When Councilman Greenwell came up with the suggestion that detainees from Guantanamo Bay Prison be released for rehabilitation here on the Big Island, did you consider this idea may have arisen from discussions with members of the Obama administration about where they could relocate some of these prisoners? I did. [And we know know that such prisoners are now being sent to the island of Palau.]

At the 11/17/09 County Council “Food Sustainability” Committee meeting Councilman Pete Hoffmann proposed Resolution 269-09 to create a food advisory council to be composed of knowledgeable citizen volunteers. This council would embody a County level commitment to food sustainability and agriculture –issues which are critically important to our environment, our culture, and our long term economic future. Now you are probably wondering how could the deliberations over this Resolution be so interesting. I mean really, isn’t support of this legislation a sure thing, a “no-brainer”?

County Council votes to eliminate the State land Use Commission and the State Land Use Districts. The "Hilo power club" (Chair Yoshimoto et al) see Resolution 268-09 as a way to becoming all the more powerful: vote was 6 positive and 3 negative .

This Friday 11/20 the Leeward Planning Commission will consider Parker School’s proposed amendment to its existing Use Permit. Parker School is seeking to substantially increase its enrollment, add a middle school complex and a 400 seat gymnasium, as well as locate its adult education program on this same campus. The Planning Department has recommended approval of this application. There is however substantial community concern. Here is the letter submitted by the Waimea Community Association and a Summary of the recent community meeting hosted by Parker School.

At Mayor Kenoi’s November 12th Honokaa Talk Story, Waipio resident Margaret Loo stood up to Mayor Kenoi and Public Works Director Warren Lee. She said the Waipio farmers asked her to speak. She explained the Waipio Road is so full of humps and pot holes that bringing up a truck full of taro is dangerous---either you have to go down into the holes or close to off the cliff. She said Public Works reps keep giving them excuses, all about the earthquake or the oil mix controversy or some other problem.

"Video Provided By AMARAKA TV"

Time to Talk Story in Honokaa on stormy rainy night at the high school gym
Mayor Kenoi’s Honoka’a “Talk Story” was an important meeting, not just for the residents of Honoka’a but also for our Mayor and his Department chiefs.... Here is a sampling of questions asked [based on my recollection from last night].

What about the sale of our land?- you know once it is gone it is gone forever. Did you really try to find other ways of closing the budget gap? What if it wasn’t there to take, you’d have to think of some other way to find the money, wouldn't you?

When household income declines, and there is a gap between income and expenses, there is a choice. Either tighten the belt and cut expenses, OR increase income. For some reason our state leadership seems to ignore the second option of finding new revenue streams as the alternative to cutting costs. I am serious.

Here is Zion Estes' video of Waimea's emergency preparedness and community resilience meeting. Click "on-demand" to start the video and then click "resilience preparedness" so that the clip start at the beginning of the program. You can adjust volume where you see the + and - symbols. Also you can switch to full screen by clicking the 'full screen button" AND return to the smaller screen when you want to by clicking on the "esc" button. You may also type in comments in the chat bar.

The more sustainable we become, the more independent we will be, and accordingly the better able to handle any emergency.

The history of the Land Preservation fund (the 2% land fund) is one of the people asserting the importance of preservation of special natural and cultural places around the island and those in power asserting that this responsibility is not so important.

WAIMEA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION NOVEMER 5 MEETING
NOV 5 at 5 p.m. LOCATION: Waimea Elementary School Cafeteria

HOW CAN WAIMEA COMMUNITY PREPARE FOR AND REDUCE THE RISK OF EMERGENCIES AND DISASTERS?

Please attend and bring your ideas, your questions, and your concerns. This will be a “round table discussion” with the goal of creating a Waimea Resilience Plan . Consider the following categories of disasters:

11/4/09 County Council Action:
Bill 132 Postponed: Hamakua Land Sale Transparency bill postponed until next Council Session. Councilmembers agreed this is an important issue that should be heard by the full Council. Extraordinary Testimony by Residents from around the County about the importance of this land for the future of our island.

THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF THE LIST OF CHARTER AMENDMENTS: PLEASE ALSO READ PREVIOUS "IMPORTANT COUNTY CHARTER AMENDMENTS: SUMMARY AND LINKS": RE: AMENDMENTS RELATING TO CDP PLANS AND ACTION COMMITTEES, TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, COUNTY'S PUBLIC TRUST RESPONSIBILITIES FOR NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES, CREATION OF AN ENERGY AND AG DEPT, AND CREATION OF A DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL DEFENSE here

The following summary was provided by Debbie Hecht: Please support as well:

COUNCIL VOTES IN SUPPORT OF RESOLUTION 265 –URGES PROTECTION OF HAWAII COUNTY HOME RULE AUTHORITY IN ALL MATTERS RELATING TO AGRICULTURE – INCLUDING RELATING TO GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS
This bill is a vote in opposition to pending state legislation House Bill 1226. If enacted this coming legislative session, House Bill 1226 (HB1226HD1) will exempt GMO usage from any county or state regulation (placing GMO companies above the law).

