A GORY BUSINESS

A GORY BUSINESS: While some might say it's practically oxymoronic we've been been on a quest lately with a holy grail of being nicer and kinder to others.

But yesterday's letter to the editor from that slime ball masquerading as a human being, Ron Agor, was so insulting that all bets are off today.

Agor's defense of apparently-fired Kauai District Archaeologist and SHPD Deputy Director Nancy McMahon on the heels of an onslaught of Kanaka Maoli activists who successfully testified against her appointment to the county's Historic Preservation Commission, was to call the Native Hawaiians "savages" in practically every other paragraph.

Real sensitive to the host culture, Ron- especially from a member of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. What, heathen and pagan weren't strong enough?

But his screed defending McMahon seems kind of appropriate for these two-peas-in-a-pod, since for the past few years every time some kind of outrageous treatment of`iwi kupuna (bones) burials occurred, the names Agor and McMahon seemed to come up every time.

Agor's rant begins by praising McMahon for her actions as state archeologist in trying to:

compromise with private property owners where the burials are respected and the private property owners have reasonable use of their properties.

Nancy McMahon during her tenure as the qualified state’s archaeologist always did her job in making sure the above mentioned compromise came to fruition on every project subjected to this process.

And compromise the `iwi she did.

In actuality McMahon's cavalier attitude has led to blatant abuse of her position to favor developers, ignoring the wishes of the Kaua`i Burial Council to the point where, during the court battle over the Brescia property cemetery debacle, she was singled out for blame in the fiasco by 5th Circuit Court judge Kathleen Watenabe for, among other things, ordering the `iwi be permanently encased in concrete.

That's what made this statement from Agor all the more removed from reality

It is interesting to know that recently the courts have recognized the practices and procedures of DLNR as reasonable and have often rendered decisions in favor of private property owners when they followed their permit conditions imposed by the State.

Here's what a letter from a group called Kānaka Maoli Scholars Against Desecration- signed by a list of notable scholars as long as your arm- said about McMahon's actions in the Brescia case

The SHPD’s own rules empower the island Burial Council to determine the disposition of previously known burials. The island Burial Council’s decision on this issue is supposed to be binding. Yet, SHPD deputy administrator Nancy McMahon sanctioned the use of vertical buffers and concrete caps on the burials to make way for installing the footings of Brescia’s house. Her authorization for such an intrusive "preservation" measure is a fundamental repudiation of the power allocated to all of the island Burial Councils.

By ignoring the decision of the island Burial Council, her actions undermine both the very concept of historic preservation and the reason for the founding of the island Burial Councils. Tragically, before a court could intervene, and based on McMahon’s unauthorized agreements, Brescia’s team managed to install massive house foundations on a portion of the cemetery.

In another incident almost exactly a year ago on May 12, 2010 the headline of a PNN news story pretty much summed up what happened in saying:

Three Burials Unearthed By Cows At Lepeuli Unceremoniously Reburied By SHPD's McMahon Without Burial Council Notification.

You might want to read the article and followups- it's actually even worse than that with McMahon attempting to cover up the discovery of a Hawaiian house site by another local archeologist.

So how did McMahon get away with this stuff for so long- stuff including many unproven accusations from burial protectors of taking home `iwi and even stealing artifacts from sites and offering them for sale?

Well. many times it was Agor's position on the all powerful BLNR that made it possible.

Agor has been a Republican Party mainstay for many years and so when Republican Governor Linda Lingle took over she appointed him as the lone Kaua`i representative.

Now you'd think that with all the other BLNR members one single rep wouldn't be able to insure things go the way he wants. But the "tradition" on the board is to defer to the single neighbor island reps on matters on their island.

For instance when Lepeuli rancher Bruce Lymon tried to lie his way into a conservation district use permit (CDUP) it was Agor who convinced the board to grant it without examining the facts- a decision that was reversed later after the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, OHA and others set the record straight and the permit was rescinded.

As for Agor his tenure has been marked by deceit and misrepresentation to members of the community, often telling people he would assure the BLNR would vote a certain way only to do exactly the opposite according to the minutes of the meeting, as he did with the Koke`e leaseholders and other cases during his tenure.

One thing became clear to us today in reviewing our coverage of the Agor and McMahon- they deserve each other. Their actions go way beyond the usual racism and promotion of monied American interests to, not just being active participants in the continuing genocide of na kanaka, but being leaders in the theft of the land and culture.

And there's nothing nice or kind about that.

We now return you to the "trying very hard not to be mean anymore" Parx.

WILL IT GO ROUND IN CIRCLES?

WILL IT GO ROUND IN CIRCLES?: We know better than to get too get delusional when the prospects for a governmental action exceeds expectations.

And after eight years of getting up every day wondering what kind of f**ked-up s**t ex-Governor Linda Lingle (boy it feels good to write that) has cooked up today we have to be careful not to engage in too much relativism.

But even before tomorrow’s first meeting of the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) under new Chair Bill Aila takes place his appointment has already bourn fruit with the news that the infamous rage-a-holic Bruce Laymon has given up his efforts to fence off the alaloa at Lepe`uli (Larsen’s) Beach.

Copies of a letter (thanks to Joan Conrow and Roger Jacobs for the document postings) from Laymon’s attorney, Lorna Nishimitsu, to the BLNR’s staff surrendering his Conservation District Use Permit (CDUP) came flying into our inbox Monday from many who had fought to stop Laymon from harassing beach goers and violating kanaka rights.

It comes on the heels of a new staff report recommending a contested case hearing be granted after the original report was found to be a bunch of bogus bullbleep that simply ignored the testimony of many in the community and rammed through the permit based on Laymon’s misrepresentations.

The problem is that now comes the hard work for Aila, mostly because he’s stuck with most of Lingle’s appointees like the Kaua`i BLNR “representative” Ron Agor whose two-faced actions led to the permit being issued in the first place.

While Agor was telling opponents of the permit that he would fight it, records showed that his support for Laymon was the deciding factor in convincing the board to approve it since many times the board relies on neighbor island reps in deciding issues on their islands.

Aila- and Kaua`i- is stuck with Agor for another year and a half since his four-year term doesn’t end until June 30, 2012- unless he can somehow be forced or persuaded to resign.

In addition to the issue of prescriptive and PASH rights to access to the alaloa- an historic trail that runs around the island near the shore which Laymon’s permit allowed him to fence off in the area- one of the issues has been Laymon himself and his campaign to “clean up” the area.

Although the “cleaning” was said by Laymon and his handful of supporters to relate to trash that’s been left in the area it’s been clear that the real cleansing Laymon desired was that of haoles from the area with a plethora of notorious episodes of harassment of tourists and local Caucasians reported over the last few years in which Laymon insisted on characterizing them all as “hippie campers.”

Laymon was even accused of vandalizing his own equipment and blaming “campers” to gain public sympathy although no one was able to prove who did it one way or the other.

Another winner in all this, aside from the people of Kaua`i, appears to be the owner and leaser of the land, the Waioli Corporation, whose non-profit, do-good, historical-preservation mission has been tainted in all this and will now be able allow the episode to fade into memory.

As we said, we’re not ready to declare a new era for the Department of Land and Natural Recourses and it’s Board. But it is nice when the good guys win every once in a while.

For more information on some of the incidents see our past coverage and Joan Conrow’s Tuesday report and recap.

BRINGING IN THE PAPER

BRINGING IN THE PAPER: A rare Sunday release of candidate election filing information today dishes three new courses for our electoral dining pleasure in the form of a pig, a ham and for desert, a smart cookie.

The porker that officially filed for council Thursday is rip-snorting Ron Agor whom we mentioned the other day. He’ll try to replace the Republican rats who fled the Council ship like Jay Furfaro and Jimmy Tokioka with a true Bushie believer and unswerving member of Linda Lingle’s “unified command”.

We don’t even have to wait for the candidates’ debates and voter guides to know how disastrous Agor’s election would be but we’ll detail his black little heart’s desires as the September 20 primary elections approach.

The ham, as also profiled in today’s local newspaper is the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet, local Wala`au celeb Dickie Chang. But we’re sorry to report that beneath that glad handing veneer is a guy who apparently never met a developer hotel or tourism industry project he didn’t like.

Today’s interview reveals some eyebrow raising details such as his god-like devotion to our dearly departed babooze-in-charge Bryan Baptiste.

And, in a time where our practically sole economic dependence on the tourism industry’s plunging visitor numbers is bringing about a horrific scenario for our working families and where our 30 years of political sweeping of economic diversification under the rug, Dickie just seems blind to that.

He speaks of his 30 years working in the visitor industry which he has approached with uncommon zeal. But we hope that when he says

Tourism is a critical part of the economy, he said, noting the pinch residents felt by the departure of two cruise ships.

“In reality, that’s what keeps the engine ticking,”

He recognizes that as meaning we have to move away from that dependence in an era of exponentially higher air fares and cruise ships, not that we have to keep throwing good money after bad.

And another concern might be this statement::

But (Chang) also has plans to take care of those who are unable to attend the weekly meetings to provide input on bills.

Many residents feel more comfortable talking story one on one, he said.

“I would be a messenger ... a voice for the majority,” Chang said.

Hoo boy. Either Dickie doesn’t know or doesn’t care that those types of sentiments and words are almost identical to those originally used by now State House Representative Jimmy Tokioka when he was on the council, allowing him to disregard people who actually took the time and energy to come and testify on matters before the Council.

Many saw in Tokioka’s words and deeds at the time in this area as a not-so-thinly-veiled racist attack on what he was overheard to say were “all the haoles who show up” at Council meetings and how he would rather “go out and talk to the local people”.

If nothing else the sentiment allows politicians to have another excuse to ignore public input they might not agree with and make up some “silent majority” to justify their often repressive and regressive ideas and projects.

Say it ain’t so Dickie. We know you’re new to politics and government but if you’re going to use terminology that speaks volumes to the politically savvy on Kaua`i, you’d better read up on the glossary.

But in all of this muck and mire a diamond has appeared in the form of Kaua`i Librarian Lani Kawahara- not to be confused with the despicable former County Attorney Lani Nakazawa.

