POISON `IWI: We're still cussin' like a sailor every time we try to use the county's newfangled webcast site but since Ho`ike is, as usual, woefully inept at getting the meetings on the "air"- much less the schedule of council meetings posted on-line- we tuned to the MP3 audio today to get an aural gander at the section on Nancy McMahon's application to serve on the county's Kauai Historic Preservation Review Commission.
And never- we repeat never- in over 35 years, have we seen a steadier stream of people come to the hot seat to talk stink about a nominee.
McMahon, as Joan Conrow wrote last month,
was the former Kauai district archaeologist and SHPD deputy director who approved the burial treatment plan that allowed Joe Brescia to build on top of iwi kupuna. Pua Aiu signed off on the plan after it was rejected by the Kauai Niihau Island Burial Council, thus setting the precedent that capping iwi in concrete and building over them is compatible with a determination to “preserve in place.”
As a matter of fact it was McMahon's actions that were singled out for the wrath of Judge Kathleen Watenabe in the matter as Conrow reported earlier saying
But that irritation was tempered by the good news that Nancy McMahon, the state archaeologist whose misdeeds created the Bresica boondoggle – to quote Judge Watanabe: “The heart of this case is the failure of the state to follow procedures put in place to protect cultural practitioners, the general public and the rights of landowners.” — has been placed on indefinite administrative leave without pay. Her suspension followed a National Park Services inquiry into and state legislative hearings on the screwed up mess that is the State Historic Preservation Division.
It seems like every time there was some kind of pilikila regarding burials McMahon was in the forefront.
Our headline and lede last May said it all:
THREE BURIALS UNEARTHED BY COWS AT LEPEULI UNCEREMONIOUSLY REBURIED BY SHPD’S MCMAHON WITHOUT BURIAL COUNCIL NOTIFICATION.
PNN) -- Three burials that were disinterred by Bruce Laymon's cattle operation on Waioli Corporation property at Lepeuli (Larsen’s Beach) and were unceremoniously moved and reinterred by State Historical Preservation Division (SHPD) Archeologist Nancy McMahon, according to a letter from McMahon to Hope Kallai of Malama Moloa`a.
McMahon's nomination despite the outrageous conflict of interest in serving on a commission that essentially would review her work, was one of those "council only" appointments where the mayor picks three, the council picks three and the body picks the last one. But the problem has been getting people to serve so the commission hasn't met in ages because they don't have a quorum.
So when McMahon put her name forward she was somewhat of an automatic nominee, according to councilmembers.
The only question really for council members was whether to reject McMahon outright yesterday as the oodles of outraged onlookers had demanded or take 60 days, as Chair Jay Furfaro requested, to "investigate" some of the charges.
After much wrangling, somewhat surprisingly since it had appeared there were only going to be three votes to kill the resolution during discussion, the council voted to kill it right then and there.
As a side note, the main thing the council apparently wanted to look into was one charges that many made, as we heard in an email earlier this week.
Apparently McMahon's educational background had been thrown into question because when her opponents checked with University of Hawai`i-Manoa they discovered her degree was "in anthropology, not archeology."
Seemingly they weren't the only ones who didn't know that archeology is more properly called "physical anthropology," as opposed to cultural anthropology. No one gets an undergraduate degree in "archeology" but rather studies both branches of anthropology and is awarded the appropriate degree.
We don't know what's wrong with this woman- she's apparently a glutton for rejection. First she ran and finished last in the 2008 election for council. Then a steady stream of charges- including one by a Kaua`i massage therapist that she was "filthy dirty" (ouch) - were telecast with such vile tossed in her direction that would bring a normal person to tears.
It's hard to say anyone deserves that but in McMahon’s case she's practically begged for it.
And, with twisted aloha, the community has once again granted her request.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Nancy McMahon. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Nancy McMahon. Sort by date Show all posts
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, August 15, 2008
MOTHER HUBBARD’S LAMENT
MOTHER HUBBARD’S LAMENT: Government bureaucrats have never been known for their competence or honesty.
But with the way some are being ridiculed by judges lately you’d think people like Honolulu County clerk Denise Decosta and Chief Elections officer Kevin Cronin would show some integrity or at least shame- and resign.
Cronin’s penchant for making it up as he goes along- as pilloried by an administrative judge last week was- surpassed by Decosta in her convoluted attempt to keep a citizen initiative against rail in Honolulu off the ballot because even though it was legally submitted to qualify for the general election the petitioners mentioned a special election in their preface.
Judge Karl Sakamoto’s now “instant classic” ruling yesterday that “(t)he voice of the people should not be suffocated by the erroneous readings of the law by its own government" was apparently part of a new spate of recent rulings by judges asking government officials “what am I an idiot?” in light of their intentional administrative twistings of the law.
The actual Honlulu City Charter provisions- which trumps the confusing special ordinance and administrative rules- says:
Any petition for proposed ordinance which has been filed with the council at least ninety days prior to a general election and which has been certified by the clerk, shall be submitted to electors for the aforementioned general election."
So how old is Decosta? Six? When they read her the actual prevailing rules of the game she apparently pointed to an out of context phrase, showed us what her mommy said, put her fingers in her ears and yelled “You said it- nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah- I can’t hear you- nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah.”
But on Kaua`i we’ve apparently got a new judge for whom the answer to what am I an idiot? is an unqualified “yes” when it comes to abuses of administrative a-holes
But what do you expect? Firth Circuit Court judge Kathleen Wantanbe came straight from the government bureaucracy to her perch on the bench and seemingly her rulings don’t just give the benefit of the doubt to government officials but they consider complaints about it to be a nuisance- just like her bureaucratic brethren .
Yesterday’s hearing in Joe Brescia’s genocide and desecration case was punctuated by a distinct flavor of telling the government that they can do no wrong if press reports are accurate.
First she ruled that only the reportedly allegedly corrupt Kaua`i State Archeologist Nancy McMahon could testify but not archeologist Dr. Michael “No Pun Intended” Graves who represented the aggrieved iwi and their descendents.
Independent reporter Joan Conrow described it this way this morning
Before the proceedings got to that place, Watanabe refused to qualify Dr. Michael Graves, a witness called by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., as an expert in Hawaiian archaeology. Never mind that he spent 21 years at UH teaching undergraduate and graduate students in archaeology and served as head of the department.
Since that prohibited Graves from discussing whether the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) acted properly in its treatment of the Naue burials, much of the hearing was devoted to Kauai state archaeologist Nancy McMahon defending her decisions regarding the burials there.
What a surprise- a career government lawyer deciding that self-serving government officials’ testimony is expert- even one whose job is in jeopardy, being under fire for not knowing what the heck she is doing, what the law really says and lying to both the Kaua`i Burial Council and Planning Commission- and denying a private sector university professor with no bone to pick, so to speak.
And what they were arguing about puts the meter on Wantanabe’s “what am I an idiot?” rating in the red zone.
As Star-Bulletin reporter Tom Finnegan said today
The Native Hawaiian Legal Corp.. argued that the state archaeologist reversed the decision of the Kauai Ni`ihau Burial Council when she allowed Brescia's contractors to build the home and cap seven grave sites with concrete.
Chandler's lawyers blame state Historic Preservation Division archaeologist and Kauai County Council candidate Nancy McMahon for pushing through both the permits at the county level and the burial council's plan to keep the burials in place. Then, the lawyers argued, she approved the contractor's plan without returning to the burial council for its input.
McMahon, who testified yesterday, said that... no evidence has been found that would make anyone believe the area was a cemetery, rather than 30 individual graves. (emphasis added)
However, Alan Murakami, Chandler's lawyer, said that the burial council wanted to preserve the burials as a unit, and McMahon took it on her own to interpret its ruling.
By allowing the house to be built atop the graves, rather than preserving them, "the state has disemboweled the burial council," Murakami added.
Oh- well, that explains it all- it’s just a coincidence. Those stupid Hawaiians just threw their dead all over the place and randomly and independently decided to inter their dead there in a concentration that exponentially outstrips most other nearby locations of “iwi kupuna”
Apparently there was no actual plan to screw poor Joe Brescia 500 years in the future by burying all the bodes in one place bodies there.
Well, we’d better pull our tongue out of our cheek long enough to ask if McMahon’s contention exposes anything but the depth of depravity of the administrative scope of genocide that continues to percolate through the Hawai`i State apparatus.
If she contends that despite the concentration of 30 full sets of remains in an 18,000-square-foot beachfront property it was not purposefully done as what westerners would call a cemetery she obviously presumes that the pre-western contact Hawaiians were too dumb to coordinate a place to inter their dead.
After all those brown skinned people are akin to a bunch of animals who have no capacity to concentrate their burials in a certain area with any intent..
Because as we all know a concentration of trees is not forest- unless you look at a dictionary.
The significance of this is that McMahon has used this as the premise- in addition to using tortured readings the law- to take away authority from the burial council to preserve the area.
And so Wantanbe acceded to this shibai by accepting the “30 burials do not a cemetery make” postulate in allowing construction to continue at least until the hearing continues weeks from now, saying essentially the only reason she wasn’t dismissing the case was that "I understand the community is split... I understand the need for finality and ... some closure." according to Finnegan.
This is the same judge that, for example, refused to allow public examination of the minutes of a Kaua`i County Council Executive session minutes as the OIP called for because it was “impossibly intertwined” with the material OIP had suggested be redacted when the rest was released.
What is it with Kaua`i judges? Well maybe it’s that “once a bureaucrat, always a bureaucrat”.
With Wantanbe and ex-politician Randall Valenciano- he of the famous refusal to hear the challenges to the Superferry after the Supreme Court remanding to a similar court on Maui- filling the bench over here we can expect any tortured reading of the law that allows political manipulation of people’s rights to be upheld.
If Decosta and Cronin finally do get canned we have a feeling that they’d always have a job on Kaua`i where our government functionaries can just make up the law as they go along and get their former cronies, now on the bench, to uphold them.
But with the way some are being ridiculed by judges lately you’d think people like Honolulu County clerk Denise Decosta and Chief Elections officer Kevin Cronin would show some integrity or at least shame- and resign.
Cronin’s penchant for making it up as he goes along- as pilloried by an administrative judge last week was- surpassed by Decosta in her convoluted attempt to keep a citizen initiative against rail in Honolulu off the ballot because even though it was legally submitted to qualify for the general election the petitioners mentioned a special election in their preface.
Judge Karl Sakamoto’s now “instant classic” ruling yesterday that “(t)he voice of the people should not be suffocated by the erroneous readings of the law by its own government" was apparently part of a new spate of recent rulings by judges asking government officials “what am I an idiot?” in light of their intentional administrative twistings of the law.
The actual Honlulu City Charter provisions- which trumps the confusing special ordinance and administrative rules- says:
Any petition for proposed ordinance which has been filed with the council at least ninety days prior to a general election and which has been certified by the clerk, shall be submitted to electors for the aforementioned general election."
So how old is Decosta? Six? When they read her the actual prevailing rules of the game she apparently pointed to an out of context phrase, showed us what her mommy said, put her fingers in her ears and yelled “You said it- nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah- I can’t hear you- nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah.”
But on Kaua`i we’ve apparently got a new judge for whom the answer to what am I an idiot? is an unqualified “yes” when it comes to abuses of administrative a-holes
But what do you expect? Firth Circuit Court judge Kathleen Wantanbe came straight from the government bureaucracy to her perch on the bench and seemingly her rulings don’t just give the benefit of the doubt to government officials but they consider complaints about it to be a nuisance- just like her bureaucratic brethren .
Yesterday’s hearing in Joe Brescia’s genocide and desecration case was punctuated by a distinct flavor of telling the government that they can do no wrong if press reports are accurate.
First she ruled that only the reportedly allegedly corrupt Kaua`i State Archeologist Nancy McMahon could testify but not archeologist Dr. Michael “No Pun Intended” Graves who represented the aggrieved iwi and their descendents.
Independent reporter Joan Conrow described it this way this morning
Before the proceedings got to that place, Watanabe refused to qualify Dr. Michael Graves, a witness called by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., as an expert in Hawaiian archaeology. Never mind that he spent 21 years at UH teaching undergraduate and graduate students in archaeology and served as head of the department.
Since that prohibited Graves from discussing whether the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) acted properly in its treatment of the Naue burials, much of the hearing was devoted to Kauai state archaeologist Nancy McMahon defending her decisions regarding the burials there.
What a surprise- a career government lawyer deciding that self-serving government officials’ testimony is expert- even one whose job is in jeopardy, being under fire for not knowing what the heck she is doing, what the law really says and lying to both the Kaua`i Burial Council and Planning Commission- and denying a private sector university professor with no bone to pick, so to speak.
And what they were arguing about puts the meter on Wantanabe’s “what am I an idiot?” rating in the red zone.
As Star-Bulletin reporter Tom Finnegan said today
The Native Hawaiian Legal Corp.. argued that the state archaeologist reversed the decision of the Kauai Ni`ihau Burial Council when she allowed Brescia's contractors to build the home and cap seven grave sites with concrete.
Chandler's lawyers blame state Historic Preservation Division archaeologist and Kauai County Council candidate Nancy McMahon for pushing through both the permits at the county level and the burial council's plan to keep the burials in place. Then, the lawyers argued, she approved the contractor's plan without returning to the burial council for its input.
McMahon, who testified yesterday, said that... no evidence has been found that would make anyone believe the area was a cemetery, rather than 30 individual graves. (emphasis added)
However, Alan Murakami, Chandler's lawyer, said that the burial council wanted to preserve the burials as a unit, and McMahon took it on her own to interpret its ruling.
By allowing the house to be built atop the graves, rather than preserving them, "the state has disemboweled the burial council," Murakami added.
Oh- well, that explains it all- it’s just a coincidence. Those stupid Hawaiians just threw their dead all over the place and randomly and independently decided to inter their dead there in a concentration that exponentially outstrips most other nearby locations of “iwi kupuna”
Apparently there was no actual plan to screw poor Joe Brescia 500 years in the future by burying all the bodes in one place bodies there.
Well, we’d better pull our tongue out of our cheek long enough to ask if McMahon’s contention exposes anything but the depth of depravity of the administrative scope of genocide that continues to percolate through the Hawai`i State apparatus.
If she contends that despite the concentration of 30 full sets of remains in an 18,000-square-foot beachfront property it was not purposefully done as what westerners would call a cemetery she obviously presumes that the pre-western contact Hawaiians were too dumb to coordinate a place to inter their dead.
After all those brown skinned people are akin to a bunch of animals who have no capacity to concentrate their burials in a certain area with any intent..
Because as we all know a concentration of trees is not forest- unless you look at a dictionary.
The significance of this is that McMahon has used this as the premise- in addition to using tortured readings the law- to take away authority from the burial council to preserve the area.
