Kona - a pedestrian view

• Greetings fellow environmental criminals

  The EPA has classified carbon dioxide as a pollutant. That means that I am emitting a pollutant as I type this as are you the (theoretical) reader, as you read it. Fortunately, most observers agree that fees for permits that allow individuals to emit CO2 are "years away," and [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 6:46am EST
  

• Does HELCO care? An online poll!

  [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 9:23am EST
  

• HELCO doesn't care about you: Exhibit "A"

  The Kealakaa/Palani intersection remains uncompleted because HELCO has yet to move their power poles, replacing them with special new poles that had to be ordered from the mainland. Aaron noted at the beginning of August that the poles were the only thing holding up the completion of the intersection, [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 5:15am EST
  

• If you've flown into Kona, you've flown over this landscape

  The coast south of Mahaiula. Basically, you go to Kekaha Kai State Park and take a left, through this gate:
  
  
  
  The road is moderately difficult. Four wheel drive and a good clearance are necessary. From this angle, it's pretty obvious that Hualalai' [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 1:33pm EST
  

• Wordless Wednesday - Maiapilo

  
  The native caper. [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 2:49pm EST
  

• Who Would Have Thought?

  Cutting $500 billion from Medicare will reduce health benefits for seniors.
  
  Shocking?
  
  More like "Duh!" [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 3:15pm EST
  

• Views of Waipio and Hi'ilawe

  (as always, click on photos for larger view)
  
  Yesterday I got up at 4:30 to be at Hawaii Forest and Trail (on Queen K by the harbor/Kealakehe turn). I got a free Waipio Rim Hike Adventure.
  One of my friends from the Aloha [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 11:30am EST
  

• Wordless Wednesday - Kaloko-Honokohau NHP

  [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 1:30pm EST
  

• KGMB and KHNL news "merge" - sad farewells

  KHNL/KFVE, KGMB Merger To Cut 68 Jobs
  "There are 198 full-time employees at the three stations. KGMB employees were told 130 will be kept, and about 68 from either KHNL or KGMB will lose their jobs."
  
  Among those cut:
  
  
  Diane Ako;
  
  [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 2:38pm EDT
  

• Soupy Sales Died Yesterday

  [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 11:51am EDT
  

• Berry Bonanza on Hualalai

  Yesterday was a furlough day for me, so I went up the mountain. There are choke ohelo berries up there now. This little plant was only about 4" tall, but look at how many berries it has.
  
  Of course the usual sights were there as" [...]
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  Posted: October 17, 2009, 6:21am EDT
  

• Wordless Wednesday

  
  A'ali'i
  (Andrew should be getting credit for the Wordless Wednesday meme) [...]
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  Posted: October 07, 2009, 8:20am EDT
  

• Friday on Friday

  [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 3:14am EDT
  

• Another Native Hawaiian Plant You Probably Never Heard Of

  
  Neneleau
  The Hawaiian sumac. Found along the Saddle road, just about where the houses end on the Hilo side. Also found along the Hamakua coast. As always, click for a larger image. [...]
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  Posted: September 28, 2009, 12:41pm EDT
  

• Wordless Wednesday - Dew

  [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 2:03pm EDT
  

• Wordless Wednesday - Somewhere that's green

  
  
  Ferns and ohia - Kaloko [...]
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  Posted: September 17, 2009, 3:39pm EDT
  

• Jumpers

  As a tonic for stories like this about how muslims are the real victims of 9/11, still waiting, after 8 years, for that invisible "backlash" to arrive.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: September 11, 2009, 5:28am EDT
  

• Minimal Word Thursday

  Two native plants from Kaloko-Honokohau:
  
  'Ohai -Sesbania tormentosa (endangered, endemic)
  
  Maiapilo - Capparis sandwichiana ("vulnerable," endemic)' [...]
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  Posted: September 11, 2009, 6:10pm EDT
  

• Pine Trees and Beach Access

  
  I've enjoyed the four-wheel access to O'oma and Kohanaiki for many years and favor public access, generally. But I had mixed feelings about the recent NELHA gate closure controversy.
  
  First of all, the coastal road goes very close to archaeological structures, and that was [...]
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  Posted: September 05, 2009, 5:16am EDT
  

• Take me for a walk in the morning dew, my honey..

  Beautiful morning at 7:30 at 5000'+ on Hualalai.
  
  Ohelo berries:
  
  
  
  Pukiawe leaf clusters:
  
  
  Lehua flower & buds:
  
  
  The original "Morning Dew" by Bonnie Dobson.' [...]
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  Posted: August 30, 2009, 9:04am EDT
  

• Minimal Word Thursday

  
  From left: Kiawe, Naio, Milo, Ilima. Click for higher res. [...]
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  Posted: August 28, 2009, 4:34pm EDT
  

• Above Opelo Road in Waimea

  Almost Wordless Sunday (click for higher resolution):
  
  
  Waimea
  
  
  
  Atop a little Pu'u in the mist
  ' [...]
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  Posted: August 24, 2009, 2:51pm EDT
  

• Foraging for Food Not As Glamorous (Or Germ-free) As You Might Think!

