NO ROOM AT THE DOGHOUSE: The County admitted this afternoon that they do not have the permits to do “cleaning” work at Hanama`ulu Beach Park and thereby
http://kauaieclectic.blogspot.com/2008/02/musings-snookerferry-homeless-and.html
harass the often elderly, often disabled and often hard working souls recently expelled O`ahu-style by Kaua`i “from the heart” Mayor, Bryan Baptiste.
In response to PNN’s questions regarding permitting,
http://parxnewsdaily.blogspot.com/2008/02/if-dogs-run-free.html
County PIO Mary Daubert e-mailed “(t)he required permits for the work being done at Hanamā`ulu Beach Park are at various stages of the approval process”.
It doesn’t say if any permits have actually been obtained but it does say some have not.
The county announced
http://www.kauai.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=DGrXCVj4Tuw%3d&tabid=346&mid=1449
that the park needed “cleaning” in an attempt to rid the park of homeless by the “closing the park” It has reportedly been rousting the homeless for the last few week in anticipation of “Closed for Cleaning” signs going up Thursday.
The admission also indicates that the work could not have possibly started Thursday as the county asserted- either that or the Parks and Recreation and Pubic Works Departments never thought about needing a permit, a commonly claimed occurrence in the Batiste administration
A late mid-Thursday drive-by showed no tents, but no “cleaning. As a matter of fact “it looks beautiful” as our driver observed. There were quite a few families enjoying the spotless shady picnic tables. At first someone thought they saw an ice-head in the bushes but it was just an eight-year-old on the rope swing.
In addition to a Special Management Area (SMA) permit, a grubbing and grading permit could be required and if it does indeed need an SMA permit- unless it’s exempted- it certainly needs a Conservation District Use Permit (CDUP), which is even stricter than an SMA and covers all shoreline areas.
But the grubbing and grading permit could be major concern. Tons of dirty sand, apparently cleared the from unpaved shoreline road, sits mauka in artificial dunes all along the way leading to the River where it was apparently piled as the road was cleared of ocean debris and graded.
(Official PNN “opinion”- Almost everyone who goes there agrees those pavilion/bathrooms at the north end need to be torn down and new ones built- even those who have lived and loved there over the years.... hey, I like this blogging stuff)
Since the County is still getting its permits together it is unknown tonight whether they will stop the police harassment of people who are down there, down on their luck and down to having to live on the beach in our insane island minimum-wage, maximum-rent economy... even if it is the place tourists see first when they go to the “closest beach”..
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Howard Zinn has written another terrific piece, this one reminding us all about the meaning of elections. "Election Madness":
http://www.progressive.org/mag_zinn0308
One of the best parts of this piece, and one which relates directly to the topic of homelessness, is his discussion of the direct actions taken by communities in the 1930's, including collective resistance to evictions. Zinn's point is that such intense grassroots pressure not only had material results for people in the moment, but forced the government to respond with meaningful reforms.
Today, we have a tendency to stand idly by, often with lit candles in hand and watering eyes, while the hardship and misery bursts forth in full bloom around us. We have a tendency to believe that our duties begin and end with electoral politics and good intentions. However, elected officials only act under pressure, and candlelight vigils and thinking good thoughts do not amount to a hill of beans. "Pressure" involves people refusing to allow the homeless to be swept away, refusing to allow the police to evict tenants, climbing up into monkeypod trees and refusing to get down, sitting on a surfboard in front of a boat and refusing to move out of the way, reclaiming land and refusing to budge. At some point we have to physically REFUSE any more injustice.
Unfortunately, many people believe that there is a direct correlation between "peaceful" and "legal" action, not realizing that they are thereby limiting their options to only those that are of symbolic value at best. But what's violent about refusing to allow your neighbor to be evicted by blockading the movers? Or sitting in a tree? These actions are not violent....but they are illegal. Yes, sometimes breaking "the law" is necessary to resist injustice. The litmus test in my mind is not one of legality but of EFFECTIVENESS.
If you see someone drowning, do you jump in to save them or do you stand on the shore with a candle, a prayer and an earnest tear in your eye?
Good work, Andy. And yes, being able to assert your own opinion is one of the major perks of blog-writing!
Hanamaulu is one area that has been neglected for far too long. Hawaii Revised Statute HRS 46-12 clearly states that the County ought to keep it clean, especially when the debris is a public nuisance. The WILL of those with authority and resources is severely lacking. Very sad indeed. We pray that a cleanup is at hand.
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