And so Wantanbe acceded to this shibai by accepting the “30 burials do not a cemetery make” postulate in allowing construction to continue at least until the hearing continues weeks from now, saying essentially the only reason she wasn’t dismissing the case was that "I understand the community is split... I understand the need for finality and ... some closure." according to Finnegan.
This is the same judge that, for example, refused to allow public examination of the minutes of a Kaua`i County Council Executive session minutes as the OIP called for because it was “impossibly intertwined” with the material OIP had suggested be redacted when the rest was released.
What is it with Kaua`i judges? Well maybe it’s that “once a bureaucrat, always a bureaucrat”.
With Wantanbe and ex-politician Randall Valenciano- he of the famous refusal to hear the challenges to the Superferry after the Supreme Court remanding to a similar court on Maui- filling the bench over here we can expect any tortured reading of the law that allows political manipulation of people’s rights to be upheld.
If Decosta and Cronin finally do get canned we have a feeling that they’d always have a job on Kaua`i where our government functionaries can just make up the law as they go along and get their former cronies, now on the bench, to uphold them.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
HARDENED BONEHEADS
HARDENED BONEHEADS: It’s nani-nani-boo-boo time for us today as the Naue cemetery desecration case came to fruition in court yesterday.
As we reported first by delineating a letter from OHA on July 10, the shenanigans of developer Joe Brescia and his henchwoman Nancy “Igor” McMahon violated various provisions of rules and laws.
As Joan Conrow said this morning in referring to the property rights nutsos who have been defending and singing the praises of Brescia and McMahon::
“OK, get out your chili pepper water, your A-1 sauce or your other favorite condiment. Because it’s time to eat some crow — and not the Alala kine, since it’s almost extinct.
Although the ruling was vintage, archetypical Judge Kathleen Wantanabe in it’s equivocations in favor of bureaucratic deference, the ruling confirmed that the desecration of the cemetery at Naue was never legal even according to the administrative procedures much less the state law and constitution.
Because she was a typical gutless government attorney throughout her career, by predilection it seems it never occurred to Judge Wantanabe that she could strike down the “ad rules” that she instead said should be changed legislatively in part because they violate the laws and constitutional provisions.
The ruling is well reported by others today so we won’t detail it here but we can’t wait for the spectacle of next Kaua`i Burial Council meeting, which if they’re smart they’ll hold at the convention hall or stadium.
And of course we anticipate quite the crowd at the planning commission whose discussion of the legitimacy of the construction permits has been on hold pending the ruling that invalidates an essential component- a valid burial plan..
And we’re pretty sure there are prohibitive odds against State Archeologist Nancy McMahon coming in anywhere but last in this Saturday’s council election after the full blame for the mess was deposited at her doorstep.
The only question left is whether her negligence and malfeasance rose to a level that she doesn’t have any immunity against a lawsuit by all sides.
Perhaps we’ll see a civil case with plaintiffs Jeff Chandler and Joe Brescia vs. respondent Nancy McMahon in the near future. Only a complete twit like McMahon could bring those two together on something.
But even though the desecration and destruction is essentially halted for now- though in a typical Wantanabe-istic non-ruling ruling- what strikes us through all of this is the antiseptic way the press, even our friend Joan (although just quoting Wantanabe), has fallen into a pattern of describing the actual desecratory construction last month.
Here’s some snippets from Joan’s post.
Wantanbe also said that doesn’t mean he was authorized to start pouring his foundation, effectively capping some seven iwi in concrete so he could erect pilings for his house...
“While the burials were preserved, they were not authorized according to law and it could be argued that construction of jackets constitutes alteration,” Watanabe said...
The Council could take any number of steps, she said, such as having the jackets taken off the iwi and removing the seven burials that are now under the house and reinterring them elsewhere.
Blogger Charley Foster, who despite his protestations has decidedly sided with the developer, used the words “after jackets and footings were already poured” in a comment although that can be expected.
But here’s a description from the article in the local paper today:
...a Burial Treatment Plan featuring vertical buffers for the house and protective concrete jackets for the iwi.
“Capping some seven iwi in concrete”? “Construction of jackets”? “Having the jackets taken off the iwi”? “Vertical buffers for the house and protective concrete jackets for the iwi”.?
What is with these antiseptic descriptions?. What Brescia apparently did was dig a freakin’ hole and pour concrete all over the bones- “coincidentally” right where they were pouring the concrete for the concrete foundation poles.
They all make it sound like anything but what it is.
There are no stupid “jackets”. Nothing was “capped”. And there were no “preservation measures”.
If we were to suggest the Arizona Memorial be “preserved” by slathering it in concrete we’d be strung up by the short and curlies.
At least malahini Advertiser reporter Diana Leong put the words "concrete jackets" and "buffer" in quotes in her piece this morning.
The news stories made clear that there was no order to stop but the proviso was that construction could continue only as long as there’s “no irreparable damage to the burials”
No one is pointing out the obvious- there was already irreparable harm because the way it’s described with “caps” and “jackets” and “buffers” and “pilings” it doesn’t let people know that they just poured cement over the bones.
This is a certainly a new idea in physical anthropology. Why we could “preserve” all artifacts forever by throwing them in a pit and sealing them in cement. Mayan ruins? Dinosaur bones? George Washington’s wooden teeth? Seal ‘um all in concrete. .
Since McMahon is going to be out of a job we may well be looking forward to the new Joe Brescia Memorial School of Wacko Anthropology... built of concrete.
And as for Brescia, well no one can say he hasn’t cemented relations between north shore developers and Kanaka community.
As we reported first by delineating a letter from OHA on July 10, the shenanigans of developer Joe Brescia and his henchwoman Nancy “Igor” McMahon violated various provisions of rules and laws.
As Joan Conrow said this morning in referring to the property rights nutsos who have been defending and singing the praises of Brescia and McMahon::
“OK, get out your chili pepper water, your A-1 sauce or your other favorite condiment. Because it’s time to eat some crow — and not the Alala kine, since it’s almost extinct.
Although the ruling was vintage, archetypical Judge Kathleen Wantanabe in it’s equivocations in favor of bureaucratic deference, the ruling confirmed that the desecration of the cemetery at Naue was never legal even according to the administrative procedures much less the state law and constitution.
Because she was a typical gutless government attorney throughout her career, by predilection it seems it never occurred to Judge Wantanabe that she could strike down the “ad rules” that she instead said should be changed legislatively in part because they violate the laws and constitutional provisions.
The ruling is well reported by others today so we won’t detail it here but we can’t wait for the spectacle of next Kaua`i Burial Council meeting, which if they’re smart they’ll hold at the convention hall or stadium.
And of course we anticipate quite the crowd at the planning commission whose discussion of the legitimacy of the construction permits has been on hold pending the ruling that invalidates an essential component- a valid burial plan..
And we’re pretty sure there are prohibitive odds against State Archeologist Nancy McMahon coming in anywhere but last in this Saturday’s council election after the full blame for the mess was deposited at her doorstep.
The only question left is whether her negligence and malfeasance rose to a level that she doesn’t have any immunity against a lawsuit by all sides.
Perhaps we’ll see a civil case with plaintiffs Jeff Chandler and Joe Brescia vs. respondent Nancy McMahon in the near future. Only a complete twit like McMahon could bring those two together on something.
But even though the desecration and destruction is essentially halted for now- though in a typical Wantanabe-istic non-ruling ruling- what strikes us through all of this is the antiseptic way the press, even our friend Joan (although just quoting Wantanabe), has fallen into a pattern of describing the actual desecratory construction last month.
Here’s some snippets from Joan’s post.
Wantanbe also said that doesn’t mean he was authorized to start pouring his foundation, effectively capping some seven iwi in concrete so he could erect pilings for his house...
“While the burials were preserved, they were not authorized according to law and it could be argued that construction of jackets constitutes alteration,” Watanabe said...
The Council could take any number of steps, she said, such as having the jackets taken off the iwi and removing the seven burials that are now under the house and reinterring them elsewhere.
Blogger Charley Foster, who despite his protestations has decidedly sided with the developer, used the words “after jackets and footings were already poured” in a comment although that can be expected.
But here’s a description from the article in the local paper today:
...a Burial Treatment Plan featuring vertical buffers for the house and protective concrete jackets for the iwi.
“Capping some seven iwi in concrete”? “Construction of jackets”? “Having the jackets taken off the iwi”? “Vertical buffers for the house and protective concrete jackets for the iwi”.?
What is with these antiseptic descriptions?. What Brescia apparently did was dig a freakin’ hole and pour concrete all over the bones- “coincidentally” right where they were pouring the concrete for the concrete foundation poles.
They all make it sound like anything but what it is.
There are no stupid “jackets”. Nothing was “capped”. And there were no “preservation measures”.
If we were to suggest the Arizona Memorial be “preserved” by slathering it in concrete we’d be strung up by the short and curlies.
At least malahini Advertiser reporter Diana Leong put the words "concrete jackets" and "buffer" in quotes in her piece this morning.
The news stories made clear that there was no order to stop but the proviso was that construction could continue only as long as there’s “no irreparable damage to the burials”
No one is pointing out the obvious- there was already irreparable harm because the way it’s described with “caps” and “jackets” and “buffers” and “pilings” it doesn’t let people know that they just poured cement over the bones.
This is a certainly a new idea in physical anthropology. Why we could “preserve” all artifacts forever by throwing them in a pit and sealing them in cement. Mayan ruins? Dinosaur bones? George Washington’s wooden teeth? Seal ‘um all in concrete. .
Since McMahon is going to be out of a job we may well be looking forward to the new Joe Brescia Memorial School of Wacko Anthropology... built of concrete.
And as for Brescia, well no one can say he hasn’t cemented relations between north shore developers and Kanaka community.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
(PNN) THREE BURIALS UNEARTHED BY COWS AT LEPEULI UNCEREMONIOUSLY REBURIED BY SHPD’S MCMAHON WITHOUT BURIAL COUNCIL NOTIFICATION.
THREE BURIALS UNEARTHED BY COWS AT LEPEULI UNCEREMONIOUSLY REBURIED BY SHPD’S MCMAHON WITHOUT BURIAL COUNCIL NOTIFICATION.
LETTER DETAILS HARASSMENT OF TOURISTS BY LAYMON CONTINUES ON DISPUTED TRAIL
(PNN) -- Three burials that were disinterred by Bruce Laymon's cattle operation on Waioli Corporation property at Lepeuli (Larsen’s Beach) and were unceremoniously moved and reinterred by State Historical Preservation Division (SHPD) Archeologist Nancy McMahon, according to a letter from McMahon to Hope Kallai of Malama Moloa`a.
And in other developments the harassment of tourists by Laymon continues according to 62-year-old “snowbird” tourist Dennis L. Bosio.
The re-burials were apparently done without any notification or processing by the Kaua`i Burial Council (KBC).
In response to a letter from Kallai detailing her discovery of the reburials including maps to the area of the apparent re-interment, McMahon wrote to Kallai on December 17, 2009
Hi Hope,
This looks like the reinterment location that Eddie Ayau former Burial Staff of SHPD and myself did after three individuals were discovered at the base of the trail in the sandy beach as someone cut the fence or it broke and cattle wandered the area, apparently following the trail.
Thanks I will take a look as soon as possible.
Nancy McMahon,
Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer
Archaeology and Historic Preservation Manager
State Archaeologist
According to a Sept 11, 2009 memo marked “confidential” and obtained by Kallai. McMahon wrote to the DLNR’s Sam Lemmo:
"In Field 12 near the shoreline Hawaiian burials were found when the cattle broke the fence and eroded a trail. The reinterment is just below the fence in the boulder area in a gully at the end of Larsen's Beach Trail. In this area we recommend hand clearing no machinery and little herbicide use."
According to Kallai the burials are part of an ancient Hawaiian village as determined by archeologist David Burney of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens who has done extensive work at the caves in Maha`ulepu.
According to minutes from a Na Ala Hele meeting in 1998 Burney said the site may be “the oldest archaeological site on Kauai ”.
Kallai says that despite the fact that “Dr. Dave Burney (NTBG) corroborated the area as a significant archaeological site, with at least 2 distinct habitation layers”- a fact he reported to Waioli shortly after Hurricane ‘Iniki- “no protective measures were instituted” and no environmental assessment, which would include cultural impacts under HRS 343, has ever been conducted.
Currently there is an appeal pending before the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) for a conservation district use permit (CDUP) Laymon has obtained to do work in the area to pasture cattle, as PNN reported last month.
The incident of harassment occurred on March 6 according to Bosio, when he and a friend were “on the lateral trail where the trail becomes a road” according to a letter written that day by Bosio and obtained by PNN.
The letter says:
This morning about 9:30am... (a) man who identified himself as Bruce Laymon got out of a dump truck and confronted me.
He said " you are on private property and you know it, I am going to take your picture and the next time we see you on our property we will have you arrested". He was agitated, threatening and confrontational. He did not take my picture at this time but did yell at some workers to remember me if I came back on their property.
He accused me of being part of the group vandalizing his equipment and taking pictures and stirring up trouble. I had no idea about the damage to the equipment until the afternoon when I got the newspaper and saw today’s story.
A little while later I walked back down south on the beach a hundred yards or so and was talking to 2 guys I see there alot. We were on the sand not too far from the grass line. The guy who said he was Bruce Laymon came down on to the sand and started yelling at me again. He took my picture with a disposable camera and asked me for my name. When I smiled for the picture he said, "you better watch out, you think this is funny." He was yelling about how he was going to have 50 Hawaiians down here next week and they were going to take the beach back. "You watch and see, we will run you haoli's (sic) out of here. That's all you fucking haoli's do is come down here, get naked, and leave all kinds of shit back here in woods." He also yelled about how his entire crew was family and that's why they were doing this work, to reclaim the beach for their family and the Hawaiians.
I tried to calm him down and talk to him but he was having none of that. He kept accusing me of stirring up trouble. He also said that I was spreading lies through the newspaper.
Nice aloha spirit,
dennis
But Bosio did not make the letter public until May 5th saying
I have waited this long to make this account public because at the time my wife and I had 3 weeks remaining of vacation, we were renting near the Larsens (sic) Beach road, we walked Koolau road and Larsen’s Beach access road daily and were afraid we would run into either Bruce Laymon or one of his hired hands again. He was very threatening.
He ended by saying:
The above is a true and honest narrative of my encounter on March 6, 2010.
When I was confronted I was on a trail that I have used hundreds of times over the past seven years. There was a large truck, several pickups, guys with chain saws, and other large machinery clearing right up to the beach sand. I did not think that was right. I had taken pictures of the clearing work previous days, shared them with locals, and at least one of my pictures was in The Garden Island newspaper. I don’t know how they got it.