The good Lani served as the volunteer coordinator for State Senator Gary Hooser’s bid for Congress in 2006 and is doing the same this year for his so far uncontested bid for reelection. She has also worked as a legislative aide in his Senate office.

She would be the freshest of all breaths of air in this election should she win a Council seat. We urge anyone who wants good governance and accountability and genuine smarts to grab a sign and make sure she stands out above the fray in the next two months.

From there we turn a trio of same-old-crap candidates we failed to profile the other day, one of whom has filed and two whom we hope lose their papers if they are planning on turning them in by the Tuesday deadline.

The filer is business biggie and Chamber of Commerce and Kapa`a Business Association hack Bob Bartolo. Just what we need- another anything for a buck settler who owns three businesses and supports all the rest in their quest to make sure government serves the bosses and their private interests rather than the public interests of the working stiffs..

Then there’s Thomas Leighton former owner of Two Wheels motorcycle who, with his ex-wife Ann, was one of the beneficiaries of recent construction of the huge resort monstrosity across the street from Safeway.

He and his buddies are among those referred to when the council and mayors bemoan past lack of “use it or lose it” provisions.

That allowed Leighton and his developer cronies to sit on resort zoning for 25 some odd years and then develop their hotel without proper infrastructure in place, adding to those more recently permitted visitor destinations to make the mess we all grumble about every day.

When you sit in Kapa`a traffic thank Tom Leighton.

Then there’s Nancy McMahon, the Kaua`i State Archeologist who has been mostly responsible for the recent plethora of desecrations of Hawaiian burial sites on Kaua`i, especially those in Waipouli and Wainiha.

She was recently cited in a letter from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to her Department of Land and Natural Resources bosses for lying to both the burial council and the Kaua`i Planning Commission regarding the law and the protection of “iwi kupuna”.

Here’s some of what Juan Wilson uncovered about her this past January when researching a project where burials had been found.

The archaeologist they are using yet again is, Nancy McMahon, who has been caught up in a law suit regarding her work with the State Historic Provision Division and the Burial Council.

"Nancy McMahon who was running a website advertising a 4x4 tour of ancient cultural sites as a side business, charging passengers of her excursion $150. On the website it says "Turn the clock back a thousand years on our Hummer expedition into Kauai's ancient rain forests. You will see historical sites; xperience the unforgettable feel of a rain forest, view spectacular waterfalls and secluded pools. See the lush tropical jungles the way ancient Hawaiians did." http://kauaihummersafari.com/

Some of these sites she gives tours on can only be accessed with use of 4x4 Hummer, off road vehicle.

Her business venture was exposed through a series of online blogs that began criticizing her work with the burial council and SHPD. Other allegations arose with other defendants including state workers, which the plaintiff says had pushed through reports to speed developments in getting past through the burial council and into the planning commission.

We urge anyone considering supporting McMahon to read Juan’s report in full.

And Mel Rapozo still hasn’t filed his papers for Mayor.

And a little birdie told us that it is unlikely that one of our favorites, long time and now fill- in Councilmember Darryl Kaneshiro will not be running for Council He, along with the dozens of people who would actually approach politics with real public service in mind rather than power and money mongering, says “why bother”.

That’s why one thing is for sure- we will get the government we deserve this year if we once again can’t tell private interest promoters from public interest servers.

IN THE HUNT

IN THE HUNT: As we sit back in our rose pink Cadillac and make our bet on this Kentucky Derby Day we noticed that the number of horses is expanding so fast that they may have to use those auxiliary gates to get them all into the race.

As of yesterday, 27 people have “pulled paper” for the council race although only 10 have bellied up to the pre-race mint julep bar.

And, although the mayor’s race is still only a potential three way affair so far, candidate Mel Rapozo has still not filed his papers although he has withdrawn the council papers that he filed last Feb. 22. JoAnn Yukimura also pulled papers for council but has filed for mayor.

That leaves 15 people who have until Tuesday at 4:30 to find a gate and get ready for the announcer to yell “and they’re off.”

Those definitely in the race include a name new to the list but certainly not new to running for office on Kaua`i, John Hoff who made it official on Wed. He joins the following who are going to be on the ballot unless they withdraw.

Asing, William (Kaipo) U
Bartolo, Robert A
Bynum, Tim L
Cariffe, Bob A
Furfaro, Joseph J
Kawakami, Derek S K
Kealoha, Christobel K
Kualii, Kipukai Les
Kouchi, Ronald D
Kualii, Kipukai Les P

So far hacks, apparently ass-sordid good old boys, incumbents and nut cases dominate. But in a promising development a lot of new names and faces have appeared on the list this week and are pondering spending at least their Wednesday’s in county government hell.

Going down the list the first name that stands out is Kekaha’s Bruce Pleas. He has finally decided to avoid the three ring circus of the mayoral race and will try this time again to seek the council spot that’s eluded him in the past. Getting Bruce on the county council would shake up this county something fierce. We’ve known Bruce for years and Bruce knows county government, unlike many of the “elect me even though I don’t know an ordinance from an administrative rule and wouldn’t know the Charter from the County code.” crowd.

The newcomers who are ready to brave the battle to come include Ken Taylor who has spent most of the last few years actually in the council chambers and probably knows more about how the county does and doesn’t work than anyone. Ken would be a tenacious reformer no doubt and his demands for open and transparent government may be something that strikes fear in the secretive and complacent incumbents' black little hearts.

Also new to office seeking but not new to politics is Lani Kawahara who has worked a few campaigns and political battles and from our contact with her would provide a breath of fresh air and make a welcome addition to the Council table

Then there’s Mr. Superferry Boycott, John Cragg, also known as John Tyler to those who relied on his skills in organizing the movement. We don’t know much about his other politics yet but his energy and push for accountability and transparency put him a lot closer to the pole position than many of the wishy-washies.

Another Superferry organizer is Scott Mijares. Mijares is a community radio KKCR programmer who, despite his generally conservative views is pretty thoughtful and independent and from our conversations, seems to be someone who would hold fellow legislators to a high standard of governance.

And there’s our old pal Wala`au TV star Dickie Chang who once again will seek the council seat he came close to about a decade back. If it’s a popularity contest Dickie could be a shoo-in although we’re not too sure what his politics are

There’s also perennial candidate Rhoda Libre who has been active in the Westside watershed organization.

And Officer Joe Kaauwai who came up with the Hanama`ulu traffic fix a few years back will try again.

With any of them you could do worse.

But there are definitely some real dreary wanna-be’s starting off with Republican Party hack and DLNR appointee Ron Agor, although he has also taken out papers to bang his head against the wall by running against wildly popular State Representative Mina Morita.

The rest are assorted good old boys, hacks and unknowns- at least to us- but there may be a diamond in there somewhere- we’ll be working to find out as the election draws nearer. They are:

Carvalho, Manuel
Defries, Arthur K
Kaneakua, Harry K
Leighton, Thomas C
Mcmahon, Nancy A
Thronas, George S

For anyone seeking to find out more about anyone running we list the all the Kaua`i County candidates and their contact info below. You can keep up with the latest filings at http://hawaii.gov/elections/candidates/

(We’re not sure how this list will format but the information after each name correlates to the “field” described in caps above the list)


KAUA`I COUNTY COUNCIL

NAME- MAILING ADDRESS- CITY- ZIP- CONTACT- PHONE- DATE ISSUED-DATE FILED

AGOR, RONALD 3728 Nawiliwili Rd. Lihue 96766 (808) 651-5764 7/17/2008
ASING, WILLIAM U 4113 Palau Mahu St. Lihue 96766 (808) 245-4555 6/30/2008 7/1/2008
BARTOLO, ROBERT A 5060 Nonou Rd. Kapaa 96746 (808) 639-8080 7/11/2008 7/17/2008
BYNUM, TIM L 5935 Kololia Pl. Kapaa 96746 (808) 822-1652 2/1/2008 5/30/2008
CARIFFE, BOB A 4279 Kailewa St. Lihue 96766 (808) 635-3398 2/6/2008 4/8/2008
CARVALHO, MANUEL L 6393A Ahele Dr. Kapaa 96746 (808) 823-9103 7/15/2008
CHANG, DICK S P.O. Box 3944 Lihue 96766 (808) 635-8800 7/14/2008
CRAGG, JOHN T P.O. Box 76 Anahol 96703 (808) 635-7062 7/17/2008
DEFRIES, ARTHUR K P.O. Box 42 Anahola 96703 (808) 822-5868 6/23/2008 FURFARO, JOSEPH J P.O. Box 223224 Princeville 96720 (808) 652-1550 6/25/2008 6/26/2008
HOFF, JOHN R P.O. Box 547 Lawai 96765 (332) 974-9745 6/3/2008 7/16/2008
KAAUWAI, JOSEPH H P.O. Box 623 Anahola 96703 (808) 652-0732 4/29/2008
KANEAKUA, HARRY K P.O. Box 3066 Lihue 96766 (808) 647-0172 7/7/2008 KAWAHARA, LANI T P.O. Box 1565 Kapaa 96746 (808) 652-6741 7/11/2008 KAWAKAMI, DEREK S K 5077 Kawaihau Rd. Kapaa 96746 (808) 822-7489 2/1/2008 5/2/2008
KEALOHA, CHRISTOBEL K P.O. Box 3942 Lihue 96766 (808) 245-9944 4/3/2008 4/21/2008
KOUCHI, RONALD D 3391 Eono St. Lihue 96766 (808) 639-2724 6/26/2008 7/15/2008
KUALII, KIPUKAI LES P 4210 Rice St., #A2 Lihue 96766 (808) 212-9192 2/1/2008 2/8/2008
LEIGHTON, THOMAS C 6664 Kuamoo Rd. Kapaa 96746 (808) 639-6552 3/10/2008
LIBRE, RHODA L P.O. Box 246 Kaumakani 96747 (808) 645-1210 7/14/2008 MCMAHON, NANCY A 5532 Tapa St. Koloa 96756 (808) 639-6695 7/17/2008
MIJARES, SCOTT F P.O. Box 1222 Kilauea 96754 (808) 652-7113 7/17/2008
PLEAS, BRUCE J P.O. Box 721 Waimea 96752 (808) 639-2850 7/14/2008
TAYLOR, KENNETH R 1720A Makaleha (NS) Pl. Kapaa 96746 (808) 823-8527 7/15/2008
THRONAS, GEORGE S P.O. Box 246 Kapaa 96746 (808) 651-6419 7/14/2008

KAUAI SPECIAL MAYORAL VACANCY

CARVALHO, BERNARD P 4650 Mailihuna Rd. Kapaa 96746 (808) 635-7489 7/8/2008 7/8/2008
RAPOZO, MELVIN F 3236 Inouye St. Lihue 96766 (808) 245-3539 7/7/2008
YUKIMURA, JOANN A 2749 Kapena St. Lihue 96766 (808) 245-2617 7/11/2008 7/14/2008

PROSECUTING ATTORNEY

ISERI-CARVALHO, SHAYLENE C 6539 Kawaihau Rd. Kapaa 96746 (808) 651-8134 2/5/2008 5/16/2008

UNDER FURTHER REVIEW

UNDER FURTHER REVIEW: Our, shall we say, less than enthusiastic “endorsement” of now Governor-elect Neil Abercrombie was partially based on years of disappointment in the appointments of appointed appointees.

