[ OUR OPINION ]

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Lingle’s plea to Bush
bolsters Akaka bill

THE ISSUE President Bush has agreed to look into the issue of whether to grant federal recognition to Hawaiians.

GOVERNOR Lingle is pleased with President Bush's agreement to take a closer look at a bill in Congress that would provide federal recognition of native Hawaiians similar to that given American Indian and native Alaskan tribes. While the president stopped short of endorsing the bill during his one-day visit to Hawaii, Lingle's plea should make him reluctant to oppose it.

If the Bush administration remains neutral on the issue of Hawaiian recognition, it will not be because of the governor's lack of trying to persuade her fellow Republicans. In February, Lingle testified before Congress on the bill sponsored by Senator Akaka and spoke with Attorney General John Ashcroft, Bush political strategist and adviser Karl Rove and Interior Secretary Gale Norton, whose department would house an Office of Native Hawaiian Relations under the Akaka bill.

Eight months later, Bush apparently was still unfamiliar with the issue. That, Lingle says, has changed. "We really achieved what we wanted," she says, "which was to make this issue something on the radar screen for the president."

In a speech to 600 supporters in a fund-raiser at Hilton Hawaiian Village, Bush made oblique note of the issue and Lingle's involvement: "I also appreciate the unique contributions native Hawaiians have made to this state and to our nation, impressed by the rich culture of the native Hawaiian people. I respect Governor Lingle's dedication to all of Hawaii's citizens. You all got a great governor."

The Akaka bill has been approved by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Lingle had scheduled a trip to Washington in September to push the bill but canceled it because of the continuing anonymous hold on the bill, presumed to have been placed by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. Martha Ross, Washington lobbyist for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, reports no recent movement on the bill. Sixty senators are needed to break the hold on the bill and send it to the Senate floor.

It is time for Lingle, Ross and the congressional delegation to coordinate an effort to help Bush's staff to familiarize itself with the issue and to bring the Akaka bill to the Senate floor. Bush's endorsement would be important, but Rep. Ed Case believes enactment is possible with White House neutrality on the issue.

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City should be fair
with parade permits

THE ISSUE War protesters were told they would have to pay for city services to march in a parade, then were allowed to demonstrate without being assessed.

BUDGET cuts are being blamed for confusion about whether demonstrators must pay for city services to hold a parade. The city waived fees for today's antiwar protest on city streets beginning at Ala Moana Beach Park, but the policy on future demonstrations is vague. Fair treatment is needed to afford groups not only the right but the ability to exercise their First Amendment rights.

Carolyn Hadfield of the Not in Our Name antiwar group says the city initially indicated there would be no assessment. However, after five meetings with the city, an official from the city's Department of Transportation Services told her that the group would have to pay $2,000 to $8,000 to a private company to cone the streets and set up no-parking signs for today's parade.

City spokeswoman Carol Costa said the city later agreed to waive the payment "in the case of this First Amendment demonstration." However, virtually all parades are First Amendment exercises, and they should be treated evenhandedly.

Vanessa Chong, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, says the decision regarding today's demonstration appears to have been arbitrary. "It allows too much discretion," Chong told the Star-Bulletin's Leila Fujimori. "If the city is going to charge for services, it needs to apply them fairly and uniformly so the public sees no favoritism."

Chong said the ACLU has offered to help the city create a "fair and constitutional policy that can be applied to all groups who wish to apply for a permit." Such a policy could take into account the financial condition of the parade or demonstration participants.

Hadfield's group may be able to plead poverty, but 25 groups, including the Green Party of Hawaii and the American Friends Service Committee, are participating in today's demonstration against U.S. action in Iraq. If sponsors of a parade knew the cost well in advance, they could spread it among the participating groups.

Ideally, there should be no assessment of fees for demonstrations. The amounts estimated by the transportation official are not enormous and should be paid by the city. If that is not possible, parades or demonstrations should be treated equally.