2016-03-03 Hearing Transcript - Update Puna Pono Alliance et al GAF Claim

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And, then the Mayor used his Research Department money to set up the Adler study. The Adler study recommended the, the health study be done and subsequently work was begun on an RFP and a process to get in an appropriately positive claims adjuster ruling for the geothermal health study. Much of that work, at least when I was involved in it, we remained involved in it for a long time, much of that work was headed by Jeff Melrose, and, so that’s what the history of that is, sir. HEAUKULANI: Thank you. Appreciate it. Commissioners, any questions for these testifiers? Thank you. I’m going to call up five more, and so we’re going to have to bring one more chair up to the table. Jim Albertini, Katarina Culina, Robert Petricci, Luana Jones, Ronald Fujiyoshi. If you five could come up, please remain standing for just a minute here so we can swear you all in at one time. If you could all raise your right hand, and do you swear or affirm to tell the truth before the Planning Commission in this proceeding? TESTIFIERS: I do/yes. HEAUKULANI: Thank you. Please be seated. Jim Albertini. You’ve done this often enough. Just please help us out speaking into the microphone and try to limit your comments to three minutes, please. Thank you. ALBERTINI: Good morning, Commissioners. HEAUKULANI: Good morning, sir. ALBERTINI: And I submitted written testimony. I’ll be brief and add a few additional th comments. On January 8, I testified on behalf of our organization in support of the proposed Michael Edelstein Native Hawaiian Psycho-Social Impact Health Study that was passed unanimously that day by this body, and I congratulate all of the members of the Commission for taking that action. It was very good. And it’s now 14 months later, and that study hasn’t been funded or initiated. We want to know why. Why wasn’t this study done more than 30 years ago when geothermal was first proposed? Geothermal energy involves drilling into Pele, the goddess of the Volcano. What are the psycho- social impacts to Native Hawaiians from drilling into their deity for energy and profit? Do Native Hawaiian lives matter? It doesn’t appear so. It looks more and more like institutional racism is involved in this long delay at looking into impacts to Native Hawaiian people. It looks more and more there is an attempt to delay, to stall this study so it doesn’t get done. It seems to me, and I’ve listened carefully to all this testimony this morning, that there’s obstruction going on in the Planning Department or even among certain members of this Commission. Someone or some people in the Planning Department or this Commission are acting like il Duce, Donald Trump. Acting like they are the law. We want to know who was holding this up and why. We want answers, and more importantly, we want the study to go forward now. And, the claims adjuster to me is the tail. This Commission is the dog. The tail doesn’t wag the dog. You made the decision for it to go forward. If—if it’s obstruction, you need to take action, and 16 EXHIBIT E