August 7, 2007
Editorial
No room for mistakes
Before 1954, most of the important policies were set in the islands by
the managers of plantations and corporations. The political revolution
led by John A. Burns basically put the general public into the driver’s
seat.
The managers, who were used to calling the tune, were Republicans. The
politicians in control were Democrats. Legislators, governors and
elected county government officials had the whip hand.
Business had a fairly easy time of it when the principal preoccupation
on Maui was economic development. There were long beaches that would
make excellent sites for resort facilities, which would supply jobs.
In the 1960s, development of the islands led to the creation of
environmental groups. One of the first was Life of the Land. Its first
success came when it stopped the mining of beach sand on Molokai.
The lever was a lawsuit based on the fact the state had not followed
its own administrative rules. That victory set the pattern for
subsequent actions by other groups, sometimes formed for a specific
purpose.
There are those who believe that the environmentalists and others who
file lawsuits are merely obstructionists. Others believe these groups –
once rag-tag bands of idealistic young people, but now often
well-heeled middle-aged and older folks – are saviors, or trying to be
saviors.
The opposition groups have been successful in marshaling public
response to this and that. Lately, it has been the Hawaii Superferry,
stream water flows and large developments, principally Honua’ula. They
have been less successful in getting voters to the polls for
like-minded candidates.
But that’s all just context. What has been clear in recent years is
there is no room for government officials and employees to be sloppy.
That’s exactly the case with the county with the so-called Montana
Beach affair and the state with its handling of the harbor in
connection with the Superferry.
If government on the state and county levels doesn’t follow its rules
and regulations, there will be someone, or a group of someones, ready
to pounce with legal briefs in hand. With the advent of the Internet,
there’s no need to even visit a law library. That should be fair
warning to everyone in government.
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