State Civil Defense Invites Input on Proposed Meeting; Capitol Auditorium Suggested as Site

An encouraging dialogue has begun with State Civil Defense that could well lead to the public meeting that CHORE has been pushing for over the past three months. We won’t go so far as to call the proposed meeting a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but like the South African process, it would indeed reveal the truth about emergency communications in this state and foster greater understanding and even reconciliation between SCD and citizens who have been shut out of the review process on why emergency communications failed after the earthquakes on October 15th and how it can be improved to serve the public.

SCD information officer Dave Curtis asked for an email today outlining why the meeting would be useful and what it might cover. CHORE produced the following, which is posted here in the spirit of transparency:

Email to State Civil Defense:

Dave, I'm glad State Civil Defense seems to have a positive attitude about holding a meeting to brief the public on what worked to communicate emergency information on October 15th and what didn’t, and how communications procedures have been improved since then.

You noted in our phone call that you’ve read some of the CHORE blog, and I’ll include a few links, below, to supplement this email. All of the reasons why the meeting is the right thing to do, in my view, have been written in the blog many times, so I won’t spend a lot of time here. With the links, Ed Teixeira can easily find the major points that have been made repeatedly.

Everyone, including SCD, has acknowledged the poor flow of information to the public after the earthquakes and during the first hours of the power blackout on Oahu. Given that breakdown, our request for a public meeting should be easy to understand. Citizens are the ultimate consumers of emergency information; we rely on it for our safety, so when that communications breaks down, citizens have every reason and right to be concerned and to want an opportunity to evaluate whether the improvements to serve them better will in fact meet their needs.

Only State Civil Defense can provide the information citizens need to be informed on these matters. As a public agency, SCD reasonably should be responsive to the citizens it seeks to inform. Private companies that experience major problems in their operations that impact the public generally move quickly to address the public’s concerns with press conferences, consumer meetings and other outreach programs. SCD has done none of that in the past three months, and it is not unreasonable to conclude that the agency apparently has seen no need to do so. Under different circumstances, Hawaiian Electric Company briefed the public eight days after the earthquakes; of course, HECO is overseen by and is responsive to a public agency, unlike Civil Defense.

Giving the Public a Voice

The meeting we seek would finally bring the public into the process of reviewing the communications problems on Earthquake Sunday. As you know, the Comprehensive Communications Review Committee did not include the public in its membership or seek to receive the public’s views during its four meetings. We argued as early as October 18th that this committee “won't be ‘comprehensive’ until it gives voice to the people who did not have their fears calmed about a possible tsunami, who did not know why the power was out and for how long and who wondered why 10 or more broadcast outlets were silent for hours or even until the next day.”

We also believe a public meeting might challenge the official version about what happened on October 15th. Specifically, we heard as recently as three days ago from the State Adjutant General and at least one legislator that the designated emergency broadcasting station did a “fabulous” job that day. The CHORE blog has noted several times that KSSK’s performance left much to be desired. Two facts stand out:

• KSSK’s personalities essentially transplanted their “entertainment” model for their usual weekday program into their October 15th emergency response. Seemingly unaware that circumstances were entirely different, they invited residents to phone the station to tell them what the earthquake felt like at their homes. The flood of telephone calls prevented SCD and HECO communicators from phoning in with information the public needed, and as much as three hours elapsed before official SCD information could be broadcast.

• With half the island of Oahu still without power at 7 p.m. on October 15th, KSSK ended its “live” programming and began broadcasting the syndicated John Tesh Radio Show, a recorded three-hour program, and cut back its reporting on the blackout to reports on the half-hour. This business-as-usual approach in the midst of an ongoing emergency for tens of thousands of Oahu families can hardly be called “fabulous.”

As long as top State officials are publicly laudatory about the station’s performance, KSSK will see no need for self-evaluation and improvement. Indeed, the entire broadcast industry here needs a reality check on its ability to serve the public interest in emergencies.

I hope we’ll have a chance to schedule a meeting relatively soon before much more time goes by. It might be reasonable to conduct the meeting in the State Capitol Auditorium on a weekday, when legislators, their staffs, the media and citizens easily could attend. HECO’s briefing on October 23 in that room could be the model. As is my custom on the CHORE blog to keep my involvement as transparent as possible, I will post this email there.

Aloha...

URL links to past CHORE posts:

Wednesday, October 18, 2006
The "Comprehensive Communications Review
Committee" Is Missing Something: The Public

Sunday, October 22, 2006
Let’s Not Be Too Quick with the Anointing Oil
While the Jury’s Still Out on Media Response

Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Will State Civil Defense Brief the Public on
Quake Communications and Improvements?
(Includes What a Civil Defense Briefing Could Cover)

Sunday, October 29, 2006
Tsunami Sirens Inadequate To Warn Isles, but
Officials Won’t Say Who Lives in Silent Peril

Thursday, November 23, 2006
15 Minutes Pass Before ‘No-Tsunami Crawl'
Appears on TV after Thanksgiving Earthquake

Thursday, January 04, 2007
Until the Public Is Served, Homeland Security
Communications Scorecard Is Meaningless

Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Hearings Accentuate Need for Civil Defense
Public Meeting; Legislators Asked To Help