Servings 10
Ribs:
9 – 12 lbs pork ribs or country-style ribs
2 pieces of sliced fresh ginger root
Water
Marinade:
1 cup sugar or honey (or less as ketchup is already sweet!
1 cup ketchup
¾ cup oyster sauce
1 ts minced ginger
2 ts chopped garlic
¾ ts Chinese five spice
1 cup Soy sauce – preferably unsalted!
2 cans (12 oz size) frozen guava nectar concentrate.
Prep:
Place ribs & sliced ginger in large pot and cover with water.
Bring to boil and cook for about 30 minutes or until pork is fork tender
Drain water.
While ribs are still warm, combine marinade ingredients in a recipient large
enough to contain ribs & marinade. Cover and marinate ribs overnight in refrigerator.
Grill over hot charcoal or broil in oven, basting meat repeatedly with the marinade.
Enjoy!
source: Maui Electric Company 1-808-871-9777
In Maui County, 14.5% of the electricity generated in 2007 came from renewable biomass, wind, hydro and biofuel sources of energy.
Due to Hawaii's need for oil for ground, sea & air transportation, our State has traditionally been an oil-based company. Oil for electricity is refined from the same barrel imported for transportation use. It is a system that made more sense when the cost of oil was relatively low. We now need to change Hawaii's dependence on imported oil by increasing energy efficiency & conservation and using more renewable energy sources to increase Hawaii's energy security and address concerns about global warming.
The use of renewable energy on Maui is progressing. Completed in 2006, the Kaheawa Wind Power Wind Farm provided a full year of electricity to the grid during 2007. It is capable of producing up to 30 megawatts (MW) of power.
Looking forward, more wind projects have been proposed. Oceanlinx Ltd. plans to install a 2.7 MW wave-to-energy demonstration project off the North coast of Maui in 2010.
And, the planned BlueEarth Biofuels plant will refine biodiesel for use at the electric Maalaea Power Plant. It is expected to be completed in 2011.
Maui Electric Cy.
%*
Oil
83.7
Coal
1.8
Biofuel
0.1
Biomass
4.4
Hydro
0.7
Wind
9.3
Total
100
*percentage of fuels used to produce electricity based on the amount of elect5ricity generated by MECO and the amound purchased from independent power producers in 2007.
That's an excellent beginning!
Hawaii
Empowered by a strong high-end market and few foreclosures, the Hawaii real estate market has not caught the national real estate recession. While Hawaiians see daily news reports of falling home prices on the mainland, they have defied gravity.
Home and condo sales have slowed slightly in Hawaii, but not enough to have a major effect on its markets. Housing Predictor forecasts that Hawaii will stay clear of a housing recession in 2008 and just may miss a down turn in its markets all together, at least for now.
The draw of the Island’s sunshine has propelled Hawaii luxury real estate sales ahead of 2006. Global interest has increased in Hawaii, despite few Japanese investors in the marketplace. However, that may change soon as Japan’s investment trust laws change in 2008 to provide new investment incentives for Japanese investors.
The regulatory changes of the J-REIT (Japanese real estate investment trust) will allow capital to purchase property in Hawaii and could provide a huge infusion of Japanese money into Hawaii, which has long been a major investment area for the Japanese.
International and U.S. east coast real estate buyers have compensated for the drop off in demand from the rest of the nation. In Honolulu the median prices are staying at about where they were a year ago, which represents Hawaii as the only state in the country to have a stable housing market.
The inventory of homes has also declined instead of increased in Hawaii, which is unparalleled else where in the nation.
Building is still abundant in Honolulu. As the nation’s second largest vacation home market behind Florida, Waikiki hasn’t seen as much development as now since the 1960s when the area was originally designed as a resort magnet. In Kapolei a new major residential development is underway. As a result of a healthy market place, few foreclosures, and the infusion from Japan Housing Predictor forecasts Honolulu to appreciate 6.8% for the year.
In Maui condo development is underway. Maui is becoming the state’s second most developed island and new construction is still on-going. Maui will see a healthy pace of home and condo sales on the way to forecast 5.6% appreciation.
