Powerful Message

August 25, 2006 | In Activism, Development, Tourism | No Comments

Our friend Gabriel Talyor recently had a strong and beautiful letter to the editor waiting to be published by the Garden Island newspaper. It has been circulating around the island already on various email lists.

A slender young woman placed a sprouted coconut on the table, sat down in front of the microphone, introduced herself, and greeted the commissioners in Hawaiian. It was 8 pm in the cold, harshly lit county meeting room where the planning commissioners sat listening to public testimony. Combined, the two proposed resort/condo projects would total 547 multi-family units/hotel rooms and 964 parking stalls. And they would be located on the beach in the historic Waipouli coconut grove, the heart of Kaua‘i’s traffic hell.

The dozen of us that came to testify against the proposed beachfront resorts had been sitting on hard chairs for nearly seven hours. The morning’s agenda dragged on into the afternoon, but I dared not go out for more than bathroom break, because it could suddenly shift to the public hearings and all could be lost. I was stiff and hungry and I wanted to go home. But then something changed.

The young dark-haired woman spoke in a poetic form that is difficult to capture, but essentially, in a gentle way, she told riveting stories of how our life style on Kaua‘i is being transformed by the unleashed and insensitive growth of tourism. She took us on a journey into the heart of the Hawaiian people and its assault on their traditions. And she led us down a path into the soul of the ‘aina, our beautiful island whose shores are being gambled away in a crap game, and sold out to the highest bidder. When she finished, it was apparent that the atmosphere of the sterile room had risen to a higher level.

While I experienced a feeling of deep sadness, it was not one of despair. Rather, I gained a sense of strength and renewed hope. Hope to believe that we who are concerned about our quality of life and of that of the ‘aina, can successfully communicate with not only the County Planning Commission, but with all the powers that influence growth on Kaua‘i. In addition to presenting my own testimony, I knew that I had to do something more. And it was urgent. I knew that I had to communicate with my fellow Kauaians right away.

So here I am to tell you that if you are horrified by the vision of 1,000 more cars pouring onto Kuhio Highway, if you are worried about the stress of these proposed resorts on other infrastructure: water, sewage, solid waste, and if the thought of an additional 1,200 to 1,700 tourists filling up our parks, beaches, and hiking trails, causes you to clench your teeth, you can do something now.

You can testify about this proposed project without breaking your ‘okole on a hard chair for seven hours. You can write your thoughts, concerns, exasperation and frustration to the County Planning Commission today. They will be accepting written testimony (signed with your address) about this proposed project through the mail or fax up through Monday, August 28.

To: Kaua‘i County Planning Commission
Re: Testimony -Coconut Beach Development & Coconut Plantation Holdings
Send testimony by Fax: 241-6699 or mail to: 4444 Rice Street Lihue, Hi. 96766

It’s going to take all of us to work together to stop this train wreck of overdevelopment and to support reasonable growth on our beloved island. It is not enough to just grumble to our friends. Let’s step into our power and make our voices heard where it counts.

Costco is Ugly

August 22, 2006 | In Uncategorized, Development | 3 Comments

It’s always surprising when construction goes so fast that you find familiar places changed nearly overnight. We shop at Kukui Grove Mall at least every other week, so last time I was shocked to find the view of the mountains now blocked by the Costco under construction.

The ugly containers in the foreground belong to Kmart, but at least they are below grade and never blocked the views. The new construction is a huge eyesore that ruins the landscape, I see why they’re called big box stores. From approximately 100 yards away, it still blocks the view 1500 feet (450 meters) up the mountains. The peak is Ha’upu at 2297′ (700m), and it looks truncated there, floating above a big ugly box instead of sitting on its beautiful lush slopes.

I know the area is all retail-oriented, with Kmart, Sears, Macy’s, Kukui Grove, and the Home Depot nearby, but there was still this beautiful viewplane left:

The whole manner in which Costco “invited” itself to the island really stinks. Many people here want more shopping, cheaper prices, and wider selection, and along with tourists who know the store from the mainland, they figured they would be welcomed. However, a majority of people opposed them in the newspapers and popular opinion, and it was clear they are not wanted. So after fighting for their permits, they announced they would not build here because the cost of construction was too high. However, I think that was a ploy to make the opposition back down, because they broke ground 2 months later without telling anyone.

Costco’s partner-in-crime is Grove Farm, the corporation run by Steve Case that owns most of the land between Lihue and Koloa on the other side of Ha’upu. They have turned their agricultural land into development such as Kukui Grove, Puakea golf course, and the nearby Home Depot, guaranteeing them steady revenue until the island is all paved over. I’m not sure whether they sold or lease to Costco, but they are also developing a housing development in the background, behind the 12′ (4m) black fence.

