Local, Island of Kauai

TONIGHT: BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION! WHERE ARE WE GOING?

andrea — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:29:32 -0800

KAUA`I- It is time to ride the wave of “together we can” energy that was produced by both the national and local elections in an action and collaboration-oriented Kaua`i-Roundtable, on Thursday, November 20th, from 5:30p - 8p at the Memorial Convention Hall, with presentations beginning at 6p.

This Kaua`i-Roundtable will focus on government, business, and community partnership in an effort to move us towards a more sustainable Kaua`i. With economic, energy, and climate uncertainties facing our world, we must come together to determine and work towards the best, most sustainable courses of action.

Hugh O’Reilly, the Mayor of Whistler from 1994 – 2006, will start off the evening with a discussion of how diverse sectors of the community teamed to create one of the world’s best models for sustainability. He will touch upon some of Whistler’s main areas of success, including solid waste management, transportation, financial sustainability, conservation lands, watershed protection, energy efficiency, preserving indigenous culture, comprehensive sustainability planning, and, most importantly, how government, business, and community worked together to achieve their vision.

The ‘silver bullet’: Our own actions

andrea — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:45:32 -0800

The ‘silver bullet’: Our own actions

It is clear that our community concern over electricity costs has once again come to a boil. We are all frustrated with the apparent lack of progress at Kauai Island Utility Cooperative.

Many people feel that we need to find a way to move past all the endless dialogue and planning and more definitively into action. These sentiments were well articulated by Walter Lewis in his column “A plan to reduce power costs,” A Better Kaua‘i, Nov. 15.

After all, what many of us want is a solution to this problem, right? We don’t want to know how difficult it is, how expensive, how many regulations there are, nor do we want to be told that idea after idea is infeasible or implausible or impractical. What we want to hear, to steal a phrase, is “Yes, we can.”

In that spirit, I deeply appreciate the efforts being but forward by Lewis, Jose Bulatao, and others who have chosen to vigorously endorse the WRE project to attempt to convert garbage into electricity. Although I think burning garbage is a terrible idea, I am 100 percent in agreement that we need to take an insistent approach to this problem, to take a stand, and to refuse to back down until we achieve a satisfactory resolution.

Our situation is a perilous one. Not only must we make definitive choices, but we must also make correct choices. We can absolutely not afford to obligate ourselves to tens-of-millions of dollars in future contractual obligations just so we can say we did something.

Fish and Limu are allowed on the Superferry

kauaibrad — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:39:20 -0800

"Fish and Limu are allowed on the Superferry"

Responding to the letter of 11/17 in The Garden Island News, "Superferry concerns need perspective" from Peter Antonson where he states, "...hundreds of pounds of fish have not been removed from Maui," and "During the summer, Maui's mayor got hysterical about 400 pounds of fish in a month that never left Maui."

Actually, fish and limu are allowed to be transported on the Superferry. It is the opihi, crustaceans, and rocks that are not allowed on the Superferry. In the case of opihi, unless they are immature, there is no penalty for being caught attempting to smuggle them aboard. Fish and limu are allowed to 'flow freely.'

TWO SUPERFERRY CHRONICLES BOOK LAUNCH PARTIES

andrea — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:35:28 -0800

Start: Dec 3 2008 - 6:00pm

End: Dec 3 2008 - 8:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-10

WHAT:
TWO SUPERFERRY CHRONICLES BOOK LAUNCH PARTIES
Come learn little-known facts about the Hawaii Superferry

WHERE & WHEN:
Wednesday, December 3
6:00 p.m. at the United Church of Christ, Hanapepe

Friday, December 5
6:00 p.m. at Malama Kauai

WHO:
Speakers will include:
Co-authors Koohan "Camera" Paik and Jerry Mander
Biologist Don Heacock
Fisherman Raymond Catania and others!

THE SUPERFERRY CHRONICLES:
Fifteen hundred protestors line Kauai's pier. Dozens more leap onto surfboards, boogie boards, and canoes, risking their lives to stop the oncoming colossus: the high-speed Hawaii Superferry riding in on a wave of deception and collusion. The protesters block the ship, and force it back to Honolulu. But why such outrage?... Over a ferryboat?

The Superferry Chronicles is a riveting tale of intrigue and corruption—and an inspiring popular uprising against rampant commercialization. Impeccably researched, The Chronicles exposes hidden connections to defense industries preparing for Pacific conflicts, and an ambitious governor pandering to powerful military investors.

Her administration gives the mammoth catamaran—bigger than a football field—a free pass to blaze its way at forty miles per hour through protected whale breeding grounds and transport dangerous invasive species to fragile ecosystems—despite stringent environmental laws and a unanimous Supreme Court stop-order! Central
to the story, we hear directly from Hawai'i's citizens fighting to protect their lands, and saying loud and clear, "Enough is enough."

Fundraiser for Heart Surgery for Jade and Danielʻs Baby Boy

andrea — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:11:36 -0800

Start: Nov 22 2008 - 4:00pm

End: Nov 22 2008 - 9:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-10

4-9
Hanalei Community Center
Live Entertainment
family movie
face painting
bike sale
ono grinds
silent auction

"Take Care of the Residents and the Land First, Then Tourism Will Come"

kauaibrad — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:24:51 -0800

Excellent article:

From: http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/16/news/kauai_news/doc491fd91...

"A template for Lihu‘e tomorrow"
Visiting architects offer plan for sustainable town
By Luke Shanahan and Michael Levine - The Garden Island
Published: Sunday, November 16, 2008

"Community leaders and concerned citizens this week welcomed a team of architects from around the country for a workshop on sustainable design ideas for Lihu‘e, with three days of work summed up in a presentation Friday evening at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center.

