Taiwan quake knocks out internet links

Tuesday's earthquake in Taiwan triggered the largest telecommunications outage in years, cutting off or slowing telephone and Internet traffic in Asia from Beijing to Bangkok.
The powerful quake off the southern tip of Taiwan damaged up to a dozen fibre-optic cables that cross the ocean floor south of Taiwan.
They usually carry traffic between China, Japan, Korea, South East Asia, the US and the island itself.
The magnitude 6.7 tremor, which struck near the town of Hengchun, killed two residents of Taiwan and injured more than 40 people.
It also showed the vulnerability of the global telecommunications network.
Chunghwa Telecom Co, Taiwan's largest phone company, said the quake damaged several of the undersea fibre lines and repairs could take two to three weeks.
"In total we have four broken sea cables," said Lin Jen-hung, the Vice-General Manager.
"Yesterday we placed an order that starts from next week when there will be three cable ships arriving to the area near Pingtung. Cable ships from Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom will start to repair simultaneously."
Taiwan lost almost all of its telephone capacity to Japan and mainland China. Service to the United States also was hard hit, with 60 per cent of capacity lost.
In Hong Kong, a government statement said it would take at least five days to partially repair the damage to two undersea cables.
A Hong Kong telecommunications official said all seven major cables serving the Chinese territory were affected, some severely.
The cables on the deep ocean floor are just two-thirds of an inch, a testament both to the immense data capacity of fibre optics and the fragility of the links that form the global telecommunications network.

Hawaii’s scenic areas can hide hazards

THE lure of experiencing a "hidden" Hawaii strongly appeals to visitors and residents alike, but stepping off the beaten path can result in the kind of terrible accident that took the lives of two women on Kauai this week.
Even though state and county authorities post warning signs, put up fences and other barriers, and assign lifeguards and safety officials to oversee scenic areas, beaches and lookouts, it is virtually impossible to ensure that no one will be injured.
As often happens, people vacationing in the islands forget that Hawaii is no different from other places, that there are hazardous conditions here like anywhere else.
While technology grants access to a wealth of information about Hawaii, Web sites that direct visitors to secluded natural areas might not be the most reliable sources.
Opaekaa Falls, where a California mother of two and her cousin fell to their deaths, appears on thousands of Web pages, some instructing travelers how to get to a "secret" pool at the bottom or to the top of the falls.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has posted signs that read "Danger," "Keep Out" and "Hazardous Conditions" in the area where people have previously pushed through the vegetation.
The agency continually contacts Web site operators when the information they provide runs counter to safety or involves trespassing on private land and conservation areas. The department also advises people to check its Web site for authorized trails not only for their own protection but to safeguard natural resources.
The women weren't the first to find tragedy in a hunt for a hidden, special spot, but as their families mourn the passing of two vibrant lives, we hope they will be the last.