Though those of the departing Republican Governor Linda “Ding-a” Lingle were particularly egregious we’ve watched equally in horror at most of the democratic governors’ department heads, especially those at the helm of the all powerful position of the head of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).

And though we saw the petition effort to see former Kaua`i State Senator Gary Hooser appointed DLNR director as a nice thought but doomed to failure, we couldn’t believe our ears last night when we heard that Waianae harbormaster and environmental and kanaka activist Bill Aila will be in charge of the many-tentacled department- if he’s confirmed by the state senate.

Laura Thielen, the current DLNR Director- who also sits as Chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) where most of the nitty gritty decisions effecting the future of “land and power in Hawai`i” are made- has been an unmitigated disaster. Under her mismanagement developers have received rubber stamps from republican appointees to the Board like developer’s friend Ron Agor, our Kaua`i Rep.

Aila, a former Sierra Club Executive Committee member who ran for governor in 2006 will have a chance to, among other things, fix the broken State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) which has bungled the treatment of `iwi kupuna (burials), kill the planned commercialization of Koke`e and stop the onslaught of state redistricting of agricultural lands that are now required under the Judge Ibarra Hokulia ruling ending de facto resorts on ag lands.

For the uninitiated, Hawai`i has two levels of approval for land classification. While the county “zones” land in classifications like agricultural, rural, open, urban and resort, laid on top of that is a template of state “districting” which classifies land in the four basic categories that dictate county zoning.

While in law zoning is supposed to follow districting the practice has been to have counties approve zoning and the state follow suit with redistricting. But sometimes the applicants have been afraid of rejection by the DLNR-chief-chaired Land Use Commission (LUC) for redistricting so they just don’t apply once they have “bought” county approval, especially in the case of ag lands that have been cut up into high-priced “gentleman farmers' estates”.

But recently, because of the Ibarra ruling which said “no- you can’t do that anymore,” projects have been going before the LUC before the counties get to rubber stamp these projects.

We’re used to being disappointed and will certainly be watching and holding Aila’s feet to the fire- just as we would have done were Gary to have been appointed. But with Aila at the head of the table it might just be possible to do things like stop the theft of access at Lepe`uli or reverse the theft and sale of Koke`e cabin leases to the highest bidder.

We’ve seen the position corrupt people with good intentions before. But then we’ve never started from this kind of “advantage: environment” arrangement before.

We aren’t exactly ready to break out the rose colored glasses but we can’t imagine anyone better in the seat from which springs all clout in the islands.

(PNN) OHA JOINS FRAY IN QUESTIONING LEPEULI (LARSEN'S) PERMIT

OHA JOINS FRAY IN QUESTIONING LEPEULI (LARSEN'S) PERMIT

(PNN) -- The movement to reverse a Conservation District Use Permit (CDUP) issued by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to Waioli Corporation lessee Bruce Laymon- one which would cut off traditional access to Lepeuli (Larsen's) Beach and potentially pollute the reef by allowing cow grazing just above the beach- has another ally.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ (OHA) Clyde Namu‘o has joined the Sierra Club in questioning the permit and, in a letter to Tiger Mills of the state Office of Conservation and Coastal Land, points out the shoddy nature of the application and process in granting the permit, asking pointed questions as to what much of the permit was based on.

While the Sierra Club letter- which we posted in full a week ago Monday- detailed the specific discrepancies and deficiencies Namu’o simply puts the onus on Laymon and the DLNR to fully explain themselves focusing on the cultural, access and gathering rights issues involved.

“We have concerns that the project will impact constitutionally-protected traditional and customary Native Hawaiian rights. We note that the project site is located near the shoreline where Native Hawaiians engage in a number of traditional and customary practices, such as fishing and gathering” the letter states.

He asks how, as the permits states, the ranching operation will get rid of “nude sunbathers” but not “Native Hawaiians exercising their traditional and customary rights along the shoreline (who) will be impacted by this project in the same way nude sunbathers will be affected.”

He also questions the contention in the application that that "there is no record of native Hawaiian usage" of the area which, he says, is contrary to the statements of people in the area and he puts the onus on Laymon to substantiate his statements.

In his application and testimony before the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) Laymon and his attorney Lorna Nishimitsu tried to create confusion over where the traditional “alaloa” in the area actually runs saying opponents should prove that it runs across the fenceline that would cut off the trail that’s been used for as long as people in the area can remember.

But Namu’o says “It is our understanding that traditional use of this trail has never ceased. We fear that the proposed fence will disrupt our beneficiaries' use of the trail and impact the trail itself. Moreover, there seems to be disagreement between the applicant and the community regarding the exact location of the alaloa and the Ko`olau Road. We request that state officials and the applicant consult with the community and OHA to discuss appropriate measures to mitigate the impacts this project will have on cultural sites and traditional and customary Native Hawaiian practices.”

Laymon’s has a history of environmental degradation and Waioli has seemingly turned a blind eye to what he’s doing on their land as we detailed last October. But despite promises from Kaua`i BLNR representative Ron Agor to recognize the issues and try to block the permit, his support for Laymon was in fact the deciding factor according to minutes of the BLNR meeting at which the pertinent was granted.

The following is the text of OHA’s letter in full

-----

February 9, 2010

Tiger Mills
Office of Conservation and Coastal Land
Department of Land and Natural Resources
P.O. Box 621
Honolulu, HI 96809

RE: Paradise Ranch LLC, Hanalei, Kam TMK: (4) 5-1-003: 003.

Aloha e Tiger Mills,

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) received your letter requesting comments on the above-mentioned project. Paradise Ranch LLC proposes to construct a fence for pasture purposes that will run parallel to the sea, 100 feet from the shoreline. OHA has reviewed the project and offers the following comments.

We have concerns that the project will impact constitutionally-protected traditional and customary Native Hawaiian rights. We note that the project site is located near the shoreline where Native Hawaiians engage in a number of traditional and customary practices, such as fishing and gathering. The applicant states on page 5 of the CDIJA that the fence project will bring its ranching operation close enough to the beach to impact "nude sunbathers." However, the applicant states that its operations will not impact fishers or other beachgoers. The applicant must explain why its ranching operation will impact nude sunbathers but not other users. We suspect that if the ranching operation affects one user, it will likely affect all users in the same way. We assume then that Native Hawaiians exercising their traditional and customary rights along the shoreline will be impacted by this project in the same way nude sunbathers will be affected. The applicant must fully explain these impacts and offer mitigation measures.

Page 6 of the application states that "there is no record of native Hawaiian usage" on the property since the 1850s. We ask to review the records the applicant used to arrive at this conclusion. Further, OHA is troubled by the applicant's suggestion on page 6 that the state "should not take any action to establish any protection" of traditional and customary Native Hawaiian rights. The Hawai`i Constitution specifically asserts that the state must protect Native Hawaiian rights. In addition, the Hawai`i Supreme Court ruled that the state must assess the impacts its actions will have on Native Hawaiian resources and rights (See the three-part test the court established in Peakai O Ka `Aina v. Land Use Comm'n, 94 Haw. 31, 47 (2000))

OHA has specific concerns regarding the project's impact on area trails, particularly the alaloa, which is designated as State of Hawai`i Historic Site No. 50-30-04-1033. It is our understanding that traditional use of this trail has never ceased. We fear that the proposed fence will disrupt our beneficiaries' use of the trail and impact the trail itself. Moreover, there seems to be disagreement between the applicant and the community regarding the exact location of the alaloa and the Ko`olau Road. We request that state officials and the applicant consult with the community and OHA to discuss appropriate measures to mitigate the impacts this project will have on cultural sites and traditional and customary Native Hawaiian practices.

In addition, the historic, archaeological and cultural sites section of this CDUA is incomplete as no sites are listed, not even the alaloa, which as mentioned earlier is a state historic site. Please note that the applicant must identify and submit management plans for historic, archaeological and cultural sites located not only within the subject parcel but also near it.

We request the applicant's assurances that should iwi kapuna or Native Hawaiian cultural or traditional deposits be found during the construction of the project, work will cease, and the appropriate agencies will be contacted pursuant to applicable law.

The applicant states on page 5 that the proposed fence will bring the applicant's ranching operations closer to the beach. The applicant must explain the impact this will have on the marine resources of the area. Many of our beneficiaries' traditional practices rely on these marine resources. The applicant also must explain how the expansion of its ranching operation will affect endangered and threatened species such as monk seals and green sea turtles. These animals may be impacted in the same way as the nude sunbathers.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment. If you have further questions, please contact Sterling Wong by phone at (808) 594-0248 or e-mail him at sterlingw@oha.org .

'O wau iho no me ka `oia’i’o,

Clyde . W. Namu‘o
Chief Executive Officer
C: OHA Kaua`i CRC Office

NOT DEAD YET

NOT DEAD YET: We’ve been getting a bunch of emails lately from Larsen's (Lepeuli) Beach activist Richard Spacer with his hair on fire asking us to say something again about the battle against land-owner Waioli Corporation and rancher Bruce Laymon to preserve the easier- and traditional- access to the beach which has appeared all but lost lately with the issuing of Lymon’s Conservation District Use Permit (CDUP).

