10/28/98

Kauai Mayor takes a public stand on Y2K

Kauai, HI.

Awesome news from the Kauai front. The Community Self Reliance Cooperative of Kauai, along with the office of the Mayor of Kauai, initiated a "closed door" meeting with Mayor Marianne Kusaka, various county officials, The head of Kauai Civil Defense, Wilcox Hospital, Bank of Hawaii, Kauai Electric Company, The Gas Co., various independent MDms, our local newspaper and the local cable TV station as well as two representatives from the Community Self Reliance Cooperative to bring perspective from Kauai's citizens . The meeting was held behind closed doors at the suggestion of the our group (CSRC) so that county, industry and utility bigwigs could talk freely with the Mayor about potential problems without fear of litigation.

The meeting was a huge success. The Mayor of Kauai had reinforced her understanding of Y2K by the middle of the meeting. Before the close of the session, she also grasped the larger "social" issues of Y2K, if, as some experts are predicting the infrastructure of our society will be affected by the Year 2000 glitch. The Mayor, along with her invited guests all understood that the publics perception or the "social" aspects of Y2K could have as big an effect on the economy, as the technical aspects of the Y2K "virus".

Her response was to instigate a monthly closed door session with all of the attendees, including two representatives from the CSRC. The Y2K task Force will meet on the second Tuesday of each month to cross reference and update the participants, which will represent a cross section of the islands business, industry and government sectors. The Y2K task force will address both technical and social Y2K issues, and prepare contingency plans where mitigation and/or remediation might not be completed.

Immediately following the meeting, the Mayor held a live 45 minute Television Broadcast on our local cable access station. The Mayor interviewed several of her guests via intelligent Y2K questions, and shared her thoughts on how we must respond to the Year Two Thousand Problem as a community, rather then individuals.

Then, the Mayor went a step further and declared her desire to open the Community Self Reliance Cooperatives first island wide Y2K awareness meeting on Thursday October 29th at the Hanalei Elementary School Cafeteria. She will join many other speakers as well as an expected crowd of over one hundred concerned citizens. She will make headlines across the state by pledging to help Kauai reach a state of what she describes as Community Compliant. This means that regardless of whether Y2K disrupts the technical side of life on the tiny island of Kauai, the community will be prepared socially to survive and thrive despite whether the island suddenly finds itself cut off and isolated from the supply lines of the outside" world.

To be effective, the concept of Community Compliance would have to involve the entire community at a grass-roots door to door level. It would mean a whole systems approach that must involve the integration of many ideas that are certainly not new (such as community gardens, first aid education, neighborhood based methods of voluntary water and power rationing, CB and short-wave communication systems, and the serious exploration of alternative energy and transportation strategies), but have never before been blended and integrated into a specific need based package that must be delivered before an exact deadline in time.

The difficulty will be to weave them together in a timely fashion, that avoids both hasty chaotic bureaucratic looping, as well as complacency. These are just a few of the concepts any leader wishing to fully encompass the possible effects of Y2K on a given community will have to explore. It seems like the Mayor of Kauai will have her hands full, but by her actions yesterday, she is truly a visionary willing to do what is right for her county, the island of Kauai, which incidentally, will be the last largely populated place on the planet to usher in year 2000 ad.

With few exceptions across the Country, this is an unprecedented move by any Mayor. She is further stepping out by making this bold move both publicly, and almost on the eve of the November elections. Our hats are off to the Mayor of Kauai, Ms. Marrianne Kusaka. The CSRC and the citizens of Kauai look forward to being community partners in your goal of community compliance by the millennium.

The Community Self Reliance Cooperative is apolitical, and non religious in its desire to outreach and inform others of the Year Two Thousand Crisis on Kauai. We believe that panic and ignorance are the only true enemies in the Y2K battle. If we work together as a community, we can isolate our weaknesses, and make use of our strengths. The simple act of responding to honestly to Y2K with unity, clarity and focus, will turn a potential crisis into an incredible opportunity for community members to build bridges before the flood waters might rise.

As a community compliant county we can find pride at working hard on a common goal. In better understanding our neighbors, we will better understand ourselves. Suddenly, we will remember that though we came from many walks of life, we are all Kauains.

When the clock brings in the new year, the island of Kauai may well be seeing itself more clearly, regardless of whether the lights are on or off.

Aloha and mahalo to all concerned, and a special thanks to Bill Dale, Larry Shook, Tom Atlee, Cynthia Beal for their visionary writings (Awakenings, The upside of Y2K) As well as Arthur Burchard, and Ian Wells for their hard work on the front lines. You have been inspirational to both myself, and many others around the country!

Also a special thanks to Mayor Marianne Kusaka of the Garden Island of Kauai for your willingness to listen. Please email the mayor of Kauai and support her efforts! Her address is: lmayor@aloha.netn

Sincerely,

Karlos deTreaux

Community Self Reliance Cooperative members et. all.

CSRC email: y2k@aloha.net

Web site: http://www.hawaiiy2k.com ... (still adding to the site)

-- Karlos (y2kbug@gte.net), October 29, 1998