Shannon J Mewton

Right now I am putting together a map of Kauai showing all the documented Agent Orange, Agent White, Agent Blue, etc. aerial spraying areas. Many are directly above Wailua where I lived. When I am done with that, I am going to post it some where here.

Then I will be able to start thinking about lesser horrific signs of "progress." I live in a tiny Spanish village in northern New Mexico. Same things happening here that I saw in Hawaii: Forrest Service reducing/ transferring permits to remote areas far from ranch headquarters. Diesel fuel goes to $5.19. No one can haul cattle. Real estate agents move in and jack up property values. Families who have been here for 500 years cannot afford their taxes. A few years back an 80+ yr old Spanish man took jars of pennies in to pay his taxes. Dumped them all on the counter. Big dumb gates start going up along the roadways with $50,000 welded pipe fencing that contains nothing. Suddenly, there is no place to cut wood, and irrigation rights are tampered with by wise newcomers with computer programs. Within a few years, meadows not supporting hay and stock is eroded and covered with noxious weeds which spread everywhere. The "gentlemen ranchers" as they like to call themselves (most own 35 acre "ranches"), call town hall meetings in the middle of the day and vote on things like yard lights. Doesn't matter if it is the middle of the day because everyone is working about 20 hours every day and cannot get to meetings regarding irrigation, water rights, fencing, etc.
Voila. The entire culture is reduced to a for profit venture. Kids have to move away. None of them can afford the inflated rents. Fields go fallow. Fences fall down. Irrigation water does not move through property not being irrigated to the next working farm. Old folks who don't speak much English stay in their houses. When they pass away in a fit of depression, the kids show up from town with the for sale sign.
Just like Hawaii.

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Sheridan Collins September 29, 2010 at 7:33am

I worked as a civil construction inspector on the Light Rail Project in Sacramento in 1984. How is it holding together?
Sheridan Collins September 29, 2010 at 7:29am

Right now I am putting together a map of Kauai showing all the documented Agent Orange, Agent White, Agent Blue, etc. aerial spraying areas. Many are directly above Wailua where I lived. When I am done with that, I am going to post it some where here.

Then I will be able to start thinking about lesser horrific signs of "progress." I live in a tiny Spanish village in northern New Mexico. Same things happening here that I saw in Hawaii: Forrest Service reducing/ transferring permits to remote areas far from ranch headquarters. Diesel fuel goes to $5.19. No one can haul cattle. Real estate agents move in and jack up property values. Families who have been here for 500 years cannot afford their taxes. A few years back an 80+ yr old Spanish man took jars of pennies in to pay his taxes. Dumped them all on the counter. Big dumb gates start going up along the roadways with $50,000 welded pipe fencing that contains nothing. Suddenly, there is no place to cut wood, and irrigation rights are tampered with by wise newcomers with computer programs. Within a few years, meadows not supporting hay and stock is eroded and covered with noxious weeds which spread everywhere. The "gentlemen ranchers" as they like to call themselves (most own 35 acre "ranches"), call town hall meetings in the middle of the day and vote on things like yard lights. Doesn't matter if it is the middle of the day because everyone is working about 20 hours every day and cannot get to meetings regarding irrigation, water rights, fencing, etc.
Voila. The entire culture is reduced to a for profit venture. Kids have to move away. None of them can afford the inflated rents. Fields go fallow. Fences fall down. Irrigation water does not move through property not being irrigated to the next working farm. Old folks who don't speak much English stay in their houses. When they pass away in a fit of depression, the kids show up from town with the for sale sign.
Just like Hawaii.
Sheridan Collins September 28, 2010 at 7:16am

Hello - I am also dismayed by my recent excursion to Kauai via Google Earth. Where we used to cook fish and sing at Hanalei pier is called The Black Pot still, but it seems to be a parking lot. When I'm thinking about where to live I look for golf courses and horse facilities. If they are there, I am not. I have a whole theory about subsistance cultures butting heads with consumer cultures.
Michael Daniel Medley August 17, 2010 at 4:33pm

Thanks for the warm welcome.
Pono Kealoha August 4, 2010 at 7:55pm

mahalo for the add, and glad to see you are open to Information not taught in schools or cover by main meda.

This reply was deleted.

Shannon J Mewton

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