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LETTERS for the Jan. 26 issue

By Staff | Jan 27, 2023

Safety measures needed on Keawe Street

Unless or until the Lahaina Bypass is extended, travel on Keawe Street at your own risk. The traffic volume has reached a ridiculous point that will only continue to grow. Add to that a bunch of confused and tired tourists speeding down the hill, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

There is no crosswalk on the street even though it is flanked by two major centers and a condominium complex (Ho’onanea). Pedestrians have a better chance of getting to a pro level in a video game than they do of safely crossing the street.

Cars attempting to left turn onto the street are commonly backed up six, eight or ten cars deep, with many pulling U-turns out of frustration, creating even more danger.

Residents in the area have brought these issues up many times, and no one in the county has done anything. The problem continues to worsen with 200 apartments being built (Keawe Street Apartments) in the area and more business to the Keawe Business Park. Soon, there will be 200 more added with the completion of Kaiaulu o Kuku’ia Project.

At an absolute minimum, a crosswalk must be put in at least one of two busy intersections. While I am no fan of them, if a stoplight was ever warranted, it is on this street.

We need more than lip service. There are crosswalks all over the island in far less traveled areas. This should not require serious injury or death to get action. Somebody in the county Highways Division needs to make this happen before someone gets killed.

BOB GRAYBOSCH, West Maui

Ozzie is an asset

Oswald Mina, manager at Foodland Lahaina, has long been a valued asset for West Side shoppers.

He offers Senior Discount Days, keeps the store clean and organized via his dedicated staff, had holiday decorations to uplift the spirits, religiously collects abandoned shopping carts from the streets of Lahaina,moves calmly and efficiently from the Customer Service Counter to cashier as needed, and recently had a purified water dispenser installed inside the store at great convenience for residents.

Big MAHALOS to Ozzie.

ANIKA LOKI, Lahaina

Let the sun shine in

With a new governor and a new Legislature now in place, Hawaii’s leaders have the opportunity to make a bold statement for government transparency and accountability.

The only question is whether they have the political will to do so.

Given the various scandals that have rocked Hawaii in recent years — such as the admission by two prominent legislators that they had accepted bribes — it is no surprise that Hawaii residents lack faith in the integrity of state and local government.

If corruption can thrive despite the existence of multiple oversight and ethics agencies, then we need something stronger. In other words, we need sunlight.

As the saying goes, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” so one important way to help restore Hawaii’s lack of trust in government is more sunlight — that is, more transparency in government.

Who can forget the fact that Hawaii was the only state to suspend its open records law during the pandemic?

At the time, government watchdog groups warned about the ramifications of then-Gov. David Ige’s anti-transparency order. But we have never explored what it revealed about the state’s attitude toward transparency in general: that transparency is an inconvenience, something that is an unnecessary part of government work, easily dispensed within an emergency.

If that’s the position of the head of the state, it explains why it can be a struggle to get public records released.

As the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii and other public interest groups have learned firsthand, the success of an open-records request depends largely on the agency and people you contact. Some agencies are helpful and prompt in disclosing information. Some ignore you. And some send you six-figure estimates for your record search and copying.

Earlier this month, the Grassroot Institute was among two dozen community and media organizations that signed on to a letter to our new governor, Josh Green, asking him to “establish strong leadership supporting an informed electorate” via a series of executive orders to improve transparency.

The proposed orders included requiring a presumption of openness that discourages agencies from invoking exceptions to disclosure unless necessary, a change in the approach to record request fees, and guiding the state Office of Information Practices back to its intended role as a guardian of the public interest.

The governor’s initial response to the letter was positive, with a representative of his office promising the institute that the executive branch will take transparency seriously and consider the requests in the letter.

I understand that transparency may not seem as urgent to the governor as Hawaii’s housing crisis, inflation, the economy or any number of other issues, but this issue should not be pushed to the back burner.

Gov. Green has an opportunity to make a strong statement for openness as his term begins. This will resonate through every state agency and go a long way toward improving the public’s trust in government.

Not only the governor needs to act. The Legislature can accomplish many of the same goals via laws that strengthen transparency.

Last year, it considered a bill that would prevent agencies from using high costs to discourage public record requests. It wasn’t passed, but this year it should be.

The Legislature should also stop any efforts to curb open records with new exemptions. Last year, it created a working group to study the possibility of a “deliberative process” exception to records requests. Given the opposition to such an exception from public interest groups, there is no place for such an exemption in an open and transparent Hawaii.

The governor and the Legislature can change the anti-transparency culture that has pervaded Hawaii government, but only if they make a strong declaration in favor of open records and sunshine.

Consider it part of our pandemic recovery plan. As a state, we aren’t going to be able to cure the bias towards secrecy without a strong dose of sunlight.

DR. KELI’I AKINA, President & CEO, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii