Thursday, May 10, 2012

Jordan's Journal - Charleen Aina, Part 1

Charleen Aina, State Deputy Attorney General, was the lead state attorney on the recent OHA settlement case, in which the state has agreed to transfer 25 acres of prime Kakaako Makai land valued at over $200 million to OHA - the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.  The agreement, signed into law as Act 015, resolves all disputes and controversies relating to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' portion of income and proceeds from the Public Trust Lands between November 7, 1978 and June 30, 2012.

Rep. Jo Jordan talks with Aina on the next Jordan's Journal.  Aina has been with the Attorney General's Office since 1976 and has worked on a variety of high profile state issues.  It was through her assignment with the Governor's Office that she started to learn about the complex settlement.  You can watch Part I here, or on Olelo, Channel 54, Monday, May 14th, at 1:00 p.m.



According to Aina, in order to understand the settlement, you do have to go back to 1978 when Hawaii had its last constitutional convention.  The adoption of a section to the Constitution specifying the State's obligation to the native Hawaiian people, per the Admissions Act, when Hawaii became a state, was at the heart of the now past dispute.

As usual, the time flew by, so Rep. Jordan asked Aina to stay for a second taping resulting in Part II.  Part II with Charleen Aina airs later in May.  Stay tuned.

No comments: