Native Hawaiians blockade historic palace

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) -- A native Hawaiian group that advocates sovereignty locked the gates of a historic palace Wednesday in downtown Honolulu, saying it would carry out the business of what it considers the legitimate government of the islands.
State deputy sheriffs weren't allowing anyone else to enter Iolani Palace grounds as unarmed security guards from the Hawaiian Kingdom Government group blocked all gates to the palace, which is adjacent to the Hawaii Capitol.

Arrest warrants were being prepared and would probably be served on the 60 or so protesters later in the day, officials said. Protest leaders said ...

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Lance Collins Sentences Maui County Council to Death by Legal Injunction

April 28, 2008, The Maui News

Civil law interpreted
...
The Sunshine Law is good law. It can slow the legislative process to a crawl, but it gives the interested public a chance to influence legislative decisions. Interestingly enough, when it passed the Sunshine Law, the Legislature exempted itself from its provisions.

In the case of the County Council’s handling of the Honua‘ula hearings, hundreds of hours were devoted to listening to the public. To laymen the council appears to have a prima facie defense — barring strict interpretation of the law’s technicalities. There obviously was no intent of keeping the public, and its wishes, out of the process, no lack of sunshine.

Binding county government to literal technicalities versus following the intent of the law is little more than an attempt to achieve through stalling what could not be achieved through persuasion.

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CASE DISMISSED! August No Fool. April History. Akaku Maui May Not Claim Exclusive Right to Maui Community Television!

CASE DISMISSED! August No Fool. April History. Akaku Maui May Not Claim Exclusive Right to Maui Community Television!

Maui Court Records show that Akaku: Maui Community Television lawsuit, filed by Lance Collins and Akaku Maui CEO/Presidente Jay April against the Maui Media Lab Foundation was DISMISSED on April 15, 2008.

Judge Joel August, in an exemplary case of judicial prowess recognized a complete lack of evidence presented by Democratic Party Media Chair, self ascribed Parlimentarian to Akaku: Maui Community Television's Board of Directors, registered lobbyist and lawyer for Akaku: Maui Community Television.

Judge August's ruling does not support Akaku: Maui Community Television CEO Jay April's assertion that it is illegal for any other organization to compete with Akaku to provide the Maui Community with Community Television because only Akaku: Maui Community Television can exclusively provide Maui Community Television.

Jay April and Lance Collins should be ashamed of themselves for filing frivolous lawsuits against the State, Non Profit Organizations and Maui's High School students in an effort to stall the very Public Procurement Process for Public Access Television as a substitute for their own inability to compete fairly.

Aole Pono Jay April. Aole Pono Lance Collins.

Mahalo Judge August.

Hawaii Community Television News

Ku`e!

Sound the Alarm! The Perfect Storm is About to Hit Hawaii

By Leon Siu, 4/23/2008 8:18:19 AM, The Hawaii Reporter

Hawaii is about to encounter the proverbial “perfect storm” that will leave tremendous devastation in its wake. Many are unaware of the approaching storm, but to those tracking it, each day that passes underscores the urgency to activate emergency measures to mitigate the effects of this coming calamity.

What is this impending disaster? It is not a hurricane or tsunami or earthquake. It is something far more dreadful — scarcity of fuel and worse, scarcity of food.

Hawaii has been teetering on the edge of the precipice, reeling from the highest cost of living in the United States, and totally at the mercy of even the slightest shift in the economic climate.

Food riots have begun in various third-world nations and the crisis is spreading, engulfing more and more countries each day. Even the U.S. is being affected, as certain staples, such as rice, are in short supply and already being rationed...

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American retailers ration rice in response to global food crisis

USAToday, 23 April, 2008

The global food crisis is hitting consumers in the USA, with the nation's top retailer announcing that it's rationing rice because of "supply and demand trends," according to Reuters.

“We are limiting the sale of Jasmine, Basmati and Long Grain White Rices to four bags per member visit,” Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart, says in a statement cited by Fox Business News. “This is effective immediately in all of our U.S. clubs, where quantity restrictions are allowed by law.”

This follows reports of rationing at Costco.

The New York Sun says a sign above the rice at one of that wholesale club's stores said: "Due to the limited availability of rice, we are limiting rice purchases based on your prior purchasing history."

The U.N.'s World Food Program blames...

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China down to 12 days worth of coal - report

April 23, 2008 03:22pm, news.com.au

CHINA only has enough coal for 12 days of consumption, three days less than a month ago, state media reported Wednesday, sounding the alarm bells over the nation's most important source of energy.

In certain parts of China, such as densely populated Hebei province in the north, reserves are down to less than a week, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the China Electricity Regulatory Commission.

In the period since early March, coal reserves have slumped by 12 per cent to 46.7 million tonnes, according to the commission.

Reasons for the shortage were "multi-dimensional," the commission was quoted as saying, without elaborating.

Demand for coal has risen rapidly since China experienced brown-outs early this decade, motivating a construction frenzy in the power industry, with large numbers of new coal-fired plants emerging...

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Corn, rice surge as global food tensions mount

Reuters, Wednesday April 23 2008

By Ayesha Rascoe and Nicole Maestri
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, April 22 (Reuters) - With global tensions over food supplies mounting, prices of world staples rice and corn surged on Tuesday amid strong demand and concerns over slow planting of the new U.S. corn crop.
Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank warned Asian countries against export controls, and the Inter-American Development Bank said the food-versus-fuel debate had changed the way it evaluates financing of biofuel projects that could siphon off staples like corn or soybeans.
Even in the United States, the world's breadbasket, a leading retailer reported signs of growing concern about rising food costs and dwindling supplies.
James Sinegal, chief executive officer of Costco Wholesale Corp, a U.S. warehouse club selling food to consumers and businesses, told Reuters on Tuesday the retailer had seen a spike in demand for items like rice and...

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Europe Turns Back to Coal, Raising Climate Fears

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: April 23, 2008
CIVITAVECCHIA, Italy — At a time when the world’s top climate experts agree that carbon emissions must be rapidly reduced to hold down global warming, Italy’s major electricity producer, Enel, is converting its massive power plant here from oil to coal, generally the dirtiest fuel on earth....

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Food crisis can’t wait

Austin American Statesman, Editorial

23 April, 2008

Rising food prices and a shortage of staple foods like rice and wheat.

