Musings: Syngenta, Superferry, Chemtrails and Cops

The cloud-filtered sun produced the kind of light this morning that made it hard to tell whether it was spring or fall, but the flowers provided ample hints that it’s the former.

Albezia — scourge of the watersheds — is ablaze with tiny yellow-white blossoms that blow in the wind, creating a carpet of petals beneath the trees. I also noticed — or rather, my nose did — that some of my taro is blooming, exuding a delightful scent that is far more complex than one might expect from the simple appearance of its flowers.

Syngenta, it seems, is planning a simple solution to concerns that the pesticides it’s spraying on fields adjacent to Waimea Canyon Middle School are making kids and teachers there sick.

No, it’s not going organic. Instead, I learned yesterday from a reputable source, it’s planning to take those approximately 10 acres out of production. Apparently the company was concerned that local Syngenta reps haven’t expressed adequate public concern about the situation, so they sent one of their big wigs over from America to tidy things up.

Since they have a long term lease on the land, they can’t just let it sit there, so they’re looking at other uses, including an ag education program and worker housing, although both of those proposals have some drawbacks.

In the meantime, some folks on the Westside continue to monitor the situation and post various videos on youtube.

My favorite was "Prehistoric Monster," not because it’s compelling video, but because it was sent out with this hyperbolic intro:

Like a prehistoric monster looking for it's prey, a chemical sprayer works it's way towards a building of classrooms on Waimea Canyon Middle School campus. With winds blowing towards campus it's sonance carried on the breeze strikes fear in children and adults knowing it's breath will soon cause discomfort, pain, illness, and possible future death.

It prompted a friend of mine to respond: “They should have been around when the plantations did that with aircraft.”

Speaking of aircraft, a new blog, Kauai Sky, has been started that is devoted solely to monitoring chem trails — the “streaks of condensed water vapor created in the air by jet airplanes at high altitudes.“

I’m not really too familiar with chem trails, although I’ve heard them discussed by Bill Rash on KKCR radio, and the blog associates them with such diverse impacts as climate change and inability to concentrate. It also references a USA Today story that states:

A new conspiracy theory sweeping the Internet and radio talk shows has set parts of the federal government on edge.
The theory: The white lines of condensed water vapor that jets leave in the sky, called contrails, are actually a toxic substance the government deliberately sprays on an unsuspecting populace.

OK. Moving on to the Superferry, Councilman Mel Rapozo is running a little survey on his blog asking whether the big boat should return to Kauai.

Brad Parsons, meanwhile, sent me an email with comments from Sen. Gary Hooser and Rep. Mina Morita that indicate neither is expecting its imminent arrival.

Said Gary: I may be wrong, but in my opinion the HSF is not likely to propose any return to Kauai until they 'prove the model' on Maui and stabilize their financial picture and community perception.

Mina weighed in with: They may see Kauai as further damaging their cash flow situation and decide not to come or see as an opportunity to put them in a better financial situation which I doubt - that's what I think their determination to return to Kauai will be based on.

And The Advertiser, once again running behind a story already covered by blogs, Pacific Business News and the Star-Bulletin, has a piece today reporting that new Superferry CEO Thomas Fargo is waiting on a sign not from heaven, but the Kauai community. And not just us rank and file types, but those who supposedly lead us.

If the Superferry were to get some kind of signal from the community, especially from leadership, that service is desired, the carrier would respond to the request, Fargo said.

Asked what would constitute a signal from the community, Fargo said: "There'll be a momentum or view by the community that they would like Superferry service." He added that he wasn't sure how that view would be communicated.

The story also has spokeswoman Lori Abe maintaining once again that “the company is continuing to talk with community members on Kaua'i.”

It’s unclear, however, who those community members are, or exactly what they're talking about.

Finally, if you’re curious about our new Police Chief Darryl Perry, you can look in your mailboxes for the story I wrote in this week’s issue of Kauai People. If you don’t live on island, you can read it on line here. It starts on page six.