My wife and I are 62 year old retirees and have been coming to Kauai each winter for a month or two. We have real reservations about spending our vacation dollars on Kauai in the future. Just the lodging and rental car taxes for our two month’s on island this year were over $1,300. Larsen’s Beach is a unique natural treasure and the Larsen’s Beach experience is one that attracts a great deal of tourist revenue to Kauai . I hope it is protected for future generations.
Dennis L. Bosio
Kallai’s research into the significant cultural activities at Lepeuli are summarized in a letter to Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chief Executive Officer Clyde Nāmu'o.
The letter details the history of the region and so the need for a cultural impact statement according to Kallai. For those with an interest it is reprinted in full below.
RE: Cultural Impact Assessment Request
CDUA Permit Application 3525
DOCARE KA 09-12
Lepeuli, Ko`olau District, Kauai
Aloha no Mr. Nāmu'o and OHA:
There is a very distressing situation in the Lepeuli ahupua`a, Ko`olau District, of Kauai . A Conservation District Use Application has been submitted by Paradise Ranch, LLC and its attorney, Lorna Nishimitsu. This ahupua`a was acquired by Abner Wilcox in 1851 (Land Grant 530 for 535 acres for $535.68), with reservations (Koe ke kuleana o na kanaka) for the following kuleana(see attached): Kamokuliu (0519), Koleaka (05020), Kawelo(09073) , Kalawa (09149), Luahine (10014 also RP 4233), Makulu (0000K01), and a 20 acre Land Grant to Kane (523 in 2 apana). These kuleana areas are proposed to be disked, fenced and cross fenced for pasturage for commercial cattle production.
The Lepeuli Ahupua`a in the Ko`olau District of Kauai was a densely occupied coastal community of several hundred Native Hawaiians for about a thousand years, with features including ancient habitation sites,`auwai, agricultural sites and lo`i kalo, mala of noni, wauke, and u`ala, ponds and fish ponds, heiau and pa, and burial sites of `iwi kupuna. Coastal Alaloa connected the inter-related ahuua`a of the Koolau District from Kealia to Hanalei, through neigh boring areas of Moloa`a, Ka`aka`aniu, Lepeuli, Waipake, Pila`a, Kahili,Namahana, Kilauea and Waiakalua. Waipake kuleana landholders had kula of wauke in Moloa`a, connected by the coastal Ala Loa. A houselot in a Ka`aka`aniu kuleana had lo`i kalo in Lepeuli, documenting the inter-connectedness of these coastal fishing and agricultural communities
Taro production continued in Lepeuli Stream valley until the mid-1930's, when it was replaced by rice grown by the Japanese famers of Waipake. Contact period historic features include a four-room school, church, cemetery, pasture lands and piggery, sugar plantation ditches, and railroad tracks and the summer house of the plantation luna, L. David Larsen.
There has been no archaeological or cultural impact assessment of the potential impacts of proposed Paradise Ranch project on Waioli Corporation lands. There has never been any survey or inventory of Lepeuli. Applicant is applying for federal funds through the EQIP conservation program, subject to National Environmental Policy Act, which requires an assessment of environmental injustice assessment for particular impacts to subsistence hunters and gathers, dis-advantaged economic groups, races and cultural minorities.
According to Articles IX and XII of the State Constitution and other state laws, the state requires government agencies to "promote and preserve cultural beliefs, practices, and resources of Native Hawaiians and other ethnic groups."
The Department of Health (DOH), Chapter 343, requires an Environmental Assessment of cultural resources in determining significance and potential impacts of a proposed project.
Lepeuli has significant cultural and historic resources. The Ka`aka`aniu Reef system is the most highly documented tended limu in Hawai`i Nei, still of great important to the local residents. According to the predictive model of nearby archaeological assessments in Waipake and Moloa`a Bay Ranch, habitation sites and agricultural developments are expected to be in the stream valley with dryland terracing and agriculture on the slopes. Ancient and earlier prehistoric sites are predicted to be under the kuleana land filings. The historic ala loa joined the coastal communities throughout the Ko`olau District from Kealia to Hanalei.
The large swells of early December, 2009 exposed a significant archaeological site overlooking the stream channel of (de-watered) Lepeuli Stream. I notified SHPD (see attached); they claim it as one of their re-interments (see attached) - but there are significant features and charcoal firepits. I don't believe Nancy McMahon has been out to take a look.
There must be an archaeological and cultural impact assessment of the potential impacts of this Paradise Ranch CDUA to the Native Hawaiian community and it's special cultural resources and practices, including religious, subsistence fishing and gathering, by considering the impact of agricultural runoff to the reef resources of Ka`aka`aniu and cattle upon the historic kuleana lands of native Hawaiians in Lepeuli. Historic use by Japanese workers of Kilauea Sugar Plantation is highly documented. The only current residents of Lepeuli are descendents of Ko` olau School students.
I read with great respect your comments on the Moloa`a Bay Ranch CDUA. This Paradise Ranch project is of greater (more habitation and cultural uses) or equal importance, yet the Hawaiian community was not included for comments. The only history (and wildlife biology) was done by the applicant's attorney. Most of the Anahola community (including traditional cultural users and lineal descendents) do not know about this project. Federal funds should not be used to close off access to this important reef system. Paradise Ranch should not be allowed to rip and disk kuleana sands and back dunes (to increase water percolation!). Mr. Laymon, (known to disturb resting places of `iwi kupuna in prior CD violations) has stated that he knows where there are native Hawaiian burials. Scary.
Attached is a section excerpted from the Paradise Ranch SMA application that really deserves serious scrutiny.
Mahalo for your immediate action on this request and for requiring a cultural impact and archaeological assessment prior to any more impacting actions on these precious ancient Hawaiian homes and Conservation District Lands. Please contact me if you need any more information. Thank you for taking immediate steps to protect these resources and keep our history alive.
Hope Kallai
There were kuleana reserved in Lepeuli and resided on by Native Hawaiians until the 1930-1940’s. There are plenty of records and rememberences of these people. There are lineal descendents in the area.
One kuleana holder questioned whether he had to still pay taxes to the konohiki after Wilcox got Grant 530 Plenty of Hawaiian presence. The remains of a population of several hundred people living in Lepeuli for perhaps a thousand years are in the sands and lands of Lepeuli – not just 3 individuals. Conversion of house lots of kuleana to pasture has potential to significantly impact preservation and salvage of significant cultural resources. Closure of an ancient trail to important cultural resources is unacceptable.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has concerns with this project. Their comments have not been considered. There must be a culturally respectful plan for the re-burials; they must be offered protection from mechanized manipulation of the soil, herbicides and cattle manure. This is culturally and socially unconscionable. Burials in a commercial cow pasture! AUWE!
--------
We’re again forced to take a long weekend to take care of pressing matters. See ya Monday or so.
LETTER DETAILS HARASSMENT OF TOURISTS BY LAYMON CONTINUES ON DISPUTED TRAIL
(PNN) -- Three burials that were disinterred by Bruce Laymon's cattle operation on Waioli Corporation property at Lepeuli (Larsen’s Beach) and were unceremoniously moved and reinterred by State Historical Preservation Division (SHPD) Archeologist Nancy McMahon, according to a letter from McMahon to Hope Kallai of Malama Moloa`a.
And in other developments the harassment of tourists by Laymon continues according to 62-year-old “snowbird” tourist Dennis L. Bosio.
The re-burials were apparently done without any notification or processing by the Kaua`i Burial Council (KBC).
In response to a letter from Kallai detailing her discovery of the reburials including maps to the area of the apparent re-interment, McMahon wrote to Kallai on December 17, 2009
Hi Hope,
This looks like the reinterment location that Eddie Ayau former Burial Staff of SHPD and myself did after three individuals were discovered at the base of the trail in the sandy beach as someone cut the fence or it broke and cattle wandered the area, apparently following the trail.
Thanks I will take a look as soon as possible.
Nancy McMahon,
Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer
Archaeology and Historic Preservation Manager
State Archaeologist
According to a Sept 11, 2009 memo marked “confidential” and obtained by Kallai. McMahon wrote to the DLNR’s Sam Lemmo:
"In Field 12 near the shoreline Hawaiian burials were found when the cattle broke the fence and eroded a trail. The reinterment is just below the fence in the boulder area in a gully at the end of Larsen's Beach Trail. In this area we recommend hand clearing no machinery and little herbicide use."
According to Kallai the burials are part of an ancient Hawaiian village as determined by archeologist David Burney of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens who has done extensive work at the caves in Maha`ulepu.
According to minutes from a Na Ala Hele meeting in 1998 Burney said the site may be “the oldest archaeological site on Kauai ”.
Kallai says that despite the fact that “Dr. Dave Burney (NTBG) corroborated the area as a significant archaeological site, with at least 2 distinct habitation layers”- a fact he reported to Waioli shortly after Hurricane ‘Iniki- “no protective measures were instituted” and no environmental assessment, which would include cultural impacts under HRS 343, has ever been conducted.
Currently there is an appeal pending before the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) for a conservation district use permit (CDUP) Laymon has obtained to do work in the area to pasture cattle, as PNN reported last month.
The incident of harassment occurred on March 6 according to Bosio, when he and a friend were “on the lateral trail where the trail becomes a road” according to a letter written that day by Bosio and obtained by PNN.
The letter says:
This morning about 9:30am... (a) man who identified himself as Bruce Laymon got out of a dump truck and confronted me.
He said " you are on private property and you know it, I am going to take your picture and the next time we see you on our property we will have you arrested". He was agitated, threatening and confrontational. He did not take my picture at this time but did yell at some workers to remember me if I came back on their property.
He accused me of being part of the group vandalizing his equipment and taking pictures and stirring up trouble. I had no idea about the damage to the equipment until the afternoon when I got the newspaper and saw today’s story.
A little while later I walked back down south on the beach a hundred yards or so and was talking to 2 guys I see there alot. We were on the sand not too far from the grass line. The guy who said he was Bruce Laymon came down on to the sand and started yelling at me again. He took my picture with a disposable camera and asked me for my name. When I smiled for the picture he said, "you better watch out, you think this is funny." He was yelling about how he was going to have 50 Hawaiians down here next week and they were going to take the beach back. "You watch and see, we will run you haoli's (sic) out of here. That's all you fucking haoli's do is come down here, get naked, and leave all kinds of shit back here in woods." He also yelled about how his entire crew was family and that's why they were doing this work, to reclaim the beach for their family and the Hawaiians.
I tried to calm him down and talk to him but he was having none of that. He kept accusing me of stirring up trouble. He also said that I was spreading lies through the newspaper.
Nice aloha spirit,
dennis
But Bosio did not make the letter public until May 5th saying
I have waited this long to make this account public because at the time my wife and I had 3 weeks remaining of vacation, we were renting near the Larsens (sic) Beach road, we walked Koolau road and Larsen’s Beach access road daily and were afraid we would run into either Bruce Laymon or one of his hired hands again. He was very threatening.
He ended by saying:
The above is a true and honest narrative of my encounter on March 6, 2010.
When I was confronted I was on a trail that I have used hundreds of times over the past seven years. There was a large truck, several pickups, guys with chain saws, and other large machinery clearing right up to the beach sand. I did not think that was right. I had taken pictures of the clearing work previous days, shared them with locals, and at least one of my pictures was in The Garden Island newspaper. I don’t know how they got it.
My wife and I are 62 year old retirees and have been coming to Kauai each winter for a month or two. We have real reservations about spending our vacation dollars on Kauai in the future. Just the lodging and rental car taxes for our two month’s on island this year were over $1,300. Larsen’s Beach is a unique natural treasure and the Larsen’s Beach experience is one that attracts a great deal of tourist revenue to Kauai . I hope it is protected for future generations.
Dennis L. Bosio
Kallai’s research into the significant cultural activities at Lepeuli are summarized in a letter to Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chief Executive Officer Clyde Nāmu'o.
The letter details the history of the region and so the need for a cultural impact statement according to Kallai. For those with an interest it is reprinted in full below.
RE: Cultural Impact Assessment Request
CDUA Permit Application 3525
DOCARE KA 09-12
Lepeuli, Ko`olau District, Kauai
Aloha no Mr. Nāmu'o and OHA:
There is a very distressing situation in the Lepeuli ahupua`a, Ko`olau District, of Kauai . A Conservation District Use Application has been submitted by Paradise Ranch, LLC and its attorney, Lorna Nishimitsu. This ahupua`a was acquired by Abner Wilcox in 1851 (Land Grant 530 for 535 acres for $535.68), with reservations (Koe ke kuleana o na kanaka) for the following kuleana(see attached): Kamokuliu (0519), Koleaka (05020), Kawelo(09073) , Kalawa (09149), Luahine (10014 also RP 4233), Makulu (0000K01), and a 20 acre Land Grant to Kane (523 in 2 apana). These kuleana areas are proposed to be disked, fenced and cross fenced for pasturage for commercial cattle production.
The Lepeuli Ahupua`a in the Ko`olau District of Kauai was a densely occupied coastal community of several hundred Native Hawaiians for about a thousand years, with features including ancient habitation sites,`auwai, agricultural sites and lo`i kalo, mala of noni, wauke, and u`ala, ponds and fish ponds, heiau and pa, and burial sites of `iwi kupuna. Coastal Alaloa connected the inter-related ahuua`a of the Koolau District from Kealia to Hanalei, through neigh boring areas of Moloa`a, Ka`aka`aniu, Lepeuli, Waipake, Pila`a, Kahili,Namahana, Kilauea and Waiakalua. Waipake kuleana landholders had kula of wauke in Moloa`a, connected by the coastal Ala Loa. A houselot in a Ka`aka`aniu kuleana had lo`i kalo in Lepeuli, documenting the inter-connectedness of these coastal fishing and agricultural communities
Taro production continued in Lepeuli Stream valley until the mid-1930's, when it was replaced by rice grown by the Japanese famers of Waipake. Contact period historic features include a four-room school, church, cemetery, pasture lands and piggery, sugar plantation ditches, and railroad tracks and the summer house of the plantation luna, L. David Larsen.
There has been no archaeological or cultural impact assessment of the potential impacts of proposed Paradise Ranch project on Waioli Corporation lands. There has never been any survey or inventory of Lepeuli. Applicant is applying for federal funds through the EQIP conservation program, subject to National Environmental Policy Act, which requires an assessment of environmental injustice assessment for particular impacts to subsistence hunters and gathers, dis-advantaged economic groups, races and cultural minorities.
According to Articles IX and XII of the State Constitution and other state laws, the state requires government agencies to "promote and preserve cultural beliefs, practices, and resources of Native Hawaiians and other ethnic groups."
The Department of Health (DOH), Chapter 343, requires an Environmental Assessment of cultural resources in determining significance and potential impacts of a proposed project.