Austinites, like other American, are feeling the pain of higher prices as costs for most food items, not just rice and milk, rise. But few people in this country and other wealthy nations are starving because they can’t get or afford enough food to live on.

But in poor countries from Haiti to Zimbabwe to Bangladesh, food scarcity is fueling riots and death. Political stability is threatened, too, because a hungry nation is by definition...

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World Food Program warns of 'silent tsunami' of hunger

by DAVID STRINGER , 23 April 2008

Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Ration cards. Genetically modified crops. The end of pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap supermarkets.
These possible solutions to the first global food crisis since World War II — which the World Food Program says already threatens 20 million of the poorest children — are complex and controversial. And they may not even solve the problem as demand continues to soar.
A "silent tsunami" of hunger is sweeping the world's most desperate nations, said Josette Sheeran, the WFP's executive director, speaking Tuesday at a London summit on the crisis.
The skyrocketing cost of food staples, stoked by rising fuel prices, unpredictable weather and demand from India and China, has already sparked sometimes violent protests across the...

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Biofuels starving our people, leaders tell UN

April 22, 2008, The Guardian

The leaders of Bolivia and Peru have attacked the use of biofuels, saying they have made food too expensive for the poor.

Speaking at the United Nations, the Bolivian president, Evo Morales, said the increased use of farmland for fuel crops was causing a "tremendous increase" in food prices.

The Reuters news agency reported that the Peruvian president, Alan Garcia, called on developed countries to grow more food. In the last few months, food prices in Peru have run ahead of the country's general rate of inflation.

Their attack coincided with a report published today by the...

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Networks Ignore Government's Role in Ethanol-Driven Global Food Crisis

Food inflation and hunger riots tied to ethanol mandate U.S. politicians and journalists supported.

By Nathan Burchfiel
Business & Media Institute
4/24/2008 8:41:28 AM

Prices for groceries like corn, bread, meat, cheese and milk have been on the rise for American grocery shoppers. Food riots have broken out in third-world countries where the cost of food has left millions hungry.

But U.S. network news reports have ignored the true cause of the suffering: U.S. government mandates for ethanol, a gasoline additive made with corn that networks called the “wave of the future” in its early stages.

“This is the new front line in an unexpected global food crisis that has spread from the Middle East, where bread is in dangerously short supply, to Africa, where millions can no longer afford to buy food,” ABC’s Mike Lee said on “World News with Charles Gibson” April 20.

On April 8, NBC “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams reported on “something of a crisis” in Haiti, where demonstrators protested “the soaring cost of food in what is, after all, a very poor nation, where a lot of people cannot afford food.”


At home, prices in U.S. groceries stores have been on the rise. Chicken is up 10 percent in the last year; milk is up 25 percent; bread is up 16 percent; eggs are up 35 percent, according to...

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The Seeds of Disaster

Lee Hudson Teslik
Council on Foreign Relations
Tuesday, April 22, 2008; 6:00 PM

For consumers and businesses in the United States and Europe, bubbling inflation and rising oil prices bring varying degrees of hardship, producing a nuisance for some and raising solvency issues for others. Elsewhere in the world, these factors threaten more existential consequences. World Bank data show rising commodity prices have prompted a dramatic spike in global food prices, with the cost of staples like wheat and rice showing the greatest increases. Unrest has risen along with prices. Riots over food prices have broken out in North and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia -- an interactive chart from the Financial Times shows the global reach and magnitude of the crisis. Economist Jeffrey Sachs calls it the "worst crisis of its kind in more than thirty years" (NYT).

Supply problems only seem to be accelerating. Beyond the broad rise in commodity prices, which affects most global businesses, ...

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Years of poor decisions created food crisis: FAO

23 April, 2008, Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) - Poor policy decisions over the past two decades have combined to create the current food crisis and resources must now be focused on the 2008 harvest, the head of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Wednesday.

The United Nations has warned that millions of people are threatened by hunger around the world because of the recent surge in food prices, but FAO Director General Jacques Diouf said ...

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Speculators Worsening World Food Crisis?

Biofuels and droughts can't fully explain the recent shortages—hedge funds and small investors bear some responsibility for global hunger

23 April, 2008, Beat Balzli and Frank Hornig, BusinessWeek

Not long ago, Dwight Anderson welcomed reporters with open arms. He liked to entertain them with stories from the world of big money. Anderson is a New York hedge fund manager, and as recently as last October he would talk with enthusiasm about his visits to Malaysian palm-oil plantations and Brazilian grain farms. "You could clearly see how supply was getting tight," he said.

In mid-2006 Anderson was touting the "extraordinary profitability" of field crops from corn to soybeans. He was convinced that rising worldwide hunger would be synonymous with highly profitable—and dead-certain—investment bargains.

In search of new investments, Anderson sends dozens of his employees to visit agricultural regions around the world. Back in New York, at his company's headquarters on the 27th floor of an office building high above Park Avenue, they bet on agricultural markets from Peru to Vietnam.

But in the towers above Manhattan's urban canyons, it's easy to lose touch with the ground. Hedge fund manager John Paulson was recently...

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Our kupuna deserve adequate long term care

The Molokai Times
By Representative Mele Carroll (District 13 – Kahoolawe, Molokini, Lanai, Molokai, Keanae, Wailua, Nahiku, Hana)
4/23/2008 11:07:58 PM


There is only one bill remaining of seven bills crafted out of proposals by the Maui Health Care Initiative Task Force in this year's legislative session. The bill would establish a long-term care commission to do more research on funding for long-term care services. Although the intent of creating a body to identify necessary resources and propose programs and funding mechanisms that will meet long-term care goals is noble, it could also be perceived as a duplication of work already being done.

Some of this work has been in progress on Molokai since 2005, and this past Thursday my office manager, Jan Lehner, attended a meeting setup by Na Pu`uwai in the Kulana `Oiwi complex to learn more about the issue. The lack of adequate and proper long-term care on the island is of great concern to me, especially considering ...

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How to survive the switch to digital TV. High Def Converter Boxes Make Smaller Picture!

CNN, 24 April 2008

NEW YORK (AP) -- Did my TV screen just shrink?

