Kaohi: Remember Kahale Smith..soon after the death of Kahale Smith I spoke to his brother

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Kaohi: Mendiola-Kaniaupio July 27, 2012 at 3:43pm

ANAHOLA FAMILY LOSES FATHER AS WELL AS RIGHT TO LAND
KAUAI TIMES
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 1996
ARTICLE BY WILLIAM LE GRO

DAUGHTERS RE-LIVE BLACK THURSDAY

ANAHOLA- IT WAS LIKE POURING SALT IN THE WOUND. A SHORT TIME AFTER KAHALE SMITH DIED IN THE FIRE HE SET IN HIS ANAHOLA HOUSE, HAWAIIAN HOMES CHIEF KALI WATSON TOLD SMITH'S CHILDREN THEY COULD NOT SUCCEED TO THE LEASE BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN LEGALLY CANCELED. THERE WAS NO LEASES TO SUCCEED TO.

AND NOW AN INVESTIGATOR'S REPORT GIVES THE CHILDREN REASON TO BELIEVE THEIR FATHERS DEATH COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS HAD DONE THEIR JOB BETTER.

EVEN THOUGH SECTION 215, PARAGRAPH 3, OF THE HAWAII REVISED STATUTES SPECIFICALLY SAYS THAT IN THE CASE OF A CANCELED LEASE THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS HAS THE OPTION OF OFFERING THE LEASE TO THE PROSPECTIVE SUCCESSORS, FOR WHATEVER REASON IT REFUSED TO TAKE THAT OPTION.

AND BECAUSE HILBERT KAHALE SMITH'S CHILDREN ARE ONLY 44-PERCENT HAWAIIAN, THERE IS NO WAY OTHER THAN SUCCESSORSHIP TO BECOME HAWAIIAN HOMES LESSEES ON THEIR OWN.

THAT WAS THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF BLOWS THE AGENCY HAS DEALT THE SMITH'S BEGINNING WITH A BADLY BUILT HOUSE AND CULMINATING IN SMITH'S DEATH ON JAN. 18 AT THE AGE OF 58.

BUNNIE SMITH, MONA ROJAS, AND THEIR BROTHERS, HILBERT, JR. AND ERNEST, ONCE LIVED IN THAT HOUSE, WITH ITS DOORS THAT WOULDN'T CLOSE, ITS ELECTRIC SHORTS, RUSTING WINDOW FRAMES, SAGGING FLOORS, LEAKY ROOF, AND ASSORTED OTHER DEFECTS.

THE HOUSE WAS BAD ENOUGH. THEIR FATHERS' BATTLE FOR JUSTICE WAS SOMETHING ELSE: 18 YEARS OF HOPE, REJECTION, LETTER WRITING, NEGOTIATIONS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZING, POLITICAL ACTION, MEDIA PUBLICITY, LAWSUITS, AND BUREAUCRATIC INEPTITUDE AND THREATS, CULMINATING IN DEATH WHEN HE SET HIMSELF AND THE HOME FROM WHICH HE WAS BEING EVICTED ON FIRE.

NOW HAWAIIAN HOMES, WHICH APPEARS TO DRAW ON A BOTTOMLESS WELL OF CALLOUSNESS, SEEMS TO BE CELEBRATING ITS PYRETIC VICTORY OVER KAHALE SMITH BY DENYING HIS CHILDREN THE RIGHT TO SUCCEED TO HIS LEASE.

BLACK THURSDAY:

YET NONE OF THIS CAN COMPARE TO WHAT THE TWO DAUGHTERS EXPERIENCED THAT THURSDAY IN JANUARY. THEIR GRIEF ABIDES BUT HAS DULLED SOMEWHAT. THEIR RECEIPT OF A SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR'S REPORT ON WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY, HOWEVER SHARPENED THEIR ANGER.

DONALD K. L. WONG WAS THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR, SENT TO THE HOUSE ON THE DAY OF SMITH'S EVICTION TO HELP THE DHHL "BY PROVIDING INVESTIGATIVE ASSISTANCE, SHOULD IT BE REQUIRED."

THE REPORT DOESN'T REALLY MENTION WHO WAS ACTUALLY IN CHARGE ON THE DAY THAT THE DEPUTY SHERIFFS ARRIVED AND KNOCKED ON SMITH'S DOOR, ROJAS SAID. " WE FEEL WE SHOULD KNOW WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN CONTROL OF THIS AND WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE KEEPING TRACK OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING".

TWELVE SHERIFFS AND FOUR DHHL OFFICIALS WERE AT THE SCENE. SO HOW WAS IT THAT SMITH WAS ABLE TO WALK INTO THE HOUSE CARRYING A BRIGHT-PINK GASOLINE CAN-LABELED "GAS", BUNNIE SMITH SAID-RIGHT PASSED ONE OF THE DEPUTY SHERIFFS WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO "SECURE THE DWELLING"?.

"WE FEEL HIS DEATH COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED", SMITH SAID. AS FAR BACK AS JULY 1995, WHEN HE WAS EXPECTING EVICTION ANY DAY, MONA SAID, SMITH TOLD A NEWSPAPER REPORTER THAT HE WOULD BURN THE HOUSE DOWN BEFORE HE WOULD GIVE IT UP. SHE SAID HE REPEATED THAT THREAT LATER THAT YEAR TO THE SAME REPORTER.

THE JOURNALIST WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE THREAT AND IN NOVEMBER REPORTED IT TO DHHL OFFICIAL JOHN HIROTA AND THE AGENCY'S KAUAI'S HEAD CHAD TANIGUCHI, AND WAS TOLD THEY'D TAKE IT INTO CONSIDERATION, MONA SAID.

THE EVICTION:

HIROTA WAS AT THE EVICTION ON JAN. 18. TANIGUCHI MISSED IT.

IT WAS A SURPRISE EVICTION. THERE WAS NO NOTICE OF THE DAY AND TIME IT WOULD OCCUR. SHERIFF'S JUST SHOWED UP AT 8 A.M. THURSDAY MORNING AND TOLD SMITH TO GET ALL HIS BELONGINGS PACKED AND LEAVE.

AS THE REPORT STATES, SMITH MADE SOME CALLS TO FRIENDS, INCLUDING A NEIGHBOR WHO GAVE HIM PERMISSION TO PARK SOME CARS ON HIS PROPERTY. HIS BROTHER, HENRY, CAME OVER TO HELP HIM MOVE THE CARS. MOST OF THEM NEEDED PRIMING WITH GASOLINE, WHICH KAHALE POURED IN TO THE CARBURETORS.

