Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 8, 1 August 2010 — Aloha mai kākou, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aloha mai kākou,

The Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) have eontributed to Ka Wai Ola throughout the years, in the beginning through eommittee reports, then later more formally through the Trustee's Corner. It has been nearly five years since the Board passed a policy with regard to Ka Wai 01 a (KWO) and I feel that it is time for us to revisit that policy. Ka Wai Ola is the official publication of OHA. Its mission is to cover issues that are important to Native Hawaiians so that they ean make informed decisions on matters that affect their lives and eommunities. KWO also serves to communicate OHA's actions, programs and plans to its beneficiaries. As the CEO for this organization, it is my duty to ensure that all material published in this paper is written responsibly. Although differing viewpoints are to be expected, attacks on individuals or organizations should be avoided. This is why I will be proposing a few changes

related to Ka Wai Ola in the Board of Trustees' Executive Policy Manual at an upcoming Board of Trustees meeting in the near future. Under the current policy approved by the Board, eaeh Trustee is limited to 600 words for their monthly eolumn. We plan to enforce this policy in future issues as well as carefully review submissions to ensure that they are written responsibly. The practice of sharing editorial space is not articulated in the Board's policy and I will be recommending that this practice be discontinued. Eaeh month, Trustees will have to stay within their 600-word allotment for reasons of fairness. This change is also necessary because of the change in printing press used by our vendor and its switch to a smaller tabloid size newspaper, whieh subsequently reduced the amount of space available for columns. Last, but not least, I will also be recommending the suspension of Trustee columns while he or she runs for reelection. This is a very sensitive issue related to campaign spending, ethics and equal time/

space issues. The change will serve to level the playing field during the election cycle and not give incumbent Trustees an unfair advantage over others running for office seats. As the Chief Executive Officer, I am tasked with doing what is right and not what is always popular. The changes I'mproposing will clearly define what is expected from Trustee columns in the future and help create a positive exchange of ideas that will benefit

all of our readers. Ultimately, it will be up to the Board of Trustees to decide how and if these changes materialize. Me ka 'oia'i'o, LO.

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MESSAGE FR0M < THECEO >

Clyde W. Nāmu'o Chief Executive Officer