The Sustainable Design Assessment Team program, which aims to provide broad assessments to help frame future policies and sustainability solutions, featured presentations on five main areas — land use and smart growth, transportation and transit, housing affordability, economic development and renewable energy — in setting up a “template for Lihu‘e’s tomorrow.”

Over three days, SDAT members, working in conjunction with the American Institute of Architects and traveling to Kaua‘i from as far away as New York and Washington, D.C., spoke with community members to get up to speed on design and development issues particular to the island in general, and the Lihu‘e area, specifically from the Wailua River to the Tree Tunnel road.

Kauai General Plan Strengthened by Kauai Voters

kauaibrad — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:28:24 -0800

Kauai General Plan Strengthened by Kauai Voters

The CRG group did a great job with this. See attached comment below for a complete list of participants in this campaign. Politicians at all levels should take note, these people and their larger group of thousands of friends are capable of anything they set their minds to. Carl gives a good interview below:

http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/12/news/kauai_news/doc491a7bef711...
"General Plan gets teeth"
By Nathan Eagle - The Garden Island - November 12, 2008

"Speaking loud and clear with their ballots, Kaua‘i voters last week told county government that they want the General Plan to be more than a guiding document collecting dust on shelves.

By a nearly two-to-one margin, voters said “Yes” to a County Charter amendment that will limit the development of hotels, timeshares and vacation rentals to a prescribed growth rate.

As newly elected officials prepare to implement the law, expected to go into effect Dec. 4, questions continue to arise over the “devil in the details.” While the intent of responsible growth remains clear, concerns have been voiced publicly and privately over legal and logistical aspects.

“A lot of people are tired of irresponsible government,” said Carl Imparato, one of some 100 residents who worked to put the amendment on the ballot through a citizens’ petition and then campaigned behind it. “They want the plan to be more than a vision; they want it to be a reality.”

Support KKCR

andrea — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:00:31 -0800

KKCR Member-Supported Radio – Please Support NOW - This Moment!

KKCR Fundraiser

KKCR Provides a very important service on Kaua'i;
please support this special station

"Sustain KKCR, Sustain Kaua`i"

Call Now and Contribute:
826-7771, 826-7774

KKCR (Kaua`i Community Radio) is having our Winter 2008
Membership Drive NOW from
November 6 to Monday, November 17th.

Call Now and Contribute:
826-7771, 826-7774

or:

Listen NOW From Your Internet Connection!!

Go to this web site,

http://kkcr.org/index.htm

and click on

“Live Streaming Audio”:

Upload “www.live365.com”
(takes a few seconds; very simple)

And, you’re in!! KKCR via your Internet connection.

Become a member. Make a tax-deductible donation to KKCR
and become a member of the only community radio station
on Kauai.

Superferry: Kauai Letter to the Editor

kauaibrad — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:33:46 -0800

Friday, November 14, 2008

From: http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/14/opinion/letters_to_the_edi...

"Wake up, Kaua‘i"

"I used to live on O‘ahu. I have seen the natural resources of that island stripped without concern for the future of the life and the ‘aina.

I saw groups of 10 or more people systematically dig out every native orchid and saleable plant into gunny sacks on their backs like a full-time job. This was done inside a park preserve.

Marine resources are basically gone on O‘ahu. It’s no surprise that environmental exploiters have been caught pillaging resources from Maui, to be sold in Honolulu, by way of the Superferry. Dump trucks full of beach stones, fish, limu, etcetera are being strip-mined from Maui. Invasive pests could easily be transported here and we need our farms protected from them.

Many Kauaians rely on catching fish to survive. Do you think crowds of fishermen joining you on the pier will allow you to still get enough to eat? Do you want carloads of surfers crowding out our surf spots along with overcrowded roads with hundreds of cars arriving each day? What about overcrowded parks, more homeless people and the ease of transporting more drugs like ice?

Now the whale season approaches. These poor creatures have already suffered sonar blastings, must they now run the risk of being run down like the Anini turtle that I knew for over 20 years.

Wake up, Kaua‘i. Once it is gone, it is lost forever.

Kaua'i 2008 Green Business Awards from the Rotary Club

kauaibrad — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:10:43 -0800

"Rotary Club announces Kaua‘i 2008 Green Business Awards"
by Rodney Pascua

Green Business winners honored at Rotary awards luncheon

Kaua‘i businesses are going “green.”

The Rotary Club of Kapa‘a is pleased to honor eight local businesses as winners of the 2008 Kaua‘i Green Business Initiative Awards (KGBIA).

“All of the winning businesses have gone beyond environmental compliance to adopt and exemplify the best ‘green’ practices over the past 12 months,” says Rodney Pascua, chairman of this year’s program, noting that each business displayed a proven track record in one or more areas of efficiently using raw materials/supplies, managing waste responsibly, managing shipping/handling responsibly, saving water and saving energy.”

Winners include: Island Soap Company in the category of Wholesale and Retail Manufacturing; The Shoe Repair Shop in the Retailer category; Habitat for Humanity under the Nonprofit category; Aloha We Deliver! in the Home Business
category; Unlimited Construction in the Builder/Developer category; Saffron Mediterranean Cuisine in the Restaurant category; Farias Cattle Company in the Grower category; and H&S Publishing in the Publisher category...

See rest of article at:
http://www.kauaiworld.com/shared-content/e-edition/display.php?pubdate=2...
and second page at:
http://www.kauaiworld.com/shared-content/e-edition/display.php?pubdate=2...

Award plaques below created by Scott Mijares of Hawaiian Woodys in Kilauea: