The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Land Has Eyes, Run, Motorcycle Diaries, Einstein's Big Idea, Whale Rider, Dumb and Dumber, Baraka, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, The Killing Fields, Life is Beautiful, The Big Lebowski, Office Space, Deer Hunter, The Big Blue, SuperTroopers, Beerfest, Shaun of the Dead, Casablanca, Midnight Run, Aeon Flux.
Television
Jonny Quest, Kung Fu, Discovery Channel, History Channel (...always question "History", Politicians and Advertising).
Books
The Power of Intention, Medicine Maker, Spirit Walker, Vision Seeker, Journey to the Sacred Garden, Undaunted Courage, Voices of Wisdom: Hawaiian Elders Speak, Conversations with God, 4 Agreements, The Alchemist.
Heroes
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were all meant to shine, as children do. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others". Marianne Williamson
KAUAI PLANNING COMMISSION
Commission Chair Steven Weinstein
Stuart Hollinger
Camilla Matsumoto
Herman Texeira
James Nishida
Garden Island Newspaper Article
Friday, October 3, 2008
Public charges Island Burial Council
Protest against home being built over iwi persists
by Michael Levine - The Garden Island
Dozens of concerned citizens yesterday voiced their displeasure with the construction of a single-family home on a Naue Point Hawaiian burial ground, pleading with Kaua‘i-Ni‘ihau Island Burial Council members to do whatever they could to protect the 30-plus confirmed iwi on the property.
In the first regular council meeting since 5th Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe’s Sept. 15 decree that the State Historic Preservation Division had erred in not properly consulting the council before approving the initial Burial Treatment Plan, cultural practitioners suggested the council reject an amended version of the plan and use its newfound authority to redefine the “preserve in place” decision it first handed down in April.
Alan Murakami, litigation director for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, successfully represented opponents of the construction in that suit and said yesterday that Watanabe’s ruling gave the council the power to pull the building permit.
“The key fact that you may not have appreciated is that the Kaua‘i Planning Commission gave you that power when it conditioned the issuance of a building permit for Mr. (Joseph) Brescia on him meeting your requirements,” Murakami said in his prepared remarks. “Please directly communicate your intentions regarding Naue to the Planning Commission.”
A representative of the landowner did not read the permit the same way.
“I don’t necessarily agree with Mr. Murakami’s interpretation,” said Walton Hong, an attorney who said that he was taking notes to bring back to Brescia but declined to comment further on the testimony.
Burial Council Chair Mark Hubbard, unable to enforce his three-minute per-person limit, was forced to sit in silence as attendees vented their frustrations with the process, occasionally interrupting each other with insults deriding the council and SHPD as desecrators.
“After blowing my stack at you, I realized that you didn’t know your responsibilities,” said Ka‘iulani Edens-Huff, who said she camped out on the beach adjacent to the property for nearly four months after the April decision that effectively allowed construction to commence. “You were brainwashed.”
“If this council cannot preserve the iwi and designate a graveyard ... why does it even exist?” said Keone Kealoha, executive director of Malama Kaua‘i, which is spearheading an effort to raise funds to purchase the property from Brescia as a last resort.
Hale Mawae, who wore traditional island garb and carried a large stick, led a tearful rendition of “Hawai‘i Pono‘i” before taking his seat at the microphone, and later pounded the table as he read from a book about Pele, the fire goddess.
“We’re all to blame for what has happened here,” said Council member John Kruse, referring to the council, the state and other entities. “It’s your right to come and vent to us ... but we should be heard before the Planning Commission.”
Others offered their support for the council, gently encouraging them to “do the right thing.”
“Do not worry about developers and their money,” said Palikapu Dedman, who traveled from the Big Island to voice his opinion and said that he was involved in the creation of the various islands’ burial councils in the mid-1980s. “The Burial Council is here to protect the burials.”
At least one Burial Council member was sympathetic to the pleas.
“We didn’t know they were going to be cemented. ... Encaging them like this does not allow their spirits to flow. ... We don’t do that to our kupuna,” Barbara Say said. “I am not comfortable with all of this. Not at all. ... It shouldn’t be underneath a house. The building should not be there. Period.”
But the council did not make a new ruling on the burials, a recommendation to the Planning Commission or even have a chance to deliberate on the testimony.
Just before 2 p.m., almost five hours after the meeting began, with multiple council members, including Hubbard, having departed during a recess, the matter was deferred to the Burial Council’s next public meeting, scheduled for November.
