Support local agriculture

What is the connection between taro farmers in Wailua, the price of rice, water, and you and me?

Yesterday Reuters News Service reported that “Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Sam’s Club will be limiting sales of rice due to recent supply and demand trends.” This news came as rice prices surged worldwide in part on worries about supply shortages.  Costco, as well, has reported it has seen increased demand for items like rice and flour, as customers, worried about global food shortages and rising prices, stock up.”

Food costs, as we all know, have soared here. They have soared worldwide, spurred by increased demand in emerging markets like China and India; by competition with biofuels and high oil prices and market speculation, sparking food riots around the world.

SO folks, it’s not rocket science to recognize that we must support local, sustainable agriculture here on Maui, that racing to Costco is not the answer. So when taro farmers aren’t getting enough stream water to grow healthy taro right here in our back yard, because that water is instead being used to grow sugar; when prime agricultural land is devoted to one mono-crop grown for export, or being removed from ag zoning to build more houses, we are not just shooting ourselves in the foot, we are shooting ourselves in the head.

Bodhi Be
Haiku, Maui



Yamashita out, Starr in?

Upcountry Representative Yamashita acts like he did us a favor by introducing his toothless resolution which does nothing to save Akaku public access TV from the corporations that want it  muzzled.

In fact, Representative Yamashita, Chair, refused to allow his committee to hold hearings on the bill introduced by Maui Senators Baker, Tsutsui and English. This was the bill which would have protected Akaku and clarified the procurement process so that Akaku would not become just another Big Media mouthpiece.

Representative Yamashita killed our public access TV protection bill. Why he would do this when his constituency was solidly in favor of protecting Akaku is a mystery that may only be answered when we see who has been contributing to his campaign.

With his vote in favor of the Superferry Bailout Bill and his killing of the bill to protect Akaku, it is clear that Representative Yamashita is out of touch with his district.

Let’s vote in Summer Starr (www.ElectSummer.com). She’s young but she’s smart and understands the issues. This time when Yamashita waves to us from Hana Highway, let’s wave bye-bye to him.

Karen Chun
Pa‘ia, Maui



Senate blocking progress in the Bureau of Conveyances

The Bureau of Conveyances spent last year working with staff, union and industry planning to put the Bureau online. The Bureau has signed a contract with the same vendor who placed the departments of Tax, Commerce, and Labor online. I informed the House and Senate back in July that we intended to put the Bureau on-line.

The Bureau receives 900 to 2,000 documents each day – at about 10 pages each. Our staff must scan 10,000 pages a day, plus enter data for every document. Allowing people to e-mail documents to the Bureau eliminates the scanning and data entry, is easier for all Hawaii residents, and saves paper. This simple step will reduce the current four-month recording process to less than one week. 

Senators Russell Kokubun and Jill Tokuda are blocking the necessary legislation and together are stopping progress in the Bureau.

Ironically, the Senate recognizes the benefits of electronic documents, as they themselves moved to a paperless system. In December 2007 the Senate President said she hoped taking the Senate on-line would “set an example for the rest of the state.”

Call your Senator and ask her/him to pass the House version of HB 2302 and allow the Bureau of Conveyances to go online this year.

Laura H. Thielen
Chairperson  Department of Land and Natural Resources



Aloha, not war

The Stryker Brigade will be calling Hawai‘i home. It’s ironic that since the U.S. claimed Hawai‘i, these islands once adored worldwide for aloha spirit have been used and abused by the military for war. How different could our world be if, instead of a training ground for fighting, Hawai‘i could be a training ground for aloha? Where people come to learn conflict transformation techniques. Where former adversaries – corporate and environmental leaders – come together to find common ground and build a consensus on environmental protection and economic development. Where facilitators, mediators and community-based organizers could come to learn how to solve political conflicts based on a common-ground multi-stakeholder approach, where all parties with a stake in the outcome are invited to a professionally facilitated dialogue to find win-win-win solutions. A triple win means that both sides in a conflict, and the larger community, benefit from the outcome.