Get lost in Kauai's lush landscape

The Hawaiian destination has clearly earned the "Garden Island" name
On a recent visit to Allerton Garden near Kauai's sun-drenched south coast, our guide pointed to a blooming orchid growing on a live monkeypod tree.
Everyone photographed the perfect cattleya flower except me. I grew up in Hawaii. Orchids grew wild in our backyard.
But as we ambled past all the eye-popping foliage practically leaping out at us, I couldn't help but unleash my own camera, too. All of the Hawaiian Islands boast spectacular tropical vegetation, but Kauai, the "Garden Island," is the greenest and most lush of all.
Intruders
Ancient Hawaiians saw a whole different landscape from the brilliantly colorful vista seen today. Chances are the showy tropical flora you associate with Hawaii is not native. Anthurium? An alien species. Bird of paradise? Alien. Protea, bromeliad, orchid? All alien.
There are three categories of plants on Hawaii: Native species that arose here before any human contact; Polynesian-introduced species that came by canoe around A.D. 1000 with the first human voyagers to Hawaii; and modern-introduced (alien) species that first arrived in 1778, when Capt. James Cook "discovered" Hawaii.
Learn to recognize the subtler native species by touring some of Kauai's varied gardens. Three of the best are managed by the National Tropical Botanical Garden (808-742-2623; www.ntbg.org), a nonprofit organization working to propagate tropical and endangered plants. In Lawai Valley near Poipu on the south shore, NTBG's gardens include the 80-acre Allerton Garden and the 250-acre McBryde Garden.
Allerton Garden is a stunning landscape masterpiece, showcasing giant Moreton Bay fig trees (seen in "Jurassic Park"), an undulating fountain, golden bamboo groves, a pristine lagoon and valley walls blanketed with purple bougainvillea during summer. In 1870, Queen Emma, the wife of Kamehameha IV, lived in Lawai Valley; her summer cottage still stands today. The garden's namesake is Chicago industrialist Robert Allerton, who in 1938 bought, then sumptuously landscaped, the coastal part of the valley.
You can visit Allerton only by guided tour ($35). While I typically prefer exploring on my own, I appreciate the NTBG guides' knowledge. I've never seen them stumped or annoyed when asked for the zillionth time, "What's that over there?"
Spice trees, orchids
The adjacent McBryde Garden often plays second fiddle but, for $20, you can explore the vast grounds at your own pace. Less manicured or fancy than Allerton Garden, McBryde Garden showcases palms, flowering and spice trees, orchids and rare native species -- plus a pretty stream and waterfall.
Natives thrive here
NTBG's third garden, 17-acre Limahuli Garden (808-826-1053) on the north shore between Hanalei and Ke'e Beach, is a magnificent living "museum" of native species. It's worth the $15 admission simply to witness the rows of taro flourishing in an ancient lava-rock terrace -- an amphitheater of vivid green. Here, you take a self-guided, 3/4-mile loop trail, with Makana Mountain, dubbed "Bali Hai" in the movie "South Pacific," as a striking backdrop.
Of all Kauai's gardens, 17-acre Limahuli offers the best signage, with each species succinctly identified. For once, my eyes did not glaze over from reading informational plaques. You'll get a nifty booklet describing all the plants, too.
Yet more gardens
Also on the north shore is the meticulously groomed, 240-acre Na Aina Kai Botanical Gardens (808-828-0525; www.naainakai.org; tours $25-$70), a set of 13 gardens created by Joyce and Ed Doty, who moved to Kauai in 1982 and are now in their 80s.
Na Aina Kai lacks the NTBG gardens' historical context, and thus feels more contrived. But there's no denying the impressive landscape art. Throughout the "Formal Garden," perhaps 70 life-size bronze statues stand (or sit or cartwheel or walk on stilts) in Norman Rockwell-inspired poses. It might sound corny, but the finely crafted statues blend into the foliage and add a thoughtful human element.
One more paradise
The best bargain for seeing both plants and birds is Smith's Tropical Paradise (808-821-6895; www.smithskauai.com) on Kauai's east side. The Smiths, who are part-Native-Hawaiian, are a much-loved institution on Kauai, known for their Wailua River boat rides, luau and 30-acre garden.
The setting can seem a tad hokey, with a Disney-esque Easter Island figure and trams full of sunburned tourists wearing matching aloha attire. But don't underestimate the garden's variety of plants, serene ponds and unpretentious appeal.
For just $6, you can stroll or find a bench and just relax. In late afternoon, I enjoy the solitude. It's just me and the colorful peacocks, chickens and waterfowl, roaming in paradise.
Luci Yamamoto is the author of Lonely Planet's Kauai book and a co-author of "Hawaii" and "Hawaii: The Big Island." "Travels With Lonely Planet" is coordinated by Global Travel Editor Don George; don.george@lonelyplanet.com.
If you go
• WHERE TO STAY: In Kilauea, surround yourself with foliage and fruit orchards at Bird Song Cottage (808-828-6797; www.kauaibirdsongcottage.com; $150). Near the picturesque Wainiha River, try cozy Jungle Cabana (888-886-4969; www.junglecabana.com; $125). A sweet deal, the Garden Room (808-822-5216; www.rosewoodkauai.com; $65) is an in-law studio with a soothing backyard pond.
• WHERE TO EAT: Hearty breakfast eaters head to Kountry Kitchen (808-822-3511; 1485 Kuhio Highway; $4-$8) on the east side. Grab takeout plate lunches (under $10) at The Fish Express (808-245-9918; 3343 Kuhio Highway) in Lihue or sample "Hawaii Regional Cuisine" at Hukilau Lanai (808-822-0600; 4-484 Kuhio Highway; $16-$27), at the Coconut Marketplace in Kapaa.

