Editorials
Thursday, August 1, 1996
Demolition of Camp Kailua
should proceed
THE long-standing stalemate over Camp Kailua, a collection of cabins that has been used for camping by the elderly and handicapped, may soon be broken, and it's about time. The City Council should approve demolition of the dilapidated structures and use of the area to expand Kailua Beach Park, as originally intended.
We had urged defenders of Camp Kailua and the city administration to reach a compromise in this long-standing dispute, but that hasn't happened and isn't likely to.
Recently a majority of the City Council, which for several years supported continued use of the cabins, has turned against the camp. The Council has voted to take the city out of cabin-camping operations. It also approved a time extension for Mayor Harris' application for a permit to demolish the cabins. The Kailua Neighborhood Board has endorsed demolition.
The city's intent in purchasing Camp Kailua from the Methodist Church was not to take over the operation of the camp but to provide land for the expansion of the beach park, which is one of the most popular and heavily used on Oahu. There is no question that the park needs more land - and not because the city is secretly planning to use it to accommodate the tourist overflow from Hanauma Bay, as was alleged without substantiation by one of the camp's defenders.
When the Methodist Church built those cabins decades ago, Kailua was a much smaller community and the site on the beach was an appropriate one. Since then the population of Kailua and other Windward communities has grown enormously and the pressure on the park has increased accordingly.
After the acquisition, the city permitted camping on a temporary basis in the 1980s rather than leave the buildings unused while awaiting plans and funding for demolition and park expansion. More recently, the camp has been closed, its buildings deteriorating and the land it occupies going to waste.
Defenders of the camp have tried to block demolition - successfully thus far. But it appears that they do not speak for the majority of Kailua residents. Most of the community seems to regard the closed, fenced-off camp as an eyesore that should be eliminated in favor of a bigger park.
Cabin camping for the elderly and the handicapped is a worthy cause, but there are alternatives elsewhere on Oahu that should be explored. The city should get on with the demolition of the camp and expansion of the park.
Violence in movies
BOB Dole has renewed his criticism of Hollywood for producing movies with too much sex and violence. His blast is the latest volley in the exchange with President Clinton on the issue of social values, following Clinton's announcement of an agreement with television broadcasters to show more educational programs for children.
Dole and Clinton undoubtedly will continue commenting about how the media portray violence, a matter of real concern for many voters although hardly within the president's constitutional powers. But as a movie critic, Dole has his limitations, despite his experience in the Capitol school of drama.
Tourism on Midway
OPENING the Midway atoll national wildlife refuge to the public must not lead to the destruction of its flora and fauna - and it probably won't. The idea, in fact, is to bring in tourist dollars to finance maintenance of the refuge while letting more people visit one of the world's largest sea-bird colonies. This is of particular interest to Hawaii because Midway is a mere 1,300 miles northwest of Honolulu.
What is called ecotourism these days is gaining popularity and Midway has the potential to attract the adventurous. This should be an interesting experiment.
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Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor