hunterbishop.com

Gotcha re: bathrooms at MacKenzie.

DIY park sign at MacKenzie -- it's the thought counts.
Local people in almost any local community can and will do what is possible for the local park -- as long as The Government is at least a little bit cooperative ;)

Actually, you can't really call them restrooms. To be accurate, they are outhouses, with all the unpleasantness that the word connotes. In addition, there is no way to wash your hands after using them - and before you picnic. The outhouses are within 300 feet of the ocean and, like all Puna lava lands, are very porous. It's hard to imagine that these outhouses are NOT leaching human excreta into the ocean. Years ago Malama O Puna tried to bring the matter before State DOH as a Nonpoint Source Pollution problem, explaining that the outhouses are so gross that people prefer the bushes. We got the famous "boogie-woogie shuffle", with DLNR and DOH pointing fingers at each other about whose kuleana the problem is (not me, not me). Maybe it is time to rub their noses in it again. Literally?

Also, we should not let them forget how the lack of facilities at Kehena led to a hepatitis outbreak several years ago. Yet nothing has been done by the State since then except the mouthing of vague promises and platitudes.
Time to create a stink about this too.

Well, the toilets at MacKenzie are of the outdoor, pit variety with no indoor plumbing if I recall correctly. By some people's standards, these wouldn't really count as "rest rooms," so I think we should give the Councilwoman a pass on the accuracy of her letter. I'm just glad she is keeping pressure on the bureaucrats. If those guys would stop wasting their time finding ways NOT to do anything and talking about how they can't do anything, something might get done. Meanwhile, please keep after them.

Hawaii is the third most indebted state in the USA.

The likelihood of a remote district like Puna getting million dollar facilities in State Parks is about the same as having an elected official Posting a comment on this subject.

There is no participatory political voice representing the interests of folks who enjoy the outdoors.

We have an slate of political incumbents who win local votes with a once a term free plate lunch and a bumper sticker.

I take my hat off (and I will vote) for candidates like Fred Blas. Entering a house race won by a state backed union member could prove to be a big headache for Mr. Blas.

The district will know when Fred becomes a perceived viable candidate. We will start hearing and reading about how awful he suddenly has become.

Puna is a district where the most vocal in the community have been so disenfranchised by the 'process' for so long that NOT voting has become their statement.

One would think a few johns and some parking stalls would
have been the starting point -many terms ago- for these megapension part-time elected officials.


Maybe we will see some tee shirts this year.

Ditto for Rene's and Jerry's description of the 'non-facilities'.
The old redwood water tank holds no water and the rest is a disgrace.

Is Emily experiencing the political curse: "no good deed goes unpunished"?

Now, who is our State Representative? and Senator?