That's the question a lot of people will be asking after installing one of the converter boxes that will keep their older TV sets tuned in to over-the-air broadcasts after February 17, when most stations will switch from analog to digital transmission.

The National Association of Broadcasters estimates that 70 million sets are in danger of losing their picture.

We tested two boxes and ...

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Maui Councilman Mateo Stands Alone as County Increases Waste Money

Panel proposes $2 increase in trash fees
By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer, The Maui News
April 24, 2008

WAILUKU — The council’s Budget and Finance Committee on Wednesday supported a $2 increase in fees for county refuse collection.

The change came as a compromise between Mayor Charmaine Tavares’ request for a $4 increase, and Budget Chairman Joe Pontanilla’s proposal for no change in the fee.

Refuse collection services would go from $12 to $14 a month under the plan, bringing an additional $552,000 in revenues to cover rising costs of fuel, labor and maintenance.

Council members also cut a $200,000 project to upgrade the main facility at the Central Maui Landfill to redirect the funds to help pay for trash pickup programs.

Council members were divided over what to do about the trash fees, with some arguing that fees needed to keep pace with rising costs, while others warned that residents pinched by a tight economy couldn’t afford to pay more.

“Not everybody can absorb additional fees,” said Council Member Danny Mateo. “I come from a community that cannot.”

Mateo, who holds the council’s Molokai seat, also said...

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Hawaii Governor Lingle Embraces Digital Community Television! Take a Gander!

Now you can view the State of Hawaii through our Governor's own eyes. Check out Governor Linda Lingle's new digital community television station, In Case You Missed It. Whether or not this new addition to Hawaii's digital television community will prove more effective at being a wonderful channel opening up communications directly between the people and their elected government by disintermediating corrupt status quo deal makers and corrupt media outlets, or a way to slime her political opponents remains to be seen.

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Collins Calls Council Chair Hokama in to Question. Sues Council Accusing Illegal Conduct

Court blocks Honua‘ula permits
Council challenged over whether it violated open-meeting mandate

By EDWIN TANJI, City Editor, The Maui News

April 24, 2008

WAILUKU — A Maui Circuit Court judge on Wednesday blocked Maui County from taking further actions to permit the Honua‘ula project district pending a determination of whether the County Council violated the state Sunshine Law in approving zoning for the project.

The injunction issued by 2nd Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza does not deal with the merits of the zoning for the 670-acre project district but whether the council members violated open-meetings requirements...

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Akaku Jay April Attacks Hawaii Legislators. Not State TV. Demands Law.

Akaku: Maui Community Television's Jay April Attacks Hawaii Legislators. Claims State Public Access Television Not State TV. Demands State Law making Akaku sole source for Hawaii State TV.

Mr. April is the same John "Jay" April, that is ex Chairman of the Board of Akaku: Maui Community Television, CEO and President of Akaku: Maui Community Television, incumbent participant in the State of Hawaii Procurement process for Public, Educational and Governmental, Public Access Cable Access Television, plaintiff in lawsuits against highschool kids, that were competing against Mr. April (and apparently winning,) plaintiff against public disclosure of Akaku: Maui Community Television's unaccounted non-profit finances and property, plaintiff in lawsuits against the State trying to halt procurement, protester to the DCCA, protesting procurement, lobbyist for Akaku: Maui Community Television at the State House, demanding that Akaku is both a unique sole source vendor, that should continue to receive State money unquestioned, unaudited and unaccounted for, that the issues of free speech outweigh accountability for Mr. April, let alone Mr. April's huge appetite for personal remuneration, and reimbursed expenses for travel, hotels, airfares, food, from PUBLIC ACCESS Television money, in spite of a budget for Molokai less than Mr. April's personal salary, and a budget for Lanai of nothing.

When Mr. April refers to the People's Channels is he referring to Soviet era Television where Mr. April is the sole arbiter of what is broadcast and when? When he leads a group of blackshirted employees on a be a facist or get fired legal crusade is he referring to the Mussulini style thuggery that was so in fashion by the last centuries dictators? When he lies to a Judge and claims there is no such thing as digital television is he referring to Youtube, or possibly Akaku's live gavel to gavel Internet coverage of the Superferry Hearing, paid for with cable subscribers fees, but not made available to the cable audience? When Mr. April claims that budgets are tight for public access television, does that take into account the monies that were spent to create an FM Radio Station in the middle of Kahului with Cable Access Television Funds? Possibly the more than one thousand testimonies provided to the legislature he referred to were the 31 people that actually provided testimony (read it yourself,) and that those 31 people were either paid employees or community television producers with special studio access privileges at stake? Is it possible the public procurement process is what he refers to as secret and punative?

John "Jay" (really is it John or Jay?, why do call yourself Jay April CEO of Akaku, while you register as a lobbyist under a different name as John...hmmm?) another Dear John letter from a student in Kula.

Dear John,

You may have been able to pull this crap before, but to try and scare people that free speech is at stake, when more people watch digital television and MAKE digital television on countless Internet sites like Youtube, and more Hawaiians have access to digital television over the internet than analog television over the cable, and that the only way to secure free speech is to give you an exclusive contract spending State Public Access Television money, without being accountable for performance or even what happened to the money, is more than laughable. Its unethical.

Mr. J. April, Do not attack our representatives because they wont support your special interest legislation. They are just doing their job. Really well.

Hawaiian Community Television News agrees with Maui's young people. Jay April, GO HOME.

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Signs Held High

4-25-08
Bernie Bicoy held her sign high in the afternoon heat at the April 16 event. It reads hoe imua, or “paddle together.” “We need to support each other to benefit the economic future,” Bicoy said. She was having fun in the sun, “It reminds me of the peaceful demonstrations of the 1960’s.”

Ranch and Monsanto employees team up in a show of solidarity.
By Brandon Roberts

Horns were honking as 80 Molokai Ranch and Monsanto employees proudly waved their mana`o, holding signs street side at Kulana O`iwi. They are hoping the “Rally for Change” event will get across a positive message, as well as create hope for change.

Many in the event are directly affected by the Molokai Ranch shutdown, which cut around 120 jobs in March.

“This is peaceful, and we want to be heard with what we want for our island,” rallier Linda DeMello said, displaying her message that we are all human.

“This is what family is all about. I am here to support the children and grandchildren,” said...

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What’s Blowin On

Community forum hosts talks about Molokai wind-farm.

