Save Kauai brings together current information about Kauai and web-based tools that allow you to take action. If we want to affect the future of Kauai in a pono way we must organize and begin implementing solutions, not just fighting the problems.
Aloha 'Aina, Imua Kakou!
Friday, November 21, 2008
From: http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/21/news/kauai_news/doc49266ab...
This is Part 2 in a series, for Part 1 go to: http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/19/news/kauai_news/doc4923bc3...
"Hikers, hunters propose trail fixes"
Controlling erosion key to maintaining Na Pali Coast
By Nathan Eagle - The Garden Island - November 21, 2008
NA PALI COAST — "Feral goats and pigs are trampling over the rugged cliffs and lush valleys along the North Shore, creating an unnatural erosion process that hampers trail maintenance and silts the reefs, environmental advocates say.
The damage caused by these invasive species must be repaired if residents are serious about protecting native ecosystems and preserving the world-renowned Na Pali Coast Trail, they said.
Hikers, hunters and assorted local experts recently offered solutions to better manage the state wilderness park.
Bill Summers, 42, spent the last 16 months voluntarily improving the most dangerous portions of the 11-mile path that connects Ke‘e Beach to Kalalau Valley.
He invested thousands of hours of sweat to widen and reshape sections of the trail that force hikers to almost literally hug the cliff as they skirt around exposed corners hundreds of feet above the ocean. After finding himself being forced to return to the same spots for maintenance, he realized the first step in a lasting solution is tackling the source of the erosion.More hunters need to kill more wild pigs and goats, Summers said.
First passport-holding Korean tourists arrive
http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/18/news/kauai_news//doc492268...
By The Garden Island
Published: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 1:14 AM HST
The first of many South Korean tourists taking advantage of a new program that makes it easier for them to travel to the United States arrived yesterday in Honolulu.
Sixteen South Koreans are visiting Honolulu under the United States’ visa waiver program, which allows people from the Asian nation to use a passport rather than go through the process and costs of acquiring a visa.
“It was very easy and comfortable,” said Moon Byung-cheal, one of the passengers on the eight-hour Korean Air flight who plans to see Waikiki Beach, Iolani Palace and take a sunset cruise during his four-day visit. “A lot of people are going to be able to come because of this simple and easy process.”
The U.S. attracts about 800,000 Korean visitors per year currently, and that number could double in 2009 because of this program, said Austin Kang, co-chair of the Korean Visa Waiver Committee.
In Hawai‘i, tourists from South Korea could double to 80,000 next year and quadruple to 160,000 by 2010, Kang said.
“We have been waiting for this for a long time,” he said. “Korea has been one of the strongest allies to the United States in the fight against communism, so Korea deserves this visa waiver.”
Inouye To Take Over Senate's Most Powerful Committee
Sen. Byrd Steps Down From Chairmanship After 10 Years
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27597643/
HONOLULU - Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye on Friday learned he will be given the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee after the current leader stepped down from the U.S. Senate's most powerful committee in Congress.
Inouye takes over for Sen. Robert Byrd, who led the committee for the past 10 years. Byrd is the Senate's longest-serving senator. Byrd turns 92 later this month.
He will officially take over the position on Nov. 18 when the Democrats meet in caucus.
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"Senator Daniel Inouye has stood in line for many years and now his time has come. He is my friend. He is a genuine American hero. He will be a skillful and fair Chairman of the Appropriations Committee because he is a man of outstanding character and great wisdom," Byrd said in a written statement.
Inouye would lead the committee that holds the purse strings of the government.
The 90-year-old West Virginia Democrat has become increasingly frail in recent years, so the move didn't come as a surprise. Democratic leaders had sent signals that they hoped Byrd would step aside to make room for more active leadership on the panel, which is among the most important in Congress for its control over federal agencies' budgets.
Byrd has used the post to send billions of federal dollars to his state -- for roads, universities and economic development projects.
