DEATH KNELL SOUNDING FOR KOKE`E;
STATE SAYS "'TAIN'T YO' MOUNTAIN NO MO'"
It's hard to tell exactly what's going down up there from down
here but one thing is clear- there is some bad mojo surrounding
Koke`e these days, much of it at the hands of one Frank Hay, friend
of the chemical companies, the military and other Westside
abominations.
Not to mention the state Department of Land and Natural Resources
(DLNR) which, while the people of Kaua`i have always seen the trees
and recreational opportunities, sees only dollar signs.
Hay- the President
of the Hui O Laka Museum's Board of Trustees*- is the one who almost
single-handedly
removed
long time museum Executive Director Marsha Erickson recently.
Many say that in part it's because she supported the
pesticide-and-GMO-disclosing, buffer-zone-creating, study-enabling
Bill 2491... that and her support of those who have opposed the
massive commercial development of Koke`e that's been proposed by the
DLNR for many years.
And Erickson may not have been the only one purged- others say
they have been summarily removed from the mountain one way or another
through various efforts of Hay, the DLNR and their minions.
But although Hay has attempted to obscure the reasons for
Erickson's departure it may be becoming clearer with unconfirmed
reports that the lodge has been taken over by Aston Resorts and the
CCC Camp- which Erickson brought back from the dead during her Koke`e
tenure- is the target of a takeover by the state's nebulous
Agrobuniness Development Corporation (ADC).
The ADC is another one of those "Public Land Development
Corporation (PLDC)-type state creations that leases "state"
land (actually stolen Hawaiian land) and, perhaps unconstitutionally,
bypasses local land use laws.
While the PLDC was repealed by the state legislature last year the
ADC continues to operate under the radar of most activists, leasing
out much of the land used by the chemical companies for their
genetically modified (GM) foods and related restricted-use-pesticide
(RUP) experiments, with sweetheart deals at outrageously low prices.
In addition the chemical companies' new best friend, Koke`e State
Representative Dee Morikawa- who has introduced and vehemently
defended a bill in the state legislature to essentially overturn Bill
2491 (now ordinance 960) and a Hawai`i Island ordinance banning new
open-air GM experiments- has
introduced
a bill to abolish the Koke`e State Advisory Council
At one time back in the 60's residents had to battle to stop plans
for making Koke`e a national park and allowed the state to take over
as an alternative. And ever since the state has eyed the Kaua`i
playground as a cash cow.
Despite adamant opposition by that pesky advisory council and the
near unanimous opposition by the island-wide community to plans that
include concessions at the lookouts, turning the lodge into a hotel
and putting a gate up to charge admission, the Board of Land and
Natural Resources (BLNR) has, of late, unilaterally pushed forward
with their commercialization plans which had been abandoned due to
opposition over and over for decades.
It's been hard enough to keep the city and county at bay. They
seem to have some kind of entitlement mindset that says that going in
and taking whatever you want without asking is not just okay but that
it's us that are exhibiting a lack of aloha for saying "no"-
as the battles over the SuperFerry and the current undersea electric
cable have so well crystallized.
But when Morikawa- the very one elected to protect Koke`e- turns
Benedict Arnold on us our chances at protecting what makes Kaua`i
special approach zero.
*
Note: the original has been edited to remove the statement that
Frank Hay is the current head of the Koke`e Advisory Council. We
apologist for the error.
Note: the original has been edited to remove the statement that
Frank Hay is the current head of the Koke`e Advisory Council. We
apologist for the error.
