TELLING US WHERE TO GO

TELLING US WHERE TO GO: Take a gander at this bizarrely ill-informed rant some editorial writer for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser decided to pen about Kaua`i today under a pay-walled "Off the News" banner....


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Wider highway should ease nerves on Kauai


Anyone who’s been to the Garden Island lately must have been nodding knowingly at the headline, “Kauai is Hawaii’s fastest growing county, census finds.” And for those who’ve experienced the traffic slog between Kapaa and Lihue, those nods turned to shakes of the head.


Kauai’s population rose 1.6 percent between July 2012 and July 2013. While the actual number seems small — 1,117 more people — that growth trend, alas, has created congestion that at times seems worse than Oahu’s rush hour. It’s not just the increase in cars, but also Kauai’s humble byways — one lane only in each direction, for example — that clogs things.


Some relief is occurring: A state project to widen Kaumualii Highway to ease Lihue traffic is now in its second phase. The little town is getting citified.


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Who writes this stuff? Somebody must of "offed" the news because this blurb doesn't have any basis in real live news.


As we on Kaua`i know the "super-highway" will go through the currently traffic-free path that leads to the South and West Sides and not through the East Side where the traffic is in Kapa`a-Wailua. It isn't even really "in" Lihu'e town proper and primarily runs through miles of rural agricultural land.


"Not For You Highway" as it's called here is a four-lane state-planned and federally and state-funded boondoggle which is intended to bring future visitors from the airport- bypassing Lihu`e town- to the tens of thousands of hotel rooms and hundreds of thousands of tourists we are "expecting," according to the state's (not the county's) plans for uncontrolled, rampant development of Po`ipu, over the next 50 years.


It's certainly not for we poor schnooks stuck in East Side traffic except maybe to commute for an hour from someplace we can afford to live so we can clean toilet bowls for a nickel over minimum wage.


As a matter of fact, while the tourists will have a straight four-lane shot to the resorts in Po`ipu, those commuting from Kapa`a to work there will, after battling the East Side traffic, have to sit in Lihu`e traffic too because there's no bypass of Lihu`e planned by the state.


Can you say "Revenge of the PLDC?


The lack of research notwithstanding, not having anyone actually on Kaua`i the S-A didn't even know to delve into what this waste of highway funds is really about... possibly because they didn't even know where it is.


But how would they know? Apparently, as the lack of Kaua`i datelines shows, Neighbor Island reporter Rosemary Bernardo "covers" Kaua`i from her desk in the paper's city room. Who do they think that harebrained scheme to drain the water from the Alakai Swamp was for? We prisoners of the East Side traffic?


Try a hundred thousand new tourists a day who tax our sewers, police, fire and water while the legislature "scoops" the Transient Accommodation Tax (TAT) that was intended to offset the county's' costs each year.


Apparently the editorial's scribe is among those who just couldn't understand what we had against the "H-4" aka The SuperFerry. Or the PLDC.


And it seems, never will.

DEATH KNELL SOUNDING FOR KOKE`E; STATE SAYS "'TAIN'T YO' MOUNTAIN NO MO'"

DEATH KNELL SOUNDING FOR KOKE`E;
STATE SAYS "'TAIN'T YO' MOUNTAIN NO MO'"


It's hard to tell exactly what's going down up there from down here but one thing is clear- there is some bad mojo surrounding Koke`e these days, much of it at the hands of one Frank Hay, friend of the chemical companies, the military and other Westside abominations.


Not to mention the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) which, while the people of Kaua`i have always seen the trees and recreational opportunities, sees only dollar signs.


Hay- the  President of the Hui O Laka Museum's Board of Trustees*- is the one who almost single-handedly removed long time museum Executive Director Marsha Erickson recently.


Many say that in part it's because she supported the pesticide-and-GMO-disclosing, buffer-zone-creating, study-enabling Bill 2491... that and her support of those who have opposed the massive commercial development of Koke`e that's been proposed by the DLNR for many years.


And Erickson may not have been the only one purged- others say they have been summarily removed from the mountain one way or another through various efforts of Hay, the DLNR and their minions.


But although Hay has attempted to obscure the reasons for Erickson's departure it may be becoming clearer with unconfirmed reports that the lodge has been taken over by Aston Resorts and the CCC Camp- which Erickson brought back from the dead during her Koke`e tenure- is the target of a takeover by the state's nebulous Agrobuniness Development Corporation (ADC).


The ADC is another one of those "Public Land Development Corporation (PLDC)-type state creations that leases "state" land (actually stolen Hawaiian land) and, perhaps unconstitutionally, bypasses local land use laws.


While the PLDC was repealed by the state legislature last year the ADC continues to operate under the radar of most activists, leasing out much of the land used by the chemical companies for their genetically modified (GM) foods and related restricted-use-pesticide (RUP) experiments, with sweetheart deals at outrageously low prices.


In addition the chemical companies' new best friend, Koke`e State Representative Dee Morikawa- who has introduced and vehemently defended a bill in the state legislature to essentially overturn Bill 2491 (now ordinance 960) and a Hawai`i Island ordinance banning new open-air GM experiments- has introduced a bill to abolish the Koke`e State Advisory Council


At one time back in the 60's residents had to battle to stop plans for making Koke`e a national park and allowed the state to take over as an alternative. And ever since the state has eyed the Kaua`i playground as a cash cow.


Despite adamant opposition by that pesky advisory council and the near unanimous opposition by the island-wide community to plans that include concessions at the lookouts, turning the lodge into a hotel and putting a gate up to charge admission, the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) has, of late, unilaterally pushed forward with their commercialization plans which had been abandoned due to opposition over and over for decades.


It's been hard enough to keep the city and county at bay. They seem to have some kind of entitlement mindset that says that going in and taking whatever you want without asking is not just okay but that it's us that are exhibiting a lack of aloha for saying "no"- as the battles over the SuperFerry and the current undersea electric cable have so well crystallized.


