Time and again, developers of resort communities in Hawai`i have attempted to win approval (both official and unofficial) for their proposals by depicting the benefits that their projects will bring. Hamakua Sugar Company is no exception. In October 1991, the … Continued
“The Farm Credit System: Reckless Lender to Rural America.” That is the title of a 1990 report prepared for the American Bankers Association by Bert Ely and Vicki Vanderhoff, of Ely & Company, Inc., based in Alexandria, Virginia. The Western … Continued
In early May of 1986, Jon Giffin, a wildlife biologist with the Hawai`i District office of the Division of Forestry and Wildlife, was looking for `alala on the slopes of Mauna Loa in an area known as Kukuiopa`e, on the … Continued
In early 1990, Grant and Sharon Gerrish bought a lot in Laupahoehoe Valley, on the Big Island north of Hilo. The land was about an acre and a third large — just right for the modest house and garden that … Continued
The house and private park that George Isaacs has built atop the bluffs at Puakea Bay were discussed in a January 1992 “Big Isle House, Private Park Mock Public’s Shoreline Access” article of Environment Hawai`i. At the time, the Department … Continued
In a March 1991 article of Environment Hawai`i raised questions concerning the state’s management of a tract of more than 100,000 acres in an area on the Big Island known as Pu`uwa`awa`a. In hearings before the Legislature, environmentalists posed still … Continued
“I arrived on the slopes of North Kona about 3500 feet elevation late on the afternoon of June 18… At twilight… I heard repeated calling in a location I had not particularly associated with crow activity before. Upon investigation, I … Continued
MVP does not mean most valuable player — at least not in the parlance of scientists concerned with saving endangered species. To them, the initials stand for minimum viable population, or the number of members of a given species absolutely … Continued
One of the most heated aspects of the debate over saving the `alala has centered on the perception of a conflict between property rights and federal and state laws protecting endangered species. Constitutional protections against illegal searches and seizures of … Continued
McCandless Ranch is vast, extending from the coast land south of Kailua-Kona to well up the slopes of Mauna Loa. Altogether, it covers more than 90,000 acres — nearly 150 square miles – and includes land owned in fee by … Continued