Green issues dominate 2006

Kaua‘i is no stranger to controversy, nor hot-button issues about land, water, plants and animals.
Not surprisingly, then, one common thread to 2006 was environmental controversy.
While Kauai Island Utility Cooperative and others moved to reduce the island’s dependence on fossil fuels, a number of flammable topics threatened to ignite — and sometimes exploded into — fiery, emotional debates.
Largest environmental fine ever
Long before the Ka Loko dam breached during this spring’s record rains, owner James Pflueger was already on an the ecological hot seat for a November 2001 mudslide in Pila‘a that damaged property before running into the ocean and blanketing the reef in Pila‘a Bay.
Pflueger, who had been doing roadwork without a permit, agreed earlier this year to pay a $7.5 million fine levied by the Environmental Protection Agency for violating the Clean Water Act, the largest single environmental fine on record.
It brought Pflueger’s tab for the mudslide up to $12 million. The retired O‘ahu auto dealer is set to appear in court in January for a civil suit stemming from the incident.
Pflueger has also been named in a civil suit filed by the families of the victims of the March 14 Ka Loko disaster.
Sayonara, sonar
Well, not really.
After months of wrangling, the Navy reached an agreement in July with various conservationist groups on the use of sonar in its Rim of the Pacific naval exercises.
Protesters turned the heat up in May, using the mysterious stranding of approximately 150 melon-headed whales in Hanalei Bay in 2004 — during the last RIMPAC exercises off Kaua‘i — as their rallying cry.
On July 2, a U.S. District Court judge in California issued a temporary restraining order against the use of active sonar, but six days later the Navy got the go-ahead after agreeing to not use mid-frequency sonar, and not use any sonar within 25 nautical miles of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument.
Some were still not happy about it, and led protests on the North Shore throughout July.
There were no reported marine mammal injuries from RIMPAC sonar, though some blamed the late June beaching of a bleeding whale in Hanalei on the exercises, which had begun at the time, without the use of sonar.
Bad idea genes
While technically two different issues, adversaries of genetically modified foods often found themselves fighting the good fight on behalf of taro farmers statewide in their opposition to the University of Hawai‘i’s taro patents.
Essentially, naysayers feared that UH would be at liberty to uproot fields of the resilient, low-maintenance crop that has long been a sacred staple to the Hawaiian diet. Furthermore, they argued that because farmers have crossbred crops for centuries — and taro often crossbreeds itself — it would be impossible to positively identify one strain from another.
The debate hit home on Kaua‘i, where 65 percent of Hawai‘i’s taro is grown.
GMO opponents entered in when the worst-case UH scenario began to sound like when the seed giant Monsanto filed hundreds of lawsuits against farmers in the U.S. and Canada over patented corn.
UH eventually released the patents, but the GMO fight continued with numerous protests from GMO Free Kauai and HawaiiSEED.
Though things quieted down over the summer and through the early fall, rumors of GMO evils surfaced again in November when heavy rains released pungent odors from a Syngenta-owned field onto the campus of Waimea Canyon Elementary next door, sending several students home and many more to the infirmary.
The official line is that it was caused by a common Westside weed called cleome gynandra, or the wild spider flower, more commonly known as “stinkweed.”
Some members of the anti-GMO faction, though, were quick to blame Syngenta’s modified crops.
Big noise from
a little frog
When opposition to the Hawaii Superferry began in earnest earlier this year — for drugs, for homelessness, for traffic, for whales — it was, for some at least, the tiny coqui frog that caused the most concern.
Turns out, the noisy little critters have already found their way from the Big Island and Maui to Kaua‘i — specifically, a 15-acre plot in Lawa‘i — without the help of the speedy interisland ferry.
The County Council recently slotted almost $300,000 to eradicate the nighttime chirpers with poison, a move conservationists, frog-lovers and environmentalists have attacked as cruel, expensive and unnecessary.
The poison will also most likely kill or severely damage every other living thing in the area, opponents say — a bad move in a state with more endangered species per square mile than any other place on the planet.
Others, however, fear that the little buggers will eventually move beyond Lawa‘i and take over the whole island, and need to be silenced (and sentenced) at once.
Alas, the County Council tabled the decision until early next month, ensuring that the big debate over the little frog will continue well into the new year.