11/6 Charter Comm: Asks If You Want a More Open Government, Recognize Importance of CDPs (Community Development Plans); Recognize the County's Public Trust Responsibility for natural and cultural resources, Add an Energy& Ag Dept, as well as a cabinet level Dept of Civil Defense: Please testify Nov6 at 1:30pm Hilo, Waimea, or Kona

The agenda for 11/6 Charter Commission meeting is attached in the pdf file attached to this blog. Attached hereare the proposed Charter Amendments to be voted on at the 11/6 Charter Commission meeting.... as referenced in the attached agenda. Each of these amendments is discussed in my previous blog.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6 AT 1:30 PM IS IMPORTANT: TESTIFY IN FAVOR OF PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS THAT RELATE TO OPEN AND TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT, INCREASED ETHICAL STANDARDS, RECOGNITION OF THE COUNTY'S PUBLIC TRUST RESPONSIBILITIES, ESTABLISHMENT OF A DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND AGRICULTURE, AND DEPT OF CIVIL DEFENSE:

CHARTER COMMISSION 11/6 HEARING WILL BE HELD IN THE COUNCIL HEARING ROOM HILO ABOVE BEN FRANKLIN STORE, VIDEOCONFERENCING AVAILABLE IN WAIMEA AND KONA.

HERE IS THE LIST OF THESE CHARTER AMENDMENTS (Remember the Charter is your constitution. It trumps all other County laws)

WAIMEA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION NOVEMER 5 MEETING: "Resilient Waimea"
ALERT YOUR CALENDAR and hope you can attend: NOV 5 at 5 pm LOCATION: Waimea Elementary School Cafeteria

HOW CAN WAIMEA COMMUNITY PREPARE FOR AND REDUCE THE RISK OF EMERGENCIES AND DISASTERS?

Please attend and bring your ideas, your questions, and your concerns.

On November 2nd 3rd, and 4th, there are important hearings before the County Council and on November 6th there is an important Charter Commission hearing . Below is a list of the most critical matters before the County Council on these dates. In a subsequent blog, I will discuss the November 6th Charter Commission hearing agenda.

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WHEN AND WHERE: 11/2 Monday 6pm: Public Hearing Hilo Councilroom above Ben Franklin Store; Videoconferencing available in Waimea and Kona Council offices

Hey no surprise Naeole will be absent for Wednesday's vote on Bill 132 (Transparency in the Hamakua Land Sale). In case you have not noticed, there is a clear pattern -- course of action when one of J Yoshimoto's block starts to waffle and that vote is the decisive vote. (It did not take a rocket scientist to guess that either Naeole or Greenwell would be absent from Council when the vote was taken on Bill 132.)

The Kohala Center is now finishing up its public review sessions of the draft County of Hawaii Agricultural Plan. The final public review session is scheduled for Wednesday November 4th at the Pahoa Community Center. The future of agriculture deserves your support. Here are some ideas you should consider supporting:

1. The number 1 policy must be “Buy Local” (Buy Big Island!) If we significantly increase demand for local produce, we move forward on the path towards a sustainable self-reliant economy.

"Public data" means online data in real time. This is the mantra of Vivek Kundra, our nation's Chief Information Officer. We must democratize data, he explains. People want the raw data. The public can handle the data and create ideas and move government forward. Kundra sees this current movement as the third economic revolution in our nation's history: the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, and the transparency of information revolution.

"Content Provided By AMARAKA TV".

By Paul Blumenthal on 09/17/09 @ 3:41 pm
Sunlight’s Ellen Miller talks to federal CIO Vivek Kundra at the recent Gov 2.0 summit.

This afternoon Tom Witten of pbrhawaii consulting group met with members of the Waimea community to present the final master plan of the Waimea Regional Park to be. He was joined by Bob Fitzgerald Director of Parks and Recreation.

Quick Summary of Important Public Hearings-Hilo: Be there and be heard (or by videoconference from Waimea and Kona)
10/2: Support Transparency Bill 132: Bill 132 seeks to provide for more transparency in the sale of County Lands. Public Hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. November 2 – though notice to Councilmembers, and to the public on the internet, was not yet available this morning when I checked. Seems one has to call the County Clerk’s office to find out this secret information. (remember this is a Public hearing - no voting will take place.)

Here is why I think the Council and the Mayor should come to an agreement regarding the sale of the Hamakua lands. Stop the “sandbox” political gamesmanship.

1. Whereas: All agree these lands should remain in agriculture; Put covenant in the deed that land to remain in Ag use and in Ag 40 acre zoning for atleast 20 year;