KauaiEclectic
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keywords: description: KauaiEclecticFriday, May 12, 2017 New and ImprovedPlease visit my new and improved website and blog!
You can find it here.Scroll down on the homepage for the blog.
Mahalo for your readership!
No comments: Wednesday, May 10, 2017 All PauAfter nearly 10 years of writing Kauai Eclectic, and nearly 3 million views, it's time for a change. I'm in a very different place literally and figuratively than I was when I started this blog. My muse was crying out for a new venue, and here it is:
Please visit my new site, where I will be writing about science, agriculture, GMOs, tourism, philosophy, politics and whatever strikes my fancy.
Thanks so much for reading Kauai Eclectic, and to those who have offered words of support and donations, a special mahalo nui loa!
A hui hou!1 comment: Monday, May 8, 2017 Musings: Sacred and NotGrafitti was discovered on rocks atopMauna Kea late last month, prompting the Hawaii Department of Landand Natural Resources (DLNR) to launch a criminal investigation.Rocks were found with spray-paintedmessages in both the Mauna Kea Ice Age Natural Area Reserve andvarious areas property managed by the UH Office of Mauna KeaManagement. One message was stop bombing, apparently inreference to the live-fire exercises at the Pohakuloa Training Area,while the other seemed to be ke akua.This totally inappropriate behaviorbrings to mind the way Palikapu Dedman brought in iwi (bones) fromKa'u to place on an altar atop Mauna Kea last fall to draw attentionto claims by TMT (thirty-meter telescope) opponents that the area wasan ancient burial site.
But what struck me were the twocomments left on a press release rewrite masquerading as anAssociated Press article that was picked up by the Washington Post: This reflects the kind of ends thejustify the means mentality that is becoming increasingly commonamong faux-gressives. Not to mention the underlying ignorance, sincethe bombing is under the authority of the Army, not the DLNR.
The AP sent out the rewrite with aheadline that identifies Mauna Kea as a revered mountain and aclosing paragraph that states:
Mauna Kea is considered a sacredmountain by many Native Hawaiians because it is thought to be thehome of deities.
So I couldn't help but raise an eyebrowwhen I saw an NPR piece reference grits, azaleas and sweet tea asthree sacred staples of the South.
Seems that sacred truly is in the eyesof the beholder these days.
The NPR article was about about a beefin South Carolina over how much water Google should be allowed tocool its energy-sucking data center. Funny, how the Internet and Hawaii tourism iseveryone's sacred cow, and impervious to any of the criticisms overresource consumption leveled against every other industry, especiallyagriculture.
Speaking of criticisms, anti-ag folkslove to claim that agriculture is giving people cancer in theIslands. But a new Centers for Disease Control report shows thatHawaii has some of the nation's lowest rates of cancer cases, cancerdeaths and new cancer diagnosis:Meanwhile, agriculture in Hawaii took another hit when the Legislature approved HB2, which allows tiny homes on Big Island farm land. Here comes the proliferation of shacks and shanties sketchy rental housing under the guise of farm worker housing.
And finally, I couldn't help but smile when I read that Maui Rep. Joe Souki, ousted from his position as Hawaii House Speaker, is seriously considering a run for lieutenant governor. as the Maui News reported:
I still have some teeth, he said.Im not dead. I can still contribute.
Then why join Josh Green in eying the lieutenant governor post?Oh, yeah. It pays $154,812 a year and you don't have to do anything.No comments: Friday, May 5, 2017 Musings: Friday FinaleEarlier this week I wrote about HawaiiCommunity Foundation, and how undisclosed donors can funnel moneythrough such entities to gain tax breaks and discretely influencepolicy.
As a friend noted:
What's going on at HCF is reflectiveof a massive national trend. A lot of new wealth philanthropists aredumping money into community foundations. It saves them the bother --and accountability -- of starting up their own foundations and themore activist types quickly grasp that their donor-advised givingaffords them anonymity. Meanwhile, the working press has been veryslow to catch on to the "new politics" of using NGOs ratherthan political parties to advance their causes; hence, thephilanthropy game eludes attention and public understanding. All thisfurthers the hard right and hard left and the various forms ofdisinformation and silo communities they create and nourish. It's badjuju and our friends in Russia have figured out that it's also aplatform for creating havoc.
