Musings: Muddled

So today is the last day the Joint Fact Finding Group will accept public comments on its report. Then tomorrow the panel is supposed to review all the comments in one day and amend the report accordingly.

Gee, that sounds like a thoughtful and contemplative process.

Peter Adler, the consultant who managed the JFF process, is profiled in the Star-Advertiser today. He talks about a number of his projects, including this one, which he gives a favorable spin, though most of it would deem it a catastrophe. But what caught my eye was this statement:

We’ve had some early indications that the state is really interested in some of the studies we’ve proposed. We’re a little late for this Legislature, but I think the governor is paying attention to this. Certainly the Kauai legislators are very focused and attentive to this, as are others, because this is really a much larger issue than just Hawaii.

A little late for this session? So was that the intent of this process all along, to drive legislation? And since only the anti groups are seeking that, what does that say about the objectivity of this process? And what's with the "we proposed?" Shouldn't it be "the group?" I mean, since he's supposed to the impartial facilitator and all that.

Moving on to what is clearly another election year ploy, Councilmen Gary Hooser and Mason Chock have proposed an “affordable rental” bill that could turn Lihue into a rabbit warren at best, and a ghetto at worst.

Yes, Hooser and Chock think so highly of renters that they're proposing to let them live in 400-square-foot units in the back of somebody's house on 3,500-square-foot lots in Lihue.

Yeah, pack 'em in like rats.

Now how in the world do they think that kind of density can be achieved “without substantially altering existing neighborhood character?”

And how do they plan to enforce the “no vacation rental” clause when the county has yet to get a handle on the hundreds of illegal TVRs currently in operation?

And won't people in other parts of the island rightly complain that they are being denied an opportunity to increase property values and gain additional income with this gift of increased density being offered only to denizens of Lihue?

Still, it's such a brilliant approach to garnering political support in Lihue, where Chock and Hooser languished in the last election.

Come on, guys. You can do better than this. Put on your thinking caps and come up with some decent affordable rentals — especially on the North Shore — for citizens who have been displaced by the explosion of vacation rentals that you've failed to properly manage.

But at least now the county is trying to clean up the TVR mess, with the Council approving $40,000 to continue funding special counsel for the illegal TVR hearings. The county currently is handling the B&B/homestays appeals itself, and will pick up the TVR caseload in the future.

And yet another media source has weighed in on the conflict around GMOs in Hawaii. It's not the usual hatchet job we're accustomed to, though The Economist blew it when it sent cub reporter Miranda Johnson, who was in way over her head. As a result, she failed to grasp the crux of the story — the pesticide paranoia is the offspring of what is at heart an anti-GMO campaign — and turned out a muddled mess that was filled with errors.

When I see how badly this story has been reported, it really makes me despair about the integrity and credibility of any news source any more. I guess this is what happens when everyone wants free content, and there's no money to train reporters.