Lingle tells nation Hawai'i safe to visit
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Hawai'i is one of the safest states in the nation, Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday from New York in a national television appearance.
Associated Press
If people are looking for a place least likely to undergo some kind of attack, Hawai'i is it, Lingle said on Fox News Live in New York.
Guest host Cal Thomas interviewed Gov. Linda Lingle on "The O'Reilly Factor" yesterday at a Fox News Channel studio in New York, where she is visiting after Washington.
"It's a very safe place to be," she said.
It is safe because of the complete integration of homeland security and the active military presence, she said.
When Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge raised the nation's security alert level to orange several weeks ago, Hawai'i remained at the much lower level of blue, Lingle said.
In determining that level, "we don't consider what the impact would be on the visitor industry," Lingle said.
"It's not a consideration. We use the best available intelligence provided to us by the military and homeland security, and base it on whether or not there is a real threat to our own people and visitors."
David Carey, chief executive officer of the state's largest locally owned hotel chain, Outrigger Enterprises, said he thought Lingle's assessment was correct.
"When you think about the logic of the terrorists attacks today, they are after places that hit the soul of the United States," Carey said.
"Whether we like it or not, Hawai'i is not viewed as one of those types of targets. We are a relatively small city, relatively far away."
Rex Johnson, president and chief executive officer of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, said "poll after poll after poll" shows visitors are concerned about safety.
But what the governor said "is totally true," Johnson said.
There is some concern about North Korea testing missiles that could reach Hawai'i, the governor said. "That's why almost all of the troops have remained (in Hawai'i) during the buildup for Iraq," she said.
People feel safe in Hawai'i because of the large military presence and because it is 2,500 miles from the Mainland, she said.
Earlier yesterday, Lingle met with senior staff of the New York Stock Exchange. She also appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News Channel yesterday afternoon.
The governor went to New York after several days in Washington to attend the winter meetings of the National Governors Association and to testify before Congress in support of Sen. Daniel Akaka's Hawaiian recognition bill.
The Associated Press and staff writer Mike Gordon contributed to this report.