By Brandon Roberts

Renewable energy is a Hawaiian value in that it aims at harnessing the gift of nature without depleting it. But is the greater community willing to tap Molokai’s steady wind resources at the sacrifice of building a large scale wind farm?

For the past several weeks, it has been...

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Reggae-Rama

The Molokai Dispatch, 4-21-08

by Brandon Roberts

Walking through the door, a wave of positive vibrations wash over the body, and island beats fill the ears as Molokai swarms the dance floor to share their aloha at Paddler’s first Reggae Fest.

Three days of choke tropical jams let fans come face-to-face with...

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High tech mower needs no gasoline

Haleakala Times, 22 April 2008,

by Sam Epstein

Recent developments in alternative energy technology provide more than just promise as the cost of gasoline tops $4 a gallon with no sign of ever going down. It is a rare opportunity to be able to provide a review of one such product that actually performs as advertised, reduces recurring fuel costs to nothing, reduces carbon emissions by more than 95 percent, with increased efficiency that can get the job done in a quarter of the time while providing improved health care opportunities.

There’s a new alternative-energy lawn mower that is a perfect example of the kind of technology that not only performs well but really illustrates how off-track technology can take our society.

More importantly though, it demonstrates the numerous advantages of a good design that takes into account costs to the community as well as the cost to the user.

Yard maintenance cuts across all segments of our society, so advances in this field have the potential for...

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Celebrating the `Aina

Molokai comes together for Earth Day festivities.

The Molokai Dispatch, Brandon Roberts, 23 April, 2008

It is no surprise that Earth Day is one of Molokai’s biggest community celebrations. Malama `aina is more than words to most residents here; it is a way of being.

This year has been internationally dedicated as the year of the reef, and Molokai perpetuated that theme with “Momona ka papa ke e`ehu ka `aina”, (the reef thrives when the land is healthy). The environmental celebration held on April 18 at the Mitchell Pau`ole Center...
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Molokai Earth Day draws its largest crowd

Honolulu Advertiser, 20 April, 2008 Reader Submitted

KAUNAKAKAI—More than 1,000 people attended the 16th annual Molokai Earth Day Celebration on Friday at the Mitchell Pauole Center, lured by the huli chicken plates, native plant giveaway, live music and door prizes that included a Ben Aipa longboard...

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Hawaiian music camp victim of Molokai Ranch closure

Hawaii Today

by: Derek Paiva
posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 at 10:13 AM

Molokai Ranch closed earlier this month, forcibly relocating Aloha Music Camp.

For the last five years, the Hawaiian music, dance and culture camp convened each summer at Molokai Ranch’s isolated Kaupoa Beach Village.

This year’s camp—scheduled for June 22-28—will move to the Big Island’s

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Developer Chased from Punaluu by Competitors

Hawaii Reporter
Special from Hawaii Free Press
By Andrew Walden, 4/17/2008 2:58:40 PM

Punaluu, Kau, developer Sea Mountain Five has apparently been driven out by Office of Hawaiian Affairs-funded backers of a competing development scheme.

Reports indicate Pat Blew and his Sea Mountain Five (SM5) partners missed a $250,000 contract payment due April 1 to...

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Duo to hold talk-story on native herbs

18 April, Star-Bulletin

Kapua Fonoimoana and Carol Anamizu are back at Kahuku Public and School Library for an informational talk on native herbs.
Back by popular demand, the duo will host "Hawaiian Herbs 2" from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the conference room.

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Nonprofits rally against proposed disclosure requirements

Tuesday…nonprofits rally against proposed disclosure requirements, ABC debate parodies, Gannett earnings call

April 22, Ian Lind
...
Although versions of the bill have passed both House and Senate, and conferees have been named, no meetings of the conference committee have been scheduled and the deadline for finishing work on any bills is at the end of this week.

The bill has the backing of the Attorney General’s Office, which says more transparency is needed to protect both the public and the nonprofit organizations themselves.

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Akaku's CEO April Dines then Whines

Cable advocates call for last-minute rescue of public access bill

Ian Lind, 17 April, 2007

...
Jay April, CEO of Akaku: Maui Community Television and one of the bill’s backers, said yesterday that he has been unable to determine who is responsible for the failure...

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Meanwhile the State of Hawai`i Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Merina Report, does indeed seem to document hundreds of thousands of dollars being paid to and for Akaku executives salaries, health care, cars, hotels, travel to the mainland, "continuing education", food, ...

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Audit details malfeasance

April 19, 2008, Editorial, Maui News

The state auditor has yet to write her final report, but it is clear from a preliminary release that the state Department of...

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Despite Akaku's Collins' Lobbying and John "Jay" April's Lies, Staff Silently Blows Senate Whistle, Legislation Dies

New rules governing public-access TV die at Legislature

By CLAUDINE SAN NICOLAS, Staff Writer, The Maui News

HONOLULU — Despite widespread statewide support, including from those associated with Akaku: Maui Community Television, legislation to clarify rules for public-access television stations has died this legislative session.

“It’s disappointing,” said Wailuku attorney Lance Collins, who has represented the board of Akaku in lawsuits against the state...."

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According to Maui court records, at least one non-profit high school television station was competing against Akaku for the State procurement contract for public access television until the same Lance Collins' protests and lawsuits against the State of Hawaii as well as the bunch of high school media, arts and science students managed to stall the public procurement process and successful manage to maintain the status quo, no procurement, no audits, and exemption from the law which not unreasonably expects public accountability for the millions of dollars of money authorized, ordered and paid to Akaku by the State of Hawaii to provide Public, Educational and Governmental Access to the entire County of Maui County, including the Islands of Molokai and Lanai.

Akaku: Maui Community Television Staffers report being concerned about the millions of dollars of unaccounted for public access television funds budgeted to provide public access television services, being misappropriated at the expense of Maui's outer Island communities. Instead being wasted on executive travel, meals, trips to the mainland, credit card expenses, bottled water, ..., along with self serving, self billed, lawsuits based on false testimony along with lobbying for legislation and promotion of political candidates that seriously jeopardize Akaku's ability to maintain its non-profit status in good standing.

Earth Day!

