Honolulu Civil Beat - Monday, September 17, 2012

Editor's Note - This op-ed was written in direct response to Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie's recent remarks defending the beleaguered Public Land Development Corporation.

By Jon Osorio

Governor Abercrombie calls the public rejection of Act 55, which created the Public Lands Development Corporation, a “conspiratorial hysteria” (Honolulu Star Advertiser, September 13, 2012, A1) one day after Mililani Trask writes that the uproar is the result of fears that are needlessly “hysterical.” (HSA, September 12, 2012)

I do not need to speak for the environment-conscious members of the public who have their own reasons for being leery of a state corporation that gets to exempt its projects from county zoning and state land use designations, except to say that they seem more prudent than hysterical. I will speak only as one of the plaintiffs in OHA v HFDC, the so called “Ceded Lands” case.

What Act 55 calls Public lands are almost entirely the Crown and Government lands of my country. The State Supreme Court in 2008 admitted that we Kanaka Maoli have an un-relinquished claim on these lands, and briefly enjoined the state from selling these lands, pending a resolution of the claims of Native Hawaiians.

After Governor Lingle appealed to the US Supreme Court, the state court dropped the issue in favor of legislation (Act 176) in 2009 that made it more difficult to sell the Crown and Government Lands.

What all of this means legally remains unclear. What it means politically is that the State of Hawai`i and the Hawaiian Nation have unresolved differences over the lands that legally belonged to the Crown and to our Kingdom’s government.

For purely practical reasons—I'd like to avoid being labeled hysterical—I do not want five appointees of the Governor and the Legislature, whose interests are not necessary mine and every other Hawaiian beneficiary, to be in charge of developing these lands.

The same 2009 legislation that supposedly made it slightly more difficult to sell Crown and Government lands, also facilitates exchanges of our lands with private property owners.

Now the PLDC’s ability to circumvent zoning laws makes it even easier for individual parcels to be exchanged with corporate partners, with the added attraction of being freed from even having to pursue zoning changes.

I predict that numerous exchanges will be taking place, and the Department of Land and Natural Resources will increasingly be managing lands that other people and companies do not want.

Crown and Government lands that have been preserved and maintained as conservation or agricultural lands will be urbanized, and the most remunerative of those lands will wind up belonging to developers, their clients, and their customers. I certainly think that is the intent of Act 55.

Now I will be passionate. The Crown and Government lands of the Kingdom belong to the descendants of the citizens of the Hawaiian Monarchy. If the Governor and the Legislature want to manage our lands more effectively for the benefit of every resident in Hawai`i while we sort out our legal disagreements, I support that.

But exempting a government agency or a private company exempt from law is not effective management, and all of your finger pointing, Governor Abercrombie, will not make it so.

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"First Landing Movie - A Visit With Stephen Kaneai Morse"

First Landing portrays how the occupation of Kaho’olawe Island on January 4, 1976 by nine courageous individuals began a chain of events that revitalized the Hawaiian culture. Stephen Morse was one of those nine and for him it was life-changing. Plans are now afoot to film a documentary based on a book he wrote about that day almost forty years ago. Donʻt miss our interview with Steve as he speaks about his experience, his book and tells us why that day was like no other - Watch It Here

MONDAY, September 17th At 5:30 PM – O`ahu - `Olelo, Channel 53
MONDAY, September 17th At 6:30 PM – Maui – Akaku, Channel 53
MONDAY, September 17th At 7:00 PM & FRIDAY, September 21st At 5:30 PM – Hawai`i Island – Na Leo, Channel 53
TUESDAY, September 18th At 7:30 PM, THURSDAY, September 20th At 7:30 PM & SATURDAY, September 22nd At 8:00 PM - Kaua`i - Ho`ike, Channel 52

SATURDAY, September 15th At 8:00 PM – O`ahu - `Olelo, Channel 53

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Human Remains Discovery Stop Project Indefinitely

The first human remains to be discovered in the path of the Honolulu rail project have been unearthed in Kaka`ako by a crew conducting an archaeological survey for the project.

State Historic Preservation Division Administrator Pua Aiu said Thursday the bone fragment, believed to be Hawaiian remains dating to pre-contact times, was discovered Wednesday in a "nonburial site context" along with shell fragments and fire-cracked rocks.

