Musings: Odds and Ends

This morning it was all about the clouds, as in pink-purple wisps draped over a lavender Waialeale, a bank of towering puff balls on the horizon etched in red-gold as the sun climbed behind them, shooting scarlet shafts skyward, until it finally emerged, casting a dazzling path of shimmer upon a glassy, warm sea.

And all the while my head was swiveling from mauka to makai, taking in all that beauty, as the birds added their voices to mine in singing praise.

Some Kauai folks are getting together tomorrow afternoon to join their voices in calling for the repeal of Act 55, the legislation that created the Public Land Development Corp. It's part of a Hawaii-wide day of action, with the other islands staging their own events. Here, the rally is set for 2 to 4 p.m. in front of the historic County Building on Rice Street. John Cruz will be performing at the opening.

Speaking of the PLDC, I've been meaning to report a little nugget I mined from Gov. Abercrombie's meeting on Kauai. DLNR Director William Aila said he is in discussions with the Navy about the five-mile stretch of beach between Kekaha and PMRF that's been closed since 9-11. He said he couldn't make an announcement yet, because negotiations were still ongoing, but they were looking at property boundaries. Maybe we'll get the beach back.

In other news, I just learned yesterday from a woman who used to work with state parks that Roundup is regularly sprayed along the Kalalau Trail to keep the vegetation back. I don't know about you, but that's not something I would expect in a wilderness park.

I also found out that Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho has none other than her first deputy, Jake Delaplane, serving as her campaign chair. Her treasurer, Kerrileen (Nani) Lizama, is also an employee of OPA, serving as Shay's "program assistant” in charge of overseeing diversion programs. Cozy.

And on Wednesday, it seems the state Campaign Spending Commission will be considering:

*Docket No. 12-12 – In Re the Matter of Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho – A complaint by Diana Gausepohl-White against Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho for the failure to report in-kind contributions.  The Commission to conduct an initial determination of the complaint in accordance with HRS section 11-404 – i.e., summarily dismiss the complaint, investigate further, make a preliminary determination of the existence of probable cause to believe a violation of law has been committed, or refer the complaint to an appropriate prosecuting attorney for prosecution.

Hmmmm. Too bad they don't have those dockets on line. Wonder if it's about those POHAKU goodies.....or the promotional blogging services.

Speaking of POHAKU goodies, Councilwoman Nadine Nakamura noticed a little glitch in the prosecutor's request for $35,000 for Keiki POHAKU. It seems the RFP (request for proposal) for a service provider specified the program would not cost more than $17,600. So what was the rest of the money going to be spent on, Nadine asked Shay, who replied, “promotional materials” and “training” and you know, like if the kids needed gloves to perform community service.

Oh, really? As Nadine noted, such expenses should be included in the RFP, since they would be borne by the program provider. What I'm wondering is why promotional materials are needed for a diversion program. It's not like you have to market it, since the referrals will be coming from the OPA.

Besides, surely Shay must have some promotional goodies left over from the adult POHAKU program, considering she bought thousands of items — tote bags, whistles, wrist bands, rally fans, etc., etc. — for a mere 50 participants. Unless, of course, the stash has dwindled during her re-election campaign.

And people wonder why some Councilmembers ask questions before they give Shay money.