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Editorials
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Sunday, November 11, 2001



Nation and Hawaii
are ready to roll

The issue: After two months, Hawaii and
the nation have begun to recover from the
terrorist attack and adjust to a new normalcy.

TWO months after suffering their most stunning attack in history, Americans seem to have accepted a new normalcy that includes a heightened level of anxiety. In Hawaii and elsewhere, the economy shows signs of recovering, although it could remain fragile indefinitely and could plummet again in the event of another attack. President Bush has risen in esteem as he leads the country through this difficult time.

Borrowing the words of Todd Beamer, one of the passengers who rushed the hijackers of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, Bush said in a national address from Atlanta on Thursday, "My fellow Americans, let's roll!"

The country has begun to roll on several fronts, even as it falters on others. Bush has appointed former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge to the new position of director of homeland security, where his job is to coordinate the anti-terrorism activities of 46 federal agencies. But federal agencies have failed to trace the origin of anthrax mailings, and public confidence in the government's ability for domestic investigation has begun to wane.

Congress provided tools to the Justice Department to pursue terrorist links on U.S. soil. However, bipartisan cooperation has fallen apart in consideration of an economic stimulus package. The House has approved a $100-billion bill focusing on tax cuts for business while Senate Democrats favor a $66.4-billion plan emphasizing help for the unemployed and tax rebates for low-income people. A special session of Hawaii's Legislature produced no bold action to spur the state's economy.

Congress approved a $15-billion rescue of the airline industry less than two weeks after the terrorist attack. However, many seats have remained vacant because of Americans' fear of flying without adequate security in airports and aboard planes. Sporadic alerts from the government with no guidance aggravate the problem.

Aviation security legislation has been held up in Congress over the issue of whether to federalize baggage screening. Delays in passing the legislation, which Bush has agreed to sign into law regardless of the screening issue, has hampered the recovery of the travel industry.

That industry is the largest sector of Hawaii's economy, so the effect has been crushing, even beyond businesses directly reliant on tourism. Nearly 25,000 workers in Hawaii have lost their jobs or had their hours greatly reduced in the past two months.

Governor Cayetano and other emissaries of the state have traveled to Japan to encourage tourists to carry through with their vacation plans. The governor last week went to New York carrying Hawaii vacation gifts to the city's heroic police officers and firefighters and the message that Hawaii is a safe tourist destination.

Hawaii's tourism is slowly beginning to recuperate. Isle arrivals were down by about half in the first few weeks after the terrorist attack, one-third or thereabouts in October and less than one-fourth in the first week of November, below comparable periods last year. Domestic travel to Hawaii has achieved nearly a full recovery, while Japanese visitation, cut in half last month, remains 40 percent below last year.

Slowly but surely, America, including Hawaii, have begun to roll but it will take a while to reach full speed.


A bit of distress about
sunning undressed

The issue: Nude beach supporters
want exposure at Maui's Little Beach.

Advocates for nude sunbathing uncovered a new argument for their cause last week: That letting people drop their shorts and bikinis could raise the numbers of tourists. Be that as it may, public beaches aren't the places for stripping down. Even though a nudist may feel comfortable sans swimsuit, others may be uneasy with the overexposure.

The recurring debate about nude sunbathing in Hawaii unveiled itself on Maui last week when advocates told a state task force examining plans for Makena State Park that many tourists who like to go unfettered are attracted to one of the park's beaches because of its clothes-optional reputation. A former university professor said that the Travel Channel's ranking of the relatively isolated strip called Little Beach as a world-class nude shoreline has drawn many visitors and if they are discouraged, the loss could amount to millions of dollars. Further, allowing nakedness would develop another niche market for Hawaii's tourist industry, supporters say.

Others people -- particularly parents -- said they would like to frequent Little Beach, which is set away from an adjacent area known as Big Beach by a 60-foot high volcanic hill, because of its kid-friendly waves. They don't because they don't want their children to share the sand with naked adults.

Skimpy swimsuits are quite the fashion rage. Thongs -- bottom-wear composed of strings attached to a few inches of cloth -- and bikini tops that just cover breasts are popular on Hawaii's beaches. Even at the malls, cut-off shorts and navel-revealing crop-tops are often the outfits of choice. With the amount of skin displayed in conventional settings, why then, would some object to total revelation at the beach. After all, nude sunbathers argue, the human body is a thing of beauty. Well, in same cases, that's true; in others, definitely not.

The point, however, is propriety in a public area. Beaches belong to everyone and if nudity prevents someone from enjoying them, then the freedom to get naked must give way.

Showing all is against the law so nudies should shed their clothes with the awareness that like jaywalking or running a red light, they can be ticketed and fined, as many have been. It may be best to go bare where others won't see them.

Curiously, many nude sunbathers object to cameras on beaches where they let it all hang out. For some reason, live views of the body is fine, but photographic images are objectionable. Go figure.






Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.

Don Kendall, Publisher

Frank Bridgewater, managing editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner,
assistant managing editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, assistant managing editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.com

Richard Halloran, editorial page director, 529-4790; rhalloran@starbulletin.com
John Flanagan, contributing editor 294-3533; jflanagan@starbulletin.com

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