Community

Friends Indeed

Friday, October 31st, 2008

According to an item in the Honolulu Advertiser (Wednesday, October 29), "Families with household income that falls within 80 percent of federal guidelines may qualify for payments of $20 per household member, up to $120 maximum per billing cycle. Payments are made directly to the utility company."

The same published report says that, "Consideration also is being given to residents who fall within 81 percent to 100 percent of income guidelines, with payments of $15 per household member up to $90 maximum per billing cycle."

For more information, contact Lyn McNeff at 808-249-2990.

That concludes the "public service announcement" portion of this column. What I am left with after hearing of the county’s action is a renewed sense that our community has not only the ability to help each other in times of need, but also the will. Of the two, the latter is probably the more important.

I imagine it would be easy for some people to see those impacted by the sudden surge in water rates as "them." As long as "they" have a problem and I don’t, the urge to take action is absent. The only productive response is to accept that the problems of the community are my problems, too. Maui County did that and, despite hard economic times, made it as priority to provide help.

I would contrast the county’s response to the Moloka‘i water situation with the state’s response to another situation developing in Oahu’s Kahana Valley. There, a group of tenants have asked the state to allow them to lease existing lots set aside for individuals who provide cultural resources to the ‘Ahupua‘a O Kahana Valley State Park, a "living park" that allows families with long-time ties to the valley to live there. Despite ongoing negotiations, the Attorney General issued an opinion in March that found that the new leases were not allowed under existing law. The Department of Land and Natural Resources is now evicting the affected families, while refusing to say why those evictions are necessary immediately. The DLNR has also refused to delay the evictions long enough to allow the State Legislature to address the shortcomings of current laws. It is a fairly involved story, but I encourage you to look into it.

When we see a family having a hard time, we help them. Maui county has not offered to pay the entire water bills of the families on Moloka‘i who will benefit from the Neighbors in Need program; they did what they could. Even if the DLNR can’t allow leases under the current law, the department should be willing—at the very least—to allow time for a solution to emerge. And for the DLNR to even address the question of why the eviction absolutely must proceed immediately? Clearly they are no friends of the public, indeed.

Love and hot air

Friday, October 24th, 2008

Aside from reminding us that Connie Lau is a bit of a romantic and Henry Curtis a bit of a punster, the competing views frame the gist of the discussion that invariably arises when we try to make big changes.

The basic outlines of the agreement would support wind-power generators on Maui, Moloka‘i and Lana‘i, with an underwater cable linking those islands to Maui,O‘ahu and even the Big Island. HECO estimates that the system could provide up to a third of O‘ahu’s power requirements, saving billions of dollars in fuel costs and significantly reducing our state’s dependence on imported oil. That money would stay in the local economy, instead of being sent overseas.

I would also hope that Moloka‘i residents will able to fill many of the jobs that accompany the task of managing a wind farm on the island, whether those jobs are technical or supportive in nature. And, as I’ve pointed out before, while the presence of wind generators will have some visual impact, they are more environmentally friendly than high-density hotel or residential developments.

So the agreement could mean environmental preservation, an economic boost, jobs, and cheap electricity. What’s not to love?

Experience shows that for every action, there is an opposite and equal criticism. An alternative always exists. The media quotes Mr. Curtis as saying that, "consumers will be a lot happier if they put solar panels on their roofs." He may be right. While the wind power proposal shifts HECO from being an energy producer to an energy broker, it still leaves them in command of the means of distribution; we will still have an electric grid to deal with. Individual power generation eliminates our collective reliance on centralized generation and the potential for market leverage and distribution failures.

Still, the best is the enemy of the good. A plan based on individual generation capacity assumes that everyone who wants to install solar panels will be able to pay for them, or will live in a location suitable for solar power. Those who cannot afford solar panels or cannot use them would remain at the mercy of centrally generated, fossil fuel-based electricity. In other words, those with the least economic leverage would face the greatest financial burden. That is unacceptable.

