06-28-2014, 08:29 AM
This is a letter to the editor of the Hawaii Tribune Herald that my neighbor submitted. They may or may not publish it so I thought I would post it here. I thought perhaps this might bring a little more understanding and clarity to this matter. So here it goes...
Thank you for your very interesting article on the illegal and unethical happenings at SPACE and Bellyacres. You have only touched the tip of the iceberg with regards to what has taken place and its methodology. All of the illegal findings that the DLNR report uncovered was done under Graham Ellis's management. To try and hide and bury all of the illegal activities, Mr. Ellis drafted a piece of legislation called the Sustainability Living Research bill and gave it to his good friend, Senator Russell Ruderman who introduced it as Bill 2274. This bill would have allowed the Bellyacres site plus some State lands, to qualify as a "Sustainable Living Research Site" and avoid County regulations for his continued development and lay to rest all the current violations. It was been stated that for the introduction of the bill, Mr. Ellis promised political support and a block of votes for Sen. Ruderman and others. This was truly special legislation to benefit him and, thank goodness, it was defeated at the last minute by numerous people speaking up in opposition.
Another interesting side light is that many of the Ohia trees that were not used on site ended up with a person who milled the wood for commercial use, making good money off the illegal harvesting of the trees. Rumor has it that this individual has also been poaching hardwood trees elsewhere for his commercial operation. This should also be looked in to.
Please continue to pursue this complex story with all its illegal and unethical operations so the people of the Big Island can fully understand all the backhanded, illegal operations that were taking place in their backyards and how underhanded and selfish Mr. Ellis really was, and is, in his desires to turn a profit off of State lands and our natural resources.
Thank you for your very interesting article on the illegal and unethical happenings at SPACE and Bellyacres. You have only touched the tip of the iceberg with regards to what has taken place and its methodology. All of the illegal findings that the DLNR report uncovered was done under Graham Ellis's management. To try and hide and bury all of the illegal activities, Mr. Ellis drafted a piece of legislation called the Sustainability Living Research bill and gave it to his good friend, Senator Russell Ruderman who introduced it as Bill 2274. This bill would have allowed the Bellyacres site plus some State lands, to qualify as a "Sustainable Living Research Site" and avoid County regulations for his continued development and lay to rest all the current violations. It was been stated that for the introduction of the bill, Mr. Ellis promised political support and a block of votes for Sen. Ruderman and others. This was truly special legislation to benefit him and, thank goodness, it was defeated at the last minute by numerous people speaking up in opposition.
Another interesting side light is that many of the Ohia trees that were not used on site ended up with a person who milled the wood for commercial use, making good money off the illegal harvesting of the trees. Rumor has it that this individual has also been poaching hardwood trees elsewhere for his commercial operation. This should also be looked in to.
Please continue to pursue this complex story with all its illegal and unethical operations so the people of the Big Island can fully understand all the backhanded, illegal operations that were taking place in their backyards and how underhanded and selfish Mr. Ellis really was, and is, in his desires to turn a profit off of State lands and our natural resources.