Lepeuli has significant cultural and historic resources. The Ka`aka`aniu Reef system is the most highly documented tended limu in Hawai`i Nei, still of great important to the local residents. According to the predictive model of nearby archaeological assessments in Waipake and Moloa`a Bay Ranch, habitation sites and agricultural developments are expected to be in the stream valley with dryland terracing and agriculture on the slopes. Ancient and earlier prehistoric sites are predicted to be under the kuleana land filings. The historic ala loa joined the coastal communities throughout the Ko`olau District from Kealia to Hanalei.
The large swells of early December, 2009 exposed a significant archaeological site overlooking the stream channel of (de-watered) Lepeuli Stream. I notified SHPD (see attached); they claim it as one of their re-interments (see attached) - but there are significant features and charcoal firepits. I don't believe Nancy McMahon has been out to take a look.
There must be an archaeological and cultural impact assessment of the potential impacts of this Paradise Ranch CDUA to the Native Hawaiian community and it's special cultural resources and practices, including religious, subsistence fishing and gathering, by considering the impact of agricultural runoff to the reef resources of Ka`aka`aniu and cattle upon the historic kuleana lands of native Hawaiians in Lepeuli. Historic use by Japanese workers of Kilauea Sugar Plantation is highly documented. The only current residents of Lepeuli are descendents of Ko` olau School students.
I read with great respect your comments on the Moloa`a Bay Ranch CDUA. This Paradise Ranch project is of greater (more habitation and cultural uses) or equal importance, yet the Hawaiian community was not included for comments. The only history (and wildlife biology) was done by the applicant's attorney. Most of the Anahola community (including traditional cultural users and lineal descendents) do not know about this project. Federal funds should not be used to close off access to this important reef system. Paradise Ranch should not be allowed to rip and disk kuleana sands and back dunes (to increase water percolation!). Mr. Laymon, (known to disturb resting places of `iwi kupuna in prior CD violations) has stated that he knows where there are native Hawaiian burials. Scary.
Attached is a section excerpted from the Paradise Ranch SMA application that really deserves serious scrutiny.
Mahalo for your immediate action on this request and for requiring a cultural impact and archaeological assessment prior to any more impacting actions on these precious ancient Hawaiian homes and Conservation District Lands. Please contact me if you need any more information. Thank you for taking immediate steps to protect these resources and keep our history alive.
Hope Kallai
There were kuleana reserved in Lepeuli and resided on by Native Hawaiians until the 1930-1940’s. There are plenty of records and rememberences of these people. There are lineal descendents in the area.
One kuleana holder questioned whether he had to still pay taxes to the konohiki after Wilcox got Grant 530 Plenty of Hawaiian presence. The remains of a population of several hundred people living in Lepeuli for perhaps a thousand years are in the sands and lands of Lepeuli – not just 3 individuals. Conversion of house lots of kuleana to pasture has potential to significantly impact preservation and salvage of significant cultural resources. Closure of an ancient trail to important cultural resources is unacceptable.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has concerns with this project. Their comments have not been considered. There must be a culturally respectful plan for the re-burials; they must be offered protection from mechanized manipulation of the soil, herbicides and cattle manure. This is culturally and socially unconscionable. Burials in a commercial cow pasture! AUWE!
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We’re again forced to take a long weekend to take care of pressing matters. See ya Monday or so.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
BARE CUPBOARD
BARE CUPBOARD: Two emails arrived today regarding the desecration of the burials at Naue Point at Ha`ena on Kaua`i, one from Chair of the House Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Rep. Mele Carroll, regarding the status and current content of three bills dealing with the state burial councils and one from 22 “Kānaka Maoli Scholars Against Desecration” from across Hawai`i and the U.S.
And though the need is great for reform of the “advisory” burial council system - even the judge who ruled in the case said the laws are insufficient for protection of the `iwi kupuna- as evidenced by the “legal” desecration okayed by the state at Naue, the bills do pretty much nothing but add more “consulting” groups for the councils and set up a “working group” to study what can be done meaning there will most likely be no action this legislative session.
Today, we’re off to the dentist so without further comment we’ll let readers read for themselves the note from Carroll’s office on the three bills and the letter from the scholars describing and decrying the history and current status of the burial issues.
----------
House Committee on Hawaiian Affairs passes resolutions, Senate bills
SB 1083, SD1
(SSCR473)
Status
Senate Bill 1083 SD1 includes additional native Hawaiian organizations for the Department of Land and Natural Resources to consult with to determine whether a burial site should be preserved in place or relocated and to develop a list of candidates for the burial councils. Senate Bill 1083 SD1 passed with amendments, which adds to the list of organizations the Kamakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i, DLNR’s Historic Preservation Division, and Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai‘i Nei.
HCR 226
Status
HR 194
Status
House Concurrent Resolution 226 and House Resolution 194 request the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to convene a working group to review the system and procedures for the review of Native Hawaiian burial sites. House Concurrent Resolution 226 passed with amendments. The recommendation was to add language to the resolutions to include that the working group would work with the State DLNR Historical Preservation Division in addressing and seeking solutions to the many serious concerns that the division is faced with, for example, the lack of qualified staffing, the overwhelming unresolved cases pertaining to our kupuna iwi, and other critical issues.
----------
Kānaka Maoli Scholars Against Desecration
Second Statement on Naue, March 24, 2009
As Kānaka Maoli scholars we write to follow-up on our statement from September 13, 2008 publicly condemning the state-sponsored desecration of a Native Hawaiian burial site at Wainiha, Kaua`i resulting from the construction of a new home at Naue Point by California real estate> developer Joseph Brescia. Both the state abuse of power and the desecration continue unabated and must come to a halt.
In the late 1980s, in response to a massive burial site disturbance at Honokahua, Maui, Kanaka Maoli came together to challenge the laws that allowed this type of sacrilege. As a result of this history, five Island Burial Councils were created and are administratively attached to the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to address concerns relating to Native Hawaiian burial sites. By Hawai`i state statute, the composition of each island Burial Council must consist of a majority of Kānaka Maoli. The preservation criteria established by state law favor the "preservation in place" of burial sites that contain a "concentration of skeletal remains," or are "pre-contact" or "historic period" burial sites associated with important individuals and events.
At Naue, there are 30 known burial remains within less than half of an acre, with a high likelihood that more remains are present. Naue is a significant historical site that is frequently acknowledged in hula, oli, mele, and other Hawaiian knowledge sources.
Accordingly, the Kaua`i- Ni`ihau Island Burial Council appropriately voted to preserve in place the burial site on the property claimed by Brescia.
In complete contradiction to both their own state law, and the April 3, 2008 determination adopted by the island Burial Council to preserve the burials in place, the SHPD improperly approved a "Burial Treatment Plan" for Brescia without the required consultation with the island Burial Council. The Burial Treatment Plan was submitted by Mike Dega, the archaeologist hired by Joseph Brescia as a consultant in support of his building a private home atop of the burial site.
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.
The Kaua`i Planning Commission’s approval of Brescia’s house plans included a specific condition issued in a letter dated December 12, 2007 that "No building permit shall be issued until requirements of the State Historic Preservation Division and the Burial Council have been met." The requirements of the island Burial Council have not been met; the Council recommended that there be no building upon the cemetery. SHPD covered up the island Burial Council’s decision by trying to pretend that vertical buffers and concrete jackets constitute "preservation" ; they do not.
During the consultation required by the preliminary October 2008 court ruling, on November 6, 2008, the island Burial Council recommended that the SHPD reject the revised Burial Treatment Proposal submitted by Dega. Therefore, Brescia still has not met the requirements of the island Burial Council and thus, the building permit should be revoked. Because the Kaua`i Planning Commission’s December 2007 approval was specifically conditioned on Brescia’s meeting the island Burial Council’s requirements, there is no real approval of Brescia’s house plans. The island Burial Council made clear the proposal to build on the burial site was culturally unacceptable to its members, which is why the Council rejected the revised Burial Treatment Plan. The Kaua`i Planning Commission should be held accountable to rescind the conditional approval it gave, since its requirements were not met.
In the midst of this ongoing desecration, last month, on February 4, 2009, the SHPD wrote a letter to Dega acknowledging his sixth proposed Burial Treatment Plan. This is the same Burial Treatment Plan that McMahon circulated to Native Hawaiian Organizations for consultation as part of a court order by Judge Watanabe on October 2, 2008. The outcome of this consultation with Native Hawaiian Organizations was their sweeping rejection of the proposal. Without any regard for this rejection, the SHPD letter to Dega states, "at this time we cannot accept the Burial Treatment Plan without some revisions which are to be addressed below" and then outlines seven concerns for him to deal with such as detailing a landscape plan for burials outside of the house footprint. In other words, the letter basically instructs Dega to revise the Burial Treatment Plan in order for SHPD to approve it. This is unacceptable; if McMahon’s decision is reaffirmed despite the outcome of the consultation with Native Hawaiian Organizations that clearly rejected the proposal, it would set a dangerous precedent and strip the island Burial Councils of any meaningful authority.
To date, 5th Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe has denied requests for a temporary restraining order and has even refused to grant a temporary injunction to stop further construction until the full civil suit is adjudicated by the state court. The civil suit — Joseph Brescia v. Ka`iulani Huff, et al. — currently in progress is a travesty. Brescia is suing at least 17 individuals—almost all of whom are Kānaka Maoli —implicated in protecting the burial site from his construction work. Beside trespass, Brescia has accused them of five other counts: private nuisance and harassment, tortious interference with contract, civil conspiracy described as "terroristic threatening" , intentional interference, ejectment, and slander of title. We stand in solidarity with the defendants. Brescia has no one else to blame but himself; he knowingly took the chance of building his house over a grave site when the essence of the island Burial Council’s action was to preserve all burials remains in place.
We must remind the state agencies that their own law, Hawai`i revised statute 711-1107 on Desecration, specifically states that no one may commit the offense of desecrating "a place of worship or burial," and the statute defines "desecrate" as "defacing, damaging, polluting, or otherwise physically mistreating in a way that the defendant knows will outrage the sensibilities of persons likely to observe or discover the defendant's action."We call on all people of conscience to join in our condemnation of the desecration of the ancestral remains by:
• holding the Kaua`i Planning Commission accountable for upholding their own condition by finding Brescia in violation of it by starting to build;
• demanding that the SHPD honor the Kaua`i-Ni`ihau Island Burial Council’s original decision to preserve the burial site without any construction;
• insisting that the SHPD respect the outcome of the court-ordered consultation process and reject the Burial Treatment Plan;
• supporting an end to the illegal construction supported by the state; and
• protesting Brescia’s lawsuit targeted at those who have served to prevent the further degradation of the bones of our kūpuna.
Signed,
Hokulani Aikau, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Political Science, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Carlos Andrade, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Maile Arvin, M.A. candidate, Department of Ethnic Studies, University ofCalifornia San Diego
J. Leilani Basham, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Hawaiian Studies,University of Hawai`i at West O`ahu
Kamanamaikalani Beamer, Ph.D., Mellon-Hawai` i Postdoctoral Fellow, Kohala Center, Hawai`i
Kealani Robinson Cook, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History, University of Michigan
Lani Cupchoy, Ph.D. Candidate, History, University of California, Irvine
Lisa Kahaleole Hall, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Women’s Studies, Wells College
Sydney Lehua Iaukea, Ph.D., Mellon-Hawai` i Postdoctoral Fellow, Kohala Center, Hawai`i
Lilikalā Kame`eleihiwa, Ph.D., Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Anthropology and American Studies, Wesleyan University
Kanani K. M. Lee, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Geology & Geophysics, Yale University
Jon Kamakawiwo`ole Osorio, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Lessa Kanani`opua Pelayo, M.L.I.S. Candidate, B.A., University of California, Los Angeles
Kekailoa Perry, J.D. Assistant Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Keanu Sai, Ph.D., Lecturer Kapiolani Community College
Noenoe K. Silva, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Stephanie Nohelani Teves, Ph.D. Candidate, Program in American Culture, University of Michigan
Ty Kāwika Tengan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Anthropology and Ethnic Studies, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Haunani-Kay Trask, Ph.D., Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i, Mānoa
Liza Keanuenueokalani Williams, Ph.D. student, New York University
Erin Kahunawaika` ala Wright, Ph.D. Director of Native Hawaiian Student Services, Hawai'inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge
-------
Contact: J. Kehaulani KauanuiPh: 860-638-1264Email: jkauanui@wesleyan. edu
--------TAKE ACTION
Write individual emails or letters the Kaua`i Planning Commission, State Historic Preservation Division Officials, Governor Linda Lingle, Joseph Brescia, and the Mayor of Kaua`i.
Please cc: all letters and emails to: J. Kehaulani Kauanui,Center for the Americas, Wesleyan University, 255 High Street, Middletown, CT 06459.Email It's important to cc: me so I can track letters and so the recipients know you are keeping one KM scholar in the loop so there's a record of the correspondence.
See addresses below:
Ian Costa
Director of Planning
County of Kaua`i
4444 Rice Street, Suite 473
Lihue, HI 96766
icosta@kauai. gov
Laura Thielan, Chairperson
State of Hawaii, Department of Land and Natural Resources
State Historic Preservation Division
601 Kamokila Blvd., Room 555
Kapolei, HI 96707
dlnr@hawaii. gov
Pua Aiu, AdministratorState Historic Preservation Division601 Kamokila Blvd., Room 555Kapolei, HI 96707pua.aiu@hawaii. gov
Nancy McMahon, Deputy Administrator
State Historic Preservation Division
601 Kamokila Blvd., Room 555
Kapolei, HI 96707
Nancy.A.McMahon@ hawaii.gov
Governor Linda Lingle
State of Hawai`i
Executive Chambers
State Capitol
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813
governor.lingle@ hawaii.gov
Joseph Brescia, President
Architectural Glass & Aluminum
1151 Marina Village Parkway, Suite 101
Alameda, CA 94501
jbrescia@aga- ca.com
Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr.
Mayor, County of Kauai
4444 Rice St., Suite 235
Lihue, HI 96766
mayor@kauai. gov
And though the need is great for reform of the “advisory” burial council system - even the judge who ruled in the case said the laws are insufficient for protection of the `iwi kupuna- as evidenced by the “legal” desecration okayed by the state at Naue, the bills do pretty much nothing but add more “consulting” groups for the councils and set up a “working group” to study what can be done meaning there will most likely be no action this legislative session.
Today, we’re off to the dentist so without further comment we’ll let readers read for themselves the note from Carroll’s office on the three bills and the letter from the scholars describing and decrying the history and current status of the burial issues.
----------
House Committee on Hawaiian Affairs passes resolutions, Senate bills
SB 1083, SD1
(SSCR473)
Status
Senate Bill 1083 SD1 includes additional native Hawaiian organizations for the Department of Land and Natural Resources to consult with to determine whether a burial site should be preserved in place or relocated and to develop a list of candidates for the burial councils. Senate Bill 1083 SD1 passed with amendments, which adds to the list of organizations the Kamakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i, DLNR’s Historic Preservation Division, and Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai‘i Nei.