But when Morikawa- the very one elected to protect Koke`e- turns Benedict Arnold on us our chances at protecting what makes Kaua`i special approach zero.

* 
Note: the original has been edited to remove the statement that Frank Hay is the current head of the Koke`e Advisory Council. We apologist for the error.
Note: the original has been edited to remove the statement that Frank Hay is the current head of the Koke`e Advisory Council. We apologist for the error.

NO RUNS, NO HITS, JUST ERRORS

NO RUNS, NO HITS, JUST ERRORS: It used to be that when some big corporation or government agency had some hair-brained scheme that was universally opposed on Kaua`i the "pusher" would just push harder.

But many times that's blown up in their faces and in some cases they've eventually had to back down on a project leaving them with no project plus millions of dollars in free publicity... the kind they didn't want.

One recent archetypical example of this was a project to plant trees to burn for electricity and do it on Hawaiian Homes land in Anahola- land that the Hawaiian community there had always thought would eventually be developed for homes for those Hawaiians who qualify.

The company, which had plans and an agreement to lease the land really cheaply, took a slew of body blows at various meetings and now the projects seems to be on its way to the scrap heap.

But after that ignominious instance the latest corporate-governmental "partnership" ploys seems to be, "if they push back hard, get out quickly... and cleanly- a la the PLDC.

But it's being done in a uniquely Hawai`i way.

The next instance was the plan by the semi-autonomous Kaua`i Water Department (KWD) to drill a horizontal potable water well into the "wettest spot in the world"- the sacred "Mount Wai`ale`ale."

Community groups- both environmental and cultural- essentially said "are you nuts?" and geared up for a long drawn out battle.

But instead the KWD announced that, despite all the professionally made charts and graphs they drew up and lugged to the first of many planned community meetings showing the project to be on Wai`ale`ale, in fact some lower level bureaucrat had simply "made a mistake" and instead they really had planned all along to drill into Mount Kahili.

Of course no one explained how it could have been a simple mistake. Nor did they mention that, although you'd need to drive half way across the island to get from the base of one to the base of the other, Mount Kahili is simply the back face of Mount Wai`ale`ale.

And now they've announced that they're canceling the meeting about the "new" Mt Kahili project entirely.

Many think that the whole project is suspicious, saying it's not being done to provide water to current customers but to essentially support massive planned future tourism development... and do it on the backs of the current water-users/rate-payers.

Other say it's because they need all that water for all that North Shore Ag land so that the "seed farmers" can grow more biotech (GMO) corn, soybean, cotton and other "seed." Right now there isn't enough water in the Moloa`a-Kilauea area even for the current small, organic "truck farmers."

But this $50 million drilling project- whether Kahili or Wai`ale`ale- will supply all the water the north shore could use for any kind of agriculture in an area where the irrigation ditch system left over from sugar cane days is now dilapidated to the point where it would be prohibitively costly to repair. Plus, if it could be repaired, there's no easy way to pay for it since it's not the kind of potable county water KWD controls- as was discussed recently by the county council.

It's not that surprising this announcement comes on the heels of that council discussion.

Back to our PR lesson- one that was not lost on the the Coast Guard whose recent announcement that they were going to extend the ocean "danger zone" for the Kekaha shooting range (which sits next door to the Pacific Missile Range Facility [PMRF] Naval Base) was met with a slew of negative comments from fishers, swimmers, surfers and other beach and ocean users.

But today an article in the local newspaper says that they have withdrawn the plans for expansion.

So what happened? The newspaper says:

“I think we could chalk it up to a mistake,” (Lt. Col. Charles) Anthony said by phone Monday. “A project manager had increased the size beyond what we had seen in the earlier drafts. We will be making up a proposal with a much smaller footprint.”

Just a mistake, that's all. Not a blunder by the military where an attempt to control more land and ocean has spurred some opponents to suddenly start talking about it being time to get rid of the shooting range, if not the Navy's next-door missile range, entirely.

Is this the wave of the future? Will Monsanto suddenly announce tomorrow that it had been a mistake to oppose the labeling of GMO products saying it was a decision made by some low level technocrat in Sector "R?"

Dream on.

But locally apparently it's "any port in a storm," the belief being that they can save face with the "I no like say nahting" locals by saying it was all a simple mistake.

But a word to the wise- the natives are becoming restless.

MALAMA ANGINA

MALAMA ANGINA: Sometimes things stick in your craw. And sometime it helps to know where exactly your craw is.

For those who haven't heard the story, earlier this week Ch. 2, KHON-TV News (the one with Joe Moore) led their 6 p.m. newscast with a story by Ron Mizutani apparently hand fed to him by Hawai`i State Senator Malama Solomon who, along with Senator Donovan Dela Cruz, is the chief super-villain of the PLCD fiasco.

In the piece, Solomon can be seen whining and sniveling about some cockamamie email she had gotten from someone on the Big Island- presumably one of her constituents- which, shall we say, had some colorful language including exactly one "F" word and one "GD"

So Solomon did what any senator would do- she called the cops. According to the story,

Honolulu Police have opened an investigation and a veteran lawmaker is considering filing for a temporary restraining order...

"I'm pretty tough skinned because I've been in politics for many many years as well you know, but this is the first email that I ever received where I felt that someone has really threatened or insinuating bodily harm," said Sen. Solomon (D) Waimea, Hamakua, Hilo.

So what was the content of the email? References to Guns? Knives? Physical assault?

Although Mizutani quoted small segment of it we've obtained a copy of the full email, addressed not specifically to Solomon but to to all state senators although it does reference her and Dela Cruz in the subject line.

Here it is (all SIC) with the writer's name redacted:

reps@capitol.hawaii.gov; sens@capitol.hawaii.gov;

From: XXXXX XXXXXXX
Date: Sunday, March 31, 2013 5:31 AM
To: All Senators
Subject: Senators [for *this* term] Cruz & Solomon

I live on the Big Island but, like many others, know what's going on with...(I suppose "dirty" is too objectionable) *some* legislators---such as Cruz and Solomon.

