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The Catholic Church is one of the largest landlords in the world. I don't think collecting rent affects a 501 status. It is more what is done with the money collected.
On a parallel most all the large Ohia was logged out of Puna many years ago by a company called Hawaii Planing Mill (HPM). They were sold to mainland railroads for railroad ties. Thousands of those Ohia railroad ties rot in the to this date out in the Mojave Desert. Seems the wood was too hard to drive a spike into. So all that timber was wasted.
Assume the best and ask questions.
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The Catholic Church is one of the largest landlords in the world.
Large enough that their members permeate government.
most all the large Ohia was logged ... by a company called Hawaii Planing Mill (HPM).
Which was somehow perfectly okay -- either HPM had "permits", or they cut the trees pre-Statehood.
Still failing to comprehend how it took DLNR so many years to act. If truly "complaint-driven", okay, then I'm surprised nobody did it sooner.
Nor do I understand why the SUP process dragged out for so long -- County has demonstrated their ability to act decisively with other SUP applications -- why, it's almost as if the system is playing favorites...
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Well, now that RJ & Sativa have decided Puna should drop its heritage and enter the "tell on your neighbors" era, I trust their own business filngs are all in order.I'm sure all GE has been paid, all their proceeds at Makuu market and elsewhere are declared, and all taxes are being paid like the law-abiding citizens they insist Puna people be. I'm sure there's nothing to hide in a cash-based, under-the-table business. See, ratting out your neighbors can be fun!
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See, ratting out your neighbors can be fun!
I'm all for the "glass houses" principle, but it still needs to be island-wide, not just "some" neighbors.
Of course, if every possible complaint were lodged, County would have to admit that they can't actually enforce... that's when the real fun begins.
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Time for puna to drop the bs fantasy that the rule of law does not apply here? Finally!
Mendo...go check out my GE. We paid over $2,000 some odd dollars last year in ge tax alone. So keep on supposen. I have probably paid more taxes then you.
Remember we were not going after Graham Ellis; we were going after a piece of legislation, SB2274, the so called sustainable research bill. This bill introduced by Sen. Ruderman was done as a favor to Graham Ellis and that bill would have taken away our right to have a say about what commercial or industrial operations might occur right next store. It appears that the one of the true motives for the 'sustainability' bill was to conceal wrongdoings taking place in the State forest. Had the bill passed no one would have been the wiser.
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the so called sustainable research bill ... would have taken away our right to have a say about what commercial or industrial operations might occur right next store
This misrepresentation of SB2274 makes the veracity of other statements from the anti-VGS PAC highly questionable.
I read the bill carefully, and more than once: it only requires that County create a process. If it had passed, VGS would have been required to apply for, and abide by the requirements of, that process. SB2274 explicitly states that County has the power to add any requirements to the process, at which point the public could appeal to their councilpersons, perhaps suggesting that any approval granted include an expiration, thereby allowing follow-up inspections to guarantee continued compliance.
SB2274 is the democratic process at work; it's hypocritical to claim "rule of law" while also playing dirty politics.
The irony being: Belly Acres is still not compliant. For that matter, I believe the only permitted special use on the Red Road is that cafe-turned-corner-store -- you guys better get busy shutting everything down.
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I'm glad the county was not put in the required position of creating a new SUP process under the rubric of "sustainability." We already have at least two basic types of construction and land use, residential and commercial, with very specific codes applying to each. What would be the code applying to sustainability construction and land use? As the proposed law seemed to give a wide latitude to exceptions to those residential and commercial codes, the correct answer seems to be "anything they can get away with." With our county council accepting with a straight face the testimony of a former yogic flying and dance instructor with no background in biology as an expert witness on GMO's, who knows what they would accept in the name of "sustainability?"
Edited for typos
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two basic types of construction and land use, residential and commercial
There is a third type: unpermitted, which means no inspections, and less value for the tax base. Sometimes the unpermittedness is "sustainable", sometimes not.
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Time for puna to drop the bs fantasy that the rule of law does not apply here? Finally!
I finally remembered why this will never happen: nobody wants to pay for it.
Case in point: County knows full well what's going on, but they can't possibly enforce everything against everyone all the time. (Let's assume they would, if they could.)
This is before even getting to the part where it's all an old-boy-network anyway, just read between the lines of the rezoning requests and SUP applications.