Resident Fought to Save Beaches

In 1999, Caren Diamond brought her kids to the beach on Kauai's North Shore and found their favorite spot was shrinking. It wasn't the high surf or erosion; it was naupaka planted by a new property owner.
The fight to get her beach back led all the way to the state Supreme Court -- and a landmark ruling in October that changed the way the Department of Land and Natural Resources should mark the shoreline.
Diamond, a chef and landscaper, has spent the past six years fighting with the DLNR over its use of the vegetation line to determine the shoreline, which is used by homeowners to determine how far from the ocean a house should be set back.
And this year, the Hawaii Supreme Court agreed.
In the unanimous opinion, the high court said using "artificially planted vegetation in determining the certified shoreline encourages private landowners to plant and promote salt-tolerant vegetation to extend their land farther makai, which is contrary to the objectives and policies of state law."
While officials at DLNR said their workers had already changed the way they certify shorelines, using other factors, environmentalists hailed the opinion as a groundbreaking decision for public access.
Earthjustice attorney Isaac Moriwake said state law defines the property line and the shoreline setback the same way: the highest wash of the waves at the highest tide during the high-swell season.
The next case determining property rights along the shoreline will surely use this case as precedent, Moriwake added.
There is still no safe lateral access along portions of Kauai's North Shore, Diamond said, and she is still policing the DLNR workers to see if they use the new rules to determine the shoreline. None have come up since the ruling, she added.
She is also watching a bill related to setbacks making its way through county government. The bill would push houses farther back from the shoreline.
"The time for action is now," Diamond added. "The beaches are going fast."

Hikers killed by fall were cousins

The pair were enjoying time together on their first vacation on Kauai
Cousins on their first trip to Kauai were identified by police as the two women who died Tuesday after falling 300 feet to the base of Opaekaa Falls.
Police identified the victims as Elizabeth Ann Brem, 35, of Encinitas, Calif., a lawyer and mother of two; and her first cousin Paula Gonzalez Ramirez, 29, a businesswoman from Bogota, Colombia.
The two were hiking along an unmarked, unmaintained trail, which is listed in a number of guidebooks, when they went over the edge. Two hikers found them about 35 feet from the pool at the base of the cliff.
The two women were just at the start of their careers and had a huge future in front of them, said Brem's mother and Ramirez's aunt, Anna Warke.
"You can't imagine what we are feeling," said Warke. "I'm just praying to God that I have the strength to live without (my daughter)."
Brem and Ramirez had come to Kauai a few days ago to spend some time together, said Warke. Brem's husband, Monte, flew in to meet the two Tuesday night. Instead, Warke said she called Monte Brem just after he disembarked on the Garden Isle. She could not however, give him the bad news herself.
"The detective in Hawaii was very special," she added. "He picked Monte up and told him what happened."
Instead of a surf-and-golf vacation, Monte will be taking the bodies home to California, as family members fly in from Bogota and New York over the next few days, Warke said.
Warke said she and her husband are in charge of watching the couple's children, Aidan, 5, and Ryan, 14 months.
Elizabeth Brem was a doting mother and proud of her Latin roots, Warke said.
After graduating at the top of her class at Barnard College, she made Law Review at Yale. Right after graduation, the New York native moved to California to start work at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, one of the top law firms in the country.
She made partner at the firm's Orange County office last year and was appointed in July to the board of the California Coastal Conservancy, a California agency charged with protecting coastal resources.
It was her children and her work in the Hispanic community, however, that gave her the most joy, her mother said. Brem worked with school-age children and their parents to dispel myths about college and graduate school.
She was also fluent in Spanish and a member of the Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County.
Timothy Warke, Brem's father, called her "a rising star."
Ramirez, her aunt said, was a recent business school graduate and was working for a company in Bogota.
The two had been planning the trip for a year.
"I think, in my daughter's name, they should improve the signs," Anna Warke said. "If they have a path that dangerous, why don't they have signs?"