Honolulu Advertiser Article
Monday, September 15, 2008
State agency broke law over Hawaiian remains found on Kauai
LIHU'E, Kauai — The State Historic Preservation Division failed to follow state law regarding Native Hawaiian burials in a Kaua'i beachfront houselot where 30 sets of human remains were found, Fifth Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe ruled this afternoon.
The agency must now consult with the Kaua'i-Ni'ihau Island Burial Council, any lineal descendants of the remains, interested Hawaiian organizations, and the landowner about a revised burial treatment plan, Watanabe said.
That step should have been taken earlier this year, after the burial council voted in April to preserve the burials in place, Watanabe noted. Instead, a state archeologist improperly approved a burial treatment plan for property owned by California developer Joseph Brescia, without the consultation, she said.
Watanabe did not stop construction of a house on the 15,667-square-foot lot, as requested by plaintiff Jeff Chandler, a Hawaiian who claims the burials as his forebears. But she warned that any additional construction on the house proceeds with the understanding that the burial council could decide to relocate the graves now underneath it.
"The state Legislature and the DLNR recognized the significance of Native Hawaiian burials when they drafted these laws and promulgated these rules," Watanabe said.
She said her decision "comes after much thought and consideration."
Vince Kanemoto, a deputy state attorney general, said the burial plan proposed by Brescia and already undertaken by his contractors, will be presented to the burial council at its October meeting.
The proposal enclosed seven burials underneath the house in "concrete jackets" and maintains a "buffer" distance from them via that house's elevation on pilings above ground level.
That treatment is culturally unacceptable, Chander and others testified during procedings in Watanabe's court in August and earlier this month.
Garden Island Newspaper Article
Friday, August 29, 2008
Commissioners James Nishida and Herman Texeira backed a motion to have the county Planning Department send a letter to the California businessman asking him to consider giving community members more time to come up with money to purchase his property in exchange for an extension on his building permit.
DEPUTY HISTORIC PRESERVATION DIVISION OFFICER
Nancy McMahon
Get this...the "Deputy Historic Preservation Division Officer" is running a Hummer tour company, "...into Kauai's ancient rain forests. You will see historical sites; experience the unforgettable feel of a rain forest, view spectacular waterfalls and secluded pools. See the lush tropical jungles the way ancient Hawaiians did."
Kauai Hummer Safari
NAUE
Deputy Historic Preservation Division Officer Nancy McMahon reversed the Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau Island Burial Council’s April decision by later approving a Burial Treatment Plan that included vertical buffers for the house and concrete jackets.
Two Burial Council members, Barbara Say and Presley Wann, testified Wednesday that they had not discussed those plans with McMahon before she OK’d them.
OHA Weighs In On Naue
A seven-page letter written July 8 on OHA letterhead and signed by Clyde Namu'o, Office of Hawai'ian Affairs administrator, to Laura Thielen, Chairperson of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, reads, in part:
"By this letter OHA is formally requesting that your department issue a Cease and Desist Order against ongoing ground disturbing work on the aforementioned parcel owned by Joseph Brescia per Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Section 6E-13, which allows the Attorney General to bring an action 'for restraining order and injunction relief to restrain and enjoin violations or threatened violations of this chapter.'"
Police and Construction Workers invited to pay respects
California Developer, Joe Brescia
Quote: "...not a greedy developer; just someone looking to build a (vacation) home for my family" ...on a gravesite.
Planet Kauai Blog
...The thing is that virtually every house in the area is built over or around bones. The Brescia parcel is no different than any of the others on both sides of the road. And, it is my opinion that his property is not what might be classified as some special burial site but is more likely a place where a large number of warriors were killed and buried where they died. Since they are most likely from another island the probability is quite high that they are not related to anyone here---Huff included.
From what I can tell Brescia did the right and repsectful thing; that was to engage an archaeologist, present the Burial Commission with the findings and seek their advice on how best to handle the burials found.
Developer, RS WeirGarden Island Newspaper Article September 5, 2008
Hawaiian archaeology expert Michael Dega, who was contracted to complete an archaeological inventory survey for the lot, testified yesterday that more iwi could exist on the property. The remains discovered date as far back as the 13th century and as recent as the 18th, he said.
Planet Kauai Blog Anonymous said...
Weir's comment seems to be disproved by the burial council's own findings that these were all women and children buried in upright positions.
Garden Island Newspaper Letters
Sunday, June 29, 2008
What’s all the fuss about?
I don’t get what all the fuss is about, building on dead people. They are dead. What part of that don’t you get? The soul is in God’s hands, and that is what matters. From dust to dust.
