Saturday, April 9, 2011

Musings: Chicken Shit

When the tsunami surge arrived on Kauai’s North Shore last month, it washed out and salt-fried a lot of the vegetation that had been planted along the coast in Haena. But even that strong message from Mother Nature didn’t deter landowners, who quickly got to work recreating the thick plantings that give them privacy and some erosion protection — at the expense of the public’s beach.

Since everybody knows Pierce Brosnan, let’s use his house — which, secret-agent style, doubles as "The Cove," renting for $12,000 per week — as an example.

Pierce has seven acres of land, but still he felt compelled to begin claiming the public beach, as evidenced by this photo, which shows the chicken manure applied to the plantings in the sand fronting his lot back in 2007.


By 2009, his vegetation was thriving and already encroaching onto the beach, making it difficult to traverse.



Soon, thanks to regular fertilizing and watering, he had quite a lush hedge of naupaka to reinforce his message of Keep the Hell Out!


But the tsunami took a hit, and his vegetation ended up looking pretty scraggly, as you can see from these photos taken last week:



So Pierce’s gardeners got to work restaking their boss man's vegetative claim to the public beach by installing new coconut trees and other plantings.


To ensure the plantings thrived, they also added irrigation and applied copious quantities of chicken shit.




So now there’s shit on our white sand beach, and such a lovely smell wafting through the salt air.


For good measure, they tossed out some wood chips as mulch.


But don't worry. I’m sure none of this will wash out on the reef — so long as we don’t get any rain or another swell.

Main thing, Pierce is getting back the privacy he — and his high paying guests — require.

So next time you see him, be sure to say mahalo nui loa for being such a good steward of our island home, ya little chicken shit.

Photos by Caren Diamond

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Disturbing.
Can anyone say if Pierce himself knows about this? Or should someone tell him to fire his gardener asap?

Anonymous said...

Brosnan, get your shit off the Hawaiiansʻ beach.
And if any of that shit does reach the reef where Hawaiians gather and harvest, I can assure you I will go so loud and so public about what your self serving hypocritical ass did to the Hawaiiansʻ resources, youʻll crawl under one of your stolen rocks.

Anonymous said...

They're stealing OUR beach! Plain and simple! This is an outrage! Who do we have to call? This is unacceptable!

Anonymous said...

What is the agency, and who is the employee of that agency to whom complaints should be (and should have been) directed?

Since documentation exists from 2007, I'm curious if anyone complained then and to whom.

Certainly accountability from Pierece B is due, but maybe the bigger question is who in the government is dropping the ball - constantly in this area.

If this is under jurisdiction of county planning dep't then buys, stop sniffing around in Tim Bynum's windows and address real problems. If its the State, man you guys need to hire some people who actually work - even conservative judge Watanabe just held that your negligence killed people. Will the Abercrombie DLNR be better?

Anonymous said...

Naupaka really hates roundup. Just sayin'.........

Anonymous said...

Since it is the shoreline the jursidiction would be the state and since it appears to be a violation of the law that Caren wrote - have they been contacted?

Anonymous said...

April 9, 2011 10:48 AM

Its called the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands

Call them.

Anonymous said...

He has been seen on-island in the past week (at Hanalei Bay, and in Foodland) so there is no doubt he knows about these plantings.

Anonymous said...

Kauai's waters are polluted by millions of gallons of "pig shit" plus other fecal matter everyday at every river mouth..i.e. "Black pot" and "Hanamaulu" "Kealia" etc. The Plantations have polluted Kauai in numerous places with chemical runoff for years.

Anonymous said...

Kauai's waters are polluted by millions of gallons of "pig shit" plus other fecal matter everyday at every river mouth..i.e. "Black pot" and "Hanamaulu" "Kealia" etc. The Plantations have polluted Kauai in numerous places with chemical runoff for years.
But Haena's waters are Class AA, the most clean there is.Other places polluted has nothin to do with Haena and the crstal clear waters there. That is outrageous. The fertilizer will damage the reef , enforcement?

Mel Rapozo said...

Thank you for the information. I have just sent a formal request to the Planning Department and DLNR to investigate the matter and take action. This has gone too far. We are losing our beaches and we need to stop this nonsense. Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

"other places polluted has nothing to do with Haena"...Really? that is plain ignorance...do you have all 52 cards in your deck?

Anonymous said...

Hey Mel How about saving the Westside beaches like PMRF? I can't stop laughing !!!

Anonymous said...

"Kauai's waters are polluted by millions of gallons of "pig shit" plus other fecal matter everyday at every river mouth..i.e. "Black pot" and "Hanamaulu" "Kealia" etc. The Plantations have polluted Kauai in numerous places with chemical runoff for years."

What's your point? That this is OK because other places are trashed?

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Mel!

Anonymous said...

"He has been seen on-island in the past week (at Hanalei Bay, and in Foodland) so there is no doubt he knows about these plantings."

Remind me to keep you off of my jury if I'm ever accused of a crime.

Anonymous said...

"Hey Mel How about saving the Westside beaches like PMRF? I can't stop laughing !!!"

Excellent. Thanks for this.

Anonymous said...

At least Mel's doing something. Can't say that for Tim or JoAnn who claim to be greenies.

Anonymous said...

"He has been seen on-island in the past week (at Hanalei Bay, and in Foodland) so there is no doubt he knows about these plantings."

Remind me to keep you off of my jury if I'm ever accused of a crime.

This is the court of public opinion. He's guilty.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand. Why doesn't somebody or somebodies just go to that beach and dig in the sand. Build a big sand castle or some such and uproot all the illegally planted naupaka. It is clearly public beach. Just put down a bunch of beach chairs, an umbrella, a cooler of refreshments and have a fun day at the beach.

