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Editorials
Thursday, August 31, 2000City should consider
buying Waimea ValleyThe issue: City Councilwoman Rene Mansho has proposed that the city purchase Waimea Valley Adventure Park.
THE city ought to consider seriously a proposal to buy Waimea Valley Adventure Park, one of the premier attractions of the North Shore, to keep it open for public use. The owner is offering it for sale.
City Councilwoman Rene Mansho, who has introduced a resolution calling for a city purchase, says she doubts that a new owner would keep the park in operation, which means that the valley adjoining Waimea Bay could be turned to strictly private use.
Mansho wants to preserve public access and preserve the jobs of 150 employees. The park has been losing money for years. It was near bankruptcy when the current owner, Christian Wolffer, a New York investor, bought it in 1996 along with Sea Life Park, assuming $12 million in debts from the previous owners.
Apparently Wolffer has been unable to make the operation profitable and is giving up. He is asking $25 million for the property -- marketing it as a single-family home on 80 million square feet of preservation land -- but Mansho says she thinks the city could acquire it for less.
Despite its financial difficulties, the park is a legitimate attraction for visitors and residents, offering walks through gardens of tropical plants, hiking, mountain biking and other activities. It would not be in the public interest to let the 1,875-acre valley revert to private use.
Mansho, who heads the Council Budget Committee, has the support of Parks Committee Chairman Steve Holmes. Mayor Harris has expressed interest in meeting with Mansho to learn more about her proposal. Obviously there are questions to be answered regarding the cost of operating the facility, but this is an idea worth pursuing.
Drugs in Colombia
NINETY percent of the U.S. supply of cocaine and a quarter of the heroin comes from Colombia, so American assistance in Colombia's efforts to reduce coca production is justified. But the effectiveness of that program is complicated by Colombia's ongoing guerrilla war and the potential movement of drug traffickers into other countries.
Colombian President Andres Pastrana is the first to acknowledge that his government alone cannot make a dent in international drug trafficking.
"Colombia can put a stop to drugs here at some point," Pastrana says, "but if the demand continues, somebody else somewhere else in the world will produce them. We are already getting intelligence reports of possible plantings in Africa."
President Clinton's visit to Colombia with $1.3 billion in aid to the country's anti-drug brigade was a boost to Pastrana, midway through his four-year term as president. The Colombian army and police are fighting not only drug producers but also Marxist guerrillas who now control up to half of the country's territory and provide the drug traffickers with protection.
U.S. aid to Pastrana's $7.5 billion "Plan Colombia" includes 60 military helicopters and training for a new army brigade to support police efforts in eradicating coca fields. Clinton declared Colombia a national security priority. But warnings against being drawn into a Vietnam-like quagmire must be heeded.
Even if Plan Colombia is successful in reducing coca plantings by half in five years, that may not significantly reduce the U.S. drug problem. Efforts eventually must be directed across Brazilian, Ecuadoran and Peruvian borders, perhaps even as far afield as Africa, in addition to the consumer end of the drug trafficking map. It is not an easy fix.
Flights to San Diego
HAWAIIAN Airlines' inauguration of direct daily flights between Honolulu and San Diego represents another expansion of service beyond Hawaii by the two interisland airlines, with the focus on California cities other than San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Aloha Airlines began daily service between Oakland and Honolulu in February. It also has launched a daily Maui-Oakland flight. And in May American Airlines began daily flights between Honolulu and San Jose. Flights to other secondary California cities may follow.
The strategy seems to make sense in view of the problems with flight delays experienced this summer. Flying from less-crowded airports may avoid those problems. Greater convenience in terms of travel between the airport and home is an obvious attraction.
This is not the first time regularly scheduled nonstop Honolulu-San Diego flights have been tried by a major carrier. Delta Airlines discontinued service in 1994.
However, San Diego's economy is booming, making it an attractive market target. Hawaiian Chief Executive Paul Casey says he's confident the San Diego market is ready for nonstop service.
With the Hawaii visitor industry making a strong comeback, the interisland airlines stand to benefit. Their flights to California are another way to help the local industry and bolster the airlines' financial viability.
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