We told him that what we had discovered is that there was a split among many in the environmental community- including some who may be way too close to Waioli Corp to have full objectivity on the matter- with some claiming that easy access to all areas (and specifically this one) may not be the best thing lest we “love the place to death”... which many others think is code for “keep the naked hippies out”.

So we’re glad to hear the news today that, as usual, it’s Sierra Club- along with the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (HLC) and the Surfrider Foundation- to the rescue and they’re ready to continue the battle and appeal the decision to grant a Conservation district Use Permit (CDUP) to Lymon to construct a fence across the traditional access and allow cattle to graze just above the beach.

But they really do need more cash to pay HLC than the SC or SF have provided thus far. As the letter we received says:

A coastal trail on Kaua`i, created hundreds of years ago by Hawaiians treading the path by foot, will be obliterated by cattle in a matter of months unless we act now.

Please read below to see how you can help preserve public access and set a precedent in protecting trails.

A traditional trail following the coastline leading to Larsen's (Lepeuli) Beach is on the verge of being turned into pasture land for a commercial cattle enterprise which will block public access to and along the trail. This ancient (alaloa) trail has been used by Hawaiians for subsistence fishing, gathering and cultural practices for many generations.

This past week the Department of Land and Natural Resources inappropriately granted Waioli Corporation’s lessee a permit for cattle fencing in 18 acres of conservation land next to the beach. They already have cattle operations in the adjacent 600 acres. This decision will have environmental impacts and threaten coastal and cultural resources.

Fortunately, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation will appeal DLNR's decision, on behalf of a Native Hawaiian, provided they receive funding by Thursday, February 25th. The Kaua`i Group Sierra Club and Surfrider Foundation have contributed toward the appeal, but a significant amount still needs to be raised.

We're asking people who care about preserving public access on traditional trails, who can make a contribution of any amount, to please help now.

Please make your check payable to "Sierra Club". If you wish to make a sizeable donation and want it to be tax deductible, make check payable to "Sierra Club Foundation". All checks to mailed to:

Sierra Club Kaua`i Group
PO Box 3412
Lihue, HI 9676

In addition, if you want to help in other ways please email: AuntyLokeWouldGo(at)gmail.com

Mahalo!

The Kaua`i Group Sierra Club

Attached to the letter was an amazingly complete and detailed letter listing all the deficiencies in and discrepancies with Hawai`i Administrative Rules (HAR) contained in the permit which the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) ignored in granting it.

It’s pretty long but worth the read so we’re posting the entire Jan. 8th Sierra Club letter to DLNR. It really puts together the way the sham of due process and the outright illegal nature of the granting of the permit occurred and includes all the reasons why the permit should be rescinded.

-----------

Sierra Club Kaua`i Group of the Hawai`i Chapter

January 8, 2010
Laura H. Thielen Samuel J. Lemmo, Administrator
BLNR Chairperson Office of Conservation & Coastal Lands
Department of Land & Natural Resources Department of Land & Natural Resources
P. O. Box 621 P. O. Box 621
Honolulu, HI 97809 Honolulu, HI 97809
SUBJECT: Conservation District Use Application (CDUA) KA‐3525; TMK (4) 5-1-003:003
Lepeuli, Kaua`i – Paradise Ranch, LLC
Dear Ms. Thielen and Mr. Lemmo:
The Sierra Club Kauai Group (SC) is extremely concerned that many of the requirements prescribed by HAR Chapter 13-5 are missing from the CDUA referenced above. In addition, many statements in the application do not bear up under examination of the facts. This letter provides further detail, supplemental to our October 23, 2009 letter to OCCL. The application should be denied based on reasons enumerated herein.

1. A Department Permit was not appropriate. According to HAR 13-5-40 and HAR 13-5-
33(j) a board permit with a public hearing should have been required (as requested in SC’s October 23, 2009 letter) because it involves: (1) land use for commercial purposes (ranching) and (2) that public interest warrants a hearing based on significant impacts.

2. The CDUA is not “complete” according to HAR 13-5-31(c) because many Adjacent Property Owners were not notified. Failure to notify, as required on page 14 of the Department’s CDUA Instructions, is one reason why this application incomplete.

3. Failure to comply with Required Attachments, Item 2 - Maps: Submit detailed contour maps for ocean areas and areas where slopes are 20% or more according to CDUA Instructions on page 2 and HAR 13‐5‐31(a). The CDUA survey map does not include elevation contours as required. From the plateau, a series of hills descend to the beach. The sloping terrain does not afford appropriate pasturage. Severe scarping already occurs in areas and cattle will exacerbate the erosion. Within the 20‐acre Conservation District, the degree of slope exceeds forty percent which is why it falls within the “Limited Subzone”. Any reference to slope is omitted in the application, but it is very relevant because the proposed use is a fence ‐‐ a structure which constitutes development.

4. Of the proposed fence replacement, only 1/3 is an “existing fence”. Only one-third of the proposed fencing was “existing”. Within the 20.7 acre Conservation District, which is primarily coastal scrub, only 3-acres might have been pasture. The pre-existing fence has not been in continuous use pursuant to Non‐conforming Shoreline Structures, HRS 13-222-19.

5. Failure to comply with Required Attachments, Item 2 – Maps: Provide a Certified Shoreline Map for shoreline parcels (see CDUA Instructions on page 2). The most recent certified shoreline was approved in 1978. To waive the certified shoreline requirement in lieu of the 110’ setback agreed to by the applicant is not prudent based on 30‐years of erosion (as much as .5‐ft per year in some areas). Further, evidence of the debris line indicates that the survey stakes did not correctly identify the high wash of the waves, especially at the property’s north end.

6. A Description of Coastal Hazards was Omitted in the CDUA. The applicant failed to describe the shoreline erosion that prompted subdivision of this property in Land Court Decree Application No. 1161, March 2, 2000.

7. The Unimproved Existing Road on the Beach Encroaches on State Property. The CDUA survey map indicates “existing roads”. Portions of this roadway are located on the sandy beach, within the shoreline and on state property. Requiring a certified shoreline would verify this encroachment.

8. Reference to Lepeuli Stream was omitted in the CDUA. The stream channel is a distinct topographic feature. It was not identified in the application or on the survey map. Environmental impacts of grazing in proximity to the riparian zone of Lepeuli Stream were not examined.

9. The NRCS Conservation Plan does not identify the Conservation District (Field 12) for “Prescribed Grazing” (see Enclosure A). This fact was omitted in the CDUA. According to HAR 13-5-42(19): Use of the area shall conform with the program of appropriate soil and water conservation district or plan approved by and on file with the department, where applicable. In the Plan, grazing is disallowed in the Conservation District because the land is unsuitable; it is: a) susceptible to erosion due its slope and shallow soil profiles. b) designated by FIRM Maps as zone VE -- subject to wave action, high‐velocity flow, and erosion during the 1000 year flood.

10. The CDUA did not provide written justification to deviate from the NRCS Plan according to HAR 13-5-42(c). Any deviation from the standard conditions (i.e. HAR 13- 5-42(19) -- described above -- must be supported by a satisfactory written justification stating: (1) the deviation is necessary because of the lack of practical alternatives; (2) the deviation shall not result in any substantial adverse impacts to natural resources; and (3) the deviation does not conflict with the objective of the subzone. No justification was provided. Grazing in Field 12—the 20.7 acres of the Conservation District was not permitted by the NRCS Conservation plan. The applicant has practical alternatives for pasturage within the other 600+ acres he leases. Cattle do not benefit coastal ecosystems.

11. The Brush Management Plan to enhance wildlife habitat fails to identify what species are to be “enhanced”. Brush management as a tool to “eliminate the frequency of trespass transients” that are “camping illegally” is not the purpose of an NRCS conservation plan or a CDUP – that is the jurisdiction of law enforcement.

12. Existing Fauna was not Described and the Wildlife Management Plan was omitted from the CDUA (although it was referred to several times in the application). No list of wildlife species to be benefited is provided in the CDUA. There is no evidence corroborating the applicant’s need for “brush management for wildlife purposes”.

13. Endangered and threatened species were not adequately identified in the CDUA. New evidence regarding the presence of endangered and threatened species needs to be included in this CDUA. An Hawaiian monk seal (endangered species) was born at Larsen’s Beach and 94 green sea turtles (a threatened species) hatched on the beach Fall 2009. Migratory birds of concern – the Laysan albatross – nest on the property. Impacts of fencing and cattle on these species was not addressed in the application. The NRCS Conservation Plan should be updated as well to identify these species.

14. The CDUA Failed to describe Existing Flora and provide general locations and types on a map entitled resources as required in the application. There are a number of threatened medicinal plants species, the ihi, ilima, and pohinahina. The endangered Hawaiian ground cover, ulei, and the native pohuehue are also found in this area. These species will be decimated once cattle are introduced. When pesticides or herbicides are introduced, the gathering of la`au that grow in this coastal area will have to cease because of contamination by proximity.

15. The CDUA fails to comply with HAR 13-5-22 and 23 - in the Limited Subzone, “Natural vegetative plant cover, where disturbed, shall be restored or replaced with endemic or indigenous planting.” The CDUA states that the applicant will remove trees and undergrowth to encourage reestablishment of grasses, however, no grass species have been identified for preservation or reestablishment. Only naupaka is designated for “protection” in the Conservation District but this is the same location where the applicant wants to graze cattle.

16. Tree replacement should be required in the CDUA with a one-for-one replacement of trees 6-inches or more in diameter. The species and size of those trees to be removed and the species and size of the replacement trees should be identified in the CDUA. The backshore is covered with beach heliotrope, naupaka, milo, and false kamani.

