Yesterday, the Hawaii State Legislature passed a bill on first reading State House (HB784) and Senate (SB959) that would be disastrous for Akaku: Maui Community Television. This bill would essentially shut down our operations and gut community access media for Maui County. The bill proposes that the majority of the operating resources currently dedicated to Akaku's community service would be taken away and given to State and County agencies. This = LESS COMMUNITY ACCESS Maui; Allocation of Resources Description: Requires cable franchise fees paid in connection with the provision of cable service in Maui County to be distributed to Maui community college, DOE, Maui County and Maui's PEG access entity. Introducer(s): Hiraki (House), and Bunda (Senate) READ THE FULL BILL HERE The passing of this bill will mean that AKAKU, Maui's ONLY resource for community access to media will LOSE 2/3 OF IT'S CURRENT FUNDING! That means the people of Maui county will lose 2/3 of their access to media! This decision could allow this to happen in other parts of the country as well so let's STOP IT NOW BEFORE IT GETS OUT OF HAND! We are looking to rally support from anyone and everyone interested in helping to protect the PUBLIC'S RIGHT to ACCESS to MEDIA and FREE SPEECH! What do I have to say about it...watch this video: Please post a comment and let me know your thoughts...please stay tuned to this blog for updates... BIG MAHALO AND ALOHA! Randy Mills