. ��,;�i� ·.··. the hottestCALENDAR in town I · FREEi BY PETERWHll'E he military's drug war in the Pacific is a high-tech affair, accordingto the Coast Kidson the Guard admiral who runs counter-nar­ cotics operations in the region, and Smu ers moreoften than not the smugglers come Block out ahead. ''They're ahead of usin some areas, especially in being non­ Ah 1n detectable," groused Rear Adm. John Linnon last month at a Sheraton Waikiki conference 7 attended by militaryand industryleaders who are Hi�·Tech members of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. The Pentagon's Straight Pacific intelligence chief, the White House's chief sci­ entist for drug control and several space war­ Dope fare (SDI) experts also spoke to the group. Drugwa Linnon described the Continued on Page 3 9 HONOLULU1A N LIND'S lOPlDp A G E 2 Korean Temple lanUnd assessesthe governorhe 'SpecialNeeds' votedfor fundsbring changes Confessians toWaianae's of aWaihee elementaryschoo� Man --- - t's morning recess at Nanaikapono Elementary School, and a fourth­ grader named Ualani is sharing thoughts about her life. "I love to confession: I voted draw dolphins. I want to be an artist," for John Waihee for she says, and then adds, "I wantto go governor in both to college so I can learn more." 1986 and 1990. Ualani's ambition may berun-of-the-mill Since I've been a at many grade schools, but it's hardly critic of many state common at Nanaikapono, one of seven governmentpolicies, elementary schools on Oahu's Waianae some friendswill undoubtedly Coast. he surprised. andot hers-like Ualani is sitting on the shaded pave­ Rcpubhcan Pred Hemmings ment outside one of the school's build­ and Democrat Ben Hopkrns. ings, facing a beautiful vista -across \\ h o Continued on Page 2 the playing fieldto Continued on Page 4 JOHN PRITCHETTILLUSTRATION Educational Tours to the Mauka to Makai Will theReal John Waihee Shanghai Guilin 3-Day PleaseStand Up? and Yangtze Continued from Page 1 Hong Kong River Gorges jumped in front of the Waihee re­ electionexpress last year - will cer­ Cruise tainly demand explanation. Beijing It's not as ifl didn't have doubts Xian when I punched the ballots. After Taiyuan all, Waihee had little political expe­ Chongqing rience; he'd served just a single term Yichang in the Legislature, and had then Wuhan waited four years in the wings as Nanjing lieutenant governor, watching Wuxi George Ariyoshi quietly and effec­ Dazu tively sneak family boodle through Suzhou customs. There were two sides to this rela­ Changsha tive inexperience. On the positive side, Waihee did not appear.to qual­ ify as a real "insider." In fact, he "THE CHINA CONNECTION" might even have passed muster with today's term-limitation movement. 14, 20 and 26 Day Tours But I recall vividly my concern In cooperation with Tianjin Travel and Tourism Corporation about the down side. I wondered whether Waihee would be able to A Full-Service Travel Agency hold his own when he was con­ Inter-Island Coupons frontedwith powerfulspecial inter­ Ticket Delivery Available est groups willing to pay for favorablepolicies and demands from party insiders accustomed to skim­ 942-2855 ming their patronage off the top. the administration to support a rub shoulders with loyal rank and Fax: 957-0056 Five years later, it's still hard to rewriteof the state's "sunshine" and file democrats. Waihee remained form anoverall judgment of Waihee. privacy laws, a move that has sig­ above the fray, seemingly implying TAA#599 His administration seems truly nificantly increased the public's by his actions that it matters little schizophrenic, with one foot onsolid access to information about the what the average democrat thinks. ground and the other mired in sleaze. workings of government agencies. Some readers may have noticed tourse In some important areas, Waihee Former state senate dissident that I'm no fan of Honolulu's mayor, 2600 South King Street • Suite 204 • Honolulu 96826 has brought in independent people, Charles Toguchi's term at the helm but Frank Fasi could certainly offer offered them the freedom to shake of the Department of Education has Waihee some essential lessons in the things up and then given them his been marked by a massive shake-up appearance of leadership. personal and political support. and a move toward decentralization Remember the infamous new There's Robbie Alm at the and community control. Meanwhile, year's flood of a few years back? Department of Commerce and Waihee has supported increased Fasi commandeered an emergency Consumer Affairs, who revamped funding forthe University of Hawaii vehicle, donned his rain gear and and streamlined the system forreg­ system, which had been deeply hurt appeared on the scene, amidst the istering and regulating business and by years of neglect. flood waters and debris, exuding transformedthe attitude of a notori­ Even in areas with continuing