“Volunteers of all skills, and no particular skills”

Dear editor:

Malu ‘Aina is an all volunteer organic non-profit peace farm that grows food to share with people in need, and to support it’s work for justice, peace, and protecting the environment.  We can use all kinds of volunteer help, from coordinating volunteers to helping on specific projects that need to be done around the farm including: planting, weeding, harvesting, carpentry, and painting projects.  We are looking for volunteers that can work anywhere between an hour or more a week/month to live-in residents.  This can be a great internship opportunity for those interested in organic farming and/or non-violent activism.

In addition to our present 8-acre farm, we may soon be acquiring an adjacent 11 acres of deep soil ag land that we would like to make available to serve the community in growing organic food.  We would like to involve individuals and groups in a cooperative effort to carry this project forward.

I am particularly interested in finding someone to pass the torch to in coordinating overall responsibility for the farm.  After 30 years of farming, I would like to focus more on the peace, justice, and environmental educational aspects of Malu ‘Aina,  such as demilitarizing Hawaii, and turn the farm responsibility over to the next generation. Read the rest of this entry »

North Hawaii Community Hospital Full Birthing Unit midwives Patricia Hopkins (L) and JoAnn Johansen. Photo by Tiffany Edwards Hunt. All rights reserved.

I’ve been so busy covering politics this campaign season that I haven’t had a chance to write any notes on my journey for prenatal care.

Let’s see, it’s a little after 11 a.m. Friday and I am just about to get on the road to make my way to Waimea for my second prenatal appointment at the Women’s Center there.  I’m expected to see Patricia Hopkins, who I got acquainted with my last pregnancy.  Like me, her husband is a surfboard shaper. We have a great rapport.  Actually, I know all the midwives at Waimea Women’s Center aka the Full Birthing Unit of the North Hawaii Community Hospital.  JoAnn Johansen, I met when she lived on Molokai and I visited a mutual friend nearly a decade ago. Brigid Mulloy, her son and daughter-in-law have been friends of mine since we were obtaining our bachelor’s degrees at the University of Wyoming.  I absolutely love the Women’s Center, the philosophy of care there, and generally I feel like it’s a home away from home.  I just wish it wasn’t a two-hour car ride from Pahoa.  What a trek.  It’s so grueling, especially when you are in labor.

But, believe me, having had my first child at the Full Birthing Unit of North Hawaii Community Hospital and having had the negative experience I had with Bay Clinic at the onset of this pregnancy, the drive is tolerable.  What I’ve decided to make these car rides more enjoyable is I am planning excursions for myself — rediscovering East Hawaii and all the great shops and businesses along the way.

Last month, after my first prenatal appointment in Waimea, I treated myself to chili rellenos at Tako Taco.  I actually have a picture to show you of the meal, I just have to track it down.  Stay tuned.  It wasn’t just that I was so hungry I could eat a frozen dog.  The meal was absolutely scrumptious.  The ambience of the place was idyllic. It’s very colorful, from the plates to the walls, and all the decor is Day of The Dead.

On my way back down to Puna, I plotted what stops I will make to and from Waimea in the months ahead.  There are a couple of places in Honoka’a I want to explore, including the sports bar run by Steve Offenbaker et al. And I’d like to revisit Cafe Il Mundo.  I love their pizza, calzones, and their lasagna.  I used to patronize that restaurant all the time when I lived in Laupahoehoe.  There’s a natural food store and a bakery, and a funky crystal shop that I’d also like to visit.  Oh, and there’s a great baby store in Honoka’a called Symbiosis that I have visited during my last pregnancy, and would like to visit again this pregnancy.  I’d actually like to see if the owner, Spinnaker Wyss, is interested in carrying “Tiff’s Retro Rag Dolls.” Currently, I make them for Moonsprout in Hilo, and it would be nice to have them in other locales.  I’d also like to spend some time in Laupahoehoe at the 50′s Restaurant and hit up Honomu and Wailea.  Any recommendations for stops to make?

Today, on my way to Waimea, I’ll be getting a haircut with Patty Morrissey at Headline News in Hilo and then I’m going to be seeking out Perfect Harmony owned by Ju Lee to see if they have any extra large gaucho pants.  I got some from her recently, and I’d like another pair.  Not sure where I’ll be grabbing a bite to eat, but I’ll let you know.