On Kauai home sales have also slowed slightly, but with its more relaxed less urban setting Kauai still has healthy consistent growth. Condo development is limited to four stories on this remote more 1970's version of the islands, keeping the flavor of Hawaii rituals more intact.
Kauai is forecast to see another year of good home sales growth in 2008 on the way to 4.9% in appreciation for the year.
Source: HousingPredictor.com - end Feb 2008
The 2008 Top 25 Real Estate Market Forecast
An amazing dozen states real estate markets are represented on the 2008 Housing Predictor Top 25 Market list.
The Top 25 with the highest forecast appreciation have the greatest probability of reaching their forecast of the more than 250 local housing markets Housing Predictor forecasts. In 2007 Housing Predictor’s forecasts were 86% correct within a 1 to 2 percent margin.
Yakima, Washington in eastern Washington State won the #1 position with forecast appreciation of 7.1% after appreciating strongly in the past year. Yakima still has a fairly active market, despite mortgage woes.
However, Hawaii is the strongest single state in the nation for real estate sales, and Honolulu was selected for the second spot in the Top 25, followed by Salem, Oregon. Six states each placed 3 communities on the list.
Interestingly, the top markets for 2008 are scattered throughout all parts of the U.S. from the west to the east and into the southern states. No particular area was more dominate than another as more and more smaller communities based on population made the forecast. The forecast shows a strong trend that is developing in the U.S. More people are moving to smaller less urban cities seeking a better quality of life.
% CHANGE PREV YEAR
...
Shame on me... I forgot to post the 2nd part of Did You Know...
The ethnic makeup of Maui County rally shows our diversity. Caucasians make up 35% of the island's residents. Asians (which include Chinese, Filipino, Japanese & Korean) make up 33% and Native Hawaiians make up only 18%. Rounding off the rest are Latinos with 9 percent, African-Americans with 1% and Americian Indians make up 1% as well. And finally, there is 3% of the population who don't know what they are but hey... that souldn't surprise anybody!.
Another fact that surprised me is the height of the West Maui Mountains. Looking at them from down here in Kihei, they look almost as high as Haleakala. Well guess what? The highest point is 5,778', whereas the Haleakala is a big 10,025' high.
If somebody asks you how many people vacation or visit Maui in a single year, the figure is 2.5 million. And they leave around $3.1 billion behind or about $1,300 for each visitor. This big invlux of visitors is no doubt partially due to Conde Nast Traveler magazine ranking Maui as the best island destination in the world for the 12th consecutive year!
With Warm Alohaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
By Tessa Dunlop Wed Nov 7, 9:05 PM ET
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists studying humpback whales sounds say they have begun to decode the whale's mysterious communication system, identifying male pick-up lines and motherly warnings.
Wops, thwops, grumbles and squeaks are part of the extensive whale repertoire recorded by scientists from the University of Queensland working on the Humpback Whale Acoustic Research Collaboration (HARC) project.
Recording whale sounds over a three-year period, scientists discovered at least 34 different types of whale calls, with data published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
"I was expecting to find maybe 10 different social vocalizations, but in actual fact found 34. It's just such a wide, varied repertoire," University of Queensland researcher Rebecca Dunlop told Reuters.
The researchers studied migrating east humpback whales, as they traveled up and down Australia's east coast, and recorded 660 sounds from 61 different groups.
Researchers attached audio transmitters to buoys near the whales and monitored the whale interaction from the shore.
Many of the whale sounds could overlap in meaning, said Dunlop, but some had clear meanings.
A purr by males appeared to signify the male was trying his luck to mate a desirable female. High frequency cries and screams were associated with disagreements, when males jostled to escort females during migration, she said.
A wop sound was common when mothers were together with their young. "The wop was probably one of the most common sounds I heard, probably signifying a mum calf contact call," said Dunlop.
Dunlop stopped short of defining the whale communication as a language, but said there were clear similarities with human interaction.
"Its quite fascinating that they're obviously marine mammals, they've been separated from terrestrial mammals for a long, long, long time, but yet still seem to be following the same basic communication system," she said.