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:45:38 -1000>
From: Lela M. Hubbard <lmhubbard
hawaiiantel.net>
Please ask the Governor and Lt. Governor to stop these unfair and
unconscionable evictions by sending them this EMail or one you compose.>
Governor.Linglehawaii.gov">Governor.Linglehawaii.gov ltgovhawaii.gov >
Please send this to your EMail List post haste.>
Also only if hundreds are at Kahana Valley at 12;01 AM Monday would we be
able to physically stop this. Usually evictions occur in the early
morning.>
Many of us were part of the original protests for the preservation of this
living cultural park.
Earlier in the year I left a power point presentation on the evolution of
our gathering rights and other rights in the State Constitution which was
presented to the Honolulu Civic Club Club by a student of Melodie
MacKenzie from the UH Law School with a DLNR officer who was part of the
Mokuleia rousting of a child. DLNR was abusing those rights re overnight
fishermen; I thought the presentation could educate them.>
Please call me at 487-2311 or Ikaika Hussey at 221-2843 if you can make
the camp in Sunday night..> Mahalo,> Lela M. Hubbard> Na Koa Ikaika> >
*******
Saturday, October 25, 2008 Honolulu Advertiser> >
State Evicting Some Residents From Kahana Valley Cultural Park>
Residents say flawed laws hurting those with ancestral ties> >
By Eloise Aguiar, Advertiser Windward Writer> >
KAHANA After living in Kahana Valley for generations, families that once>
fought the state for the right to stay there and won now face eviction> on
Monday.> >
From Gary Hooser: http://garyhooser.livejournal.com/25661.html
Hawaii Energy Proposal - Transformational
The recent agreement reached between the State of Hawaii and HECO, the State’s primary energy provider has the potential to fundamentally transform the future of energy in our state.
Unfortunately the local newspapers chose to focus only on the sexy, expensive and potentially controversial proposal to lay an undersea cable between Maui County and the City and County of Honolulu.
The Honolulu Advertiser http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081021/NEWS01/810210358/1001
The Honolulu Star Bulletin http://www.starbulletin.com/news/hawaiinews/20081021_Isles_power_up_clea...
Totally missing from the stories covered in local media were the provisions on decoupling and feed-in tariff. Also missing from the local news was the lifting of net metering caps, the raising of the Portfolio Standards, the removal of “efficiency savings” from the Portfolio Standard definitions, the restriction against the development of new fossil fuel generators, and numerous other innovative and forward thinking proposals.
This agreement represents the culmination of years of groundwork that has been set into place by the legislature and the recent efforts and very productive collaboration between the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and the U.S. Department of Energy.
A summary of the agreement:
1) Agreement to an additional 1,000 MW of renewable energy resources on Oahu
To truly appreciate the Hawaii State Constitution one needs to understand its evolution.
The Hawaii State Constitution was adopted by the people of Hawaii on November 7, 1950 as the basic framework for Hawaii’s representative form of government. The convening of the 1950 constitutional convention was viewed as important statement to the rest of the United States that Hawaii was a serious and organized candidate for statehood.
The 1968 con con centered around the issue of apportionment, triggered when the 1964 reapportionment formula was found to be federally unconstitutional and where the U.S. Supreme Court required the convening of a con con question to be placed on the ballot.
The last convention, the 1978 con con, was a systematic review of this important document. Promoted as the people’s convention, there was an active campaign to dissuade elected officials to run for the con con. The result was a process that incorporated a Democratic platform of social justice and civic responsibility as well as Hawaiian thought and design which I believe resulted in a progressive document that reflects the values of a Hawaii we can all aspire to as a community for many generations to come.
We need only to read the preamble to get a sense of how uniquely Hawaiian this document is:
We, the people of Hawaii, grateful for Divine Guidance, and mindful of our Hawaiian heritage and uniqueness as an island State, dedicate our efforts to fulfill the philosophy decreed by the Hawaii State motto, "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono."
http://honoluluweekly.com/cover/2008/10/learning-to-dance-the-concon/
Learning to dance the ConCon
Hawai'i voters approach a big decision with little fanfare
by Joan Conrow / 10-8-2008
Learning to dance the ConCon
Never hold a ConCon in a down economic time, an O’ahu political insider recently observed, or you just might end up with nuclear power plants in Hawai’i.