17. The CDUA failed to identify the historic, archeological and cultural sites within or near the parcel. The application denied that any Hawaiian habitation occurred on the property after the 1850’s despite readily available evidence that: - There were 35 acres of lo`i kalo agriculture in Lepeuli according to Kilauea Sugar Plantation’s 1932 map. Most were located in the SMA and Conservation District along stream channels or on auwai and next to native Hawaiian habitation (kuleanas).
- The 1835 census recorded a population of 85 adults and children in Lepeuli.
- Kuleana claims for Lepeuli are found at www.ulukau.org
- Known cultural resources in the coastal zone area of the Conservation District include: streams, trails, coral reef, fishing areas, a possible fish trap, historic cultivation areas and house sites, a burial, limu gathering areas, sandy beach, turtle nesting area, native plants and possible fish sighting spots (kilo i`a).

18. The CDUA failed to describe how the proposed project would impact the historic resources and Hawaiian cultural resources, usage and rights in or near the project area. It omitted any discussion of traditional and customary Hawaiian practices for subsistence, cultural, medicinal or religious purposes that take place in or near the project area. It erroneously states that there is no record that the property was being used by native Hawaiians for their cultural beliefs, practices or resources (page 6) as it was under private ownership since the 1850’s. Evidence of kuleana lands and taro lo`i dispute that assertion.

19. Archeological Sites at Lepeuli are not acknowledged in the CDUA. Based on the quantity and significance of finds documented in the archeological inventory surveys for the adjacent coastal properties, a study should be required. A Kaua`i resident reported to SHPD on December 17, 2009 a new archeological site on the property having been exposed by erosion from recent high wave events and storm runoff. A complex of rock walls, terraces and a possible subsurface house overlooking the Lepeuli Stream channel have also been reported by residents and photo documentation is available.

20. There is no Cultural Resources Assessment in the CDUA. Practitioners of Hawaiian culture who live in, have experience with, or have knowledge about the affected district were not contacted for this application. Based on historic documentation about coastal habitation in Lepeuli and the well-known Ka`aka`aniu Reef which is a valued resource for throw-netting, spear-fishing, pole fishing, seaweed harvesting, etc., a cultural resource assessment is warranted.

21. Traditional and customary native Hawaiian rights exercised in the Conservation District will be affected or impaired by the proposed action. By law, such traditional and customary rights shall include, but not be limited to the gathering of hihiwai, opae, o`opu, limu, thatch, ti leaf, aho cord, and medicinal plants for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes.
a) The State and its agencies are obligated to protect the reasonable exercise of customarily and traditionally exercised rights of Hawaiians to the extent feasible;
b) The agencies are obligated to make an assessment of impacts upon traditional and customary practices of native Hawaiians that is independent of the applicant;
c) The independent assessment must include the following:
(1) the identity and scope of “valued cultural, historical, or natural resources” in the area, including the extent to which traditional and customary native Hawaiian rights are exercised in the affected area;
(2) the extent to which those resources – including traditional and customary native Hawaiian rights will be affected or impaired by the proposed action; and
(3) the feasible action, if any, to be taken by the agency to reasonably protect native Hawaiian rights if they are found to exist.

22. No legal basis is provided for the assertion that no prescriptive rights accrue over lands registered with the Land Court of the State of Hawaii. It is in the interest of the public, that the State provide definitive legal documentation as to whether its right to the traditional and customary trail has been relinquished.

23. Consideration of Traditional Hawaiian Values and Native Hawaiian Access was Omitted from CDUA. HRS 205A-2(b)(2)(A) establishes the objectives and policies of the coastal zone management program and provides that the objectives should, -Protect, preserve, and where desirable, restore those natural and manmade historic and prehistoric resources in the coastal zone management area that are significant in Hawaiian and American history and culture.- Evidence of settlement patterns as of 1932, demonstrate that the coastal area was inhabited by Hawaiians. And, the coastal alaloa was the means by which they would walk from lo`i to kuleanas. The applicant’s denial of any native Hawaiian cultural resources contradicts testimony of neighbors, community organizations, and cultural practitioners. Attached (Enclosure B) is the March 2, 2007 letter from Curt Cottrell, NAH Program Manager to Patricia Hanwright, the adjacent property owner in the ahupua`a of Ka`aka`aniu, stating that ”DLNR has determined that the historic trail identified on registered maps is still owned by the State pursuant to Chapter 264-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes.”

24. The CDUA failed to describe the traditional use of the “existing trail” behind the beach which is identified as “existing trail” on the CDUA survey map.
a) Hiranaka Surveyor’s analysis of Registered Map No 432 dated 1833, depicts the approximate location of Koolau Road. This is clearly not the coastal trail when compared with the government Survey Registered Map No 1395 of the Island of Kauai, dated 1878 (submitted by SC) documenting the coastal alaloa and Koolau Road. Both run parallel to the coast and Koolau Road is mauka of the coastal trail.
b) Identified as State Archeological site No. 50-30-04-1034, the alaloa is “an important access route in both traditional and historic times”.
c) The statement that the existing trail “appears to have been created” by current day beachgoers is contrary to historic evidence. This coastal right‐of‐way provided native tenants and travelers access between kuleana lands, cultivating fields and ahupua`a linking the past to present use. The coastal trail through Lepeuli, which connects the adjacent ahupua`a of Ka`aka`aniu and Waipake has been used continuously by cultural practitioners and the public.
d) Fencing will suppress, limit and restrict native Hawaiian rights to use the traditional and customary trail for access to and along the shoreline for subsistence gathering of food and plants for cultural and medicinal purposes.

25. The existing County right-of way is currently under scrutiny by county officials due to several discrepancies. An apparent boulder fall on the original trail decades ago and a boundary fence blocking access to that trail are prompting the county to conduct a survey to verify whether the existing public trail alignment corresponds to the metes and bounds in the deed for the county’s purchase from Waioli Corporation in 1979. The path currently maintained by the county is apparently sited on Waioli’s private property. Sierra Club Kaua`i Group recommends that the OCCL staff and Board members come to Kaua`i for a site visit to fully understand the threats and impacts to the resources that the Coastal Zone Management Act seeks to protect.
The applicant has not met the burden of demonstrating that the proposed land use is consistent with the criteria of HAR 13-5-30(c). Procedurally, many of the requirements prescribed by HAR Chapter 13-5 are missing from the CDUA. Furthermore, the facts would have been flushed out had a Board permit been sought instead of a Department permit which does not provide for a public hearing. As noted in SC’s October 23, 2009 letter, a hearing is warranted based on significant impacts and public interest.
Lastly, we find that the November 11, 2009 letter to SC from Ms. Nishimitsu, the applicant’s representative, is wholly unsatisfactory in addressing the concerns outlined in our letter to OCCL on October 23, 2009. Procedurally, the department should not have to rely on information that is incomplete, inaccurate or false. And, if approved, the permit may need to be modified, suspended or revoked after-the-fact in accordance with HAR 13-5-42 (11).

It is paramount to preserve the integrity and fragile nature of the Lepeuli coastal resources, species and cultural assets -- they deserve the conscientious stewardship afforded in Conservation District permit regulations, in which this application has fallen short. CDUA KA‐3525 should be denied.

Sincerely,
Judy Dalton and Rayne Regush
Sierra Club Executive Committee
Kaua`i Group, Hawai`i Chapter

cc: Ron Agor, Kaua`i Rep, BLNR
BLNR Members
Bob Schleck & Board Members, Waioli Corporation
Mayor Bernard Carvalho
Kaua`i County Council
Ian Costa, County of Kaua`i Planning Dept.
Kai Markel, OHA
Lex Riggle, NRCS
Robert Harris, Sierra Club Hawai`i Chapter

THE ROAD MORE TRAVELED

THE ROAD MORE TRAVELED: The pilikila over the Larson’s Beach access has finally gotten some attention after a fine article in the Hawai`i Independent by Joan Conrow detailed how once again the public is about to lose a path that has been historically ours forever because of some slight of hand by a big landowner.

She writes:

An outcry over plans to fence off a trail to Larsen’s Beach is causing Kauai residents to revisit two longstanding issues: Should concerns about liability restrict access; and is the county properly recording public easements?

The controversy arose over cattle rancher Bruce Laymon’s plans to install a fence on northeast Kauai coastal land that he leases from the Waioli Corp., a kama`aina landowner whose holdings include the historic Waioli Mission House and Grove Farm Homestead Museum.

But the rest of the article deals for the most part, not with Laymon but with Waioli Corp and the history of the access.

Although going forward it’s Waioli’s actions that will determine the future of the access it’s Laymon’s past actions- with the ok of Waioli- that has brought the issue to a head.

Local rancher Bruce Laymon would have people believe, as his attorney told the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR), that he “is a rancher and landscaper... an avid fisherman who loves Kauai and the community... and is not a sophisticated developer as the Sierra Club would like to have the Board believe”

That, in part was what influenced the BLNR to approve staff recommendations to reduce his fine for illegally clearing the bluff above Larsen beach- a secluded clothing optional North Shore beach where travel-book-reading sunbathers from around the world come to vacation- from $15,000 to $2,000 according to the minutes of it’s July meeting.

Laymon claims that it was an innocent and understandable mistake when he relied on an approved “conservation plan” for his ranch, to do work along the ancient historic Alaloa trail above Ka`aka`aniu (rolling coconut) beach and reef- also knows as Larsen’s Beach after a Kilauea sugar plantation luna- which is famous for its limu kohu according to the BLNR staff report which PNN has obtained but is apparently not posted on line.

The work not only went well beyond what was permitted by the East Kaua`i Soil and Water Conservation District (EKWCD) Board when they approved his Brush Management Plan that had been developed with the help of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) but encroached on the state conservation district and county special management area where permits are required to do any work.

Rather than just carefully hand- remove all the non-native plants and leave the foliage in place to hold together the hillside- as the “approved plan” for the other areas required- Laymon apparently came in and cleared the entire area of “brush” denuding the hillside including cutting large trees down to stumps in order to harass the homeless in the area.

According to the report Laymon apparently tried to dispose of the campers’ property calling it “household trash”, engaging in a confrontation with some when they tried to retrieve their belongings.

Though Laymon claimed ignorance and said he was “doing something good for the community”- a position with which members of the BLNR agreed- this isn’t his first run-in with the law for land-clearing operations without necessary permitting- nor is it the first time he’s had confrontational run-ins with nude sunbathers or so-called “illegal campers” on property he leased.