You know...regarding the citizens of Hawaii having spoken: Repeal the goddamed PLDC!

Maybe somebody should politely remind those two ass clowns: "you live on a fucking *island!*

Just saying.

Times are hard. People are fed up and ready for action---more than you might expect.

Doing the right thing will, in the long run, prevent a bunch of trouble.

I am a peaceful man but will do everything possible legal thing to see to it that these two individuals regret not doing the people's will.

Sincerely,

Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx

It hard to see exactly what the physical threat was especially after saying he would "do everything possible legal thing (sic)" (emphasis added) which does not of course include violence.

But Solomon didn't seem like she really read the email.. or if she did was being purposely obtuse.

"I did call the police chief on the island of Hawaii to find out who this individual was. I felt that the email was threatening," Sen. Solomon said. "I'm seriously thinking of going for a TRO at this moment."

So now she's got cops on two islands wasting their time on her fantasies.

And apparently crybaby makes three. As Mizutani says:

Sen. Solomon says Senate leadership will decide if the Attorney General needs to get involved.

No only that but she's thinking of clogging up the courts with her paranoia.

Could it be all the attacks on her integrity and legislative actions have gotten to her and she's simply gone off the deep end? Could it be the new "Malama Solomon Must Go" Facebook page was one jab too many?

Hard to say but apparently disingenuity loves company and everyone wanted to get into the southern (maybe South Hilo) belle's "oh my I'm about to have the vapors" act.

"It's just sad and unfortunate. It was addressed to all senators and some of the cursing in there clearly cross the line of just a manner in which you try to advocate for a position," said Sen. Ron Kouchi (D), Kauai, Niihau.

Yes the backroom facilitator of some of the egregious PLDC shenanigans this session according to senate sources, Ron "Butterball" Kouchi has crocodile tears, apparently cause by all of Malama's gorilla dust getting in his eyes.

Oh- and get worse it does Mrs Calabash. This from Solomon's partner in PLDC crimes and misdemeanors, Dela Cruz.

"We don't want to intimidate others from participating. I think everyone has a valid point of view but we have to be earnest in wanting to contribute," said Sen. Dela Cruz (D) Mililani, North Shore.

And, stop the music- stop the music. Senator Clayton "can always be counted on to do something nutty" Hee just couldn't resist throwing in his less than two cents worth of brain tissue on the matter.

"There's a civil way to communicate and I think it's very cowardly," said Sen. Clayton Hee (D) Kaneohe, Hauula, Kahuku.

Yeah, making up threats and getting them publicized on TV as "news" is the courageous way to go about things Clayton.

So is there any way to make the point to these bozos? Well someone we know suggested a wake up email- make that many emails- might be in order.

What if all of us- everyone reading these words- copied and pasted the anonymous Big Island emailer's email and sent it to all the senators (at sens@capitol.hawaii.gov).

It's time to make like Tony Curtis and scream "I AM SPARTICUS."

It just might make Kouchi, Dela Cruz and Hee think twice before getting all puffy-chested defending someone who is known for bursting into offices and cussing out and threatening her house and senate colleagues her own self.

Both Solomon and Dela Cruz don't come up for reelection until 2016 and Hawai`i has no provisions for recall. Nice, eh?

GETTIN' 'FACED

GETTIN' 'FACED: Admittedly we've been neglectful of our poor "blog"- a term we've finally stopped cringing at just in time for us to take this little pre-burnout semi-hiatus.

So where have we been? For those who haven't noticed, believe it or not we've been on Facebook.

No, not the "she burned my eggs again at breakfast, how's your mother's gout, what kind of wrinkle cream is Mich Jagger using," social network but the incredibly effective, grassroots political organizing tool Facebook.

Yes you heard right. We may be exaggerating or lacking some objectivity but, for instance, organizing the effort to get the state legislature to repeal the creation of the Public Land Development Corporation (PLDC) could not have been anywhere near as effective without the Abolish the PLDC working group as well as the just plain day-to-day political conversations that Facebook lends itself to.

As more and more sign up, Facebook has gathered together many of the "usual suspects"- political activists and organizers around the state that have seemingly in many ways been key to efforts to expose and publicize some of the more horrendous abuses by PLDC stalwarts State Senators Malama Solomon and Donovan Dela Cruz.

Solomon especially, has tried every dirty trick in the book and some we've never before seen attempted in almost 40 years of legislature observation (with attempted neighbor island participation)... from blocking hearings through verbal and even physical intimidation, to bursting into hearing rooms and going on screaming jags, to political intimidation as committee chair (threatening members with denial of hearings for "their" bills and essentially killing them) if members made any noise about her shenanigans. Said shenanigans include a "gut and replace" of a PLDC repeal bill introduced by Sen. Laura Thielen- who has been exposing Solomon's sh*t on her blog, for example, making signatures on the testimony of many who noted a specific repeal bill now appear to favor a bill that would keep the PLDC in place.

It was through Facebook that a petition with hundreds of signatures was organized to remove Solomon from her position as Chair. Some think that this petition helped convince Solomon that she was not going to keep her devious efforts surreptitious and away from the public eye.

There is even an effort well under way to, if not remove her from office, at least to organize for her defeat in the next election. No politician- even one as bold, brash and boisterous as Solomon- needs this, especially winning her first election (after having been appointed to the senate from her former house seat) in a squeaker to a popular former mayor of Hawai`i Island.

The Facebook petition- originated and organized by a Democratic Party leader on Maui and publicized by a blog post at Civil Beat- was thought by many observers to have, if nothing else, helped focus the attention of both members of the public and other legislators on Solomon's actions. Some long time legislative observers say that no one trusts Solomon at all at this point, and likewise no one wants to be seen to be "on her side."

All eyes, public and legislative, are on every single word of any PLDC related bills in and coming out of her committee.

"Staffers have their uku combs out" when it comes to Malama's PLDC bills said one.

