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Editorials
Wednesday, October 4, 2000Governor should leave
Ala Wai course aloneThe issue: Governor Cayetano has proposed converting the Ala Wai Golf Course into a park.
GOVERNOR Cayetano vows to press ahead with his plan to close the Ala Wai Golf Course and convert it into the "Central Park" of Oahu. He should let well enough alone.
The Ala Wai is the most heavily used municipal course in the country, played by more than 500 golfers a day, 170,000 rounds in a year. By any standard, it is an enormous success.
The course is an integral part of Hawaii's most elaborate and valuable recreational complex. To close it would be folly. No other site would be an acceptable substitute.
The governor speaks of creating a counterpart to New York City's Central Park when Honolulu already has one -- Kapiolani Park, the jewel of Oahu's park system. Immediately adjoining the park is the Honolulu Zoo, and just past the zoo is the golf course. The course is part of this splendid multipurpose facility.
In the immediate vicinity are Queen's Surf, the Waikiki Aquarium, the Waikiki Shell, the new Kapiolani Park bandstand, the partially renovated Natatorium, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball, soccer and rugby fields, an archery area, even outrigger canoeing in the horribly polluted canal.
This magnificent complex would be diminished by the removal of the golf course in favor of a nebulous idea to create a new park. Cayetano originally mentioned including an amphitheater in the plan. But there is no need for a new amphitheater with the shell standing nearby -- and, by the way, underused. The governor also spoke of retail shops -- as if there weren't enough shops already in Waikiki.
Neither the amphitheater nor the shops were included in Cayetano's latest comments. Now he's talking about a cultural center of some sort, with most of the area left in open space.
But the golf course is already open space. It provides a visual benefit to everyone in the area even those who don't play golf. It isn't necessary to drive out the golfers to create open space.
Nor does a cultural center, for which no one is clamoring and which would undoubtedly consume some of the existing open space, have to go there -- assuming it should be built at all.
Early in his administration, Cayetano proposed installing a Disneyland-type of attraction in Diamond Head crater. Evidently he was oblivious to the fact that Diamond Head had been designated a federal and state landmark and is protected against development. When environmentalists pointed this out, the idea was quietly shelved.
Cayetano's latest idea is of no more merit than the crater fiasco. But it will take determined opposition to force him to relinquish it. The golf course has survived previous development proposals, including a convention center, and deserves to survive this one, too.
Presidential debate
GOING into the presidential debate yesterday, up to 20 percent of likely voters were undecided on whether to vote for Vice President Al Gore or Texas Gov. George W. Bush, and little has changed.
Between Gore's sneers and rolling eyeballs and Bush's uncomfortable jabs, many Americans viewing the debate were able to fully embrace neither candidate. The fence-sitters may have to turn seriously to the complicated issues at hand to make up their minds.
The pundits predicted that Gore's Washington experience and knowledge would enable him to dominate the 90 minutes. To an extent, they were right.
However, Bush surprised many with his grasp of the issues, enough that some doubters were persuaded that he has presidential capabilities.
Both candidates made grand promises to improve education, although that is largely in the domain of the states and local governments, and to commit resources from budget surpluses that are yet to occur and far from certain.
In that respect, Gore repeatedly accused Bush of proposing tax cuts that would line the pockets of the wealthy, while his own proposed cuts, which include various tax credits, are targeted specifically at lower-income families. Bush was unable to rebut the charge, complaining only that his opponent was using "fuzzy math."
Bush must come up with a better response. An examination of Bush's tax plan conducted by Deloitte & Touche, the accounting firm, found that Bush's plan would indeed be much more generous to the wealthy.
Bush scored points with his proposal that workers be allowed to invest a portion of their Social Security investment in individual retirement accounts, pointing out that Social Security provides only a 2 percent annual return. Gore's proposed protection of Social Security by putting it in a "lockbox" can be likened to putting a lock on greenbacks under the mattress.
Bush managed to get in a jab on the Clinton-Gore administration campaign finance scandals, scornfully referring to Gore's "no controlling legal authority" statement and his visit to a Buddhist temple on what he claimed he didn't know was a fund-raising event.
In general, Bush surpassed expectations, enough to convince some undecided voters that he would bring honorable values to the White House without sacrificing ability to lead the nation. Gore's challenge in the two remaining debates and throughout the remainder of the campaign may be to convince voters that his ability is matched by his integrity.
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
