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September 17, 2009 HYPER LOCAL
It happened! It really happened! Sound the trumpets and commence the revelry! I'm talking, as you've no doubt guessed, about the long-awaited Kealia Pond boardwalk, which opened to the public last week. I didn't honestly believe it until I drove down myself and saw actual people walking on the thing. Of course, people have been walking on it illegally for years, but, you know, now the "closed" sign is gone, so—yay! From concept to functionality, it took a mere 15 years. That's only a shade more than the 10 years it took to dig the Panama Canal or the seven years it took to complete the Holland Tunnel or the four years it took to build the Golden Gate Bridge or…what? I'm just sayin'… I mentioned this a few months ago, but in keeping with this week's feature and the upcoming Lahaina Town Clean Up, I'm gonna mention it again: 1.69 billion pounds. That's the weight of the cigarette butts that are tossed on the ground worldwide each year, according to an estimate published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. A trip to almost any of Maui's beaches or parks shows Valley Isle smokers are contributing their share. Last time I wrote about this, it was to laud the efforts of local fifth grader Teak McAfee, who started a Web site (buttsoffmauisbeaches.com) to raise awareness about the issue. Now, apparently, she's caught the attention of Councilmember Wayne Nishiki, who is considering proposing a ban. I spoke with his office and was told the effort is still in the early stages and nothing has been solidified, but the fact that it's on the radar is a positive sign. Nice work, Teak…
LOCAL
Hawaii's Keiki Care program has been used by opponents of public health care (particularly a certain cable network named after a carnivorous canid) as an example of how government-run plans are doomed to fail. Offering a different take is a new report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) titled "Weathering the Storm." The report focuses on efforts to improve or maintain children's health coverage despite the downturn; the rosy conclusion is that all but three states (Arizona, California and Wyoming) are doing OK. In the section on Hawaii, the report specifically cites Keiki Care and mentions that the legislature approved funding for the program and overrode Gov. Lingle's veto (though Lingle has said she won't release the money). Of course, considering the tenor of this debate, the other side will no doubt dismiss CCF as liberal socialist Nazis bent on handing flag-sewing and apple pie-baking duties off to government bureaucrats, while the hope for a reasoned debate on the pros and cons of Keiki Care or any other health care option slinks into the corner to die a quiet, lonely death. And, as ever, the winner will be the insurance companies, and the loser will be everyone else… First, Hawaii voters passed a medical marijuana law. Next, the state legislature passed a bill that would create a task force to study that law, which by all accounts is fraught with problems and inconsistencies (see Maui Time contributor Greg Mebel's December 2008 report "Is Marijuana Medicine?"). Then Gov. Lingle said: nope, not gonna happen. Even though the legislature overrode her veto, as with Keiki Care she says she won't approve the funds, according to a Honolulu Advertiser report. Besides half-baked excuses about budget constraints (lawmakers say the task force would not come with a significant price tag), Lingle's main argument against having a medical marijuana law—or even studying one—is federal prohibition. That's bull for a variety of reasons. First, there's this 2004 quote, which we've used against her before but that's worth re-using: "Throughout my political career, I've believed in the concept of home rule. Some call it local control. Whichever phrase you use, the concept is the same—the best decisions are those made closest to those who will be impacted by the decisions." Second, and more importantly, there's the fact that Attorney General Eric Holder has unambiguously stated he won't prosecute medical marijuana patients and providers who are following state law—an ironically Republican position that runs counter to the gung-ho War on Drugs policy of the Bush Administration. When do we get a new governor again?… Cutbacks, layoffs and closures abound—you can't consume media of any kind (or even have a conversation with someone) without being slapped by some bit of gloomy economic news. But certain stories hit you extra hard: The Honolulu Academy of Arts is, un-shockingly, struggling with funding woes. Here are two measures the museum is taking, according to an AP report: "charging school groups admission [and] closing its lending collection indefinitely." Cultural enrichment, sadly, is a luxury, and one of those things we don't miss 'til it's gone…
NOT LOCAL
So I'm going to start by talking about Kanye West's little stunt at the Video Music Awards, which is completely silly, then segue into Twitter, which is sort of silly and end up pondering the nature of the news business, which is how I'm going to justify the whole thing. Here's what happened: While preparing for an interview with CNBC, President Obama reportedly called Kanye a "jackass" for stealing the spotlight from Best Female Video winner Taylor Swift. Though the official interview hadn't started, Obama was miked and the comment was picked up by ABC News's Washington bureau, which shares a fiber optic line with CNBC ("to save money" according to an AP report). The ABC peeps—including Terry Moran, who took Ted Koppel's job on Nightline—then blasted the remark out via Twitter and the genie was officially out of the bottle. Various pundits have used the incident to illustrate the power of micro-blogging and to debate the changing face of journalistic ethics. But in the end there's only one lesson to be gleaned from this, for politicians, celebrities and the rest of us: nothing is ever truly off the record. Maui Time Weekly, Jacob Shafer
Tags: Maui Environment, Maui Politics
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| | ENVIRONMENTGreen DrinksRub elbows, talk story and relax with like minded green business people and eco-entrepreneurs. No membership ...
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| Entertainment and lifestyle news for Maui, Hawaii and the surrounding Islands. Maui Time Weekly is Mauis only independent and locally owned newspaper.
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