HCR 226
Status
HR 194
Status
House Concurrent Resolution 226 and House Resolution 194 request the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to convene a working group to review the system and procedures for the review of Native Hawaiian burial sites. House Concurrent Resolution 226 passed with amendments. The recommendation was to add language to the resolutions to include that the working group would work with the State DLNR Historical Preservation Division in addressing and seeking solutions to the many serious concerns that the division is faced with, for example, the lack of qualified staffing, the overwhelming unresolved cases pertaining to our kupuna iwi, and other critical issues.
----------
Kānaka Maoli Scholars Against Desecration
Second Statement on Naue, March 24, 2009
As Kānaka Maoli scholars we write to follow-up on our statement from September 13, 2008 publicly condemning the state-sponsored desecration of a Native Hawaiian burial site at Wainiha, Kaua`i resulting from the construction of a new home at Naue Point by California real estate> developer Joseph Brescia. Both the state abuse of power and the desecration continue unabated and must come to a halt.
In the late 1980s, in response to a massive burial site disturbance at Honokahua, Maui, Kanaka Maoli came together to challenge the laws that allowed this type of sacrilege. As a result of this history, five Island Burial Councils were created and are administratively attached to the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to address concerns relating to Native Hawaiian burial sites. By Hawai`i state statute, the composition of each island Burial Council must consist of a majority of Kānaka Maoli. The preservation criteria established by state law favor the "preservation in place" of burial sites that contain a "concentration of skeletal remains," or are "pre-contact" or "historic period" burial sites associated with important individuals and events.
At Naue, there are 30 known burial remains within less than half of an acre, with a high likelihood that more remains are present. Naue is a significant historical site that is frequently acknowledged in hula, oli, mele, and other Hawaiian knowledge sources.
Accordingly, the Kaua`i- Ni`ihau Island Burial Council appropriately voted to preserve in place the burial site on the property claimed by Brescia.
In complete contradiction to both their own state law, and the April 3, 2008 determination adopted by the island Burial Council to preserve the burials in place, the SHPD improperly approved a "Burial Treatment Plan" for Brescia without the required consultation with the island Burial Council. The Burial Treatment Plan was submitted by Mike Dega, the archaeologist hired by Joseph Brescia as a consultant in support of his building a private home atop of the burial site.
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.
The Kaua`i Planning Commission’s approval of Brescia’s house plans included a specific condition issued in a letter dated December 12, 2007 that "No building permit shall be issued until requirements of the State Historic Preservation Division and the Burial Council have been met." The requirements of the island Burial Council have not been met; the Council recommended that there be no building upon the cemetery. SHPD covered up the island Burial Council’s decision by trying to pretend that vertical buffers and concrete jackets constitute "preservation" ; they do not.
During the consultation required by the preliminary October 2008 court ruling, on November 6, 2008, the island Burial Council recommended that the SHPD reject the revised Burial Treatment Proposal submitted by Dega. Therefore, Brescia still has not met the requirements of the island Burial Council and thus, the building permit should be revoked. Because the Kaua`i Planning Commission’s December 2007 approval was specifically conditioned on Brescia’s meeting the island Burial Council’s requirements, there is no real approval of Brescia’s house plans. The island Burial Council made clear the proposal to build on the burial site was culturally unacceptable to its members, which is why the Council rejected the revised Burial Treatment Plan. The Kaua`i Planning Commission should be held accountable to rescind the conditional approval it gave, since its requirements were not met.
In the midst of this ongoing desecration, last month, on February 4, 2009, the SHPD wrote a letter to Dega acknowledging his sixth proposed Burial Treatment Plan. This is the same Burial Treatment Plan that McMahon circulated to Native Hawaiian Organizations for consultation as part of a court order by Judge Watanabe on October 2, 2008. The outcome of this consultation with Native Hawaiian Organizations was their sweeping rejection of the proposal. Without any regard for this rejection, the SHPD letter to Dega states, "at this time we cannot accept the Burial Treatment Plan without some revisions which are to be addressed below" and then outlines seven concerns for him to deal with such as detailing a landscape plan for burials outside of the house footprint. In other words, the letter basically instructs Dega to revise the Burial Treatment Plan in order for SHPD to approve it. This is unacceptable; if McMahon’s decision is reaffirmed despite the outcome of the consultation with Native Hawaiian Organizations that clearly rejected the proposal, it would set a dangerous precedent and strip the island Burial Councils of any meaningful authority.
To date, 5th Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe has denied requests for a temporary restraining order and has even refused to grant a temporary injunction to stop further construction until the full civil suit is adjudicated by the state court. The civil suit — Joseph Brescia v. Ka`iulani Huff, et al. — currently in progress is a travesty. Brescia is suing at least 17 individuals—almost all of whom are Kānaka Maoli —implicated in protecting the burial site from his construction work. Beside trespass, Brescia has accused them of five other counts: private nuisance and harassment, tortious interference with contract, civil conspiracy described as "terroristic threatening" , intentional interference, ejectment, and slander of title. We stand in solidarity with the defendants. Brescia has no one else to blame but himself; he knowingly took the chance of building his house over a grave site when the essence of the island Burial Council’s action was to preserve all burials remains in place.
We must remind the state agencies that their own law, Hawai`i revised statute 711-1107 on Desecration, specifically states that no one may commit the offense of desecrating "a place of worship or burial," and the statute defines "desecrate" as "defacing, damaging, polluting, or otherwise physically mistreating in a way that the defendant knows will outrage the sensibilities of persons likely to observe or discover the defendant's action."We call on all people of conscience to join in our condemnation of the desecration of the ancestral remains by:
• holding the Kaua`i Planning Commission accountable for upholding their own condition by finding Brescia in violation of it by starting to build;
• demanding that the SHPD honor the Kaua`i-Ni`ihau Island Burial Council’s original decision to preserve the burial site without any construction;
• insisting that the SHPD respect the outcome of the court-ordered consultation process and reject the Burial Treatment Plan;
• supporting an end to the illegal construction supported by the state; and
• protesting Brescia’s lawsuit targeted at those who have served to prevent the further degradation of the bones of our kūpuna.
Signed,
Hokulani Aikau, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Political Science, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Carlos Andrade, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Maile Arvin, M.A. candidate, Department of Ethnic Studies, University ofCalifornia San Diego
J. Leilani Basham, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Hawaiian Studies,University of Hawai`i at West O`ahu
Kamanamaikalani Beamer, Ph.D., Mellon-Hawai` i Postdoctoral Fellow, Kohala Center, Hawai`i
Kealani Robinson Cook, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History, University of Michigan
Lani Cupchoy, Ph.D. Candidate, History, University of California, Irvine
Lisa Kahaleole Hall, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Women’s Studies, Wells College
Sydney Lehua Iaukea, Ph.D., Mellon-Hawai` i Postdoctoral Fellow, Kohala Center, Hawai`i
Lilikalā Kame`eleihiwa, Ph.D., Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Anthropology and American Studies, Wesleyan University
Kanani K. M. Lee, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Geology & Geophysics, Yale University
Jon Kamakawiwo`ole Osorio, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Lessa Kanani`opua Pelayo, M.L.I.S. Candidate, B.A., University of California, Los Angeles
Kekailoa Perry, J.D. Assistant Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Keanu Sai, Ph.D., Lecturer Kapiolani Community College
Noenoe K. Silva, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Stephanie Nohelani Teves, Ph.D. Candidate, Program in American Culture, University of Michigan
Ty Kāwika Tengan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Anthropology and Ethnic Studies, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Haunani-Kay Trask, Ph.D., Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i, Mānoa
Liza Keanuenueokalani Williams, Ph.D. student, New York University
Erin Kahunawaika` ala Wright, Ph.D. Director of Native Hawaiian Student Services, Hawai'inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge
-------
Contact: J. Kehaulani KauanuiPh: 860-638-1264Email: jkauanui@wesleyan. edu
--------TAKE ACTION
Write individual emails or letters the Kaua`i Planning Commission, State Historic Preservation Division Officials, Governor Linda Lingle, Joseph Brescia, and the Mayor of Kaua`i.
Please cc: all letters and emails to: J. Kehaulani Kauanui,Center for the Americas, Wesleyan University, 255 High Street, Middletown, CT 06459.Email
See addresses below:
Ian Costa
Director of Planning
County of Kaua`i
4444 Rice Street, Suite 473
Lihue, HI 96766
icosta@kauai. gov
Laura Thielan, Chairperson
State of Hawaii, Department of Land and Natural Resources
State Historic Preservation Division
601 Kamokila Blvd., Room 555
Kapolei, HI 96707
dlnr@hawaii. gov
Pua Aiu, AdministratorState Historic Preservation Division601 Kamokila Blvd., Room 555Kapolei, HI 96707pua.aiu@hawaii. gov
Nancy McMahon, Deputy Administrator
State Historic Preservation Division
601 Kamokila Blvd., Room 555
Kapolei, HI 96707
Nancy.A.McMahon@ hawaii.gov
Governor Linda Lingle
State of Hawai`i
Executive Chambers
State Capitol
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813
governor.lingle@ hawaii.gov
Joseph Brescia, President
Architectural Glass & Aluminum
1151 Marina Village Parkway, Suite 101
Alameda, CA 94501
jbrescia@aga- ca.com
Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr.
Mayor, County of Kauai
4444 Rice St., Suite 235
Lihue, HI 96766
mayor@kauai. gov
Thursday, July 10, 2008
DEM BONZ:
DEM BONZ: In a yet another somewhat stunning development in the case of the desecration of kanaka maoli burials at Ha`ena point the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Tuesday requested that the attorney general’s office send a cease and desist order to halt all construction there.
The letter questions not only the legitimacy of the state burial council’s administrative rules under state constitution and statues but details how the State Archeologist Nancy McMahon and the developer’s attorney’s Walton Hong lied to both the Kaua`i Planning Commission and the Burial Council.
The highly legally notated letter, available only in a pdf file for now, first cites HRS 6E-13 and 6E-13(b) allowing the attorney general or any citizen to file suit “for the protection of an historic site or burial site and public trust therein or improper demolition alteration or transfer of property or burial site”
Then it cites 10(4)4 and 10 1(b) which essentially requires state agencies to assist OHA saying “(i)t shall be the duty and responsibility of all state departments ... to actively work toward (OHA’s) goals”.
But the heart of the request is based on Article Vii Section 7 of the State Constitution which says the state “shall protect all rights customarily and traditionally exercised for substance cultural and religious purposes”.
Then citing HRS 6E and Chapter 13-300 of Hawaii Administrative rules which regulate the Burial Council it quotes McMahon and Hong misrepresenting the law to the two citizen panels.
At the heart of the claim is the state’s contention that the burial councils, as they have been told, have no right to have any say over burials other than to say either remove them or let them sit where they are.
OHA goes on to show that this is not true when the actual laws and rules are read, claiming that the burial council also has the right to say “no- you’ can’t build there” or other appropriate actions.
It questions the legitimacy of the process and says because the process was abused that the current decision allowing Joe Brescia to build a house on top of the numerous burials, both discovered and undiscovered at the north shore parcel at Naue in Ha`ena must be revisited and the decision of the burial council be considered void and illegitimate.
The letter includes many other specific details of and objections to the way the Burial Council, under the State Historic Preservation Department (SHPD) has violated the constitution and state laws and presents the transcripts of the misrepresentation by SHPD head McMahon, and Brescia’s attorney Hong before both the Kaua`i Planning Commission and the Burial Council.
What’s most surprising is that it took so long for OHA to start going through this process. But the confluence of events brought to light by Ka`iulani Edens Huff, Nani Rogers Louise Marston and a host of others over the last month or so has perhaps spurred them to action
And perhaps the very adamancy of the right wing wacko property rights crowd in supporting Brescia’s “right to desecrate” because he “followed all the rules” was just the thing needed to spur action by OHA,
OHA outrages their own community with regularity in its state-lap-dog habit of fighting against its own beneficiaries on so many occasions that it has become a joke to most kanaka in light of its mission.
And the fact that Chief Darryl Perry on Kaua`i brought up the state law against desecration- even though it is written separately from the laws protecting the traditional cultural and religious rights of the descendent of pre-western contact islanders- might have been contributory enough to finally provoke the ever conservative OHA to finally stand up for the rights of the people they represent.
It is an election year- for OHA too- and this story has been getting statewide media attention of late and has gotten to the point where not just many but most, in the Kaua`i community agree that something is wrong as typified by a letter in today’s local paper .
The one problem may be that the person who OHA is requesting/demanding write the cease and desist letter is allegedly the most corrupt of the hacks in the Linda Lingle administration Attorney General Mark Bennett who is responsible for the Superferry debacle and various other gubernatorial sleazy ploys, using blatantly unethical if not illegal secrecy ploys to cover-up alleged crimes by administration personnel.
How he answers the letter will be most interesting but it is apparent that asking him to do it is only OHA’s first move and that if he refuses, OHA makes it most clear that they will proceed on their own.
We leave you with the words of Nani Rogers on the current situation written this week when the corrupt pols in the AG’s and the local Kaua`i Prosecutor Craig Decosta’s office refused to back up Police Chief Perry ’s assertion that Bescia’s and Hong’s actions were desacratory.
I pray all is maita`i with you and your loved ones. Auwe! Auwe! Auwe! Kaua`i na po`e are crying over the unbelievable disrespect and denial of State and County agencies. For their disrespect of sacred burials and their denial of the truth and cultural and natural laws that protect graveyards from desecration. It is a criminal act, in anybody's law book, to desecrate burials; the Naue burials date back to the 13th century and are of great significance to our na po`e that are lineal descendants ofna iwi at Naue and to all na po`e and supporters that have been camping near by to protect them from harm for the last three months. It has been a long and hard battle but we will go on, we will continue to be there and to stand up to any challenges they may throw at us.
We urge na kanaka to come to Naue and be eye witnesses to the desecration so you can go home and tell your ohana and children. They need to learn our ways.
Ka`iu, myself, and others will be at Naue this afternoon to camp overnight again. We made a vow to protect our na po`e buried there, we must keep our promise to do all we can to do so.
To Mr. Joseph Brescia, who says he owns the `aina, to Mr. Walton Hong, his lawyer, to Mr. Galante, the contractor, to Pua Aiu, SHPD Director, to the Police Dept., the Attorney General and to Governor Lingle, et al, we say, BEWARE! get ready for the grave (pardon the pun) spiritual consequences your actions will cause. Remember that you will have brought it all upon yourselves, nobody else is to be blamed but you for anything that may happen to you and your family. Can you see that?