11 April, 2008, The Haleakala Times, Jan Welda

Have you seen the book called The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, by Thom Hartmann? The revised and updated version is subtitled The Fate of the World and What we can do Before it’s Too Late. It’s one of many excellent books available today on this subject.

Since we recently passed the sobering milestone of five long years spent fighting an oil-generated war in Iraq, with now over 4,000 U.S. military personnel and many thousands of other people dead as a result (in addition to the massive amount of money being drained from our economy daily for this war), the information these books provide is more vital than ever; if you get a chance, read all about it.

High fuel prices are causing all sorts of havoc. Aloha Airlines, and now ATA Airlines, have folded, causing hundreds and hundreds of people here in Hawaii to be suddenly out of work. Can you think of creative, effective ways to help these people?

Gasoline hovers at $4 a gallon; our electric bills continue to increase, and we here on Maui continue to be disturbingly reliant upon imported goods for day-to-day living, from the food we eat to household items to building supplies to automobiles. And where does the petroleum fueling this lifestyle come from? The earth....

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Akaku Maui Community Television's April Lounges

Akaku Maui Community Television's April Lounges

Jay April, President/ CEO of Akaku. “Independent media is rare and important, bold and edgy. It’s the lifeblood of any democracy—particularly an island community.”

Mr. April, whose previous leadership of Akaku: Maui Community Television as the former Chairman of the Board has been described as "... a complete perversion of the separation of powers for an Executive Branch board to ask the Judiciary to circumvent a process established by the Legislature.", is better known for arranging the agreement that resulted in the Akaku: Maui Community Television Board of Director's, resigning, appointing itself, and then appointing Mr. April as President/ CEO, where he has insinuated himself to this day.

Read More... and More...

Riots, instability spread as food prices skyrocket

14 April 2008, (CNN) -- Riots from Haiti to Bangladesh to Egypt over the soaring costs of basic foods have brought the issue to a boiling point and catapulted it to the forefront of the world's attention, the head of an agency focused on global development said Monday.

"This is the world's big story," said Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University's Earth Institute.

"The finance ministers were in shock, almost in panic this weekend," he said on CNN's "American Morning," in a reference to top economic officials who gathered in Washington. "There are riots all over the world in the poor countries ... and, of course, our own poor are feeling it in the United States."

World Bank President Robert Zoellick has said

Editorial: Island need prompts help

April 9, 2008, The Maui News

By some definitions, Dan Goodfellow is a malihini, a newcomer. By other definitions, he is a kamaaina, a person knowledgeable in the ways of a place. In Goodfellow’s case, the place is Maui.

Dan and his brother, Steve, are Goodfellow Bros., a construction company that has its family roots in the Pacific Northwest. At a meeting of the Maui County Fire and Public Safety Commission, Dan Goodfellow stated a philosophy that ever has been a basic principle of island life:

“If you see something that needs to be done, you do it.”

For years, that something has...

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Molokai a model for all Hawaiian communities

April 13, 2008, The Maui News

It’s so funny to hear someone blame the Molokai community for the downhill spiral of the economy (Letters, April 10). The idea is so far-fetched!

The almighty dollar is at its lowest value yet, and the cronies in the Fed are projecting a recession through the year 2009.

The Molokai community should serve as the blueprint for all of our Hawaiian communities! We all talk about saving and protecting our aina. We need to do it. Our brothers and sisters on Molokai have shown us how.

Ranching is no longer profitable! Building homes and developing Molokai make the ranch a developer, not a ranch, so rightfully it should have shut down.

As for the “stink eye” reference,...

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‘Crying’ for Water

April 13, 2008, By CHRIS HAMILTON Staff Writer, The Maui News

HAIKU -- During an often highly emotional public meeting late last week on a petition seeking the return of sugar company-controlled water to five perennial streams in East Maui, Native Hawaiian taro farmers made it clear again and again that they need more water to grow their staple crop.

The crowd of more than 100 people, most of whom were Native Hawaiians with farmland, attended the meeting Thursday night before staff members of the state Commission on Water Resource Management at the Haiku Community Center.

The meeting was...

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Diverted water leaves family, taro with trickle

April 13, 2008, By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer, The Maui News

HUELO -- Hidden amid the jungle and just up from the ocean, these 2 acres of green and fertile land contain 25 terraced taro patches that have been in Beatrice Kekahuna’s family for at least 150 years.

In communal harmony, four segments of the family worked and laughed late last week as they maintained five taro patches, or kalo loi, which are similar to rice paddies.

They said they want to grow much more of the versatile starchy staple of the Hawaiian diet.

But there isn’t enough water from Honopou Stream. So the family manicures the rest of the empty patches, and the dry earth remains cracked and scarred.

Family member and taro farmer activist...

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Service charges may go higher

By ILIMA LOOMIS Staff Writer, The Maui News

WAILUKU — Maui County residents would pay more for county services — from water, to garbage collection, to golfing on the Waiehu Municipal Golf Course — under Mayor Charmaine Tavares’ budget proposal for 2008-09.

Tavares has said some fees for basic services, such as water and sewers, need to increase to keep up with the cost of maintenance of systems. Other changes, such as a shift from daily to hourly rentals of community centers and park facilities, are meant to change the way residents...

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Lolo Laws

Friday 4-11-08 BY: BRANDON ROBERTS

Democracy In Action and Patients Without Time director Brian Murphy, joined by the organizations' Molokai representative Gloria Molica-Dell, registered over 60 people to vote last Monday. Molica-Dell will be gathering initiative signatures and registering voters at Molokai's Saturday Market the next two weeks.

Public initiative would allow Maui County farmers to grow medical marijuana.

By Brandon Roberts

In 2000, Hawaii state legislature recognized the medicinal benefits of marijuana and enacted SB 862 to approve the use of medical marijuana, though the law lacks the proper language on how to acquire the medicinal herb.

Democracy In Action (DIA), and Patients Without Time (PWT) are...

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IMF head gives food price warning

13 April, 2008 BBC

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that hundreds of thousands of people will face starvation if food prices keep rising.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that social unrest from continuing food price inflation could cause conflict.
There have been food riots recently in a number of countries, including Haiti, the Philippines and ...

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Adolescents Admonish Akaku's April: Racist, Lying, Thief

Open letter to Mr. April, President of Akaku Maui Community Television.
Mr. Jay April,
Maui Community Television
President/Ceo/Ex Board Chairman

Dear Mr. April,

As president of Akaku you are responsible for caring for and sharing Maui's community TV resources. You have violated that trust.

