In June, Environment Hawai`i asked to review those minutes. On July 5, Ron Baird, NELHA’s chief executive officer, responded. “Unfortunately, we have to inform you that NELHA does not have those documents on file,” he wrote. The Office of Information … Continued
Taro farmers in East Maui don’t need any more water right now to grow their crops, according to retired judge E. John McConnell, hearing officer for a contested case on East Maui water licenses. The contested case, which involves the … Continued
The long-simmering dispute before the state Board of Land and Natural Resources over what to do with more than a hundred cabins at Koke`e and Waimea on Kaua`i has shifted to 5th Circuit Court. There, last April 11, attorneys representing … Continued
The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai`i Authority, built in the 1980s at Keahole Point, Kona, to be a center for deep seawater-related energy and aquaculture research, has always struggled to cover its costs. In recent years, the facility, which cost … Continued
Are Coqui Giving You Heartburn? Maybe a dose of bicarb of soda would help. Yes, baking soda. That multipurpose nostrum is now being touted by some as an effective way of controlling coqui infestations. A simple dusting on the ground … Continued
In January of 2005, the Board of Directors of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai`i interviewed three prospective executive directors recruited by a head-hunting firm. Among them was Ronald Nelson Baird of Sedalia, Colorado, near Denver. Baird was given the … Continued
Why did the Natural Energy of Hawai`i Laboratory Authority enter into a contract with HELCO that has proved to be so disadvantageous? The answer, or at least a clue or two, probably lies in minutes of executive sessions the board … Continued
The Gateway Energy Center at Keahole is Hawai`i’s Potemkin Village for energy conservation. It has been outfitted with the latest, spiffiest (and costliest) technologies in the realm of energy efficiency and self-reliance. It has been trumpeted as a model for … Continued
No one could have asked for more favorable publicity than what the Gateway Energy Center received when it had its grand opening in October 2004. Newspapers across the state heralded it as the dawn of a new era in environmentally … Continued