Interisland Cable Survey Report Completed
The State of Hawai‘i has announced the completion of the Interisland Cable Project Ocean Floor Survey. The survey indicates that placement of undersea electrical transmission cables is physically possible between the islands of O‘ahu, Maui, Moloka‘i, and Lana‘i. The cable is an integral part of a proposed Interisland Wind project that would transmit up to 400 megawatts of renewable electricity generated from wind farms on Moloka‘i and Lana‘i to O‘ahu and potentially to Maui.
Whale sanctuary council seeking board applicants
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for its advisory council along with a newly created youth/student seat. The federal agency wants to fill eight primary seats and eight alternative seats on its advisory council. The council represents the public's interests in sanctuary matters and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent and state co-manager.
The sanctuary is the first sanctuary in the country to recruit a youth member to participate in the advisory council. The open positions are for primary and alternate seats representing various communities and each of the state's four counties. The community members would represent Native Hawaiians, fishers, educators and researchers. Candidates will be selected based on their expertise and experience for the seat they are seeking, along with community and professional affiliations and views regarding the protection and management of marine resources.
The nonvoting youth/student seat and alternate seat is open to those 14 to 17 years old. Applications are due Jan. 31. To receive an application kit or for further information, contact council coordinator Joe Paulin via e-mail at Joseph.Paulin@ noaa.gov or by phone at (808) 397-2651, ext. 257. See the sanctuary Web site at hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov. Completed applications should be submitted to Joe Paulin, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, 6600 Kalanianaole Highway, Suite 301, Honolulu 96825.
December 2009 – Planning Director's proposed Draft Maui Island Plan as presented to the Maui County Council's Planning Committee. Download a PDF of the entire plan here.
Competing interests vie for East Maui water
After a full day of testimony before the state Commission on Water Resource Management, the panel likely will make a decision today on how much water to restore to 19 East Maui streams. Late Wednesday evening, commissioners finished listening to public comments after seven hours of testimony and about a two-hour staff presentation at the Paia Community Center. Commission members planned to reconvene at 9:30 a.m. today and said they would render a decision, make amendments or send it back to staff members with proposed changes and conduct another meeting at a later date. No matter what is decided today, the complex and emotional issue has pitted HC&S and its supporters - even the Hawaii Democratic Party - against taro farmers, environmentalists and Native Hawaiians who also say they need the water to restore the host culture, aquatic life, flora and fauna.
USDA Rural Development program now accepting energy applications
The Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, is looking for projects to be awarded in 2010. Businesses and producers in rural Hawaii and the Western Pacific looking to create renewable energy, or make energy-saving improvements may be able to finance up to 75 percent of eligible project costs through the program. Stand-alone grants can be awarded up to 25 percent of total eligible costs.
A pledge to preserve open space on Maui
About 11,300 acres on the leeward slopes of Haleakala on Maui will be dedicated to agricultural use, in a plan to preserve ranching and the rolling green hills at Ulupalakua. The agricultural easements awarded to Maui Coastal Land Trust consist of two parcels, one of 6,000 acres and a second of 5,328 acres, stretching from the ocean to the 6,000-foot elevation.
County Seeking Eligible Project Proposals to Include in the Community Development Block Grant 2010 Annual Action Plan
The County of Maui Community Development Block Grant Program announced that it expects to receive approximately $2 million for the CDBG program and is seeking eligible project proposals to include in its 2010 Annual Action Plan
Read a draft of the Central District Final Candidate Strategies Report – intended to serve as a broadly distributed document for review of the major strategies being considered for the Central District in the Maui County Water Use and Development Plan
Cold ocean water to be turned into air conditioning
Planning Committee completes review of Countywide Policy Plan 2030
Proposed development projects map
for the Makena and Wailea regions as of 2009
(Download a printable PDF file here)
The Lingle administration, attempting to balance the state budget, has authorized the layoff of about 118 Department of
Agriculture employees. This will mean that most imported
produce will NOT be inspected on Maui, but in Honolulu before
eventually being shipped by barge to Maui. The delay will
cause higher costs and lower quality due to the spoilage of
produce.
This chaotic situation may even allow some produce
and other goods to enter Hawai'i un-inspected. (Sign our online petition here or download and submit a PDF petition here).
The improvement to our existing fine inspection regime was hard won over the past twenty years. It will be lost with this
dismantling of the DOA wall of protection. The Ag inspectors
who are targeted for lay-offs have intercepted the Brown Tree
Snake on eight occasions, and the dangerous Red Imported
Fire Ant on two occasions.
The Lingle administration's abandonment of this essential
infrastructure leaves us vulnerable to a flood of invasive
species that threaten our economy, health and way of life.