Dunlop hopes further research on the subject will help reveal the effect of boats and man-induced sonar on migrating whales.
(Editing by Alex Richardson)
The Maui News, Saturday, October 06, 2007
Editorial
Affordable or no housing?
In withdrawing its application for a 72-unit affordable housing complex, Maui Lani Partners has not denied its obligation to provide some form of affordable housing imposed as a condition of the original zoning for the 1,000-acre project district.
But it is sending a message to Maui County Council members that their demands can be unreasonable. There was no backbiting in the letter from Leiane Paci advising the council that the development group will take another look at how to provide the housing it is obligated to build.
It is clear that the conditions demanded by the council Policy Committee made the project financially unfeasible. Maui Lani already has expended thousands of dollars on developing plans for the proposed rental apartment complex aimed at families in the lower-income brackets of the community. No developer would accept those costs as losses without seriously considering all of its options.
What drives the council committee clearly is a complete disregard for the costs of building any project. Policy Chairman Danny Mateo insists that he still believes the conditions proposed by the committee were fair, but offers no insights on why he thinks the project could be more affordable.
There is a tendency among some members apparently to believe that the county government in support of populist sentiment has a right to restrict profit by business - even prohibit it. It's a strange position for council members to take after every one of them defended a massive increase in their own salaries to suggest that developers really ought to bite the bullet and do with less.
That the council members had no authority to turn down the 26 percent pay increases granted by the county Salary Commission is irrelevant. None of them went to the commission before it made its decision to argue that an increase was unwarranted or unnecessary.
The reality is council members seek the office because they think they will make a difference in the future of the county, but they don't just do it out of the goodness of their hearts. They expect to be paid for their work.
Subdivision developers build houses because they believe there is a market for what they can provide, and they expect to be paid for it. They don't build houses just because they have good hearts and know the community needs places to live.
Copyright © 2007 The Maui News.
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
This message is provided as a service of Maui Tomorrow and distributed to subscribers of our email update list.
______________________________________________________________
Maui Tomorrow
P.O. Box 299, Makawao, Hawaii 96768 808-579-9802
aina@maui-tomorrow.org http://maui-tomorrow.org
The Honolulu Advertiser, Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Hawaii Superferry proved its skill, captain testifies
By Christie Wilson, Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
WAILUKU, Maui - A Hawaii Superferry captain yesterday said the company's 350-foot catamaran proved its maneuverability last month when surfers, paddlers and other protesters jumped into the waters of Nawiliwili Harbor to keep the Alakai from docking.
"It performed flawlessly," said Capt. Adam Parsons, who was at the helm on the ship's two visits to Kaua'i on Aug. 26 and 27. "I'm probably the only person in the state who has backed out of Nawiliwili Harbor in a large vessel."
Parsons was a witness yesterday in a Maui Circuit Court hearing, now in its second week, to determine whether Hawaii Superferry can resume service to Maui while the state conducts an environmental assessment of publicly funded projects built to accommodate the new interisland service at Kahului Harbor. His testimony was meant to address criticism that the high-speed ferry poses a threat to the endangered humpback whales that winter in Hawai'i.
The ferry, powered by water jets, is expected to operate at 37 knots, or about 43 mph. By comparison, cruise ships, container vessels and freighters operate in the 20-knot range.
NOAA Fisheries recommends vessel speeds in the vicinity of 13 knots to reduce the risk of whale collisions and serious injury to the animals. The federal agency and others have expressed concern the company's whale-avoidance plan doesn't substantially reduce the risk to whales.
Parsons pointed out the Alakai's speed works in its favor, allowing maneuverability unmatched by larger ships.
At 37 knots, the shallow-draft catamaran can come to a stop in a distance of 1,050 feet, or about 40 seconds, he said, while a cruise ship sailing at only 13 knots would need 1,500 feet.
Plus, he said, the Alakai can do something larger ships can't: stop and turn at the same time.
Parsons said the ferry's stopping distance drops to 600 to 700 feet if it is also maneuvering away from a potential collision.
'LARGER SAFETY MARGIN'
Describing the catamaran's turning ability, Parsons said the Alakai can complete a circle at full speed in four-tenths of a mile, while it would take three miles for a cruise ship to make the same maneuver.