Niihau's only school house to be powered by the sun

The privately owned island off the west coast of Kauai has only about 160 residents and it's school is currently powered only by generators.
The new power system will allow the school to have a refrigerator and freezer as well as computers and printers for the first time, said Daniel Hamada, the district superintendent for the state Department of Education.
County officials announced late last week that a federal grant and state and county partnership will help bring the photovoltaic power system to the island.
Pieces of the system are expected to arrive on neighboring Kauai in the next few months. The parts will then be transported by barge to Niihau and installed by the summer, said Glenn Sato, energy coordinator with the Kauai Office of Economic Development.
The total cost of the system is $207,000.
Most of the funding came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, with added funds from the county and education department.
Niihau Ranch installed wires and donated a concrete pad for the modules. It also contributed shipping and installation services.
Niihau Ranch has long wanted to make the entire island self-sufficient in its energy use, said the island's owner, Bruce Robinson.
“This project, which will supply 100 percent of the school's electric power from solar cells, is an important part of this goal,” he said.

Visitor Drowns On Kauai Trying To Save Swimmer

A visitor drowned on Sunday in waters off Kauai while trying to save a boy who needed help, officials said.
The Alabama man, along with three others, jumped into the water at Lumahai Beach after spotting a 14-year-old swimmer in trouble.
The rough sea and strong current made it difficult for everyone.
Eventually, surfers and body boarders helped to bring them ashore.
Paramedics transported the man to Wilcox Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

Kauai firm to build biodiesel plant

A new biodiesel company based on Kauai will break ground on its first production plant early next year.
Local Biofuels received a use permit from Kauai's Planning Commission during a public hearing on Tuesday to build a 250,000 gallon-per-year biodiesel facility at the Puhi industrial park just outside Lihue. That's enough to meet about 10 percent of Kauai's current diesel needs according to Joyce Kehoe, one of the company's founders.
Kehoe said she expects to start selling biodiesel from the plant next summer.
It would be the third commercial biodiesel production plant in Hawaii. Maui-based Pacific Biodiesel has plants on Maui and Oahu.
The facility will use a combination of used-grease and virgin oil to make biodiesel, which runs inside most diesel engines.

Kauai Garden Island News

The Garden Island newspaper and the Zonta Club of Kauai are again teaming up this year, and asking the community to help make the holidays happier for less-fortunate residents through the Zonta /The Garden Island Christmas Fund.
From now through Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, TGI will share stories of families who could use a little holiday cheer along with an appeal for monetary donations of any size. The names have been changed to protect their privacy. Funds raised will be distributed to needy families by Zonta Club members, who purchase gift certificates at appropriate businesses to help make these simple wishes come true.
Because of logistical
limitations, only monetary donations can be accepted. Gift certificates and used or new items, while appreciated, should not be submitted.
Gabriel needs warm clothes and shoes
Gabriel became homeless a few years ago. He was injured on the job and has not been able to return to work. Gabriel has gotten HUD rental assistance and has found permanent housing. His fixed monthly income does not allow for much. Gabriel could use some warm clothing, shoes and bus passes to get to his medical appointments and to shop for food and supplies. (ke42)
• Checks should be written to Zonta Club of Kauai Foundation 501c3. Donations are tax-deductible, and should be mailed to Zonta Club of Kauai Foundation, c/o Dimples Kano, P.O. Box 1120, Kapa‘a HI 96746. For more information, contact Kano at 822-9882.

Kauai condo project moves to phase 2

Brookfield Homes released the second phase of its luxury condominium project on the south shore of Kauai sooner than planned after the first phase sold out.
The units at PiliMai at Poipu were first released for sale in October. The units included a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom residences priced from the $600,000s to over $900,000.
The completed project will consist of 191 townhomes and stacked flats.
During the first sales release, buyers included both Kauai residents and frequent Kauai visitors as well as real estate investors, said Jeff Prostor, president of Brookfield Homes Hawaii.
"We saw both the top-priced as well as the more moderately priced homes sell, which tells us that our PiliMai neighborhood is definitely priced right for the market," he said.
Construction of PiliMai at Poipu is set to break ground in early 2007 and is scheduled for completion in 2009.
Brookfield Homes' other development on Kauai, Nihilani at Princeville Resort, is under construction and should be completed during the second quarter of next year.