Yesterday, President Trump waded intothe issue by signing an executive order that prevents the IRS fromexpanding its restrictions on political activity by religious groups.Currently, a tax-exempt group can lose its exemption if it is foundto have endorsed or actively opposed a candidate for politicaloffice. Though his order does not change that prohibition, itprevents the IRS from expanding the restrictions
Though the actual order is moresymbolic than substantive, evangelical Christian leader Russell Moorewas already pushing for more:
"The very fact that religiousfreedom is part of the conversation and religious freedom is beingaffirmed I think is a step in the right direction. Now obviously ifthis is the end of the story, I'm really disappointed, but I think weought to hold out the hope that this is just the beginning and thatthere are more steps to be made."
Meanwhile, a new report shows that thecultivation of biotech (GMO) crops has reached an all-time globalpeak, with nearly 90 percent of the crops grown by small-holderfarmers. Developing nations planted 54 percent of the total. As Iwrote in a blog post for the Alliance for Science:
Biotech crops also have achievedsignificant environmental benefits, according to the report. Theseinclude cutting herbicide and insecticide use by 19 percent; reducingCO2 emissions largely due to reduced tillage equal to annuallyremoving approximately 12 million cars from the road; and conservingbiodiversity by sparing 19.4 million hectares of land fromagriculture in 2015.
I also found it interesting that GEcrops also expanded in Europe, which is often touted as anti-GMO.Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic and Slovakia increased theircultivation of biotech maize by 17 percent between 2015 and 2016.Further GE crop expansion is expectedwith the recent approval of two potato varieties and the ArcticApple, which is now being sold as packaged slices. In Africa, fieldtrials are under way to develop pest- and disease-resistant varietiesof cowpea and banana, two important subsistence food crops.
And though Earthjustice has been busytaking credit for putting water back into the Waimea River, its recent Star-Advertiser commentary and last night's Kauai communitypresentation has been scant on actual details. Here's what themediation settlement allows:
The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative(KIUC) will assume responsibility for the operation and management ofthe Kokee Ditch system up to the Puu Moe Divide if it is able toexecute a land agreement with the state Agribusiness DevelopmentCorporation (ADC). Kekaha Ditch will remain under the management andoperation of Kekaha Agriculture Association (KAA).
KIUC is allowed to divert a rollingaverage of 11 MGD at the diversions, and will be charged withdelivering irrigation to farmers on ADC mauka lands, tenants onHawaiian Homelands Puu Opae mauka lands, and farmers on ADC land onthe Mana Plains, as well as providing storage for these irrigationusers at both Puu Lua and Puu Opae Reservoirs.
The Waimea Mauka hydro will continueoperations, but with reduced water being diverted. Waiawa may berehabilitated with a smaller capacity and continue operations, butwith vastly reduced water volumes. Both facilities will continue tobe operated by ADC/KAA.
KIUC has an agreement in principlefor its pump storage hydro project, which includes renovating threereservoirs, adding two power houses and associated equipment. But itstill must execute final agreements with DHHL, ADC, and DLNR beforeit can proceed. The project also needs environmental, historicpreservation and other permits and approvals, and it must prove to beeconomically viable for KIUC and its members. KIUC spokeswoman BethTokioka noted, We anticipate roughly two years of study andpermits before KIUC can make the decision to proceed with theproject.
Finally, Time magazine has a troublingreport on our lack of preparedness in dealing with the next globalpandemic:
From Ebola in West Africa to Zika inSouth America to MERS in the Middle East, dangerous outbreaks are onthe rise around the world. The number of new diseases per decade hasincreased nearly fourfold over the past 60 years, and since 1980, thenumber of outbreaks per year has more than tripled.