The focus and petition have even spawned some real "out there" conspiracy theorists trying to find a "there there" when there actually wasn't any at all, showing the level of grassroots attention that is now being paid to making sure that a clean repeal bill comes out of the senate- preferably one identical to the one passed by the whole house last Monday (2/11) so it can go directly to the governor’s desk without passing "Go" and having to be "reconciled" in a conference committee--which would give Solomon and Dela Cruz one last bite at the abuse-of-process apple and delay passage possibly until May- something house members greatly fear.

"We (legislators) just want this to be over early in the session so we can move on to important things like the budget," said Kaua`i Rep Derek Kawakami (D 14th- North Shore) who, though he originally supported the PLDC said during a chance early January post office interview, that he was now resigned to repeal.

If you'd like to testify at this point, ask for a bill containing a "clean, full repeal of the PLDC, preferably one identical to one the house passed" without referring to a bill number- and email it to sens@capitol.hawaii.gov .

Of course that's not the only thing being organized through Facebook these days. Many activists are working against GMOs and for labeling as well as dozens of other efforts, sharing bill numbers, gathering testimony, getting the word out when hearings are set and performing many other essential tasks that, until now, were performed through email. But unlike email, Facebook allows anyone to peruse and latch on to, duck in and out of, and instantly participate in the effort(s) of their choice- or not- whether it's local, state or national, whether it's legislative or purely through outside the system efforts- or somewhere in between.

The best feature is that it's instantaneous and allows conversations between dozens or even hundreds of individuals, allowing hundreds if not thousands of interested parties to look over the shoulders of those discussing the best way to, say write testimony and/or lobby and/or organize events, rallies and/or meetings.

Many even feel satisfaction that they've been able to turn one of the most time-wasting symbols of American vacuousness into a heretofore unparalleled tool of truly grassroots activism.

Regarding Facebook itself, of course it's a clunky horrendous system controlled by a bunch of greedy little twerps, bent on control and profit using people's personal information so as to sell them more crap which they don't want or need, reaching new heights of consumerism.

The "staff" are apparently unable to stop tripping over their own feet every time they try to "monetize" the monstrosity they've created and the tradeoff is that everything you say is there forever in the public domain.

And the majority of the people there are still there to tell their "friends" what Hollywood movie didn't totally suck and post pictures of their assorted and sundry genitalia.

And, there are also pitfalls, not just for activists but for politicians- especially the phonies and jerk-wads- who dare to step into the fray.

Case in point, one of the most despicable human beings- not just politicians but people in general- it has ever been our displeasure to have met personally: Representative James "Can't Keep His Pants On" Tokioka (D- 15th District- Kapa`a; Lihu`e).

(The kinder gentler Rabid Reporter we've referred to of late is finding out that the trick is to be benevolent to and considerate of the feelings of friends and lovers, but not necessarily so much for total sc*mbags like Tokioka who consciously and consistently prey on the public trust for fun and profit without one iota of true public service behind their efforts.)

This slimy little pr*ck has consistently been "for" one thing- Jimmy Tokioka- for a couple of decades, first as a Republican councilmember on Kaua`i who managed to lie, cheat and finagle his way to reelection every two years until he somehow cut a deal to "replace" our retiring original-good-old-boy machine-made-man Ezra Kanoho by switching parties and, somehow, managing to get elected- and reelected- without ever facing any opposition.

Although it's been said about many ever since- including about Tokioka himself- Kanoho was the first to have it be said about him that he was "the man who never met a hotel he didn't like."

Please- someone- run against this guy. Unless you're on the sex offender list or fail to bathe regularly or something, you're probably a shoo-in.

Until the last dog dies, Tokioka was a stalwart supporter of the defeated House Speaker Calvin Say and apparently remains bitter about the defeat and loss of his power that was derived from his support of Say. He remains staunchly pro-GMO and his list of contributors reflect a corporate debt.

As a long time corporate-bought-and-paid-for shill, he was a main force behind the PLDC on the house side and was on the house committee where various PLDC related bills were heard.

His list of campaign contributors indicates a man with a corporate indebtedness. His top ten PAC contributors include Monsanto, A&B and American Resort Development Association Resort Owners Coalition Pac (ARDA Roc-Pac) while his top ten individual contributors include lobbyist supreme John Radcliffe and infamous Republican resort honcho Lynn McCrory- a thick gruel of PLDC supporters indeed.

So this week when the repeal of the PLDC was up for a vote in the full house, even though he had been embarrassed into completing a unanimous vote for full repeal in committee he was apparently still fuming and beholden to his corporate backers.

Observers say Tokioka was apparently trapped and couldn't get out from behind the table and out of the room before the vote and would have made headlines had he tried- or, as an alternative, vote against the repeal bill. The acquiescence of those who had been blocking repeal in the house came literally as a last-minute surprise when those opposed to repeal saw the handwriting on the wall and, after verbally listing all the reasons they were against repeal suddenly turned on a dime to allow the full repeal to pass out of committee. Even the bill reads as if it were going to keep the PLDC, only to repeal it in the last couple of sentences.

So it was no surprise that Tokioka was notable for his absence from the "unanimous" vote of the full house to pass a "clean, full repeal" of the PLDC.

Well, starting a day or so after the vote the "Abolish the PLDC" Facebook group- which has apparently become one "source" for a few reporters in the state looking to "feel the pulse" of PLDC opponents- began discussing Tokioka's absence from the full house vote and the subject was seeming to threaten to make headlines in one publication or another.

So all of a sudden, in the middle of one the many conversation "threads" that were becoming more and more critical of Tokioka's action- or lack of it- there was a "comment" from none other than his vileness his own self.

