Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:45:38 -1000>
From: Lela M. Hubbard <lmhubbardhawaiiantel.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.> >

The 5,280-acre Ahupua'a 'O Kahana State Park is a cultural living park>
where families provide 25 hours a month of cultural activities for>
visitors and do other work in exchange for a lease to live there.> But
after 30 years, the living cultural aspect of the park is being>
questioned and some who once were told they could have a lease are being>
pushed out. Residents said poor planning by the state Department of Land>
and Natural Resources and flawed laws are at fault.> >

Sunny Greer, a Kahana Valley resident who is not being evicted, said>
failure to comply with Western law and rules is forcing people out and>
creating a divide-and-conquer atmosphere.> > '

'They want us out,' Greer said. 'They're picking on each and every one of>
us until there's not any one of us left. What hurts me is, that for which>
our ancestors a generation ago worked so hard for, the long-term leases,>
has now divided us. We're waiting for someone to default (in order to get>
their lease).'> >

Greer said the state is trying to use Western law to govern Hawaiian>
culture, and the two don't mix.> >

DLNR declined to comment but did provide a written statement about the>
eviction.> >

It said six families must leave the park because they do not have>
residential leases or permits to live there. A law that provided for>
long-term leases there expired in 1993 and no new leases can be issued,>
DLNR said. Final notice was posted Wednesday.> >

'This is in keeping with the public park purpose that would be impacted
by> an expanded residential subdivision in the park,' said Laura H.
Thielen,> DLNR chairwoman. 'With the enactment of Act 5 by the state
Legislature in> 1987, the state sought to accommodate families with ties
to Kahana, but it> was not the intent of the state or Legislature to
provide housing for all> those in future generations.> >

'If new lots were permitted, ultimately the park would be displaced by a>
subdivision. We are seeking a balance between the public's use of Kahana>
as a park with the desire of families to reside here,' she said.> >

Lacking a master plan> >

Many questioned the state's resolve in creating a living park for the>
public.> >

Greer said the key to the park's success is a master plan, but the state>
hasn't created one and did nothing with the one produced by residents in>
1985.> > '

'I don't think there was much thought or even much good-faith effort in>
fulfilling this living aspect of this cultural living park,' she said.>
'There seems to be more emphases on parks and not the living aspect.'> >

Four years ago, the state evicted a family from the shore of Kahana Bay>
saying it wanted to provide more park space, said Thoran Evans, who is>
being evicted. But the land is chained off, overgrown with weeds and a>
dumping ground for trash, Evans said.> >

DLNR operates the park piecemeal with inconsistent rules that don't seem>
to apply to everyone equally, he complained.> >

Evans had been trying to regain a family lease that was under his
sister's> name. She was unable to get financing and was behind in the
number of> hours she was required to work, he said. Apparently the state
sent her a> letter revoking her lease, but she never received it, he said.
Evans said> that when he called the state, he learned the letter was
sitting on> someone's desk, never opened.> >

'I don't understand why they took it away in the beginning,' he said. 'My>
family wasn't notified. If we were notified we were in trouble with the>
lease, we would do whatever is possible to get caught up.'> >

Evans said his family has tried to meet the monthly work requirement but>
there are few activities to work on. Some families do maintenance to>
fulfill the requirement, but when his family asked for the same>
opportunity, it was denied, he said.> >

'I felt really discriminated against,' Evans said. 'Our family, no matter>
what we tried to do, we're just pushed aside for some reason.'> >

Each family is being evicted for various reasons, said Ervin Kahala, who>
was told in 2000 that he would get a lease, but earlier this year learned>
that a new interpretation of the law forbids the state from issuing new>
leases even though he grew up in the valley and has ancestral ties to it.>
>

'I'm not prejudiced but (the state) is using white man's law as an>
excuse,' Kahala said.> >

Act 5 provisions> >

The law he referred to is Act 5, adopted by the state Legislature in 1987>
that set up the living park concept and provided 31 leases to families
who> could prove they had a history there. DLNR took six years to finalize
the> leases but no provisions were made for extended family.> >

Kahala said he spent thousands of dollars preparing the land, acquiring>
blueprints and getting paperwork in order. He and Evans said they were>
both promised leases and there are leases available out of the original>
31.> >

Some 30 people will be evicted, and some residents said their departure>
will create safety problems. They said many of those affected live in a>
flood plain in the lower valley where they are the eyes and ears of the>
community. They live near the entrance and make sure the grass is trimmed>
and children are visible to drivers.> >

Charmaine Kahala, Ervin Kahala's sister-in-law who lives in the valley
but> is not being evicted, said she sent a letter to the state asking it
to> reconsider its eviction. She predicted the grass would grow long,
homeless> people would move in, drugs would become an issue and state
buildings in> the lower section would be subject to vandalism.> >

'I'm not fighting the eviction,' she said, but she wanted assurance that>
children would be safe. The state did not respond to her letter, she
said.> >

Jessica Wooley, an attorney running as a Democrat for state
representative> in the 47th District, which includes Kahana, said she also
wrote a letter> asking the state to hold off on the evictions and to meet
with her. Wooley> said she had represented another family in the valley
and helped them keep> their lease.> >

'I'm sure that the families haven't been perfect, but the way that it's>
set up right now, it's not workable,' she said. 'The laws that were
passed> to deal with the land over there are old and they need to be
revised.> >

'The state pushing forward with eviction right now shows a total lack of>
compassion and responsibility on the state's part.'> >

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiarhonoluluadvertiser.com >
----

KUE, KUE, KUE>

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