I live on the west side so it's not really my place to do something like that out in Haena. A couple years back when a bridge on the way out to Poli Hale washed out and nothing was being done to fix it a group of those who were affected by the closure got together and took it upon themselves to remedy the situation. Essentially our resources are our responsibility

Anonymous said...

Essentially our resources are our responsibility

April 10, 2011 1:30 PM

essentially this planet is our responsibility, however few people take that responsibility on.

Kudos to those who do!!

Anonymous said...

Mr. Rapozo - is that house in Conservation zoned land? If so your planning department has no jurisdiction.

Conservation district zoning (state) makes up 50% of this island's land (resources).

Anonymous said...

If in conservation, then even Mel doesnt have jurisdiction, but jump to conclusions before facts, typical politician.

Anonymous said...

County and state jurisdiction often overlap in conservation/SMA zones

Anonymous said...

SMA is NOT zoning.

Anonymous said...

Isn't the public land State jurisdiction and County has jurisdiction over private property?

Mel Rapozo said...

I think I said that I sent formal requests to the County and State to INVESTIGATE (The action of investigating something or someone; formal or systematic examination or research; A formal inquiry or systematic study). I did not pass judgment as many of you do on a regular basis. Also, I ALWAYS post under my real name, unlike most of you who have no problem criticizing others under the cover of "Anonymous." Would you rather I do nothing? Of course you would so that you can criticize me for doing nothing. Have a great week everyone.

Anonymous said...

Since when is it health and safety issue to water a lawn? No one is thinking 'What is Mel Rapozo going to do about this?'

Anonymous said...

Sounds like somebody's got a hard on for Mel....

Joan Conrow said...

OK, enough about Mel. The comments are becoming increasingly inane, prompting me to delete the last one. Stick to the topic of the post.

Anonymous said...

Well, Iʻm glad Mel stepped in. Like he said, heʻs lighting the fire under the right asses.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone called Tim or Joann? Maybe they can help with an ordinance that would allow this behavior, like they did with the TVRs on ag lands. Then it wouldn't be an issue anymore.

Anonymous said...

Hey Joan,

Too bad you don’t fact check your information like a real journalist.

Re; your erroneous accusations of Pierce Brosnan, the “mulch” mentioned in your blog was actually a small pile of wood shavings from a large log wedged into some trees that had to be chopped up into five smaller pieces to remove it. All sprouted coconuts (claimed to be recently planted) were self-sown ages ago from the larger coconut trees above them. In addition, no chicken manure or irrigation was found on the beachfront at the Brosnan's garden. Please don’t jump to conclusions based on Caren Diamond’s photos alone, which look like they could have been taken anywhere.

The Brosnan’s have been good neighbors to Kauai. They support a number of environmental causes, education programs and the Kauai SPCA here on island. Specifically, they have given generous donations to the local school for new playgrounds, new computers, librarian salaries, teacher’s salaries, the installation of a school garden, etc…as well as the grow your own teachers program. They have also put a lot of land on the North Shore into conservation, paid for the legal fees to stop the Super Ferry, and helped to fund the mobile spay and neuter van for no cost and low cost veterinarian care for our island's animals. Actions speak louder than words or Caren Diamond’s photos (which do not give an accurate point of reference and thus, could have been taken ANYWHERE).

One last thought: Rise above calling people (you do not know) “chicken shit” if you wish to appear objective in your blog. You seem angry and UNHAPPY with your life. Take a walk in the rain and cheer up girl! You live in paradise.

Anonymous said...

To you whoʻs kissing ass to Brosnan or probably his girlfriend: that was a great resume and as we all know resumes are full of chicken-shit.

You really had me rolling with this: "paid for the legal fees to stop the Super Ferry, " holy chicken-shit, he had said heʻd help (to protect his homefront) but the group that he promised to help waited and waited and waited and waited but he never came through.
I know who paid for the Superferry legal fees and I know who the attorneys are that helped from the kindness of their hearts.
And none of it was from Brosnan.

Anonymous said...

Chicken shit, bullshit, its spread thick and it all stinks.

Joan Conrow said...

To 6:42 PM:

Caren Diamond wasn't the only one who saw what her pictures recorded and I reported. On that particular visit she was accompanied by Maui District land agent Larry Pacheco, who made his own report.

I'm really not interested in a recounting of Pierce's philanthropy or an endorsement of his good neighborliness from an anonymous admirer. His tax-deductible donations do not give him the right to take our public beach.

Anonymous said...

Right on Joan. I agree w/ you wholeheartedly. A picture is worth a thousand words. Amazing how many people read this blog for the sake of dissing you...get a life. I'm sure there are other sites to read that are in tune with their philosophy. Its like they stalk you just to attack your writings. I appreciate your take on things. Don't stop.

ML said...

Well - I just got back to the mainland from Kauai and had walked past the house, which I happen to know is his. The plantings are still there on the beach...there was plenty of room to walk, and his house is not the only one that has a privacy 'hedge'. What I did find to be crazy is that the gardeners were there, and the sprinklers were on watering the enormous lawn...at noon! Everyone knows that's the worst time to water! Evaporation! Hello?!?! His lawn is as green as could be! I suppose if you're paying $12,000.00 a week to stay there you have to have a super green lawn?!?! The waste of water was pretty disgusting! There are always going to be differences in opinion about someone like Pierce, who's worth millions! Whether or not he supports the local economy, if he's encroaching onto the public beach then that SHOULD be stopped. I am sure he's a swell guy, but from what I hear from the locals, he's not very well liked. Remember what Sylvester Stallone did back in the 80's, buying all that land, then selling it off in parcels? HE was a jerk! Hopefully someone will step up, fix the infraction, if there is one, and everyone can move on.