El Dorado's BluePoint to power Hawaii resort

El Dorado Hills-based BluePoint Energy Inc. on Tuesday announced a pair of 10-year agreements worth a total of $4.2 million to provide energy to a Hawaiian resort complex run by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., one of the world's largest hotel operators.
BluePoint makes "cogeneration" units fueled by either diesel or natural gas. Each of the two units being installed in Hawaii is roughly the size of a full-size passenger van and can produce 225 kilowatts of electrical power.
In addition to generating electricity, the units will capture some of the heat energy produced by the engine and use it to heat the resort boilers.
By making use of heat energy that would otherwise go to waste, cogeneration units like BluePoint's produce more useful energy from each gallon of fuel than do standard electrical generators.
Phil Malone, BluePoint's director of investor relations, said his company is talking with Starwood about similar deals at a number of its 850 other properties.
BluePoint installs each unit at a project site -- the Sheraton Kauai Resort Hotel, in this case -- and maintains ownership of it.
BluePoint went public in 2003 and trades on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board as Chapeau Inc. After opening the year at 20 cents a share, the company's stock traded as high as $1.85 in early June.
Since then, the stock has fluctuated between $1.20 and $1.80. It closed at $1.70 a share Tuesday, unchanged from its opening price.

Kauai landowner restores wetlands

A Kauai landowner recently restored sensitive wetland near the Hanalei River that he had illegally filled in 2002 and 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency reported.
In 2004, the EPA ordered Ed Ben-Dor of Hanalei to remove all unauthorized wetland fill and restore the disturbed area into a functional wetland habitat, the EPA said in a news release.
As required by the order, Ben-Dor replanted the wetland with native plant species and is required to monitor the success of the restoration for up to five years.
"We are pleased Mr. Ben-Dor has successfully completed the removal of soil and restoration phase in our order," Alexis Strauss, the EPA's director for water programs in the Pacific Southwest region, said in the release.
"The Hanalei Valley is an important wetlands resource in Hawaii. It is the largest taro farming area in the state, a habitat for endangered Hawaiian waterbirds, provides flood water storage, and helps protect water quality."
Ben-Dor's dredging and filling of wetlands in the flood plain of the Hanalei River below Princeville without a permit violated the federal Clean Water Act, the EPA said.
Wetlands provide a valuable habitat for endangered water birds, clean water that flows into the ocean, and reduce flood risks. Any dredge and fill work, realignment of any stream or wetland requires a permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA said.

Officials Close Kauai Beach After Shark Sighted

Kauai Ocean Safety Bureau officials on Tuesday closed a beach in Kekaha after a shark was spotted in the area.
Officials said that a 6- to 8-foot white tip reef shark was seen swimming around Inters Beach.
The beach will remain closed until officials feel it is safe for people to enter the water, according to a Kauai County representative.
Officials urge people who want to go in the water to visit other beaches.

Bill would set Kauai homes farther back from ocean

Kauai's mayor and County Council are looking into ways to keep houses along the island's shoreline from creeping too close to the ocean.
While Mayor Bryan Baptiste is waiting for a coastal erosion study to be completed by 2008, the council has proposed a new bill in the interim to push the setbacks along Kauai shores away from the ocean.
The council's bill, which is before the Kauai Planning Commission, would create setbacks of 40, 60 and 80 feet along shorelines, depending on the size of the parcel. Current setbacks of 20 to 40 feet are required by zoning laws and date back to 1970.
The next public hearing on the bill is scheduled for Jan. 8.
While the mayor said he worries that the interim bill may make it tough to change the setbacks once the study is in, he understands "many people feel (the council) needs to do something today."
At issue is how far an oceanfront home should be set back from the beach. A homeowner must first get certification from the state on where exactly the shoreline is. Then the county planning commission decides, depending on the size of the parcel, how big the setback should be.
However, in some areas on Kauai's north shore, state shoreline certifications using vegetation lines and small setbacks have left some foundations lapped by ocean water when large winter swells arrive.
The three-year study by the University of Hawaii Coastal Geology Group will show where erosion is occurring along the Garden Isle, Baptiste said.
The administration plans to use the study to determine how much beach is being lost, and where houses can be safely built.
Dr. Charles Fletcher, UH professor and the principal investigator in the study, said historical photos will be compared with beach profiles, short-term rates of change and other information to determine the amount of erosion taking place over time.