The excavation appeared to have penetrated an old building site, revealing brick from a building foundation on each side of the trench, she said.

The bone was discovered at a depth of about 4 feet, she said. SHPD instructed the archaeologists working on the trench to leave the bone in place and continue excavating around it.

Dan Grabauskas, executive director of the Hono­lulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, visited the Kaka`ako site where the first human remains in the path of the rail project were discovered.

The $5.26 billion rail line is the largest public works project in Hawaii history, and the city has already agreed to pay more than $22 million in contractor claims because of delays.

Concerns that the discovery of Hawaiian burials along the rail route will delay construction were underscored Wednesday afternoon when a crew conducting the archaeological survey in Kaka`ako unearthed the first human remains discovered within the rail route.

The city has been surveying the 20-mile rail route in sections and has not completed the portions of the route in urban Hono­lulu where experts agree that burials are most likely to be found.

Last month the state Supreme Court ruled construction should not have begun on the $5.26 billion rail project until an archaeological survey was completed for the entire rail route.

In a unanimous ruling, the court found that rules governing the State Historic Preservation Division did not allow that agency to agree to the rail project until the city finished the survey to determine whether there are Native Hawaiian burials or other archaeological resources in the path of the rail line.

Hawai`i Reporter - Thursday, September 13, 2012

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai`i, with the help of Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawai`i, has attempted for more than a decade to get legislation passed that would have the federal government "recognize" native Hawaiians, so that race-based government programs are protected from legal challenges.

The proposed legislation, which would set up a framework for a separate native Hawaiian nation within the United States, has been extremely controversial in the islands and in Congress. Native Hawaiians on both sides have been fighting over the language and intent.

One proposal included designating native Hawaiians as a new Indian tribe (although they were never in tribes).

The legislation passed the US House three times, even with strong opposition by conservatives both in and out of the US House. However, the legislation has never passed the US Senate.

This despite the power that Inouye, D-HI, has as appropriations chair and as President pro tempore of the US Senate.

Akaka, now 88, is retiring at the end of year from the US Senate, and in one final push, he is asking fellow Senators to back his Native Hawaiian Recognition bill otherwise known as the Akaka Bill.

Thursday, in the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which Akaka chairs, the Akaka Bill (S. 675 ) was voted to the Senate floor via voice vote.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, indicated his opposition, as did Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, via proxy.

Barrasso said on the record this bill has inspired strong opposition from other Senators who "feel strongly" it bypasses the Department of Interior process inappropriately.

Steven Duffield, former policy director to Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who has watched the Akaka legislation over the years, and attended the hearing today, said: "This bill is dead on arrival on the Senate floor. Committee Vice Chair John Barrasso (R-WY) went out of his way to thank Sen. Akaka for his service and leadership, but then made clear that he opposes the bill and many others do, too. The fact that Sen. McCain, who once chaired this committee, reiterated his opposition should remind everyone how deep the concerns about this bill are."

Barrasso said on the record this bill has inspired strong opposition from other Senators who "feel strongly" it bypasses the Department of Interior process inappropriately.

Leon Siu, a native Hawaiian activist and Hawaiian Kingdom Foreign Minister, has opposed the Akaka Bill legislation in Congress and has even traveled to Washington DC to meet with House and Senate members about his concerns.

Siu said in an earlier letter to Hawai`i Reporter that Akaka made a key tactical error in December 2009 when he amended the bill to create a "tribe" and take away state oversight, because that set off a chain of events that led to the bill's failure.

Civil Beat - September 11, 2012

WASHINGTON — The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will take up the namesake legislation of retiring Chair Daniel Akaka in his final attempt to advance the cause of Native Hawaiian government that will be his legacy.

The committee has scheduled a "markup" for Thursday afternoon so Akaka can streamline what had been roughly a 60-page package into a 15-page proposal he hopes will be easier for colleagues to pass, even if it happens after he's gone, according to Akaka spokesman Jesse Broder Van Dyke.

The existing version of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act includes a lengthy section that would set up a roll, determine who qualifies as Native Hawaiian and require action from the Secretary of the Interior.

