KAHANA VALLEY

LAWMAKERS FORGETTING WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE

Funny how our state lawmakers have forgotten who's responsible for this whole Kahana Valley evictions mess.

Weren't they the ones who voted against the bill that Rep. Colleen Meyers and Sen. Clayton Hee introduced last year to increase the number of leases for the extended families? Where have they been this whole time?

And now that the leases have expired, they eagerly point fingers at the Department of Land and Natural Resources for upholding the very laws they wrote.

Are they really expecting DLNR to bend the laws every time enforcement is inconvenient or doesn't suit someone?

Our state senators only show their faces now to act as saviors to the very mess they created.

I'd like to know the names of lawmakers who voted against the bill to extend the leases, and the amount of rent paid by the families.

FLEXIBILITY ESSENTIAL IN CULTURAL LIVING PARK

Hawai'i supported the cultural living park concept in Kahana and the valley was bought by the state for that purpose.

The Kahana families must remain in the valley to retain enough human resources on site to make it work. Eviction now is unnecessary and wrong. It is bad planning. The cultural living park functions when there are enough people there as guardians and caretakers of the several Hawaiian projects in the area.

The Kahana community had a superior plan with families close to these very sites. It was the state that regrettably herded them into two subdivisions. This is contrary to the traditional Hawaiian "dispersed community" model.

Flexibility is essential because individuals at times may be unable to perform community work, but an 'ohana, as a whole, can.

The cultural living park must succeed, but it will not with a bureaucracy in Hono-lulu and individuals in Kahana.

It must be mediated by a local community organization engaged in resource and cultural management on site.

Kahana must be a model replicable in other ahupua'a. Let us make things right, by letting people stay, improving the plan and strengthening a community organization to properly manage Kahana.

TOURISM

BRING WORLD SERIES GAMES TO SUNNY ISLES

Did you watch the World Series? Last Monday a cold rain fell on the Phillies' stadium, along with a strong wind. Because the conditions on the field were so rotten the game was called and, because the nasty weather persisted, not completed until Wednesday.

What has happened is that the extra playoffs now required to get to and through the pennant race and to the World Series have made it virtually inevitable that the World Series will often be played in the miserable weather of the northern states. The intolerable conditions that stopped the play in Philly will, unfortunately, be often repeated. That is a lousy situation for the players, the teams, the fans and, generally, for baseball.

There is an antidote: Put the World Series in Hawai'i! True, neither team will be a "home team," but that will be fair to all, including the fans. They will have an excuse to visit beautiful Hawai'i, and they and the teams can be sure that the weather will probably be wonderful and never as rotten as what had to be endured in Philly. The games could be played in the morning and watched during daylight hours everywhere on the Mainland.

And think of what it would mean to Hawai'i's stumbling economy, especially if the baseball millionaires decided to build a new stadium worthy of the World Series.

It's time for the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, legislators and governor to start thinking about what they can do to bring the World Series to Hawai'i.

ALOHA

HAWAI'I AND ITS PEOPLE BEAUTIFUL, A BLESSING

During the last two weeks of August my family enjoyed a much-needed vacation in Hawai'i.

While there, local Olympian Bryan Clay won the gold medal in the decathlon. Also, the Wai-pi'o team won the Little League World Series. Considering the impact that oil prices and the economy are having on tourism, it was great to see the positive impact these successes have had for Hawai'i.

That got my mind churning. You see, we are from the Philadelphia area. Our four major teams (Eagles, Flyers, Phillies and Sixers) have suffered from a drought of success. Baseball player Shane Victorino's grand slam in the National League Division Series set the stage for our first World Series championship in 28 years.

I also need to give thanks to Wyland for Whaling Wall #42; thanks to Chef Roy Yamaguchi for his eponymous restaurant and thanks to Chef Sam Choy for the aloha he has brought during his visits to our "Book and the Cook" events.

Thank you, Hawai'i, for your people; they are as beautiful as your islands. Hawai'i is a blessing to us all.

TRANSPORTATION

BARCELONA CAN TEACH US ABOUT BICYCLE USE

Chris Dacus, the chairman of the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Bicycling, asked what "will convert you to bicycle commuting?" (Oct. 21). It's simple. No survey is necessary. Not only is bicycling a clean and healthy transportation alternative, it now is a necessary alternative. With weather like we have, Hawai'i should be a bicycling state, more than Oregon.

The city should immediately implement plans to make cycling safer, with bike lanes, not just bike routes. Then we can have a government and community effort to promote the sport with seminars, bike rides, bike rallies and improved biking consciousness with ads and road signs.

My husband and I just spent the better part of a week in Barcelona. We biked for two days in the city, which embraces the sport like normal walking.

They have a program called "Bicing" that enrolled 50,000 people in its first year. The city provides beautiful red and white bikes, installed in strategically located bike stalls all over the city. For the equivalent of $40 to $50 a year, an enrollee can pick up a bike from any site, ride to the desired destination and return it in the closest bike park, anytime, any day.

Imagine the benefits. Make it happen here, in Hawai'i.