Hawaii hotel occupancy 64%

Hawaii hotel occupancy 64%
Waikiki got busier but neighbor island hotels emptied out last week. The bottom of the slow season saw more than half the hotel rooms on Kauai and the Big Island go unsold.
For the period Nov. 26-Dec. 2, statewide occupancy, which had been 72.4 percent the week before, fell to 63.9 percent, Hospitality Advisors reported Friday.
Around the islands:
Oahu: 77.3 percent, up 3.9 percentage points from the comparable week a year ago. Average daily room rate: $163, up 6.9 percent from year-before levels.
Maui: 56.1 percent, down 18 full points from the week before and down 7.6 points from year-before levels. Average room rate: $192, up 1.1 percent.
Kauai: 47.1 percent, down 14 full points from the week before but 3.7 points better than the same week last year. Average rate: $188, up 12 percent.
Big Island:42.6 percent, down almost 14 full point from the previous week and down 13.4 points from year-before levels. Rate: $168, up 14.2 percent.
In the same period, Smith Travel Research reported nationwide hotel occupancy was 54.8 percent, a rebound from 48.3 percent the previous week but down slightly from year-before levels. Room rates were almost 6 percent higher than year-before charges. Occupancy was 67.9 percent in Los Angeles and 55.7 percent in Orlando.

Kauai missile test aborted

An interceptor fails to launch, ending the Navy targeting of two simultaneous threats.
The Navy's ballistic missile defense test off the coast of Kauai failed yesterday after a system glitch kept the interceptor rocket from firing.
According to the Missile Defense Agency, missiles from the Pearl-Harbor based cruiser Lake Erie were supposed to shoot down two targets -- one launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai and one from an aircraft.
While the target missiles were launched, a problem with the fire control system caused by an improper configuration of the system aboard the Erie kept the first interceptor missile from being launched, the missile agency said. Since the objective was to destroy both missiles nearly simultaneously, the ship intentionally did not fire the second missile, the agency said.
The drill was planned to demonstrate the Navy's ability to knock down two incoming missiles at once from the same ship.
"In a real-world situation, it is possible, maybe even probable, that in addition to engaging a ballistic missile threat that was launched, you may be engaging a surface action," said Joe Rappisi before the test. He is director for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system at Lockheed Martin, the primary contractor for the program.
It's the second time in nine tries that the cruiser has failed to intercept the missiles, and it was the first test to try to intercept two targets in the air at the same time.
Despite the failure, the agency said there was good news: The three ships involved in the exercise, the Lake Erie, the USS Hopper, and the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate TROMP, all tracked the two targets.
Both target missiles dropped harmlessly into the ocean. The first one that would have been blown up in the test was lost, while the second was being recovered for future tests as intended, the agency said.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet has been gradually installing missile surveillance and tracking technology on many of its destroyers and cruisers amid concerns about North Korea's long-range missile program.
It is also installing interceptor missiles on many of its ships, even as the technology to track and shoot down incoming missiles is being developed and perfected.
The Royal Netherlands Navy joined the tracking and monitoring off Kauai to see how its equipment works. The Dutch presence marked the first time a European ally has sent one of its vessels to participate in a U.S. ballistic missile defense test.
While the Navy and the missile defense agency said they would decide on a new test after reviewing the results, the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance announced in a press release that the test, which they said "was deferred" due to "operational factors," would be repeated in the spring.

Kauai officials target coqui frogs

The Kauai County Council is trying to kill off the pesky coqui frog.
The council's funding committee approved 290-thousand dollars this week to try to get rid of the non-native frogs, which are considered a threat to Kauai's ecosystems and tourism industry.
The committee's funding request says the frogs will cut into the insect supply for native birds and create intolerable noise for residents and visitors. The frogs are already prevalent on the Big Island.
It hasn't been decided what kinds of chemicals or eradication methods will be used.
Opposition to the proposal came from Syd Singer of the Coqui Hawaiian Integration and Re-education Project, which claims that eradication is impossible and chemicals will only cause them needless suffering.
The money still needs the approval of the full County Council.