HAWAIIAN HOMES HAD CONTRACTED WITH KAUAI FREIGHT COMPANY TO PACK, MOVE AND STORE SMITH'S POSSESSIONS. THE REPORT SAYS THE COMPANY TRUCK ARRIVED AT ABOUT 9 A.M.

MONA ESTIMATES IT WAS AROUND 9 A.M. WHEN HER FATHER CALLED HER AND ASKED TO STORE SOME BELONGINGS AT HER HOUSE IN ANAHOLA."I TOLD HIM TO GO AHEAD, AND THAT I'D COME AND HELP HIM AFTER I GOT OFF WORK", SHE SAID. "HE DIDN'T GIVE ANY INDICATION THAT HE WAS GOING TO DO ANYTHING BUT MOVE OUT, AND HE SAID I DIDN'T HAVE TO COME OUT THERE."

THE REPORT SUBSTANTIATES MONA'S IMPRESSION. "DURING THE ENTIRE OPERATION, MR. SMITH APPEARED CALM. MR. SMITH DID NOT ARGUE AND IN FACT WAS HELPING TO FACILITATE THE MOVE . THERE WAS NO INDICATION...THAT MR. SMITH WOULD TAKE THE ACTIONS THAT HE FINALLY DID".

"SOMETHING'S WRONG IN ANAHOLA": A HALF HOUR LATER, MONA BEGAN GETTING CALLS FROM FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS IN ANAHOLA, WHO TOLD HER THAT KAHALE'S HOUSE WAS BURNING AND THAT " SOMETHING MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED TO MY DAD, I SAID NO WAY, I JUST TALKED TO HIM A FEW MINUTES AGO. " I DIDN'T WANT TO BELIEVE IT." AND SO SHE REMAINED AT WORK, WORRIED AND NOT REALLY SURE WHAT WAS GOING ON.

BUT IT WAS TRUE. SMITH HAD MADE GOOD ON HIS THREATS TO BURN THE HOUSE DOWN RATHER THAN TURN IT OVER TO HAWAIIAN HOMES.

ACCORDING TO THE STATEMENT OF DEPUTY SHERIFF AUDREY DOLD, WHO WAS ASSIGNED TO GUARD THE REAR DOOR OF THE HOUSE, SHE SMELLED SMOKE AT ABOUT 9:50 A.M. ( MONA IS QUITE CERTAIN SHE GOT THE FIRST CALL ABOUT THE FIRE ABOUT 9:30 A.M.)

DOLD SAID SHE HAD HER BACK TO THE HOUSE AT THE TIME AND TURNED TO LOOK INSIDE. SHE SAW SMITH IN THE KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM AND CALLED OUT TO HIM TO OPEN THE DOOR . BUT SMITH NEVER RESPONDED.

MEANWHILE, BUNNIE SMITH WAS ON HER USUAL MAIL DELIVERY ROUTE FOR THE KAPAA POST OFFICE. HER UNCLE'S STEP DAUGHTER TRACKED BUNNIE DOWN AND TOLD HER THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG IN ANAHOLA AND TO GET OUT THERE FAST. BUNNIE HAD TO RETURN THE MAIL TRUCK TO THE POST OFFICE.

KAHALE HAD ALSO TOLD HER HE WOULD BURN THE HOUSE DOWN, SHE SAID, " BUT I NEVER BELIEVED IT UNTIL I GOT BACK TO THE POST OFFICE AND THE COP TOLD ME THAT THE HOUSE ON FIRE AND THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO SAVE MY DAD".

BUNNIE CALLED MONA, AND THE COP DROVE BUNNIE OUT TO ANAHOLA."AND THAT'S WHERE I SAW THE CHAOS." THE FIRE WAS OUT BY THE TIME SHE ARRIVED. MONA LEFT WORK IMMEDIATELY, BUT TRAFFIC DELAYED HER ARRIVAL UNTIL ABOUT 10:45.

ON THE SCENE: WHEN BUNNIE ARRIVED , SHE SAW THE BLACKENED REMAINS OF THE HOUSE, STILL SMOKING, SMELLED THE CHARRED WOOD, AND NOTICED SHERIFF'S AND THE FOUR HAWAIIAN HOMES OFFICIALS STANDING TOGETHER BENEATH A PLUMERIA TREE, WATCHING THE HOUSE.

THEY DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING TO ME AS I WALKED BY THEM. I WALKED REALLY CLOSE TO THEM, AND THEY DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING.

STEVEN GIRALD OF KAUAI FREIGHT WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO TALKED TO HER. SHE SAID, "HE CAME UP TO ME AND TRIED TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE THE FIRE. HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO CONVEYED HIS CONDOLENCES. HE SAID IF WE NEEDED ANY HELP TO LET HIM KNOW."

GIRALD INDEED SEEMED TO TAKE ON THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THAT OF A HAWAIIAN HOMES REPRESENTATIVE.

"WHEN I FIRST GOT THERE". SAID BUNNIE" HE WAS THE ONE WHO TOOK ME BY THE HAND AND WALKED ME AROUND THE HOUSE AND TRIED TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED. AND AS I WENT UP TO THE KITCHEN DOOR WHERE DAD'S BODY WAS"-HERE SHE PAUSES, TAKES A BREATH-"THE LAST MEMORY I HAVE OF MY DAD WAS SMELLING HIS BURNT FLESH. IT'S THE LAST THING I CAN REMEMBER OF HIM.

"STEVEN TOLD ME , YOUR DAD IS HERE", " I ASKED, CAN I SEE HIM"?HE TOLD ME , "NO IT'S BEST YOU REMEMBER HIM AS HE WAS". "KPD DETECTIVE PAUL KANOHO ADVISED THE SAME". SHE SAID.

KANOHO WAS THE ONLY OFFICIAL BEHAVING PROFESSIONALLY, THE SISTERS AGREED. NO OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SEEMED TO "GIVE A DAMN."OFFICIAL CALLOUSNESS: MONA SAID SHE HAD TO SEEK OUT THE HAWAIIAN HOMES OFFICIALS. "THEY DID NOT INTRODUCE THEMSELVES TO ME. THEY DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING; THEY JUST STOOD THERE. SO I HAD TO PROMPT THEM TO SAY SOMETHING, AND THE ONLY THING THAT POPPED INTO MY MIND WAS, "O.K., NOW WHAT"? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW?".

