Editorials
Tuesday, April 14, 1998

Natatorium historical
importance to Hawaii

THE Waikiki Natatorium is a memorial to Hawaii's World War I dead. It was also once a venue for international swimming events featuring Duke Kahanamoku and other stars, and its pool, once restored, could again be used for swimming events. There is another important reason why the Natatorium must be restored: historic preservation.

Bill Chapman, director of the Historic Preservation Program in the Department of American Studies at the University of Hawaii, justifies the restoration of the Natatorium on this basis. In an article in the Sunday paper, he notes that the memorial is worth preserving not only because it is more than 50 years old -- "So little manages to survive in our world" -- but because it has an important history, is unique in combining a swimming pool with a war memorial and is architecturally significant.

Chapman correctly dismisses the environmental opposition to the restoration, saying water quality in the swimming pool is a technical issue that can be addressed through design changes. As for the users of Sans Souci beach adjacent to the Natatorium who complain that the restoration would cramp their style, he notes that the beach would not exist if the Natatorium had not been built.

The Natatorium, Chapman writes, "is a rare gem that we are fortunate to have inherited. Let's not blow it as we have almost every other opportunity lately to give a greater 'vision' to our state." Yes, let's not blow it. When there is so much moaning about the weak economy and the need for "revitalization," a monument to Hawaii's past glories sits crumbling on the Waikiki shoreline, a disgraceful eyesore and monument to neglect. The City Council should stop its nit-picking and stalling and let the city administration get on with the job of restoring the Natatorium to the proud memorial it once was.

New police chief

THE new chief of the Honolulu Police Department, Lee Donahue, like his predecessors of recent decades, is a veteran of the department, having served 33 years. That reduces the likelihood of unpleasant surprises. The members of the Honolulu Police Commission, who make the appointment, know what they are getting.

The down side is that the department is not getting the benefit of a leader with a broader perspective that comes from experience in other police departments. Having a long series of chiefs who rose from the ranks of the HPD could result in the department being insular in its outlook. Hawaii's geographic isolation makes that a problem in many organizations.

There is a way to deal with that problem, of course. It is to maintain contact with police departments and police academies on the mainland and even in other countries to ensure that HPD is employing the best techniques and equipment available.

Chinese tourists

THE number of Japanese tourists visiting Hawaii has tapered off slightly, but there is another huge market in East Asia still to be tapped -- China. As a story in the Star-Bulletin related, newly prosperous Chinese are now playing tourist, especially in Thailand. Planeloads of Chinese tourists arrive in Bangkok daily. Last year China allowed 2.6 million citizens to leave the country on tourist visas; in 1996 the figure was 1.6 million.

Hawaii is aware of the potential in tourism from China, the world's most populous nation, with an economy that is growing at a spectacular pace. A Hawaii Chinese Tourism Association was recently formed. However, progress has been slow.

One problem is the economic turmoil in Asia. Another is that China hasn't approved the United States as a leisure destination. Finally, there is no direct air link between Hawaii and Hong Kong, the most convenient departure point from China.

Asia's economic condition should gradually improve. Unless relations between Washington and Beijing worsen, it should be only a matter of time until China makes the U.S. an officially sanctioned destination. Hong Kong-Hawaii flights will begin once the airlines decide the traffic potential exists to make them financially feasible.

In the years to come, Hawaii should see many more Chinese tourists as the Chinese economy grows. The visitor industry should be preparing now for them.

Plastic food stamps

MODERN technology is coming to the rescue of the taxpayers on the problem of fraud in government programs, in this case food stamps. Hawaii residents who qualify for food stamps will soon receive plastic cards instead. They are something like credit cards.

By the end of July, "electronic benefit transfer" cards will be presented by recipients in their grocery stores in lieu of paper coupons. Merchants will scan in the identification number and the amount of the purchase will be deducted from the recip-ient's food-stamp account. An electronic record of each transaction will be created.

Hawaii will become one of about 25 states using the new system. The federal welfare act of 1996 requires every state to convert to the system by 2002.

This should go far toward discouraging illegal uses of food stamps. It's estimated that about $3 billion of the $20 billion in stamps issued nationally in 1996 were used fraudulently. In Hawaii, $193 million in food stamps were distributed in fiscal 1997.

Misuse of food stamps and other poverty programs undermines public support. The new plastic cards should help keep food stamps used for food items -- as Congress intended -- not nonfood products such as paper goods, cigarettes or liquor.

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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