Missile test to try double strike off Kauai

The Navy is aiming for another first tomorrow when it tries simultaneously to knock down dummy ballistic and cruise missiles off the coast of Kauai.
In its last eight missile launches, a Navy cruiser has been able to shoot down seven dummy missiles.
This time the Pearl Harbor-based cruiser Lake Erie, outfitted with the Aegis ballistic missile defense weapon system, will attempt to detect and attack a dummy ballistic missile fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands on Kauai's north shore and a cruise missile dropped from a military aircraft.
An SM-3 missile is launched from the USS Lake Erie in a test of its ballistic missile defense capability. The Navy has been able to shoot down seven of eight dummy missiles.
The Lake Erie will use its SPY-1B radar to track both dummy missiles and try to knock down the ballistic missile with an SM3 missile and the cruise missile with an SM-2. The Lake Erie has been involved in six of the previous seven flight tests. The cruiser used in the eighth test in June was the USS Shiloh, based in San Diego.
Also participating in the exercise will be an Aegis-equipped destroyer and a Royal Netherlands Navy frigate -- the first time an allied military unit of a European nation has joined the exercise.
Chris Taylor, missile defense agency spokesman, said three U.S. cruisers and three destroyers are now equipped with the special radar and ballistic missile defense system.
By 2009, 10 Pacific Fleet destroyers and two from the Atlantic Fleet will be upgraded and armed with the sophisticated weapons system, Taylor said.
The missile interceptor is part of the Missile Defense Agency's multibillion-dollar program to protect the United States and its allies from an enemy missile attack.

Missile test to try double strike off Kauai

The Navy is aiming for another first tomorrow when it tries simultaneously to knock down dummy ballistic and cruise missiles off the coast of Kauai.
In its last eight missile launches, a Navy cruiser has been able to shoot down seven dummy missiles.
This time the Pearl Harbor-based cruiser Lake Erie, outfitted with the Aegis ballistic missile defense weapon system, will attempt to detect and attack a dummy ballistic missile fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands on Kauai's north shore and a cruise missile dropped from a military aircraft.
An SM-3 missile is launched from the USS Lake Erie in a test of its ballistic missile defense capability. The Navy has been able to shoot down seven of eight dummy missiles.
The Lake Erie will use its SPY-1B radar to track both dummy missiles and try to knock down the ballistic missile with an SM3 missile and the cruise missile with an SM-2. The Lake Erie has been involved in six of the previous seven flight tests. The cruiser used in the eighth test in June was the USS Shiloh, based in San Diego.
Also participating in the exercise will be an Aegis-equipped destroyer and a Royal Netherlands Navy frigate -- the first time an allied military unit of a European nation has joined the exercise.
Chris Taylor, missile defense agency spokesman, said three U.S. cruisers and three destroyers are now equipped with the special radar and ballistic missile defense system.
By 2009, 10 Pacific Fleet destroyers and two from the Atlantic Fleet will be upgraded and armed with the sophisticated weapons system, Taylor said.
The missile interceptor is part of the Missile Defense Agency's multibillion-dollar program to protect the United States and its allies from an enemy missile attack.

Island Dims the Lights to Help Migrating Seabirds

The increased use of artificial light in fall and winter make for a dangerous migration for Shearwater seabirds on the island of Kauai. The seabirds use moonlight to navigate, and their migratory patterns are disrupted by the lights of modern development. So the Hawaiian island's public utility has cut down on nighttime lights.

Kauai median home price: $590K

Only 31 houses and 25 condos sold on Kauai in November, the Hawaii Information Service said Monday, and prices were mostly lower.
A year ago at the same time, 39 houses and 64 condos went to closing. Countywide median prices fell 14 percent for houses to $590,000 and 10 percent for condos to $425,240.
Eleven homes sold in Koloa district for a median of $585,000, down from $723,000 a year ago. Ten homes in Hanalei district sold for a median of $987,500 up from $947,500 a year ago.
Ten condos sold in Lihue district, half for less than $145,000. Eight sold in Hanalei for a median of $732,000.