Restoring East Maui waterways considered – The Maui News

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Water panel chair: ‘There’s only hard decisions to make’

By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer

POSTED: October 17, 2009

PAIA – A year after a state Commission on Water Resource Management ruling poured more than 12 million gallons of water per day back into eight East Maui streams, the panel is considering a proposal to restore water to 19 other East Maui waterways.

Taro farmers and plantation workers crowded the Paia Community Center on Thursday, each side pleading for enough water to survive. Chairwoman Laura Thielen said the commission is expected to return with its decision in December.

Without enough water available to fully satisfy all the demand, the commission will have to find a balance among traditional, agricultural and residential users that is unlikely to make everybody happy.

"Water issues are very tough issues," Thielen said. "There’s no bad people here; there’s only hard decisions to make."

Ruling awaited in water dispute – The Maui News

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Lawyers spar over how much water to return to West Maui streams

By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer

WAILUKU – About 120 people crowded into Kanda Hall at Iao Congregational Church on Thursday morning for what may be the last big public session in the five-year contested case over the waters of Na Wai Eha.

The five parties to the case each had 30 minutes to make closing arguments and raise exceptions to the draft in-stream flow standards proposed by hearings officer Lawrence Miike, who is also a member of the state Commission on Water Resource Management.

As much as 70 million gallons per day is diverted from the Iao, Waihee, Waikapu and Waiehu streams, and Miike has proposed restoring nearly half that amount to the streams for "mauka-to-makai" stream flow. The commission will now consider the record and issue a decision about how much water to restore.

In recent days, street-side rallies have broken out backing one position or the other. The stakes are big.

Summary of MAUI LAND & PINEAPPLE CO INC Credit Agreement with Wells Fargo — Yahoo Finance

Form 8-K for MAUI LAND & PINEAPPLE CO INC

15-Oct-2009

Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement, Creation of a Direct Fin

Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with Wells Fargo

On October 9, 2009, the Company, as Borrower, entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the "Amended Wells Credit Agreement") with each of the financial institutions that are parties thereto (the "Lenders") and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association ("Wells Fargo"), in its capacity as a Lender and as the administrative agent for the Lenders. The Amended Wells Credit Agreement amends and restates the terms of that certain Loan Agreement, dated as of November 13, 2007, entered into by and between the Company, as Borrower, each of the financial institutions that are signatories thereto, and Wells Fargo as a lender and as the administrative agent for the lenders named therein, as such was amended from time to time thereafter (the "Original Wells Credit Agreement").

The Amended Wells Credit Agreement principally amends the Original Wells Credit Agreement by:

* increasing the secured revolving line of credit from $45.0 million to $50.0 million;

* providing for the accrual of interest on the principal balance outstanding under the credit facility at (i) the LIBOR Market Index Rate plus 4.25%, (ii) the Federal Funds Rate plus 5.75%, or (iii) the applicable LIBOR Rate plus 4.25%, at the option of the Company, provided that the interest rate applicable to any portion of the principal amount outstanding under the credit facility cannot be less than 5.50%;

* extending the maturity date from March 13, 2010 to March 1, 2011; and

* establishing new financial covenants relating to, among other things, minimum liquidity requirements and total liability thresholds.

Summary of MAUI LAND & PINEAPPLE CO INC – Yahoo! Finance

Documents Detail Layoff Criteria – KHON2.com

The elimination of six plant quarantine inspectors, also within the Department of Agriculture, will limit nursery certification statewide and force cargo headed for Kauai to instead be routed to Honolulu for inspection.

Documents turned over to the Hawaii Government Employees Association last month by the Lingle administration detail the criteria used to eliminate more than 1,100 state jobs by mid November.

Khon2 obtained a copy of all 462 pages provided to the union as ordered by the Hawaii Labor Relations Board.

Department directors and supervisors were told to keep the following criteria in mind when eliminating jobs

  1. Minimize health and safety impacts.
  2. Minimize adverse impacts on service to the public and agencies involved.
  3. Prohibit the reduction of staffing levels below the minimum required to support critical program functions.

