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Frank Commendador sent me this invite as a pass-a-long.
ALOHA ALL,
COFFEE HOUR for JOY SAN BUENAVENTURA
Candidate for the Hawaii State House of Representatives District 4
Where - AINALOA LONG HOUSE
When - FRIDAY MAY 9,2014
Time - 6 PM TO 8 PM
Where - LOCATED AT 16-303 AINALOA DRIVE - NEXT TO THE PLAYGROUNDS
Come meet Joy and discuss the issues.
HOSTED BY DEBBIE BOGGS - PH. 982-9404
PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Frank Commendador
PH. 808-217-2215
fcommend@yahoo.com
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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How much of Puna is included in District 4?
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Just about all of it, PauHana. It's the county council districts that split Puna between two seats.
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We spoke with Joy briefly at Maku'u Farmers Market and came away favorably impressed. Used to see Blas and his entourage there too and Auntie Emily often holds court in the food tent. Both are amusing cartoons but having Joy run is a relief. My wife and I will do our best to be there. But start without us. We can't seem to not be late.
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Joy's expensive new full-color pamphlet describes all the issues facing Puna ... but fails to describe -- or even mention -- Joy's actual position on any of them.
Favorite part: "The 1998 PCDP describes today's traffic congestion" -- almost as if people keep moving into Puna while the infrastructure spending is diverted out of Puna.
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From Honolulu Civil Beat: "Then there was veteran Puna Democrat Faye Hanohano. None of her 49 bills passed, including the 39 she introduced without co-sponsorship."
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quote:
Originally posted by kalakoa
-- almost as if people keep moving into Puna while the infrastructure spending is diverted out of Puna.
You need to get over it. Even your reference, Land and Power in Hawaii, chapter 8, has this recommendation for Puna from the USGS in 1974, long before several large lava flows and after a lot of infrastructure development being put in for all the Kalapana developments, were subsequently covered over with lava, making the road systems a total loss:
quote:
1974 - Kilauea and its rift zones must be expected to erupt repeatedly in the future,” and “all areas downslope from volcanic vents should be considered vulnerable to eventual burial by lava flows.”
Tourists are going to keep going to the south of the East Rift ridge because there are "cheap lots" there. That is their problem, not the kamaaina maku'aina'na. Just because traffic increases in an area to the point the roads are inadequate for the traffic doesn't mean the county has to essentially waste tax dollars on upgrading roads soon to be blocked off by lava. Even the county lava zone map has the road that used to go south of Kilauea, laughable now but that was a less expensive roadway route.
"This island Hawaii on this island Earth"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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That is -- albeit indirectly -- my point: County (and State) posture does not fit the Puna reality.
If all the areas downslope of Kilauea are "substantially at risk" such that infrastructure development is a complete waste of taxpayer dollars, Planning should just wash their hands of the entire area.
Abolish the Pahoa Downtown Plan, don't bother with the roundabout, stop insisting on building (and Special Use!) permits, and leave those in the path of the lava to fend for themselves, with the possible exception of a usable pier, a helipad, and a rough-cut access road for evacuation.
Taking the long view, it seems like a complete waste of time and effort to argue about Belly Acres' alleged violation of land-use and zoning, or the House of Cards, or parking at Uncle Robert's, or the lack of a sewer system in downtown Pahoa.
It also seems counterproductive to fight development that would seek to avoid trips along a highway that could become impassable. If KTA has money to burn (pun intended) building a store downslope of the lava, why stop them?
For that matter, why burden the future taxpayers with a $20M park in Pahoa? That money would be much better spent on the emergency evacuation facilities mentioned above.
I happen to live above the rift zone, but I'm not getting any infrastructure either, just an ever-increasing property tax bill...
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That is the point, the county is turning a blind eye to all kinds of permit violations in SE Puna south of the rift ridge, and in kind, the county doesn't plan on expanding any county services that way either. Also, infrastructure is more than government. Comms are private industry, so is the utility, and for that matter, resorts and condominiums. None of these private infrastructure developers think SE Puna south of the rift ridge are worth risking investment dollars.
This is countered by a group like Puna Bozo Alliance that is scared to death that Pohoiki becomes the next Waikiki. The people behind the Pahoa planning seem to have their heads where the sun doesn't shine. Their worry is controlling development when the growth is just a bunch of tourists buying up property in SE Puna, because it is the cheapest (doh, wonder why?). Remember, even the people that have their lots covered over with a couple layers of lava still have to pay property taxes. It's a mistake to think property tax buys infrastructure upgrades. The property tax is the fee to be able to claim a piece of land is yours plus the majority of it goes to pay for the schools, police, county council members, etc. This isn't unique to Hawaii, it is the same on the mainland with their retirement communities, that is, retired people don't want to pay for the schools, they want more amenities, they want to pay less, they don't want any new busy commercial development. These contradictory wants are creating the same problems all over the mainland. Look at what is happening to bridges. America no longer builds bridges, instead just squabble about repairing the ones that are there, while they rot.
"This island Hawaii on this island Earth"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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1. Telcom and Oceanic are also not bothering with infrastructure above the rift.
2. Federal fuel tax goes to "interstate" highways on Oahu; County fuel tax pays for roads in Kona (and sometimes Hilo).
3. "Turning a blind eye" is not the same as a formal rule change; every non-compliant situation is just a complaint (or three) away from enforcement, no matter how long it's been "allowed".
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