The water-jet propulsion system also allows the captain to instantly initiate a reverse thrust to stop the ferry.
"We have a larger safety margin than any vessel out there. We can turn faster and stop significantly faster, 50 percent faster, than any ship plying the same routes," he said.
Parsons also explained the difference in the wakes generated by the ferry and a cruise ship.
The shorter ferry has a shallower draft, and its water jets create a short burst of surface turbulence that quickly dissipates, he said.
Although it may appear the ferry is kicking up a large wake as it accelerates out of port, the turbulence dissipates long before reaching the beach, a breakwater or outrigger canoes that share the harbor, according to Parsons.
A larger deep-draft vessel displaces a solid block of water as it cuts through the ocean, creating a long swell that travels much farther, he said.
Parsons' remarks were in response to testimony last week from Iokepa Nae'ole, a fisherman, surfer, diver and paddler who said he is worried for the safety of paddlers, kayakers, paddle boarders and other ocean users who head out from Kahului Harbor to a two-mile buoy north of the harbor mouth, along the ferry route, or come into the harbor on long-distance runs from Maliko Gulch.
Parsons also remarked on his experience as a boat captain in Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park, where humpback whales spend their summers feeding. He said that during the two summers he worked there, in 2005 and 2006, he was not aware of any whale collisions or close calls. Vessel speeds in the park can range from 13 to 28 knots, he said, depending on boat traffic and whale density.
He said whale blows, tale and pectoral fin slapping and other behavior make the creatures easy to spot from several miles away.
"Once you see one you assume there are others around so you maneuver away from that so you don't get near the pod," he said.
BLIND SPOT
On cross-examination by attorney Isaac Hall, Parsons acknowledged the sight line from the ferry's bridge straight ahead to the ocean surface leaves a 300-foot-long blind spot. Hall is representing Maui Tomorrow, the Sierra Club and the Kahului Harbor Coalition, which won a Hawai'i Supreme Court decision ordering the state to perform an environmental assessment of the harbor projects.
The Hawaii Superferry's whale-avoidance policy includes whale-season routes that run outside the boundaries of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and avoiding other whale-dense waters of 100 fathoms (600 feet) or less when possible.
The ferry also will have two dedicated whale lookouts in addition to the bridge crew, and specialized binoculars and other equipment to help spot whales. Parsons said the vessel will attempt to maintain a distance from whales of about 500 yards; federal rules call for keeping a distance of at least 100 yards.
Parsons acknowledged the ferry may have to travel through sanctuary waters when rough ocean conditions make it dangerous to sail north of Moloka'i. In that case, the vessel would move at no more than 25 knots.
'CRIMINAL' RISKS
Also testifying yesterday was Maui County Councilwoman Michelle Anderson, who said an environmental review of the ferry-related harbor projects would give county officials more time to prepare for a different type of visitor the ferry would bring.
Anderson introduced a resolution passed by the council in May 2005 urging the state to conduct a review. Councils on Kaua'i and the Big Island passed similar measures.
The South Maui councilwoman said the ferry would make it easier for "a criminal element" from O'ahu to import trouble, challenging local police already stretched thin.
"We don't want O'ahu's urban problems brought to Maui, not to mention drug dealers and criminals of all sorts. ... To invite more problems without any type of assessment to handle it is just irresponsible."
She said the 2 million or so visitors who fly to Maui annually are different from passengers who would bring their vehicles with them on the ferry because "tourists don't come here to pick our 'opihi ... but there are plenty of people on O'ahu who still value 'opihi ... and our secret ulua places."
Under questioning by Hawaii Superferry attorney Lisa Munger, Anderson refused to acknowledge that Maui's resources belong to the entire state, saying that would depend on one's view of "home rule."
The hearing resumes at 10 a.m. today.
The Maui News, Monday, September 17, 2007
Maui towns need limits
The basic structure of government in the islands often comes as a surprise that creates confusion among newcomers. Unlike most places on the Mainland, there are just two levels of government in the islands. There is the state government and there are the county governments. That's it - no townships and no municipalities.