Opinion: Plan “Bee”: Hawaii Government Stings Honey Bees | Hawaii 24/7

Posted on October 13, 2009.
Sydney Ross Singer

In case you haven’t heard the buzz, the honey bee in Hawaii is gravely threatened by a newly introduced parasite, the varroa mite, which can wipe out our bee population within a few years, and is spreading across the state.

The question is, should we save the honey bees, or is the mite doing us a favor?

If you ask residents, farmers, and beekeepers, the honey bee is a blessing in Hawaii. They provide delicious honey, they help pollinate all sorts of fruit trees and crops, and they are interesting creatures to raise as a hobby. For most people, our islands would surely be less sweet without honey bees.

On the other hand, if you ask some conservationists who only value “native” species and wish to eradicate introduced ones, the honey bee is an invasive species curse in Hawaii. They compete with native pollinators, and they pollinate alien plant species that are encroaching on native forests. For these people, conservation would best be served by the eradication of the honey bee.

Unfortunately, the Hawaii government holds both of these opinions. And this spells doom for the honey bee.

Local growers benefit from farm-to-table concept – Pacific Business News

Kai Market’s “living wall” of herbs and spices is so popular that chefs at other Sheraton Waikiki restaurants have been known to pinch from it when in need.

The living wall is a vertical grid of mint, basil, rosemary and other plants growing under warm lights and hydrated by a hidden watering system. Kai Market has three living walls — one by the restaurant’s entrance and two by the buffet line.

The walls, created by Greg and Terry Lee of First Look Exteriors in Waipio Gentry, have helped make Kai Market a popular draw since it opened Aug. 7. The breakfasts are attracting 600 patrons a day, while dinners bring in about 100.

Sheraton General Manager Kelly Sanders got the idea for Kai Market after a visit to Hawaii’s Plantation Village in Waipahu. Trips to the Bishop Museum and Maui sugar cane fields followed.

Working with the Hawaii Farm Bureau and Armstrong Produce, Sheraton helped persuade the state Legislature to enact Act 9 this year. The law established a Department of Agriculture pilot program to encourage farmers to form ag cooperatives with hotels and restaurants and to develop a safe food-certification process.

Sanders said only 10 percent of Hawaii’s approximately 300 farmers are certified for farm-to-plate sales. A $140,000 appropriation in Act 9 will help other farmers get certification.

Cumberland Times-News – Ethnobiology at FSU grows with federal grant

FSU is the only institution offering the undergraduate major and minor in ethnobotany, and is the only university in the contiguous 48 states to do so. A similar program is available at the University of Hawaii.

Ethnobiology at FSU grows with federal grant

Michael A. Sawyers
Cumberland Times-News

FROSTBURG — The $550,000 in federal funds will go a long way toward helping Frostburg State University’s ethnobotanists find patches of wild-growing black cohosh, which then could be used for medicinal purposes such as a replacement for hormone therapy.

U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin announced recently that the money will be coming from the Agricultural Appropriations Committee and is headed for the Appalachian Center for Ethnobotanical Studies at FSU.

FAO Media Centre: Agriculture to 2050 – the challenges ahead


Diouf opens High-Level Forum on food’s future

12 October 2009, Rome – Agriculture must become more productive if it is to feed a much larger world population while responding to the daunting environmental challenges ahead, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said here today.

Opening a two-day High-Level Expert Forum on How to Feed the World in 2050 Diouf told the 300 delegates that over the next 40 years:

"The combined effect of population growth, strong income growth and urbanization … is expected to result in almost the doubling of demand for food, feed and fibre."

"Agriculture will have no choice but to be more productive," Diouf added, noting that increases would need to come mostly from yield growth and improved cropping intensity rather than from farming more land despite the fact that there are still ample land resources with potential for cultivation, particularly in sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America. He also noted that "while organic agriculture contributes to hunger and poverty reduction and should be promoted, it cannot by itself feed the rapidly growing population."

World population is projected to rise to 9.1 billion in 2050 from a current 6.7 billion, requiring a 70-percent increase in farm production.