There is a grain of truth on each side of any conflict. Healing, reconciliation and forgiveness are qualities we need to learn, more than how to fire a missile. The impact of globalization is generating many problems... economic, environmental and ethnic. These problems are  too complex and interconnected to be solved on an adversarial basis.
“You can’t solve a problem from the same level of consciousness that created the problem.” Hawaii should not be turning out soldiers learning better ways to kill; we need peaceful warriors willing to shift from an adversarial stance toward a cooperative, problem solving one.

It’s about participants generating a new “highest common denominator” and identifying something together that can be aspired to and worked towards. For example: “Revitalizing the health of the Honolua.”

When those who really care about an issue come together and bring the best thinking from their various perspectives, there is the potential for new options to be generated – options that neither side might have thought of on its own.

Aloha ‘aina.

Tamara Paltin
Kahana, Maui



Big Island bans smoking in outdoor public places

I am so proud of the Big Island and the initiative and bravery of the Hawaii County Council to ban smoking at public outdoor places, including county beaches and parks, golf courses, rodeo arenas, civic centers, etc. This is the type of leadership Hawaii needs right now. Smoking is a dangerous ugly habit and our children, as well as the rest of the non-smoking public, should not have to be exposed to the litter and second-hand smoke imposed by smokers. While not everyone throws their butts on the ground, there are a significant number of smokers who do, as any person who walks through any parking lot can see. This is a fair solution to the public problem of litter created by smokers. Another way to deal with the problem could be to test butts for DNA and start imposing the $500 litter fine, or not sell new packs to people unless they turn in their old butts. These might seem a bit extreme, but then again so is the problem of cigarette butt litter; it’s a cancer on our beautiful islands just like the cigarettes cause in smokers’ bodies.

Ka‘aka Malone
Wailuku, Maui


Property taxes should include trash collection

I was saddened to read in the April 27, 2008 Maui News that the County will close 1,100 delinquent trash accounts beginning May 10. Where are these people going to dump their trash? This is going to be catastrophic for our beautiful island of Maui! The entire island of Oahu, the City of Los Angeles, and many other cities and counties across America pay for trash collection 100 percent by property taxes. We should too! Property taxes are tax deductible, too!

How much of the $144 per year current trash fee goes for paying the special accounting department in the Environmental Management Department to open the mail and post the checks to a special computer program which is then handed to the drivers so they know whose trash to pick up and whose not to pick up? The Finance Department already receipts in all property taxes, and so this is duplication and wasteful. On Oahu, every household has a trash barrel which gets picked up, and every property tax payer gets a tax deduction on their federal income tax return. On Oahu the property tax even includes hauling away abandoned cars. And Oahu is a lot cleaner than Maui!!

Bob Babson
Kihei, Maui



Actions speak louder than words

I’d like to start off by sending mahalos to Bruce Douglas for coordinating another fun Earth Day event at Baldwin Beach.
While there were a lot of people getting their environmental messages out there to the people, I found one performer, “Elijah,” espousing the kind of irrational mindset that continues to divert from practical and realistic environmental sustainability movements. At the end of his performance he said to the audience, “We don’t need to save the whales, we just need to praise the whales.” It’s hard to know where to begin addressing the misguidedness of that statement, but I’ll just start by saying that praise will not save whales or other ocean inhabitants from continued threats such as military sonar testing, pollution and global warming.

I also witnessed Elijah brushing off a friend who was gathering signatures on a petition that will bring practical change to problems facing Maui by saying “I just have too many things going on to look at that.” I understand you’re just passing through Maui on your Whale Trail Tour, but the point of Earth Day is to actually do something that will help the earth. You might have started by listening to someone right in front of you who was offering you a chance to do something as simple as providing a signature that could cause real change, starting right here in Maui County.