If you are going to get upset about their remains, then you should go all the way to being peeved at the maggots who eat their flesh. The Bible says the body is temporary, like a vehicle for the soul, so to speak. When you’re done with a car you junk it or sell it, but no one clamors about building on a scrap yard ... what’s the difference? Do you really think souls are looking down from heaven worrying about their bones? Help people who are still here, because once they are gone it’s too late.
Joseph Lavery
Kapa‘a
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Kuʻe in Naue
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Kauai Eclectic blog by Joan Conrow
Ted Burkhardt walks away from Naue construction site
Meanwhile, a friend who works construction called last evening to report that Ted Burkhardt has walked away from the Joe Brescia job in Naue, where he was supposed to build an oceanfront vacation home on a site with more than 30 ancient burials.
Apparently at least one other contractor was recently asked to bid, but didn’t want to touch the project with a 10-foot pole.
What contractor in his right mind would want to take on a job where attempts to bless the property and start construction have already failed in the face of protests? Moral issues aside, my friend said, “it’s bad for business.”
Seems like the pressure exerted by Kaiulani Huff and others is having some effect. Because one thing's for sure: if they hadn't been out there to say no, construction would already be under way.
Posted by Joan at 8:52 AM
I visited Naue again yesterday - the site of an important ongoing vigil to protect a burial site being threatened by a wealthy developer's plans to build a beach-front house.
The vigil has been going on now for almost three months, and rumor has it that building is to commence soon.
As I understand it, some of the grave sites are to be dug up, and the remains, centuries old, of women and children, lovingly laid to rest in upright positions, side by side, are to be moved to one big hole nearby. The rest? The house will be built right on top of them.
Support is needed - real, physical support - for the people keeping the vigil at Naue.
Struggles like this take an enormous toll on their participants, and I know that the handfull of folks who have been taking turns keeping up the site and watching over the iwi have been working very hard.
It's times like these when we who are not Kanaka Maoli ourselves but who support the struggle for sovereignty and self-determination can work together to define our role as allies, and think about how we can be most helpful.
I think it's important to remember that supporting self-determination by definition precludes us from telling other people what to do and even assuming that we know "what's best" for them. An attitude of humility is crucial.
One of the biggest hindrances to the sovereignty movement is the constant attacks from its opponents, mostly settlers with a financial stake in the way land and resources are distributed in Hawai'i. What role can we play to help insulate sovereignty organizers from these attacks and distractions?
There are many tactical and constructive roles we can play in supporting actions like the vigil at Naue. Getting the word out through our networks and the media, bringing needed supplies to the site, helping to keep the site maintained by carrying rubbish out, and at some point, putting our bodies in the way of the heavy equipment if it comes to that. These are not the only options - we are only limited by our imagination.
At the same time, our support actions should be tailored to fit the needs of the struggle, and our committments need to be sincere and thought-out. We don't do much good by committing to actions we aren't able to carry out.
Remember when the CEO of the Superferry said the ferry would not be used for military purposes?
Austal was recently awarded a new contract to provide additional features and equipment on the second Hawaii Superferry to facilitate its use by the military. This follows on from the long term charter, since 2001, of the Austal built 101 metre vehicle-passenger catamaran “WestPac Express” by the III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) based on Okinawa, Japan. As an adapted commercial vessel “WestPac Express” has demonstrated the enormous flexibility, cost savings and efficiencies achievable by commercial fast ferry technology over conventional air or sea transport.
BYM Marine and Maritime News article
QUOTES:
I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers Mahatma Gandhi
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history Mahatma Gandhi
Action expresses priorities Mahatma Gandhi
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win Mahatma Gandhi
I believe that Gandhi's views were the most enlightened of all the political men of our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence for fighting for our cause, but by non-participation of anything you believe is evil Albert Einstein
SUPERFERRY
"We are one island, one state. The water is our highway. Water, land and air should be made free to access what the islands have to offer."
Democratic state Rep. Joe Souki
The Maui News (Article excerpt) September 7, 2008
Much was made of Hawaii Superferry carrying its 125,000th passenger - a so-called milestone for a company where "success" is operating at half capacity.
Having recently attended a Superferry Oversight Task Force meeting, I'm struck by how little about this operation is getting out to the public. Put in place as part of Act 2's special legislation, the task force operates for one year. Its findings will be reported to the Legislature early in 2009.
...Information disclosed at that August meeting made it clear just what a travesty Act 2 is. Hawaii's environmental law states that an environmental assessment must be performed prior to an operation's start. If this law had been followed, many of the problems now being brought forward could have been dealt with in advance.
