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Sunday, November 3, 2019
November 3, 2019 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:19 PM :: 3650 Views

VIDEO: Kahuku Windfarm Protest in Caldwell's Office

'Obviously Ironic'--DLNR Kills off Endangered Species while building Fish ladder

Braving the cold to help Hawaii

HTA Releases Hawai‘i Vacation Rental Performance Report

The Parable of the Two Horses!

Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted November 3, 2019

‘Sacred’ for Rent: KSBE Video Directs Telescope Protesters to focus on Master Lease Payments—$50M is Not Enough

SA: … “You see plenty things, the corruption, and it’s just being brought to light with this movement, and that’s why I’m here,” he said….

For Salas, the “corruption” on display is the spectacle of law enforcement confronting the mostly Hawaiian protesters, which he views as the government serving the interests of a private entity, the TMT International Observatory….

(Ideology is just another form of religion.  If your ideology is nationalism, any effort against you is ‘corrupt.’)

“At this point, Hawaiians have had a long history of injustice (victimology) being applied selectively to them, which gives the general public this idea of, like, ‘What’s wrong with the Hawaiians?’” said Kealoha Pisciotta, a longtime Hawaiian cultural practitioner who has opposed the TMT project for years. “It’s (Victimology is) selectively targeted on Hawaiians, and the general public is now being able to see all of that corruption, and how it unfolds….

(Translation: This is where OHA and KSBE get the protesters they need to pull this stunt off.)

Most recently, the TMT opponents produced a video (24,000 hits) noting that the telescope sponsors pledged to set aside $1 million a year for 50 years to cover the cost of restoring the telescope site on Mauna Kea to its original condition when the observatory is removed….

(Fact: $50M is what Pisciotta demanded.)

(Fact: The video is produced by Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate.  You can read the whois for the video website showing the site was created from KSBE HQ address phone and employee email.) 

That implies the telescope will remain on the mountain for at least 50 years, but the University of Hawaii’s master lease for the entire Mauna Kea astronomy hub, including the TMT site, expires in 2033, just 13 years from now.

The TMT will cost about $1.4 billion and take another decade to build, which means the sponsors of the telescope plan to spend the next 10 years building a hugely expensive observatory on the strength of a master lease that expires in just 13 years. Negotiations are underway to arrange for a new master lease, but nothing has been officially decided.

The video by the TMT opponents asks, rhetorically, “What do they know about lease renewals that we don’t?”…

(Translation: We want mo money for OHA.)

As for the issue of whether the master lease will be extended, “we believe that the observatories at the forefront of scientific research in 2033 will continue at Maunakea under a new master lease consistent with the principles of sustainability, responsible management and stewardship,” Squires said in a written response to questions.

“We believe this to be in the best interest of the state and the people of Hawaii,” Squires said. Scott Ishikawa, a spokesman for TMT, said the telescope sponsors have not received any guarantee that the lease will be extended.

But the state has started work on a new master lease. Doug Simons, a member of the Mauna Kea Management Board and executive director of the Canada-France Hawaii Telescope, said work on the environmental impact statement for the lease renewal is underway, along with efforts to define the terms and conditions of a new master lease.

The Mauna Kea master plan and the comprehensive management plan for Mauna Kea will also need to be updated, and the goal is to submit the entire package to the Land Board for consideration in early 2021, he said.

Simons expects the effort to renew the lease will trigger more controversy, including a contested case hearing, and the issue likely will be appealed to the state Supreme Court. Allowing time for appeals, he estimated the new master lease could be approved in 2023…..

Here’s Some Real Corruption: Telescope: For OHA, it’s all About the Rent Money

And Some More: OHA Anti-Telescope Activism Begins With Rejection of Cayetano-Era 'Settlement'

And More: Tents, Trash, and Toilets: OHA Funds Make Mauna Kea Protests Possible

And More: With All Eyes on Mauna Kea, OHA, KSBE Insiders Make a Quick Grab for $6.7M

Link: KSBE Lease Video

read … Mauna Kea protests have exposed ‘corruption,’ activists say

Eco-Phonies: Bill 40 Plastic Ban Just Shifts Externalities to Mainland

SA Editorial: … Another Bill 40 exemption would allow continued distribution of some pre-packaged products including: children’s juice boxes — packaged and sold with single-use plastic straws; soup or noodles sealed into a polystyrene container prior to receipt by the business; and single-use plastic condiments packaging.

The reasoning for exclusion is due to packaging handled outside of the “sphere of control” of a business in Honolulu.

However, the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii and others opposed to the bill contend that such relief could result in providing mainland manufacturers with an unfair edge over locally produced goods, which would have to use enviro- friendly packaging that’s likely more expensive.

That’s a valid point….

read … Move with care on plastic bans

Vacation rental applications flood Hawaii Co Planning Department

HTH: … A month after a key deadline for short-term vacation rentals, the Hawaii County Planning Department is plowing through almost 4,000 applications, including 1,150 seeking exemptions for nonconforming zoning.

The department typically processes about 800 application of all types annually, Douglas Le, administrative services officer in the Planning Department, said Friday….

“We had five times that in just six months. We’re working diligently to process them,” Le said. “It’s definitely been a crush for the department.”

The County Council Planning Committee will get the full story at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, when the department holds a briefing requested by Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz, who chairs the committee. She expects the briefing, along with council member questions and answers, to take about an hour….

HTH: County to hear first appeal of vacation rental permit denial

read … Vacation rental applications flood Planning Department

Political Positioning: Kymberly Pine transforms from collaborator to rebel

Shapiro: … When Kymberly Pine was elected to the City Council in 2012, she allied herself with Mayor Kirk Caldwell and predicted the Council she was joining would be one of the best ever.

Now she’s regularly at odds with the mayor, often fighting the Council majority and calling herself a “rebel mama” as she runs to succeed Caldwell next year….

read … Mayoral candidate Kymberly Pine transforms from collaborator to rebel

So far, U of Hawaii finds no complaint about molester doc

AP: … The University of Hawaii says it has found no record of complaints against a now-dead doctor accused of sexual misconduct at Ohio State, but the school is still looking into his time there.

A University of Hawaii spokesman says little has been found related to beyond employment records saying he was an associate professor for two years starting in 1972.

The spokesman says officials are still checking… Dr Richard Strauss is accused of misconduct by 177 male athletes from 14 sports at Ohio State. He was a team doctor there in the 1980s and 90s and died in 2005.

read … So far, U of Hawaii finds no complaint about doc

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