Excuse the stream of consciousness writing.  I’m letting you inside the brain of a pregnant woman who is having to commute to receive prenatal care.  It really is one of my top priorities to see that we get a birth center in Hilo or Puna and OB-GYNs in Hilo to see the virtue of midwife-assisted births.

Billy Kenoi

James "Duke" Aiona

By Curtis Narimatsu

Abercrombie probably will beat Aiona because of Aiona’s right-wing religious pronouncements.   Aiona clueless as a politician.     Lingle was centrist when she beat Hirono in 2002, the perfect storm against the dynastic Democrat ill-boded all-J_p team of Mazie/Matt Matsunaga.    A political party convention  a la U.S. Presidential race solves the disconnect between the party duo.

Aiona won’t have the luck of Lingle’s draw this time around, despite the  all-leftist haole duo of Neil/Schatz,  because of Aiona’s right-wing image.

The hotel room tax is overblown — $18 million shortfall or 5.8% of our Hawai’i County general fund revenue, & not even a part of our special fund.    Our self-serving non-Hawai’i Island Democrat legislature could keep the hotel room tax, & Gov. Lingle would go along with our  legislature, but our mayors converged behind Mufi to stop the insanity.    Had our legislature kept the hotel room tax, word would trickle down to constituents, and our legislators [Hawai'i island solons sided with the Counties] would get backfire upon re-election, however small a % is the hotel room tax revenue of our County general fund.   As you know, our County floated bonds for capital projects,  being that our budget by law  has to be balanced.   Bill Takaba is an excellent budgeter, like Yamashiro’s Harry Takahashi was [Yamashiro was our greatest fiscal mayor (1992-2000),  Bill is Harry's positive clone]. Read the rest of this entry »

Relatively new Pahoa Postmaster Dave Kell stands at the recently renovated driveway on Thursday.  Stan’s Contracting was the main contractor that subcontracted to Willocks Construction the project that commenced this spring.  A meesage was left earlier today for Glen Ogawa, of Stan’s Contracting, to determine the exact cost of the post office’s driveway and parking lot renovation.

Argh, I feel so discouraged! All of you women who are constantly bending my ear about the need to change the birth paradigm in Hawaii should really put your words into action. Seriously.
To date, one email has been sent to Hilo Medical Center community relations director Elena Cabatu, from a Puna woman sharing why she went to North Hawaii Community Hospital. Actually, I was told a Puna woman, but I happened to receive a carbon copy of that email, and it was actually a Hilo woman who sent it.
I’ll tell you straight up: We aren’t going to get very far if you let others do the work for you.
Get writing, or don’t bitch if you end up in Hilo with a dick for an OB-GYN, an epidural, a c section, and your newborn being taken away from you for the first hour of his or her life!
Either that, or you can drive one to two hours to give birth at the Waimea Women’s Center, and risk being turned away to Hilo or Kona because the Women’s Center is too full.
Ecabatu@HHSC.org is the email for you should address your concerns about the politics of birth here in East Hawaii. Hello?!
Don’t ever talk to me about this subject again, if you didn’t bother to submit an account of your birth story. I’m really getting sick and tired of people’s talk, talk, talk, and lack of follow-through. Be the change, dammit!
Tiffany Edwards Hunt
(808)938-8592
Newswoman@Mac.com
Www.bigislandchronicle.com

Tomas Belsky cartoon

Politicians, workers, clerics, students — everyone in America —  has an
inside observation on the true nature of God.  With malice toward all
or none I offer my final solution to the eternal philosophical
ontological argument. —  Tomas Belsky

–
Www.tomasbelsky.com
Www.Kahuina.Org

By Sara Burgess

The death of the Puna Community Development Plan is mourned by the 1,250 people who created it, the government officials who conceived and paid for it, and all residents of Puna who have a desire to respect the beauty of Hawaii Islnad.  the cause of death was the inability to find a way for development that did not destroy the Puna environment and lifestyle.

