Well...we thought it couldn't get any worse...
Let's see...nearly five months after my last post...damn...way too long. I've been working hard to just do my job to the best of my abilities and keep Akaku's vision and mission statement, "Empowering our community's voice through access to media," alive. It has not been easy by any means. Akaku is near the end of its rope...on this last Wednesday, July 13, 2005, Sean McLaughlin, our President/CEO was wrongfully terminated by a vote of 8-7 by our Board of Directors. Making, I believe, one of the worst mistakes in the history of our organization, if not the single-worst.
It is a sad day indeed when advocates of capitalist imperialism succeed in quieting the voice of the community at large. However, NOTHING will stop us from protecting the freedom of speech and free thought that we harbor here at Akaku: Maui Community Television.
There are several key issues to take into account when considering the wrongful termination of Sean McLaughlin as President/CEO of Akaku:
1. Not only was Sean an outstanding leader and advocate of free speech at Akaku, he truly believed in the mission statement of the organization, "Empowering our community's voice through access to media." Sean was recognized by the community at large as such. He was recognized by the Non-Profit Directors' Association as "Outstanding Non-Profit Executive Director of 2004."
2. Sean was NOT reprimanded ONCE by the Board of Directors for any of the actions that were quoted as reasons his position should be terminated. As a matter of fact he has NEVER been reprimanded by the Board of Directors of Akaku for ANY of his actions as acting Executive Director of Akaku.
3. Akaku Board Chairman Myles Inokuma did not run a legal meeting on July 13, 2005, in which Sean McLaughlin was wrongfully terminated and did not properly follow the by-laws under which the Akaku Board of Directors operates.
4. One of the voting members, Charles Jencks, was appointed to the board that day and has a longtime history of "shady" deals here on Maui, not to mention he's in bed with Everett Dowling who has been quoted by several reliable sources as wanting to shut down Akaku.
5. Flo Wiger, one of the "newly appointed" voting members representing MCC on the Board of Directors is an actual employee of MCC, which presents a direct Conflict of Interest in the decisions she makes on the Akaku Board seeing how Akaku paid some $232,000 to MCC in an agreement only a couple of months ago.
6. Another "newly appointed" voting member, Sadao Yanagi, representing the DOE does not participate in any of the meetings other than to vote. He simply sits there with his chin to his chest, hat covering his eyes. It is obvious to see that he is there representing the DOE, a state-funded entity, with no forethought, insite or intellectual capacity whatsoever as he does NOT participate in the meetings other than by voting one way or another.
7. There is more...and there will be more...and we will talk about it OPENLY and PUBLICLY without hiding anything. The TRUTH shall prevail.
Aloha and may your dreams be as sweet as your intentions.
Randy Mills
UPDATED VIDEO SOON....
Aloha All,
Thank you for your patience, attention and comments during this ridiculous attempt to take over the public access here in Maui County. I have been working hard at my job to ensure that what I do at Akaku does not suffer because of this major inconvenience in our neverending quest to "empower our communities' voice through access to media." I am currently on Molokai at the Akaku: Molokai Media Center to teach some editing classes for Final Cut Express 2 to several high school students as well as other members of the Molokai community so that we can improve the overall quality of our programming and services.
I will be shooting some video here on Molokai as well as of the facilities at Akaku: Maui Community Television in the next week in order to demonstrate what could potentially be lost if this bill passes through the Hawaii State Legislature. It has been difficult for me to do this the last couple of weeks simply because I have not had time, since I am working on this blog and the videos on my own time. Please stay tuned...Mahalo and Aloha...
Randy Mills
Bill Passing thru Senate and House...
Hawaii State Legislators have been pushing the bill that potentially could destroy Akaku: Maui Community Television through the Senate and the House with little/no opposition. Senate Bill SB959 and House Bill HB784 have been barrelling through the legislative process this last week in the committee hearings and it doesn't look like the process is going to slow at all, if anything it is speeding up.
Several things have come to my attention since my last post that I would like to share:
1. The only three persons to testify on the bill's behalf before the legislature during the bill's introduction were Everett Dowling, Steve Goodfellow and Charlie Jencks. Hmmmm...could this have anything to do with the Makena Resort Project??? It has been confirmed that the bill was introduced because several large Hawaii land developers are upset with Akaku for airing certain videos, public meetings, etc. that "slowed" the development of a very important parcel of land on Maui...Makena. Are they trying to paint Akaku as "anti-development?"
2. Clyde Sakamoto, Chancellor of Maui Community College, has initiated a petition campaign at MCC and through the DOE to help support the bill by misinforming people about the true scope and intent of the bill. Sakamoto and others are trying to paint Akaku as "anti-education" and are USING the students and children of Maui County to further their own political agendas. THIS IS WRONG! An article highlighting some of this "misinformation" can be read in the Maui News Article
"Akaku Fears Redistribution of Funds" written by Ilima Loomis.
3. Roz Baker, a Senator representing the West Side of Maui, has demonstrated that she will be fully supporting the bill's passing and will not be supporting public access on Maui. Unfortunately, Baker has played friends with several local Akaku producers who worked hard to get her elected during her last campaign and is now repaying that favor by showing support for this bill and working to destroy the very mechanism that got her elected into office. Somehow, Senator Baker received news within the last couple of weeks that pending redistribution of Akaku's funding to MCC, a media center would be built in her district at Lahainaluna High School. Hmmmm...sounds like a great opportunity for Akaku to help, it's too bad they were never included in that conversation or even approached regarding the proposed project. Please visit
Roz Baker's Hawaii State Senate web page and e-mail your comments to her.
Do these people not see that they are shooting themselves in both feet!?