After thanking one person for seemingly trying to make plausible excuses for Jimmy he wrote:

To respond to Xxxxxx's question about why I was absent at the time of the would like you to know it is my dad's 82nd birthday today. In May of 2012 my dad had a massive stroke and has been bed ridden since then. Who knows how many more times I'm gonna get to talk to him on his birthday and between my mom and I we were coordinating the phone call that could only be done at that time. If you look at the committee vote, I voted Yes to repeal. I hope that better clarifies my vote and my actions. (all sic)

Here we go again. This is quintessential Jimmy Tokioka. Jimmy has made a career out of grabbing at and yanking on some concocted heart-string (or is it heart-chain) whenever he is cornered by some act of his that there's no way to explain his way out of. It's a well worn tool in his obfuscation and dodge-ball playing toolbox- a tried and true (to turn the phrase around) "the best defense is a good offense" ploy.

If you don't read it carefully it might seems like he had been with his sick dad- who could drop dead tomorrow- on his 82nd birthday. And even if you do read it, you'd think there was some kind of reason why if he had stayed for the vote he would probably never see his dad again.

The gist seems to have been that only by skipping the vote would he be permitted to speak to his beloved mother or see his on-his-deathbed father again... or something like that.

But the fact is, as alleged by a few of those who were there for the vote and were discussing Tokioka's absence- and confirmed in a Civil Beat article by Chad Blair and Nathan Eagle:

Souki called the unanimous vote — featuring his supporters, acolytes of Speaker Emeritus Calvin Say and the Republicans — "very impressive." Only Democrats Sharon Har and Jimmy Tokioka — both Say supporters — did not vote, having been excused from the chamber, though both were at the Capitol (emphasis added).

So that's where we've been- in addition to organizing we've been posting a lot shorter pieces and sharing articles that we might otherwise weave into a column... had we not been so lazy of late.

So "friend" us under "Andy Parx" if you’re interested in seeing what we've been writing on Facebook. Or you can check in here now and again- usually daily or so- although we're not really sure if you have to sign up to see it (another BS feature- don't get us started...).

We're actually surprised that the chattering classes- especially those who directly cover the "social media" have not picked up on this "Facebook as a political tool" phenomena yet. We just stumbled upon it after family members and close friends (yes- we do still have some) got spammed-out and gave up on email and forced us to toss our very soul into Zuckerberg's zeitgeist

But although we might go back and forth between feeding this space and the social network cum organizing tool, Jimmy Tokioka will always be an unwavering slimeball.

23 GREAT TOMATOES IN THAT LITTLE BITTY CAN

23 GREAT TOMATOES IN THAT LITTLE BITTY CAN: It's not without reason that many have become obsessed with repealing the Public Lands Development Corporation (PLDC) after being made aware of it last fall. We assume our readers know the chapter and verse liturgy of exemptions, lies, deceit and greed behind the attempted giveaway of state controlled land.

So it makes sense that along with the opening of the 2013 Hawai`i State Legislature comes one of those "just when you think you've seen it all" moments... as in "you ain't seen nothin' yet."

Those outraged over the tactics and content surrounding Act 55 (enshrined as HRS 171C) mobilized for the legislature's opening day with a massive rally to support the introduction of a bill- something promised by many representatives and senators- to repeal PLDC.

And, in a "be careful what you ask for- you just might get it" moment, they got their "bill"... in spades.

Because instead of one bill in the house and one bill in the senate to simply repeal the measure that created the monster there are by some counts between 20 and 23 bills dealing with the repeal of the PLDC.

According to a commentary in Civil Beat by Simon Russell- also an excellent primer on the subject:

On opening day, two bills to repeal HRS 171C were introduced (SB1 and HB110). As of Jan. 24, 23 bills have been introduced calling for repeal of all or parts HRS 171C (15 from the Senate and 8 from the House). The big question is which repeal version will pass, and what will the actual result be.

Yes apparently many the self-same legislators who voted for the measure back in 2011 are playing "crabs in a bucket" crawling over each other so that they can emerge as the one being credited with slaying the beast- even if it means no one in the public can figure out which bill or bills to support.

Some even have their names on more than one bill increasing their chances of being cited as the knight who slew the dragon.

But to assume that's all that's in play here would be to ignore the more sinister motives of those introducing what may seem to be repeal bills but actually are "transformer" measures that leave the monster dead in name only, morphing the PLDC into other string-of-letters entities, losing the name but keeping many of the more repugnant details.

The more ambitious activists have waded though each bills' legalese only to throw up their hands in fury trying to find a "clean" repeal bill. Some attempted to create comparative lists, other spread sheets trying to determine which bill(s) to support and which one(s) to reject. Some of them have even turned to email and social media to see if they could get all repeal proponents to unify behind one bill.

The only problem is that many are new to the incredibly frustrating hurry-up-and-wait, be-ready-to-get-slapped-in-the-face, Hawai`i State Legislature and actually thought the public has any say whatsoever over which bills survive, which get heard and ultimately, which are passed.

The fact is that all "we the people" get to do is provide cover for those who really control the process. It's actually said that for certain controversial bills- you know the ones where the testimony generally ends with the phrase "and I vote"- legislators get their staff to print out the emails, make piles of pro and con and then literally weight them. Last year because of that one activist we heard from suggested people make sure their testimony was at least two pages long.

Each bill introduced needs to be assigned to one committee or more and then each committee will schedule hearings and decision-making on one or more of the bills creating a seemingly infinite number of permutation for those dedicated to taking part in the legislative process.

Gee- you don't think they planned it that way do ya? Well, how do you think the PLDC got created in the first place?

Even if one wanted to pick that one bill to support it's not like they get to pick it- the way it goes is that the leadership- Speaker Joe Souki in the House and President Donna Mercado Kim in the Senate along with the appropriate committee chairs- will decide which bills become the "vehicle" as it's called.

You can also forget about playing "who do you trust" and trying to determine which bill to support by looking at who introduced it. That's never a wise proposition with some of the more weaselly legislators, especially with many of them having tried to "cover the table" by introducing more than one of the bills.

While there may be a time for more specific testimony presently, those champing at the bit can do something right now other than setting their hair on fire and running laps around the fourth floor of the capitol.

