Editorials
Thursday, December 3, 1998

Expanding exhibits
at Iolani Palace

FACED with the loss of a state subsidy, the Friends of Iolani Palace have come up with a plan to attract more visitors -- and more revenue. They plan to open exhibition galleries in the palace's basement to display many artifacts from the monarchy that are now stored in vaults. This is an important step in the effort to preserve the historic structure.

The project was launched with a gift of $300,000 from Muriel MacFarlane Flanders, a granddaughter of sugar pioneer James Campbell and a supporter of the Friends since the group was formed with the goal of restoring and operating the palace. She also gave $100,000 to the organization last year. Matching gifts will be required to build the galleries, which the group hopes to open early in 2000.

Among the items to be displayed in the galleries are the crown jewels of the monarchy, including the crowns, scepter and sword of state now on display in the throne room. There will be medals presented by the monarchs, personal jewelry, kahilis, calabashes, clothing, china, crystal and silver. Some of the items have only been seen by the royal family and close friends.

The palace draws only 72,000 visitors annually but should be able to attract far more. One of the problems has been the need for restrictions to protect the palace from damage. Opening the galleries, which would not require docent guides, is a step in the right direction, but more may be necessary.

The Friends have done a magnificent job of restoration. Kamaainas will recall the sad state the palace was in before the Capitol was built, in the days when it was used by the state government for offices and the Legislature met there.

The Friends have had their own problems recently with the controversy over Abigail Kawananakoa and her ill-advised decision to sit on the throne to pose for a magazine photographer. That led to the resignation of palace curator Jim Bartels and Kawananakoa's removal as president.

But that embarrassment should not be permitted to cripple the Friends' efforts, and it obviously hasn't. It is encouraging to see the group refuse to be distracted from its purpose and move forward with this new plan. Iolani Palace is a priceless asset that must be preserved for posterity.

Waikiki Natatorium

WITH its approval of the Waikiki Natatorium restoration, the City Council has taken a long-overdue step toward ending the disgraceful condition of this memorial to Hawaii's World War I veterans, which has been closed as a safety hazard for 20 years.

The 6-3 vote came after a decade of campaigning by a dedicated group of volunteers called the Friends of the Natatorium to end many years of shameful neglect by both the city and state governments. They gained the support of Jeremy Harris, who as mayor obtained the necessary permits.

The Council approved a special management area use permit and shoreline setback variance -- the last two major permits needed for the work to proceed. Eighteen months ago the Council appropriated $11.5 million for the project.

The way was cleared for this action when the state attorney general ruled that the state Health Department's water quality requirements for fresh-water swimming pools do not apply to the Natatorium, which is a salt-water pool that will be flushed constantly under the design for the restoration. Its water quality will be the same as that of the surrounding ocean.

The Natatorium must be saved because the pool and grandstand constitute integral parts of the war memorial. The structure is a unique part of the Waikiki shoreline, with much historical value -- Duke Kahanamoku competed there -- and continued potential for water sports.

The Council deserves congratulation for proceeding with this project in the face of opposition that came mainly from users of the adjoining beach, who wanted the pool and grandstand demolished and the beach extended. That would have been a huge mistake. Fortunately, the Council decided otherwise.

Right to privacy

IN determining whether a person can invoke protection against unreasonable police searches while visiting someone else's home, the U.S. Supreme Court has drawn a line that may shift with the circumstances. An eight-year-old ruling that provided protection to overnight visitors does not necessarily apply to shorter visits. Unfortunately, the lack of clarity could lead police to conduct hasty searches before the guests have had a chance to bed down.

The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches, and courts have long held that a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy at home. In a case originating in Minnesota, the Supreme Court ruled in 1990 that an overnight guest shared that expectation of privacy with the home's owner or renter. The decision went in a different direction than one 12 years earlier that denied such expectations of privacy to automobile passengers.

The latest decision falls somewhere between those two rulings. It also was a Minnesota case in which a police officer, acting on a tip, observed between the slats of a closed venetian blind two men bagging cocaine with the home's occupant. In the majority opinion of the 5-4 ruling, Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote that "an overnight guest in a home may claim the protection of the Fourth Amendment, but one who is merely present with the consent of the householder may not."

But it is not as simple as that. Rehnquist added that there was no suggestion of a previous relationship of the two men with the apartment renter or of "any other purpose to their visit" than the cocaine activity. Thus, the decision is unclear about how it would apply to a pizza delivery person, the Avon lady, poker-night buddies or baby-sitters.

Police would be rash to conclude from the Supreme Court's decision that they have a right to peer into a person's home before bedtime to witness criminal activity by guests at the home. In most cases, guests still may share their hosts' Fourth Amendment protection.

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