Navy gets to use land for free
Lee Cataluna has a scathing
column
in the
Advertiser
about the Navy's request for 270 acres of ag and beach land, free in perpetuity,
to expand the Pacific Missile Range on the west side of Kaua'i, along with
control over an additional 5,371 acres of adjacent former sugar
land.She says, "Yes, Navy control over
that land could mean protection from future development. It sure did that for
Kaho'olawe. In November of
last year, more than 200 Kaua'i people attended a public hearing on this matter.
Those in attendance were overwhelmingly against the proposal... In the current
frenzy of nationalized hegemony euphemistically called patriotism, any
suggestion that maybe the military should keep their hands off Hawaiian land
will be drowned out by choruses of Toby Keith's charming
anthem."In the end, the Land Board
voted in favor of granting almost what the Navy wanted — not forever. The
lease is for 25 years. But still, for
nothing.Here's a related
story
in the
Star-Bulletin.
Posted: Tue - May 25, 2004 at 08:20 AM