LIHU‘E — Can it really be that the first decade of the new century has passed us by? Yes, it’s true, the ‘00 years are history, leaving in their wake 10 years of local stories that ranged from the heroic
LIHU‘E — Can it really be that the first decade of the new century has passed us by?
Yes, it’s true, the ‘00 years are history, leaving in their wake 10 years of local stories that ranged from the heroic to the horrific, and the news of just one man strong enough to endure two decades of scrutiny.
James “Jimmy” Pflueger.
His actions were among the stories of the year more than once in the last decade, from the time he was assessed a record, multi-million-dollar fine for his land actions leading to reef damage at Pila‘a Bay to another fine for violations of state and federal clean-water laws, and Ka Loko Reservoir’s collapse in 2006 that killed seven people near Kilauea.
It’s no wonder he is quoted in one of 2009’s stories saying he wants nothing more to do with Kaua‘i, and has put all of his personal holdings on the island up for sale.
But his story survives the first decade of the new century based on the fact that his manslaughter criminal trial in the deaths of the seven people is scheduled for trial in April 2010.
Following, by year, were some of the top stories in the first decade of the century starting with 2:
2000 — Amfac Sugar (Lihu‘e Plantation and Kekaha Sugar) closes down; Six homicides are investigated by the Kaua‘i Police Department; There are no takers in the proposed sale of Kaua‘i Electric; Talks are underway to have Wilcox Memorial Hospital become part of a statewide network of health-care facilities.
2001 — A year after buying Grove Farm for $26 million, America Online founder Steve Case becomes second-largest private landowner on Kaua‘i, behind only the Westside Robinson family, as he purchases Lihu‘e Plantation, giving him around 40,000 acres of land from mauka of Lihu‘e to the Maha‘ulepu coastline.
2002 — Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative buys Kaua‘i Electric for $215 million. It is still the state’s only electric cooperative; Kaua‘i business leader Gary Baldwin is arrested on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution based on theft and fraud charges filed in Arizona; While many Kaua‘i murders remain unsolved, Howard Giddens of Hanama‘ulu is convicted of murdering his next-door neighbor.
2003 — Hanalei teen surfer Bethany Hamilton is attacked by a shark at a Ha‘ena surf spot; A Jack Harter Helicopters craft crashes, killing five people including the pilot.
2004 — A pod of melon-head whales comes into Hanalei Bay, confounding biologists, and are ushered out of the bay with aloha in what was called a “reverse hukilau;” a Bali Hai Helicopters craft crashes, killing five people.
2005 — Pflueger is fined $4 million for runoff from un-permitted land work that damaged the reef at Pila‘a Bay; Two helicopter crashes kill four people; Weslyn Jerves, 18, of Hanama‘ulu, is murdered, allegedly by Richard Shannon Costa, 36, of Kalaheo.
2006 — The Ka Loko Reservoir’s earthen dam fails, sending hundreds of millions of gallons of water across Kuhio Highway and toward the ocean near Kilauea, killing seven people; The coming of Costco brings with it local debate over the appropriateness of “big-box” stores on the island; Wilcox Memorial Hospital nurses strike for better pay and working conditions.
2007 — In what was described as both a “floating human chain” and “major grassroots statement of what Kauaians wanted for their island,” Kauaians kept the Hawai‘i SuperFerry from a scheduled docking at Nawiliwili Harbor. It never returned to Kaua‘i again; federal officials took 6,000 marijuana plants worth $6 million and arrested five Kauaians in what was described as the biggest marijuana bust ever on public land, at the end of Kuamo‘o Road in Wailua Homesteads near the foot of Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale; Simultaneous resort and residential development in Po‘ipu causes dust and other concerns.
2008 — Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste becomes the first seated mayor in Kaua‘i history to die while in office; With support of Baptiste’s family and many Baptiste supporters, former county Parks and Recreation Director Bernard Carvalho Jr. is elected to fill the remaining two years of Baptiste’s four-year term; Hawai‘i-born President-elect Barack Obama tabs Kaua‘i native Eric Shinseki as secretary of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Paul C. Curtis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com.
