In defense of Higa
This is a response to a letter to the editor from Jerry Warren printed on Jan. 3 (Tribune-Herald, Your Views).
First, I want to be clear that these are my personal comments and not the views of my employer, Na Leo TV.
Our President and CEO Stacy Higa requested to leave this alone, but I am compelled to set the record straight.
While Mr. Warren casts unsubstantiated accusations, he fails to consider the tremendous improvements made at Na Leo TV under Stacy’s leadership. From a state-of-the-art facility, the station now provides wall-to-wall hyper-local programming that our community can be proud of, such as live BIIF high school sports, government and nonprofit content.
We are in our elementary, middle and high schools and Hawaii Community College mentoring students on how to use video and social skills as part of their education. We have formed working relationships with local businesses, organizations and clients to bring professional television jobs back to our island residents.
Mr. Warren takes personal shots about Mr. Higa wanting the spotlight, yet those of us who work at Na Leo TV know this is not true. If anyone gets more airtime, it is me. I have to beg Stacy to do on-air interviews.
Regarding Mr. Warren’s direct complaint, he leaves out the most important part. The County Council programming is not a Na Leo TV program. It belongs to the county.
Since his complaint, I will attest that Mr. Higa addressed it quickly. Mr. Warren or any other resident who does not have access to the internet can call Na Leo TV or the county and get the exact times that each meeting will be aired.
In fact, it used to take over one week from filming to air County Council meetings on Channel 55. Since Stacy has been at Na Leo TV, the turnaround time is a matter of days, and if we had the contract we could provide the council meetings live.
The issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, it is not to Mr. Warren’s liking, so he wrote a misleading letter to the editor.
We can and should be proud to have a strong local public, educational and governmental access channel providing coverage connecting our Hawaii Island communities to each other. These services at Na Leo TV are due to the vision and work of Stacy Higa.
I personally don’t know what his political aspirations are, but I know that times are hard for our working families and businesses, and we could use an experienced leader like Stacy to help make government more economic and efficient.
Micah K. Alameda
Assistant general manager and marketing manager,
Na Leo TV
Umpires needed
The article by Bart Wright in the Dec. 9 sports section, regarding youth sports refs and officials, is so appropriate in today’s sports environment.
We are baseball and softball umpires here on the Big Island, and really appreciate his article in the Tribune-Herald.
To replenish our aging ranks, the Orchid Isle Umpires Association is finding it difficult to encourage the youth and young adults to step forward and try umpiring to see if it is something they would be interested in doing.
Too many times, we are hearing: “No thanks. I don’t need the confrontation.”
Bart’s article brings that issue to light and hopefully causes parents, coaches and spectators to pause and rethink their actions so they can be better role models to their children and players under their tutelage.
We would encourage their attendance at the next Parent Coach Alliance conference to know and recognize their actions and to be better supporters of the game.
Robert M Yamada II
Secretary, Orchid Isle Umpires Association