Mr. April, you are a theif, for years now, you have spent more public money intended for public access television on food and air trips and hotel rooms to the mainland for yourself, then you have for public access television for the entire populations of Hana, Molokai and Lanai.

Mr. April, you are a lier, you claim you own the copyright to our school class projects. You have lied to our teachers. You have lied to our parents. Youl lied to the judge.

Mr. April, you are a racist, calling Hawaiian kids a tar baby during your board meetings, and stealing money intended for Maui Television, and shutting of tv on molokai and lanai while threatening our family with lawsuit for makes direct attack on Hawaii nei.

Mr. April, you are the biggest cost and most expensive threat to free speach on Maui.

Go Home.

Keiko o Maui i ka Aina.

Airline bankruptcies ground local Boy Scouts

Joyia Emard, Loomis News Staff Writer, 11 April 2008

The double whammy of Hawaii-bound airline closures has left local Boy Scout families scrambling.

“It stinks,” said disappointed Scout John Lewis.

A number of Boy Scouts from Troop 12 in Loomis have been planning a June backpacking trip to Kauai for two years. Many of them now stand ticketless for their travel after ATA and Aloha Airlines recently closed down services.

Some Scout parents had even planned...

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Not enough affordable land, Kauai farmers say

8 April, 2008, The Honolulu Advertiser

by Diana Leone

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Koa Kahili has a vision of growing cacao — the raw material for chocolate — on a 10-acre farm on Kaua'i and making a living at it.

Though his crop choice is unusual, Kahili faces a challenge in common with other Hawai'i farmers: the need for affordable land.

Kahili has a couple of hundred cacao trees on a quarter-acre leased plot in Kapa'a. And he's got 1,800 seedlings ready to plant but nowhere to put them.

"I've been looking online, seeing what there is for sale," Kahili said. The best deal he could find was 2 1/2 acres in Kapahi for $400,000.

"It does have a house on it and it's ag land, but it's still way beyond my means," he said.

Though there are other...

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Cost of fuel behind transportation failures

April 6, 2008, The Maui News

Quote of the day from Aloha Airlines CEO David Banmiller:

“I mean we have support for the Superferry whose business model is broken, we have support to go buy a hotel resort or something, so any misconception we weren’t out there turning over every rock, talking to state and federal officials and investors and airlines is simply an error.”

With both cases the governor sought government intervention in the free market to be assisted by the Legislature for new special-privilege law of a company-specific nature. In both cases, the biggest problem to the company is the rising cost of fuel. In both cases, the governor believes that...

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Aloha, Auntie Nona

Winona Beamer, 84, entertained, educated and inspired generations

11 April, 2008, The Honolulu Advertiser

Winona Beamer, the beloved matriarch of a prominent Island family of entertainers and who coined the phrase "Hawaiiana" and dedicated her life to hula, died early yesterday at the Lahaina home she shared with her singer-composer son, Keola Beamer. She was 84.

She passed away peacefully in her sleep," said a weeping Keola Beamer from San Francisco, where he was in the midst of a concert tour...

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Maui first to average $4 a gallon for gas

Maui News, April 11, 2008

WAILUKU — The average price of regular gasoline on Maui island Thursday reached a record $4 a gallon.

Wailuku is the first area in the nation tracked by AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report to hit the $4 mark. In the remote coastal town of Hana, the price was around $4.55 a gallon. Prices for regular are also above $4 on Molokai and Lanai.

Maui’s average is up about half a cent from Wednesday, 5.7 cents from a month ago and about 74 cents from a year ago.

The state’s average stood at $3.674, about a penny shy of the record high set in September 2005.

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Man dead, officers injured in Makawao

April 11, 2008, The Maui News

MAKAWAO -- Maui police were at the scene of a shooting incident Friday morning in which a man was killed and police officers were injured at a residence in the vicinity of Kealaloa Avenue in Makawao.

Police were also at a second Makawao property in a investigation believed to be related to the case in which shots were fired.

According to a Maui County release, a man was found dead in a vehicle after police officers fired their weapons after being injured during an encounter at a residence. Maui police are expected to hold a press conference today (Friday) to discuss the incident, but the timing for release of information was not clear

There was no official information about the identity of the man who was found dead, but several Makawao residents claimed it was a 38-year-old man who has a record of convictions for theft and firearms violations in 2004.

According to the county statement...

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Akaku CEO April Calls Kids Pirates. Denies Maui Community TV Access to Hana, Lanai, Molokai, Hawaiian Homelands

Akaku CEO April Calls Kids Pirates. Denies Maui Community TV Access to Hana, Lanai, Molokai, Hawaiian Homelands.

Public court records on Maui show that Jay April's on going lawsuit against Maui's first high school student operated, digital community television station consist mainly of Mr. April's claim that only he has the right to give permission to air community television programming shown in Maui, and that it is illegal for kids, or anyone else to make Maui community television programming available on the Internet, by Youtube, or by any other means. Mr. April goes on to claim the law requires that all community television producers register their productions with the State of Hawaii's, PEG Access Provider for the County of Maui, and that by his authority as Chief Executive Officer and President of Akaku Maui's State Run Television station he maintains the right to sue anyone that makes Maui's community television producer's programming available anywhere other than on his local access cable television stations, regardless of whether or not cable television is even available in the more remote areas of Hana, Lanai, Molokai or elsewhere.

Ranch Cuts More Than Just Jobs

4-11-08 By Brandon Roberts, The Molokai Dispatch

Destructive measures in the wake of closure.

Kaluakoi residents awoke Wednesday to the sound of rain and falling coconut palms. Up to 30 trees have been killed to make barriers around the golf course, and have many Molokai residents wondering why.

“This is just so sad, it looks like a war-zone with all the beautiful trees down,” said Judy Canady, Ke Nani Kai resident of 27 years. “They could have at least had the courtesy to tell us.”

“When people start abusing plant life because they are mean, nasty, and self-centered, it really hurts,” Judy exclaimed. She believes...

