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that heavily enough; please change the Charter so that it is absolutely a law. We have to <br />have that Action Committee within one year after completion of every single Community <br />Development Plan in our county. <br />There is an item here concerning the Prosecuting Attorney's Office. This item concerns <br />willful violations of the Sunshine Law, which are criminal in nature. The Sunshine Laws <br />don't have any penalties attached to them per -se, except with willful violations. Then the <br />violations cross over from civil to criminal. So, we are talking here about the Prosecuting <br />Attorney's office, which handles criminal proceedings. We would like to make the first <br />Deputy, the Prosecuting Attorney, responsible for enforcing the Sunshine Laws in <br />accordance with the Director of the Office of Information Practices. The current court case <br />with Judge Ibarra shows that a lot of people are very concerned about these violations to the <br />Sunshine Laws. If council members treat the Sunshine Laws in a cavalier manner, why do <br />we have Sunshine Laws? We think these cavalier treatments on the parts of some of the <br />council members need to be rectified. So if there are penalties in place, and if the <br />Prosecuting Attorney's Office has a stronger mandate to prosecute, we feel this would be an <br />ongoing deterrent for future cavalier treatment of the Sunshine Laws by certain council <br />members. <br />We also feel very strongly about having a separate Corporation Counsel representation for <br />County civil matters, as compared to matters of the County Council. When you start mixing <br />the Administration level and the Legislative level you run into a lot of legal hassles. In our <br />Country, at the Federal level, the Presidency and the Legislative branch are two different <br />entities; this distinction is honored. So, in our County, I think we should keep that honored <br />distinction in tact. <br />Margaret was talking about err on the side of environmental protection, the Precautionary <br />Principal, when decisions are made concerning our natural resources. I can't stress that <br />heavily enough because this is the only planet we have. We are not interstellar species, we <br />are not interplanetary species - -not yet - -so, if we foul up our planet, we have no where else to <br />go. We have to protect our home. Being on an island, for heaven's sake, we really have to <br />protect our environment. It's double, double, double important. Thank you. I think that's <br />about it. I thank you for your time and I thank you for your interest in our concersn. <br />CHR. HAITSUKA: Are there any questions for Ms. Folena? Mr. Gregory Smith. Good <br />afternoon, Mr. Smith. <br />GREGORY SMITH <br />(At this time Gregory Smith came forward to address members of the Charter Commission.) <br />MR. SMITH: Good afternoon sir, thank you for allowing us to speak here. I am in support <br />of Margaret Wille'e articles. I will try to keep this very brief. I am pretty much echoing <br />what Joyce has said, and what Margaret Wille has submitted to you folks. Just to touch on it, <br />I personally am really very angry about this CDP process. This process in Puna, I know has <br />been going on for more than a decade. It's been going on for the better part of two decades. <br />We have been slammed up against the wall of what I feel is a Hilo cabal; a political machine <br />0 <br />