In addition, Elijah offers this on his web-site:  “Will we continue on the same old path of his-story that makes excuses for hurting the Earth, and celebrates the misuse of power, or will we finally awaken as stewards of our Mother planet, and become present with the uprising, unifying force of Love that has created us all? It is because of this choice that lays before us, as well as the prayers that have been sent out for countless generations, that we have arrived. We have been birthed out of a collective call for divine guidance. And now WE ARE HERE, as elder beings in the form of youth, as your children, as your own inner knowing, and we have come to ask you a question: Are you ready for guidance? Are you ready to be divine?”

I think Elijah’s words embody a misguided philosophy I have encountered a lot on Maui. Offers of guidance to become divine (like God) is not going to get us anywhere to further environmental causes that will save our planet. This kind of language, while seemingly positive and unifying, is just offering religious ideology, which has been proven historically to be divisive and destructive. Only aggressive activism and social revolution will bring about the political and economic changes that might repair the extensive damage done to our reeling planetary ecosystem.

For those on the same wavelength as Elijah who want to save something, praise such religious zealotry if you will, but let’s keep it separate from social and political issues and start acting for positive change within the bounds of reality we all share. It might all be an illusion, but it’s the only illusion we have.

Geoff Moore
Huelo, Maui

Moratorium on GMO taro vital
I was happy to hear about the moratorium on GMO testing of taro. I believe GMOs are dangerous. The onus is on producers of GMOs to prove they are not dangerous.

Creating a GMO is an inexact science which forcibly inserts a foreign gene from one organism into the DNA gene chain of a host organism. In the name of science, GMOs are produced under preposterously unscientific conditions. The EPA, FDA and DLNR failed their duties with the irresponsible assumption of the benign absorption of GMO species into the environment and allowing GMO planting and distribution.

The resistance to accurate, scientific testing is because our science can’t test it. The scientific method comes to a grinding halt the moment foreign genetic material is inserted into its host.  The process is random and the results unpredictable. The scientist cannot isolate the insertion point within the host’s genetic chain and each insertion creates different, unknown results (see Institute of Science in Society, www.i-sis.org.uk/FAQ.php). In addition, we can’t measure the micro-interactions of the foreign gene within the host’s chain and the integrity of the insert is often lost. In other words, the caboose, or maboose, probably won’t be at the end of the train, and no one knows where the train is going.

Logic alone can deduce the dangers of GMOs. Consider invasive species. Species become invasive when the ones that can survive also have no natural predators. Species have evolved over millions of years to eat particular diets and eating a foreign substance may result in discomfort or disease. How do highly evolved, specialized organs and cells recognize, react to, and process a hepatitis gene nestled within corn’s genetic sequence? How do bees react to these micro-mutations?

Agricultural and environmental health is achieved by restoring and accentuating natural ecosystems, not by introducing capitalistic pseudo-science into an environment which was not broke, but already overtaxed, destroyed and mismanaged. We survive on nature’s predictability, science is governed by it, but human practices make nature less predictable and less reliable everyday.

Joan Pawsat
Makawao



Outrage at lost Aloha air miles
I found it outrageous that First Hawaiian Bank (FHB) chose not to take any responsibility for protecting their customers from the impending end of their Aloha Air Miles program. I, like thousands of others, lost all these much collected miles using my FHB credit card, which FHB and Aloha Airlines have been pushing for years.

FHB had to know of the impending closure of Aloha and just said “NO” in protecting their loyal customers, as I have been for over 40 years.

They should have made a deal with United Airlines, their partner to honor the miles and in doing so, ensuring their reputation with the public.

Recently, FHB has mailed out a new credit rewards program to the cardholders, ignoring the fact that in reality, they have lost all credibility.

I have cut up their credit card and I hope you do too.

Ira Ono
Volcano, Hawaii



Message to Maui from Ireland
Please accept these shared thoughts by way of apology to the native Hawaiians of this paradise, Maui. To come and visit as a malihini only, to learn your wonderful culture a me nä po‘e maika‘i i ka wa kahiko.