Nuclear energy is just one of many hot topics that could be taken up if voters say yes to a Constitutional Convention, or ConCon, on the Nov. 4, ballot. Others include dismantling the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), decentralizing the board of education through local school boards, changing the state attorney general from an appointed to an elected position, forming a new department of energy and various social issues, such as same-sex marriage and abortion.
But discussions about a ConCon so far have focused mainly on the cost–estimated by the Legislative Reference Bureau at $6.4 million to $41.7 million–of conducting such a session, rather than whether it’s needed or the subjects that might be addressed.
“I don’t think there’s been public interest in having a ConCon,” said Rep. Mina Morita (D-14, Northeast Kaua’i). “It’s not a top of mind issue.”
Submitted as a letter to the editor by Henry Curtis
On October 20, 2008, the Hawaii Governor, the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), the Department of commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Hawaii Electric Company (HECO), Maui Electric Company (MECO), and the Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO) signed a ''sweeping agreement'' on the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative.
One of their proposal is to change the name of the utility planning process from Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) to Clean Energy Scenario Planning (CESP).
On the plus side, the CESP would require disclosure of additional transmission and distribution information, and greater focus on developing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
But there are very serious downsides.
Currently utilities make three separate sequential filings with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC): first in the IRP (for informational purposes), second in an application for a project, and third in a rate case for recovery of costs.
In a rate case the utility must show that the completed project is ''used and useful'', that it is required for reliable service, in order to recover the costs of the project from ratepayers.
Under the CESP, inclusion of a project in the Preferred Plan establishes a ''presumption of need in any subsequent siting proceeding'' (i.e., the application) and once need has been determined, it makes rate recovery easier.
See videos at: http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/10629/40/
and: http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/10647/108/
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081021/NEWS01/810210358/1001...
Posted on: Tuesday, October 21, 2008
"Ambitious plan for wind power"
State officials, HECO sign a deal...
By Rick Daysog
Advertiser Staff Writer
"About a third of O'ahu's electricity needs could someday be met by wind farms, under a sweeping agreement signed yesterday by state officials and Hawaiian Electric Co.
Gov. Linda Lingle said the accord will help reduce the state's dependence on foreign oil, improve the reliability of HECO's electrical system and boost the state economy by keeping hundreds of millions of dollars in Hawai'i that would otherwise be sent to foreign oil producers.
"This agreement is historic. It's transformational, and it will make Hawai'i a world leader and a model in renewable energy," Lingle said.
But critics say the plan would be costly for consumers and relies too heavily on wind power at the expense of cheaper technologies such as solar energy.
"It's a bunch of hot air," said Henry Curtis, executive director of the environmental group Life of the Land Hawaii.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081015/BUSINESS21/810150352/...
Posted on: Wednesday, October 15, 2008
"Isles score low in renewable study"
Advertiser Staff
Hawai'i has failed in some parts of its renewable energy policy while being just average in others, according to a report issued yesterday by a New York-based environmental group.
The report by the Network for New Energy Choices gave the state a failing grade when it came to the technical rules governing how home and small renewable energy projects connect with electrical transmission grids.
It also said the state merits a "C" grade when it comes to net metering, or the billing arrangement customers use to realize savings when they feed energy into utility grids.
The two policies are not widely understood by the general public, but are seen as being crucial to the development of renewable energy such as photovoltaic systems in use by homeowners and businesses. Such policies can cap growth of renewable energy if they restrict how much electricity can be sent into utility grids, or the size of the systems attaching to the grids.
While the authors tried to objectively grade policies in each state, they appeared to not understand the nature of Hawai'i's energy market, said Peter Rosegg, a Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman. He said Hawai'i shouldn't be held to the same standards used to judge states with large Mainland grids that can draw power from other states.