There is an additional problem for the export farms and
nurseries who may be denied certification of their exports,
thus closing hundreds of small businesses with the loss of
numerous jobs.
Cutting Ag Inspectors will save only $5.9 Million annually,
but the negative impacts will likely be measured in the
hundreds of millions of dollars. The Dept. of Ag lay-offs are
grossly dis-proportionately larger than other State departments.
Read more – Agricultural inspector layoffs slammed
and – Big Isle ag interests lobby at state Capitol to keep inspectors
Makena Resort investors default on loan
Skittish lenders and real estate buyers apparently accomplished what hundreds of protesters couldn't: halt the massive Makena Resort development in South Maui. At least for now. Everett Dowling, the Wailuku developer who spearheaded the project, said on Tuesday that he hopes to be back on board with new investors in six months.
However, on Monday, Honolulu attorneys for the resort's trustee, Wells Fargo Bank, filed a complaint in 2nd Circuit Court alleging that the partnership of Dowling Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Real Estate, together called Makena Land LLC, defaulted on the original $192.5 million loan to purchase the 1,800-acre Makena Resort.
Remarkable Aloha – The teachings and legacy of Uncle Ed Lindsey
"Ed Lindsey was a friend and hero to many, and a spirited warrior for the `aina. Though we will miss him in our daily musings, his journeys and work are now complete, and he is now among the ancestors we may call to bless our endeavors."
A Clean Energy Future For Maui and Hawaii
Download a whitepaper (PDF file) written by Creative Conflict Solutions which documents the opinions of key stakeholders in Hawaii’s clean energy movement,
including: solar, wind and geothermal contractors, a bio-fuel company owner, electric utility
administrators, the Mayor of Maui County, leaders of non-profits invested in sustainable living
and energy innovation, environmentalists and native Hawaiians. Through an in-depth interview
process, each of these stakeholders spoke of their visions, their interests and their issues.
Hydrogen power plant proposed for Molokai
A New Mexico-based energy technology company has chosen Molokai for one of four sites on which it plans to build what it calls the world's first utility-scale, zero-emissions hydrogen power plants. The Molokai plant, proposed by Jetstream Wind Inc., would use electricity from wind or solar or a combination of the two to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen would then be burned in a turbine - similar to what is used in a natural-gas-fired power plant - and would generate enough electricity to power 6,000 homes and businesses, the company said.
Maui Island Plan documents
Hawaii paying nearly twice market rate for solar power
The state signed 20-year power purchase agreements with Hoku Scientific Inc. last fall. It failed to get a large number of competitive bids, which could have lowered the price. The state is paying 38 cents a kilowatt hour on Maui and Kaua'i for solar power. In Hilo the rate is 33 cents a kilowatt hour, and in Kona the rate is 32 cents a kilowatt hour. Hawaiian Electric Co.'s rates for medium and large customers on Maui this month vary from 16 cents to 21 cents a kilowatt hour.
Isle luxury projects in limbo over financing
Keaka, Everett Dowling's development company, was at the Maui Planning Commission to seek an amendment to permits for its Maluaka project to drastically downsize the project from 71 luxury condominiums to 13 lots plus recreational facilities. The commission favored it, also praising Dowling for seeking LEED "green" certification on his development.
Demand for luxury housing is down, but it appears that lack of financing is an even greater impediment to developments and redevelopments along Maui's golden shores.
A&B property designated as important ag lands on Maui
The state Land Use Commission has unanimously approved a request by Alexander & Baldwin to designate more than 27,000 acres on Maui as important agricultural lands. The designation includes lands currently being used for sugar cane cultivation and other farming activity in Central Maui and Makawao. But it does not include some areas where A&B has previously indicated an interest in development, including lands along the island's north shore and in Maalaea and Haliimaile. County and state officials said they would have liked the designation to include the additional fields.
County's Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Averages 64 MPG
The County-owned Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle achieved an average performance of 64 miles per gallon, according to the first monthly report from the U.S. Department of Energy. The report, which provides data for the North American PHEV Demonstration, also lists a high of 97mpg for city driving and a low of 40mpg for highway driving.
Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Accepting Applications NOW
Only rural small businesses and farmers/ranchers are eligible. To qualify as a farmer/rancher, the entity, including corporate parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries, must derive at least 50% of total income from the farm operations. To qualify as a small business, the entity, including corporate parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries, must meet the definition based on the Small Business Administration guidelines. (Download PDf file here)
County Maps Showing Planned Development on Maui
All projects filed at Planning Department
Are GMOs Safe?
Big on Bamboo
The Drowning of Hawaii