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Nominee’s hearing sure to be lively
The mission of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is to "enhance, protect, conserve and manage Hawaii’s unique and limited natural, cultural and historic resources held in public trust … in partnership with others from the public and private sectors."
So we understand why 20 environmental, cultural and political groups are objecting to Gov. David Ige’s nomination of a lobbyist for developer Castle & Cooke Hawaii as the head of DLNR.
The coalition urged Ige to withdraw Carleton Ching’s nomination, to no avail. The governor says a Senate confirmation hearing is the forum to decide whether Ching is right for the job. Ching says he looks forward to the vetting. Surely his opponents do, too.
Pahoa could use escape routes
The Legislature has convened, and one of the hot topics is volcanic, in a real sense. Emergency routes in and out of Pahoa on Hawaii island must be examined, said state Sen. Russell Ruderman, who’s watched as continuing lava flow has up-ended the lives of residents in the area.
Ruderman suggests alternative emergency routes out of town be assessed. One is by land — an emergency access via Railroad Avenue opened last month — but No. 2 could be by sea. One feasibility study he’s proposed is for a harbor, which seems like an expensive venture.
A third option is an emergency airstrip. Of course, if the highway is shut down, a piece of that might function as an airstrip, right? In any case, we might as well examine what it would take to build one for real.