concern. It was a smart move, good ously reluctant bureaucracy. Alm's problems, like the departments of video. The media loved it. Heck, I effortshave drawn praise frombusi­ health and public safety, things have loved it. nesses and consumers alike. loosened up, accepted practices no Where was the governor? Good Robbie also gets credit forgetting longer prevail and political insiders question. He did finallyventure out, are no longer assured of free rides. a day or so later, to fly over and view HONOL ULU But the administration'sdown side the area from a helicopter. Too lit­ is also easy to see. When someone tle, too late and from too greata dis­ assures your re-election by raising tance to appear meaningful. $5 million to keep you in office,they Indeed, much of Waihee's term can pretty much write their own has been like that: aloof, distant and Vol. 1, No. 22 deals. And they apparently have. well-insulated fromthe rest of us. It December 18, 2991 Insider dealings, favoritism and makes an evaluation of the "real" Publisher and Managing cronyism appear to be as rampant as Waihee difficult,but I've got a nag­ Editor Laurie V. Carlson ever in this administration. While ging feelingthat's the point. Senior Editor Julia Steele there have been changes as a new Calendar Editor Derek Ferrar set of younger faces have appeared Editorial Assistant Ann Marie Swan at the public trough, no one would IanUnd's top 10 Contributing Writers mistake these as reforms. reasonsfor Bob Green, Mary Brennan, And in some ways the potential Cecil Adams, Ian Lind, forabuse has increased as Waihee supportingJohn Nikki Ty-Tomkins, Peter White, waiheefor Lennie Magida has continued to centralizepower in Contributing Illustrators the governor's office, imperiling the governor: independence of the Legislature Linda Fong, John Pritchett 10. Whyask why? through a series of revolving-door Cartoonists Matt Groening, 9. Wanted one moreHawaiian to live Slug Signorino appointments and further politiciz­ in a nice house Art Director Bud Linschoten ing executive agencies by weakening 8 Gave new generationa chance to Graphic Production the civil service system. Blaine Fergerstrom, sell out Perhaps the schizophrenia of this Isabella Forster 7. Assumed candidate with so little administrationaccounts for Waihee's Contributing Photographers experience could be trusted David L. Moore, Mark Williford aloofness. He has been an absentee 6. Such a cute accent Classified Manager governor,not only because so much 5. Desperate to get Ken Kiyabu out Isabella Forster of his timehas been spent outof state Advertising Mindy Jaffe of the Finance Committee CUISINE CONSULTANTS but because he's been largely invis­ Honolulu Weekly 4. Would have been a shame to lose itile on the home front. Whether its a small cocktail party, or an elaborate wedding ISSN #I057-414X all of that patronage Entire contents © 1991 by He hasn't been a hands-on, shoul­ with dinner for 500, Cuisine Consultants will provide 3. Wanted a governorwith facial hair expert input for all facets of planning "The Perfect Party." Honolulu Weekly, Inc. der-rubbing, hand-shaking kind of 2. Entertaining to watch supporters Treat yourself or someone special to one of our cooking All rights reserved guy. At last year's Democratic party 1200 College Walk, Suite 212 tryto say his name correctly classes - exotic and international cuisine offered. state convention, for example, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817 1. There are many famous leaders Telephone: 808 528-1475 Waihee was conspicuous by his named John, few named Andy or Subscriptions: absence. And when thegovernor and Cecil • 528-4808 $50/six months $75/year his entourage did arrive, it was not to 2 • ·December 18, 1991 • Honolulu Weekly ., LINDA FONG ILLUSTRATION News & Comment DrugSpies Ask for 'Spookier' Technology On Time Performance 95 •7 0l70 fromjanuary 1. 1991. "HAWAIIAN Is HAWAII'S ON-TIME INTERISLAND AIRLINE:' °""'"'" •• .......r...i. Continued from Page 1 "It turnedout that in this area the 10P AIRHAWAIIAN LIN ES operationsof Joint Task Force 5 (JTF The CoastGuard political leaders were the sameones 10 5), an interagency operation of law­ who controlled the cash crop - enforcement and military officials admiralin charge opium. So the CIA wound up being that he has commanded since it was ofPacific involved with people we now call formed on Oahu in 1989. JTF S's drug lords," McCoy says. stated mission is to trackdrug smug­ narcotics "In some instances the powerful glers anywhere in the Pacificocean. operationssays up-countrydrug lords the DEA was The groupuses ships and planes to supposed to be putting out of of keepa 24-hour tab on suspected drug the war will belost business were at the same time the ships, Linnon said. The task force withoutbetter covert action assets of the CIA," also watches from outer space and surveillance McCoy writes.