Editorials
Monday, August 24, 1998

Rumor campaign stains
governor’s race

JUST when it looked like the candidates for governor were beginning to get specific about their plans for Hawaii, the race has taken a downturn. Linda Lingle has accused the campaign of Ben Cayetano of "searching for negatives" on the Maui mayor and of spreading the ugly rumor that she is gay, which she denies. In response, Cayetano called Lingle a "cheap shot" artist and demanded that she prove her allegations.

This "issue" should be resolved immediately so the discussion can return to the high road. It is reminiscent of the smear campaign against Cec Heftel in his 1986 bid for the Democratic nomination against John Waihee, which poisoned that contest.

Last week Bob Awana, Lingle's campaign manager, told members of the media that he has a memo distributed "at the highest level of the Democratic Party" questioning Lingle's sexual orientation and spreading other false accusations about her. Awana, a former Democrat, declined to show reporters the memo, saying that he needed to protect the identity of the person who gave it to him.

Those charges, with no substantiation provided, infuriated the governor. He denied investigating the private lives or lifestyles of any of his rivals and said Lingle's representatives have the duty to prove their claims. "If they cannot," said Cayetano, "they have disgraced their campaign effort with their irresponsible and cowardly ploy." Awana has denied that the rumor was revealed by Lingle's own people in an attempt to generate sympathy for her and embarrass Cayetano.

When a campaign degenerates like this, everybody looks bad. If this controversy isn't resolved and continues to fester, the public will be turned off and may tune out when the candidates speak. Fed-up voters may refuse to go to the polls at all. That is ample reason for both sides to drop this issue and return to a debate on accomplishments, ideas and goals.

Immigration checks

MODERN technology has finally reached the processing of travelers arriving from foreign countries. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service has an automated processing system in place at four mainland airports and is planning to introduce it in Honolulu.

The system involves showing a plastic ID card and thrusting a hand into an electronic palm reader. It enables users to breeze through the immigration check -- an important consideration for Honolulu, with its high volume of foreign visitors.

Persons eligible to use the system are citizens of the United States, Canada and Bermuda, plus citizens of 26 countries that take part in the INS visa-waiver program and travel to the U.S. at least three times a year. The visa-waiver program enables citizens of participating countries -- including Japan -- to skip visits to a U.S. consulate to obtain clearance for their visit.

A special facility will have to be built at Honolulu Airport before the system is introduced. That is scheduled for early next year. At that facility, travelers will fill out a form, have their photos and fingerprints taken and a digital picture of the top of the hand. The INS will then issue a special identification card for use in future arrivals.

Obviously many visitors wouldn't be eligible, but INS officials told the Star-Bulletin's Russ Lynch that the system should speed processing for enough people to shorten the lines of arrivals at the immigration counters, which would be to everyone's benefit.

Drug misperceptions

DRUG use by America's teen-agers increased last year, with marijuana smoking leading the way. A government survey released last week reported that, among youths 12 to 17, 11.4 percent said they used some illicit drug within the past month when they were surveyed last year. That compares with 9 percent in 1996.

Most of the usage was of marijuana, with 9.4 percent using it last year, compared with 7.1 percent in 1996. The explanation appears to be that kids think marijuana isn't very harmful.

The survey, an annual snapshot of illegal drug use in the nation, was conducted last year by interviews with 24,500 people in their homes. Despite the increase in teen drug use, the overall use of illegal drugs nationwide remained steady last year. About 14 million people -- or 6.4 percent of the population -- said they used drugs last year. The overall drug use rate in 1996 was 6.1 percent.

Many teen-agers view marijuana as a low-risk "soft drug," and this perception appears to be related to increased usage. This attitude must be changed if progress in reducing usage is to be made.

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala says the relaxed attitude of teen-agers toward marijuana can be traced to their parents. "How many have known parents who actually are relieved when they find out that their children are using marijuana as opposed to heroin or cocaine?" she asked. "The perception of this country is that marijuana is safe, that it's a soft drug."

Shalala declared that parents should inform their children that marijuana is dangerous -- that it can impair learning and memory. They must also be more aware of the attitude they express to their kids about drugs. "How can we expect young people in this country to resist the lure of marijuana if the parent is transmitting messages that marijuana is OK?" she asked.

Much of the effort in drug education campaigns is directed at youth. It's evident that parents need educating, too.

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John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher

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Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors

A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor