Thursday, May 13, 2010

Musings: Path-o-logical

Well, the County Council can pat itself on the back for accomplishing something that pleases people this election year: allowing dogs — licensed, leashed and properly doo-doo bagged, mind you — on the entire length of the Path, save for a quarter-mile section that fronts Lydgate Park.

That way they can have a steady source of revenue from citations issued to dog walkers who unwittingly venture into a section made off-limits because, well, because Councilman Dickie Chang thought it should be.

Poor Councilman Kaipo Asing confessed to “zillions of sleepless nights thinking about the consequences” of — gasp — putting people with dog phobias in close proximity to leashed dogs. You know, because they otherwise wouldn’t encounter any dogs in their day-to-day life and there’s absolutely no place else they can go to recreate on this island.

He was worried about whether the bill would be fair to the minority who are afraid of dogs. Well, what about the minority who are afraid of what a concrete choker will do to the eastside coastline and its few remaining wilderness coves that are slated to be overrun by the jogging, biking, dog-walking, baby-strollering masses?

Councilman Jay Furfaro had his own worries: what the state might think of leashed dogs walking on the Wailua Bridge or alongside the highway at Wailua Beach. Um, how come he’s not worrying about what Hawaiians and conservationists have already said they think about running the Path through a sacred area and on the crest of the sand dune?

And Councilman Darryl Kaneshiro, well, he didn’t vote yes and he didn’t vote no. He just remained silent. Now that’s the kind of thoughtful, decisive leader we want to return to the Council.

Up on the northwestern end of the island, we have another path issue, with Paul Curtis reporting that an astounding 500,000 people walk between Kee and Hanakapiai each year. Wow, that’s about 1,370 people per day. If you figure 10 hours of daylight, that’s 130 people every hour. Kinda plenty for a so-called "wilderness park." In fact, the crowds are so thick it makes it hard to repair the trail so, you know, more people can hike on it.

A local friend said he was returning from bow-hunting in Hanakoa one recent Saturday and was shocked by the numbers of tourists he encountered. “There must have been 200 people on the beach at Hanakapiai. It looked like Waikiki. There wasn’t a bare patch of sand anywhere, and more people were walking up the stream, into the valley. I couldn’t believe it."

Meanwhile, Thomas Noyes, who so altruistically pushed the Path and is now pushing Councilman Tim Bynum’s re-election campaign, has landed himself a job with the Kauai Action and Planning Alliance (which is slotted to receive $37,000 in county funds next year, but no conflict there) managing its Na Pali Trail restoration project.

But the locals who live up there and thought they might be hired to help with that $1.2 million project are instead expected to volunteer their time, even though Hanakapiai has turned into yet another place where they just don’t go anymore.

Of course, the hordes hiking the trail do not come equipped with their own doo doo bags, which means they’re using the bathrooms at Kee, which means the old bathrooms were getting overwhelmed and leaching onto burials and sacred sites, which means a new “solution” had to be devised in the form of a “constructed wetlands” sewage treatment system that might actually end up polluting the real wetlands and the taro patches and the fish pond and had the local boys who take care of the end of the road upset about burials and artifacts that were being moved, without proper cultural consultation, during the construction process, prompting a heated meeting up there yesterday.

But never mind. The tourists are happy, and that’s all that matters.

23 comments:

jackbauer said...

If anyone ever wondered why these council members deliberate and are overwhelmed by such extreme trivia, this is the answer:
Because anything that requires the ability to think and come up with solutions, anything that is a serious matter is simply beyond their abilities. They are substandard and have been bluffing their worthiness to be on that council. They can only get re-elected with the assistance of an insider vote counter.
Do you hear what Iʻm saying? And the drug use, alcoholism and ʻotherʻ activities have got to stop.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone check to see if Tim voted on the funding of KPAA? Did he even disclose the possible conflict? I don't think that's right.

Anonymous said...

Dickie's campaign Chair AND Treasurer is the son of the County Finance Director. Do you think that has an influence on the way Dickie does business on the Council?

Anonymous said...

Dickie's campaign Chair AND Treasurer is the son of the County Finance Director. Do you think that has an influence on the way Dickie does business on the Council?

Anonymous said...

Correction to previous post:

Dickie's campaign Chair AND Treasurer is the father of the County Finance Director. Do you think that has an influence on the way Dickie does business on the Council?

disgusted said...

This crap needs to stop.
And how the hell did walaau about anything he knows nothing about get in that seat?

Unknown said...

"This crap needs to stop.
And how the hell did walaau about anything he knows nothing about get in that seat?"

he received enough votes. will he be re-elected? probably. does he know what he's doing? probably not but with guys like kaipo and darrel it's easy to see what the low expectation or standards are and how easy it is to hit the low marks set by our visionary leaders.
kauai voters get what we deserve. we vote for popular,favorites community good guys. until we create opportunities for leadership to develop we will end up with the kawakami, chang , kaneshiro crowd. even nadine nakamura would be a change from darrel k or kaipo a even if she is an insider.

Anonymous said...

for some reason i doubt dog tickets are going to be big revenue stream

but hey, dont council term limits start soon? i thought that rule was on its way. anybody? thanks


dwps


ps -- "kauai voters get what we deserve." ...good point, well taken

Anonymous said...

Anyone else amazed at the amount of clout TIm Bynum seems to wield on the council these days? I mean, for years, as Kaipo went, so did the council. To have a vote that goes 6-1 with Kaipo the lone dissent hasn't happened since the 80's. Remember, Kaipo was the one who crafted the compromise legislation 18 months ago. He gave his normal ridiculous presentation. And no one went along with him, even Darryl, who has not voted against Kaipo in the last ten years. I'm still wondering if Kaipo will keep his promise, made when he became mayor after the death of Baptiste, to finish out this term and not run for re-election.

Anonymous said...

"They can only get re-elected with the assistance of an insider vote counter.
Do you hear what Iʻm saying? And the drug use, alcoholism and ʻotherʻ activities have got to stop."

This is cool. Who is the inside vote counter rigging the election? Who's the druggie? Who's the alchy? What's the "other activities" and who's engaging in them? jack, we gotta know. or are you just jacking us around?

jackbauer said...

No Iʻm not jacking you around and would need to figure out how to say it without them jamming up the messenger.
Do you understand?

As far as Nadine Nakamura, isnʻt she related to Peter ?

Everyone sure tossed their chips in the pot for Lani and for what? You REALLY expect anything different from Naydeeeeen? Now Iʻm laughing and crying at the same time.

Anonymous said...

why let slanderous rumors be ruined by a lack of credible sources? better to talk stink and hope that it sticks. 24's stale, so time for a new moniker. how's about jerkboner?

Joan Conrow said...

May 14, 2010 6:45 AM

Truly toxic trash terminated.

Anonymous said...

Lani did a terrible job as council , all she did was parrot Tim, no mind of her own, not a good thing. Not one time did she vote different from Tim, and i had high hopes for her. i won't vote for her again

coast haole said...

what a bunch of BS. The elected get there because the largest voting blok, the born and raised here locals, cast there votes for them. A bunch of noisy empty barrel, johnny come lately whiners aint gonna make a whole lot of difference. If you don't like or can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen, go back where ya all came from. No place is perfect. As a "coast haole"(35 yrs worth) I have no problem with the people of this Island running there own affairs!!!!!!

monroekepson said...

The bathrooms at Ke`e are necessary. The old bathrooms as with the newer bathrooms that replaced them are of great concern - has been for many, many years. What's wrong with looking to modern technology to devise alternatives that are more environmentally and culturally sensitive? The local boys who claim to "take care of the end of the road" should listen and look to their elders and credible masters in their young years when they should be learning - not trying to lead the charge. There was no "heated meeting" as you reported.

jackbauer24/7 said...

May 13, 2010 9:07 PM

Hit a bone-errr, did we?

Joan Conrow said...

Dear troubled Anonymous who keeps getting deleted and rejected, yet persists:

Your fixation on me and my blog is really very sad, and perhaps even pathological. I'm sure you and the world would benefit if you were to work on some of your anger issues and direct your energies into something more productive.

Good luck to you.

Blessings,
Joan

Anonymous said...

TO: May 13, 2010 9:07 PM

Who got slandered,donʻt you have state someoneʻs name? Maybe slander can be charged anonymously.
I wonder if itʻs some county people making trouble to Joan.

Anonymous said...

The trail should be closed for repair. Its ridiculous to try to fix it with constant traffic of hikers.
This volume of visitors is unsustainable for the natural resources of Kee & Hanakapiae. Should consider closing the park on alternate days to give it a rest. They did that for Hanauma Bay on Oahu. Hollywood movies like "the perfect getaway" increase traffic in this overused & abused resource. Let's not forget the cultural aspects of this valued place & our kuleana to malama.

Anonymous said...

Dickie's campaign Chair AND Treasurer is the father of the County Finance Director. Do you think that has an influence on the way Dickie does business on the Council?

The Deputy County Clerk is also his co chair

Anonymous said...

Who is the Deputy County Clerk?

Anonymous said...

3:51 PM wow, must be american, every answer handed to them because unable or unwilling to even do a little research.

pick up the phone and find out.

Phone: (808) 241-4800