Bob Jones Gets it Wrong on Molokai

Friday, October 17th, 2008

For those who have not encountered Jones’ Moloka‘i musings, he calls it "the Screwed Up Island," and says that residents should not try to preserve the island and its lifestyle "if you insist on welfare." He closes by claiming that, "Most people make something happen. Not on Moloka‘i."

Mr. Jones lives in the suburbs of Honolulu. I imagine he shops at Whole Foods, recycles, and keeps his property in a condition that prevents his neighbors from giving him dirty looks when he goes on his evening walks around the neighborhood. He orders the fresh catch in restaurants to keep his cholesterol down. He occasionally buys produce from the farmers’ market because it is closer to nature, and to support local agriculture.

None of those things are bad. They are simply lifestyle choices that he has made, a version of day-to-day life that makes him happy and comfortable, the way that all of us would like to be in our lives. If there is a negative aspect to the Jones lifestyle it is the assumption that his choices are superior to anyone else’s.

Moloka‘i residents—the people that Bob Jones has chosen to belittle—have made other choices. In his column, Jones criticizes the lack of fresh produce at the local market. He misses the vital fact that on Moloka‘i, home gardens are as common as two-car garages in Honolulu; fresh produce is still warm from the sun, with dirt clinging to its roots. When Moloka‘i talks about fresh fish, it is the fish we caught ourselves earlier that day.

Yes, life on Moloka‘i has its own unique challenges. Nobody wants to pay five dollars for a gallon of gas. More jobs would strengthen the local economy. We could use more medical care.

At the same time, living on Moloka‘i brings gifts you would not find if we became another suburb of Wailuku. The community has a bond and a sense of mutual support that has become too rare in modern society. Moloka‘i lives close to the land, and close to the heart.

Most importantly, Moloka‘i has stepped up to take control of its own destiny; Moloka‘i belongs to Moloka‘i. Large hotels and upscale housing developments do not fit into the vision that has grown naturally from what the island’s residents envision for themselves. Tourism may be part of that, along with responsible agriculture and appropriate energy industries. But it will be on the community’s own terms.

There are things in life that you can only sell once, because as soon as you do, you know you’ll never get it back. Moloka‘i’s heart, future, and destiny are among those things. If Bob Jones can’t see that, he should think about staying on his own lanai, enjoying the sounds of traffic going by.

Let’s Talk Story

Friday, October 10th, 2008

As a Senator representing a wonderfully complex district, I often wish I had more time to spend with every one of you. I learn great things in every conversation, feel your support and, sometimes, your disappointment or frustration. Talking with you is the best way I know to learn what is going on, and where your deepest concerns lie.

For my friends and ‘ohana on Moloka‘i, I know that there are day-to-day concerns that sometimes do not make it across the channel to the media on Maui or in Honolulu. Anyone with a deep understanding of Moloka‘i appreciates that the conversations in your homes and in the community are where the grassroots issues first come up.

I would like to make this column—which I hope will be the first in a long weekly series—a regular way for us to carry on this conversation. Serving our district means facing some simple geographical facts. We cover four islands, so it is not likely that everyone will gather in the same place. And while technology may make it seem that your neighbors on Lana‘i and in Hana are closer than ever, there are still challenges in seeing where your interests are the same, and where they may differ.

Frankly, we just won’t have as many chances to sit and talk story in the traditional ways. But rather than give up on that time-honored tradition, we will simply have to find new ways to keep the conversation going.

At the same time, I don’t want to be the person who comes to your house and won’t stop talking long enough for you to let you share your mana‘o too. Instead, I hope that this will be a place where we can share ideas. You can look forward to not only a report of what issues are at the top of the Senate’s agenda, but also what I am hearing in my community meetings with your neighbors. I will share my opinions, and I hope you will free to share your as well.

Of course, for this to work as a new version of an old-fashioned talk story session, it is up to you to speak up and join in. I know that sometimes community members feel that their representatives stop caring as soon as they get elected, or that we lose sight of their concerns once we land in Honolulu. Join me in overcoming those old ideas and artificial barriers. Call me at my Senate office, email me, or come to a community meeting and tell me what concerns you.
So let’s talk story.