"THEY KIND OF GOT TOGETHER IN A LITTLE HUDDLE, AND THEN I THINK IT WAS JOHN PEIPER WHO TOLD ME, "YOU NEED TO GET YOUR FATHER'S THINGS OFF THE PROPERTY BY THE END OF THE DAY".

MAYBE THE OFFICIALS WERE IN SHOCK? WHAT WERE THE LOOKS ON THEIR FACES? THEY KNEW A MAN HAD JUST DIED, AND HIS CHILDREN WERE FACING THEM.

"IT WAS LIKE A BIG BOTHER TO THEM." MONA SAID.

"YES THEY KNEW A MAN HAD JUST DIED, "BUNNIE SAID, "BUT I FEEL THEY HAD A PERSONAL VENDETTA AGAINST MY DAD BECAUSE HE WAS TOO VOCAL." WHEN I LOOKED AT DONALD WONG, HE HAD THIS LOOK ON HIS FACE- IT WAS LIKE A GIRL, LIKE A SNOB. HE TURNED AWAY."

THE LOOKS AND BODY LANGUAGE OF THE HAWAIIAN HOMES OFFICIALS MADE INDELIBLE IMPRESSION ON THE DAUGHTERS, ESPECIALLY IN CONTRAST TO GIRALD'S. "STEVEN'S EYES WERE IN TEARS," BUNNIE SAID,KANOHO REACTED THE SAME WAY, THEY SAID. AND THE ANAHOLA COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO GATHERED WERE DEFINITELY IN SHOCK, MONA SAID.

THE HAWAIIAN HOMES OFFICIALS PRESENTED A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT REACTION. "THESE GUYS WALKED AROUND WITH THEIR TAILS IN THE AIR AND THEIR HEADS HIGH, YOU KNOW AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED," BUNNIE SAID.

"THEY STILL HAD TO GET THE JOB DONE AND GET ALL HIS STUFF OFF THE PROPERTY," MONA SAID, LAUGHING IN DISBELIEF.

"THAT WAS THE ONLY THING THEY WANTED ACCOMPLISHED, "BUNNIE ADDED. "AND MIND YOU DAD'S BODY WAS STILL IN THE HOUSE. THE MORTUARY HADN'T EVEN ARRIVED YET. AND THEY DIDN'T CARE. THEY JUST TOLD US THEY WANT HIS THINGS OFF THE PROPERTY."

THE SISTERS SEE THAT REACTION AS SCARCELY HUMAN.

THIS IS WHEN BUNNIE WALKED UP TO HER SISTER AND BEGAN WEEPING.

DUMBFOUNDED:

GIRALD OVERHEARD THIS EXCHANGE, THEY SAID."STEVEN WAS DUMBFOUNDED," BUNNIE SAID," HE PULLED THE HAWAIIAN HOMES PEOPLE OFF TO THE SIDE AND TOLD THEM, "LOOK THE FATHER JUST DIED! YOU'RE TELLING THEM TO GET THESE THINGS OFF THE PROPERTY, AND HE'S STILL IN THE HOUSE! AT LEAST HAVE SOME HEART."

GIRALD WANTED THE OFFICIALS TO GIVE THE FAMILY AT LEAST THE WEEKEND TO CLEAR KAHALE'S BELONGINGS OUT, MONA SAID, AND HE WANTED TO COME BACK AND HELP THEM.

THEY TOLD HIM, "NO, WE'RE ONLY PAYING FOR TODAY. IF YOU'RE GOING TO COME BACK WE'RE NOT PAYING YOU," MONA SAID.

AND STILL THEY WANTED THE BELONGINGS OFF THE PROPERTY BY FRIDAY, THE NEXT DAY. "THAT'S WHAT STEVEN TOLD US." GIRALD ALSO SAID THAT HE WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP THEM MOVE ONLY ON THURSDAY, SHE SAID.

"AND YOU KNOW HOW SWEET HE WAS?" BUNNIE SAID, "HE PUT EVERYTHING ON HOLD THAT WEEKEND IN CASE WE HAD ANY QUESTIONS FOR HIM. HE WAS THE ONLY ONE. AND THEY ALSO WANTED HIM TO BUST DOWN THE HOUSE, AND HE SAID NO, HE WOULDN'T TOUCH IT WITH A TEN FOOT POLE."

IT LOOKED LIKE HIM:

MONA'S REACTION WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM HER SISTER'S. "I WANTED TO FORGET WHAT WAS GOING ON. BASICALLY,I JUST WATCHED, AND I DIDN'T SPEAK. I DIDN'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH LATER ON."

DESPITE BEING TOLD TO GET RID OF THEIR FATHER'S THINGS, MONA SAID , THE SISTERS WERE UNABLE TO ACT IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE POLICE HAD TAPED OFF THE PROPERTY AND WOULDN'T LET THEM TAKE ANYTHING.

ONE OFFICER CALLED THE MORTUARY, AND KANOHO "KEPT TELLING US TO LEAVE SO WE WOULDN'T GO INTO HYSTERICS WHEN THE BODY WAS BROUGHT OUT." BUNNIE HAD TO LEAVE TO PICK UP HER CHILDREN AT SCHOOL, BUT MONA WAS THERE WHEN KAHALE'S BODY WAS CARRIED OUT AROUND 1:30 OR 2:00 P.M. "THEY WERE TRYING TO ESCORT ME AWAY AND I HAD TO SAY, 'LOOK, I'M NOT GOING TO GO CRAZY ON YOU GUYS, JUST LET ME SEE MY DAD FOR THE LAST TIME.'"

THE WORKERS HAD TO REMOVE A SINK AND CABINET AND A PORTION OF FALLEN ROOF TO GET TO SMITH'S BODY, WHICH THEY CARRIED OUT IN A BODY BAG. "IT WAS KIND OF WEIRD BECAUSE I COULD STILL SEE THE OUTLINE OF HIS BODY," MONA SAID.