Adding insult to injury, Grove Farm tore down this park and pavilion that used to be located exactly where the box now stands the first photo. It was somehow owned by Grove Farm and far from any neighborhoods but still used by the community for small events and swap meets. It was probably built because Grove Farm at one time was required to provide community space in exchange for turning agricultural land into commercial space, but now it’s gone.

Island for Sale

August 9, 2006 | In Neighbor Islands | 1 Comment

No, it’s not one of the Hawaiian islands, those are already all taken. But it’s the closest you can get: Johnston Atoll is around 750 miles (1200 km) SW of Kaua’i. And it has all the trappings of a tropical paradise: 4 islands making up almost 700 acres in a blue lagoon, 20 miles of fringing reef, migrating birds, incredible diving, palm trees, deserted beaches, not to mention a runway to land your private A380 (747’s are old school now).

Source: propertydisposal.gsa.gov

BUT… the source of that photo should give you pause, because the US government hasn’t been kind to isolated islands in the Pacific, and Johnston is no exception. The “listing” for this island on the “property disposal” website gives us a few clues:

The deed will contain use restrictions because the atoll was used by the Defense Department for storage of chemical munitions and as a missile test site in the 1950’s and 60’s. The island can be used as a residence or vacation getaway but it does not have utilities or a water supply. The airstrip and the golf course are closed.

After reading that, the big thought in my mind was “Can the airstrip and golf course be rehabilitated?” But you should really be thinking “When the government admits to a missile test site and chemical munitions storage, what is it really hiding?”

Fortunately, the CLUI (Center for Land Use Interpretation and maybe government website interpretation) fills us in on the details: the missiles were of course nuclear warheads detonated above the island, the munitions storage was actually a chemical weapons incinerator, and the government forgot to mention the open-air biological weapon tests. While all that was supposedly cleaned up, again according to the government, there is the little detail of radioactive debris from failed nuclear rockets which first rained down on the area and was then buried in a containment structure that will be breached by the ocean in 50 years. When CLUI says “industriously exotic” they don’t mean regular industry in an exotic location.

Another great blog about Kaua’i called Island Breath has a long article about what it was like to live and work on Johnston Island. It also answers further questions like “Do you really think they were able to collect all the little pieces of a plutonium rocket that exploded above the atoll?” (No.) It’s haunting to think it was fully inhabited (except for children and schools) several years ago and then they just razed everything, swept up any “hot” debris and left the island to the birds.

Source: propertydisposal.gsa.gov

And now it can all be yours. One detail I like from the governmnent website is that it seems like you get your own zip code in Hawaii (96558, formerly a zip code assigned to the Armed Forces in the Pacific). How cool is that.

This post is going to be tricky to tie to Kaua’i, but I finally figured it out with a bold theory. Some people here complain about vog, the volcanic smog that sometimes is blown across the state from the Big Island. When the volcano is really active and winds blow the wrong direction, vog travels 300 miles to Kaua’i in concentrations strong enough to give people headaches and nausea. So, the final, unanswered question is “Did any fallout, radioactive debris, bio-agents, or chemical weapons residue so freely released in the air above Johnston Atoll ever reach Kaua’i?”

Update: A map comparing the distances:

Source: Google Earth. Click image to download location into Google Earth.

And some history of the populations on Johnston Atoll:

1797-1900	US, British, and Hawaiian ships visit the islands and try to claim them [Jane Resture]
Sept 1909	One lucky person leased the whole place from the Territory of Hawaii to mine guano [ibid.]
1920’s	The island is made a bird sanctuary and naturalists conduct surveys [ibid.]
1930-1940’s	The island is given to the US Navy who begin dredging and bulldozing to establish a plane and submarine refueling base [globalsecurity.org doesn’t give much population info but has a detailed description of the chemical weapons work] Source: http://home.earthlink.net/~markinthepacific/
1950-90’s	Johnston island is expanded from original 46 acres to 625 to host an average of 1,100 US military and civilian contractor personnel [Answers.com]
Jan 2004	Around 200 people finishing the cleanup [ibid.]
May 2005	All US government personnel left the island [CIA World Factbook, though it was June according to markinthepacific]

With all of those “alumni,” there is even a message board and a website for the now dispersed community, with their own theme songs, beautiful underwater photos, and a video slideshow of life on the island. The slideshow has photos of some of the chemical weapons, the amazing infrastructure built to process them, the final dismantlement, and through it all, the people and sights on the island. Another island resident has posted a lot of photos up until his departure on the second to last flight. It really is/was a fascinating microcosm.