Hawaiian Hero

George Helm, an inspirational figure for Kanaka Maoli; As I watched the video on George Helm I realized that I really didn’t know much about him so I decided to do some research to share with my class, and anyone who is interested in George Helm.

George Jarrett Helm, Jr. (b. Mar 23, 1950 - Disappeared, 1977) was a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) activist and musician from Kalama’ula, Moloka’i. He graduated from St. Louis High School on Oahu. George was known for many outstanding qualities such as his beautiful falsetto voice, and guitar playing. He was a powerful speaker, writer and "revolutionary" philosopher who pioneered many sovereignty concepts.

George Helm began his activism with a Moloka’i-based group by the name of Hui Alaloa around 1975. In 1976 he became involved with a group known as The protect Kaho’olawe 'Ohana, which was a Hawaiian led organization that sought to end the bombing of Kaho’olawe. Kaho’olawe was used as target practice by the U.S. Navy since 1941.

In 1976, 9 activists occupied the island of Kaho’olawe, Helm among them. He was moved intensely by the power and beauty of the island, and dedicated the rest of his life to fighting for its protection. Helm appealed to the Hawai’i State legislature and to the U.S. congress for the protection of Kaho’olawe, but the bombing continued, so he and five others, Walter Ritte, Richard Sawyer, Charles Warrington and Francis Ka’uhane decided to occupy the island again in hopes that they would gain greater public recognition. Upon their arrival they were all arrested except for Ritte and Sawyer, who stayed hidden on the island for 35 days, with very limited food and water.

Concerned for their two friends that was left on the island; George Helm, Kimo Mitchell, and Billy Mitchell went in search for them first by boat, then by surfboard. When they reached the island they found that Sawyer and Ritte had been picked up. The next day, the boat that was scheduled to meet them did not come, as it had sunk. Oddly, the three apparently decided to return to Maui despite high surf and a wound to George Helm’s head. The unsolved mystery still haunts many kanaka maoli about what really happened to Goerge Helm and Kimo Mitchell who were last seen near the crescent-shaped islet of Molokini by Billy Mitchell, who was the only survivor of the group.

Today George Helm is remembered as one of the greatest hero’s who surfed, fished, farmed, loved, sang, worshipped and thought in the ways of old. As Helm stated in his letter written on January 29, 1977 “My duty is to protect Mother Earth, who gives me life!” And that my friends, is the legacy of a “True Hawaiian.”

Work Cited

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Helm
Letter written by George Helm January 29, 1977

Education in Hawaii

On Oct. 14, 2008 I attended the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce Candidates' Forum, and was surprised to hear that majority of the canadiates want to improve our education system here on Maui. In reading some of the political pamphlets that were handed out, and listening to what they had to say I found that they each have their own special interest or mission on how they would improve our education. However, in reading the news for the past couple of weeks there has been more talk about budget cuts on education than I’ve seen in a long time.

Here’s what we’re looking at. The state Board of Education already approved reducing its budget by $45.6 million last week, but that falls short of the $69 million in cuts Gov. Linda Lingle requested a month ago. If the governor decides to scrap 15 percent of the Department of Education budget, that would result in schools losing about $22 per student. If the Department of Education has to cut 20 percent of its budget, schools could suffer a loss of $222 per student. Teachers and administrators are concerned about cuts to programs that are close to the classroom, and about cuts that could eliminate about 15 teaching positions and two support staff members. Gov. Lingle states in her article "I don't see that they're hurting the classroom yet. I'm certain there's more money there. More cuts may be coming. "This is our reality," she said. "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

As I said in the beginning! I heard every candidates passion about improving education, but how can I have faith that they are truly going to be able to improve the quality of education. It seems that education is always the first to suffer when the budget needs to be reduced. How can I have faith when I hear that the State Legislators will get a 36 percent pay hike while our children get millions cut from their schools? This is why I believe that the Department of Education should be broken up into school districts governed by local school boards.

Works Cited

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 600-900pm, The Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce Candidates' Forum at the Lihikai Elementary School cafeteria on Papa Ave.

‘Educators: Classrooms to suffer if more cuts” The Maui News
Oct. 13, 2008

Con Con 2008

A Call For Constitutional Convention


“Our citizens will make the best decision for Hawai’i’s future.” Quoted by
Lt. Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona Jr.

On Nov. 4, 2008 Hawai`i voters will be asked, “Shall there be a convention to propose a revision of or amendments to the Constitution?" It is a decision that will have a lasting impact on the future of Hawai‘i because our constitution represents the fundamental governing principles and values of our state. A constitutional convention is an organized gathering of publicly elected delegates for the purpose of reviewing and proposing amendments to our State Constitution. Any proposed constitutional amendments approved by the constitutional delegates would then be voted on for ratification by our citizens during a subsequent general election. The delegates who drafted the constitution in 1950 didn’t want the people to amend the constitution directly, yet they were nervous about leaving all the power with the legislature, so they incorporated a provision that allows for the public to decide whether or not to hold a constitutional convention at least once every 10 years. The last time the voters of Hawai`i were asked to vote on the prospect of holding a Constitutional Convention was on November 3, 1998, 10 years ago. 59 percent of Hawai`i voters voted no for Con Con, and blank votes were counted as a no.
Our legislature has called for a Constitutional Convention only once since statehood which led to the 1968 convention, and Hawai’i’s last Constitutional Convention was held in 1978, 30 years ago.