"MY DAD WAS A BIG MAN, AND IT LOOKED LIKE HIM, LYING DOWN. THEY KEPT TELLING ME HE WAS BURNT BEYOND RECOGNITION AND WE SHOULDN'T SEE HIM BECAUSE IT'S NOT A PRETTY SIGHT. BUT THE WAY THE BAG WAS AND HOW THEY CARRIED HIM OUT AND ROLLED HIM AWAYIT LOOKED LIKE HIM, THE OUTLINE OF HIS BODY. THAT'S WHEN I STARTED CRYING, FINALLY." THE HAWAIIAN HOMES OFFICIALS KEPT WATCHING.

CRIMINAL CHARGES?

AND THAT'S WHEN THE POLICE ALLOWED THE FAMILY TO BEGIN REMOVING THEIR FATHER'S BELONGINGS. "THAT SAME DAY WE SCRAMBLED TO GET THINGS OFF THE PROPERTY," MONA SAID. "I JUST CONCENTRATED ON THAT. I KEPT A NARROW MIND ABOUT EVERYTHING."

MANY OF KAHALE'S PAPERS FROM HIS LONG BATTLE WITH HAWAIIAN HOMES MADE IT THROUGH THE FIRE. "THE BOXES FELL THROUGH THE FLOOR," MONA LAUGHED, SOMETHING THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITH A BETTER-BUILT HOUSE.

SOMETIME AFTER THEY TOLD THE SISTERS TO CLEAR THEIR FATHER'S THINGS OFF THE PROPERTY, THE OFFICIALS DISAPPEARED FROM SIGHT FOR A WHILE, MONA SAID. THE SISTERS WERE HOLDING ONE ANOTHER, AND WHEN THEY LOOKED UP, THE HAWAIIAN HOMES OFFICIALS WERE GONE.

"SOMEBODY SAID THAT THEY WENT BACK TO THE OFFICE TO CONTACT HONOLULU ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED," MONA SAID, AND MAYBE CONSIDER CRIMINAL CHARGES. "THAT WAS THEIR HOUSE, AND DAD DESTROYED IT."

INDEED, WONG'S REPORT NOTES THAT THE KPD "INITIATED AN INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF CRIMINAL PROPERTY DAMAGE IN THE FIRST DEGREE," AND THAT THE CASE HAD BEEN REFERRED TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE DIVISION "FOR FINAL DISPOSITION."

QUESTIONS RAISED:

THE QUESTION OF WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN CHARGE OF THE EVICTION OPERATION LOOMS IN THE CHILDREN'S MINDS. "ISN'T THERE SUPPOSED TO BE A STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR SUCH A SITUATION?" ASKED A RELATIVE. "CLEARLY THERE WAS NONE WHEN I WAS THERE."

SINCE THAT DAY MONA HAS COMPLIED A THICK BINDER PACKED WITH DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS SHE'S EXCHANGED WITH HAWAIIAN HOMES HEAD KALI WATSON AND OTHER AGENCY OFFICIALS. SHE SAID SHE'S ASKED WHY THERE WAS NO INSURANCE ON THE HOUSE, WHICH SHE UNDERSTANDS THE DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR. HER FATHER HAD BEEN LIVING IN THE HOUSE WITHOUT INSURANCE SINCE 1986. HE HAD TOLD HIS DAUGHTERS IT WAS UNINSURABLE BECAUSE OF ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS.

MONA ALSO WROTE WATSON IN MARCH TO ASK ABOUT SUCCESSORSHIP. WATSON REPLIED THAT THERE WAS NO LEASE TO SUCCEED TO. SHE WROTE AGAIN AND ASKED ABOUT SECTION 215, WHICH ALLOWS THE DEPARTMENT TO OFFER A CANCELED LEASE TO THE SUCCESSORS. SHE SAID WATSON REPLIED WITH THE SAME ANSWER AS BEFORE, WITH NO EXPLANATION OF SECTION 215.

THE SISTERS AREN'T EVEN SURE WHO MADE THE DECISION TO REFUSE SUCCESSORSHIP - WATSON ALONE, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, THE HAWAIIAN HOMES COMMISSION, OR THE DEPARTMENT.

NO ONE IN THE DEPARTMENT HAS CALLED OR WRITTEN TO OFFER CONDOLENCES, THEY SAID. ALTHOUGH LAST MONTH, MONA SAID , A DEPARTMENT SECRETARY CALLED TO FIND OUT IF THE REMOVED ALL OF THEIR FATHER'S BELONGINGS FROM THE PROPERTY. THE SECRETARY TOLD HER IT WAS A "COURTESY CALL," BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT SENT IN BULLDOZERS TO DEMOLISH THE BURNED HULK OF THE HOUSE.

THE CHILDREN ARE LOOKING FOR A LAWYER TO ADVISE THEM ON WHAT THEY CAN OR SHOULD DO. "BUT WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET ONE,"MONA SAID.

KAHALE'S CHARACTER:

OTHER ANAHOLA RESIDENTS SETTLED WITH HAWAIIAN HOMES OVER THE DEFECTS IN 60-PLUS HOUSES. THEY ACCEPTED PAYMENTS AND SIGNED WAIVERS PROMISING NOT TO HOLD THE DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE. "MY DAD DIDN'T THINK THE WAIVER WAS RIGHT," MONA SAID. "IF SOMETHING ELSE TURNED UP WRONG THERE WAS NO PROMISE IT WOULD EVER HAVE BEEN FIXED CORRECTLY." KAHALE WAS LOOKING AT THE BIGGER PICTURE, SHE SAID. THE DEFECTIVE ANAHOLA HOUSES WERE JUST ONE OF MANY WRONGS HE SAW BEING DONE AGAINST HAWAIIAN HOME LESSEES. HE GOT INVOLVED IN PANAEWA ON THE BIG ISLAND, WHOSE RESIDENTS HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS.

"HE WASN'T REALLY STUBBORN," MONA SAID. "I FEEL HAWAIIAN HOMES DIDN'T WANT TO WORK WITH HIM." THEY MADE HIM OUT TO BE STUBBORN, BUT MY DAD WASN'T LIKE THAT. I DON'T THINK THERE WAS EVER ANYONE HE COULDN'T GET ALONG WITH. HE NEVER HELD ANY GRUDGES AGAINST HAWAIIAN HOMES. HE LOVED PEOPLE. HE WOULD HELP ANYONE. HE HAD A SOFT VOICE, HE WAS GENTLE, UNDERSTANDING, QUIET. HE LISTENED, HE WAS SO HAPPY TO BE AROUND PEOPLE, TO TALK TO THEM, TO LAUGH, TO HEAR WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY.

