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Maui County just unanimously opposed HB1226 GMO preemption bill now at the state legislature.

This bill proposes to forfeit to the federal government the authority of all state and county agencies to regulate and oversee activities related to genetic modification. This means counties will lose their power to regulate any other GMO-activities that occur in their own communities. Unfortunately, there is no federal oversight of GMOs that local governments can rely upon to protect farmers, consumers, or the environment.

Good job to Maui HawaiiSEED, the good Doctor Pang, and the many advocates, scientists and farmers who never fail to deliver the truth! MAHALO PIHA to the Council for setting the precedent!

And mahalo to the State legislators who vocally stood up for County rights and the State Constitution. The dialogue is getting louder and more meaningful, IMUA KAKOU!

Update on press coverage of the Land Board hearings on the Mauna Kea Management Plan:

The Advertiser reprinted Jason Armstrong’s article from yesterday’s HTH today, but omitted Barry Taniguchi’s quote “endorsing” the UH Management Plan:

“We don’t have anything now, and anything is better than nothing, I think,” he said.

Hmmm.

From today’s HTH, on UH’s proposed management plan for Mauna Kea:  http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2009/03/19/local_news/local02.txt

“We don’t have anything now, and anything is better than nothing, I think,” he said.

Could UH’s Barry Taniguchi have given a weaker endorsement of the UH Mauna Kea “management” plan he himself has been lobbying in favoring of?

Forgive us if we continue to believe that Mauna Kea deserves better than a “anything is better than nothing” plan for its future.

The Land Board will hold a two day hearing on April 8 and 9 in Hilo to consider UH’s latest management plan for the summit. The plan is UH’s attempt to circumvent, er… comply with requirements from two losses in court and two state audits which found that the telescope developers violated the state and federal laws meant to protect Mauna Kea. You can ask the Land Board and other decision-makers to reject this false UH plan, and give this sacred summit the future it deserves: a plan which protects and conserves the summit, provides for independent oversight, fair representation for communities, and fair compensation to the people of Hawaii.

The UH plan fails to put any enforceable or numeric limits on telescope development and instead limits public access, dictates religious ceremony, and makes it easier for UH and telescope developers to pocket public money made from the lease of Mauna Kea’s public trust lands. A`ole.

But, it seems, “better than nothing.” Right.

Navy will not be fined for 7,000 gallons of sewage discharged during Port Royal grounding in Februrary. And yep, that’s the 7,000 gallons the Navy initally “forgot” to report to the State.

From the AP: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HI_SHIP_GROUNDING_HIOL-?SITE=PAGRE&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

We’d like to nominate the bill proposing the repeal most programs and protections for beaches and coastlines in Hawaii (SB 1318 SD 1) as officially one of the WORST ideas of 2009.

From Elizabeth Reilly of the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board:

SB 1318 SD1 relating to planning and economic development titled “Coastal Zone Management; State Planning; Repeal” does just that “Repeals the chapters relating to coastal zone management and state planning, and transfers the authority and functions of the office of planning to DBEDT” despite DBEDT’s public opposition to this proposed action.

Decision-making was deferred on this bill yesterday by the Committee on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources.

http://www.fws.gov/news/newsreleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=1681C409-BE1D-830E-087C0B90C82C782C

Rare Molokai mint plant was officially listed today!

From Jan TenBruggencate at his Raising Islands blog:

This little plant isn’t the kind of mint you put in a julep, and it doesn’t have a minty smell, but it’s a relative of the fragrant mints. It’s a vine with lots of branches—kind of sprawling and messy. It has floppy, rough-haired leaves and clusters of white flowers, according to the proposed listing notice last year in the Federal Register. The listing notice contains virtually all the information known about the plant.

In 2005, botanists searching Kamakou, a preserve operated by The Nature Conservancy, found two of them growing in the wild. And in the last two years, a total of 24 of them have been found, all but one in Kamakou Preserve, and the remaining plant in the state’s Pu’u Ali’i Natural Area Reserve.

Cuttings were taken and carefully rooted, and the plantlets were re-established in Kamakou.

There are now 238 plants growing in the wild.

From the Honolulu Advertiser:

The Hawaii Superferry said it will cease operations on Thursday following a ruling today by the Hawaii Supreme Court that went against the inter-island ferry service.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090316/BREAKING01/90316039/1352