Spam Island

It's a working man's "Pan-Asian" cuisine at Kauai Family Restaurant.

By Jonathan Kauffman

After 13 years of running Kauai Family Restaurant, owner Peter Buza was ready to sell the place. He spent the fall and winter looking into joining an import business based in Las Vegas. It just seemed like time for something new.
"We had people come and look, make offers," Peter's sister Estrelita, who runs the attached bakery next door and works the dining room on Saturdays, told me. "I went into a depression about it." For her, shutting down the restaurant meant breaking up the family, whose members had helped make Kauai Seattle's best Hawaiian dining. Luckily, Peter decided at the last minute to pull out of the deal and instead pour even more energy into the restaurant, keeping the place open for dinner—well, early dinner, since the Buzas still want to be out of there by 7:30.
Everything about Kauai, hidden in Georgetown's warehouse zone, feels like a family place with a history, including the blackboards, photos, and flyers that paper its counter area. Locals—Boeing workers, Georgetown artists—come in during the week, but on Saturdays the room fills with Hawaiians, who, Buza says, drive from as far as Tacoma. That's when the glass-covered tables with purple tropical-print fabric underneath often get pushed together for parties of eight and you can hear Estrelita's voice, above the table conversation: "Oh, you from the Islands, too?"
It's a good old American diner, really, only with a pan-Asian rather than a British-German pedigree. It took me years of visiting restaurants in California's largest Polynesian community to get past the anticlimax of the Hawaiian standards they served, such as sweet-and-sour chicken, hamburgers smothered in gravy, and musubis (best described as ginormous Spam sushi). This is the stuff served in Islander homes and cafes far from Waikiki, eaten by people who aren't sniffing for the exotic.
Buza's two-page menu, most of the items on it under $10, shows what happens when Japanese and Polynesian, Filipino and Chinese, Korean, Puerto Rican, and Portuguese people are all smooshed together on small islands, working together, eating one another's foods, marrying each other and producing kids who measure their ethnic heritage in eighths and sixteenths. You can order kalbi (Korean), pork adobo (Filipino), or kalua pig (native Hawaiian) on your "plate lunch," as Islanders call these meals. What draws the dishes together are the sides: two scoops of white rice, one scoop of macaroni salad. As I've grown to appreciate Hawaiian food over the years, I've also learned to schedule four hours for the meal—one hour for eating, three for the carb coma.
What I most enjoyed at Kauai is Buza's attention to detail. Sure, the steamed rice may come to your plate shaped into a perfect globe, but it's also real, distinct grains, not mush. (You can substitute a good fried rice, too.) The macaroni salad is Hawaiian-style, not Midwestern: The elbows are ultrasoft, there's no celery or mustard or potato chips added for crunch, and the primary ingredient is mayonnaise rather than pasta—yet Kauai Family's version is one of the better I've tried.
I couldn't say that of everything. The Lawai crispy ginger chicken, a descendent of Japanese chicken kara-age, would have been a knockout had it been served hot instead of barely lukewarm. I also wasn't a big fan of the gristly chicken and pork used for the teriyaki-style "Hawaiian barbecue." Lau laus I have loved (lau lau is fatty pork, beef, and black cod wrapped in taro leaves and steamed forever) have collapsed into a black mass of meat and greens; here the leaves stayed unpleasantly stringy. But when I spooned a bit of the lomi lomi that came on the side onto the lau lau, the salmon-tomato-scallion salsa definitely amplified its dark, intense flavors.
Buza's loco moco, however, was the first I've actually enjoyed—something about the tender cube-steak patty he topped with a sunny-side-up egg, or perhaps it was the seasoning of the gravy that soaked deep into the bowl of rice underneath the meat. And who wouldn't be blown away by the Blahla special? One plate wasn't enough to contain it. First there was a bowl of saimin, ginger-y chicken soup with skinny, kinky egg noodles, its surface a patchwork of shredded egg, chopped green onions, sliced Spam, and a pink-edged slice of Japanese fish cake. Plate two held three sunny-side eggs, perfectly lacy and liquid-yolked, plus a mound of fried rice, slices of Spam, sweet Portuguese sausage, and two fried Vienna sausages. Not only was every part cooked just right, it reminded me how good Spam can taste when you eat it in moderation.
Saturday morning is often the hardest time to score a table, but if there's one reason to brave a wait, it's the off-menu special: the malasadas. Buza makes one batch a week of these Portuguese doughnuts, and when he sets bags of them on the counter, you'd better be there to fetch some. The tangerine-sized balls are coated in sugar, their insides eggy and dense, tasting of yeast and coconut. They will spoil your appetite, but what a way to go.
Surprise, surprise, my favorite dish involved pork, but this time, I really mean it: Replicating the pit oven, Buza marinates a hunk of pork and wraps it in banana leaves, then seals the pork up in a pot for eight hours or so until it steam-roasts into smoky, satiny meat, so tender it can only be served in shreds. I ordered it twice.
Buza says his primary customer base of locals has changed with the neighborhood. "We now have a lot of haole kids in Georgetown come here. I know they're from Georgetown because of their clothes and hair," he says, adding somewhat wonderingly, "I've been here 13 years and have never seen them before. And they're eating the authentic food."
With daughter Randi on staff, ready to take over the business when Peter finally decides to move on, the weekday hipsters and weekend Hawaiians should be able to enjoy Kauai's food for years to come. Buza recently put a sign out on his front door: "We stay happy," it says. "We goin stay."