We pray that our na Akua, na Aumakua and na Tupuna continue to surround and protect us at Naue. We pray that our na po`e; men, women and children; buried there may continue to rest in peace. Mahalo!
The letter questions not only the legitimacy of the state burial council’s administrative rules under state constitution and statues but details how the State Archeologist Nancy McMahon and the developer’s attorney’s Walton Hong lied to both the Kaua`i Planning Commission and the Burial Council.
The highly legally notated letter, available only in a pdf file for now, first cites HRS 6E-13 and 6E-13(b) allowing the attorney general or any citizen to file suit “for the protection of an historic site or burial site and public trust therein or improper demolition alteration or transfer of property or burial site”
Then it cites 10(4)4 and 10 1(b) which essentially requires state agencies to assist OHA saying “(i)t shall be the duty and responsibility of all state departments ... to actively work toward (OHA’s) goals”.
But the heart of the request is based on Article Vii Section 7 of the State Constitution which says the state “shall protect all rights customarily and traditionally exercised for substance cultural and religious purposes”.
Then citing HRS 6E and Chapter 13-300 of Hawaii Administrative rules which regulate the Burial Council it quotes McMahon and Hong misrepresenting the law to the two citizen panels.
At the heart of the claim is the state’s contention that the burial councils, as they have been told, have no right to have any say over burials other than to say either remove them or let them sit where they are.
OHA goes on to show that this is not true when the actual laws and rules are read, claiming that the burial council also has the right to say “no- you’ can’t build there” or other appropriate actions.
It questions the legitimacy of the process and says because the process was abused that the current decision allowing Joe Brescia to build a house on top of the numerous burials, both discovered and undiscovered at the north shore parcel at Naue in Ha`ena must be revisited and the decision of the burial council be considered void and illegitimate.
The letter includes many other specific details of and objections to the way the Burial Council, under the State Historic Preservation Department (SHPD) has violated the constitution and state laws and presents the transcripts of the misrepresentation by SHPD head McMahon, and Brescia’s attorney Hong before both the Kaua`i Planning Commission and the Burial Council.
What’s most surprising is that it took so long for OHA to start going through this process. But the confluence of events brought to light by Ka`iulani Edens Huff, Nani Rogers Louise Marston and a host of others over the last month or so has perhaps spurred them to action
And perhaps the very adamancy of the right wing wacko property rights crowd in supporting Brescia’s “right to desecrate” because he “followed all the rules” was just the thing needed to spur action by OHA,
OHA outrages their own community with regularity in its state-lap-dog habit of fighting against its own beneficiaries on so many occasions that it has become a joke to most kanaka in light of its mission.
And the fact that Chief Darryl Perry on Kaua`i brought up the state law against desecration- even though it is written separately from the laws protecting the traditional cultural and religious rights of the descendent of pre-western contact islanders- might have been contributory enough to finally provoke the ever conservative OHA to finally stand up for the rights of the people they represent.
It is an election year- for OHA too- and this story has been getting statewide media attention of late and has gotten to the point where not just many but most, in the Kaua`i community agree that something is wrong as typified by a letter in today’s local paper .
The one problem may be that the person who OHA is requesting/demanding write the cease and desist letter is allegedly the most corrupt of the hacks in the Linda Lingle administration Attorney General Mark Bennett who is responsible for the Superferry debacle and various other gubernatorial sleazy ploys, using blatantly unethical if not illegal secrecy ploys to cover-up alleged crimes by administration personnel.
How he answers the letter will be most interesting but it is apparent that asking him to do it is only OHA’s first move and that if he refuses, OHA makes it most clear that they will proceed on their own.
We leave you with the words of Nani Rogers on the current situation written this week when the corrupt pols in the AG’s and the local Kaua`i Prosecutor Craig Decosta’s office refused to back up Police Chief Perry ’s assertion that Bescia’s and Hong’s actions were desacratory.
I pray all is maita`i with you and your loved ones. Auwe! Auwe! Auwe! Kaua`i na po`e are crying over the unbelievable disrespect and denial of State and County agencies. For their disrespect of sacred burials and their denial of the truth and cultural and natural laws that protect graveyards from desecration. It is a criminal act, in anybody's law book, to desecrate burials; the Naue burials date back to the 13th century and are of great significance to our na po`e that are lineal descendants ofna iwi at Naue and to all na po`e and supporters that have been camping near by to protect them from harm for the last three months. It has been a long and hard battle but we will go on, we will continue to be there and to stand up to any challenges they may throw at us.
We urge na kanaka to come to Naue and be eye witnesses to the desecration so you can go home and tell your ohana and children. They need to learn our ways.
Ka`iu, myself, and others will be at Naue this afternoon to camp overnight again. We made a vow to protect our na po`e buried there, we must keep our promise to do all we can to do so.
To Mr. Joseph Brescia, who says he owns the `aina, to Mr. Walton Hong, his lawyer, to Mr. Galante, the contractor, to Pua Aiu, SHPD Director, to the Police Dept., the Attorney General and to Governor Lingle, et al, we say, BEWARE! get ready for the grave (pardon the pun) spiritual consequences your actions will cause. Remember that you will have brought it all upon yourselves, nobody else is to be blamed but you for anything that may happen to you and your family. Can you see that?
We pray that our na Akua, na Aumakua and na Tupuna continue to surround and protect us at Naue. We pray that our na po`e; men, women and children; buried there may continue to rest in peace. Mahalo!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BAMBOOZLEE
THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BAMBOOZLEE: After they teach new councilmembers the secret handshake and turn over one of the seven keys to the little politician’s room, someone- probably legislative analyst Ricky Watenabe who, in case you haven't heard, is the one who really runs the whole shebang- schools the newbies in the unique etiquette of council-being on Kaua`i.
No, we're not talking Emily Post politeness although there's that element too. We're talking the sickeningly sycophantic, Alphonse and Gaston (no not that kind gutter-brain), "I won't step on your political toes if you stay the hell off mine," hide-your-roaches, back-room bamboozling demagoguery that anyone who watches four-and-a-half seconds of a meeting knows all too well.
But the dynamic of this council has suddenly thrown all that to the proverbial tradewinds of late due to a rift that threatens to bring some fireworks to the normally tedious snoozefest to which we've all become inured.
Apparently no one but us noticed the first milestone- or millstone as the case may be- which occurred with the defeat of Councilmember Mel Rapozo's thinly disguised attempt to reverse the plastic bag "ban," purportedly due to food safety concerns but actually to appeal to the piggies who can’t imagine taking home their bacon without despoiling every tree and roadside with "white kites".
The issue had been decided before the bill was introduced with Councilmembers Tim Bynum and JoAnn Yukimura- who have become thorns in the side of Rapozo and vice-versa- voting "aye" on "first reading" for the stated reason that any bill introduced deserves the "common courtesy" of a public hearing and debate... although the obvious political reason was they thought that there was enough community support for the ban to make Rapozo look like an idiot for weeks on end in trying to end the prohibition.
But that kind of smile-as-you-kill backbiting is the hallmark of Watenabian counciling. What wasn't was the final act on the bill where something occurred for the first time in our decades of council-watching.
Oh there have been bills that were defeated before. But the method for that was always to "receive" the bill "for the record," by voice vote. No one caught on the record no one having their bill actually defeated, no one embarrassed.
But Rapozo's bill was actually defeated by a roll call vote or "ayes" and "nays" putting Rapozo on the record on the losing end of a 5-1 vote (then-Councilmember Derek "Mr. Big Save" Kawakami had recused himself).
So what? Well that was just the beginning.
Normally the teeth-clenching ultra-graciousness has resulted in an unflinching yet unwritten rule that when a bill is in committee any member of the committee may request a deferral for a couple of weeks- sometime much more- in order to purportedly do "due diligence," although the real reason may be to do a little arm twisting or to gather a cadre of community members to overwhelm the others with on-camera testimony, given to quell and even reverse a building tide that's going against them.
But lately the Rapozo-Bynum/Yukimura feud has resulted in a couple of instances where that "courtesy" was denied, most recently with the defeat of the nomination of Nancy McMahon to the Historic Preservation Committee- a story that went national today when the Associated Press picked up the local newspaper story on the matter.
Chair Jay Furfaro had requested a 60 day deferral supposedly so he could check up on many of the charges made against McMahon by a slew of members of the public. But the nomination had been deferred a few times already and Rapozo said he had enough information to act right then and there.
Now Bynum has made a point of always voting for first readings and deferrals after having had a few bills defeated on first reading during the last council, due to his feud with then Chair Kaipo Asing and the Minotaur’s henchmen.
So he supported the deferral even though he made a point of saying he'd also heard enough to vote and was doing so as a "courtesy" to Furfaro.
But when the vote came for deferral it was actually a 5-2 vote against after the usually Furfaro-allied Dickie Chang voted no and Yukimura, voting last and knowing the vote was already 4-2 against, saying she was ready to "accelerate my decision making process" (we just loved that one) doing the same.
So what does all this mean? It's hard to say but the obvious indication is that Chair Furfaro is increasingly becoming more and more unable to herd his councilcats as his predecessors did.
And, speaking of sickeningly polite, "that's a good thing" Martha.
No, we're not talking Emily Post politeness although there's that element too. We're talking the sickeningly sycophantic, Alphonse and Gaston (no not that kind gutter-brain), "I won't step on your political toes if you stay the hell off mine," hide-your-roaches, back-room bamboozling demagoguery that anyone who watches four-and-a-half seconds of a meeting knows all too well.
But the dynamic of this council has suddenly thrown all that to the proverbial tradewinds of late due to a rift that threatens to bring some fireworks to the normally tedious snoozefest to which we've all become inured.
Apparently no one but us noticed the first milestone- or millstone as the case may be- which occurred with the defeat of Councilmember Mel Rapozo's thinly disguised attempt to reverse the plastic bag "ban," purportedly due to food safety concerns but actually to appeal to the piggies who can’t imagine taking home their bacon without despoiling every tree and roadside with "white kites".
The issue had been decided before the bill was introduced with Councilmembers Tim Bynum and JoAnn Yukimura- who have become thorns in the side of Rapozo and vice-versa- voting "aye" on "first reading" for the stated reason that any bill introduced deserves the "common courtesy" of a public hearing and debate... although the obvious political reason was they thought that there was enough community support for the ban to make Rapozo look like an idiot for weeks on end in trying to end the prohibition.
But that kind of smile-as-you-kill backbiting is the hallmark of Watenabian counciling. What wasn't was the final act on the bill where something occurred for the first time in our decades of council-watching.
Oh there have been bills that were defeated before. But the method for that was always to "receive" the bill "for the record," by voice vote. No one caught on the record no one having their bill actually defeated, no one embarrassed.
But Rapozo's bill was actually defeated by a roll call vote or "ayes" and "nays" putting Rapozo on the record on the losing end of a 5-1 vote (then-Councilmember Derek "Mr. Big Save" Kawakami had recused himself).
So what? Well that was just the beginning.
Normally the teeth-clenching ultra-graciousness has resulted in an unflinching yet unwritten rule that when a bill is in committee any member of the committee may request a deferral for a couple of weeks- sometime much more- in order to purportedly do "due diligence," although the real reason may be to do a little arm twisting or to gather a cadre of community members to overwhelm the others with on-camera testimony, given to quell and even reverse a building tide that's going against them.
But lately the Rapozo-Bynum/Yukimura feud has resulted in a couple of instances where that "courtesy" was denied, most recently with the defeat of the nomination of Nancy McMahon to the Historic Preservation Committee- a story that went national today when the Associated Press picked up the local newspaper story on the matter.
Chair Jay Furfaro had requested a 60 day deferral supposedly so he could check up on many of the charges made against McMahon by a slew of members of the public. But the nomination had been deferred a few times already and Rapozo said he had enough information to act right then and there.
Now Bynum has made a point of always voting for first readings and deferrals after having had a few bills defeated on first reading during the last council, due to his feud with then Chair Kaipo Asing and the Minotaur’s henchmen.
So he supported the deferral even though he made a point of saying he'd also heard enough to vote and was doing so as a "courtesy" to Furfaro.
But when the vote came for deferral it was actually a 5-2 vote against after the usually Furfaro-allied Dickie Chang voted no and Yukimura, voting last and knowing the vote was already 4-2 against, saying she was ready to "accelerate my decision making process" (we just loved that one) doing the same.
So what does all this mean? It's hard to say but the obvious indication is that Chair Furfaro is increasingly becoming more and more unable to herd his councilcats as his predecessors did.
And, speaking of sickeningly polite, "that's a good thing" Martha.
Friday, November 7, 2008
DOWN IN THE DARK MY BONE MILL ROLLS
DOWN IN THE DARK MY BONE MILL ROLLS: From yesterday’s Kaua`i Burial Council meeting comes news via the local newspaper that ding-dong the wicked witch has resigned the chair because “life’s too short to put up with some of the things we put up with at the burial council.”
An odd choice of words indeed from Mark “Ainokea” Hubbard, the post around which the current revolving door of cronyism in Kaua`i government revolves, as we’ve detailed.
He has given up his post saying
“I was willing to run the meetings, but it’s not good to have a haole as the chair. You need to have a Hawaiian, a kupuna, to command some respect,” Hubbard said. “People were looking at council with disrespect just because I was the chair.”
Gee, ya think?
The fact is disrespect for Hubbard goes a lot deeper than his ethnicity- a contempt he has earned though his disrespectful actions toward the Kanaka community as well as the community at large.
The veep at Grove Farm- the old land-robbing plantation outfit that has been a prime actor in the genocide of the Hawaiian people for a century- still sits at the head of the Kaua`i (Lack of any Discernable) Ethics Board where he has refused to enforce the ethics law.
He actually tried to change the charter to allow him and his cronies to openly abuse their positions on the various board commissions and the county council this year.
But the defeat of the measure guarantees... well probably nothing.
Hubbard and his gang of disingenuous dullards are so bored of ethics that they have feigned ignorance- and of course have refused to release a county attorney’s opinion- as to what the law means when it says members of boards and commissions can’t represent private interests before other boards, commissions and administrative agencies
Despite Hubbard’s contention that the law is “too broad” and would cause those who serve to not be able to get a drivers’ license he schizophrenically admitted that the clause actually did do something by proposing an amendment to remove the clause from the charter that forbids conflicts.
The board actually cleared another good old boy, attorney Jonathan Chun- the chair of the Charter Commission that approved the proposed charter change- of ethics charges for extensively representing the Board of Realtors before the county council on the vacation rental bill earlier this year.
But despite the re-iteration of the law by the populace don’t expect Hubbard to change his ways should any complaint be filed when Chun appears before the Planning Commission at next week’s meeting representing another client
The Burial Council meeting itself was apparently an affair to remember in Hubbard’s absence, according to reporter Joan Conrow who described some real shenanigans in the infamous “capping” of the Naue kupuna iwi.
