEIRS AND ASSIGNS OR PERSONS HOLDING UNDER SUCH HEIRS You are hereby notified that Plaintiff FRANCIS W. K. CHUN Administrator of the Estate of Mew Ung Au Chun, aka Au Mew Ung Chun has filed a Complaint to Quiet Title and for Partition, Injunctive Relief against you in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, State of Hawaii in Civil No. 05-1-1833-10. YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to appear before the Honorable Bert I Ayabe, Judge of the above-entitled Court, in his courtroom at 777 Punchbowl Street, 4th Floor, Honolulu, Hawaii, on TUESDAY the 21st day of March, 2006, at 9:00 o'clock a.m. of said day or to file an answer or other response and serve it before said day upon MICHAEL L. LAM of the law firm of Case Bigelow & Lombardi, attorneys for Plaintiff FRANCIS W.K. CHUN Administrator of the Estate of Mew Ung Au Chun, aka Au Mew Ung Chun, whose address is Pacific Guardian Center, Mauka Tower, 737 Bishop Street, Suite 2600, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. If you fail to do so, judgment by default may be taken against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint to Quiet Title and for Partition, Injunctive Relief. DATED: Honolulu, Hawaii, January 17, 2006. R. HIGA CLERK OF THE ABOVE-ENTITLED COURT (Hon. Adv.: Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24, 2006) (A-328455) Posted on 2/3/2006

 

 

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT STATE OF HAWAII SUMMONS TO DEFENDANTS Solomona Haaheo Kailihiwa (k); John Haaheo; Eliza Kailihiwa (k), aka Elijah Kailihiwa; Fanny Kapoka (w); Susana Kailihiwa; Ather Wahia (k), aka Arthur Wahie; William M. Kailihiwa, their respective Heirs or Assigns; Doe Defendants 1-20; and All Whom It May Concern: YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that Plaintiff Richard H. Nervik has filed a complaint in the Third Circuit Court, State of Hawaii, Civil No. 06-1-012K, to quiet title to that portion of Royal Patent Grant Number 3428, issued to D.H. Nahinu, situate at Hookena, County and State of Hawaii, located within TMK (3) 8-6-013-045. YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to appear in the courtroom of the Honorable Elizabeth A. Strance, Judge of the Third Circuit Court, in her courtroom at 79-1020 Haukapila Street, Room 240, Kealakekua, Hawai`i 96750, on April 17, 2006 at 8:00 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: Kealakekua, Hawai i, January 23, 2006. C. GANDALIRA CLERK, THIRD CIRCUIT COURT (Hon. Adv.: Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24, 2006) (A-328295) Posted on 2/3/2006

 

 

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