AH, THE SMELL OF PLANTATION LUNAS THE MORNING::

AH, THE SMELL OF PLANTATION LUNAS THE MORNING: An article in today’s local newspaper about the new “green” National Tropical Botanical Gardens (NTBG) center in Lawa`i contains a note about the fact that the multi-million dollar project is being financed in part by a $300,000 loan through the good graces of the Kaua`i Island Utilities Co-op (KIUC)

But buried deep in the article is a note that according to KIUC Board member Peter Yukimura the next $300,000 loan is going to Island School.

Now calm down- what might strike some as another unrelated-to-anything expenditure that might show up on our electric bills is actually a pass-through loan from a U.S. Department of Agriculture “Rural Economic Development Land and Grant” program which puts up the low-cost loan money and electric co-ops like ours choose a non-profit group in the community to receive it. (Yukimura also reportedly said the money has to go a “co-op”)

We wondered, why Island School It’s known as a private school where the elite send their kids and tuition is just under $10,000 a year- $6500 for pre-school

Well a look at the list of Board members of KIUC,
Island School the NTBG and even the first $300,000 recipient, Kaua`i Hospice might give a clue, especially when some context is provided and a couple of other “connector” names are added.

All of the recipients are fine institutions. So, as they used to say on the streets of NYC, “we ain’t sayin’, we’re just sayin’...”

Here’s a list of who and what we found in a day of snooping around:

James Mayfield: Island School Board Director ; Former KIUC Board Director; Bank of Hawai`i Vice-President; Manager of Kaua`i operations; Owner and President, Island Business Services, Inc.; Republican Political ally of Charlie King; involved in extensive financial support and business dealings with King and Holbrook W. Goodale and others in the auto industry on Kaua`i

David Proudfoot: Attorney for KIUC Board since before inception; VP of Island School Board of Directors; Partner in Belles, Graham, Proudfoot & Wilson which has routinely represented Grove Farm before the County Council and Planning Commission for many years,

Charlie King: Island School Board Director; President of King Auto Center; Former campaign chair for former Mayor Marianne Kusaka; business associate of Mayfield

David Pratt- President of Island School Board; Trustee for NTSB; Retired long time President of land-baron Grove Farm and former employer of Allan Smith and Mark Hubbard; Now President, Niu Pia Land Company

Allan Smith: KIUC board member; Former Senior Vice President of Kaua`i Grove Farm under Pratt; Former Interim Director of State DLNR

Holbrook W. Goodale: NTBG Trustee, Member, Island School Board; Retired Rancher and Auto Dealer. Associate of King and Mayfield

Bill Cowern: Island School Board, Owner, Hawaiian Mahogany (or Mahogony according to Island School’s web site) which has preliminarily contracted with KIUC in controversial albezius wood-chip growing business for a bio-mass energy operation.

Victor Punua: Island School Board Director; Proprietor of Punua Insurance Agency; Has decades of extensive business and governmental-service dealings with Teofilo "Phil" Tacbian, KIUC Board Treasurer and Independent Insurance Agent.

Teofilo "Phil" Tacbian: KIUC Board Treasurer and Independent Insurance Agent.

Mark S. Hubbard: Kaua`i Hospice board member and former executive at Grove Farm under Pratt; and A. Smith at Grove Farm. Also worked for Amfac Sugar-Hawai`i; Current Chair of Kaua`i Board of Ethics, under fire for ethical violations in clearing of others for ethics violations

Wade Lord: Island School Director; Manager of Grove Farm’s Kukui Grove Shopping Center; Former Manager of Kaua`i village Shopping Center where he fought efforts of the County to force the owners to comply with requirements to build a bridge to the neighboring shopping center.

Marianne Kusaka: Former Kaua`i Mayor; Original chief proponent of the electric co-op purchase before inception, even at original inflated prices. Called opponents of co-op’s original inflated price nitpickers, coining tongue-in-cheek term for Kaua`i government activists. Most of the above named contributed to her campaign and pet charities.