  Love the Advertiser headline:
  
  Adventurer dies on Kauai
  
  Oregonian fell ill after living and foraging in wilderness

  By Diana Leone
  Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

  LIHU'E, Kaua'i — An Oregon man who gave up his material possessions to live off the land in Kaua'i's Kalalau Valley this summer' [...]

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  Posted: August 23, 2009, 10:16am EDT
  

• Top of Huehue in the Afternoon

  Two images from an afternoon walk starting at the 5000' level, top of Huehue Street.
  
  
  A'ali'i seed pods and leaves.
  
  
  From 3000' -4500' was socked in.
  
  ' [...]
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  Posted: August 22, 2009, 3:55pm EDT
  

• Somewhere, William Wallace is Weeping

  
  
  

  The Scottish Justice Minister, Kenny MacAskill (heh) decides that the interests of the 270 dead, and their survivors, matter less than the current suffering of the only man convicted in their deaths. But the decision wasn't really about Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, or his prostate cancer,' [...]

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  Posted: August 21, 2009, 5:57am EDT
  

• Les Paul

  I remember these Les Paul and Mary Ford mini-shows:
  
  
  Did the guitar solo give you chicken skin like it did me? [...]
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  Posted: August 17, 2009, 11:04am EDT
  

• An eccentric-looking old man!

  In September 1964, almost 45 years ago, I saw Bob Dylan at Town Hall Philadelphia. Here's the set he played. A skinny young guy, dressed in black, by himself on the stage, with just his guitar and harmonica ("Like a Rolling Stone" was still a year away). In that' [...]
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  Posted: August 17, 2009, 2:00pm EDT
  

• Felicia, you're a big disappointment!

  Mixed in with the relief that this island was once again spared the effects of a hurricane, I'm somewhat ashamed to say, is a feeling of disappointment that once again I missed the thrill of a passing storm. I remember Hurricane Iwa in 1982. I was working for the post' [...]
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  Posted: August 11, 2009, 4:47pm EDT
  

• Turtles at Kiholo

  Or, more particularly, in Wainanali'i Pond:' [...]
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  Posted: July 26, 2009, 12:56pm EDT
  

• Target!

  I joined the dazed hoard lurching dazedly through Kona's shiny new Target store. Like Kona Commons across the street, Target has landscaped their parking lot with native plants, white hibiscus and kou, although the kou trees are native with an asterisk, canoe plants that the Hawaiians brought with them.[...]
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  Posted: July 26, 2009, 12:34pm EDT
  

• Inside J's Castle

  The interior of J Yoshimoto's secret laboratory, deep in the basement of an abandoned County building. Lights are flashing, beakers are bubbling, sparks are sparking. J Yoshimoto and his assistant, Ken, are dressed in lab coats.
  
  J: Tonight, Ken, will be my greatest triumph. They said it couldn't be' [...]
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  Posted: July 18, 2009, 8:13am EDT
  

• The Other Side of Big Island Politics

  A new website. The author introduces herself:
  

  Through my own blog, I hope to share the “other side” of the story that is not “reported” by the other sites.
  

  Now you may be wondering how I will portray the “other side” of a story. I firmly believe that [...]

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  Posted: July 18, 2009, 4:56am EDT
  

• Don't Sacrifice Our Native Forests Because Syd Singer Likes the Taste of Strawberry Guava

  
  
  Damon published this "open letter" to Mayor Kenoi from Syd Singer, who calls himself a "Medical Anthropologist." Singer claims to speak for "thousands" of residents opposing release of a scale insect to control strawberry guava because they "enjoy" the fruit. Apparently the "thousands" [...]
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  Posted: July 14, 2009, 3:15pm EDT
  

• 12:34:56 on 7/8/9

  Enjoy the very mild excitement of a once in a lifetime occurrence. [...]
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  Posted: July 08, 2009, 8:29am EDT
  

• Shocking News - Political Involvement in Government Process in Hawaii

  Inouye's office apparently made a call to get Central Pacific Bank a Federal bailout.
  
  
  I agree more with WHT than Aaron about the County's all-too-predictable capitulation to the Palamanui developer's desire to be relieved of the conditions they agreed to. Postpone the road, following the [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 6:23am EDT
  

• Huehue Street in the Late Afternoon

  The cloud forest at the top of Huehue Street on a typical afternoon lives up to its name, 5 p.m. is usually foggy. Friday was no exception. A cool refuge from the glare and heat of town.
  