Funeral events included a panel of county officials sadly regretting sponsoring a project that gave power to the people; a trained and uniformed team of protestors, and the volunteer workers whose contributions were abandoned. The first monument to the project can be seen at “Woodland Center,” where citizens can be consoled for the loss of their dream by the bull-dozing of native Ohia trees, the construction of fast food restaurants, low-paying jobs, and a dangerous intersection.

On a rainy night, the weeping of ancestors disturbed in their graves can be heard as the ignored wisdom they left for Puna drifts away.

The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.

The death of the land is perpetuated by greed and fear.

(Retired educator Sara Burgess lives in Hawaiian Beaches.)

I’ll start this commentary off by telling you about Primary Election day.  In the afternoon, as I was preparing for my election coverage that night, I realized I didn’t have a battery-operated radio that I usually have to listen to pundits Ken Hupp, Hugh Clark, Aaron Chung and Todd Belt on 670 AM.  I got on my bike and rode around Pahoa, asking friends and neighbors if they had one I could borrow.  No luck.  I rode down Pahoa Village Road, looking for Madie Greene, who I had seen sign waving for Fred Blas earlier in the day.  Greene owns Puna Buy and Sell, and I wanted to know if she had a battery-operated radio at her pawn shop.  As I rode up, Greene was standing with Barbara Lively, one of the four Council District 5 candidates.  I razzed Greene and Lively about standing together and waving at the passersby.  Lively, in, I don’t know how else to put, a bitchy tone, said to me, “Well, your candidate is over there,” gesturing further down Pahoa Village Road toward Kalapana.  ”And who is my candidate?” I said.  ”James.”  I paused for a minute, then said something to the effect of, “Don’t act like that, Barbara.” I gestured toward Greene, who stood there waving for Blas. “We’re all friends here. You can’t take this stuff personally.”

I’ll tell you straight, I DID vote for James Weatherford.  Yes, I realize, he has a tendency to act like Mr.-Know-It-All.  But he does know a lot.  And we have similar philosophies on life and on politics.  Since I’m being honest, I’ll tell you straight up that, if Weatherford wasn’t on the ballot, I would have voted for Fred Blas in the Primary Election.  I totally disagree with Blas’ anti-marijuana stance.  I think he is actually quite naive about the whole drug thing.  To me, he is denying an entire industry in Puna by taking a stance against marijuana.  But, hey, that is just about the only bone I have to pick to Blas.  And I’m not of the belief that it is the County’s kuleana to address the marijuana issue.  I don’t agree with people who think the Lowest Law Enforcement Priority of Cannabis Ordinance is enforceable in Hawaii County.  I think, in order to address marijuana, it needs to be taken up at the federal level.  One can argue that it can be addressed at the state level, since we do have our own constitution and technically there really are limited federal powers.  But that would require a governor and a State Legislature that are willing to stand up to the feds, until the feds address the issue once and for all.

In the meantime, what I would like to see is for us restore some common sense in Council District 5.  I would like to see a Council representative focused on the roles and responsibilities that are laid out in the County Charter.  The County Council is supposed to be focusing on roads, water,  wastewater, solid waste, rezonings, Parks and Recreation — those sorts of things.  We seem to have strayed away from leadership that is focusing on our basic needs at the County level.  I feel like Fred Blas is sane and reasonable and rational and, at least for the next two years, he can help stabilize our district.  Heck, with Blas at the helm, we might actually get Pahoa Village Road repaved and restriped.  We might be able to get the mess at Pahoa Aquatic Center sorted out, and we might obtain more police presence to aid us in better response times.

Let me tell you how I first came to know and adore Fred, who I teasingly call “Freddy.” It was back when I worked as a legislative assistant for Puna Councilwoman Emily Naeole-Beason.  At that time, Blas was one of her supporters.  And I was tasked with meeting with him on occasion to aid him in community projects.  One of my frequent callers as a legislative aide was Rob Tucker.  Tucker was hell-bent on getting the County Department of Public Works to hear his plea to aid him in getting some poles relocated on Post Office Road.  He also has a vision for sidewalks in Pahoa, which I am not too keen on, but I was willing to hear him out.  So, I set up a walkabout in Pahoa with Blas and Tucker.