For now it seem the only thing the public can do is to write an email to the reps@capitol.hawaii.gov and sens@capitol.hawaii.gov addresses (which goes to all "reps" and "sens") and tell them you want them to vote to fully repeal the PLDC without morphing it into anything else. You might even tell them why.

Confused? Clear as mud? Good- that's exactly what you're supposed to feel. This is after all the state legislature where the only rules are that there really aren't any and if you wait long enough you will see new and inventive ways to connive and control... the operative prefix being "con".

Just in case you feel like banging your head against the wall for a few hours here's about the best list of PLDC-related bills we could find.

Repeal PLDC (Act 55) bills

Senate Bills

SB 1 - Introduced by Hee

SB 245 - Introduced by L. Thielen, Baker, Ihara, Ruderman, Slom

SB 338 - Introduced by Keith-Agaran, Baker, English

SB 480 - Introduced by English

SB 663 - Introduced by Green, Ruderman

SB 780 - Introduced by Slom

SB 958 - Introduced by Kim

House Bills

HB 9 - Introduced by C. Thielen

HB 82 - Introduced by Carroll

HB 110 - Introduced by Hanohano, Lowen, Evans

HB 226 - Introduced by Souki

HB 317 - Introduced by Johanson, Cheape, Fale, Fukumoto, Mcdermott, Thielen, Ward

HB 454 - Introduced by Souki (b/r) (by request)

HB 589 - Introduced by Kawakami, Ito, Say, Takayama, Tsuji, Choy, Cullen


HB 1133 - Introduced by Evans, Awana, Brower, Cheape, Coffman, Fale, Fukumoto, Hanohano, Hashem, Ing, Johanson, C. Lee, Mcdermott, Mckelvey, Mizuno, Morikawa, Saiki, Takumi, Thielen, Aquino, Cachola, Nishimoto


Repeal PLDC (Act 55) and Act 282
(Act 282 passed in 2011 transfers Honokohau and Ala Wai harbors to the PLDC, establishes the Aloha Stadium special fund and defines public land as - Lands which are set aside by the governor to the public land development corporation; lands leased to the public land development corporation by any department or agency of the State; or lands to which the public land development corporation holds title in its corporate capacity.)

HB 352 - Introduced by Lowen, Hanohano, C. Lee, Thielen, Evans, Ing, Morikawa, Onishi

Repeal Act 282 only

SB 246 - Introduced by L. Thielen, Ruderman, Ihara, Slom

SB 781 - Introduced by Slom

SB 866 - Introduced by Ihara, Baker, Keith-Agaran, Ruderman

HB 8 - Introduced by Thielen

THE END OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP

THE END OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP: It's not everyday that a two-year-old legislative action crystallizes such an incredible backlash- between sessions no less- that repeal of it becomes the first order of business of the following session.

But Act 55, which created the Public Land Development Corporation (PLDC) was all that and a bag of chips.

So much so that it brought out what Hawai`i Governor Neil Abercrombie called "The Usual Suspects" to fight it.

It really was the perfect storm of a lousy measure containing onerous provisions designed to make the rich richer while throwing a few pennies to the state in exchange for our legacy. It all passed without public notice through a combination of opaque and corrupt practices, creating and entitling a handful of developers to steal public (actually Hawaiian) lands. And all the while it exempted the projects from county land use, zoning and permitting laws as well as other protections such as the federal Coastal Zone Management (CZM) provisions that the county enforces through the state Shoreline Management Area (SMA) act.

What's not to hate?

So when those of us who seem to spend our lives being forced to do battle with bad ideas from elected shills which crop up over and over and over again finally got wind of what happened and showed up to oppose it, the Governor, in his new "I'm not yer pal" persona, dismissed those of us who would question the PLDC as "the usual suspects."

And you know what? That's who we are- we are "The Usual Suspects" We are the Sierra Club, Thousand Friends, Surfrider Foundation, Common Cause and a slew of other organizations, activists, bloggers, facebookers and tweeters that know a bad deal when we see one and aren't going to "shut up" just because a former progressive- a former "usual suspect" who has of late been increasingly kicked to the curb- tells us to.

And yes- we are very proud of ourselves. So much so that we Usual Suspects do hereby adopt your attempt at derisive ad hominum attack. Please, feel free to call us "the usual suspects" whenever you get handed another stack of the usual ideas from the usual developers causing us to mobilize... as usual.

Yes, there are those of us who have been able to sort through the myriad layers of land use regulations in Hawai`i and are not on the side of "dumb growth." Rather we insist on not just community buy-in but the community initiation of development that smart growth requires.

There are those of us who understand that when project "takes too long"- when developers pick a place to develop and then tell us "this is where and what you get"- there's a reason for that.

It's because you're trying to push a round peg project in a square hole in a community that doesn't want your peg in the first place. Rather than ask the community what kind of development it needs and wants or even where it wants it to be, you've already decided that, like it or lump it, we're getting a new movie theater and an Italian restaurant... even if there's no way to mitigate Mel Gibson and unlimited bread sticks.

And yes- we are going to stop the project using the state or federal environmental protection act if necessary because the environmental assessment or impact statement is not just some paperwork to get through but actually has to propose full mitigation for ALL of the impacts- including cultural and social.

And if it can't be mitigated it has to provide an honest "no action" alternative. Or so the courts have said, no matter how hard you pound that peg.

And yes, we are going to try to stop projects by opposing redistricting before the land use commission, show up for state planning hearings and oppose county planning commissions' approval and county council rezonings. Because that's what those bodies are for: to protect us from bad and stupid growth. They're not there so they can be "exempted." And if you don't listen we will "usually"go to court to ensure our right to stop bad development.

Because, despite what some ivory tower land use professors at UH think, there is no inherent "right to develop" without the community's approval, no matter how much you wish it were so.

Exemptions are not streamlining- exemptions are simply the obliteration of our rights to be heard during a process that isn't simply the rubber-stamping of a "done deal."

So feel free to "round up the usual suspects" anytime you want to push a crummy project that nobody wants by exempting it from the processes designed to keep developers honest.