In 2003 Laymon did apparently illegal grubbing and grading on a three acre parcel above Kealia for which he didn’t have an NRCS approved plan. But the EKWCD Board said he made an “honest mistake” in including the three acre parcel in a plan for a different 2011 acre parcel in Kealia according to a lengthy article on the subject in the local newspaper.

This occurred during the infamous Kaua`i County Council “Developers Gone Wild” grubbing and grading hearings, spurred by the 2001 Pila`a mudslide disaster for which developer Jimmy Pflueger received the then-biggest-ever fine for a federal Clean Water Act violation.

Despite the fact that Council Chair Kaipo Asing called actions “another Pila`a waiting to happen” Laymon’s buddies on the EKWCD Board- a group comprised of large landowners in the area who obtain votes based on the acreage they own- cleared him of all charges saying Laymon was just an unsophisticated rancher and landscaper who actually made the area look “beautiful” despite the fact that if a heavy rainfall had occurred while the land was denuded it could have despoiled the reef at Kealia.

Laymon was also involved in the similarly infamous harassment of nude sunbathers in 1990 when he apparently organized an armed vigilante squad that roamed Kaupea Beach- aka Secret Beach- on ATVs at the behest and in the employ of landowners above the beach until the state told him to stop because the beach was state property.

Among those owners were Michelle and Justin Hughes who leased Laymon the Kealia Property that they had obtained from developer Tom McCloskey who bought the entire Kealia ahupua`a after area sugar cane went defunct.

But it seems the BLNR staff either never heard about these incidents or chose not to tell the board about them and rather convinced the board that Laymon was just an unsophisticated rancher and landscaper who made an understandable mistake in clearing the area above Larsen.

The minutes of the BLNR meeting are revealing for what they don’t contain as much as what they do. Although Kaua`i member of the Board Ron Agor told many people that he would push for the full fine the minutes reveal that he actually led the other board members to accept the staff report and reduce the fine.

Laymon is currently applying for an “after the fact” permit from the BLNR for not just the denuding of the hillside but to do the real work he intended to do before complaints stopped him in October of 2008- changing not just the historic Alaloa trail but the traditional easier access to the beach and substituting one more treacherous.

As to the future, the Sierra Club has been on the case and, in a letter, refutes testimony by Laymon’s attorney Lorna Nishimitsu who at one point actually tried to claim to the BLNR staff that the Alaloa trail was actually Ko`olau Road.

The Sierra Club letter to the board details the issues and misrepresentation in the after the fact permit application and is apparently not available on line so is reproduced in full here.

As you know, Paradise Ranch has submitted a CDUA for land leased from Waioli Corporation. This application calls for brush management for ranching and the construction of two sections of fence – one portion designated as pre-existing (near the northern boundary), and additional fencing that is not pre-existing, approximately twice the length of the first portion. We agree that cattle should be kept off the beach. However, the siting of this additional fencing raises a number of concerns.

Safe Beach Access

We appreciate that Waioli Corporation provided a public access easement to Larsen’s Beach years ago, but that route is steep and difficult for both children and elderly to use. The CDUA survey map Exhibit E, indicates that the proposed fence will block the favored public access along the gradual slope labeled “Existing Road” and “Existing Trail”. Emergency responders who routinely rescue visitors from the two rip currents at Larsen’s Beach also favor this route. Therefore, we ask you to keep the existing trail behind the beach unblocked.

Historic Alaloa

Exhibit D in the CDUA notes the State of Hawaii’s claims of ownership of the historic coastal trail – the Hawaiian Alaloa. The Alaloa is not Ko`olau Road as put forth by attorney Lorna Nishimitsu in a letter dated August 5, 2009 (Exhibit C). The evidence of the trail’s location is provided in the document called Ref: K98:1 Moloa`a (from September 1, 1998) which was not included in the CDUA exhibits, but is cited at the top of the Na Ala Hele Memo dated March 1, 2000 (Exhibit D).

Therefore, attached to this letter is documentation from the 1998 Abstract Ref: K98:1 Moloa`a which includes an historic map labeled: Na Ala Hele Exhibit B – “Portion Registered Map 1395 dated 1878 depicting portion of Old Alaloa”.

It is clear from this map that the Alaloa is a coastal trail and not the Kauai Belt Road, Kuhio Highway or Ko`olau Road. Furthermore, there is ample oral testimony collected by Na Ala Hele Kauai Advisory Council members in the late 1990’s that the path traversed close to the coastline and over the Pali. Kupuna in the area can corroborate this.

The “pre-existing” fence does not interfere with the Alaloa. However, the proposed alignment for the new, additional fencing is makai of the existing trail ( see CDUA Survey Map-Exhibit E). The fence would block the “Existing Trail” at two points, cutting off existing public access to Larsen’s Beach via the Alaloa. We encourage Waioli Corporation to seek confirmation from the Na Ala Hele staff abstractor as soon as possible on this matter and to encourage DLNR to conduct a metes and bounds survey of the Alaloa in order to properly site the fence, and submit a corrected survey map for the Conservation District Use Application.

Endangered Species

The project area is adjacent to the sensitive coastal habitat of monk seals, green sea turtles, albatross and other endangered seabirds. Has the lessee considered using fencing that is dog proof so that endangered ground nesting birds would be protected? We hope that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be consulted and afforded the opportunity to comment.

Summary

We ask that you relocate the proposed fencing so that it is mauka of the trail/road. Doing so would:
a) Preserve the traditional and customary Alaloa;
b) Provide the only safely graded beach access from Larsen’s Beach parking lot;
c) Assist lifeguards and emergency responders in their rescue efforts, and
d) Allow the public access when Monk Seal volunteers routinely ribbon off sections of this beach.

If liability is a concern, Waioli Corporation could dedicate the existing trail/road/Alaloa to the State under the Na Ala Hele Hawaii Trail & Access System, thereby removing the threat of liability. Neighboring Moloa`a Bay Ranch also has a portion of the Alaloa and that easement was adopted into the State Na Ala Hele trail system several years ago. Also, please note that your neighbor Falko Partners, north of Larsen’s Beach, is currently in discussion with the Kauai Public Land Trust about transferring rights to the coastal portion of the Conservation District to the public.

Thank you for your consideration. Perhaps board members would benefit from a site visit to better understand the significance of this coastal gem and its importance to the community.

Sincerely,
Judy Dalton
on behalf of the Executive Committee
(Sierra Club)Kaua`i Group, Hawai`i Chapter

--------------------------

We’ve managed to screw-up the handiwork of our shoulder surgeon and are back to hurtful hunting and painful pecking. We may be posting a little lighter than usual in the coming weeks. Pardon the interruption- try to do better next time.

GIVE HIM A BISCUIT AD MAYBE HE WON’T BITE YA

GIVE HIM A BISCUIT AD MAYBE HE WON’T BITE YA: Often when people criticize the actions of government they end their rant with the phrase “they must think we’re stupid”.

But that kind of statement implies a falsehood- the proposition that in fact that “we” aren’t... stupid that is. And there’s nothing that makes people stupider than money

And so the town of Kekaha met last night to decide what to do with the bribe that the administration and council came up with to get people on the far Westside to let them expand the landfill by paying them off with about a third of a million dollars “for the community”.

And the residents did what any group of people would do when given a big pile of money- they started squabbling over it.

What’s really going on here is a not-so-hair-brained scheme that assumes- probably rightly- that it’s going to be possible to do what otherwise has been impossible for the last 20 years due to individual community opposition putting a landfill in any neighborhood.

This trial balloon bestows taxpayer money upon Kekaha and according to at least one person in attendance, though the smelly site and rumbling trucks on the highway were unbearably and disgustingly objectionable just last year, now apparently money changes everything.

It seems that no one at the meeting- called to decide how to spend the money- now objects to the landfill anymore. But they do however object to being told how to spend the money.

Because County Engineer Donald Fujimoto revealed the attached strings last night by telling people that the county is forming a “citizen’s advisory board” to decide and the board will contain five members of the county administration and “eight community members” all of whom will be selected not by the community but by the mayor.

“That’s nonsense” says former mayoral candidate Rolf Bieber. “How is that a community process when the people are all selected by the mayor?”

Bieber described another of those PowerPoint presentations we talked about yesterday- a fancy name for 14 pages of big print containing outline subject headings, projected like a slide show on a screen with about enough content to fill one side of a sheet of paper.

In it Fujimoto told the crowd the parameters as to how the people were to be allowed to bicker over how to spend the cash.

Bieber also asked, as many at the meeting did, just what “the Kekaha community” is?

According to residents the worst part of the existence of the landfill in Kekaha is the trucks that rumble through town on their way to the dump. But unaddressed by the county is the fact that everyone along the highway all over the island has four wheels and flies rumbling by in an inversely proportionally diminishing number as the distance from the dump increases.

“So where’s the cash for those living right on the highway in Kekaha” asked residents, failing of course to ask that the money also be distributed to those on the highway outside of Kekaha, although some Waimea people in attendance weren’t happy they weren’t considered part of Kekaha and so not getting any of the new-found riches.

But this whole payoff to Kekaha is really just a way to try to deal with the fact that, though “everyone” wants a new landfill on Kaua`i no one wants it in their backyard.

That’s been the bugaboo for the last 20 years. in which time each attempt to site a new dump has met with such fierce opposition from the “host community” that the county council’s already pathetic lack of political will was diminished seven times over.

The answer to the questions “how dumb do they think we are” may not have a strict quantitative bottom but whatever the level of stupidity is, it apparently increases in direct proportion to the amount of money people are paid to be idiots.

So the plan is obviously to pick a community and pay off those who are on the other side of town so they’ll come out and actually support the siting of a new landfill even though their neighbors don’t want it in their back yard.

Knowing how self absorbed and greedy people are it’s not that bad of a “wool over the eyes" plan.

Suppose they want to put a new dump where the old one was in Kapa`a. You can bet anyone who lives in the area within 1000 yards of it won’t care how much money is thrown at the town- they won’t want it.

And in the past all else being equal their neighbors – even those five miles away- supported them and maybe even turned out en masse at a council meeting and threatened the pols with political oblivion if they put a dump in Kapa`a.