Let me just tell you that I called Tucker this morning and shared with him what I’m going to share with you, so I kinda feel bad if I hurt his feelings, but I feel like honesty is paramount in this case.  As I was walking through Pahoa with Tucker on one side and Blas through the other, I felt like I was standing between a positive and a negative force.  For every “no can” I heard from Tucker, there was a “can!” from Blas.  Tucker is defensive and concerned that I think he is a pessimist.  I reminded him that this is merely my perception.  The point is, I feel like Blas is an optimist, and he is a doer.  After our walkabout in Pahoa, a month didn’t pass before he singlehandedly arranged and erected the “Aloha, Old Pahoa Village” signs fronting Puna Baptist Church and Jan’s Barber Shop.  When I need something, I call Blas.  He is busy campaigning for election, but every now and then he checks in with me and reminds me he is still working on Mainstreet Pahoa Association’s mission to get bike racks through Pahoa.  He organizes a crew of people and walks through the town weed-eating and picking up trash.

Tucker is a community servant as well. Don’t get me wrong.  We can thank him for  those “Akeakamai Loop” signs at Jan’s Barber Shop and Book Buyers. He ram rodded the tear-down of the shacks fronting Pahoa Cash And Carry.  He has worked on the Pahoa Skate Park, and he, after a lot of balking, got a hold of the right people to get those poles relocated on Post Office Road.  My point is not that Tucker doesn’t do good, it’s his approach.  He uses salt, while Blas uses sugar.  Blas is a cheerleader.  He has shown himself to be such a doer that people in the County actually WANT to help him.  I honestly feel like Blas will do more good than bad if he is elected to serve on the Hawaii County Council the next two years.

Who is Fred Blas? is a topic on Punaweb that’s been getting some debate and it is a good one.

I am not a personal close friend of Fred. I know him from working with him occasionally from different ends of the same problems. Ultimately Fred will have to state his case if he wants to win the council seat. But here’s my take on Fred the Monday after the primary….

Do not expect Fred to write thorough position papers. I can be considered an activist. Fred is not an activist. Fred’s forte is empowerment, local empowerment.

When Fred moved here he saw a neglected park frequented by druggies. Fred’s response was not to run to the county and say “you have to do something about this”. Fred’s response was to gather some neighbors, roll up their sleeves, and clean up the park. I will guess that the whole effort was never put on paper, did not involve letters to the editor or a lot of hand wringing. It was simply effective. It got the job done.  It is just one example.

On that note I agree with Fred, and have expressed it myself in the past, that before we write our grant proposals, before we plead with the county to do something, before we get frustrated and give up, that we take on the issue and try to solve it ourselves. It took me two years to get those two telephone poles at the Pahoa Post Office moved out of the right of way. It was a long effort and shouldn’t have been that hard. But I kept at it. If it proves that county or state funding will be needed to complete a job the county or state will have observed that not only is there a problem but there are involved residents working on it and they don’t just ask for someone to get it done, they ask the county or state to work with them, empower them to bring it to completion.  This is what FoPF has done on the Fuel Tax Revenue issue.

So for me I see Fred being Fred. He is not me. He is not James Weatherford. He takes his own approach which, quite frankly, has worked some small and some large wonders. You do not have to love him. Fred has given you no reason to hate him. Fred will be, just a James Weatherford would have been, a great leap forward for Puna’s representation on council.

When people see things improving by their own hands they get empowered. If you doubt me look at the vote counts.

Does this mean I agree with Fred on every issue? It does not. Is it reasonable for me to expect a Fred Blas to take only the approach to things that I would. I think not. There are more than one path to the betterment of Puna. Fred’s path definitely has what I call “traction”. On the ground, where the rubber meets the road, Fred has proven he has traction. If you doubt me look at the vote counts again.

So I am speaking on this with a bit more than blind faith. If Fred had just been sitting home these past years watching TV I would never have met him. Fred does not need a job. He could stay retired and relax. I met him as a fellow traveler working on community problems. I look forward to working with him in the future on the same subjects.

Meanwhile, it is important that Fred step into the world of verbal direct communication on the questions I and many of you have. I expect him to do so and I think he will.

Rob Tucker