Not having delineated towns also leads to major planning issues. One of the goals of the current revision of the general plan is to put "city limits" around urban areas. Maui was once considered rural. Populations were centered around sugar mills, pineapple plantations, ranches and the harbor, with thousands of acres of fields and pastures around them. Although there is still plenty of room for "country living" in the county, a better definition for Maui today would be ex-urban, not yet suburban and not exactly urban.
A major focus of current planning efforts, brought into sharp relief by the controversy over transient vacation rentals, is to confine urban sprawl and protect the open space that is so vital to Maui's overall appeal to residents and to visitors.
Attempts to limit sprawl in the past foundered on the shoals of profit. Owners of land on the edges of what are now urban areas could see limitations on development possibilities. They are right, but if Maui is to avoid unplanned development, residential/urban areas must be defined.
One result of the unplanned development of Maui has been the rise of transient vacation rentals in rural areas. Current plans call for banning the so-called TVRs from ag-zoned land even though individual parcels are too small to be economically viable as farms.
The times are a-changing. It may be that the future of agriculture lies with combining tourism with food production. That seems to be the idea behind requiring a B&B operator in the ag zone to earn $35,000 a year from agriculture.
After years of anything-goes land use policies, the county must tighten controls, but it should do so with a mind that is open to new possibilities that would fit with the overall goal - a Maui that retains the best of its past while being prepared for the future.
The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 9:59 a.m., Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Court hearing on Superferry service to Maui postponed
A hearing on whether to keep in place the ban on Hawaii Superferry service to Maui until the state conducts an environmental assessment has been postponed until next week.
The hearing, which was initially scheduled for 9:30 a.m. tomorrow in Maui Circuit Court, is now set for 9 a.m. Monday.
The hearing before Judge Joseph Cardoza is expected to decide whether a preliminary and/or permanent injunction will be issued to keep the ban on Hawaii Superferry service to Maui in place until the state Department of Transportation conducts an environmental assessment on the Kahului Harbor projects.
In a court case brought by Maui Tomorrow, the Sierra Club and the Kahului Harbor Coalition, the state Supreme Court ruled Aug. 23 that the state was wrong to exempt publicly funded ferry-related projects at the Kahului Harbor from the state's environmental protection law.
The Maui projects, which include a barge, ramps, fencing and utilities, are part of $40 million in state-funded, ferry-related construction at Kahului, Nawiliwili, Honolulu and Kawaihae harbors.
Following the ruling, Cardoza last month granted the plaintiffs' request for a temporary restraining order banning the state from allowing the ferry to use Kahului Harbor.
At an Aug. 29 hearing, Cardoza rejected a motion by Hawaii Superferry and the DOT to dissolve the temporary order.
© COPYRIGHT 2007 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
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The Honolulu Advertiser Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Starwood to build luxury Maui hotel
By Oliver Staley, Bloomberg News Service
NEW YORK - Starwood Capital Group LLC has chosen Wailea, Maui, as the location for the first in a new worldwide chain of luxury Baccarat Hotels and Resorts inspired by the 243-year-old French crystal manufacturer.
The first Baccarat hotel will open in Wailea in 2010, Starwood Capital said in a statement yesterday.
Other locations will follow in the Mainland U.S., Caribbean, Europe and Asia, it said without giving more details.
Starwood Capital is headed by Barry Sternlicht, who built Starwood Hotels into the third-largest U.S. lodging company. Sternlicht took over France's only profitable crystal maker from the Taittinger family in 2005 when he bought a majority stake in Societe du Louvre SA. Starwood Capital wants to transform Baccarat into a global luxury brand, company executives said in interviews last year.
Starwood Capital, based in Greenwich, Conn., is developing the "1" chain of luxury environmentally themed hotels. It's also part of a group bidding on Riviera Holdings Corp., a casino company.
Sternlicht established Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. in 1995 and resigned as its chairman 10 years later.
http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=31928
The Maui News Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Planning development? Bill: Show me the water
By CLAUDINE SAN NICOLAS, Staff Writer
WAILUKU - A proposal to prohibit future developments without a long-term, reliable source of water received renewed support Monday from residents and representatives of groups such as Earthjustice and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
The County Council's Water Resources Committee deferred action on the proposal, which Chairwoman Michelle Anderson recommended should be fine-tuned.