But the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission authorized by the Hawaii Legislature last year is now up and running, eliminating the need for the federal government to get involved in that step. The amended version of the bill Akaka will push Thursday would acknowledge the state's Roll Commission.

Removing that piece from the bill, the thinking goes, would make the measure less controversial and easier to pass because there won't be any debate over who qualifies.

That hardly guarantees passage, however.

The September session here in Washington, which just started in earnest Tuesday, is expected to be brief. With Democrats and Republicans moving toward a continuing resolution that would fund the federal government for six months, lawmakers could be back on the campaign trail within a couple of weeks.

That would leave only the lame-duck session between the Nov. 6 general election and the seating of the 113th Congress in January. The lame-duck session would be Akaka's final chance to pass the bill before he's replaced by either Democrat Mazie Hirono or Republican Linda Lingle. Majority Leader Harry Reid has lots of other things on his plate and a less-than-fully-compliant minority opposition to deal with.

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Hawai`i is not, and has never been in or a part of the United States.

So you cannot secede from something you've never been legally part of.

You cannot quit something you didn’t join. You cannot resign from something to which you don’t belong. You cannot divorce from someone to whom you were never married.

Hawai`i regaining its independent status is a matter of reinstatement; of putting something back into its rightful place.

Since Hawai`i was never lawfully made a part of the United States, its rightful place is still that of a sovereign, independent nation.

The current status of Hawai`i is that it’s people, lands and government are being held captive by the US.

The Free Hawai`i movement is not seeking to secede from a bad union, it is seeking freedom from captivity, and the freedom to resume Hawaii’s status as a sovereign and independent nation.

"Malama Maunalua - A Visit With Alika Winter"

Just a few generations ago, seafood was harvested daily from Maunalua Bay, but today itʻs reefs are dying, choked by invasive algae and pollution. But thatʻs where Alika Winter and Malama Maunalua have come to the rescue, clearing an amazing two million pounds of algae by hand. Donʻt miss our fascinating visit with Alika as he shows us the amazing work theyʻre doing to mālama, or care for this beautiful bay and once again restore itʻs future - Watch It Here

MONDAY, September 10th At 5:30 PM – O`ahu - `Olelo, Channel 53
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"First Landing Movie - A Visit With Stephen Kaneai Morse"

First Landing portrays how the occupation of Kaho’olawe Island on January 4, 1976 by nine courageous individuals began a chain of events that revitalized the Hawaiian culture. Stephen Morse was one of those nine and for him it was life-changing. Plans are now afoot to film a documentary based on a book he wrote about that day almost forty years ago. Donʻt miss our interview with Steve as he speaks about his experience, his book and tells us why that day was like no other - Watch It Here

SATURDAY, September 15th At 8:00 PM – O`ahu - `Olelo, Channel 53

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Voices Of Truth interviews those creating a better future for Hawai`i to discover what made them go from armchair observers to active participants. We hope you'll be inspired to do the same.

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Hawaiians suffer the worst health profile in Hawai`i.

While rates of death from heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes have decreased for non-Hawaiians, they have increased, sometimes dramatically, for Hawaiians.

Below 1 year of age, the Hawaiian death rate is more than double the overall official average.

Between 1 and 4 years of age, it is triple the official figure, and so on into adulthood.

Just under 20 percent of the population, Hawaiians suffer 75 percent of the deaths for persons less than 18 years of age.

Civil Beat - September 6, 2012

The Public Land Development Corporation must now stoically plow on with its administrative rules because it’s “in conformance with the law.”

Senate Bill 1555 creating the PLDC was introduced by Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz on Jan. 26, 2011.

William Aila, current chairman of the Department of Land and Natural Resources submitted testimony contrary to SB1555.

At the Oahu public hearing on Aug. 29, 2012, former DLNR Chair, Laura Thielen, broke her silence and testified against PLDC and supported a repeal of Act 55.

SB 1555 passed without public scrutiny and was enacted into Act 55 by Gov. Neil Abercrombie on May 24, 2011.

Act 55 establishes the PLDC as a state development corporation attached to the DLNR to develop public lands placed under the PLDC jurisdiction, including but not limited to existing open shoreline areas, conservation lands, agricultural lands, and small boat harbors, for commercial purposes to generate revenue for the State.