Because Neil, we seem to be getting the impression of late that "exempting" projects so as to allow a handful of developers to rob us blind is not "well intentioned" as you say but rather is a payback for all those campaign contributions you got in '10 and will be soliciting again in '14.

Or so we suspect....usually

KIM SUPPORTS PLDC REPEAL AS MOMENTUM FOR REPEAL GROWS; OPENING DAY RALLY AT LEGISLATURE PLANNED

KIM SUPPORTS PLDC REPEAL AS MOMENTUM FOR REPEAL GROWS; OPENING DAY RALLY AT LEGISLATURE PLANNED

(PNN) Hawai`i State Senate President designate Donna Mercado Kim says she is "currently drafting a bill to repeal the PLDC legislation and will be introducing it when the session begins ."

Kim has been seen as key to efforts to repeal Act 55 which exempts development of "state land" from environmental and local permitting laws and leaves it up to a small panel to developers.

In an email to Hawai`i Island community activist Shannon Rudolph, Kim added "I encourage you to convey your sentiments to other legislators, if you haven’t already done so."

Kim's support for repeal is thought by observers to be key in the senate after she replaced former Senate President Shan Tsutsui who was appointed Lt. Governor after former LG Brian Schatz was appointed to the U.S. senate in the wake of the death of Senator Daniel Inouye.

Tsutsui had said he would introduce bills to both repeal and amend Act 55 which was passed in the 2011 legislative session in what former Senate Majority Leader and current Kaua`i Councilmember Gary Hooser has called "a manner that at best was unprincipled and at worst corrupt and illegal."

Massive state-wide opposition to the PDLC at administrative rules hearings across the state last fall has caused Governor Neil Abercrombie to back down from his confrontational position toward PLDC opponents and drop his threats of a veto of any bill repealing the PDLC.

Other PLDC supporters such as Senators Malama Solomon and Donovan Dela Cruz have been mostly silent as of late and support for repeal has spread to include State Senators Josh Green and Russell Ruderman, according to Rudolph who has been seeking to ascertain the positions of legislators on repeal.

On the state house side the presumed takeover of the speaker's post by Representative Joe Souki is seen as a plus for the repeal movement since his support in removing former speaker Calvin Say- who shepherded the PDLC legislation though in 2011- has come primarily from the so-called "dissident faction" that is said to be, for the most part, comprised of those in favor repeal.

Newly elected Representative and former Department of Land and Natural Resources Director Laura Thielen has been an outspoken opponent of the PLDC and told Rudolph "I am introducing a bill this session to repeal the PLDC, and will support any other bill that does the same." House members who favor repeal, according to Rudolph also include Representatives Nicole Lowen, Cindy Evans and Faye Hanohano.

The senate president and speaker of the house in the Hawai`i state legislature control the agenda and committee assignment of bills making their support all but essential for passage of legislation. Assignment of a bill to just one committee whose chair opposes it generally guarantees defeat for the measure.

There will be a massive "A Million Little Fists" rally for repeal of the PLDC on the opening day of the legislature on January 16, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. at the State Capitol in Honolulu.

Senators can be emailed at sens@capitol.hawaii.gov while representatives can be emailed at reps@capitol.hawaii.gov .

In a November article published in the Honolulu Star Advertiser and his own blog Hooser described the often sordid process used to create the PLDC writing:

SB1555, which became Act 55 and created the PLDC, was introduced in the Senate on January 26, 2011. Initially, while establishing a quasi-independent development corporation intended to maximize the development and revenue generation of public lands, SB1555 did not contain broad exemptions from land use laws. Also when first introduced the original PLDC Board included full neighbor-island representation.

As if by design, on March 18, 2011, after sailing through the Senate with only minor amendments and no controversy, the House Water, Land and Ocean Resources Committee inserted the exemption provisions and stripped away neighbor-island representation on the PLDC Board.

The only opportunity for public input in response to these critical amendments was on April 7, 2011 in the House Finance Committee. It was here that Finance Chair Marcus Oshiro with the approval of Speaker of the House Calvin Say, waived the normal 48-hour public notice rule and gave Hawaii residents only 115 minutes public notice to offer their mana’o on a measure which could dramatically accelerate the development of public lands statewide.

These two maneuvers executed quite deftly by the House, enabled the measure to reach the all important joint conference committee without incurring any serious public scrutiny. Once in “conference” where public testimony is not allowed, the final work on the establishment of the PLDC was a fait accompli.

The full legislature passed out SB1555HD2CD1 on May 5, 20111, which created the PLDC, took away “home rule” from the Counties and granted the PLDC and its private partners extraordinary powers over the development of public lands. They made the development of public lands exempt from all County zoning, planning and land use laws, gave all of the power to control this development to three appointees of the governor and took away all neighbor-island representation on the PLDC Board. Along the way, the House Finance Committee said effectively “oh by the way if you don’t like it you have 115 minutes to get down to the capitol and provide testimony – and if you live in Puna, Hana or Kekaha…too bad.”

Hooser concluded by saying:

The legislative history of the PLDC represents a shameful and incredibly arrogant attitude of entitlement by many at the legislature. The public is seen as a bothersome impediment and rules are seen as obstacles to be circumvented whenever possible.

PLDC proponents talk of the requirement to coordinate with Counties and gain approval from agencies. But they don’t talk about the pressure that will be applied should any County or agency oppose a project or resist “going along to get along”. Even now the Counties are being told to resist opposing the PLDC otherwise they risk a reduction in their Transient Accommodations Tax revenue.

In the halls of the capitol they call this leverage.

It is no wonder people are outraged and demanding a repeal.

HURRY UP BEFORE WE FALL FOR A FAST ONE

HURRY UP BEFORE WE FALL FOR A FAST ONE: Are we having fun yet?

When nationally-proclaimed uber-liberal Neil Abercrombie announced he was leaving congress to run for governor and reverse the horrific wounds inflicted by Sarah Palin's pal, "What, me Republican?" Linda Lingle, many were encouraged that he would, if not be our "pal," at least put an end to the policy-by-press-conference and nose-thumbing of process that characterized her reign.