Under the measure, land-use approvals would not be granted to developments unless there's a guaranteed supply of water for more than 20 years.
Former Council Member Dain Kane proposed a similar measure two years ago, saying it would make land-use planning come before development.
Real estate developers criticized the bill, saying it was unnecessary because they would not build without a source of water.
The measure was not acted on before Kane gave up his council seat and lost a bid for mayor in 2006.
The current version of the bill says an applicant for a land-use approval must identify a long-term supply of water that must be supported with substantial evidence, including a water quality assessment verified by the county water director.
"It seems to me no developer would want to develop a project without a long-term source of water," said John Duey, a resident who testified in favor of the bill.
Earthjustice attorney Isaac Moriwake said the proposal follows the model in California, where it's called the "Show Me the Water" law.
Predictions that the law would stop development were wrong, he said. "It hasn't brought development to a grinding halt."
Instead, the bill integrates water resources in the planning of development - something that is lacking and needed in Maui County and the rest of the state, according to Moriwake.
Both Moriwake and Lucienne de Naie of Maui Tomorrow said the bill's benefits include protecting the county from losing its water resources after approving real estate developments. It also assures developers they'll have water when their projects go forward, they argued.
De Naie commended council members for being "progressive" by "looking at water as a whole."
The measure also would make Maui County accountable by not allowing officials to promise water they can't deliver, she said. Californians familiar with the state's "Show Me the Water" law reported "hidden benefits" of the law, including the encouragement of developers to incorporate water conservation in their plans.
The only concern raised Monday about the bill was about exemptions to the water availability policy and whether small businesses and others would be blocked from developing their properties.
The proposal currently exempts family
subdivisions, affordable housing projects, and building, grading or construction permits.
Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.
Did You Know?
I am asked a lot of questions by visitors to Maui, the answers to which I've sometimes just discovered!
People are curious... They want to know more about our island paradise... Wouldn't it be nice to be able to answer them intelligently?
The County of Maui has produced a full-color brochure that they are sending to interested businesses worldwide, hoping to influence new business to locate here. The publication has beautiful photographs, is well-written and it also has a lot of facts. Let me give you a few examples.
Maui is 48 miles long and 26 miles wide. Personally, I thought it was a lot longer than 48 miles. Take the one trip to Hana in East Maui and you'll swear it's a lot longer.
The average low temperature at Kahului Airport is 67.4 degrees and the average high is 83.7. I am asked this question a lot. Since there are so many areas where it is cooler or warmer. the airport is probably a good reference point.
Want an easy question? What's the biggest industry on Maui? If you guessed tourism, you are right. That may seem rather obvious. But what is the second-biggest industry? Pineapple? Sugar? Wrong! It is high-technology. Maui has evolved into a growing high-tech center that could mean higher-paying jobs and environmentally friendly businesses for us in the future. To me that's really exciting.
...more in a few days!
I just read this article written by Tom Stevens in one of our Maui famous glossy magazine. It was very funny until I read the last paragraph!!!!!!!!!
I think Mr. Stevens has no clue about how much education & personal knowledge we have to go through neither how often our customers & clients ask questions which require very precise answers!!! Oh well...