Here are several significant accomplishments that resulted from our last constitutional convention, including the requirement of submitting an annual balanced budget, the establishment of term limits for the Governor and Lt. Governor, the creation of the Judicial Selection Commission and Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the adoption of the Hawaiian language as an official state language, and the creation of the Council on Revenues to prepare revenue estimates for a six-year planning period.

State Attorney General Mark Bennett believes that ConCon will provide the people with a forum outside the legislature for the people to debate issues such as public education, criminal justice and fiscal management. Some of the issues that could be up for discussion includes the level of independence for the University of Hawaii, whether the Department of Education should be broken up into school districts governed by local school boards, changes to evidence rules in criminal trials, and a balanced budget requirement.

Those who are opposed to ConCon such as Anne Fedar Lee from Hawaii Alliance group feel that a convention should be called to fix identified problems. She believes that we should vote ‘no” on Con Con.

Sen. Gary L. Hooser believes we don’t need a constitutional convention. He states “We can put the money one would cost to better uses.” He also feels that we run a great risk of our state constitution suffering a lasting damage at the hands of special interests. He believes that we should vote “no” on Con Con.

Former Governor Ben Cayetano say’s that if groups of citizens want to amend the constitution they should lobby the legislature, and if their unhappy with their legislature they should vote them out of office.

The argument against ConCon is that the legislature should do what’s best for the people in making changes on their own, but they haven’t made any changes since statehood. In consideration to the above oppositions, I understand we run a risk by voting “yes” on Con Con. However, I believe that it would open opportunities for changes that would be voted by the people without the filters of the legislature. Con Con allows for an open discussion of issues that may not come in the normal course of the legislature session.

Works Cited

Honolulu Magazine / September 2008 / Does Hawaii Need a Con Con?

Derrick DePledge, ‘Call For Constitutional Convention Weighing Time, Need ”
The Honolulu Advertiser” October 12, 2008

t. Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona Jr. “State of Hawai’I”
http://hawaii.gov/ltgov/concon/faqs

Credit Crisis

Credit Crisis
How will it affect Maui and the State of Hawaii?

As stated in the New York Times October 2, 2008 “This is what a credit crisis looks like.” Comparing it to a stock market crisis, where the plunge of stocks is obvious to all. The credit crisis is played out in places most people can’t see, and has caused a lack of confidence in the banking system where banks are refusing to lend to each other. You have to understand that monies flowing between institutions are like water flowing from the mountain to the ocean for marine life; it’s the most essential function of a banking system.

The effect of this crisis is not just detrimental to financial institutions, its put fear into everyone, and will affect people globally in some way or another. The effect it has on our economy here on Maui will hurt most of our small businesses, and people in the tour industry. We depend on tourism in many way’s, and many tourist who vacation here usually do so using credit of some sort, many hotel workers have made loans to purchase homes while our economy was thriving. In the past ten years we’ve already witness family owned businesses closing because they couldn’t keep up with the large corporations moving in. Small businesses are closing all over Maui. The larger issue will be how it’s going to affect our states operation budget for next year. Gov. Linda Lingle has already postponed selling $625 million in bonds, saying the state would get a better deal waiting. Some analysts expect that the national downturn will lead to a recession in Hawaii as tourism has already been hit hard.


The question becomes “Is the bail out plan the best solution for Hawaii?” Both of Hawaii’s senators struggled with their decision before ultimately going along with the bailout package. Sen. Dan Akaka believes that if we didn’t do anything we would be in big trouble. He agrees that it’s not a perfect bill, but it includes accountability and it includes oversight to prevent abuse. Senator Inouye says," The senate plan puts average Americans first, not those wall street executives whose greed and reckless actions have brought us to this financial crisis." Local observers say if the legislation fails once again in the House, the impact will be felt by every family in Hawaii.

I Understand, why our Hawaii Senators were in favor of the “Bailout Plan,” but I don’t understand why our U.S. Senate couldn’t just do it as part of the right thing to do to benefit everyone. I don’t understand how this 4 page proposal was rejected only to pass a 400 page proposal with the added pork. In my opinion it goes to show you that people in our government won’t choose to do what’s right! They only agree when the added pork benefits them!

Works Cited
Prah, Pamela M. “States Act to Cushion Wall Street Meltdown.”
infoZine News. 01 Oct. 2008. 05 Oct. 2008
http://www.infoZine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/31017/

Joe Nocera, ‘As Credit Crisis Spiraled, Alarm Led to Action” The New York Times
October 2, 2008

Mangieri, Gina, “Akaka and Inouye Vote in Favor of Bailout Plan” Online posting. 1 Oct. 2008
http://www.khon2.com/news/government/30076474.html