Research groups are workingfeverishly to predict the next pandemic before it even happens.Theyre cataloging threats and employing next-generationgenetic-sequencing tools to speed the discovery of new or mysteriousviruses. Theyre helping identify and track outbreaks as theyhappen.But microbes evolve about 40 milliontimes as fast as humans do, and we are losing ground. Of all thethings that can kill millions of people in very short order, saysDr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, theone that is most likely to occur over the next 10 years is apandemic.
Speaking of risks, one policedepartment found a humorous way to build traffic on its Facebook page:12 comments: Thursday, May 4, 2017 Musings: Epic Fail is RightIt's easy to hate on the Hawaii StateLegislature. Shoots, everybody has their gripes about what did and didn't getpassed.
But what's with the epic fail shamestrategy advanced by the Young Progressives Demanding Action, Sierra Club, Centerfor Food Safety andGary Hooser's HAPAas they march on Miller Street this morning?
Haven't they learned yet that sillytactic doesn't work with the Lege, or elicit sympathy from thegeneral public?
I understand they're trying to buildparticipation by allowing folks to indulge their narcissim. Butsoliciting selfies with the hashtag #HiLegFail really falls flat.
Because truthfully, nobody really caresif Hawaii Center for Food Safety's Kimiko LaHaela Walter is unhappyabout the fate of HB 790 and HB 1580. Or anything else:Well, the effect achieved is just silly. And what's with thebanana? (Which looks like something imported from the despisedcorporate plantations in Central America. She couldn't find alocally-grown variety?)
Center for Food Safety jumped on thisbandwagon with its usual simplisitic view of the world:
So many bills that would havebenefitted everyday people and the environment died this legislativesession because our lawmakers continued to serve the interests oflarge corporations.
Come on. It's not that black-and white,cut-and-dried. If you're trying to lead a political movement, muchless a revolution, you really need to grasp both the nuances andcomplexities of the legislative process. Especiallywhen your own organization is funded by the heirs of large corporations, as CFS is.
As I noted in the comment section ofHooser's Civil Beat column excoriating the Lege and urging folks tojoin his shame-blame game:
Actually, Gary, it looks like HAPA"failed" to convince lawmakers of the value of its agenda,which was replete with poorly written bills, fear-mongering testimonyand a "my way or the highway" refusal to negotiate orcompromise. And you got this poor result despite spending thousandsof dollars on advocacy (undisclosed lobbying). Maybe you need to lookwithin, instead of playing your usual blame game.
Hooser was trying to make the case thatthe Legislature's failure to approve bills he supported shouldhasten the movement for new leadership.
So why aren't the Young Progressivesand their supporters one woman aptly dubbed them faux-gressives presenting a proposal on how they would have funded and implementedall the stuff they demand/desire?
Instead of demanding action fromothers in their usual self-entitled way, why not be theaction? Recruit some viable candidates, run for office, do a goodjob. But maybe start with articulating a solid platform that includeshow they expect to pay for it. Yeah, that's the tough part. Soeasy to dream and demand. Do much harder to do the work and foot thebill.
In any case, Hooser's Kuleana Academycandidates mostly fell flat, as did he, despite spending more moneythan any other candidate in the history of Kauai elections. Thatought to tell him people's appetites just aren't whetted by eitherhis menu or its execution and presentation.
As one commenter observed:
HAPA seems more like a one-man bandthan a competent movement.
Of course, if Hooser hadn't indulgedhis own narcissm and ego, he might still be in the Lege, where hecould be working his will on his colleagues and making hisfaux-gressive dreams come true. But instead he abandoned a powerfulpost as Senate Majority Leader to make doomed runs for Congress andLt. Governor. With his tail between his legs, he returned to theKauai County Council, sold out to the anti-GMO movement, and in the last election, was rejected there,too.
The voters have repeatedly given Hoosera failing grade. So how is it that he thinks he can now sell them onhis revolution?15 comments: Tuesday, May 2, 2017 Musings: Reassessing AssumptionsOrganic farming is often idealized and commercially promoted as producing a better product andtreading more lightly on the land. Indeed, folks pay a premium toindulge this perception.
But two recent articles are castingdoubt on those beliefs.
The Washington Post has a lengthy pieceon organic dairies, which may be much larger and less bucolic thansome consumers imagine. It focuses on the Aurora Organic Dairy inColorado, which has some 15,000 cows producing enough milk to supplyWalmart, Costco and other big box retailers.
It was interesting to read that theUSDA allows farmers to hire and pay their own inspectors to certifythem as USDA Organic. It was also ironic, considering how manyof the Hawaii anti-ag folks dissed the seed companies' voluntary disclosure of restricted pesticide use as insufficient.
Basically, the article is saying thatthe coveted organic seal, which boosted annual sales from $6billion in 2000 to $40 billion in 2015, is based on an unusualsystem of inspections that are pre-announced and funded byfarmers.
You mean, it's really all kind of a sham/scam? As the article concludes:
The growth of mega-dairies that mayfall short of organic standards and produce cheaper milk appears tobe crushing many small dairies, some analysts said.
The mom and pop the smallertraditional family dairies who are following the pasture rulesare seeing their prices erode, said [Pete] Hardin, the Milkweededitor. It is creating a heck of a mess.
You mean, consumers who have bought theorganic marketing speil, but balk at paying a premium, areundercutting the very system they claim to cherish?
My sister, who lives in Portland, likesto buy Tillamook because she sees their cows grazing on her way outto the coast. But it claims neither to be organic nor GMO free. Inresponse to a consumer question, a dairy spokesperson noted:
Evenorganic feed for organic farms is extremely difficult to verify asGMO-free because of cross-pollination.
Maybe it's time to revisit the organicstandards, and re-assess consumer attitudes. Are consumers trulylooking for organic, or do they actually want pasture-raised? Ofcourse, even pasture-raised doesn't pass muster for some, as we sawwith the opposition to the proposed rotational-pasture dairy farm at Mahaulepu. (Btw, I ran into this piece about how very little manure leaves well-managed pastures.)
Do people even know what they want? Orlike the barn-raised dairy cows that had forgotten their naturalgrazing instinct, are we so manipulated by marketing that we'veforgotten how to think, how to assess our true needs and desires?Meanwhile, a columnist with the Daily Camera is writing a multi-part series on the GMO crop ban recentlyadopted in Boulder, a Colorado county where the sensibilities areakin to North Shore Kauai. The ban was passed, despite unanimousopposition from county open space farmers, including the organicgrowers.
Columnist Mara Abbott, who spent fivemonths researching the debate, starts by citing a 2015 briefing paperthat Colorado State University developed for county commissionersconsidering the ban on planting GMO crops in the county's openspaces:
[O]rganic crops on six NothernColorado farms used 10 times more water, five times more pesticidesand released six times more sequestered carbon from the soil thangenetically engineered crops.
I was paralyzed. I had alwaysself-identified as a good Boulder environmentalist, and figured thatmeant that non-organic was a non-starter (and the organic definitionexcludes GMOs). Now where was I supposed to buy my kale?
After all, the ban's loudestsupporters claimed to be fighting for reduced pesticide use and moresustainable cropping methods. Commissioner Deb Gardner specificallycited researching carbon sequestration as a top priority of thetransition.
It also turns out that "organic"doesn't mean "pesticide-free." The pesticides just comefrom natural rather than synthetic sources and apparently some ofthose are harmful to honeybees, too. Given that the purpose of anherbicide is to kill weeds, and an insecticide to kill insects, anycrop protection practice won't be completely benign. Some naturalpesticides are less effective, requiring more frequent applications,and higher overall life-cycle toxicity.
This isn't to brush off the value oforganic, but it is to say that agriculture is rarely black and white and that's actually why diverse approaches are important. Really,the only way to know what is being put on your food is to know thefarmer who grew it.
"It's just such a complicatedweb in agriculture," third-generation county farmer Scott Millertold me. "You can't just say you're going to block one thing andthat is going to fix it."
Once again, we'rereminded that the world is so complex. Try as we might, we can'tcontain it into neat little boxes of good-bad. There are no silverbullets, no one-size-fits-all solutions, especially when human naturecomes into play. We want to blame the corporations, but thecorporations are also us. We want to return to the good old days, butthere's no turning back the clock. All we can do is move forward, andtry to be honest about the issues and our own choices.
In closing, I'llleave you with this amusing little call to action from the Maui BabesAgainst Biotech, which typifies the simplistic, reactionary approachthat underlies so much conflict:Yup, nothing sayshome rule like an email blitz from thousands of miles across thePacific.19 comments: Monday, May 1, 2017 Musings: Giving and GettingNewly released tax returns offer a lookat the spending priorities, staff salaries and steadily growingcoffers of the Hawaii Community Foundation, the Islands' largestphilanthropic initiative.
The foundation closed 2015 with netassets of nearly $460 million successfully soliciting some $45.6million in grants and donations that year, according to its 2015 federal form 990.
This represents a dramatically upwardtrend of undisclosed mainland philanthropists parking money at HCF,where they are allowed to discretely engage in donor-advised giving. In 2011, HCF reported gifts, grants and contributions of nearly $16.7million. That figure increased to $23.9 million in 2012, $27.7million in 2013 , $30.5 million in 2014 to $45.6 million in 2015.
However, HCF cut the total amount ofgrants it awarded by $573,897 between 2014 and 2015.
Overall, HCF spent $13.8 million toaward grants of $29.4 million in 2015.
In 2015, HCF spent some $6.7 million onsalaries, up $266,447 from the previous year. Kelvin Taketa, HCFpresident and CEO, was paid $359,792 plus $149,129 in additionalcompensation from HCF and related organizations, for a total of$508,921. HCF's top 11 employees, including Taketa, receivedcompensation totaling $2.3 million in 2015.
HCF spent $3.2 million on fundraising,$725,225 on conferences, conventions and meetings, $120,256 onadvertising and promotions and $106,563 on travel.
The foundation's giving pattern alsoindicates a receptivity to funding organizations that talk aboutalternative approaches to farming, as opposed to actually advancing viable agriculture.
For example, it gave a whopping $476,670 to the KohalaCenter a Big Island group that reported income of $5.2 millionin 2014, with little to show for it. The Center's School GardenNetwork is directed by anti-GMO activist Nancy Redfeather.
Malama Kauai, another do-nothing fauxag group, was awarded $100,000 by HCF more than a third of the$274,846 the organization reported as income in 2015. The group spent$121,598 to deliver fruit and veggies to after-school programs andKauai food banks, and $35,077 on its community garden and foodforest. But what, pray tell, was the value of the food it actuallyproduced?
Similarly, HCF gave $80,000 to theCenter for Food Safety ostensibly for environmentalprograms while Gary Hooser's Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action was given a $52,500 grant for public policy and advocacy.Yet just today, Hooser published a Civil Beat column bemoaning HAPA'scomplete failure to advance any of its objectives in the stateLegislature while blaming lawmakers, of course.
HCF also gave $12,500 to the KauaiCommunity Cat Project (KCCP), which engaged in a vicious cyber-bullying campaign against former Kauai Humane Society Director Penny Cistaroand is now suing Kauai County to stymie its efforts to develop anordinance aimed at controlling the island's feral cats. Furthermore, the KCCP spent $80,000 to manage just 510 cats.
And inexplicably, HCF gave $10,000 toSHAKA, which mounted an anti-GMO moratorium in Maui County that waslater thrown out by the courts. Though SHAKA's 2015 tax return hasnot yet surfaced on Guidestar, its 2014 return showed income of$329,056. It ended that year with just $46,053, having spent $87,931on management, another $84,243 on advertising and promotion andand $30,321 on legal fees.
Uh, so what, exactly, was the publiccharitable purpose that SHAKA provided with its money? And none ofits funding sources were disclosed, either.
Why is HCF funding groups that aredecidely opaque, and actively working to undermine agriculture andsow discord in Hawaii? Especially when its mission is investing incommunity well-being and strengthening Hawaii's communities.