KAHALE ATTENDED EVERY POLITICIAN'S FUNDRAISERS, HE TALKED STORY, PLAYED SANTA CLAUS, BABYSAT HIS GRANDCHILDREN.

"HE BELIEVED IN HAWAIIAN HOMES," MONA SAID, "HE THOUGHT IF HE KEPT TRYING TO WORK WITH THEM SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE THEY WOULD ALL COME TO A MID-POINT. BUT THEY FELT THEY DIDN'T OWE HIM ANYTHING. THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS HIDDEN THAT HE BROUGHT UP, AND THEY DIDN'T LIKE THAT." SMITH BECAME FAIRLY WELL-READ IN THE HAWAII REVISED STATUTES THAT GOVERN HAWAIIAN HOMES. "HE FOUND OUT THINGS WEREN'T RIGHT, AND THEY DIDN'T WANT OTHERS TO DO THE SAME THING," SHE SAID. "THEY TRIED TO WEAR HIM OUT UNTIL HE RAN OUT OF MONEY AND GOT OLD."

THE FINAL DAYS:

HE WAS THIS KIND, SWEET, CALM, BIG GUY. YET HE SET HIS HOUSE ON FIRE, AND HE DIDN'T COME OUT WHEN IT BURNED AROUND HIM. WHY? HIS DAUGHTERS CAN ONLY GUESS. "HE WAS WALKING ON THE EDGE ALREADY WHEN THEY CAME UP THAT MORNING AT 8 O'CLOCK AND KNOCKED ON HIS DOOR," MONA SAID. "HE ALWAYS FELT THAT HE HAD THE SYSTEM ON HIS SIDE, THAT HE WAS DOING SOMETHING RIGHT FOR THE COMMUNITY, FOR HAWAIIANS."

AND WHEN THE SHERIFFS TOLD HIM TO MOVE HIMSELF AND HIS THINGS OUT OF THE HOUSE AND OFF THE PROPERTY, MONA SAID. "THAT WAS THE LAST STRAW."

HIS CHILDREN DIDN'T KNOW HE MIGHT HAVE REACHED SUCH A POINT."HE WAS ALWAYS SO CALM. HE HID HIS FEELINGS. WE GREW UP KNOWING HE WAS STRONG. NOTHING WOULD MAKE HIM DO ANYTHING VIOLENT. IF ANYTHING HE WAS ALWAYS STOPPING PEOPLE FROM FIGHTING. HE WAS NEVER A RADICAL PERSON. EVEN IF SOMETHING WAS HURTING INSIDE, HE WOULD NOT SHOW IT. HE'D JUST GO OFF SOMEWHERE. WE NEVER SAW HIM WEAK, SO BAD HE WOULD FEEL OVERCOME. BUT IN HINDSIGHT, THERE WERE SIGNS THAT SOMETHING WASN'T QUITE RIGHT, MONA SAID. HE WAS LESS BUBBLY, LESS TALKATIVE.

KAHALE SMITH WEIGHED WELL OVER 300 POUNDS, BUT WITHIN TWO TO THREE MONTHS BEFORE HIS DEATH, HE DROPPED BELOW 300. A WEEK BEFORE THE FIRE, MONA HAD GONE OVER TO HIS HOUSE TO BAKE SWEET BREAD AND FOUND THAT HE HAD VIRTUALLY NO FOOD IN HIS HOUSE. HE HAD ALSO BEEN DIGGING OUT OLD PHOTOGRAPHS, SCHOOL YEARBOOKS, COINS, AND OTHER KEEPSAKES TO GIVE TO HIS CHILDREN. "BUT I DON'T THINK HE WAS PLANNING TO KILL HIMSELF," SHE SAID. "HE JUST MEANT TO DESTROY THE HOUSE." AND BEFOREHAND, HE WANTED TO GET THINGS OUT OF THE HOUSE AND BECAUSE THE KIDS NEEDED OR WANTED SOME OF THE KEEPSAKES.

"THE AUTOPSY INDICATED SMOKE INHALATION, PULMONARY EDEMA AND A POSSIBLE HEART ATTACK KILLED KAHALE SMITH", MONA SAID.

INVESTIGATION?

THE CHILDREN WANT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO INVESTIGATE THEIR FATHER'S BATTLE WITH HAWAIIAN HOMES AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING HIS DEATH. MONA HAS WRITTEN TO HAWAII'S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, AND ALL BUT SEN. DANIEL INOUYE HAVE RESPONDED. DAN AKAKA WROTE THAT HE WOULD LOOK INTO THE MATTER. ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO HASN'T REPLIED TO A LETTER ASKING FOR AN INVESTIGATION.

THERE'S A POINT TO THEIR QUESTIONING AND LETTER-WRITING, BUNNIE SAID. "THIS IS THE KIND OF EVICTION WE DON'T WANT ANYBODY, TO EVER HAVE TO GO THROUGH!"
Kaohi: Mendiola-Kaniaupio July 27, 2012 at 3:42pm

2 agencies in accord on eviction decisions
Honolulu Advertiser
Saturday, January 27, 1996
By Greg Barrett

The State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations will be involved in any future decisions by the state to evict Hawaiian homesteaders, council chairman Kamaki Kanahele said yesterday.

"We want to be an instrument of participation before any eviction takes place," Kanahele said at a news conference.

Following Hilbert Kahale Smith's funeral yesterday, Kanahele and Department of Hawaiian Homes Lands director Kai Watson sat side-by-side and spoke of mending wounded relations.

"We do feel that the loss of our brother is a tragic one and we will work to have it never happened again," Kanahele said. "But it is now time to move on."

Smith, 59, died Jan. 18 when he torched his house while sheriff's deputies sent by the state were evicting him from his Anahola, Kauai, homestead. Smith had refused to make his mortgage payments because of construction defects on his house.

About 700 homestead mortgage payments are delinquent, and Watson did not rule out future evictions. But, he said, homesteaders will never have their homes yanked away.

"It's not a situation where we're evicting people left and right," Watson said. "Rather, it's a last and extremely rare resort."

Peter Kama, president of Hui Kako'o 'Aina Ho'opulapual, a support group for Native Hawaiians eligible for the Hawaiian Homes program, said responsibility for the program's success must be shared by the state and its homesteaders.

