Calling for Akaku board resignations
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| From: Jay April Date: Tue Aug 23, 2005 6:25:11 PM Pacific/Honolulu To: letters@mauiunews.com Subject: A CALL FOR RESIGNATIONS LETTER TO THE EDITOR I was an early adopter and pioneer of public access television in the United States and helped set policy for the concept nationally during the decade of the 1980's. I have seen many turf battles but the one that continues to rage on Maui is by far the worst. It underscores the pathetic failure of progressive cable regulation in Hawaii, exposes our petty bureaucrats, shows the underbelly of raw political power, and allows the state's monopoly cable operator, Time Warner, to laugh all the way to the bank. It is with considerable dismay that I read the article in the August 20 issue of The Maui News whereby it was reported that Akaku Board Chair, Myles Inokuma has contributed to the further disintegration of the once highly respected public access TV station by physically assaulting another member of the Akaku Board. As if that were not troubling enough, the corresponding verbal assault offered by Sharron Courter, Akaku's Treasurer, in the same article is about as low as it gets. Incredibly, she places blame for Inokuma's unacceptable behavior on Akaku producers, members of our community who exercise their free speech rights by making the shows that air on Akaku, the very people whose diverse voices (you and me, folks) she has pledged to empower. Maui deserves better leadership from people who pretend to be stewards of our public media. Mr. Inokuma , asserted after the fisticuffs subsided that each board member is, " trying to do good for Akaku" and that there is no "wrong or right.". Mr. Inokuma is mistaken. As every grade-schooler knows, there is such a thing as right and wrong and the wrong Mr. Inokuma and Ms. Courter have already done to Akaku through their actions are a matter of public record. It was wrong for Mr. Inokuma to allow the attorney for Everett Dowling - no friend of public access and who is on record of vowing to shut Akaku down - to draft his (Inokuma's) testimony before the legislature on bills that would devastate Akaku. Mr Inokuma's actions which happened without board knowledge or approval, in effect, supported the strategy of certain developers and the state's failing educational establishment to accomplish a hostile corporate takeover of Akaku . It was wrong for Mr. Inokuma and Ms. Courter to place Mr. Dowling on Akaku's Finance committee and apparently share proprietary financial information with him and others without board knowledge in blatant violation of Akaku by-laws It was wrong to abuse those newly acquired appointments to trump up enough votes to fire non-profit director of the year and Akaku CEO, Sean McGlaughlin without cause. |