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MOLOKAI RANCH: Coconut palm removal worries condo owners

By Kate Gardiner
4/10/2008 12:24:18 AM

Trees will be used as barricades

Kaluakoi and Kenanikai residents awoke to a surprise Wednesday morning: the buzz of chainsaws coming from the fairways of their well-used golf course. Some looked out towards the ocean to see some of the former resort's oldest coconut palms toppling to the ground at the hands of Molokai Ranch employees around 6:30 am.

Coconut palms are being cut down around the Kaluakoi Golf course, says John Sabas, general manager for community relations for Molokai Ranch.

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Aloha Aloha: Airline first of many to shut down

By Kate Gardiner
4/7/2008 7:47:12 PM

Impact on tourism, flights to islands reverberates throughout industry

HONOLULU – Aloha Airlines ended its era March 31. The 61 year-old airline flew its final passengers last Monday and ceased passenger operations. While it will continue to operate its cargo shipping in the state, it laid off 1,900 employees, or 54 percent of its workforce.

“This is an incredibly dark day for Hawaii,” said David Banmiller, Aloha’s president and chief executive officer in a press release. “Despite the groundswell of support from the community and our elected officials, we simply ran out of time to find a qualified buyer or secure continued financing for our passenger business. We had no choice but to take this action.”...

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Kill Bill Volume III: 5 Year Moratorium on GMO Taro or 3 Year Moratorium on Public Urination in Honolulu

The State of Hawaii House of Representatives just killed SB958 which started as a ten year moratorium on genetically engineering Taro and just ended as amended, into a five year moratorium on Hawaiian varieties of Kalo, and a moratorium on the regulation of the genetic engineering of everything else. The House instead now has for its consideration SB1978 which provides for a three year moratorium on public urination and defecation in Honolulu.

Which poses the questions that shouldn't, yet have to be asked... why only three years, why only Honolulu and why only urination and defecation? What happens after the three year moratorium has expired? What about public urination and defecation in Kahului? And what about a moratorium on pandering, embezzlement and theft?

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Akaku CEO April Refuses Access to Audits. State Representatives to Require Non-Profit Reporting. 2 Stories or 1?

Monday…Registering nonprofits, recent Weekly stories, and a thrift store find

ilind.net - Ian Lind, April 7th, 2008

My comments here on Saturday concerning SB3171 (registration of charities) drew a response from a friend that might be of interest.

Here’s his initial comment:

This bill is going to kill the small non-profits. Look at all the PTAs, soccer and little leagues, and other non-profits that are going to become criminals under this law. Think again that this isn’t going to be used to go after some poor smuck that doesn’t know how to prepare financial statements.

Then again, it is a boon to CPAs, because it is going to have the non-profits paying out of their noses to get into compliance with this law. Old saying, be careful for what you wish for.

I then countered:

PTA’s are exempted.
Organizations raising less than $25,000 annually are exempt from annual reporting.
Organizations will be able to substitute their federal tax forms for any state paperwork.
Organizations under $1 million do not have to provide an audited statement.
Perhaps I missed the criminal penalties, but I don’t see them here.
Much of the regulatory burden falls on professional solicitors (ie, generally, telemarketers).
I don’t see the big issues that you’re seeing here.

I should have said something about the several cases of small nonprofits being ripped off by insiders. Not that registration will deter embezzlement and theft, but at least it might cause groups to pay a bit more attention to how their funds are handled and accounted for. That would not be a bad thing....

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Council supports moratorium on genetic alteration of taro

The Maui News, 8 April, 2008

WAILUKU — The Maui County Council voted 8-0 Friday to approve a resolution urging support of a 10-year moratorium on the genetic modification of taro.

The council’s action came a day after the state House of Representatives Agriculture Committee recommended action on an amended bill for a five-year moratorium on experimenting with the plant.

Senate Bill 958 prohibits developing, testing, propagating or growing genetically modified Hawaiian taro during the moratorium.

The bill next goes to the full House for a floor vote on third reading. Thursday is the deadline for action on bills in the nonoriginating house — in this case...

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Legislatures Pass Bill Compromising the Protection

3 April, 2008, The Molokai Dispatch

Over 6,000 names and letters were submitted in support Senate Bill 958.

Honolulu, Hawaii- Senate Bill 958, 10-year halt to experimental research of genetically modified taro of all varieties, was watered down to a compromise despite farmers and Native Hawaiian’s hopes today at the Capitol. The Senate Agricultural Committee voted 9-3 on what they are calling a compromise bill: a

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Walter encourages community to come together

The Molokai Times, By Walter Ritte
4/7/2008 8:28:05 PM


We have been forthright and consistent in our opposition to the development of La'au Point on Molokai. Throughout the entire process we have encouraged the Ranch to come back to the table to negotiate out a compromise plan, as the community had rallied around the protection of La'au.

Because of our open invitation, we were taken by surprise by the sudden closure of the Ranch operations, even though the threat of a closure and selling of the property were part of the "take it or leave it" proposal made by the Ranch. Many of us opposing the La'au development had family who worked for the Ranch, myself included, as my youngest son was a recent employee.

The Ranch has decided to close, but none of us have decided to move off of Molokai, so it is imperative that we begin the process of coming together to pick ourselves up. Our first meeting to draw up an economic development plan we can agree upon was held...

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Maunaloa’s last picture show

By Marketa Stastna
4/7/2008 8:26:53 PM

Curtains fall; spirits rise

Drawings and notes of thanks from Molokai’s children decorated the lobby of Hollywood Theaters’ Maunaloa Town Cinemas in lieu of the usual movie posters last Thursday.

As the theater prepared to close the curtain forever during its last night of operation, throngs of moviegoers filled the theater to catch the one of the last shows, “Doomsday,” “Never Back Down” or “Bank Job,” while the others gathered near the Maunaloa Post Office for a potluck.

“It was the only recreation we get for Molokai,” said Cheryl Puailihau, taking her 3-year-old for a showing of “Doomsday.” “ I mean, what else have we got?”

This feeling was shared by those who showed their support...

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Class act: Bicoy trades basketball court for science lab

By Marketa Stastna
4/8/2008 12:22:12 AM

In between shooting hoops and running track, Ayla Bicoy switched a jersey for a lab coat and came up with a possible answer for the suffering reef of Kauankakai Harbor. This project has earned her several awards at the Hawaii State and Engineering Fair held last week in Honolulu.