PLDC has unfettered powers to develop and implement public lands projects and facilities to create revenue-generating centers as opportunities exist “to exploit potential local, national, and international markets.”

Act 55 allows PLDC to exempt development projects from regulatory oversight. PLDC now has over-arching powers to make optimal economic, environmental, and social use of Hawaii’s public lands.

The PLDC Board is, expectedly, stacked with pro-development cronies. Its executive director is Llyod Haraguchi, formerly with the Estate of the James Campbell. The PLDC Chair is Kalbert Young, director of the Department of Budget and Finance; Mary Alice Evans, deputy director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; real estate investor/publisher partner with Star Advertiser Duane Kurisu, and former state Sen. Bobby Bunda.

No Hawaiian or environmentalist or John Q. Public is appointed to the PLDC exclusive board.

PLDC held its statewide public hearings on its proposed Administrative Rules and the public response was clear and decisively negative....

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"Malama Maunalua - A Visit With Alika Winter"

Just a few generations ago, seafood was harvested daily from Maunalua Bay, but today itʻs reefs are dying, choked by invasive algae and pollution. But thatʻs where Alika Winter and Malama Maunalua have come to the rescue, clearing an amazing two million pounds of algae by hand. Donʻt miss our fascinating visit with Alika as he shows us the amazing work theyʻre doing to mālama, or care for this beautiful bay and once again restore itʻs future - Watch It Here

MONDAY, September 3rd At 5:30 PM – O`ahu - `Olelo, Channel 53
MONDAY, September 3rd At 6:30 PM – Maui – Akaku, Channel 53
MONDAY, September 3rd At 7:00 PM & FRIDAY, September 7th At 5:30 PM – Hawai`i Island – Na Leo, Channel 53
TUESDAY, September 4th At 7:30 PM, THURSDAY, September 6th At 7:30 PM & SATURDAY, September 8th At 8:00 PM - Kaua`i - Ho`ike, Channel 52

Now you can become a fan of Voices Of Truth on Facebook by clicking Here and see behind the scenes photos of our shows and a whole lot more.

Voices Of Truth interviews those creating a better future for Hawai`i to discover what made them go from armchair observers to active participants. We hope you'll be inspired to do the same.

Voices Of Truth now airs on local access stations in over 70 cities across the US and throughout the world. Check your local listings.

If you support our issues on the Free Hawai`i Broadcasting Network, please email this to a friend to help us continue. A donation today helps further our work. Every single penny counts.

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Despite Warnings and Pleas, Rail Headed for 'Burials Central'

By Kēhaunani Abad, PhD - As early as 2005, the Oʻahu Island Burial Council (OIBC) raised red flags. The rail project would undoubtedly impact Hawaiian burials.

Three years later, when the OIBC had not received promised communications from the City and County of Honolulu, the council asked for an update.

At that time, and at many meetings thereafter, the OIBC called into question the planned rail alignment, which would directly collide with concentrations of burials.

Joining the council's strong objections were the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hui Mālama i Nā Kūpuna O Hawaiʻi Nei, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and Hawaiian families.

But City planners did not listen or did not care.

A growing chorus implored transit officials to shift the project route, thereby avoiding known burial areas. Still the City ignored efforts to avoid conflict and prevent costly litigation, delays and project modifications that would ensue once burials were encountered.

Despite these warnings and pleas, the railway is headed straight for an area that could be called “Burials Central.”

Since the State implemented burial laws in 1990, more than 400 burials have been encountered in the core of the Honolulu urban corridor – an area bordered by River, King and Keʻeaumoku streets and Ala Moana Boulevard. Adding documented historic cemeteries and epidemic burials to the 400 would more than double that figure.

Before Western contact and well into the 19^th century, rolling sand dunes in this area were burial grounds for generations of Honolulu ʻohana. They would kanu, or plant, the remains of loved ones in the dunes.

Mana concentrated in iwi kūpuna (ancestral remains) would imbue the ʻāina and spiritually nourish the living community. Under the protection of their ʻohana, iwi kūpuna and ʻāina would become one, perpetually connecting kūpuna, ʻāina and ‘ohana.

But following two centuries of foreign impacts, these traditional burial areas were no longer controlled by families of the deceased. Disease and depopulation, the improper seizure of lands and illegal overthrow of the sovereign Hawaiian government created a spiral of negative outcomes – including removal of many ʻohana from ancestral lands.

