ECONOMY

GREEN PROJECTS PROVIDE REAL MULTIPLIER EFFECT

Current proposals to jumpstart Hawai'i's economy have focused on capital improvement projects. An additional possibility, an Environmental Work Force, could put "boots on the ground" and paychecks in pockets in short order if managed through the University of Hawai'i's Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit. Such a plan would help bring reality to the oft-touted saying in Hawai'i: "The environment is the economy."

New hires could be in the workforce within two months of funds becoming available, as was demonstrated with the 2001 Emergency Environmental Work Force. Those projects provided a much-needed short-term economic boost, but the effects lasted much longer as newly trained workers secured more lasting work in the environmental sector.

Environmental projects also provide a real multiplier effect. Over the last year, a single project on Maui procured goods and services from over 120 different businesses, with 90 percent of its transactions involving local stores or companies.

This year, watershed partnerships and invasive species committees will pump an estimated $10 million back into Hawai'i's economy.

Putting resources into conservation work makes economic sense. Studies at UH have shown that dollars spent now to control the forest-destroying miconia could reduce future costs by $22 million to $40 million. Other studies have documented the negative effect that coqui frogs have had on real estate values.

Unfortunately, some environmental projects are facing up to 50 percent budget cuts as a result of the state's difficult economic situation. A coordinated state and county effort to seek federal funds from the Obama administration would be a wise investment in our most precious economic resource — the natural environment.

BLACKOUT

EMBARRASSMENT MAY SPARK HECO TO ACT

Well, here I sit on the Mainland reading about snowstorms in the Northwest and the East, ice bringing down power lines, and tornado warnings in Tennessee, and I see that O'ahu has had a complete power outage, the second in about two years.

For once, 'Aikahi was one of the areas that got power back first. Gee, do you suppose that the fact that our president-elect is staying there had anything to do with its priority?

Perhaps HECO and the government will be embarrassed enough about losing power for no good reason when our new president is in town that they will actually do something to fix the problem. HECO should concentrate more on generating and distributing electricity, and less on overseas bank holdings.

THANKS TO HPD FOR MANAGING TRAFFIC

Kudos to our Honolulu Police officers! On the night of the electrical outage I watched many officers managing the traffic lights and keeping pedestrians safe.

The next morning they were still at work and often standing in the rain to direct traffic. Thank you very much!

COLUMN EQUATED TO SIMPLE FEAR MONGERING

I read Lee Cataluna's article "Islandwide blackout a wakeup call, again" with a mixture of amusement and embarrassment. It took all of two sentences for Cataluna to invoke images of Hurricane Iniki to stir up a bit of emotion among readers, then to end the article with the threatening, "The next time we might not be so lucky."

Power outages are a fact of life in every country in the world. Unless you are in dreamland, no technology is perfect, and nearly every system has a single point of failure at some point within the system. Failures happen.

I'm surprised Ms. Cataluna finds it so important to emphasize the difficulty HECO had in restoring power due to a major energy disruption, and spend so little time highlighting how the Honolulu community comes together during real problems. Warning readers that the next time we may not be so lucky is simple fear mongering, and shallow sensationalist journalism.

BAILOUT

CPB'S APPROVAL BASED ON SOUNDNESS, KEY ROLE

Recently, we announced preliminary approval for Central Pacific Financial Corp. to participate in the federal Capital Purchase Program. We plan to issue $135 million in senior preferred stock to the Treasury. Approval is based on our soundness and the critical role we play in supporting Hawai'i businesses and consumers.

Central Pacific Bank has helped Hawai'i weather many storms, from hurricanes to economic downturns. Today is no different. We plan to use these funds to help our commercial and retail customers. The Federal Capital Purchase Program was designed for banks like CPB, banks fueling economic progress in their communities.

For the fifth year, Central Pacific Bank is the SBA Lender of the Year (Category II). More than 56 percent of our business loans are to companies with less than $1 million in annual revenues, and nearly 50 percent of business loans are made in low- to moderate-income areas. We are a leader in affordable housing and residential lending, helping local families own homes.

Scrutiny about how banks plan to use the CPP and questions about executive salaries are not surprising. At Central Pacific Bank, myself and our board of directors took a voluntary 20 percent reduction in retainer fees; executive management team took a voluntary 10 percent pay cut.

Our team is getting out into the community, speaking about the economic situation to help people understand what's going on and what's being done to correct course.

Americans have questions. We are committed to transparency, and welcome those questions.