"The issue of those delinquent payments should be rectified," Kama said. "And homes should be inspected and satisfactory to the receiver."

Kanahele stressed that moving from the Hawaiian Homes waiting list onto homestead land does not end a family's suffering. Many people do not gain the land until late in life, he said, and a new mortgage can wreck a family's budget.
Kaohi: Mendiola-Kaniaupio July 27, 2012 at 3:39pm

2 agencies in accord on eviction decisions
Honolulu Advertiser
Saturday, January 27, 1996
By Greg Barrett

The State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations will be involved in any future decisions by the state to evict Hawaiian homesteaders, council chairman Kamaki Kanahele said yesterday.

"We want to be an instrument of participation before any eviction takes place," Kanahele said at a news conference.

Following Hilbert Kahale Smith's funeral yesterday, Kanahele and Department of Hawaiian Homes Lands director Kai Watson sat side-by-side and spoke of mending wounded relations.

"We do feel that the loss of our brother is a tragic one and we will work to have it never happened again," Kanahele said. "But it is now time to move on."

Smith, 59, died Jan. 18 when he torched his house while sheriff's deputies sent by the state were evicting him from his Anahola, Kauai, homestead. Smith had refused to make his mortgage payments because of construction defects on his house.

About 700 homestead mortgage payments are delinquent, and Watson did not rule out future evictions. But, he said, homesteaders will never have their homes yanked away.

"It's not a situation where we're evicting people left and right," Watson said. "Rather, it's a last and extremely rare resort."

Peter Kama, president of Hui Kako'o 'Aina Ho'opulapual, a support group for Native Hawaiians eligible for the Hawaiian Homes program, said responsibility for the program's success must be shared by the state and its homesteaders.

"The issue of those delinquent payments should be rectified," Kama said. "And homes should be inspected and satisfactory to the receiver."

Kanahele stressed that moving from the Hawaiian Homes waiting list onto homestead land does not end a family's suffering. Many people do not gain the land until late in life, he said, and a new mortgage can wreck a family's budget.
Kaohi: Mendiola-Kaniaupio July 27, 2012 at 3:38pm

Critics focus on home land fire death
Honolulu Advertiser
Tuesday, January 23, 1996
By Greg Wiles

The death of Hilbert Kahale Smith on Hawaiian homestead land is renewing criticism and demands by Hawaiian leaders for policy changes at the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Smith, who died in a fire he started while being evicted from department land, has become a rallying point for a group of Hawaiians who today will call for an end to homestead evictions and for a federal investigation of Smith's death and the department.

"His death is the most egregious wrong in a long line of wrongs," said Haunani-Kay Trask, a member of the Coalition to Stop All Evictions on Hawaiian Homes Lands.

"He is not the first person to be evicted. But we want him to be the last person to be evicted."

Trask, director of the University of Hawaii Center for Hawaiian Studies, was among several Hawaiian leaders who met Saturday at Kaumakapili Church to discuss the aftermath of Smith's death. Others included Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell, Bumpy Kanahele, the Rev. Kaleo Patterson, representatives from the Kingdom of Hawaii and Ka Lahui's Oahu Caucus.

Smith died Thursday after an 18-year disagreement with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands culminated in his eviction from his home at Anahola, Kauai.

Smith poured gasoline on the floor of the residence and ignited it.

The department has pledged to investigate Smith's death and expressed its sorrow.

Smith had been arguing with the department over construction defects, but had been paying his mortgage into an escrow account.

His death brought an immediate outcry from many Hawaiian sovereignty leaders who have said the department pushed him to the edge. It also has renewed attention on the department that administers 187,000 acres of land for the benefit . . . {printed text missing} . . . percent Hawaiian blood.

But not all Hawaiian leaders believe that criticizing the department in the wake of Smith's death is the Hawaiian thing to do.

They believe problems with the department should be worked out through ho'oponopono - the traditional Hawaiian resolution process of working through problems by talking.

"This is a time for Hawaiians to come together, to go back to their traditions, to learn to handle this crisis in a Hawaiian way," said Lela Hubbard, a member of Ka Lahui Hawaii. "A traditional concept in our culture is forgiveness."

Said Melvin Kalahiki, Council of Hawaiian Organizations president and former Department of Hawaiian Homes commissioner, "I can sympathize with those who have strong feelings. But at the same time they need to understand those that serve there are looking after the benefits as Hawaiians."

"We need to come up with solutions rather than pointing fingers, because it's easy to point fingers."

Yet some of those who have come together in the Coalition to Stop All Evictions on Hawaiian Homes Lands believe ho'oponopono won't work. Evictions like Smith's involve courts and law enforcement officers who don't respond to ho'oponopono, Trask said.

"The time has long past since there could be any talking about this," Trask said. "Hawaiians have been evicted for 20 years."

Hubbard worries about losing support if Hawaiians criticize too harshly.

"I don't think we should be whipping posts or doormats. But I think the silent majority wouldn't want to see all this fighting," she said. "They would want to see positive things and proposals to make changes that are realistic and intelligently thought out."

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands was created by the federal government in 1920 and was turned over to the state of Hawaiian in 1959.

It has been criticized for poor progress in awarding land leases to native Hawaiians and for favorable deals with politically connected individuals.

At the beginning of this year, some 16,000 people were waiting for homestead land.
Kaohi: Mendiola-Kaniaupio July 27, 2012 at 3:36pm

State Goals, Hawaiian rights issue collide

Homesteads
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Saturday, January 20, 1996
By Joan Conrow

Lihue -- Hawaiian rights attorney Paul Lucas says Hilbert C. K. "Kahale" Smith's fiery death could either widen or bridge the gap between the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and its critics.

Activists yesterday weren't talking reconciliation.

"This is the beginning of our true fight, to see our warriors going down," said John K. "Butch" Kekahu, Jr. of Anahola. "It's remotivated us to pursue what he's done and make sure his work wasn't in vain."

Smith, 58, burned to death Thursday after setting his home on fire during an eviction for delinquent lease payments. He and the department had battled for 18 years over repairs to the Anahola house that Smith alleged had been defective from the start.

"Hawaiians fighting this issue are so disgusted that Kahale would have to resort this low to get our government to pay attention to us," said Kekahu, who lives in the same subdivision as Smith and is still pushing for repairs to the house he has since deeded to his parents. "I'm sticking with it."