Apparently Mike Dega, the head of the contracted “archeological field crew”- i.e. construction workers- took it upon themselves to put a concrete slab over the ancestral bones, saying neither he nor state Archeologist Nancy McMahon approved the measure.
The real news- perhaps the only good thing in all of this- is that the cap, which from previous descriptions of the process we concluded actually encased the bones, was rather what was described as something similar to a “sewer cover” three feet above the bones which could be removed without disturbing the actual iwi.
But the unbelievable insensitivity in the description of the “caps” aside it remains to be seen if the Planning Commission will withdraw the permits because apparently Burial Council “approval” is one of the conditions for the “house” that developer Joe Brescia is trying to build on top of the cemetery.
One thing that seems to stick out like a skeletal hand reaching out from the ground is that the Planning Commission condition gives actual power to the Burial Council while the state- which created the body- treats them as advisory.
There doesn’t seem to be any law or rule against a county agency giving a state advisory council actual power for county purposes. But, according to the newspaper article Planning Commission Chair Steve Weinstein “(e)ven a violation would not guarantee revocation, as other mitigation measures can be considered.”
Translation? “We’ll probably do what we do whenever someone does something illegal- we’ll allow them to do it anyway if it’s in our power to do so- and sometimes even if it’s not.”
Another question is, based on our analysis yesterday of the new General Plan enforcement charter provision, one the planning department hasn’t dealt with at all- is Brescia’s “house” a “tourist accommodation” that would fall under the new law taking the power of approval away from the Planning Department?
If so, the processing of anything having to do with it should cease immediately if it is to comply with the law.
Although Brescia claims it is merely a huge single family residence Brescia’s other “houses” in the area have been serving as vacation rentals for years.
of course that presumes that anyone in Kaua`i county government even cares whether their activities meet legal requirements and standards..
As our friend Ace commented yesterday
Andy, Andy, Andy. You are ignoring the zeal with which the Planning Commission and the County Council tend to overlook such pesky things as laws, ordinances and charter amendments. One should not be surprised to see these folks do whatever they want and wait to be called on it. To which they will predictably respond, "So sue me".
Just more porridge to fill the Minotaur’s bowl.
An odd choice of words indeed from Mark “Ainokea” Hubbard, the post around which the current revolving door of cronyism in Kaua`i government revolves, as we’ve detailed.
He has given up his post saying
“I was willing to run the meetings, but it’s not good to have a haole as the chair. You need to have a Hawaiian, a kupuna, to command some respect,” Hubbard said. “People were looking at council with disrespect just because I was the chair.”
Gee, ya think?
The fact is disrespect for Hubbard goes a lot deeper than his ethnicity- a contempt he has earned though his disrespectful actions toward the Kanaka community as well as the community at large.
The veep at Grove Farm- the old land-robbing plantation outfit that has been a prime actor in the genocide of the Hawaiian people for a century- still sits at the head of the Kaua`i (Lack of any Discernable) Ethics Board where he has refused to enforce the ethics law.
He actually tried to change the charter to allow him and his cronies to openly abuse their positions on the various board commissions and the county council this year.
But the defeat of the measure guarantees... well probably nothing.
Hubbard and his gang of disingenuous dullards are so bored of ethics that they have feigned ignorance- and of course have refused to release a county attorney’s opinion- as to what the law means when it says members of boards and commissions can’t represent private interests before other boards, commissions and administrative agencies
Despite Hubbard’s contention that the law is “too broad” and would cause those who serve to not be able to get a drivers’ license he schizophrenically admitted that the clause actually did do something by proposing an amendment to remove the clause from the charter that forbids conflicts.
The board actually cleared another good old boy, attorney Jonathan Chun- the chair of the Charter Commission that approved the proposed charter change- of ethics charges for extensively representing the Board of Realtors before the county council on the vacation rental bill earlier this year.
But despite the re-iteration of the law by the populace don’t expect Hubbard to change his ways should any complaint be filed when Chun appears before the Planning Commission at next week’s meeting representing another client
The Burial Council meeting itself was apparently an affair to remember in Hubbard’s absence, according to reporter Joan Conrow who described some real shenanigans in the infamous “capping” of the Naue kupuna iwi.
Apparently Mike Dega, the head of the contracted “archeological field crew”- i.e. construction workers- took it upon themselves to put a concrete slab over the ancestral bones, saying neither he nor state Archeologist Nancy McMahon approved the measure.
The real news- perhaps the only good thing in all of this- is that the cap, which from previous descriptions of the process we concluded actually encased the bones, was rather what was described as something similar to a “sewer cover” three feet above the bones which could be removed without disturbing the actual iwi.
But the unbelievable insensitivity in the description of the “caps” aside it remains to be seen if the Planning Commission will withdraw the permits because apparently Burial Council “approval” is one of the conditions for the “house” that developer Joe Brescia is trying to build on top of the cemetery.
One thing that seems to stick out like a skeletal hand reaching out from the ground is that the Planning Commission condition gives actual power to the Burial Council while the state- which created the body- treats them as advisory.
There doesn’t seem to be any law or rule against a county agency giving a state advisory council actual power for county purposes. But, according to the newspaper article Planning Commission Chair Steve Weinstein “(e)ven a violation would not guarantee revocation, as other mitigation measures can be considered.”
Translation? “We’ll probably do what we do whenever someone does something illegal- we’ll allow them to do it anyway if it’s in our power to do so- and sometimes even if it’s not.”
Another question is, based on our analysis yesterday of the new General Plan enforcement charter provision, one the planning department hasn’t dealt with at all- is Brescia’s “house” a “tourist accommodation” that would fall under the new law taking the power of approval away from the Planning Department?
If so, the processing of anything having to do with it should cease immediately if it is to comply with the law.
Although Brescia claims it is merely a huge single family residence Brescia’s other “houses” in the area have been serving as vacation rentals for years.
of course that presumes that anyone in Kaua`i county government even cares whether their activities meet legal requirements and standards..
As our friend Ace commented yesterday
Andy, Andy, Andy. You are ignoring the zeal with which the Planning Commission and the County Council tend to overlook such pesky things as laws, ordinances and charter amendments. One should not be surprised to see these folks do whatever they want and wait to be called on it. To which they will predictably respond, "So sue me".
Just more porridge to fill the Minotaur’s bowl.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
CARVING OUT A THIRD WAY
CARVING OUT A THIRD WAY: Something subversive clicked this morning when we read the headline in the Honolulu Advertiser saying “Burial council won't sign rail pact”.
Seems that:
(t)he Oahu Island Burial Council has decided not to join other parties ... in signing an agreement on mitigating the rail project's impacts on historical, cultural and archaeological resources...
The burial council decision is largely symbolic and isn't expected to stop or delay the 20-mile elevated commuter train project.
That last sentence seemed odd considering how much power the Kaua`i Island Burial Council (KIBC) has apparently had in recent doings up at Naue where developer Joe Bresca continues to build a massive house on top of burials despite warning from Judge Kathleen Watanabe, while the planning commission has voted to consider revoking his building permit based on the fact that he doesn’t have the proper “sign off” from the KIBC.
What occurs to us is that the oft repeated conundrum for the KIBC- that they are limited to the two bad choices of either leaving the burials in place or removing them- may not actually be the case.
Because, as the months-long delay in holding a KIBC meeting due to a lack of appointments sufficient to maintain a quorum, they have, in a de facto manner, carved out a third choice- to simply not act on the request.
We’re not sure what the planning process on O`ahu calls for but here one of the numerous “sign-offs”- a so-called “punch list” of agency approvals that the planning commission and department rules mandate- is one from the KIBC.
Though the delay was unintentional, apparently, since the “automatic approval” law is inoperable here, if the KIBC simply “receives the matter for the record” – as the county council does when it doesn’t want to discuss an issue anymore- the planning department would be unable to issue a building permit.
After all it’s only been the widely reviled and truth-challenged State Archeologist Nancy McMahon’s -so that there are only two useless wrenches in the KIBC toolbox.
Who’s to say that if they take a page from the county council’s playbook of obstruction they can’t carve out a third?
Seems that:
(t)he Oahu Island Burial Council has decided not to join other parties ... in signing an agreement on mitigating the rail project's impacts on historical, cultural and archaeological resources...
The burial council decision is largely symbolic and isn't expected to stop or delay the 20-mile elevated commuter train project.
That last sentence seemed odd considering how much power the Kaua`i Island Burial Council (KIBC) has apparently had in recent doings up at Naue where developer Joe Bresca continues to build a massive house on top of burials despite warning from Judge Kathleen Watanabe, while the planning commission has voted to consider revoking his building permit based on the fact that he doesn’t have the proper “sign off” from the KIBC.
What occurs to us is that the oft repeated conundrum for the KIBC- that they are limited to the two bad choices of either leaving the burials in place or removing them- may not actually be the case.
Because, as the months-long delay in holding a KIBC meeting due to a lack of appointments sufficient to maintain a quorum, they have, in a de facto manner, carved out a third choice- to simply not act on the request.
We’re not sure what the planning process on O`ahu calls for but here one of the numerous “sign-offs”- a so-called “punch list” of agency approvals that the planning commission and department rules mandate- is one from the KIBC.
Though the delay was unintentional, apparently, since the “automatic approval” law is inoperable here, if the KIBC simply “receives the matter for the record” – as the county council does when it doesn’t want to discuss an issue anymore- the planning department would be unable to issue a building permit.
After all it’s only been the widely reviled and truth-challenged State Archeologist Nancy McMahon’s -so that there are only two useless wrenches in the KIBC toolbox.
Who’s to say that if they take a page from the county council’s playbook of obstruction they can’t carve out a third?
Friday, October 3, 2008
OVERKILL FOR THE UNDERDOG
OVERKILL FOR THE UNDERDOG: Sometimes you’ve gotta wonder if people who attended a meeting were in the same room or on different planets.
And supposedly that’s why we have people who call themselves reporters. Their job is to figure out what the “news” is as it occurs, news being not the usual Dog Bites Man” but the unexpected “Man Bites Dog”.
But in this age of corporate newsrooms and busy if not jaded reporters, journalists often have their stories written- at least in their minds- before going in.
Many have apparently forgotten how to, or don’t have the time to, do the job and so often it falls to the alternative press- both professionals and every day citizens- to let us know what actually happened.
And yesterday’s coverage of the meeting of the Kaua`i Burial Council is a case study in how preconceptions can make reporters blind to the overarching “news”.
One could avoid taking their bedtime dose of Ambien by they reading the three mainstream press articles from the attending scribes.
Oh there was plenty of the perfunctory reporting of “five hours of testimony” and “emotion packed, anger-fueled blah-de-blah” and the like as well as tons of regurgitation of background info.
But we had to learn of the fact that the place was filled with armed state “conservation” cops from eyewitness bloggers Katy Rose and Joan Conrow.
Katy describes the scene that greeted her
When I arrived at the meeting at 9:45 a loud debate had broken out about the presence of armed DOCARE officers in the room. The outcry against having guns in the room was so intense that Mark Hubbard, the Burial Council chair, requested that the officers be asked to leave. Pua Aiu, the SHPD administrator, explained that the armed officers were called in because of "unruly meetings" in the past, but she did honor the request to remove them from the room.
As inappropriate as their presence was, it is an indication of the power of the people that the State felt so threatened by emotional testimony that it felt it necessary to call them in the first place.
Joan was even more outraged and provided a little more detail.
I’ll start with the words uttered by Pua Aiu, administrator of the State Historic Preservation Division, when several people asked why men with guns were in the room. She replied that she had requested DOCARE officers because of “unruly meetings in the past” and noted: “They come with guns. That’s how they come equipped.”
As Sharon Pomroy ironically observed, standing up and holding the traditional wood staff carried by Hale Mawae: “Guns are here because there’s a Hawaiian with a stick in the room.”
At the request of Chair Mark Hubbard, the three state enforcement officers did leave the Council Chambers and spent the rest of the day hanging out in the heat and humidity on the front steps of the Historic County Building. Some Kauai cops also showed up because people had called them to complain about the DOCARE officers. It was not only an utter waste of da guys with guns’ time and taxpayer money, but a tragic commentary on the climate of fear that seems to pervade the state when it comes to Hawaiians and their issues.
The last time I saw armed officers at a meeting was when Office of Hawaiian Affairs hit the road to explain to folks why its proposed settlement with the state was such a good deal. Strange, that the two state agencies that deal most closely with Hawaiian issues are so quick to call in the guns. Could it be because they know best how badly the kanaka are getting screwed?
As Tracey Schavone, who is not a kanaka, noted in her testimony to the Council: “It’s very disturbing to think, this is a Hawaiian issue, and oh my god, they think they need to have guns in the room.”
It’s hard to say what’s more appalling, the fact that lawbreakers like Grove Farm VP, Chair Hubbard (he also being the Chair of the unethical Kaua`i Ethics Board) along with dufusses like State Archeologist Nancy McMahon and her coconut overlord Aiu (who caused the whole mess in the first place by skirting the law) though they needed armed guards to protect them at the meeting, or the fact that it went unreported in the mainstream press.
We’ve probably been to well over a thousand meetings in that room, many regarding issues just as, if not more, contentious and have never seen armed guards.
Perhaps that’s what happens when you have a para-military force that isn’t subject to regulation by a citizen panel, only to Land and Natural Resources Chief Laura Thielen.
Her private “Conservation Enforcement” crew is comprised in large part of people who were too unstable to continue being real law enforcement officers... just the type of people we want holding guns at an emotion-packed meeting.. .
But perhaps it’s another chapter in the truly perplexing recent response of the thieves who stole these islands to challenges of their authority to rape the very land they stole.
In the 30 some-odd years since the native Hawaiian cultural and political renaissance the worst thing that the authorities might have physically suffered at the hands of kanaka maoli is a paper cuts from the documents the Hawaiians routinely waive under their arrogant noses.
This disproportionate response is even more bewildering when you look at the words of the common beneficiaries of the genocide who see the theft of Hawai`i as a fait accompli.
To hear them tell it in comment sections of newspapers and blogs throughout the state they don’t seem to be worried that their land deeds may be worthless and that they are illegal immigrants, according to the UN and international law.
They know that crooked Amerikan courts and the yield of bloated military budgets are standing in wait behind the curtain to support and carry out their nefarious piracy.
These worthless slugs laugh like the maniacal James Bond villains they are when someone dares to suggest that their morally bankrupt value system is being challenged by a bunch of peaceful lava-lave clad victims of their genocide.
And perhaps it’s because no matter how restless the natives are it isn’t like anyone can think of even one incident of armed insurrection in this or the last century in response to their “you and what army” challenges.
But obviously these western condo-conquerors either don’t know something their militaristic overlords do or the “authorities” are insanely overreacting to a threat that their minions on the other hand pooh-pooh.
