Editorial
Beach protection a serious issue here

To folks in Iowa or Kansas, it no doubt seems fairly frivolous to spend hard-to-get federal tax dollars sprucing up Waikiki Beach.

But then, Hawai'i taxpayers might wonder why their bucks are going to subsidize corn farmers or to pay hog farmers in the heartland.

In many ways, the same arguments apply.

Uncle Sam intervenes to help the economy in a variety of ways. In the Midwest, it is farm supports or huge rural electrification projects. In Hawai'i, it can include beach restoration and protection.

Thus it was good news of a sort that the U.S. House yesterday approved a beach restoration budget that is 75 percent greater than the Bush administration's original proposal of $80 million for such projects, nationwide. Perhaps more important, it stuck to a funding formula that was 65 percent federal and 35 percent local.

The Bush administration had sought to reverse that ratio, in effect boosting the local share of such projects by 80 percent. That would have meant local governments would have been forced to pick up the bulk of the cost of these projects.

If the bill goes through as written, Hawai'i would get $250,000 for construction funds for Waikiiki Beach restoration and $160,000 for "investigation" of restoration efforts at Kihei on Maui.

That money is welcome, but just a tiny fraction of what is needed to protect and nourish Hawai'i's fragile sandy coastline.

Clearly, Washington cannot, and will not, provide all the money and support needed for this crucial work. But Hawai'i should continue to push for as much help as it can get. After all, we are the only state whose entire border is made up of shoreline.

For an island state such as Hawai'i, a strong vital beach system is crucial both as an economic asset and as a civil defense asset to buffer against storm damage. There is nothing foolish about that.