Harold Jim, a member of a Big Island group protesting the use of Hawaiian homelands for a Hilo Wal-Mart store, said he wants to FBI to investigate.

"They were waging a personal vendetta against Kahale," he said, referred to department officials. "We can't back down now, because we know just how far they'll go."

The state attorney general's office is investigating, and Hawaiian Homes Chairman Kali Watson met yesterday with his staff to go over the events leading up to the fire. Agency official John Hirota earlier said Smith had been treated the same as other lessees and that the department tried to avoid the eviction.

Kekahu said he is planning a May 20 civil disobedience action in Anahola and will use Smith's plight as a rallying cry to attract Hawaiians from around the state.

"The Hawaiians are a sickly people, but we're not afraid to die now," he said. "And you know why? Because most of our sickness is on the inside, the hurt and the emotions we feel."

Lucas, an attorney with the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., said Smith's dispute with Hawaiian Homes was an extreme case, but many other homesteaders are frustrated by the shoddy workmanship on their homes.

"Most are just living with it, and that shouldn't be. In Kahale's case, I think he had a legitimate defense," Lucas said. "I don't know what happened. It's very sad to see his fight ended this way."

Most of the complaints revolve around homes built in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he said. Disgruntled homesteaders often must hire attorneys and construction experts to prove their case.

"It's a very long, drawn-out process and very expensive," Lucas said. "Most Hawaiians can't afford it."

So the state Legislature created a review panel that in 1993 began accepting claims against the department for the period of Aug. 21, 1959, through June 30, 1988. More than 4,300 claims were filed by last August's deadline, but only about 2.5 percent dealt with construction issues, said the panel's executive director, Melody MacKenzie. Most of those, however, were filed by homesteaders from Kauai and Molokai, she said, and only one has been resolved.

Lucas said Hawaiian Homes cut back evictions for a time, apparently recognizing that "to dispossess a person whose race or class of people have been dispossessed for years is a difficult thing."

Watson renewed the practice, however, seeing delinquent mortgages as another source of homes for Hawaiians on the waiting list.

"That can be good," Lucas said. "But it has to be done with sensitivity."

Lucas said he hopes Smith's death will help the sheriff's office improve the way it approaches evictions. Hawaiian Homes also has been criticized in the past for handling evictions unprofessionally, he said, but the agency is slowly changing.

"It's going to take time," Lucas said.
Kaohi: Mendiola-Kaniaupio July 27, 2012 at 3:34pm

Big Island vigil to mourn Kauai homestead activist
Honolulu Advertiser
Saturday, January 20, 1996
By Hugh Clark

Hawaiian homesteaders will gather at noon today at Puhi Bay in Keaukaha to mourn the death of Kauai activist Hilbert Kahale Smith.

Smith died in a fire at his Anahola home on Kauai as he was being evicted by state officials.

Plans for the Big Island vigil were outlined by Patrick Kahawaiola'a, statewide director of Aupuni O Hawaii, which is made up of homesteaders, applicants and their families.

Kahawaiola'a and his followers ended a nearly two- week protest at the project site of a shopping center on Thursday to take a respite at Puhi Bay and plan their next step before a court hearing here on Tuesday.

Kahawaiola'a, a Hilo postal worker, has emerged as a central leader of Big Island protests over Hawaiian issues since the Puhi Bay incident of 1993 when dozens of Hawaiians were arrested in a dispute over use of the seaside park.

He said Smith will "become a martyr" for all issues involving Native Hawaiians, especially homestead concerns.

He described Smith as a member of his group and a friend of five years.

"He was probably the most abused Native Hawaiian," said Kahawaiola'a who, like Smith, has been withholding his home mortgage payments as a protest of state policies.

As much as he admires Smith, Kahawaiola'a said he does not recommend that protesters "go burn yourself."

Aupuni O Hawaii says it has more than 5,000 members.
Kaohi: Mendiola-Kaniaupio July 27, 2012 at 3:32pm

Hawaiians angered by fiery death on Kauai

They're outraged at eviction action

Honolulu Advertiser
Saturday, January 20, 1996

By Jan Tenbruggencate

Anahola, Kauai - Word of Hilbert Kahale Smith's fiery death swept through the state's Hawaiian community yesterday, carrying with it confusion, anger and a nearly universal call for reassessment of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

"I think this thing is going to ignite something in Hawaiians," said Larry Helm, a Molokai small-business owner and Hawaiian homesteader.

"The concern is: Why did it get to this point?" he said.

Charles Maxwell, a Maui activist and commentator on Hawaiian issues, said, "I don't know where the end is, but I know there's a lot of angry Hawaiian people."

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands yesterday referred all calls on the issue to the state Attorney General's Office, which did not return the Advertiser's calls.

Smith, 59, burned to death in the Anahola house over which he fought the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for the last third of his life. He poured gasoline on the carpet and lit it Thursday morning as sheriffs sent by the Department of Hawaiian Homes Lands were evicting him.

A preliminary autopsy report indicated he died as a result of inhaling smoke and fumes, police said.

Members of his family were gathering in Anahola yesterday, but some were still coming from off-island. A daughter said they wanted to all be together before they discussed the circumstances of his death.

Neighbors were outraged by Smith's death.

"These people showed no respect whatsoever," said Wilfred Kaui, a longtime Anahola resident. Kaui, a victim of a series of strokes, sat on a chair on his lawn as his grandsons mowed.

"People are mad. They're really salty for what happened to that man." Kaui said he awoke Thursday to the acrid smell of the smoke from the burning house.

Kaui, who once owned Kauai's largest security guard service, expressed his own concern that the state sheriffs who were evicting Smith should have been able to prevent him from burning his house.

"We were taught in FBI school, if you're with someone depressed, you should stay with him. You don't leave him alone," Kaui said.

Kaui's brother had one of the houses, and it, like Smith's, had defects. Kaui recalled talking to Smith about the electrical problems in his house.

"He was afraid of a short-circuit. He told me, 'I got an electrical problem. I tell them about it, and they didn't do anything,'" Kaui said.

Smith's good friend, William Aki Sr., said he believes Smith burned his house and himself because he was humiliated by the eviction. The man had tried for 18 years to negotiate with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, had failed, and was being thrown out as all his neighbors watched, Aki said.

"There were about 250 people watching what happened there. That kind of embarrassed him. Any Hawaiian you talk to, they have a heart. They have a softness in their heart. You get everybody looking, you get shame," Aki said.