But if Kekaha is any example once there’s cold currency on the table the amount people who care if a dump is placed “in Kapa`a” is inversely proportional to how far away they live- the greater the distance, the less the concern. Someone in Kapahi or Wailua Homesteads or Houselots will probably take their bribe and shut up about it.

Is this how we want our cash-strapped county’s money spent- dividing and conquering our communities by paying them off with a new neighborhood center or swimming pool?

This actually goes back to the question of why the heck we are siting a new landfill in the first place instead of looking at a Zero-Waste program.

The answer, as we described in June, is that the money for another bogus study from favorite consultant RW Beck was recently spent for the third time and so we’re stuck throwing good money after bad for the next 50 years according to the incumbent councilpeople and many of their flummoxed newbie wannabe sycophants in this year’s election like Derik Kawakami, Dickie Chang and Ron Agor.

And its supported by both mayoral candidates.

The real solution- as we’ve said to no avail before- is to ship our trash back where it came from- the mainland.

Landfills in the northwest are fighting over the chance to take the last dribs and drabs of waste that cannot be recycled, reused and composted- and then even burned, if the Beck recommendations are implemented.

But the largess for the companies who run the current system is so great that the pols, who get their campaign cash from them, are bound to kow-tow.

And for more pressure look only as far as the county workers who irrationally fear they will lose jobs- irrationally because the jobs will just be switched over to loading the stuff on a barge rather than trucking it to a landfill.

Though the claim is made that it would be more expensive to ship it back, that contention- made going back to the beginning of the Kusaka administration- is not just shibai but has never been shown to be true in any of the numerous consultant studies. That’s because they have refused to actually quantify it in the Beck reports, despite promises from mayors and councilpeople to study the option.

And if we are going to be paying yearly hush money to a town to accept a new dump, the cost of landfilling is only going up.

Not only that but we now know that the price of the landfill is going to be twice of what the early guesstimates were and are increasing all the time, along with the number and types of expensive EPA requirements for opening maintaining and closing them.

When Honolulu recently started shipping it’s trash back - although only partially and supposedly temporarily- their announced total costs were even less than our current Kaua`i landfill “tipping fee” and that doesn’t include all the extra and hidden costs of the process.

And it doesn’t include the Beck proposed tipping fee increases since the fee doesn’t cover costs now.

And in an ecological sense shipping it back make perfect sense. Once you remove the greenwaste, 100% of our trash came from off island to begin with,. Does it make more sense to use our tiny island area and throw all the stuff we bring in into a hole or to send it back to where it came from where land is 1/100th the price and 100 times more available?

But instead of doing something that makes sense and is ecologically sound – and arguably would cost less money- we still act like the Minotaur- we “will do what’s wrong as long as we can”.

How stupid do they think we are? We’re not sure why but somehow the words to the following Bobby Dylan seem appropriate.

On The Road Again

Well, I wake up in the morning
There's frogs inside my socks
Your mama, she's a-hidin'
Inside the icebox
Your daddy walks in wearin'
A Napoleon Bonarparte mask
Then you ask why I don't live here
Honey, do you have to ask ?

Well, I go to pet your monkey
I get a face full of claws
I ask who's in the fireplace
And you tell me Santa Claus
The milkman comes in
He's wearing a derby hat
And you ask why I don't live here
Honey, how come you have to ask me that ?

Well, I asked for something to eat
I'm hungry as a hog
So I get brown rice, seaweed
And a dirty hot dog
I've got a hole
Where my stomach disappeared
Then you ask why I don't live here
Honey, I gotta think you're really weird.

Your grandpa's cane
It turns into a sword
Your grandma prays to pictures
That are pasted on a board
Everything inside my pockets
Your uncle steals
And you ask me why I don't live here
Honey, I can't believe that you're for real.

Well, there's fist fight in the kitchen
They're enough to make me cry
The mailman comes in
Even he's gotta take a side
Even the butler
He's got something to prove
Then you ask me why I don't live here
Honey, how come you don't move ?

CHALLENGING THE CHOKE CHAIN

CHALLENGING THE CHOKE CHAIN: Ho-hum.

Saturday’s election results were anything but surprising although you wouldn’t know it from listening to the shocked malahinis and young progressives who, like their past brethren, learned a lesson that many of us are slow to learn- Kaua`i is an extremely conservative community when it comes to change.

Amidst all the talk of “new demographics”- the same talk we’ve heard for 40 years- most of the predictions of change a’comin’ are wishful thinking.

Though we hit the bulls-eye in our Wednesday prediction of the percentages of all four candidates in the mayor’s race, the council race wasn’t much of a shock either with one notable pleasant exception- Lani Kawahara’s encouraging 8th place showing.

The Kapa`a librarian and political protégé of Kauai State Senator Gary Hooser is the one bright spots in the council results for those searching for an alternative to the entrenched machine and their younger wannabes.

Her platform statements on transportation, sustainability, infrastructure improvements, environmental protection, growth management, alternative energy, economic diversification, ag lands ad open spaces, beach and trail access, and solid waste and recycling all provide detailed solutions no other candidates can come close to.

But Kawahara will have to fight her way into a mix of five incumbents and two new big-money, old-boy-connected, pro-unbridled-development, anti-sustainability candidates, Derik Kawakami and Dickie Chang.

Although she is positioned only a thousand votes out of 7th place and 1200 votes more than the 9th place candidate, Kawahara is also only 1200 votes out of third place.

Her biggest difficulty will be that she is without the big money support of the super-wealthy Kawakami, the media megaphone of ambiguous TV personality Chang- the personification pro-big-business over-development- or the incumbents’ weekly promotional video known as the cablecast of the council meetings

Generally progressives across the state took a bath Saturday, especially on the neighbor islands.

In the Big Island vote although Councilperson Angel Pilago made the cut in their mayoral race he has a 22% margin to make up when he squares off against old- boy, first-time candidate Administrative Assistant Billy Kanoi.

He’s got a long way and a much tougher fight than Councilperson JoAnn Yukimura will have against a similar foe in Bernard Carvalho.

Yukimura seems primed to pick up a huge chunk of loser Mel Rapozo’s 25% since much of it was an anti-Baptiste vote and therefore anti self-proclaimed, heir-apparent Carvalho.

Rapozo was arguably Baptiste’s biggest critic and it’s hard to imagine any but the fully uninformed voters or those who voted for Rapozo through family or community ties voting for Carvalho, who may have approached his peak vote in the primaries.

But on the Big Island Pilago barely beat out third place finisher former State Rep Lorraine Inouye, a well connected female-old-boy seeking her old mayoral chair. And Big Island polls show Kanoi picking up 40% of Inouye’s vote..

Even long time Puna Green Bob Jacobson lost to a pro-development adversary. With Pilago gone Big Island journalist and political blogger Hunter Bishop calls it the “dissolv(ing of)... the current five-member Sierra Club majority” that passed a ban on plastic grocery bags and put a measure on the ballot to make marijuana the lowest priority for HPD enforcement while rejecting federal pot eradication funding

We can forget about a plastic bag ban or any sustainability and environmental protection measures passing if Kawakami makes the November cut on Kaua`i

As the son of former state representatives (yes, both of them) Richard and Bertha Kawakami and owner and GM of Big Save Markets he hasn’t met development that he doesn’t like especially when it benefits Big Save

And, although for some reason he seems reluctant to mention his lineage the old boy network knows exactly who he is even if the voters don’t. .

We know it won’t be him that’s crying after we heard his radio ad proclaiming how he has nothing to offer but his “blood sweat and tears”..

“D-E-R-I-K and Derik is so lame-o”- as many mis-phrase his advertising slogan song- is the dim-bulb of the Kawakami dynasty but given the support for nothing-upstairs candidates like Carvalho it’s obvious that the electorate self-identifies with that

Some might think- and we’re among them- that the starkness of the presence of the worst of the worst land pimps and hotel whores in the top seven is related to a perception of bad economic times ahead.

On Kaua`i, those whose economic fortunes rise and fall with the numbers of visitors are seeing 20-30% declines in their paychecks, especially if they work by the piece or for tips or commission.

Fear is a great motivator and when it comes down to the level of food and shelter people will respond by ditching concerns about lifestyle, environmental protection and future sustainability in favor of the lower echelon of Maslow’s hierarchy needs.

Fear drives out calls for change- when fear is the chief motivating factor incumbents are happy. And top five finishes for the five “incumbents” indicates that may well be the case here.

But though that make explain the extent of rejection of the new ideas of more progressive candidates something one retired pillar of the community said to us Saturday night has the ring of truth that all those hope-mongers need to hear- something we’ve been fighting against hearing again and again each election for many decades.

“Did you ever think that maybe people are happy with things the way they are?” he said.

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine how, but things could be worse. Lani Kawahara could have come in lower than Republican stalwart Ron Agor.

Kawahara’s supporters have their work cut out for them. A thousand votes is a lot to make up and the turnout on Kaua`i was the highest in the state at 46%, similar to general election turnouts in the recent past and even if it hasn’t peaked no higher turnout alone will make up for that margin.

If Kaua`i fails to put Lani over the top we won’t just be losing two years of service of an extremely bright and akamai, controlled growth advocate but won’t have any voice on the council to combat the money-driven developers who will own all seven councilmembers.

One voice may not be able to stop the full mainland-ization of Kaua`i that many call inevitable. But it’s always better to have a foot in the door than have it shut, locked and barred trying to kick it down.

CHECK FOR TICKS WHILE YOU’RE AT IT, LYNDON

CHECK FOR TICKS WHILE YOU’RE AT IT, LYNDON: It could have been a Hamlet ending with bodies strewn over the county building lawn but instead it’s Much Ado About Nothing and All’s Well That Ends Well for mayoral candidate Mel Rapozo who, the Kaua`i Elections office conformed today after our request , did indeed withdraw in writing from the County Council race before filing for mayor.

Rapozo’s withdrawal letter was dated, received and time-stamped on July 7 at 12:29 p.m., the same day he “pulled” his papers to run in this year’s special mayoral election. He filed his papers to run for Mayor at 2:13 p.m. on July 22, the day of the filing deadline.