What price is “development?” The taro fields of your ancestors being depleted, concrete, traffic, and dollars. To witness your keiki nani loa play at the beach, their laughter and happiness. It is like the times of old, yet they speak a foreign ‘olelo now. On entry to your country, malihini have to complete a Department of Agriculture sheet headed “State of Hawaii.”

Yet we come to see, feel and hear the vibrancy of your ‘aina. To leave these islands untouched by not buying property, by removing trash from the beach, to travel by bicycle or public transport, and not use hotels. To cherish and value your culture and your sovereign soil. This is the essence of ho‘opo‘ono. Remember always the vision of HRH Prince Kuhio; his dream will prevail.

The “tyranny of the majority” is not always pono. We can only hope ancestral wisdom will lanakila.

Andre (Anakela) O’Sullivan
Cork, Ireland



Unborn babies have no choice
I’m very pro-life. Abortion hurts women and their children. The baby has no rights and the woman has all the rights. If a baby had rights, then they wouldn’t want to be aborted. The reason I’m so pro-life is because I was adopted, and if my real mom would have had an abortion, I wouldn’t be here today, and that is why I’m so pro-life. And there are so many people who want to adopt – why abort them? Why do we have to kill everything all the time? If a person kills someone they go to jail, but if you are an abortion doctor and kill babies for a living, you are a hero and don’t go to jail. Where is the justice in that?

Thank you,

Dean Clark
Langley, BC, Canada



Success in Iraq?
The U.S. has been in Iraq for over five years now. Some leaders – Bush, McCain, Petraeus – claim we are experiencing success for our efforts.  From where I stand, I find success hard to find concerning our five year effort. I do not feel any safer now, oil is more expensive than ever, along with the cost of living expenses, and many people are losing their jobs as our national debt gets bigger everyday. So I guess my question to those leaders who would commit to indefinite U.S. presence in Iraq, is what is your definition of success, because it seems obvious it does not match mine.

Rayna Foster
Lahaina



In defense of Michelle Anderson
Alan Arakawa’s Maui News viewpoint attack on County Councilmember Michelle Anderson was uncalled for. It is only common sense; we live on an island so there must be a carrying capacity that is directly proportionate to the amount of water available. If it were so easy to create new sources of water, would deserts all over the world remain deserts? 
Surface water is dependent on rainfall, which is not necessarily a reliable source of water. Citing lack of water as a reason to prevent further irresponsible development (golf courses in deserts) is a wise decision. After Mayor Tavares’ Wailea 670 decision, Council Member Anderson is the best candidate we have for the next mayor of Maui, and this is probably the real sour grapes reason for the personal attack from Arakawa. 

In my opinion, if Arakawa wants to focus on something he should start with why he allowed a central Maui development (Maui Lani) to illegally back-fill their project, creating lawsuits and a long list of other problems for neighbors living near by. Shame on you, Arakawa.

Kim Santos
Lahaina



Cane ash toxic, not poetic
The poetic pictures from Island Girl of soot and ash, “Black sooty ash fell like conversation on lawn chairs and bright green ferns. It fell on the asphalt shingles of my neighbor’s roof and lay there, rocking gently in the still air. Black soot lay weightless on the dewy grass, evaporating even as I watched. Long black curls hung in spider webs and as the day progressed I swept them from trees with a crooked stick,” could have included, “curlicues of burnt PVC plastic from the irrigation piping left to burn along with the sweet smelling cane.” Archaic process this, and the environment pays another hidden cost of the subsidized sugar industry. Not so hidden is the one ton of water needed to produce one pound of sugar. Could not more sustainable crops be grown that are not so harmful to Maui on the cane acres?

Kip Smith
Culloden, Prince Edward Island, Canada



Tourism a precious resource
Let me preface this by saying up front, I am not a resident of Maui but from time to time, I come on extended work-related ventures and stay months at a time. My stays on the island are frequent and give me an intimate knowledge of South Maui. Since my interests are primarily diving and photography, both landscape and underwater, my points are primarily directed toward water sports.