But we can't be the only ones who feel like Neil is quickly wearing out his welcome, especially after yesterday's "shame on you Sierra Club" rant for having the temerity to sue to stop him from doing administratively what he couldn't get the legislature to do.

Whether or not the state can afford to pay for the solar tax credits the legislature clearly granted- which have gone from a cost of $34.7 million in 2010 to $173.8 million in 2012- is not the stated issue in the suit, although Abercrombie apparently wishes it was.

The problem is that what the legislature giveth only the legislature- not rules passed by the state Department of Taxation (DOT) that conflict with the law- can taketh away.

So last session when the legislature failed to change the law that allows consumers to get multiple $5000 tax breaks for multiple photovoltaic "units," Abercrombie tried to pass administrative rules to do it- and is rushing passage of the DOT rules before the legislature goes into to session.

Where have we heard that before? (PLDC).

Abercrombie doesn't actually challenge this but instead is trying to not only demonize the Sierra Club but do it in a divisive way his 2010 gubernatorial opponent, Mufi Hannemann might be proud of.

According to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser article (pay-walled) today,

"The Sierra Club is saying that they want to protect people who cheat. It's astounding to me, absolutely astounding," the governor told reporters at the state Capitol. "We're trying to do something serious here. We're trying to say that we want to move to alternative and renewable energy, and we want to do it in a pono way. The fact that some people are trying to take advantage — and threaten the entire system that allows us to provide incentives for people who are doing things the right way, the correct way, the pono way.

Cheat? Serious? Pono way? There's clearly no ambiguity in the law that allows for the multiple credits. So is flouting the law okay just because it will result in your desired policy outcome?

But if that's a little sleazy, try this little bit of "haole go home"... from one haole to another.

"Now maybe the Sierra Club does that kind of thing on the mainland, but this is Hawaii. If people are cheating and gaming the system and preventing other people from taking advantage of what is legitimately there to be done... And when some people cheat and put in systems that are doubled or tripled or whatever they do in order to pretend that they need more than one system, that takes away from the capacity of honest people to do things honestly. It is an insult to the people of Hawaii to say that in order for us to get alternative energy, we have to shut our eyes to cheaters."

Gaming the system? Pretend that they need more than one system? Is he intimating that it's dishonest for honest people to take the credits the law allows to fully power their homes? Is that cheating?

No. "Cheating" is when you overestimate your political skills and fail to get the legislature to change the law so as to restrict the number of tax credits you can take... and then decide to illegally pass administrative rules that conflict with the law.

Yes- we know you're not a lawyer, Neil. But you've been a legislator long enough to know that you can't pass a rule administratively to negate a law you don't like.

As matter of fact you've blown a lot of hot air recently trying to tell us that the administration cannot reverse Act 55- the legislative measure that created the public Lands Development Corporation (PLDC)- by abolishing it through the administrative rules you're trotting out, saying only the legislature can change what they created.

We have the feeling we're not alone in being fed up with this business of having to determine which side of your mouth you're using to attack your former "pals."

WHAT YOU WANT, BABY I GOT IT

WHAT YOU WANT, BABY I GOT IT: Apparently opposition to the Public Lands Development Corporation (PDLC) has snowballed to the point where Governor Neil Abercrombie has, in a face saving operation, abandoned his paternalist patter of telling opponents they're too dumb to understand it all.

In a statement Friday, Abercrombie announced he would ask the PDLC board to abandon their rule-making for a spell until he can send his Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) chief Bill Aila out into the community to give it the one last try before the legislature- now under new management in the house- starts the process to repeal Act 55.

The "dissidents" that have taken over the house are, for the most part, those who have said they would at least consider repeal, while the "out" faction is comprised, for the most part, of those who created the PLDC in the first place and have opposed repeal.

And in the senate even Sen. Donovan Del Cruz, who played a major role in sneaking the bill through in the first place, is- homana, homana, homana- making like Ralph Kramden as it becomes clear his latest get-rich-quick scheme has blown up in his face.

That has led some opponents to warn others to treat Aila with "respect" if we expect to see him take home a "no can" message. As former Senate Majority Leader and current Kaua`i Councilmember- elect Gary Hooser- a PLDC repeal proponent- advised in a post on Facebook today:

I think Director Aila would be willing to meet with most in the community unless there is some past history where the group or individuals have perhaps already burned bridges. Probably the best approach would be a request for a small group meeting with a list of specific concerns. Director Aila is probably not interested in meetings where mutual respect is not evident but my feeling is to take this as it appears to be on the surface which is a genuine attempt to resolve community concerns. I am not optimistic that the concerns can be resolved without legislative action and that action should start with a repeal IMHO.

Normally we might agree. But the utter "don't worry your pretty little head" disrespect exhibited by both Abercrombie and Aila so far hasn't exactly inspired opponents to try to make nice.

The problem with "respect" is that the very concept of the PDLC is disrespectful of the protections placed in the law over the course of decades to protect "public" lands from development. Whether in terms of environmental protections, transparency of process or the development of public lands without any deference to constitutionally-mandated "home rule," the very concept of the PLDC- essentially a handful of developers cut loose from following any of the rules- is a slap in the face to many... not to mention the fact that there are many who think most so-called "public" land was stolen from native Hawaiians to begin with.

Any attempts to circumvent current protections is a non-starter. As a matter of fact, there is nothing those who "support the concept of the PLDC" want to do that can't be done using the due processes currently in place.

If Aila comes to the community with that basic paternalistic disrespect of "oh- you just don't understand"- as he and Abercrombie have done over the past few months- they can't expect the very respect they won't show us.

The are many who have compared the PLDC to the Superferry in the fact that it is another state scheme being pushed down the throats of the neighbor islands- where much of the land in question is situated. If Aila and Abercrombie are wiser that a certain recently-defeated senate candidate they will be showing a lot more respect long before they ask for any from us.