FORD Island's historic importance is indisputable, and the public's involvement is needed to assure that its place in history remains indelible. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has designated the island as an endangered historic place, which has brought it into conflict with the Navy. The service has elaborate plans for developing the island for housing, recreational spaces, and operational facilities. Truce and compromise
needed at Ford IslandThe issue: The National Trust for
Historic Preservation and the U.S. Navy
have con-flicting views about
the future of Ford Island.The Navy needs to be forthright about its plans and invite public participation in arriving at an ultimate decision. At the same time, reasonable people should be able to arrive at sensible compromises that preserve the truly historic sites but permit the Navy to move forward with its plans. Just because something is old does not necessarily make it historic and worthy of preservation.
Ford Island, along with most of Pearl Harbor, was declared the Pearl Harbor National Historic Landmark District by the secretary of the interior in 1964. Federal law requires agencies to review any action that may affect a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places and seek agreement with the state historic preservation office.
So far, the Navy has not done enough to solicit such cooperation. It has not put together a plan for preserving an array of sites on the 450-acre island, although it will ask three developers at the end of August to submit proposals for a $300 million housing and commercial development project. Specific plans for preserving or demolishing sites should be subjected to public scrutiny before those proposals are sought from the developers.
In placing Ford Island on its list of 11 most endangered historic places, the trust called for preservation of pre-World War II bungalows, the home of the Pacific Fleet's submarine commander, Luke Field and hangars that line the runway. The runway still has scars from the strafing by Japanese planes during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on the Pacific Fleet.
The Navy has indicated its willingness to preserve 30 bungalows on the island's north side but envisions turning Luke Field into a grassy area with a runway motif. Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a Navy spokeswoman, said a World War II bachelor officers' quarters will be renovated and converted to a lodge. Housing for Navy families and sailors are planned where some of the bungalows now stand.
"The Navy has asked potential developers to be sensitive to the island's historic character," the trust contended in a news release, "but the Navy's need for new facilities has caused it to move forward without completing the preservation planning needed for one of the nation's most significant 20th-century landmarks."
The designation as an endangered historic place should motivate the Navy to provide specific information to the public about its plans for Ford Island.
NEW YORK is expected to become the first state to ban driving while talking on hand-held cellular telephones. Most drivers in New York and elsewhere recognize the danger of cell phones' distraction and agree with the restriction. A similar restriction should be adopted by the next session of Hawaii's Legislature. Hawaii also should curb
cell phone use in carsThe issue: New York's legislature puts
restrictions on cell-phone use while driving.As more and more drivers appear to be distracted from driving while holding phones to their ears, the need for legislation becomes more obvious. Polls showed that 87 percent of New Yorkers favored the new law, and that sentiment is probably shared in Hawaii. The New York Assembly approved the ban by a vote of 125 to 19, and Gov. George E. Pataki has said he will sign it into law.
Although the cellular phone industry generally opposes the ban, Verizon Wireless last October gave its support to "hands free" requirements proposed in state legislatures. Illinois is reportedly on the verge of enacting a law like New York's.
Similar legislation has been introduced in 40 other states, including this year's session of Hawaii's Legislature, where it was given little notice. Last August, a 12-year-old girl was killed and her 10-year-old friend remains in a coma after being struck by a van that went out of control in Kalihi as the driver was answering a cell phone call, according to police and telephone records. Other accidents across the country have shown cell phones to be a potential cause of accidents.
The New York ban is expected to take full effect Dec. 1, with violators facing fines of up to $100. Telephone headsets and speakerphones will be allowed while driving, and judges also may waive fines for those who can prove having bought a headset or speakerphone since the violation occurred. Drivers also will be allowed to use hand-held cell phones to call police or other authorities.
A widely cited study indicates that using a cell phone while driving quadrupled the risk of a collision. Other studies suggest that headsets and speakerphones may be as bad as hand-held phones.
Conversing in a context divorced from traffic is said to be the main distraction, not the holding of the phone to ear. The nature of the distraction also may mean that cell-phone conversations are riskier than other side activities, such as fiddling with the radio dial or eating a sandwich.
At this point, New York's legislation provides a model for Hawaii and other states to follow in making the roads safer.
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, President
John Flanagan, publisher and editor in chief 529-4748; jflanagan@starbulletin.com
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