Now compare the grants given to those self-serving groups with their very narrow agendas to the amountsawarded to organizations that serve a broad sector of the public: $116,295 to Aloha United Way; $62,000 to Big Brothers/Big Sisters;$78,600 to American Cancer Society; $85,403 to American Red CrossHawaii Chapter; $50,000 to Polynesian Voyaging Society; $55,888National Tropical Botanical Garden; $10,000 Hawaii Meth Project.
Something seems out of kilter here.
I do give HCF kudos for listing all of the grants it made. However, in the name of public interest and transparency, it would be even more revealing to see where it's getting the money that is being used to effect change in Hawaii, and what sort of strings the donors have attached.12 comments: Thursday, April 27, 2017 Musings: Pushing OrganicsIt's troubling to see Kauai Dr. LeeEvslin use his column in the local newspaper to promote organic foodas inherently more pure than its conventional counterpart, and somesort of silver bullet for attaining good health.
In this case, he's advancing the ideathat various chemicals known as endocrine disrupters are responsiblefor everything from America's obesity epidemic and slow sperm to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in children. And, as heintones, the same suspects are on the list: pesticides,flame-retardants, plasticizers and cosmetics.
Though Evslin admits that he's talkingabout a new scientific theory, which means it's not yet proven,he has no problem offering a dangerously simplistic bottom linesolution to what ails us: Store your food in glass containers,stop buying water in plastic bottles and eat organic wheneverpossible.
Evslin totally glosses over all thenon-food sources of pesticides, including treatments for home andgarden pests, pet flea and tick products and even water, which istreated with chlorine, a restricted use pesticide.
What's more, he fails to understandthat organic food also is packaged in plastic, grown using pesticides and carries pesticide residues. But in any case, according to the US Department ofAgriculture, these residues are considered holistically and present no cause for concern:
The PDP data show, overall, thatpesticide residues on foods tested are at levels below the tolerancesestablished by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) andpose no safety concern.
EPA [Environmental Protection Agency]makes a safety evaluation for pesticides considering all possibleroutes of exposure through food, water, and home environments whensetting the maximum residue (tolerance) level of pesticide that canremain in or on foods.
EPA is required to periodicallyre-evaluate pesticide registrations and tolerances to ensure that thescientific data remain up to date.
Evslin also seems to be unaware thatpest-resistant GMO crops, which cannot be labeled organic under USDAstandards, are actually working to minimize pesticide use. Onecompelling example is Bt eggplant, which has enabled farmers in Bangladesh to reduce their pesticide applications by 80percent.
I want to believe that Evslin iswell-intentioned. Sadly, he is not well-informed. Every time awell-fed, well-heeled Westerner starts beating the organicdrum, he is helping to close the door to GM technology that isworking to address environmental issues and help hungry people indeveloping nations to achieve food security. Though Evslin no doubtcan afford the high price of organics, he seems to have forgottenthat many of his own neighbors are struggling to feed their families.The last thing they need is some short-sighted doctor guilt trippingthem for not buying organic.
Meanwhile, a number of organiccertificates used on both domestic and imported products primarily from China and Africa are fraudulent, according to theUSDA.
Evslin also likes to throw stuff outthere without any citations, so the curious and/or critical areunable to check his apparently dubious sources. A case is point ishis claim that Glyphosate is patented as an antibiotic and as anherbicide and has been shown to affect our intestinal bacteria.
GMO Answers has an interesting segmenton why Monsanto pursued that patent, while noting to date, nobodyhas demonstrated that glyphosate is an effective antimicrobial agentfor treating human or animal infections. It's really quitespecious for Evslin to make that particular assertion.
If Evslin plans to keep insertinghimself into the conversation about food and pesticides, he reallyneeds to be more thorough in his research and careful with his facts.That is, if he wants to be taken seriously, which I'm sure he does.