How can they possibly beleive that by dismantling an already successful organization like Akaku they will be serving their communities better? Isn't that why Akaku was mandated to govern themselves in the first place? Are these people retarded? No. They are not...and that's the scary part. This can only mean they are doing this purely on a political basis to further their own agendas and that their communities do not really matter to them. There are many other resources out there that support education and government entities, why are they not being considered? Where do all of the other educational institutions fit into this "plan"? What will these parties do with the money if they get it and how will that be regulated and accounted for? I still want to know why this bill only pertains to Maui County and why isn't Akaku even mentioned as an organization party to the bill? Is it supposed that Akaku is NOT, in fact, the PEG Access provider for Maui and Kalawao Counties? If not, then who is?
There are many questions that have gone unanswered and it is up to us...the citizens of this great county to get them answered before our rights are dismantled and our mouths are taped shut with the ignorance of the very entity we have empowered. So please email, fax and testify in person to KILL THIS BILL before it's too late!
To check the status of and stay updated on bill SB959 please visit
this page.
For bill HB784's status please visit
this page.
Who are these guys???
So who the heck are these guys, Bunda and Hiraki, that introduced this ridiculous bill to the Hawaii State Legislature?
This is Robert Bunda:
He is the President of the Hawaii State Senate. In his opening remarks to the Hawaii State Legislature for 2004, Bunda is qoted as saying, "It has been said that in a democracy, the public has a right to know not only what the government decides, but why and by what process. Ours is an inclusive process and no one is ever deliberately left out of the discussion."
Is that why AKAKU's name as an organization was not recognized as an included party in the rewritten part of Bill SB959 alongside Maui Community College (MCC), the Department of Education (DOE) and the County of Maui?
Is that why all of the other "Educational Institutions" on Maui have NOT BEEN CONSIDERED party to this revision and included in the distribution of 1/3 of the funding alongside MCC and DOE?
Is that why Maui is the ONLY COUNTY in the STATE OF HAWAII being considered in this bill?
The other introducer of the bill is Kenneth T. Hiraki:
Hiraki is the Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee in the Hawaii State Legislature. Hmmmmmm....how ironic that the CHAIR of the CONSUMER PROTECTION AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE would actually be trying to steal funding from the very consumers he was voted into office to support and "protect".
These are two very powerful Legislators in Hawaii. However, my senses told me there is more at work here than these two...
...not more than two months ago, a man by the name of Clyde Sakamoto, the Chancellor of Maui Community College:
:was trying to accomplish the same thing as this bill is, but on a local county level. There were meetings held, NOT PUBLIC MEETINGS mind you, but private meetings, held by the Mayor of Maui County (Alan Arakawa), MCC, DOE, and Akaku, in which Sakamoto was proposing that Akaku was withholding MCC's FAIR SHARE of the DCCA Funding. Sakamoto felt that MCC was entitled to at least 1/3 of this funding and that the County of Maui was also entitled to 1/3 of this funding. However, after some deliberation, and more PRIVATE MEETINGS, Sakamoto "seemed to" back off and the County of Maui (Mayor's Office) backed off as well.
While looking up Bunda and Hiraki, however, I came across a familiar name in the "Members" section of the Hawaii State Senate. You guessed it...Sakamoto. Hawaii State Senate Majority Policy Leader Norman Sakamoto.
Now I'm not saying that Norman Sakamoto has any relationship whatsoever with Clyde Sakamoto or even anything to do with Bill SB959 for that matter, it's just something that caught my eye when I was poking around...hmmmmmmmm.
I know there is more to the story than this and I plan on getting to the bottom of it. Who are the MAJOR PLAYERS? Who's behind the desired annihilation of one of the state's most valuable resources, AKAKU: Maui Community Television? Who wants to shut the public up and for what reason? Are they hitting a nerve somewhere? Obviously...
To visit any of the above officials' online profiles, click on their corresponding photos or below and e-mail them to let them know your thoughts on Bill SB959.
E-Mail Robert Bunda
E-Mail Kenneth T. Hiraki
E-Mail Clyde Sakamoto
E-Mail Norman Sakamoto
Hawaii State Legislature Passes Bill that will DESTROY AKAKU!
Yesterday, the Hawaii State Legislature passed a bill on first reading State House (HB784) and Senate (SB959) that would be disastrous for Akaku: Maui Community Television. This bill would essentially shut down our operations and gut community access media for Maui County. The bill proposes that the majority of the operating resources currently dedicated to Akaku's community service would be taken away and given to State and County agencies.
This = LESS COMMUNITY ACCESS & MORE GOVERNMENT/INDUSTRY CONTROL
The nitty gritty:
HB784 (SB959)
Measure Title: Relating to Cable Television
Report Title: PEG Programming; Maui; Allocation of Resources
Description: Requires cable franchise fees paid in connection with the
provision of cable service in Maui County to be distributed to Maui
community college, DOE, Maui County and Maui's PEG access entity.
Introducer(s): Hiraki (House), and Bunda (Senate)
READ THE FULL BILL HEREThe passing of this bill will mean that AKAKU, Maui's ONLY resource for community access to media will LOSE 2/3 OF IT'S CURRENT FUNDING! That means the people of Maui county will lose 2/3 of their access to media! This decision could allow this to happen in other parts of the country as well so let's STOP IT NOW BEFORE IT GETS OUT OF HAND!
We are looking to rally support from anyone and everyone interested in helping to protect the PUBLIC'S RIGHT to ACCESS to MEDIA and FREE SPEECH!
What do I have to say about it...watch this video:
Please post a comment and let me know your thoughts...please stay tuned to this blog for updates...
BIG MAHALO AND ALOHA!
Randy Mills
