Maui looks to open wells for drinking, agriculture
WAILUKU -- State Deputy Director of Health Bruce Anderson says he sees no problem with Maui water officials reopening a well that has the fumigant dibromochloropropane.Anderson said the well contained 0.01 parts per billion of DBCP, well below the safe drinking-water standard of 0.04 parts per billion.
"That well could be used for drinking-water purposes," he said.
Anderson said well sources at Hamakuapoko contained higher concentrations of DBCP than allowed in drinking water but could be used as proposed for agricultural purposes by the Maui water board.
The board yesterday declared emergency drought conditions for Upcountry Maui and asked Gov. Ben Cayetano to exempt the three wells from environmental controls and allow them to be used temporarily.
Cayetano has sent the request to the state attorney general's office and Department of Health for review and recommendations.
Cayetano has seven days to respond to the request, said his press secretary, Kathleen Racuya-Markrich.
DBCP was used as a fumigant in pineapple fields but was banned from use by the federal government in 1979 after it was found to cause sterility in laboratory animals, said Maui attorney James Krueger.
Krueger, representing some Central American farm workers in a lawsuit against the DBCP manufacturer and growers, said the chemical was also found to cause cancer in laboratory rats.
Anderson said tests found Well 2 at Hamakuapoko contained 0.23 to 0.36 parts per billion of DBCP, 10 times higher than the acceptable level.
"We've been monitoring that well for some time," he said. "We don't like what we see drinking water."
He said while the water would not be acceptable for drinking, it would be all right for agricultural use and could even help by purging the water system of contaminants.
Use of endangered plants approved for gardens
Gov. Ben Cayetano has approved new rules to protect the 263 endangered Hawaii plant species by allowing people to get them from nurseries and plant them in home gardens.The rules, which take effect Sunday, are a departure from previous ones that prohibited any person or business from possessing threatened or endangered plants.
"Hawaii is home to more endangered plant species than any other state in the nation," Cayetano said. "There are 101 endangered Hawaiian plant species with fewer than 20 plants each, and 15 species are down to just one remaining plant....
"These rules provide more flexibility by allowing people to grow these plants, learn more about them and help to save any endangered plants growing on their property."
The new rules will:
Continue to allow qualified people and nurseries to collect and grow endangered plant species from "the wild" through a permit issued by the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Michael Wilson, Department of Land and Natural Resources director, said, "For many years, we have advocated changes to allow the general public to possess threatened and endangered plants, especially people who have a keen interest in using native species in their yards and gardens."
Kauai mulls property tax hike, job cuts
LIHUE -- Job cutbacks and a property tax rate increase are being proposed by Kauai MayorMaryanne Kusaka as a means of balancing next year's budget.
The county is considering eliminating up to 25 of its 850 positions, some of which are currently vacant, said county finance director Wallace Rezentes Jr.
No departments have yet been targeted for cuts.
The property tax rate increase is a "revenue-neutral adjustment," in order to offset a decline in property values, he said.
The value of real property on Kauai is projected to drop 5.9 percent next year, from $6.34 billion to $5.97 billion.
The administration plans to raise property tax rates by 39 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
The county wants to retain last year's property tax revenue of $31.6 million, Rezentes said. The effect of the increase on property owners will vary, depending on whether their property values increase or decrease.
If final property tax value figures rise, the tax rate will be dropped by an equivalent amount, he said.
A major variable in the administration's final budget, expected May 8, is how much the Legislature will cut the county's share of the hotel room tax, or transient accommodations tax.
The county's operating budget is anticipated to drop from $72 million to $69.6 million, mainly due to an expected $3 million decrease in hotel room taxes, as proposed by the governor, Rezentes said.
If legislators soften that blow, the county may not have to lay off workers and may just eliminate already vacant positions, he said.
The jobs cut proposal is aimed at shaving $750,000 from next year's operating budget.
Also clouding the county's financial picture is how much relief the Legislature will provide in privatizing county services.
Government costs are projected to rise, as a result of government workers unions' challenging private county contracts.
Big Isle fire spurs investigation
PAHALA, Hawaii -- Police are conducting a criminal property damage investigation in a fire affecting four acres of macadamia nut husks, because the fire department determined the blaze had a suspicious cause.The fire started Saturday on land one mile mauka of Pahala leased by the Aloha Soil Mix Co., which combines the husks with soil for sale to landscapers. Damage to the company's product was put at $100,000.
The fire spread to surrounding brush, burning 20 acres.
The brush fire was put out, but the husks are expected to smolder for an extended time, the fire department said.
Anyone with information on the fire is asked to call police at 929-9822 or CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.
Meanwhile, a 15-acre forest fire that threatened two dozen homes in the Leilani Estates subdivision, 20 miles south of Hilo, remains contained but not out, the fire department said.
ipFor the fourth night since the fire started Saturday, crews remained at the site to monitor the fire, which has been reduced to smoldering hot spots.
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Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffPolice arrest Maile man on threatening charge
Police yesterday arrested a Maile man for allegedly pointing a shotgun at his neighbors.The suspect and the neighbors, who reside on Hookele Street, argued yesterday about a loud party the day before, police said.
During the argument, the suspect went into his home and returned with a shotgun.
The man then reportedly pointed the weapon at his neighbors, police said.
He was booked for first-degree terroristic threatening.
Pearl City man accused of kidnap, sex assault
Police yesterday charged an 18-year-old Pearl City man who allegedly kidnapped and attempted to rape a teen-ager.Christopher Gallarde is being held in lieu of $110,000 bail for kidnapping, attempted first-degree sexual assault and separate counts of first-degree terroristic threatening using a gun and knife.
The girl, 17, told police the alleged incident occurred Sunday morning in the parking lot of Pearl City High School when the two met to talk.
Maui woman airlifted for treatment of injuries
WAILUKU -- A Maui woman was airlifted by helicopter out of a valley in the Hana District yesterday evening after injuring herself, Assistant Fire Chief Richard Fernandez said.Fernandez said fire rescue received the call at about 4:48 p.m. and helped in the transport of Kathleen Barber of Makawao.
She was treated for minor head injuries and released from Hana Medical Center, authorities said.
Hilo woman charged with drug possession
HILO -- Police have charged a downtown Hilo woman with possessing cocaine and crystal methamphetamine following a raid on her apartment yesterday, they said.Celeste Gietner, 43, was found with small amounts of the drugs as well as drug paraphernalia and $600 in cash, police said.
The arrest took place at an apartment above the former Lopaka's Bar on Keawe Street.
Gietner is being held in lieu of $3,000 bail.
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