Smith, aware that the department had a writ of possession that would allow his eviction, had already moved this cars off the property earlier this month, but when no eviction came, he moved the cars and himself back to the house, Aki said. Then, without notice, the sheriffs arrived with a moving van.

"Hawaiian Homes should have given him at least 10 days notice," Aki said. "I talked to this officer, and he said it was suicide. I said it was harassment."

Smith's activism began and ended with his battle over the Anahola house. It was part of a 66-unit development in 1977, in which DHHL hired a contractor to build the homes. Buy many Hawaiians awarded homes in the subdivision complained of multiple construction and materials problems.

After lawsuits and years of confrontation, some of the owners settled with the department. Smith never settled. He argued that when he agreed to pay for a new home, he deserve one without construction flaws. He refused to pay his mortgage to the department, although for many years he paid into an escrow account at the 5th Circuit Court.

When the department gave up on reaching an agreement with Smith, it canceled his lease and got an eviction order. Smith fought in court, and got one such order reversed, but the latest one stood and was the basis of Thursday's eviction action.

"I think this man was trying to prove a point. It shows the frustration of people trying to make the system work," said Maxwell. "This wasn't just regular protesting. This was a long, drawn-out thing."

Helm said the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands let the bureaucracy run away with the situation. Before getting to the ultimate confrontation, the department should have tried ho'oponopono, he said. Ho'oponopono is a Hawaiian technique of conflict resolution in which the parties sit down with family elders or community leaders and work out their differences.

"It is to make a wrong right," Helm said. "To dialogue, understanding both sides. Understanding and getting those two sides together so you can get a happy medium."

In Hilbert Kahale Smith's case, there was clearly an issue in conflict. Hawaiian Homes should have worked harder to resolve it, Helm said.

"I think maybe Hawaiian Homes should have said, 'Let's do a whole 'nother house. This one's not good enough,'" he said.

Both Helm and Maxwell said they fear a new round of animosity between the Hawaiian people and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Helm is from a family with deep roots in the Hawaiian community. His brother, George, who disappeared at sea while paddling to Kahoolawe, became a martyr to the cause of freeing Kahoolawe from military control.

Helm's brother, Greg, is the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands supervisor on Molokai.
Kaohi: Mendiola-Kaniaupio July 27, 2012 at 3:31pm

A step-by-step anatomy of a tragedy

Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Friday, January 19, 1996

Hilbert Smith and his attorney, Ken Carlson, contended Smithwas not delinquent on his lease because he was makingpayments to an escrow account authorized by the courts, butnever recognized by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.Smith offered to pay off his loan last year, but the agency said itwas too late. His homestead history:

June 29, 1977
Smith was granted a $25,000 DHHL loan withmonthly payments of $206 due for 25 years.

May 28, 1982
A contested-case hearing was held after Smithfailed to maintain the loan payment schedule. He was ordered tomake payments.

Sept. 6, 1984
The entire delinquent amount was ordered paid byOct. 5.

Oct. 6, 1984
The department ordered him to vacate by Dec. 5.

1984
Smith and the other lessees sued the Department ofHawaiian Home Lands over construction defects.

July 5, 1985
Smith requested that his payment schedule bemodified. A state judge granted a stay of the department'srepossession request.

Dec. 20, 1985
The Hawaiian Homes Commission approvedSmith's request to temporarily adjust his payment from $206 to$10.

April 1986
His monthly payment was increased to $175 after adepartment review of his financial status.

Nov. 29, 1988
An out-of-court agreement was reached abouthomesteaders' claims of defective construction, with claimsdismissed or settled.

1988
Smith appealed another effort to evict him. The stateSupreme Court ruled in his favor because he was not affordeddue process.

July 30, 1993
The commission canceled his lease and orderedhim to vacate by Sept. 30. He had 30 days to appeal but took 44days to do so.

Jan. 10, 1994
A state judge dismissed his appeal.

March 10, 1995
He appealed to the Hawaii Supreme Count.

March 10, 1995
The high court dismissed the appeal, and ruledthe Circuit Court lacked jurisdiction to consider the originalappeal.

March 31, 1995
Smith requested a 30-day extension to vacate.

April 13, 1995
The department gave him 10 days to move out.

Dec. 8, 1995
Kauai District Court granted the departmentpossession.

Jan. 5, 1996
The court issued a writ of possession.

of 2

Forum

Kaohi: Remember Kahale Smith..soon after the death of Kahale Smith I spoke to his brother

Remember Kahale Smith

E Ho`omana`o Kakou Ia Kahale
Remember Kahale Smith

Replies

ANAHOLA FAMILY LOSES FATHER AS WELL AS RIGHT TO LAND

DAUGHTERS RE-LIVE BLACK THURSDAY

BLACK THURSDAY:

THE EVICTION:

DUMBFOUNDED:

IT LOOKED LIKE HIM:

CRIMINAL CHARGES?

QUESTIONS RAISED:

KAHALE'S CHARACTER:

THE FINAL DAYS:

INVESTIGATION?

2 agencies in accord on eviction decisions

2 agencies in accord on eviction decisions

Critics focus on home land fire death

State Goals, Hawaiian rights issue collide

Homesteads

Big Island vigil to mourn Kauai homestead activist

Hawaiians angered by fiery death on Kauai

They're outraged at eviction action

A step-by-step anatomy of a tragedy

Remember Kahale Smith

E Ho`omana`o Kakou Ia KahaleRemember Kahale Smith

Replies

ANAHOLA FAMILY LOSES FATHER AS WELL AS RIGHT TO LAND

DAUGHTERS RE-LIVE BLACK THURSDAY

BLACK THURSDAY:

THE EVICTION:

DUMBFOUNDED:

IT LOOKED LIKE HIM:

CRIMINAL CHARGES?

QUESTIONS RAISED:

KAHALE'S CHARACTER:

THE FINAL DAYS:

INVESTIGATION?

2 agencies in accord on eviction decisions

2 agencies in accord on eviction decisions

Critics focus on home land fire death

State Goals, Hawaiian rights issue collide

Homesteads

Big Island vigil to mourn Kauai homestead activist

Hawaiians angered by fiery death on Kauai

They're outraged at eviction action

A step-by-step anatomy of a tragedy

E Ho`omana`o Kakou Ia Kahale
Remember Kahale Smith