HONOLULU -When the 'Olelo Board of Directors meets at 3 PM on Friday, July 27^th, 2001 at 1122 Mapunapuna Street to consider "Adoption of the Strategic Plan," much is at stake - for the public and for the current Director and/or President (depending on which document you read), Lurline McGregor. While "'Olelo" means "voice," the question here is "whose voice?"

'Olelo, The Corporation For Community Television was created in 1989 by Hawaii's Legislature "to provide the Public, Education, and Government access to the airwaves - an alternative for expressing viewpoints not considered by the large commercial networks and cable channels. "P.E.G." as it's known, is funded by a portion of the Cable Franchise Fees assessed on your cable bill every month and currently running 4.5%+ of the gross state cable revenues of AmericaOnline/Time Warner (AOL-TW) owned Oceanic Cable.

Few realize that Hawai'i is the most cable-dependent state in the nation - due to our islands and mountainous terrain - and so 'Olelo who once received as much as $6.25 Million (recently capped at $3.7 Million) is the #1 highest-funded public access organization in the nation
http://www.world.std.com/~rghm/budget2.htm

Hawaii's total Cable Franchise Fees represents a lot of money and is how, at least theoretically, the public is compensated for the use of the public airwaves and cable bandwidth. However, the funds are paid directly to 'Olelo by AOL-TW as "a fee" and so do not pass through the State's General Fund. Intended or not, paying 'Olelo directly in effect allows 'Olelo to circumvent both government scrutiny and State Sunshine Laws - even though the State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs appoints six of the nine-member 'Olelo Board. Not coincidentally, AOL-TW -Oceanic gets to name the rest. No agency of the State Government or any elected official will claim oversight or intervene in the 'Olelo's Board's ongoing actions altering their original mission and redirecting the money and resources. Meanwhile, other money-hungry organizations are lurking in the background - like the powerful Hawai'i State Department of Education and the State Government (the "E" and "G" in P.E.G.) as well as the recently-privatized KHET Corporation For Public Broadcasting - all who for obvious reasons have their eyes on 'Olelo's considerable annual funding and amassed physical resources.

This witches brew of big money, corporate presence, government, and no oversight presents a huge problem - especially if one is a lowly member of the Public seeking information or, God forbid, someone objecting to 'Olelo Board actions. As technical media consultant and long-time 'Olelo Producer, Jeff Garland puts it, "Guess how much power the 'P' (for public) in P.E.G. has in this situation?" Garland should know because for the past nine years, he has been nearly the lone voice of dissent on Oahu in a David & Goliath saga. Garland has his laudable counterparts on the Neighbor Islands who are similarly engaged in this fight with their own Public Access "P.E.G." organizations. Significantly, this fight quietly rages throughout the country - because the move is afoot nationally to corporatize, commercialize, and privatize the country's last vestige of electronic free speech.

Garland has demonstrated a commendable passion for the public-access issue and has been literally demonized by the powers that be for his trouble. Physically banned from the building, Garland has only recently been reinstated by 'Olelo as a producer. But Garland stuck to his principles when presented with an especially designed reentry document authored by 'Olelo attorney Lea Ok Soon Hong that would have had him signing off on 'Olelo's questionable charges of "inappropriate actions and conduct."

To Director and/or President Lurline McGregor's great chagrin, Garland maintains a formidable and damning website where virtually all of the questionable 'Olelo activities are detailed at   http://hpam.hi.net/

Garland relates, "These people have no shame. Important governance committees have been removed from the bylaws and replaced by an Executive Committee now allowed to meet unannounced and without public scrutiny in-between quarterly public board meetings. They are unfettered by any controls and seemingly change the bylaws and mission to suit their personal agendas.

Garland's eyes tear up as he explains how 'Olelo literally helped give away the public's farm when they failed to testify during the Wednesday, May 31, 2000 public hearing in Hawai'i on the now completed AOL-TW merger. "No one was there from 'Olelo, unless you count Oceanic Vice-President Marilyn Yoza (and longest 'Olelo Board Member) who was there to represent Oceanic. If this were not enough the AOL-TW outcome will continue to be a validation for many of claims of collusion because three of their Board Members are by statute appointed by Oceanic. How was the decision made that 'Olelo would not testify? As a result, instead of 10% of the entire digital spectrum being set aside for the citizens of Hawai'i, the public wound up with the equivalent of less than one analog channel thus losing the potential of approximately 50+ digital channels. This sweet deal literally gave Oceanic more channels for their for-profit cable network."

Scott Foster, Director of Communications for AFCR observes, "The cozy relationships of the current 'Olelo Board is typical of how and why things are often done badly in Hawai'i. If you look at the list of their Board Members (Foster notes they are not posted on the 'Olelo web site and so cannot be easily identified or communicated with), you will see for the most part names from an elite group that are in constant rotation on and off of the boards or employed as paid staff with many of Hawaii's wealthiest non-profit organizations and large corporations." Foster says, "One of their best talents seems to lie in their cross-pollinated political and social relationships and their willingness to keep quiet and do as they are damn-well told. It's really sick, particularly when you think of all the highly-talented people in Hawai'i who are never ever considered for these creative positions. A politically-appointed board such as this is particularly disastrous for a complicated technology-based organization like 'Olelo." As an example Foster notes that 'Olelo is the only cablecaster on Oahu without stereo sound. "With their vast annual budget, how stupid is this when so much of 'Olelo's programming is of our beautiful local music and dance? Many have said there is a simple remedy to all this - change 'Olelo from a "non-membership" to a "membership" organization allowing stakeholder participation on the Board of Directors. This would be a good place to start."