HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0212.091 1996-1998 TEL No. Apr 22,97 14:18 No .018 P.01
. ; ~ O~awai i Island
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q`~ r~Pip., Pi~`~ 3`~
Established in 1878 • 202 Kamehameha Ave. • Hilo, Hati~dii 967201'P1iimC ((!tits) 9.15-717H • faK (8Q81961-4435
COUi~i'.~,
April 9~~7 CpUNTY Ui- NAV~JAU
the t'!®n®rable Aar®n Chung9 Chair
A~THa C~l1H{:1~ ~HAII~ ~AME~ Y. AI~A~A~1 (~Y I`A~E ~C 969-
~Inance C®mrr~ittee
I°tawall C®unty C®un~il
Aupur~l fit.
~4ll0, Hl 96~~®
~~a mill If~~. "®rdlnance Arnenclin~ the Capital ~ud~#et t® Include
the P®st F~ar~rest Tr®atn~ent Pacilitp~ I='r®,pect f®r i~llli®n
Dear Chalrrnan Chung atod men'bers ®f the +~®rnrnittee ®r~ 1=lnanco.
IVIy name is Harris Hlrata, a 3®-year r®sld®nt ®f the city of
HII®, and current President of the Hawall !eland Chamber ®f
~or~°on~orce.
1 am writing t®day In behalf ®f the 4®®•mert~ber ®rganization
ovor whBch i preside.
a want t® c®n7mend th® County Connell and Mayor 5tevo
Yarnsshlro f®r their actions in support of dlverslfled agriculture.
VV~ especially want t® thank you f®r, and encourage y®ur
~ontlnuing supp®rt ®f a post-harvest treatrroent facility,
sp®clflcally, an Irradiatl®n Plant In fast I°~awaii. such a facility Is
a n®cessary part ®f th® ®quatiorr If diversified agriculture Is to
achieve any kind of r~earaingful success as a c®ntrlbut®r t® ®ur
island5s ®con®my. An irradiation pBant and other pest-harvest
treatment facllitles will provide our farrr'ers th® opportunity t®
escpand their pr®duction capabilities areal in s® doing creates ne?wr
aid m®aningful ernployetaent opporturoltles f®r our eltlz~ns. Cur
farmers cart produce ail the fruits and fl®wers for exp®rt that the
Affiliated w1U, the Chamht~r of Commerce of the United States ~,ef. ~'G; ~P~~ ,,;.;;,N:;;;
TEL No. Apr 22 97 14:18 No .018 P.02
farn~~rs can produce all the fru-its and fl®wers for exp®rt that the
rnac~lcet will abs®rb. i~lowever, with®ut the host-harvest `i'reatrnent
facility, their ability to gr®w and prosper is diminished
c®nsld~r~b9y.
~n April ~1, 1997, we had the ®pportunity to meet with the
I~onorable James A. Howell, BVsw Zealand's ~®nsul general
steti®ned in Los ~regeles. As y®u Icre®w, New Zealand has a strut
p®llcy which does not perrvtit nuclear p®wered ocean vessels or
vessels with nuclear weapons from entering its ports. However,
New Zealand has several irradiation facUitles. Acc®rding to
~C®nsul general Howell, irradiation facilities are not an issue in his
country.
'T`he Hawaii Island ~c®nomic ~evetopr~tent hoard (l°lI~~I~) I~as
preseetted several public forums on this issue. l°he pub®se ®f
these lnforrnatio~al sessions continues to be t® pr®vide gas with
the faots of the matter. Yee heardl from representatives fr®rn state
and ~edera! agencies, such as tlse Nuclear R®gulatory
+~®rt~issior~, the ~s ®epartment of agriculture, anti the ~®®d and
Drug ~drninistration. In general, their presentations assured us
that lrradiati®n facilities can be safely developed and operat®d.
lVl®r® significant to us as ~ow~surv~era, we are assured that
irradiation ®f fruit and other fo®d products does not advers®!y
affect the product or the c®nsurraers of the pr®ducts.
live supp®rt an irraeliatl®n facility, which is develop®d and
operated entirely by the private sector. We are asiciwog you t®
support this concept anal t® provide the necessary funding to h®Ip
in the initial stages of elevel®panent, and t® help in the r»aric~ting
and pr~moti®n of the firaaf products. 7`he benefits to the citix~nry
of gist Hawaii are ®xpected to help renew the ec®nomi~ h~altlt of
our c®rnmunity.
14Ve appreciate and lamed th® courage and det~rr~6natlon that
you and lVlayor Yarnashiro have shown so far. grease consider all
the I`~~~~A~ information at hand. 13o n®t be daunted by the
TEL No. Apr 22 97 14:18 No .018 P.03
~aysayers wh® have base ~eroerating half-traeths, ~°ois-inf®r~ati®n,
and ~®eavn tight lies in att~r~pt t® Influence y®ur ~®®cl juclgrrrent.
thank y®u f®r the ®~p~rtunlty t® present this ~?ritten
testirn®ny.
teary truly yours,
~~rro~ I~Ira ~
l~re~ident