Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 7, 1 July 1999 — What's OHA's board done lately? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

What's OHA's board done lately?

Since last faU's election, OHi% board has supported and approved the following initiatives that work toward the betterment of Hawaiians:

November &. December • Board reorganized with new assignments to restructured committees December • Community Affairs Coordinator approved for Lāna'i. This is the first CAC ever assigned to bring beneficiaries on Lāna'i in closer contact with the Honolulu office. • Trustee representatives assigned to various eommunity oiganizations. Chair Akana appointed Trustee Springer to the Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council and the Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park Advisory Commission; Trustees Springer and Trask to the Mauna Kea Advisory Commission; Trustee Hao to the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund Board. Trustee Machado serves on the Hawaiian Islands Humpback \Vhale Advisory Council and the Kaho'olawe Reserve Commission. Trustees Akana. Hee and Hao are OHA's representatives for the Westem Pacific Regional Fisheries Management CounciI. • Gladys Brandt named director of OHA's Education Foundation. This brings to OHA the guidance of an exemplary leader in the field of education. • Formula approved for funding the Educahonal Foundation. A systematic revenue stream will be drawn from interest ineome. • OHA's legislati\'e package approved • Committee on Entitlements and Negotiations reoiganized • Policies updated on committee waivers and unbudgeted requests • Investment policies improved to support a better retum on fixed ineome from bonds ]anuary • Kali Watson hired as staff attomey. The former chairman of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands was assigned to assist the Entitlements and Negotiations Committee during its on-going pursuit of a ceded lands settlement with the state. • Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council appointments approved February • $425,428 approved to fund 1 1 community grants filling specific and varied needs of Hawaiians: □ $16,287 for bus transportation to the immersion school Nā Leo Kāko'o o Maui 3 $36,239 to the Maui A1DS Foundation for outreach and case management □ $25,790 to the Hawai'i Arts Ensemble for hula tour performances D $19,355 to the Anahola 4-H CIub for playground equipment □ $49,000 to Ke Ola Mamo for prenatal services □ $73,000 to 'Ahahui 'Ōlelo Hawai'i i

for an executive director and office assistants □ $5,000 to the Moanalua Gardens Foundation for the Prince Lot Hula Festival □ $70,029 to the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center for perinatal support services □ $41,800 to the Hawai'i Allianee for Arts Education for hula ki'i at immersion schools • Appeal of Commission on Water Resource decision funded • Continued participation approved in the Kukui o Moloka'i, ine. case • Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed with the State Department of Transportation for improvements to the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway in Kailua-Kona

March • $511 ,300 approved for classrooms and a cafeteria at Ke Kula Ni'ihau o Kekaha. This immersion schooI on the site of the former Air National Guard Armory transferred to OHA by the Department of Land and Natural Resources in 1997, provides Kaua'i's Ni'ihau community with resources to keep their precious heritage alive. • Administrator Ogata's contract was extended for two years. The Administrator's uninterrupted service provides the stability for OHA to move forward with its operations streamlined to better serve our beneficiaries. • Four workers compensation claims resolved. Closure has been brought to claims pending for between three and twelve years. • $10,000 approved for OHA's Education Foundation. This allocation allows the foundation the technical services it needs to accomplish its goals. • Personnel manager hired. This professional ensures OHA's staff functions within accepted employment practices. • Providence — Native Hawaiian Partnership Committee appointed. Three Hawaiians now serve on this committee whose formation was a term of the settlement agreement for the return

of the ki'i lā'au formerly on display in Providence, Rhode Island. • Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund board appointed April • Hired a legal "dream team" to protect OHA's interests in Rice vs. Cayetano at the U.S. Supreme Court. The board recruited nationally for the best available attorneys to draft our amicus curiae brief suggesting the rationaI for an outcome upholding OHA elections as now structured. • Presidential health directive corrected to include "the aboriginal, indigenous native people of Hawaii and other Pacific islands within the jurisdiction of the United States" • $500,000 approved for Individual Developmpnt Arrr\nntc fIDA^ fr\r Hn\A/raiiijnc

• MOA with the state and federal governments approved for H-3 interpretative centers. These facilities will be directed at protecting and preserving cultural resources in Hālawa Valley at the Luluku Terraces in Kāne'ohe. •. • MOA signed for the Saddle Road MOA improvement project on the Big Island May • $120,000 approved for the purchase of six dialysis Moloka'i Dialysis Treatment Center of by St. Francis Hospital along with another $7,200 for transitional treatment. Home dialysis will be availtble to Moloka'i patients during the three

months pending completion of the center. • New po!icy adopted for reviewing trust asset allocations. This allows a more realistic timeframe for review of our portfolio and accounts by the full board. • Leona Seto-Mook hired as budget analyst to assist OHA's Budget and Finance Committee. June • Technical assistant hired to structure a fall Puwalu Conference during whieh positions on sovereignty will be considered and explored. JUNE • Launched the first two phases of a naīional education and media campaign to address the issues raised in Rice vs. Cayetano • Morgan Stanley Dean Witter selected to provide financial investment services subject to successful negotiation of the fee and services arrangement • $4,604,259 authorized in the "Trust Fund Only" portion of OHA's base operating budget for fiscal year 1 999 - 2000 Editor's note: The Ka Wai Ola will eonhnue to provide comprehensive six-month updates on the board's actions in addition to its monthly coverage.