  The pukiawe was blooming. Click for larger photos.
  [...]
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  Posted: June 28, 2009, 2:42pm EDT
  

• Noted Child Molester Passes Away

  But not, unfortunately, in jail. Idiot Meredith Vierra just said that "everyone in the world" is mourning him. It's everyone minus at least one. [...]
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  Posted: June 26, 2009, 3:12am EDT
  

• Kelly Greenwell - Insane or Reckless?

  West Hawaii Today reports that Kona's sterling councilperson, Kelly Greenwell, is proposing that Guantanamo prisoners be released here on the Big Island, not for incarceration, but for the healing process to begin, our island being such a beacon of tolerance and love. Having them here would give us a"new stew" [...]
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  Posted: June 25, 2009, 2:55am EDT
  

• Top of the world, Ma!

  The photo in the blog title shows Mauna Kea (l.) and Mauna Loa (r.) from about 60 feet below the highest point on Hualalai. Here it is again: (click for a higher res picture)
  
  Cloudless blue sky all the way to the top, which we [...]
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  Posted: June 22, 2009, 4:34pm EDT
  

• Back to the "Hilo Way"

  Remember when the words "Eastern Bloc" referred to the Soviets, not to power-obsessed Hilo politicians? It's not a coincidence, as Tiffany notes.
  Universal negative reaction on the internets, as far as I can tell.
  
  Back to the days when county expenditures decreased in direct proportion to distance [...]
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  Posted: June 17, 2009, 7:35am EDT
  

• 18 months in jail - an outrage?

  The villagers are sharpening their pitchforks and in "shock" over Judge Strance's reduction of the prison term for the drunk driver who killed a woman in 2006, from 10 years to 18 months.
  
  Knowing only the facts as given in West Hawaii Today, I am in a [...]
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  Posted: June 17, 2009, 2:37pm EDT
  

• BitDefender - bad product, horrible service

  For the past 2 1/2 years I've used BitDefender, which has had a good reputation.
  
  Three weeks ago, I had a virus attack (while browsing using Google Chrome) that disabled BitDefender, as in, the program would not start, would not reinstall.
  
  Every time I re-booted, a seemingly random' [...]
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  Posted: June 08, 2009, 12:50pm EDT
  

• National Trails Day Trail Cleanup at Pu'uwa'awa'a

  Enclosure: [download]

  Yesterday was the National Trails Day volunteer day at Pu'uwa'awa'a. About 50 volunteers cleared a section of the Reservation trail. The work part looked something like this:
  
  It doesn't look like hard work, but four miles of bending and tossing leave an old person like myself fairly sore.
  [...]
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  Posted: June 08, 2009, 2:46am EDT
  

• Following up on the bulldozer fiasco - pushing the story along

  Aaron blogged about this letter to West Hawaii Today. The letter writer wonders, as I did, about the connection between C&H Ishii General Contractors. So I did a simple search for "Ishii" on the County website.
  
  In 2005 a Ben Ishii appeared as representative of the [...]
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  Posted: April 28, 2009, 5:09pm EDT
  

• How I spent the last few weeks

  As I noted earlier, I've been cast as Boo Radley in Aloha Performing Arts Company's production of To Kill A Mockingbird, which starts May 8th at the Aloha Theater. Tickets here.
  
  In the script (SPOILER ALERT) Boo, after saving Atticus' son Jem from his evil, drunk, racist' [...]
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  Posted: April 24, 2009, 6:36am EDT
  

• Pulitzer Prize for Maui Poet W.S. Merwin

  Ian Lind notes the poor quality of the Honolulu dailies' coverage of the Pulitzer awarded to Maui poet W.S. Merwin and points us to the much better Maui News story. Missing from all the stories were any actual poems, so here:
  
  For The Anniversary Of My' [...]
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  Posted: April 21, 2009, 5:00am EDT
  

• Our County Government at Work - The Hilo Way

  From today's West Hawaii Today.
  First, you sell a bulldozer worth $125,000 for $60,000. The taxpayers are out $65,000.
  
  Then, you lease it back for "at least" 5 years at $14,725 a month, so the taxpayers are out another $883,500.
  
  That's $948,500, so far.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: April 21, 2009, 3:06am EDT
  

• Oh, great!

  Now it's official: every time I exhale, I'm emitting a pollutant that threatens public health and welfare. [...]
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  Posted: April 17, 2009, 3:54am EDT
  

• Bees!

  
  
  Good to see the bees swarming the newly-opening maiapilo.
  
  I wrote in January about supposedly disappearing bees. This is a follow-up, so it's not quite as idiotic and useless as it seems.' [...]
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  Posted: April 17, 2009, 4:37pm EDT
  

• An attempt to simulate open-mindedness?

  
  
  No Regrets from Lingle? [...]
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  Posted: April 12, 2009, 7:50am EDT