Letter to Governor Linda Lingle July 30, 2007

Honorable Governor Linda Lingle,
Executive Chambers, State Capitol,
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96813

January 13, 2008 is the fourth anniversary of the death of Richard McKeon Young in the surf at
Makena State park. Witnessing Richard’s death prompted me to become involved in the effort to
get life guards in the park.

Funding was approved by the legislature in 2007 with $406,000 available July 1, 2007. The plan
was for the County of Maui to provide the service. The dollar amounts involved were based on
their estimates of the cost of providing the services.

I met with the county personnel who were to handle the implementation of this program
December 21, 2007. Apparently there is little if any dialogue with the park superintendent on
bringing lifeguards to Makena beach.

It appears that county personnel have convinced themselves that the county will be liable if
every aspect of providing this service is not done correctly from day one. They are not able to
indicate when that service might be available. In the meantime there have been over forty
injuries including sixteen neck or back compression injuries. The demographics of those injured
suggest that the presence of lifeguards explaining the hazard of the Makena shore break would
go far in reducing injuries.

Visitation on the beach ranges from a few hundred during off season week days to sixteen
hundred on January 1, 2008. Except for an occasional patrol by Maui county police or DLNR
officers on four wheelers there is no state or county presence on the beach. People fen for
themselves seeking assistance from others on the beach and calling 911.

Each injury is a potential suite against the State for what could be millions of dollars. I am
working with a local attorney and some of the families of injured individuals to bring those
suites forward.

You were quite successful in moving the SupperFerry to operation. Perhaps you could use your
administrative skills and political clout to bring life guards to Makena State Park in the
immediate future.

cc
Laura H. Thielen, Chairperson, Department of Land and Natural Resources
Taryn R. Schuman, O`ahu Member (Term: 7/01/05 - 6/30/09)
Robert Pacheco Hawai`i Member Interim Appointment
Ron Agor Kaua`i Member (Term: 7/01/04 - 6/30/08)
Jerry Edlao, Maui Member (Term: 5/02/06 - 6/30/09)
Timothy Johns
Dr. Samuel M. Gon III Member-At-Large (Term: 5/02/06 - 6/30/09)
Dan Quinn, Director State Parks, Department of Land and Natural Resources,
Phil Ohta, Makena State Park Superintendent, DLNR,
Randy Awo, Maui branch chief of state Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement.
DLNR,
Legislators
JOSEPH "JOE" SOUKI , DISTRICT: 8th (Kahakuloa-Wailuku-Waikapu)
BOB NAKASONE ,DISTRICT: 9th (Kahului-Lower Paia)
ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, DISTRICT: 10th (West Maui-North Kihei)
JOE BERTRAM III , DISTRICT: 11th (South Maui)
KYLE T. YAMASHITA , DISTRICT: 12th (Upcountry)

MELE CARROLL, DISTRICT: 13th (East Maui-Lanai-Molokai-Kalaupapa-Kahoolawe)
SHAN S. TSUTSUI , District: 4th (Kahakuloa-Wailuku-Waikapu-Kahului-Lower Paia)
ROSALYN "ROZ" BAKER ,District: 5th (West Maui-South Maui)
J. KALANI ENGLISH , District: 6th (Upcountry-East Maui-Lanai-Molokai-Kahoolawe)

Mayor Charmaine Tavares , COUNTY OF MAUI,
Maui County Council Members 2007
Council Chair G. Riki Hokama
Council Vice-Chair Danny A. Mateo
Councilmember Michelle Anderson
Councilmember Gladys Coelho Baisa
Councilmember Jo Anne Johnson
Councilmember Bill Kauakea Medeiros
Councilmember Michael J. Molina
Councilmember Joseph Pontanilla
Councilmember Michael P. Victorino

Media Contacts
The Maui News,
The Honolulu Advertiser,
Star Bulletin,
Haleakala Times,
Maui Weekly,
Maui Time Weekly,

FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically
authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to
advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific,
and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted
material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17
U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you
wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use',
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Friends of Makena State Park was formally formed in 2003 to assist the Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources in the stewardship of Makena State Park.

Consider a contribution to Doctor Leisure's Friends of Makena State Park if you want to help defray the cost of this site and the efforts to save Makena State Park and the adjacent lands from unneeded and unwanted development. Twenty dollars pays for the gasoline necessary to get Dr. Leisure to the park for five days. Forty dollars pays for the ink cartridge for the printer. Twenty five dollars covers the cost of the web site for one month.

Membership is open to anyone interested in the stewardship of the unique natural resource that constitutes Makena State Park situated on the island of Maui in the Hawai'i 'i Islands. The world famous nude beach known as Little Beach is contiguous to Makena State Park.

To declare your membership and to receive the electronic newsletter of Dr. Leisure's Friends of Makena State Park click this link: LittleBeachMaui-subscribe@topica.com and send a blank email.

Dr. Leisure's Friends of Makena State Park
PO Box 1137
Kihei, HI 96753
808-250-4160