Preservation AND Development for Ka'u, Hawaii?

Localism Featured! May 30, 2007

There is more to be said on Preservation of Hawaiian Culture, Land and History which was written by me on May 27, 2007. Since then I have received contact from an interested party although on the "other side" than the group I had mentioned in the post. Apparently, it goes deeper than preserving the land around the Ka'u area on the island of Hawaii in the Punalu'u area otherwise known for it's Black Sand Beach.

I have not been to the Big Island (as I stated in other posts) since I was a teenager. I have walked on the black sand beach (and no doubt was pure and clean back in the 1970's) and traveled all over the island but I have not seen this distruction that this person has stated.

I am authorized to use this person's opinion's (through our email contacting) to tell "their side of the story" in this updated post:

Apparently, there are two sides to every story. She is a Hawaii resident and married to a Native Hawaiian. She understood me completely "to diligently take care of our beautiful islands" although felt the need to express their side of the story. Punalu'u is a community that has been slowly dying once the sugar cane industry closed down. Abandoned buildings, failing water and sewage systems, no employment except to commute to Kona. That's a commute of over 4+ hours a day!

• On June 4 the community will have a public hearing on Councilmember Jacobson's bill to purchase 150 acres at Sea Mountain. (BTW, a developer has offered to provide 56 acres along this same shoreline to the community, for free, to be taken care of in perpetuity)
• The developer also will overhaul the sewer and water, provide new jobs and new job training. It will implement a "hire local first" policy for construction. The developer has created a community benefits package which will provide millions of dollars to the community for their schools, services and programs. It will breathe new life into this dying area.
• Finally, the developer has forged a partnership with world-renowned environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau, and his Ocean Futures Society (http://www.oceanfutures.org/) to create marine and land protection programs. Already, Cousteau is implementing his world famous Ambassadors of the Environment program this June - free to the kids of Kau.

I believe in preservation, conservation and caring for the beauty and environment of our Hawaiian Islands. There has to be maintenance and cleanup of any community to preserve any land. And if this is all true then "Sea Mountain at Punalu'u' is promising to create an environmentally sensitive complex committed to economic revitalization for the people of Ka'u." They currently have a website in progress and will provide extensive information to give the public more information.

I have no intention of siding with any of these groups until I receive all the facts as I believe in both sides at this time. Preservation, conservation as well as Development with the promised intention of ensuring that the project is in the best interests of Hawaii's environment is definitely something to take into consideration.

More posts with Hawaii info!

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