Editorials
Monday, October 5, 1998THE days when all tourists seemed to want to do was lounge on the beach and shop are gone. Sure, millions of Hawaii visitors still want to do those things, with some sight-seeing thrown in. But there are growing numbers of more active people who like to hike and bike. And there are people who are making a business out of serving as tour operators for them. Hawaii’s hiking
trails need more
protectionHawaii's hilly terrain and forests are well suited for these activities and they should be encouraged. However, they have grown to the point that the state sees a need for regulation. The Department of Land and Natural Resources has announced that it will accept applications from tour operators to use public trails as part of a one-year pilot project. The state is trying to manage use of the trails and generate funds from fees to maintain them.
Under the program, pedestrian traffic on six trail systems on Oahu will be limited to two groups of 12 persons per day. Tours will be permitted Monday through Friday, from sunrise to sunset, at a cost of $3 per person. The department says there are 85 public trails statewide, of which 37 are included in the permit program. Permits will be granted provided that trails are not damaged by discarding of trash or picking of protected plants.
Visitors and residents alike should be encouraged to use island trails, but there are limits to the numbers that can be accommodated. Hanauma Bay is an example of how a resource can be spoiled through overuse. The permit system is a start at dealing with the problem of protecting the trails.
THE suspension of an unspecified number of St. Louis High School football players and the forfeiture of the game against Kamehameha appear to be fully warranted by reports of unruly and improper behavior by the players at a hotel in Las Vegas last month. Football punishments
Players reportedly drank alcohol, hired and watched a stripper and damaged hotel property. In addition to the sanctions against the players, the Rev. Mario Pariante, president of St. Louis, suspended football operations for four days and docked coaches' pay for that period. Each suspended player will be required to perform 20 hours of community service. The coaches deserved to be included in the disciplinary action for their failure to stop the players' misbehavior.
Pariante defended the punishments as "completely consistent with the rules in our student handbook," while acknowledging that some might perceive them as either too light or too severe. They seem about right to us.
As everyone who follows local sports knows, St. Louis dominates interscholastic football and has been nationally ranked. But some parents of students feel that football has been allowed to become too important at the school and that players who have broken the rules have been dealt with too leniently in the past.
Pariante has been the president of St. Louis for just a year. This incident has provided him with an opportunity to show that he means business about holding football players accountable to the same rules that apply to all other students.
CHINA'S signing of a human rights treaty calling for freedom of expression, religion and self-determination may be little more than paying lip service to the principle. Human rights treaty
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that all people have the right of self-determination. It prohibits torture, cruel or degrading punishment and provides for freedom of movement, thought, religion and expression.
But Freedom House, a nonprofit organization that promotes liberty and democracy, called the signing a "cynical attempt to deceive the West about the true state of religious repression in the country." In a statement, it said hundreds of Chinese Christians are laboring in penal camps or under some other form of police restriction for their faith.
China's leaders seem to realize they have to make gestures toward liberalization to maintain relations with the democracies. Actually granting more freedom is something else.
PHILIPPINE Airlines is about to spring back to life after a brief brush with death that left much of the country without air service. The Philippine flag carrier stopped operations and prepared to close permanently after union members rejected a rescue plan that required them to accept a 10-year suspension of their collective bargaining agreement in exchange for 20 percent of the company's stock and seats on its board. Philippine Airlines
Many workers voted to reject the agreement believing the government would not allow the 57-year-old flag carrier to close. But when foreign carriers began flying some domestic routes last week, union leaders reversed their position and agreed to accept the management plan. Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific and Dragon Airlines have been flying some domestic routes to help fill the void left by PAL's closure.
The second time around, turnout for the union referendum on the proposal was heavy, with about 81 percent of the union voting. In the first vote, fewer than half cast ballots.
The about-face was a reflection of reality. Workers saw that the company wasn't bluffing about closing down and the government couldn't afford to take over the airline.
The airline said its creditors and investors insisted on a suspension of the union's bargaining agreement before they accepted a restructuring of the company's finances. It has been unable to make payments on $2.1 billion of debt. PAL's financial situation worsened when the Asian currency crisis hit shortly after it launched a $4 billion modernization program.
Closure of PAL would have been a blow to the economy and to investor confidence. Fortunately many of the airline workers realized in time that their intransigence could be suicidal.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert 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
