Spring 2005 Home   Newsletters

Summer 2005

Fall 2005

President's Message - Pleased to Be President of a PIG (Sue Irvine)
League Tribute to Dr. Robert Watada (Mary Anne Raywid)
Post Script to Bob Watada's May 21 Convention Speech (Jaurene Judy)
Legislative Report (Jean Aoki)
Progress on Clean Elections (Laure Dillon)
Silver Legislature (Grace Furukawa)
Gambling Front (Grace Furukawa)
Latest Assault on Press Freedom: Assassination of Samir Kassir (Beth Ann Kozlovich)
Highlights (and an Update) from Annual Reports
Case for a Single-Payer Health System (Jean Aoki)

Highlights (and an Update) from Annual Reports

Annual reports prepared for the Convention showed novel activity afoot in a number of League groups. A regularly convening discussion group has begun with in the Honolulu League and continues to meet at the home of one member. The Hawaii League held a series of "Popcorn and Movie Nites" at the home of one of its members, to which the public was invited to watch videos and participate in discussions on matters of public interest. In the early Fall, the Education Committee sponsored a day-long forum for Board of Education candidates, to inform them on four matters that would recurringly concern those elected. In January, an ad hoc Fund Raising Committee sponsored the League's first-ever party.

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The League's Study on the Judiciary, focusing largely on judicial selection, was followed by its Conference on Judicial Independence. Agreement was widespread that the program was excellent. Tapes from the conference have been made available for showing on 'Olelo and several have already been shown. As an outgrowth of the study, the League is now represented on the Hawaii branch of the American Judicature Society's Committee on the Judicial Selection Process.

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According to law, the cable television companies are required to set aside channels and to provide funds for public education and government access television. In September 2002, in response to an inquiry by the Kauai League and a local access producers organization, the State Office of Information Practices (OIP) expressed the opinion that the public access organizations thus created - PEGs - are subject to state sunshine laws. In 2004, one of these PEGs, 'Olelo, took OIP to court to challenge this opinion. On June 9, Judge Victoria Marks ruled that PEG entities are not state agencies and therefore they are not subject to open record laws. OIP is waiting to read the official ruling before deciding whether to appeal Judge Marks' decision.

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