Opinions

Commentary by DeGray Vanderbilt

There was overwhelming support from over 300 residents who attended last week’s Molokai community meeting on Aug. 20, for the Maui County Council to authorize the Mayor to utilize the county’s power of “eminent domain” to acquire the developed and undeveloped lands held by Molokai Properties Limited (Molokai Ranch).

The county’s use of its power of eminent domain is supported by a recent precedent.

A few weeks ago on June 4, 2008, Governor Linda Lingle signed into law Act 140. This law was enacted by the state legislature to give the governor the right to use eminent domain (condemnation) for the public good as a means of acquiring lands privately owned by a real estate development company.

Timmy Leong looks at the old Molokai Ranch mountain water reservoir, which is filled by stream diversions in the Kamakou mountain range. 

Editorial by Walter Ritte

This problem will affect ALL of our pocketbooks on Molokai, as the county may one day be responsible for Molokai Ranch’s water companies.

Here are the costs proposed by the PUC now: Kaluakoi will increase from $3.18 to $4.48 per 1000 gallons. Kualapu`u and Maunaloa rates will go way up from $1.85 to a staggering $4.10 per 1000 gallons. These rates are arbitrary, unprecedented, and ridiculous. The state government is siding with big business and putting the solution to this water problem on the backs of the public.

PUC a disgrace to Molokai residents, needs to stop “kowtowing to Mr. Gotbucks.”

Editorial By Robert Brokate

The Public Utility Commission (PUC) meeting in Maunaloa last Tuesday has once again highlighted the woeful inadequacies of our government’s civil servants. One was left in a quandary as to what is driving the PUC train, but whatever the driver may be it has drastically veered from the tracks.

The justification and purpose of a PUC is to protect the public’s interests (thus the name Public Utility Commission) against the abuses and wrongdoings of the utilities because by nature the utilities are monopolies and are prone to abuse and wrongdoing (recall the Enron energy debacle).

Using too much water could force the company to downsize.

Editorial by Todd Yamashita

There are some who will have you think that Monsanto employees are in danger of losing their jobs at the hands of environmentalist and activists. The biggest threat to Monsanto however, is its own growth and thirst for more water.

For the time being, Monsanto is obviously here to stay. Seed experimentation has been on Molokai for three decades and with a new multi-million dollar seed drying plant and hundreds of additional acres, there is no sign that this expanding corporation will be leaving the Friendly Isle any time soon.

Opinion by Neil Logan 

Kiawe (Prosopis pallida) is a food of antiquity from the Americas. For more than 6,000 years. Ancient cultures have used kiawe and its relatives for food, fuel and raw materials.

The “official” story is that kiawe was first brought to Oahu for Queen Emma and planted by Father Alexis Bachelot as cuttings from the Jardin du Rois in Paris, France.

Supposedly, from this one tree, all of the kiawe in Hawaii were born and subsequently spread by cattle and people as shade and fodder. The original tree was thorn-free originating from Southern Peru. Its mate was probably a thorn-free too, and from northern Peru or southern Ecuador.

A seed grown tree would have retained the memory of all it had ever been thereby giving it the potential to have thorns.

Via Hawaii Public Radio: Since its formation in 1897, Molokai Ranch has evolved through numerous enterprises including ranching, pineapple and, most recently, tourism, in its efforts to remain afloat.  This past April, Molokai Ranch and Molokai Properties Ltd. abruptly shut down, threatening water and sewer services to about a third of the island.  HPR's Noe Tanigawa spent a day with activists who helped precipitate the Ranch's most recent demise and are now proposing a way for the future.

Listen to the program at: http://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/hpr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2143&Itemid=70

Aloha to the people of Molokai: This is a time of great reflection and of great potential for change. On a global level, the world is looking at how we can preserve our planet and our population through sustainable practices. On a national level we face rising unemployment rates and rising gas and food prices, and the entire country must determine what future we want and how we will cast our votes in the presidential election.  And on a local level, all of us here on Molokai, in the wake of Molokai Ranch's shutdown, are thinking about how we will shape the future of this island.

The document Molokai: Future of a Hawaiian Island proposes a starting point for a balanced movement toward future change. Because this plan is not set in stone it does not require a YES or NO vote and is not something for you to accept or reject.  It is simply a foundation to build upon.  The subtitle of the document "I ka wa ma mua, ka wa ma hope," tells us that our direction for the future can build upon wisdom from our past.  This document incorporates mana'o from many Molokai community plans written over a period of thirty years and also includes new and innovative visions for Molokai.  It draws on the mana'o of everyone from young elementary children to our cherished kupuna—some of whom are no longer with us but whose knowledge lives on—and it invites additional mana'o from everyone in this community.

Halawa has undergone drastic changes from 1939 (right) to 2008 (left).

Halawa, then and now, from the Kumu’s eyes.

By Brandon Roberts

An entire valley of lo`i stretches before him, kalo thriving in the fertile soil. The April sun crests over the eastern cliffs, shedding its life giving light across the valley floor – shining through the kalo leaves, illuminating the surface beneath a vibrant green.

By the Hemowai Brothers

Molokai Ranch, ran by Molokai Properties Limited (MPL), had to shut down because of many water issues such as the State Supreme Court ruling that they had no permit for drinking water from Well 17, which supplies all of West Molokai. The courts also ruled against the Ranch in their bid to get a permit for their new Waiola Well. The State Attorney General said MPL had to get off the Homesteader’s Molokai Irrigation System (MIS) because they had no Environmental Impact Statement. The county passed a new ordinance requiring a developer to prove water availability before being permitted to develop.

Maui County has to find other water sources east of Kaunakakai because its wells are going salty, like that of Kawela and the Ualapue Well. How far east do they have to go?

District 13 Democratic delegates Lynn DeCoite, Danny Mateo, Beverly Pauole-Moore and Lawrence Joao

An insider’s look at the Hawaii Democratic Convention.

An editorial by Brandon Roberts

As we stepped into the Hilton Convention Center, a wave of Democratic excitementwashed over us. We felt official, important – knowing that our weekend was one of change. We were to shape the blue team, mold the future of the party platform, and vote our conscience.