September 2005

DCCA: Dysfunction Junction

Director Recktenwald's possible intervention into what DCCA has consistently maintained is a private non-profit corporation highlights the money-slushing stealth tax functions of these state-created front groups posing as non-profit corporations.

The title "Dysfunction Junction" is a harsh indictment of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) by the Community Television Producers Association (CTPA), a statewide association of community producers whose existence as a nonprofit predates all the Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) nonprofits created by DCCA and funded by the State of Hawaii with cable subscriber mandated money.

CTPA is deeply concerned about the most recent events occurring at Akaku, including the attempted raid on public producer resources by the educational sector, slugfests amongst board members, apparent bylaw violations, and finally the unwarranted intervention of the director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA).

Akaku is emblematic of all the DCCA-created Public, Education, and Government (PEG) access organizations through which state-mandated cable subscribers monies flow (`Olelo on Oahu, Akaku on Maui, Ho`ike on Kauai, and Naleo on Hawai`i). The vast majority of this state mandated public money does not benefit the P in PEG but are collected, distributed, granted, and slushed back to government, and education without any accountability or performance reviews.

The DCCA Director's board appointment process of PEG boards is riff with perceived and actual conflicts of interests. These perceived conflict of interests include the Governor-appointed DCCA Director stacking PEG boards with State of Hawaii Government (including Department of Education, and University of Hawaii) employees, the appointments of a former DCCA director and deputy director to a PEG board (Robbie Alm, and Susan Doyle's appointments to `Olelo), and the DCCA Cable Television Division chief, Clyde Sonobe's, wife being employed by a subsidiary of Time Warner, the statewide monoploy cable operator franchisee Clyde Sonobe is tasked with regulating.

For years DCCA has consistently deflected public access producer complaints regarding PEGs back to the PEG access organizations for resolution. DCCA for years has consistently maintained that PEGS are not state entities, but private non-profit corporations, and they do not interfere in the affairs of private non-profit corporations. The vast majority of public producer complaints remain unresolved, and in fact PEGs have taken retaliatory actions against complaining public access producers. Retaliations imposed by PEGS while DCCA took a “ hands off approach” included “indefinite terminations” of public producer's access rights to facilities and production equipment. These “terminations” were without cause, and without due process. Such terminations deny “first-come, nondiscriminatory” access to facilities and production equipment guaranteed by federal legislation and Hawaii Administrative rules. DCCA stood mute.

When you are robbing Peter to pay Paul, Paul seldom objects. Politicians receive facilitated campaign services from the PEGs each election cycle. They are pleased with the money flowing from the cable subscribers through PEGs and back to the government, because with this stealth tax on the citizens of Hawaii funneled back to the State of Hawaii under the guise of “Public Access", they need not upset the voters by increasing taxes.

DCCA's past actions (and lack of action) lack of vision, lack of oversight, and lack of accountability over the State -created, cable subscriber-funded, PEG access non-profits has been less than rigorous and has resulted in DCCA's enabling education and government to pick the public pocket for their own uses.

The problems now facing Akaku have been known for years yet DCCA failed to act. Here are just some highlights from *“ Disputes over PEG Resources”* a report prepared for DCCA's Cable Television Division way back in 1997.

“Resolve the PEG structure in Maui County. DCCA should resolve the situation in Maui County, where a legally nonexistent but exceptionally influential consortium allocates channel time and funds. The current arrangement is untenable; decision making has already been diffused to the point of occasional paralysis. Moreover, DCCA's regular dealings with this consortium directly involve it in managing PEG access funds, which could make the portion it oversees a state agency for liability, sunshine law, and audit purposes.”

This “legally nonexistent” consortium of educational, government and private interests did not go away but went statewide and is now known as HENC, the Hawaii Educational Network Consortium.

The last two sections discuss options and recommended " The Role of DCCA". "It is time for DCCA to restore equilibrium by affirming or redefining the purpose of the organizations to which it delegated PEG access responsibilities. If DCCA does not take the lead, it cedes it to other entities, both private and government, which will continue to alter the system to fit their needs."

DCCA has failed to act and both private and government (education) have altered the system to fit their needs.

“The Issue: Why is Government Involved? To give government control of the money and channel time reserved for the community undermines the concept of community control, which is to allow access by all speakers.”

Akaku alone among all the PEG entities in Hawaii was the most vigorous defender of community control allowing access by speakers. Naleo, Olelo, Ho`ike, and have become fawning supplicants to powerful interests groups and have no concern for the public speaker. Naleo, Olelo, Ho`ike have become “captured agencies” most favored by DCCA. Akaku, representing the public speaker, has always been the problem child and is being punished for doing it's job. Got a solution? Your fired. See a problem? You are the problem.

The Governor and Attorney General of Hawaii need to be told by the citizens that we will not tolerate DCCA allowing special interests to run roughshod over the public speaker's voice. Unlike the unsupported subheading in the 1997 *“ Disputes over PEG Resources”* report which said “Splitting the baby is NOT the Answer” CTPA believes splitting the baby IS not only the answer, but the only viable solution. Slushing monies through a state created and controlled PEG “nonprofit” back to education and government while shafting the public speaker is the problem.

CTPA believes the time has come to operate and structurally split the three-headed monster of PEG. It is the only way to save the public voice. Let Government and Education totally control the education and government channels, and allow a public-speaker, membership elected public benefit corporation control the public channel. Splitting the baby will lay bare the stealth tax and allow viable public access channels to function with transparency, accountability, and oversight.

Ed Coll, President CTPA

Jeff Garland, V.P.

Carol Bain, Secretary

Wendy Arbeit, Treasurer

for updates on the Akaku Government takeover, go here: http://hpam.hi.net/saveaccess/ and here: http://saveakaku.org/