[ OUR OPINION ]
North Shore property is
well worth the priceIT IS rare for a proposition to have the support of such diverse interests as the tourism industry, the Army, environmental and conservation organizations, retail business groups, surfers and body boarders, historic institutions and the community as well as Hawaii's political leaders, including Governor Lingle.
THE ISSUE
A 1,129-acre parcel at Pupukea-Paumalu is up for sale.
Equally as rare is the opportunity to capture a large swath of undeveloped land on an urbanized island like Oahu.
Nonetheless, all of these elements have come together and Hawaii should take advantage of this fortunate convergence to preserve Pupukea-Paumalu, two adjoining ahupuaa on the North Shore.
The 1,129 acres had been the site for a proposed housing subdivision a few years ago, but has recently been put up for sale.
We urge the state Legislature, which is poised to clear a measure to fund the purchase, to give its final approval. We also urge the City Council to leave untouched the portion of Mayor Harris's budget that provides the money for the land. If each supplies $3 million, Hawaii's congressional delegation assures that the federal government will match those amounts for the full $12 million price tag.
The property runs from Kamehameha Highway to the coastal highlands that overlook the North Shore's big-wave havens of Sunset Beach, Pipeline and Log Cabins and across to the Waianae range. It borders a Boy Scout camp on one side, a Girl Scout camp on the other and a forest reserve at the end. It will extend Oahu's scenic resources with the nearby Waimea Falls Park.
The North Shore Community Land Trust, which is spearheading the preservation effort, envisions activities such as hiking and camping, native plant and habitat restoration in the mauka portions and cultural, educational and agricultural uses in the coastal areas.
The biggest obstacle, of course, is the money. The Legislature proposes to pay the state's share through general obligation bonds instead of through general funds, lessening the effects on other state programs.
The city's share may be more problematic, but Council members should recall the regretful result when the city backed away from buying property at Velzyland where a gated community now walls off the shoreline from the community as well as visitors.
The financial investment for Pupukea-Paumalu may seem steep. However, a housing development there would surely cost as much -- if not more -- for infrastructure. The effects of additional traffic and the degradation of scenic values, an important issue for tourism and the film industry, also should be factored in. The Army favors the project to buffer its Kahuku Training Area. Business groups say the area's natural attributes lure people to their shops and stores.
The project's broad support reflects the community's wish to maintain a special resource, a wish that should come true.
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Proposal won’t help
rape victims’ rightsA state Supreme Court reversal last year of a sexual assault conviction has prompted legislators to try rescuing Hawaii's law protecting privileged communication between victims of sexual crimes and their treatment providers. The proposed state constitutional amendment appears to be unnecessary to achieve one purpose and futile in another. Changing the state Constitution will not deny a defendant of the U.S. constitutional right to confront witnesses.
THE ISSUE
Lawmakers consider amending the Constitution to protect sexual-assault victims' confidential communications with treatment providers.
The Hawaii court case involved allegations that a man took sexual liberties with his 13-year-old hanai daughter in 1997. Family Court Judge Virginia Lea Crandall denied the defense attorney's access to transcripts of the girl's interview with a Child Protective Services counselor and refused to allow the defense attorney to cross-examine the girl about the interview.
The Supreme Court upheld Crandall's decision to seal the transcript but reversed the judge's refusal to allow questioning of the girl about the interview. The attorney said a CPS official had told the defense that the girl had recanted her accusation to the CPS counselor, who had moved to the mainland by the time the trial had begun.
Senate Judiciary Chairwoman Colleen Hanabusa wrote in a committee report on the bill that the high court's ruling "eviscerates" the state law aimed at shielding assault complainants from "unwarranted 'fishing expeditions' by criminal defendants into the victims' sexual histories and confidential communications with treatment providers."
Actually, the Supreme Court's upholding of Crandall's sealing of the transcript keeps the law protecting confidentiality intact. The reversal of the conviction was based on a 1987 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a Pennsylvania case protecting a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront adverse witnesses. Changing the state law would not deprive the defendant of that right.
In the state Supreme Court case, the girl's credibility had come into question. The girl had complained that her older sister no longer believed her. The high court ruled that the witness' confidentiality privilege is outweighed by the defendant's right to cross-examine an adverse witness after developing the issue of credibility in the case. Like it or not, a state constitutional amendment does not trump the U.S. Constitution's Sixth Amendment.