...It was equally disappointing to hear Hawaii Superferry's CEO, Adm. Thomas Fargo, state that night-vision goggles, radar and "bow-mounted cameras" that might prevent collisions with humpback whales are still not ready. Members of the public told the task force in early February that the promised technology was not adequate, yet the ferry company continued to state through last year's whale season that those technologies were in place and would ensure safety for humpbacks during evening transits. Now, two months before the first whales begin arriving in Hawaiian waters, Adm. Fargo says it will take more time. This is unacceptable in regard to a federally protected and endangered species.
...The state Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement's monthly report on inspections and findings at Kahului Harbor was an eye-opening litany of The state Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement's monthly report on inspections and findings at Kahului Harbor was an eye-opening litany of natural resources being taken from Maui on a regular basis. It is astonishing to have more than 400 pounds of reef fish taken from Maui waters in a one-month period, 49 pounds of opihi in one month with another 75 pounds the following month, over 250 pounds of limu in a month. How long will these natural resources remain for our community?
Irene Bowie is the executive director of the Maui Tomorrow Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization with an office in Makawao
"The root ... is bigger than the Superferry," said . "Kaua'i has come to one of those critical junctions that we sometimes come to. People are responding to the sense that there's one set of rules for you and another for big corporations."
Beryl Blaich, Superferry protest supporter
DEVELOPMENT
“We’re not trying to change Kaua‘i ... just allow more people to visit the beautiful area that it is.”
Coconut Beach Development Manager Larry Smith
RESPECT AND PROTECT KAUA'I
STAY INFORMED AND TAKE ACTION Kokua Kauai(BLOG)
The Kauai Eco-Roundtable, the quarterly gathering of environmental, social and grassroots, community groups, takes the networking online to Kokua Kauai.
Kauai Eclectic (BLOG)
Kauai Eclectic is a collection of observations, images and writings from Kauai — Kamawailualanimoku — as seen, felt, experienced and interpreted by Joan Conrow
Toward Freedom (BLOG)
Holler, sing, clap your hands, throw a bucket of water....whatever it takes to wake up the enchanted and start the revolution. Blog by Katy Rose
kahea.org
KAHEA is a network of activists throughout the five main Hawaiian Islands. We address critical issues within our communities and 'ahupua'a (geographic and cultural demarcation from the uppermost land to the outer reef).
kanuhawaii.org
Kanu Hawaii is a social movement that practices island-style activism — changing ourselves first, then leading by example — to transform Hawaii into a model of economic resilience, environmental sustainability, and strong community.
voiceofkauai.com
Vote and make comments concerning critical issues facing KAUAI. Periodically, a summary of comments & voting results will be gathered for each topic. Following this process, results are forwarded to each County and/or State official connected with the decision making process for each issue.
savekauai.org
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!
savekokee.org
We are an island-wide community organization established to provide a single clear voice on behalf of the many who are concerned about preserving and protecting Koke..e and Waimea Canyon State Parks.
KAUA'I PROTEST HISTORY
Nukoli'i and the Kaua'i Hilton
In 1974, Pacific Standard Life Insurance Company and Graham Beach Partners (the Developers) purchased a 60-acre parcel on Kauai. At the time, the property, known as "Nukolii," was zoned for open or agricultural use only. The County of Kauai (the County) thereafter re-zoned the land for resort use. A coalition of local citizens, the Committee to Save Nukolii (the Committee), organized to oppose the rezoning and to propose an initiative vote to repeal the zoning change.
HANAPEPE, Kaua'i — Filipinos on Kaua'i unveiled a concrete marker yesterday in memory of 16 striking sugar plantation workers who were killed by police in the Hanapepe Massacre of 1924.
About 250 people, mostly Filipino residents of the island, attended the memorial ceremony at Hanapepe Town Park where the 3-by-3-foot marker is placed.
"The ceremony is a way to begin the healing process," said moderator Randy Francisco. "It is a way to not bring closure, but to understand and learn about what happened."
The fighting started when striking workers prevented two strike breakers at Hanapepe from going to work on Sept. 9, 1924.
Police armed with guns and clubs intervened at union headquarters, where they clashed with Filipino strikers who used homemade weapons and knives to defend themselves. At least three police officers were also killed.
One hundred and one Filipinos were arrested, 76 brought to trial and 60 given four-year sentences.
The strike, which had sought wages of $2 a day and an 8-hour workday, disintegrated after eight months.
The marker is more than a mile away from the cliff where the killings took place.
Kenny big party next week friday night anahola my dads house... ask nanai about it or uncle lambert... i gave them an invitations.. pls come if not busy.. miss u guys alohas..
You da BEST Brah! Have a great weekend and great to have you a part of our Halau.