On a related topic, I noticed anti-GMOacivist Jeri DiPietro, who presides over the group Hawaii SEED,advocating in a newspaper article for the precautionaryprinciple, which The Garden Island defines as an approach torisk management that requires proponents of an activity to prove itssafety in the absence of a scientific consensus.
Jeri's complete rejection of the scientificconsensus in support of GMO food safety aside, there are severalproblems with the precautionary principle, as I learned withattending the American Academy for the Advancement of Science meetingearlier this year. As GaryMarchant, an Arizona State University professor and expert on thelegal issues around genetic engineering, noted:
There has always been a degree ofprecaution in regulations. To make the precautionary principle theregulatory standard, it has to be quantified legally, which requiresa very detailed definition. But it's never been properly defined andall efforts to do that have failed, even in Europe. So we have thesevery vague definitions of precaution being used in absurd andinconsistent ways.
Speaking of absurd, it's never beenmore cool to make like you're a farmer or blue collar worker justwear the $425 jeans and forego the actual dirty work! And finally, I'll leave you with thisvideo montage showing some of theMarch for Science events around the world, starting with littleKauai.Gosh, who knew supporting science could be such fun?!25 comments: Tuesday, April 25, 2017 Musings: On the GamutI feel a little sorry for Maui, havinga chemtrail believer and anti-GMO campaigner leading its fightagainst the rat lungworm virus.
I'm talking about its state healthofficer, Dr. Lorrin Pang. He's been a bit distracted in recent years,which may help explain why he failed to recognize or head off a realand serious health threat on his island.
Still, as one friend observed uponseeing a news photo of him picking through leaves in search of the semi slugs that spread the disease, Finally they have Lorrin Pang doingsomething productive.It's also been interesting to see someof the anti-pesticide folks avidly embrace poison sales of rat traps and slug bait are booming once they feel threatened by a pest.
In following up on last week's water forum on Kauai, the truly telling part came when panelists were askedwhether they condemned or condoned last October's vandalism at the Blue Holediversion last October. Adam Asquith, Kui Palama andHope Kallai didn't consider it vandalism at all; indeed, they felt itwas justified.
While I respect Kui for thewell-researched work he's done to uphold traditional Hawaiian rights,which included a prolonged (and ultimately successful) court casefollowing his 2011 arrest for hunting pig on Gay Robinson land,Adam more typically incites others to do the dirty work rather thanrisk a run in with the law himself. As for Hope, why was she even onthat panel? How is she qualified to be talking about Kauai waterissues?
In any case, those who condone thevandalism of a fully permitted water diversion that serves a publicutility's hydro plants are standing on shaky moral and legal ground. One, KIUCcustomers will foot the bill for the damage. Two, the vandalism waspoorly executed and ineffective in achieving its goal, though it diddump debris into the stream. Three, it was stupid, especially sincethe state and KIUC are already working to establish flow standardsfor that stream and revise the diversion so it doesn't take 100percent of the stream during low-flow periods. Rubble dumped in stream from vandalism.In other words, a solution based in lawand science was already in the works before vandals got into the act.Moral of the story? Educate yourself before jumping to conclusionsand taking matters into your own hands. And it's always wrong for people whoshould know better Adam and Don Heacock to use misinformationto provoke others to do something foolish.
Speaking of doing something foolish,the state Legislature is still considering HB 2, which would allowthe construction of tiny homes on agricultural lands. As written, thebill currently applies only to Hawaii Island, but it sets a terribleprecedent for allowing the proliferation of housing andsub-standard housing, at that on ag land. The bill is set for aconference committee hearing today, where hopefully it will be put todeath.
Rep. Cindy Evans, who introduced themeasure, deserves an F grade for promoting a really stupid approachto her island's housing shortage. As a leader, she should be findingsolutions to the housing problem, not allowing non-farmers to profitby building shoddy shacks on their ag parcels. Talk about a cop out.
Continuing on the something foolishtrack, the Lege is also considering two bills that would allow onlinebrokers, like Airbnb and VRBO, to collect taxes for the state.Problem is, only one would require operators to prove they are incompliance with county laws, while the other allows owners toself-certify.
Now, why would the Lege want toundermine the hard work of county planning departments, which arealready struggling to enforce the existing vacation rentalordinances?
Speaking of which, Kauai Countyrecently scored an enforcement victory when Judge Kathleen Watanabefound the county acted properly in shutting down Rene Campos' illegalTVR in Kilauea. Though attorney Jonathan Chun argued the conversionof a guest house to a TVR was grandfathered, the judge didn'tbuy it. Planning Director Mike Dahilig praised the action, usingstrong language in a a county press release:
I would like to acknowledge ourlegal team in defending our enforcement actions to stop those wishingto cheat our land use laws because they are tempted by the large sumsof money these vacation rentals can yield. Illegal vacation rentalslike these take valuable housing out of the long-term housing marketfor our local residents, and is precisely why our vacation rentallaws need to be respected.
Yup.
And finally, Joni Kamiya managed to win over one of the activistsprotesting her participation in the Honolulu March for Science on Saturday. Turns out he didn't actually know what he was talking about, and like so many other misinformedactivists, wrongly equates Monsanto with all things GMO.
Education is a wonderful thing, so long as a mind is open enough toaccept it.26 comments: Older PostsHomeSubscribe to:Posts (Atom)What It IsKauaiEclectic is a collection of observations, images and writings about Kauai Kamawaelualanimoku and the world as seen, felt, experienced and interpreted by me.Who Is Me?Joan ConrowWriter. Muser. Nature-lover. And a lot of other things, too.View my complete profileFollow me on Twitter @joanconrowAbuse Chronicles: TVRs Gone WildAbuse Chronicles 20: Swaying PalmsAbuse Chronicles 19: Hale KepuhiAbuse Chronicles 18: Kaulana HaenaAbuse Chronicles 17: Hale PulelehuaAbuse Chronicles 16: Holo MakaniAbuse Chronicles 15: Makua KaiAbuse Chronicles 14-D: Hale MakaiAbuse Chronicles 14-C: Hale MakaiAbuse Chronicles 14-B: Hale MakaiAbuse Chronicles 14-A: Hale MakaiAbuse Chronicles 13: Hale HokuAbuse Chronicles 12: Banana Beach HouseAbuse Chronicles 11: Lihi Kai '>Posts Atom PostsAll Comments Atom All CommentsBlog Archive 2017(60) May(7)New and ImprovedAll PauMusings: Sacred and NotMusings: Friday FinaleMusings: Epic Fail is RightMusings: Reassessing AssumptionsMusings: Giving and Getting April(12) March(12) February(15) January(14) 2016(206) December(12) November(13) October(15) September(19) August(17) July(17) June(21) May(20) April(16) March(22) February(16) January(18) 2015(204) December(12) November(15) October(17) September(15) August(16) July(20) June(16) May(18) April(18) March(19) February(21) January(17) 2014(224) December(18) November(20) October(23) September(23) August(17) July(15) June(12) May(19) April(22) March(17) February(19) January(19) 2013(208) December(16) November(19) October(16) September(12) August(22) July(16) June(19) May(20) April(18) March(16) February(15) January(19) 2012(235) December(12) November(22) October(21) September(18) August(21) July(17) June(19) May(23) April(18) March(24) February(21) January(19) 2011(198) December(22) November(14) October(14) September(13) August(10) July(14) June(19) May(14) April(19) March(20) February(19) January(20) 2010(242) December(20) November(21) October(21) September(18) August(16) July(20) June(22) May(19) April(23) March(21) February(19) January(22) 2009(258) December(19) November(21) October(19) September(23) August(23) July(26) June(25) May(20) April(20) March(24) February(16) January(22) 2008(308) December(18) November(24) October(24) September(25) August(20) July(22) June(24) May(26) April(27) March(30) February(32) January(36) 2007(123) December(33) November(34) October(37) September(19)A Few of My ClipsCut to the BonesOver the HedgeBattle in the Taro PatchRebirth of a Hawaiian ForestDammed for All TimeOur Disappearing Nurses
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