Editorials
Wednesday, June 11, 1997THE Office of Hawaiian Affairs has been a frequent battleground for feuding trustees since its establishment in 1980. Now OHA has suffered another self-inflicted wound by its treatment of the latest administrator to depart, Linda Colburn. She was given until the end of the day Monday to hand in her keys. The trustees also rejected a severance package proposed by Colburn but voted to continue her pay until the end of the month. OHA turmoil damages
public confidenceColburn's lawyer said she was given just three hours to remove her belongings from the office. But OHA Chairman Clayton Hee denied that she had to vacate her office immediately and said she could have returned to claim her belongings.
Colburn was appointed administrator only in October 1995 but had been on the OHA staff a total of eight years. She succeeded Dante Carpenter, who lasted less than two years.
It would be one thing if the Colburn situation was an isolated case. Far from it; it's only the latest of a series of clashes that have marred OHA's record. Newly elected trustee Haunani Apoliona, whose seating was delayed by an election challenge -- another instance of OHA's problems -- said the manner in which Colburn was terminated was an example of a "legislative and politicized" style of leadership at the agency that she and two other new trustees are trying to change.
Although any organization can be expected to experience conflicts and undergo changes of policy and personnel over time, OHA over the years has had far more than its share of dissension, and it has frequently boiled over into public view.
Now OHA is administering hundreds of millions of dollars in ceded lands revenue. It is proposing to take possession of Diamond Head and Iolani Palace as well as to play a role in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. It's high time that the trustees learned to manage their affairs in a more responsible manner and earned the public's confidence.
GEN. Joseph Ralston's withdrawal as a candidate to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was probably inevitable following accusations of a double standard in the military's policy on adultery, including his own extramarital affair. The recent flurry of accusations warrant Defense Secretary William Cohen's appointment of panels to review the policy on sexual misconduct. But that doesn't mean a double standard has existed to the degree some have alleged. Sex in the military
Because of the recent spate of cases, the snitching about nefarious conduct may be a greater threat to military order than the alleged misconduct itself. The panels assigned to review the policy should draw clearer lines as to where adultery poses such a threat. The threat is greatest and the penalty should be most severe in instances of adultery between military personnel or spouses of personnel within the same chain of command.
GOVERNOR Cayetano made a cautious decision on a federal sanctuary for humpback whales, approving a smaller expansion of the existing sanctuary than had been proposed. This satisfied neither the environmentalists who wanted a larger sanctuary nor boaters and fishers, who maintained that none is needed. Whale sanctuary
What impact the sanctuary will have is still unclear, but boaters and fishers fear that onerous federal restrictions could be imposed. These days the need to protect the whales is virtually uncontested, but just how far protective measures should go is still an unresolved question. The humpbacks' numbers are increasing, suggesting that current restrictions are working. In the absence of a demonstrated need for expansion of the sanctuary, a posture of skepticism seems justified.
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