The Senate has recognized the senior student for her accomplishments.

“I thought that her work was outstanding and worthy of a recognition by the senate. You know she’s … starting off in her life and her career … I’m hoping that this will encourage her to continue to do outstanding work in...

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The Drumbeat of Change

The Molokai Times, J. Kalani English

Over the past few weeks, I have been writing about some of the significant new challenges facing Molokai and our state.

Molokai Ranch has ended its operations, as has Aloha Airlines. We continue to face uncertainty in social, scientific and cultural areas, with questions about genetically modified foods, our educational system, and preservation of our native culture and lifestyles on the minds of many of our neighbors.

In national politics, we hear the constant drum-beat of change. A change in foreign policy, a change in the way we view race and gender, and change in the value we place on the accumulation of wealth. And while that drive for change is less urgently felt in Hawai‘i, I think we all have a sense that with so much going on around us, we need to be ready for something new when it appears on our horizon.
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Akaku CEO Jay April Has More Weight Than Thought

Kahului, Maui: Jay April, the CEO and President for the State of Hawaii's, Akaku: Maui Community Television; whom public court records on Maui show is currently suing twenty one local, independent community television producers on Maui, claiming he exclusively controls the copyright for their independent productions and that Maui's PEG Access television producers have no right to show their own productions anywhere other than on Akaku's State Run Cable Access Television Channels publicly stated:

“We’re very grateful to Hawaii People’s Fund for their commitment to media justice to fund this public awareness coalition,” says Jay April, President/ CEO of Akaku, who invited `Ōlelo, Na Leo and Ho`ike to lead the coalition’s public education messages with their respective island audiences.

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Farmers Fresh Maui Meet

The Molokai Times
By Tom Patrick
4/1/2008 7:37:05 PM

10 girls make it to finals

Three boys and nine girls represented the Farmers track and field team last Friday and Saturday at the Satoki Yamamoto Invitational held at War Memorial and Yamamoto Field on Maui. Although none of the boys made it past the trials on Friday, the team as a whole met personal bests, which resulted in 10 girls advancing to the finals on Saturday.

"Every single one, if you look at what they've done in the past, either ran or threw or jumped for their personal best," said Molokai High track and field coach Scott Hemenway. "They all did really well this past weekend, relative to what they've done in the past."

The success of the girls earned them 24 points and resulted in a ninth place finish out of 12 teams.

Freshman Kalei Adolpho was the only girl to make it to...

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Money for Molokai

Tuesday 4-1-08, The Molokai Dispatch, Brandon Roberts

Though the annual Maui County budget hearing took almost four hours, council members could still laugh as the community testimony came to a close.

Community asks county to fund important programs.

The gavel fell, and Maui County council members prepared to hear the Molokai communities’ budgetary wants and needs for the upcoming year.

This year, Molokai is slated to receive over $600,000 in county grants and around four million in capital improvements.

“This is a good budget for Molokai,” said Councilman Danny Mateo. “Molokai gets back a considerable amount in terms of county expenditures,”...

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Stranded Aloha Airlines Passengers Given Special Rates, Discounts

HONOLULU (KHNL) -- In response to Aloha Airlines' closures, several hotels and other airlines are coming together to extend a helping hand with special rates and discounts for Aloha Airlines passengers.

Hawaiian is accepting Aloha tickets for free Coach Class seating on a first-come, first-served standby basis. On Monday, March 31, Aloha ticket holders for only Hawaii to U.S. Mainland travel can standby for flights on Hawaiian. From Tuesday, April 1 through Thursday, April 3, Aloha ticket holders for all interisland and transpacific travel can standby for flights on Hawaiian for the ticketed day of departure only. There will be a...

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Last Hurrah

Tuesday 4-1-08 BY: BRANDON ROBERTS

After five years of dedicated community service, it is time for two Molokai planning commissioners to step down as their terms wrap up.

DeGray Vanderbilt and Lance “Kip” Dunbar participated March 27 in the last meeting as acting commissioners at the. The Molokai Planning Commission (MoPC) meeting, held at the Mitchell Pau`ole Center, was business as usual; however, it was spiced up with a lei presentation, and a closing mahalo from Vanderbilt.

“Molokai has a bright future,” MoPC chairmanVanderbilt said in his final address...

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Kaua‘i workers brace for future

April 1, 2008

by Amanda C. Gregg - THE GARDEN ISLAND

Several employees working on what turned out to be their last day on the job yesterday at Aloha Airlines — some of whom had served the company for nearly 30 years — were still absorbing the shock of Sunday’s news that the company was shutting down.

“I didn’t find out ‘til yesterday,” said one employee, who didn’t give her name. “I’ve only been here a month. It’s harder for my uncle, who’s been working baggage downstairs for 26 years.”


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New Beginnings on Molokai

Leaders discuss opportunities which may come from Ranch closure.

By Todd Yamashita

Molokai community leaders are joining efforts to find solutions for the island’s economy in the aftermath of Molokai Ranch’s closure.

“Yesterday was about the Ranch, today is about the people of Molokai,” said Councilman Danny Mateo.

A few days after Ranch CEO Peter Nicholas abruptly announced the company’s shutdown, soon-to-be former employees rallied in Kaunakakai, hurling signs blaming environmental activists for the loss of their jobs.

However, as the finger-pointing begins to subside, community leaders are stepping up efforts to re-shift the focus on where to go next.

“There’s something good about the Ranch getting out,” said ...

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Collins Sues Self. Flees to Micronesia.

1 April, 2008

Kahului: Coming off a long string of unsuccessful litigation against everyone from the State of Hawaii Attorney General, to a school of traditionally underserved kids, to his mom, Maui's favorite tele-litigator, Lance Collins, announced his new law suit.

Collins explained, "I owe it to myself to come up with a legal strategy that has even the slightest chance of actually winning." Collins, one of Maui's new breed of Lawyers whose practice transcends legal traditions like, the introduction of evidence, and, well, the law, schooled those present on the intricacies of his tactics, "By suing myself it seems I am assured of prevailing as either the plaintiff or the defendant."

Last reported fleeing to Micronesia on Akaku: Maui Community Television's private jet, Collins is allegedly and simultaneously both initiating and opposing extradition proceedings subsequent to being caught subpoenaing himself in public during oral testimony.

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