Posted on: Tuesday, September 2, 2003

EDITORIAL
A step backward on cruise monitoring

Gov. Ben Cayetano's 2002 decision to negotiate a "memorandum of understanding" for environmental protections with the cruise industry came as a mild disappointment.

That's because, while it was a good first step, we felt then — and continue to feel — that these rules require the force of law.

With other sectors of our visitor industry struggling, it has been a plus that the cruise ship business here appears to be booming. We support that growth, and have urged the state to speed its effort to upgrade harbor and pier facilities to accommodate ocean visitors.

But the growth of the cruise industry presents serious environmental policy issues that the state must address. That's why it's distressing that the state Department of Health, in an annual meeting with the cruise industry to discuss the effectiveness of the existing memorandum, chose to close the doors of that meeting to the public.

How can the public be adequately protected from potential environmental problems if they're not present for an exchange of views on what those problems might be?

We agree with Sierra Club director Jeff Mikulina that the Lingle administration appears to be "shielding the industry from public scrutiny." It's a wrongheaded approach in a representative democracy.

We don't know if there's any common denominator between this closed-door meeting and the governor's tourism summit that was closed to the public earlier this year. If there is, it's a trend to be concerned about.