2009: A look back

LIHU‘E — As the calendar turns from 2009 to 2010, Kauaians have a chance to look back at where we’ve gone and look ahead at where we’re going.

The Editorial Department at The Garden Island newspaper has determined the following stories, in no particular order, to be the 10 that impacted our island the most this past year.

Thoughts or comments? Visit us at www.thegardenisland.com or send your top stories of 2009 to letters@kauaipubco.com.

Fatal crashes lead to reduced speed limit

LIHU‘E — Since 2000, there have been 10 fatal crashes a three-mile stretch of Kuhio Highway in Wailua roughly from the Kaua‘i Hilton entrance to Wailua Beach known as “blood alley,” eight of which involved vehicles crossing the center line of the highway.

For that and other reasons, the Kapa‘a Business Association and others are still on a mission to encourage state Department of Transportation Highways Division leaders to install some sort of physical divider between the opposing lanes of that stretch of state highway.

The state already reduced the speed limit from 50 mph to 40 mph after a multiple-fatality crash earlier this year.

Additionally, continued work to widen the highway bridges over the Wailua River to continue to slow and sometimes stall traffic in one or both directions is expected for much of 2010.

While the focus has been on Wailua because of the fatal and serious wrecks there, the truth is that both of the main state highways on the island can be dangerous places for motorists.

Kaua‘i Police Department officers waiting to be called into court earlier this year said just about every mile of Kaumuali‘i Highway, running from Lihu‘e to Mana, has been the scene of a fatal accident.

— Paul C. Curtis

Monk seals killed, animals mistreated

LIHU‘E — Two endangered Hawaiian monk seals were slaughtered during a year that saw humans often taking their frustrations out on animals.

Charles Vidinha served 90 days in prison and paid a $25 “special assessment” fee after pleading guilty to shooting the pregnant female monk seal on the North Shore, while a reward of $8,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of those involved in the killing of the male monk seal discovered dead in April at Kaumakani on the Westside.

Elsewhere, investigations into the shooting of two horses — one fatally — on a farm in Kapaia continue. A neighborhood cat was alledgedly run over intentionally in Puhi, and witnesses said a truck deliberately swerved and killed one of several dead endangered moorhen in Hanalei.

Kaua‘i Humane Society also responded to a case of animal cruelty in Po‘ipu where a dead dog was found rotting in his kennel and several emaciated dogs were discovered living in deplorable conditions in June.

Koloa’s Blaine Jacintho pleaded guilty to five counts of animal cruelty in two separate cases for the treatment of his dogs in November, while Lihu‘e’s Michael Wong was found not guilty of animal cruelty after being accused of purposely running over the Puhi feline.

In addition, 125 fighting cocks were taken into protective custody by the Kaua‘i Humane Society after being confiscated from a cockfight in Kapa‘a in May. Many were euthanized due to “severe lacerations,” according to Humane Society Executive Director Dr. Becky Rhoades.

Charges were dismissed against all but one of the participants. The one defendant faces felony charges for allegedly holding most of the money.

— Coco Zickos and Paul C. Curtis

Volunteers reopen Polihale after storm

POLIHALE STATE PARK — After heavy storms ravaged the long, rugged access road to Polihale in December 2008, the state said it didn’t have the money to perform repairs, and it looked like the iconic park might be closed indefinitely.

Community-minded Westsiders united with the goal of reopening the closed road by rebuilding a damaged plantation-era bridge roughly one mile in from the highway gate, chipping in time, equipment and resources to get the job done themselves.

The collaboration between the volunteers and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources made national news as an exhibit of how citizens could help government during a crippling economic downturn, and the park was reopened in April, months or years before DLNR could have finished the task by itself.

The spirit of volunteerism spread to nearby Kikiaola Boat Harbor, but a lack of progress there has left residents and users frustrated and concerned.

— Michael Levine

2 murders in 2009 above isle average

LIHU‘E — On an island where murders are rare, two in one year is nearly unheard of. But that’s what 2009 brought.

Fredlynn Hoapili, 53, of Lihu‘e, died March 3 after allegedly being stabbed nearly 20 times by her husband, Joseph Hoapili Sr., in front of their adult son.

He pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and requested a jury trial in March, and scheduled jury trials in June, August and October were continued as plea negotiations continued.

Trial is now set for Jan. 11, 2010, before 5th Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano

Daniel Bonanno, 47, of Kapa‘a, was discovered murdered in his mother’s truck in Wailua Homesteads the morning of Nov. 9, a day after his release from prison.

Police have released few details about the crime, and continue to seek a witness or witnesses in the case, they said.

Payton Rapozo, 24, of Kapa‘a, is scheduled to be sentenced by 5th Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe Feb. 3, 2010, after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of felony manslaughter (down from second-degree murder) and felony weapons charges after allegedly shooting to death Antonio Torres, 43, of Kapa‘a, on Oct. 12, 2008.

The sentence could be life in prison.

In January, Lawrence and Toshie Mendonca, parents of murder victim Sandra Mendonca Galas, upped a reward to $20,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Galas’ death in ‘Ele‘ele Jan. 25, 2006.

— Paul C. Curtis

Council grapples with transparency issues

LIHU‘E — A challenge to the power of Kaua‘i County Council Chair Bill “Kaipo” Asing this summer forced a discussion of transparency and government governance.

Councilmembers Tim Bynum and Lani Kawahara led a crusade to address members’ access to the agenda, the placement of public documents on the county Web site, equitable and timely circulation of documents, and general access to information.

The council held a 16-hour meeting in July to work on the issues, with Bynum, Kawahara and Asing trading barbs for hours as other council members tried to play peacemaker.

Eventually, Asing agreed to work with his colleagues, and while no council rules were ultimately changed, the discussion led to a policy review and saw meeting minutes posted to the county Web site shortly thereafter.

— Michael Levine

Furloughs hit state workers, students

LIHU‘E — The state Council on Revenues’ projected budget shortfall for Hawai‘i grew by millions of dollars throughout 2009.

By December, Gov. Linda Lingle faced a $1.2 billion budget gap for the next biennium. This harsh reality prompted her to dish out a multi-course meal of cuts and furloughs.

The Hawai‘i Government Employees Association set the pace early on but by mid-October the teachers union had caught up. Thousands of state workers were left reeling in the wake and the trickle-down effect was felt throughout Hawai‘i.

Government offices were shuttered on certain days each month and schools were closed on “furlough Fridays.”

Lawsuits were filed, parents yelled and protests were held as lawmakers, union negotiators, administrators and school officials spent months scrambling for a workable way to get students back in class.

Economic recovery will be a top priority when the Legislature opens its 2010 session on Jan. 20.

— Nathan Eagle

G&R closes its doors, ending sugar era

KAUMAKANI — The final chapter of Kaua‘i’s epic plantation era was written in 2009 and the century-old story drew to a close late October.

Although Gay & Robinson harvested its final crop, it does not mean sugar will no longer be grown and utilized on the some 4,000 acres of land.

Of approximately 7,500 acres of G&R land, 3,400 have already been leased to Dow AgroSciences for corn crop and further development of hydroelectric generation. Pacific West Energy is looking to continue growing sugar cane and “woody biomass” on the additional land for production of energy and ethanol.

Obtaining a total of around 15,000 acres of land, as well as a signed power puchase agreement with Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative is still needed, however, before progress can be made, according to Pacific West President and CEO William M. Maloney.

— Coco Zickos

Asset search

ongoing despite Ponzi scheme suicide

LIHU‘E — A bankruptcy trustee and his attorney continue to vigorously pursue monetary judgments against known associates of James Lull, and continue searching for Lull assets.

Lull was accused of swindling Kaua‘i investors, including surfing champions Bruce Irons and Andy Irons, out of millions of dollars by saying he could guarantee large returns on their financial investments, between 2003 and 2006, when he was branch manager of the Kaua‘i office of the U.S. Financial Mortgage Corporation.

In what is known as a “Ponzi scheme,” he used some of the money to pay off earlier investors, but used most of it for personal purposes, federal attorneys alleged in court documents.

The day he was scheduled to be sentenced after pleading guilty in federal court to fraud and other charges, Lull apparently deliberately drove his vehicle off a cliff near Yakima, Wash., killing himself. The case was ruled a suicide by Washington state officials.

Had he been sentenced, Lull could have faced up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and payment of $20 million to $30 million in restitution to victims.

Since Lull filed personal bankruptcy papers in December 2006, listing more than $31 million in debts and $6.7 million in assets, officials have been trying to locate his assets, often having to resort to subpoenas and interviews with officials at banks where some of Lull’s assets are believed to be held.

— Paul C. Curtis

County officers quit amid ethical concerns

LIHU‘E — A lack of clarity from the Kaua‘i Board of Ethics’ on a Charter provision barring county officials from appearing before county agencies on behalf of private interests led three volunteers to quit their posts this fall.

Cost Control Commissioner Lorna Nishimitsu and Charter Review Commissioners Mattie Yoshioka and Jonathan Chun resigned after the Ethics Board discouraged Yoshioka from testifying on behalf of the Kaua‘i Economic Development Board, a position that contrasted with earlier decisions to clear both Nishimitsu and Chun of potential violations of Charter Section 20.02D.

The debate was renewed when Ethics Board member Rolf Bieber filed complaints against two colleagues — Mark Hubbard and Judy Lenthall — and Nishimitsu.

The Office of the County Attorney has repeatedly said that 20.02D cannot be read in a vacuum and should be read in conjunction with the County Code, and the board continues work on a rule change that would clarify its definition of “private interest.”

— Michael Levine

Struggling economy hurts tourism industry

LIHU‘E — Despite the county’s decision in May to provide a hefty $1 million stimulus package aimed at promoting tourism on Kaua‘i, visitor arrivals continued to decline throughout the year.

The funding expects to generate an additional $20 million by the end of its run in June, Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said at a Lihu‘e Business Association meeting in May. While early projections supplied in November by Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau Executive Director Sue Kanoho to the Kaua‘i County Council have been positive, final figures have not been made public and may not be forthcoming.

While visitor arrivals sagged, spending by those who graced the island with their presence also dipped to lower levels than previous years.

Because many businesses on the island rely heavily on visitor arrivals and spending, unemployment increases were likely linked to the dip in tourism, as the percentage of those out of work reached double digits in March and stayed elevated throughout 2009.

— Coco Zickos