I am disturbed to learn of recent proposals by Maui County Parks and Recreation regarding changes for Maui water sport businesses. If I read these correctly, the changes and extra restrictions would make it almost impossible for many to stay in business and those who would survive would do so on such a limited margin that it would probably force them to make dangerous shortcuts in their business models that are not regulated by Maui County. It seems that eliminating doing business on Sundays, Federal Holidays  and evenings would greatly reduce their income while preventing residents who work typical 8-5 jobs Monday through Friday, from taking advantage of their services except on Saturdays. There are a lot of us who enjoy guided dives in the evening and it sounds like this would be eliminated entirely.
By reducing the places they would be able to do business from three beach parks  to one would not allow them to change locations for activities on a moment’s notice due to surge, weather or any other condition that would require quick decisions and may force them to cancel completely.

You have some of the most professional diving instructors on the face of the earth on Maui.

I’ve been in a lot of places on the mainland as well as the Caribbean and have never found any that would compare to the safety provided by Maui’s professionals. They are first class in instruction and certification and provide a needed service and are qualified rescue divers, which should satisfy the Coast Guard lifeguard requirements. Not only are they the standard for safety, they are staunch protectors of the wildlife and environment, and visitors go away with a deep appreciation for the land, beauty and the culture. That’s what keeps us coming back time and time again. If these changes go through, many will be forced out the very businesses that attract visitors to Maui. Without their professionalism, Maui and Hawaii in general will suffer. Not only do I come to Maui with my company, I also come on my free time and spend money. It must be said that if the businesses I support can no longer function, there would be little attraction for me to come. Not only me, but return visitors as well would see a reduction of attractions. 

Tourism is one of your most precious resources so please reconsider how these new proposals will affect business and Maui. Thank you for your time and your consideration on this matter.

Sincerely, C. R Albritto
Geismar, Louisiana

BAIL OUT Aloha Now!
With all the illegal funding given to an illegal business through an illegal Special Session to the Hawaii Superferry, none of you are outraged that an established and necessary mode of travel for the Hawaiian Islands has been abandoned?
You should, at the very least, be embarrassed; it’s an appalling failure of state.
There is something wrong with the thinking or lack of, that allowed this to go so far. Be mindful of the ramifications this can create.
Immediate emergency bailout needs to start today for Aloha Airlines. Retrieve the misappropriated tax dollars from the Superferry and Harbors fund and get Aloha Airlines operational. After all, it is in the “public interest.” A compelling one.  Apply the “expeditiously” part that motivated you for Superferry. These are real jobs at Aloha, not on-the-spot employment as was fabricated for Superferry.
By not saving Aloha, you eliminate the public interest criterion for Superferry validation, because alternate and necessary are two very different things: Aloha is necessary and proven. An investigation into the administration should take on a new aspect if Lingle turns her back on Aloha.


Wailea 670 a wolf in sheep’s clothing
The need for affordable housing on Maui is critical and we need to pursue all logical and reasonable avenues to create more affordable housing opportunities for our citizens.
However, Wailea 670 is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, pretending to provide for the needs of the working people but in fact will quickly evolve into another situation of bidding wars, lotteries and increased pricing.
More importantly, where is the WATER going to come from? As I understand it, there have been promises of wells as the source. If wells are so obvious a source, why don’t we drill for wells to assuage our drought conditions? Upcountry farmers are already suffering from lack of water, and angry that their precious water and livelihoods are threatened by Kihei/Wailea’s huge water consumption habit, water that is primarily diverted to golf courses and resorts. Additionally, there’s the continually worsening traffic problem and lack of ancillary services.
Obviously we can’t rely on our current elected officials to protect our interests. We have systematically disenfranchised the working people from this island and we no longer have a base of “workers,” yet we continue to build more upscale residential properties for people who will demand and require more services!
 The so called affordable housing is not enough. It’s akin to building slave quarters on a plantation. What’s next, replacing the sugar cane with cotton, learning “old Hawaiian spirituals” and building encampments in the fields? Once underway, there’s no turning back and the old adage of “do it now and apologize later” will be ringing in all of our ears. Let’s, at the very least, require proof of a reliable and sustainable water source before plunging headlong into another abyss of proud and impenetrable ignorance and unabashed greed.