Rapozo’s filing status was complicated by Hawai`i Chief Election’s Office Kevin Cronin’s recent ruling that all withdrawals must be in writing.

Also. as many predicted, Rapozo has apparently joined all the others in the politician-blogger graveyard by abandoning the blog he started on March 9. His last post was on June 27 (hey who had 3 months 18 days in the pool) after the site became a magnet for crazies on both sides of the “dog path” debate drawing 202 comments, some threatening his personal safety in addition to his electoral status.

But Rapozo does have the edge in the money race as of June 30 , according to the latest numbers released by candidates as posted at the Campaign Spending Commission’s “Standard Reports” web site

As of the last day of June Rapozo had $11,988.96 in his campaign war chest but that amount is just a smidgen more than the $11,578.77 it appears that his opponent Joann Yukimura has.

We say “it appears” because although all the various reports of the particulars of her finances are posted, her main “disclosure report” is missing. We do have a request in to the commission for that paperwork but had to “do the math” adding her “surplus” from Dec. 13, 2007 to her “contributions” and subtracting her “expenditures”.

Bernard Carvalho and Rolf Bieber II, the third and fourth candidates in he mayor’s race, did not file reports because as of June 30-eight days after the death of Mayor Baptiste- neither had become candidates.

But some of the amounts of “surplus” reported by council candidates are in for those who are incumbents or announced earlier than the deadline for filing.

In the Council race most candidates did not have a campaign as of June 30 so did not file. But for many that did there is a hole in their bucket- some quite large for one reason or another.

The champion debtor is incumbent Tim Bynum who reported a deficit of $12,572.47 much of it apparently after buying all his various bumper stickers yard signs and the like.

Next is Jay Furfaro who is indented to the tune of $8,555.86.

We’re not sure what is going on with KipuKai Kualii, who officially reports he is $4,006.07 in the hole but if we read it right he’s actually is in the black by amount. He loaned himself $9493.54 and collected $5,030.00 but spent $9,036.07 according to his report. Another problem is that he doesn’t detail who gave him the money in his report.

Another one complicated, like Yukimura, by his lack of posting of a main disclosure form is Derrick Kawakami who between he and his “Big Save” immediate family members loaned his campaign $11,107. He received $1250 in contributions and spent $7142.94 which should leave him with 3,965.06 and would make his the richest candidate in not only personal; and campaign wealth.

Kaipo Asing is also in the red to the tune of $1,350.00 but that appears to be a long standing debt.

Joining Asing are Ron Agor who has a $55.84 debt and Darryl Kaneshiro at a minus $40.55, both apparently from previous campaigns although neither filed for this year.

Those is in the black include Ron Kouchi who, even though he apparently had over $23,00 at one time, is down to $2,951.89- although his “expenses” report is mysteriously missing.

Then there’s Christobel Kealoha who has $1,351.00 and finally Bruce Pleas whose $84.94 surplus from his last campaign is still there.

The rest as we said did not file except for Nancy McMahon who filed for public financing although she didn’t report any money collected in qualifying contributions.

We’ll be doing a little more digging in the near future and list some of the more eyebrow raising contributions and expenses but it is important to note that some who are in debt already paid for a lot of their campaign materials and even advertising while those that are flush might not have.

Anyone who really wants to shovel out the barn can visit the reports at the Campaign Spending Commission’s “Standard Report” page.

And don’t forget to go to the Eco-Roundtable Candidate Forum’s tomorrow (Tuesday) evening at 5:30 at the Convention Hall.

RUNNING WITH THE PACK

RUNNING WITH THE PACK: In a head-scratchier of a final slate of candidates for Kaua`i a record 22 candidates will vie for the seven County Council seats but no one decided to challenge any of our State Legislators.

The members of the new record number club, topping the previous high of 21, will square off on September 20 with 14 likely to advance to a final showdown on November 4.

But why candidates chose to give Roland Sagum, Jimmy Tokioka and Mina Morita a free ride is perhaps a matter of a combination of the sudden openings on the council combined with the self-delusion that most have that they can get past the “primary” or win a seat on the general.

The answer to “what were you thinking” is often “I wasn’t”.

Why no one came to run against Mina Morita is understandable. She’s one of the best the best things Kaua`i has to offer in the officeholder department and is wildly popular.

But the fact that the much reviled Tokioka and the developer’s friend Sagum didn’t spur at least one of the council aspirants to challenge them is puzzling since anything can happen in a race that pits only two opponents. So many people are so ready to vote for “anybody but” Tokioka and to a lesser degree Sagum that an opponent would have been starting off with 20-25% of the vote.

But even 22 choices might not be enough to unseat the entrenched or stop the sleazebags and developer from maintaining the “same old-same-old” as Joan Conrow gloomily prophesized this morning.

She runs down the list and comes to the conclusion it going to be “same as it ever was-same as it ever was” with all the Talking Heads yakking about “changing demographics” on Kaua`i being just so much wishful thinking.

It’s the same talk we’ve heard in every election even going back to 1986 when a long list of progressive candidates like Dr. Jack Lindgren and Mina Morita were thought to have a chance due to an aging and dying population of plantation-mentality-addled lackeys, the coming of age of the baby boomers and an influx of mainlanders.

Yet with an extremely rare “exception that proves the rule” such as Gary Hooser it’s been heightened expectations in July and severe dejection in November.

We’ve all fallen for the high of optimism that leads to the crash of harsh reality too many times to believe that the incumbents will have any problems and that the open slots will be filled by the next generation of “entitled-by birth” private-interest sycophants and power-mongers like Derrick Kawakami and George Thronas Jr., another rich political skein.

Perhaps the most dismaying thing may be that all of the public interest candidates are getting a late start with a few exceptions for those who have run losing campaigns in the past.

One thing any political operative on Kaua`i will routinely tell prospective candidates when listing the harsh realities of campaigning here is that in order to go from obscure to elected you need to start the day AFTER the election.

Start at one end of the island and knock on every door- preferably with a gift- until you get to the other end. And then after you lose your first election, do it all over again.

Then if you run a good campaign you might get elected.

And who the heck is that committed?. Many of the best people- those who genuinely want to represent the community’s interest and shove the corporate interests to the wayside - do it half heartedly and fatalistically.

And those representing the entrenched old boys and girls network have the zeal of self enrichment and career enhancement, not to mention the edge in raising money when people find out they are for sale..

Still anything can happen in a wide open race like this. A little hard work never hurt anyone’s vote totals.

Unlike recent years, there are multiple excellent candidates and if all the people who complain abut local politics and governance find their favorite and work their butts off canvassing, sign holding and fundraising for them... well, stranger things have happened.

Below is a list of all the council candidates with their contact information. We’ve given some details about a few of the good candidates- as well as the maybes and a few of the more disgusting entries- in the last week or so and will be refining our own list based on their words deeds and actions as they come to light over the next two months.

We especially would welcome candidates who feel they were unfairly represented or disrespected in this column to call us and try to change our mind. We can only go on the information that’s out there and more information can always change the situation.

We urge everyone to at least call the applicants and have an in depth conversation about where they stand on the issues and to gauge how they will serve the public interest and in fact fight for us against the entrenched cabal.

And maybe even get off your butt and do a little campaigning instead of spending the next two years complaining.

Though we really like Lani Kawahara, Bruce Pleas, , and Ken Taylor and will no doubt be supporting their candidacies, here’s our list of those who at least deserve attention. Give them a call- we’re sure they’ll be glad to hear from you.

Dickie P (Wala`au) Chang, Jay Furfaro, John R Hoff,. Harry K Kaneakua,. Jr., Daryl W Kaneshiro, Lani T Kawahara,. Christobel K Kealoha,. Les P Kipukai Kualii,. Rhoda L. Libre, Scott F. Miljares, Linda Pasadava, Bruce J. Pleas, Kenneth R. Taylor,

And don’t forget to attend and/or watch on TV the Eco Roundtable candidate forum on Aug 5 at the convention Hall at 5:30.

Now Meet our full slate of dunking booth contestants.

1) Ron Agor, 3728 Nawiliwili Rd. Lihue 96766 (808) 651-5764
2) Bill (Kaipo) Asing, 4113 Palau Mahu St. Lihue 96766 (808) 245-4555
3) Bob Bartolo, 5060 Nonou Rd. Kapaa 96746 (808) 639-8080
4) Tim Bynum, 5935 Kololia Pl. Kapaa 96746 (808) 822-1652
5) Bob Cariffe, 4279 Kailewa St. Lihue 96766 (808) 635-3398
6) Dickie (Wala`au) Chang, P.O. Box 3944 Lihue 96766 (808) 635-8800
7) Jay Furfaro, P.O. Box 223224 Princeville 96720 (808) 652-1550
8) John R Hoff,. P.O. Box 547 Lawai 96765 (332) 974-9745
9) Harry K Kaneakua,. Jr. P.O. Box 3066 Lihue 96766 (808) 647-0172
10) Daryl W Kaneshiro,. 4135-A Noho Rd. Koloa 96756 (808) 651-6906
11) Lani T Kawahara,. P.O. Box 1565 Kapaa 96746 (808) 652-6741
12) Derek S.K Kawakami,. 5077 Kawaihau Rd. Kapaa 96746 (808) 822-7489
13) Christobel K Kealoha,. P.O. Box 3942 Lihue 96766 (808) 245-9944
14) Ronald Kouchi, 3391 Eono St. Lihue 96766 (808) 639-2724
15) Kipukai Les P Kualii,. 4210 Rice St., #A2 Lihue 96766 (808) 212-9192
16) Rhoda L. Libre, P.O. Box 246 Kaumakani 96747 (808) 645-1210
17) Nancy A. McMahon, 5532 Tapa St. Koloa 96756 (808) 639-6695
18) Scott F. Miljares, P.O. Box 1222 Kilauea 96754 (808) 652-7113
19) Linda Pasadava, P.O. Box 600 Kilauea 96754
20) Bruce J. Pleas, P.O. Box 721 Waimea 96752 (808) 639-2850
21) Kenneth R. Taylor, 1720a Makaleha Pl. Kapaa 96746 (808) 823-8527
22) George S. Thronas, , Jr. P.O. Box 246 Kapaa 96746 (808) 651-6419