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There are problems in paradise. Have proponents of this CDP worked with an awareness of <br />these problems? Have they made attempts to get to as many civic and community organizations <br />that help issues facing native Hawaiians and others? I say the answer is no. These problems are <br />not new to residents in Hawaii. Ask how many tourist vehicles are still being vandalized by <br />frustrated residents – or worse. Statistics may be found in the Department of Health, State <br />criminal records, Hawaii Visitor’s Bureau, to name a few. <br />Hawaiians fight adversaries who arrogantly appear upon their ancestral lands and chase <br />“undesirable” and “unconforming” natives and culture off those lands. Members of canoe clubs <br />and their canoes are being forced out of places they practice. Well-known and respected canoe <br />coaches who work tirelessly to benefit great numbers have been “pushed out” of their places. <br />They are being sent out of Kawaihae, Kamakahonu, and Keauhou Bay. These incidences reflect <br />a changing reality – changing Kona community values. <br />Lands that held ancient gardens are being bulldozed unchecked everyday. An ill-equipped <br />historical preservation department for the State of Hawaii mandated to uphold laws to protect <br />vestiges of Hawaiian culture is as guilty as a negligent parent. Headlines carried in the Hilo <br />Tribune Herald a few years ago read, “Hawaii’s cultural watchdog toothless.” <br />This is desecration of sacred lands. This is annihilation of the spirit of the land and the spirit of <br />people, not just Hawaii’s first people but all people who love Hawaii today. <br />It’s not bad enough that Hawaiian people, unprotected by the State of Hawaii, face ruthless <br />developers and other business owners blinded by greed; Hawaiian people now face colonized <br />Hawaiian people who have been distracted from their own way of life by adoption of foreign <br />ways. <br />The way out is to remember who we are. Protect what we love and cherish. Keep practicing <br />peace by exercise zero tolerance for wrong-doing. Here rises the third “C.” Peaceful civil <br />disobedience is successful and life-affirming. This is what Jacques Cousteau’s son, Phillipe, <br />actually said: What you love, you protect. <br />The Kona Community Development Plan needs input from native Hawaiians. I spoke at the first <br />meeting of the organizers of this Plan and said these same things at Konawaena cafeteria. My <br />words drifted up to the clouds in the night air. Since then I’ve only seen a plan moving forward <br />with the speed of a NASA rocket racing to a space station without making sure everyone is <br />safely onboard. Did the whole community want this rocket? Is its launch premature? <br />A financed, well-organized, systematic and thorough program where input is sought then <br />followed from the traditional established families of the lands, ka mauliauhonua, is necessary <br />before any part of this Plan can be credible and worthy of acceptance. <br />The problem is, $500,000 can only go so far and it wasn’t enough for this effort. Hawaiians care <br />about this land too much to accept something that is merely a best “shot at the mark.” When it <br />comes to future planning, I for one desire to build my home for those who follow me, not move <br />EXHIBIT B <br />18 <br /> <br />