In one way, like Joan and Katy say, it’s a complement to the Hawaiian sovereignty movement that the Amerikan powers that be think they need to arm themselves in response to kanaka demands for justice.
Lately it hasn’t been enough to have the cops and courts harass peaceful non violent protesters like those whose plight we’ve detailed or those in yesterday’s show trial for the handful of Maui denizens who were arraigned yesterday for their actions at Iolani Palace this summer, both in attempts to peacefully highlight injustices.
Now they are bringing armed guards to community meetings where both cultural and ethnic non-westerners might show up to challenge the very idea of their authority to desecrate, denigrate and commit genocide.
What’s next?- an naval armada to accompany a unwanted ferry boat and attack surfers and kayakers who are armed with only bathing suits and surfboards?.
Oh, wait...
And supposedly that’s why we have people who call themselves reporters. Their job is to figure out what the “news” is as it occurs, news being not the usual Dog Bites Man” but the unexpected “Man Bites Dog”.
But in this age of corporate newsrooms and busy if not jaded reporters, journalists often have their stories written- at least in their minds- before going in.
Many have apparently forgotten how to, or don’t have the time to, do the job and so often it falls to the alternative press- both professionals and every day citizens- to let us know what actually happened.
And yesterday’s coverage of the meeting of the Kaua`i Burial Council is a case study in how preconceptions can make reporters blind to the overarching “news”.
One could avoid taking their bedtime dose of Ambien by they reading the three mainstream press articles from the attending scribes.
Oh there was plenty of the perfunctory reporting of “five hours of testimony” and “emotion packed, anger-fueled blah-de-blah” and the like as well as tons of regurgitation of background info.
But we had to learn of the fact that the place was filled with armed state “conservation” cops from eyewitness bloggers Katy Rose and Joan Conrow.
Katy describes the scene that greeted her
When I arrived at the meeting at 9:45 a loud debate had broken out about the presence of armed DOCARE officers in the room. The outcry against having guns in the room was so intense that Mark Hubbard, the Burial Council chair, requested that the officers be asked to leave. Pua Aiu, the SHPD administrator, explained that the armed officers were called in because of "unruly meetings" in the past, but she did honor the request to remove them from the room.
As inappropriate as their presence was, it is an indication of the power of the people that the State felt so threatened by emotional testimony that it felt it necessary to call them in the first place.
Joan was even more outraged and provided a little more detail.
I’ll start with the words uttered by Pua Aiu, administrator of the State Historic Preservation Division, when several people asked why men with guns were in the room. She replied that she had requested DOCARE officers because of “unruly meetings in the past” and noted: “They come with guns. That’s how they come equipped.”
As Sharon Pomroy ironically observed, standing up and holding the traditional wood staff carried by Hale Mawae: “Guns are here because there’s a Hawaiian with a stick in the room.”
At the request of Chair Mark Hubbard, the three state enforcement officers did leave the Council Chambers and spent the rest of the day hanging out in the heat and humidity on the front steps of the Historic County Building. Some Kauai cops also showed up because people had called them to complain about the DOCARE officers. It was not only an utter waste of da guys with guns’ time and taxpayer money, but a tragic commentary on the climate of fear that seems to pervade the state when it comes to Hawaiians and their issues.
The last time I saw armed officers at a meeting was when Office of Hawaiian Affairs hit the road to explain to folks why its proposed settlement with the state was such a good deal. Strange, that the two state agencies that deal most closely with Hawaiian issues are so quick to call in the guns. Could it be because they know best how badly the kanaka are getting screwed?
As Tracey Schavone, who is not a kanaka, noted in her testimony to the Council: “It’s very disturbing to think, this is a Hawaiian issue, and oh my god, they think they need to have guns in the room.”
It’s hard to say what’s more appalling, the fact that lawbreakers like Grove Farm VP, Chair Hubbard (he also being the Chair of the unethical Kaua`i Ethics Board) along with dufusses like State Archeologist Nancy McMahon and her coconut overlord Aiu (who caused the whole mess in the first place by skirting the law) though they needed armed guards to protect them at the meeting, or the fact that it went unreported in the mainstream press.
We’ve probably been to well over a thousand meetings in that room, many regarding issues just as, if not more, contentious and have never seen armed guards.
Perhaps that’s what happens when you have a para-military force that isn’t subject to regulation by a citizen panel, only to Land and Natural Resources Chief Laura Thielen.
Her private “Conservation Enforcement” crew is comprised in large part of people who were too unstable to continue being real law enforcement officers... just the type of people we want holding guns at an emotion-packed meeting.. .
But perhaps it’s another chapter in the truly perplexing recent response of the thieves who stole these islands to challenges of their authority to rape the very land they stole.
In the 30 some-odd years since the native Hawaiian cultural and political renaissance the worst thing that the authorities might have physically suffered at the hands of kanaka maoli is a paper cuts from the documents the Hawaiians routinely waive under their arrogant noses.
This disproportionate response is even more bewildering when you look at the words of the common beneficiaries of the genocide who see the theft of Hawai`i as a fait accompli.
To hear them tell it in comment sections of newspapers and blogs throughout the state they don’t seem to be worried that their land deeds may be worthless and that they are illegal immigrants, according to the UN and international law.
They know that crooked Amerikan courts and the yield of bloated military budgets are standing in wait behind the curtain to support and carry out their nefarious piracy.
These worthless slugs laugh like the maniacal James Bond villains they are when someone dares to suggest that their morally bankrupt value system is being challenged by a bunch of peaceful lava-lave clad victims of their genocide.
And perhaps it’s because no matter how restless the natives are it isn’t like anyone can think of even one incident of armed insurrection in this or the last century in response to their “you and what army” challenges.
But obviously these western condo-conquerors either don’t know something their militaristic overlords do or the “authorities” are insanely overreacting to a threat that their minions on the other hand pooh-pooh.
In one way, like Joan and Katy say, it’s a complement to the Hawaiian sovereignty movement that the Amerikan powers that be think they need to arm themselves in response to kanaka demands for justice.
Lately it hasn’t been enough to have the cops and courts harass peaceful non violent protesters like those whose plight we’ve detailed or those in yesterday’s show trial for the handful of Maui denizens who were arraigned yesterday for their actions at Iolani Palace this summer, both in attempts to peacefully highlight injustices.
Now they are bringing armed guards to community meetings where both cultural and ethnic non-westerners might show up to challenge the very idea of their authority to desecrate, denigrate and commit genocide.
What’s next?- an naval armada to accompany a unwanted ferry boat and attack surfers and kayakers who are armed with only bathing suits and surfboards?.
Oh, wait...
Friday, August 8, 2008
BONEHEADED
BONEHEADED: All’s quiet on the northern front it seems- for at least another week..
As detailed on the front pages of the local and two Honolulu newspapers
and excellently reported by Kaua`i Eclectician Joan Conrow today all it took was a linked chain of defenders to stand up for justice in order to get a week reprieve in construction at the Naue graveyard owned by genocidal-maniac and illegal-vacation-rental-baron Joe Brescia until next Thursday when the case will be heard in court.
Belying the constant press reports that repeat the lie that Brescia is just a businessman who wants to build his house, his string of non-VDA vacation rentals- also cited as illegal by the State DLNR for their commercial activity in a conservation area- he continues to use his millions to slap the host culture in the face and buy administrative and judicial actions by corrupt self-serving boards, commissions and assorted government lackeys and legislators.
For Brescia this is no longer about building a house. It’s about a line in the sand to insure that money talks and people don’t matter in a cesspool of corruption like Hawai`i and specifically Kaua`i.
But an article accompanying the excellent on-site story by Blake Jones in the local paper provided coverage of the Kaua`i Burial Council meeting being held simultaneously with the north shore events and contained information that helps explain “how the heck did this guy get this far” in trying to build his pseudo-hotel in a graveyard.
The “new”- or new to us- fact reported was not what happened at the meeting but who chaired it- none other than the man cited recently here and in the pubic eye as the chief defender if corruption on Kaua`i- functionaries Mark Hubbard. .
Hubbard, as we previously detailed, is the former Grove Farm honcho whose own ethically challenged actions as head of the Kaua`i Ethics Board has led to establishment of a body that refuses to enforce the primary conflicts-of-interest laws on Kaua`i because he would have to leave his position if they did so.
Grove Farm- one of the largest land owners on Kauai-has had numerous projects stopped by discovery of iwi kupuna- bones of the dead of kanana maoli- and his presence on the council is as conflicted as conflicted can be.
The incident’s conclusion- the stand down by police and the establishment of a “people’s injunction” in place after the local judge refused to stop it- is driving the western property-rights nut-cases and self-absorbed, juvenile troll crowd up the wall because the police stood down and avoided a confrontation, presumably at the behest of new chief Darryl Perry.
Perry has again garnered, if not full support, at least respect from many in the community that have criticized the militarization of the local police force they fear will be used against non-violent civil disobedience such as yesterday’s direct action or the Superferry protests last year, including the harassment of the head of the Hawaiian sovereignty group Nation of Atooi. who was arrested and is bring tried in connection with the Superferry events.
It’s fun to watch steam coming out of the ears of some western invaders as they call for Perry’s head for this with their pathetic little bleatings of “death to all who would get between a rich man and his desires” and use the “rule of law” to call for more desecration.
But the problem is that genocide isn’t against the law because the one with the most money gets to say what the law says. Seems a couple of hundred years ago that attitude on the part of “the authorities” caused quite the little protest on the very mainland they come from and whose laws they cherish so.
Sorry to inform you but justice doesn’t come from laws. Laws are supposed to come from the concepts of justice.
Theoretically a governance by laws in a “nation of laws” provides justice. But it does not in the US these days.
The laws are written by corporate thieves and administered by corrupt petty bureaucrats like Hubbard and State Archeologist Nancy McMahon who lie as to what the law says and manipulate the system to make sure that justice is only for those who hire the most lawyers and have the right connections.
When that happens actions like those in Naue yesterday are not only understandable and predictable but are imperative. Despite what the self-obsessed maniacs of the property-rights movement try to tell us in their ratings and support for Brescia’s asinine behavior, the people have the real rights..
And when the law is flouted and manipulated and turned on its head they have every right to stand up to the law... to stand up for justice, not just adjudication.
The rule of law is subject to the consent of the ruled and when the other golden rule- he who has the gold, rules- is the law of the land, the ruled withdraw their consent and it can’t be blamed on those who will not follow the law but on those who do not join them is violating it..
If defenders of Naue are arrested next time, inappropriate questions like “what are you doing in jail” will be answered with the Thoreau retort of “what are you doing out there?”
When the law fails to provide justice and the ability to change the law is subject to others’ paying for their own versions of the laws, it’s time for revolutionary acts such as those in Naue yesterday.
As detailed on the front pages of the local and two Honolulu newspapers
and excellently reported by Kaua`i Eclectician Joan Conrow today all it took was a linked chain of defenders to stand up for justice in order to get a week reprieve in construction at the Naue graveyard owned by genocidal-maniac and illegal-vacation-rental-baron Joe Brescia until next Thursday when the case will be heard in court.
Belying the constant press reports that repeat the lie that Brescia is just a businessman who wants to build his house, his string of non-VDA vacation rentals- also cited as illegal by the State DLNR for their commercial activity in a conservation area- he continues to use his millions to slap the host culture in the face and buy administrative and judicial actions by corrupt self-serving boards, commissions and assorted government lackeys and legislators.
For Brescia this is no longer about building a house. It’s about a line in the sand to insure that money talks and people don’t matter in a cesspool of corruption like Hawai`i and specifically Kaua`i.
But an article accompanying the excellent on-site story by Blake Jones in the local paper provided coverage of the Kaua`i Burial Council meeting being held simultaneously with the north shore events and contained information that helps explain “how the heck did this guy get this far” in trying to build his pseudo-hotel in a graveyard.
The “new”- or new to us- fact reported was not what happened at the meeting but who chaired it- none other than the man cited recently here and in the pubic eye as the chief defender if corruption on Kaua`i- functionaries Mark Hubbard. .
Hubbard, as we previously detailed, is the former Grove Farm honcho whose own ethically challenged actions as head of the Kaua`i Ethics Board has led to establishment of a body that refuses to enforce the primary conflicts-of-interest laws on Kaua`i because he would have to leave his position if they did so.
Grove Farm- one of the largest land owners on Kauai-has had numerous projects stopped by discovery of iwi kupuna- bones of the dead of kanana maoli- and his presence on the council is as conflicted as conflicted can be.
The incident’s conclusion- the stand down by police and the establishment of a “people’s injunction” in place after the local judge refused to stop it- is driving the western property-rights nut-cases and self-absorbed, juvenile troll crowd up the wall because the police stood down and avoided a confrontation, presumably at the behest of new chief Darryl Perry.
Perry has again garnered, if not full support, at least respect from many in the community that have criticized the militarization of the local police force they fear will be used against non-violent civil disobedience such as yesterday’s direct action or the Superferry protests last year, including the harassment of the head of the Hawaiian sovereignty group Nation of Atooi. who was arrested and is bring tried in connection with the Superferry events.
It’s fun to watch steam coming out of the ears of some western invaders as they call for Perry’s head for this with their pathetic little bleatings of “death to all who would get between a rich man and his desires” and use the “rule of law” to call for more desecration.
But the problem is that genocide isn’t against the law because the one with the most money gets to say what the law says. Seems a couple of hundred years ago that attitude on the part of “the authorities” caused quite the little protest on the very mainland they come from and whose laws they cherish so.
Sorry to inform you but justice doesn’t come from laws. Laws are supposed to come from the concepts of justice.
Theoretically a governance by laws in a “nation of laws” provides justice. But it does not in the US these days.
The laws are written by corporate thieves and administered by corrupt petty bureaucrats like Hubbard and State Archeologist Nancy McMahon who lie as to what the law says and manipulate the system to make sure that justice is only for those who hire the most lawyers and have the right connections.
When that happens actions like those in Naue yesterday are not only understandable and predictable but are imperative. Despite what the self-obsessed maniacs of the property-rights movement try to tell us in their ratings and support for Brescia’s asinine behavior, the people have the real rights..
And when the law is flouted and manipulated and turned on its head they have every right to stand up to the law... to stand up for justice, not just adjudication.
The rule of law is subject to the consent of the ruled and when the other golden rule- he who has the gold, rules- is the law of the land, the ruled withdraw their consent and it can’t be blamed on those who will not follow the law but on those who do not join them is violating it..
If defenders of Naue are arrested next time, inappropriate questions like “what are you doing in jail” will be answered with the Thoreau retort of “what are you doing out there?”
When the law fails to provide justice and the ability to change the law is subject to others’ paying for their own versions of the laws, it’s time for revolutionary acts such as those in Naue yesterday.
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