QuoteA modern recycling goal is to keep stuff out of the dump. The less trash in the landfill, the thinking goes, the better for our environment. Reduce, reuse, recycle!But back in the day, the Maui dump was recycling. Or Maui dumps, I should say. There were many of them, unofficial and official. Unofficial dumps arose wherever it was convenient to pitch opala (trash) without giving offense. And “arose” is the word. Over the years, small mountains of trash built up where rural roads ended, where military bases had stood, or simply where no one in authority looked very hard. As recently as 1970, sprawling third-world-type dumps could be found where Maui Community College and Kanaha Beach Park are today. And one famous trash pile at the end of Makena Road grew so big it earned landmark status. The trash pile is gone, but even today Mauians surf the break called “Dumps.” Back in the day, the county government maintained semi-official dump sites in Hana, Makawao, Pu‘unene, Lahaina and other far-flung districts. These facilities predated the “sanitary landfill” era, so the opala lay exposed, if jumbled, like a swap meet after an earthquake. The up side was: if the supervisors were in a good mood and you didn’t go crazy, you could pick through a dump pretty much at will. Many did. On any given dump business day, caravans of hippies, contractors, island families and new arrivals converged on the various sites like ants at a picnic. Some came to discard; some to discover; others to do both. Back in those days, no spiky-wheeled bulldozers crushed the trash up for burial; no scary wood-chipping machines turned timbers into flying splinters. Instead, unwanted goods simply lay at the dump site for the elements to process. Sun, wind, rain, rust and termites would do their work, and the material would go back to whence it came. “Natural recycling,” you might call it. Of course, there were human recyclers, too, most notably at one venerable Upcountry site. Spilling down a deep gulch off Makani Road near Pukalani, the Makawao Dump was such a Disneyland of disposables it inspired its own song. It was also a hotbed of early recycling on Maui. Patrons of the Makawao Dump could find Territorial-era art works and rattan living-room sets; vintage doors, windows and casements, all intact; tons of surplus lumber and construction materials. Entire houses were built and furnished from the Makawao Dump, and several antique stores found start-up inventory there. A favorite dump character of the 1970s was the late Rainbow Kelly, a husky, white-bearded disc jockey, novelist and semipro athlete who scoured the Makawao Dump with a pirate kerchief bound snugly around his head. Rainbow would recover for barter or sale discarded valuables like copper wire, stained glass windows and auto parts. After a good day, his burdened pickup truck looked like an African bus. Impressive as his dump business was, Kelly’s biggest recycling coup may have been the “reuse” of an abandoned military building at the old Kahului Airport. Sporting massive, salt-cured beams and handsome sash windows, the empty two-story structure was impeding airport growth. Several contractors submitted bids to demolish the old building, but Kelly and his crew of itinerant hippie carpenters took a different approach: they bid zero. If they could salvage the lumber for their own use, Kelly proposed, his crew would dismantle the building for free, using no power tools. They did, too. The demolition took several weeks, but when it was over, Rainbow’s band had enough lumber to build a commune in the Nahiku rain forest. In similar fashion, friends Bruce Turnbull and Ron Lau got permission in the late 1960s to dismantle and reuse an old Alexander & Baldwin sawmill ramp sited where Maui Mall is today. That wood built two big, big houses that still stand. Things are generally less colorful today. Maui’s old walk-through dumps have been closed or reconfigured as landfills, and the hippies have been reconfigured as realtors. Recycling these days usually happens at generic green dumpsters in asphalt lots, not among the “hunky-backed trunks” of the old Makawao Dump. Recycling now is more sanitary, but less fulfilling.
Unquote
Alexander & Baldwinn (A&B) files for a new residential project in Kihei
With improved traffic flow expected at the new intersection of Mokulele and Piilani highways, the famous highway I was talking about in my very first blog, A&B Properties is proposing long-range residential development of 93 acres in North Kihei (South Maui). 68 acres would be developped in multifamily units, 25 acres in single-family residences and 1.4 acres in commercial space for a total of 600 units.
This may take some time though as A&B must first petition for land reclassification from "Agricultural" (actually it is all covered with sugar canes) to "Urban".
The development's entrance would be near the newly reconfigured intersection of Mokulele (coming from the airport towards S.Maui) and Piilani hwy. (the one parallel to the ocean in S.Maui). It has been said that the new intersection will have enhanced "capacity and efficiency" . For the moment, the 4-way intersection controlled by a traffic signal is a bottleneck for motorists, particularly during morning and afternoon rush hours. A flood plain analysis has been done for the project area and the study is under review by the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
Mr. Grant Chun, President of A&B has asked the Maui General Plan Advisory Committee to consider designating the property for residential development as part of the ongoing update of the County General Plan and Community Plans because actually is is not within the County Special Management Area.
The time frame for development of the project depends on how long it will take to make its way through the State and County Land Use approval processes.