USA sovereignty is being destroyed
The United States was created by the 13 individual states that existed in 1789. They established a federal government with limited powers and very few duties. Each state was to remain independent in most areas.
The people could control federal spending because they elected the members of the U.S. House of Representatives, where all money bills must originate. The state legislatures could control federal interference because they elected the members of the U.S. Senate. In 1913, 36 states passed the 17th Amendment to allow voters to directly elect their U.S. Senators.
Since then, the federal government has usurped many powers of the states. We are rapidly becoming a police state. The President is now allowing warrantless seizes and searches, torture, and many other unconstitutional activities. He also is suspending habeas corpus, our right to face criminal accusations in a court of law.
The feds also plan to merge the United States with Mexico and Canada into a sovereignty-destroying regional government with open borders called the North American Union (NAU) by 2010. Go to www.thenewamerican.com for NAU details. Americans need to demand that the feds obey our Constitution now, or we soon will be governed by officials we did not elect, just like the European Union is today.

Thief takes $1000 in Sierra Club donations

On Saturday, March 8th at the Haiku Ho‘olaulea and Flower Festival, Sierra Club volunteers were excited about what could be their best annual fundraiser ever as the receipts from their plant sale were approaching $1,000. During the split second when one of the volunteers turned to accept payment, a sneak thief grabbed the cash box and took off.

The empty box was later recovered and police are holding it for finger print evidence. Witnesses describe the thief as a 40-50 year-old Caucasian woman of medium build with dark hair. The Sierra Club is advising anyone who paid by check to stop payment and asking that banks and check cashing organizations  be on the lookout for anyone trying to cash checks made out to Sierra Club Maui.

The plant sale is the Maui Group’s major annual fundraiser. “We really went all out this year and our donors came through for us,” said Jeanne Androvich, Sierra Club Fundraiser Chair. “It’s so unfortunate that this happened – especially since we really needed the money.”

The Sierra Club is a nonprofit community organization which seeks to educate and involve the public in solutions for a wide range of environmental issues. They lead hikes and conduct community service projects while acting as a watchdog to prevent Maui’s special places from being damaged. 

For anyone who wants to help the Maui Group of the Sierra Club, donations can be sent to: P.O. Box 791180, Paia, HI 96779.

Their website is: www.hi.sierraclub.org/maui/.

Bob Babson
Kihei
Sierra Club Maui Treasurer


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Keep Pacific Biodeisel open!

The following are my concerns:
1. Maui be allowed to retain the brilliant company Pacific Biodiesel in their current location at the landfill.

2. Pacific Biodiesel’s energy and focus be conserved and dedicated to their good work instead of bringing them the wasteful problem of closing down.

3. The maintenance of Pacific Biodiesel services and their Biodiesel product being steadily available to Maui County’s community.

4. Above all, the preservation and support of the aina, as is also within Pacific Biodiesel’s innovative business model design and the rewards of their work, as well as their effect on the community as an example of what is possible when ethics are aligned with the power and the beauty of our ature.

Under no circumstances are there sufficient reasons to even consider ending the current landfill use by Pacific Biodiesel.
As well, current operations were developed with faith in the legality of the County contract.

Pacific Biodiesel offers an outstanding product while also making a great benefit out of a waste product that is a problem to dispose of and can not be land-filled.

Do whatever you must to ensure that Maui retains the blessing of Pacific Biodiesel running their business without interruption, and with your full support.

Please consider that Maui is poised to stand as an example, a role model using regenerative design, by closing the cycle by turning a “waste” into a resource, and for utilizing nature’s intrinsic wisdom when Maui County supports such sound practices and a business such as Pacific Biodiesel.

Their current Biodiesel facility is a model for the nation and the world.

Simplify, simplify, simplify; Please put the well being of our island family, our cou