Burial areas came to be “owned” by landlords and governed by new laws that afforded no protection to unmarked burials. Many burials were dug up and destroyed. Hundreds of others were built upon, leaving iwi kūpuna to continue their repose in Honolulu burial sands.

But lack of Hawaiian ownership of burial sites has not bred lack of concern. Hard-fought laws were enacted to safeguard burials as significant historic sites.

Prior to the rail project gaining approval, state and federal laws require completion of an Archaeological Inventory Survey (AIS) to identify significant historic properties, such as burials, and facilitate plans to avoid them.

To shortcut this vital planning process – and despite vehement objections of the OIBC – federal officials, the State Department of Transportation (DOT), Honolulu transit officials and others signed a rail Programmatic Agreement in 2011.

Unfortunately, this agreement enables the project to start construction along a committed route without first completing an AIS.

This misguided approach places Native Hawaiian burials in peril and gambles with taxpayer dollars. As attorneys for the National Trust for Historic Preservation warned, “the City’s decision renders the project legally vulnerable under Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act.”

This Act dictates that the federal DOT “cannot approve the use of land [involving]…historic sites [including burials] unless…there is no feasible and prudent alternative” and only if “the action includes all possible planning to minimize harm to the property resulting from use.”

But planning for burials has been minimal. The City has not completed its AIS for the project area involving “Burials Central” and has not seriously considered an alternate course, such as a King Street route, which would avoid burials.

If burials are found via the AIS or later during construction (since an AIS investigates only a sample of the project area), two laws are triggered.

First, Section 4(f) of the DOT Act would force transit officials to seek a “feasible and prudent alternative” that avoids burials.

And second, state law authorizes the OIBC or the Department of Land and Natural Resources to preserve the burials in place, as was done at Ward Villages where fundamental project changes were required.

If burials remain in place, rail alterations would be required.

Turning a blind eye to this reality, rail proponents contend they need only move a rail pillar forward or backward along the route to avoid burials. But that myth assumes burial areas would be limited and overlooks the greater impacts of train station construction and infrastructure relocation.

Four immense rail passenger stations are planned for the Honolulu urban corridor. And massive ground disturbance would occur as electric, phone, cable, water and sewer lines are relocated and roadways reconstructed.

So the question is not whether these disturbances of sandy deposits would encounter burials. The question is how destructive such encounters would be as work proceeds.

Would kūpuna be brutally unearthed by backhoes or pounded into oblivion by pile drivers?

If kūpuna are laid bare by intrusive archaeological hands, would transit officials coerce the OIBC to remove the remains?

If kūpuna are undisturbed, would the rail project require major alteration? At how many junctures might this occur? How would this affect the project timing and budget?

These are questions that should have been investigated long ago to minimize harm to kūpuna, anguish for the Hawaiian community and expense for Honolulu taxpayers.

Overriding each of these concerns, however, is the City’s desperate and shortsighted determination to force the rail project forward – no matter what the cost.

Kēhaunani Abad received her Ph.D. in archaeology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She served on the Oʻahu Island Burial Council for 12 years and has regularly been an expert witness in court cases involving historic preservation matters. She wrote this piece in April 2012 and it is reprinted with permission.

WHAT - Queen Lili`uokalaniʻs Birthday

WHERE - `Iolani Palace Grounds, Honolulu

WHEN - Sunday, Sept. 2nd 10 AM - 4 PM

DONʻT MISS - Ka Lei Maile Ali`i - The Queenʻs Women - A One Act Play - 1 PM

Music - Crafts - Tours - Ono Food

FREE TO THE PUBLIC - ALL ARE WELCOME

WHAT - The public is invited to attend three free events and a fundraiser as part of the President Grover Cleveland & Queen Lili‘uokalani Education Project, in honor of Queen Lili‘uokalani’s birthday Sept. 2 and St. Andrew’s 150th Anniversary.

WHEN - Saturday, Sept. 1, 11 AM to 1 PM, `Iolani Palace

WHERE - Re-enactment of reconciliation, featuring Queen Lili‘uokalani and Bishop Willis

FREE AND OPEN TO PUBLIC