Missing Rotor Blade Found in Ocean

Investigators now have a key piece of evidence in a helicopter crash on Kauai that killed a tourist and injured three others.
A visitor snorkeling in Kauai waters reportedly found the missing rotor blade from the crash. It's been turned over to police.
Before the chopper crashed in Haena on March 11, witnesses said they saw the chopper's tail rotor assembly split in two and drop into the ocean.
This will now be a crucial part of the NTSB's investigation.

Eagle native to Europe, Asia found on Kauai

The China Post

A threatened eagle native to coastal Europe and northern Asia has made a surprise appearance on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
"This is history in the making," said Brenda Zaun, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who confirmed sightings of the white-tailed eagle.
While the visit is rare, it is not unheard of to see the species outside of its range covering Norway, Iceland, Poland and Greece, as well as Siberia and northern Asia.
One was spotted in Alaska in 2006 and another eagle lived on Kauai for 17 years until its was reportedly killed by a helicopter, Zaun said.
The massive bird can grow to a wing span of eight feet (2 1/2 meters) and dines primarily on fish and seabirds, such as albatross and ducks. Known also as the white-tailed sea eagle, the bird can scavenge along the shoreline and also steals food from other birds.
Zaun has already seen one albatross kill from the eagle and confirmed a report of two others.
But she says the bird isn't a threat to the Garden Isle's bird population.
"Humans remain the major threat for our bird population. Even if the eagle was to eat 10 albatross, that would only be 10 percent of the year's new population. It really isn't an issue to be concerned with," she said.
While believed by some ornithologist to have been hunted in the early 20th century for its feathers and eggs, the eagle's population is now most troubled by toxic pollutants and collisions with trains and power lines.
Studies are under way using GPS collars to learn more about the threatened species.
Zaun said she thinks Kauai's eagle has been on the island since December and probably arrived looking for food and rest.
"It's really spectacular to see one here," Zaun said. "Bird watchers from the other islands have come to Kauai to see if they can catch a glimpse of this beautiful, protected animal."

Helicopter pilot saw missing tail rotor, report finds

By Associated Press

An initial inspection of the tail rotor gearbox from the helicopter that crashed on Kauai last week showed that all the breaks were typical of overstress fractures. That's according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. Nearing the end of a sightseeing tour, the Inter-Island helicopter lost its tail rotor. Pilot Donald Torres tried to execute an autorotation landing, but the aircraft entered into a tight spin. It crashed into a Y-M-C-A camp and killing one passenger. A final report by the board could take a year or more to complete. The March 11th helicopter crash in Haena was the second in four days on Kauai. Michael Gershon of Walnut Creek, California, died in the crash. Torres says he conducted a thorough preflight inspection of the helicopter that morning.

Who Is Prince Kuhio?

State And Counties Celebrate Monarch's Life

The state and counties honor Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole on March 26 of each year. Kuhio was a man who clashed with the change of government in Hawaii and yet in the end worked in it.
Kuhio was born in Koloa, Kauai in 1871, the son of the high chief of Kauai, D. Kahalepouli, and Princess Kekaulike. Kuhio was a descendent of the last king of Kauai. He was the second cousin of King David Kalakaua and of his sister, Queen Lili`uokalani. He was also the nephew of Queen Kapi`olani. Kuhio became the adopted son of his aunt, Queen Kapi`olani and King Kalakaua.
Lili`uokalani named him an heir to the throne and bestowed the title of Prince.
Kuhio attended school at San Mateo, Calif., and at the Royal Agricultural College in England. He returned to Hawaii shortly before the overthrow of the monarchy.
At the age of 24, Kuhio helped in the Royalist uprising against Hawaii's new Republic during the first week of January 1895. He was captured and convicted of treason, and sentenced to one year in jail.
In 1902, he was persuaded by the business interests in Hawaii to run for office as the Republican candidate for delegate from the Territory of Hawaii to the U.S. Congress.
He was elected as delegate 10 times before his death on Jan. 7, 1922. Kuhio persuaded many former chiefs and Hawaiian leaders to run for office as Republican candidates.
He pushed for development in Hawaii, including Honolulu and Pearl Harbors. He also was a strong backer for the "Hawaiian Homestead Act" of 1919, which set aside special lands for Hawaiian homesteading at practically no cost.
The state set March 26 as Prince Kuhio Day. There are also a number of state and city parcels that carry his name:
Kuhio Avenue
Kalanianaole Highway
Prince Jonah Kuhio Federal building
Also several schools and private businesses

Transient Vacation Rentals - March 21 Council Meeting

Sent to KN&I by Candace Callahan-Mack
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2007 11:13 AM
Subject: Update: Transient Vacation Rentals - March 21st Council Meeting

March 23, 2007

Wednesday, March 21, County Council's committee meeting lasted till 7:00 pm as there was a lot of new testimony in response to the addition of Transient Vacation Rentals in Agriculture District lands not being eligible for a non-conforming use permit. According to Bill #2204, the 'State' has an existing law that addresses dwelling units on Agriculture District lands to be farm dwellings. Jonathan Chun, legal attorney for the Kauai Board of Realtors offered his opinion on this matter and with that testimony and his previous letter to the Council this bill will possibly be on hold till the County Attorney has the opportunity to offer his opinion.

The next Council Committee meeting is scheduled for April 4th. Presently, the County Attorney's office is working on another issue and with Budget scheduled for April and May, we cannot say with certainty when Bill #2204 will be on the Planning Committee's agenda. We will keep you posted when we have more information.

NTSB Report Finds Servo Problems In Kauai Crash

FAA Orders Servo Inspections Of A-Star Helicopters

The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday issued its preliminary report on the March 8 Heli USA crash at Princeville on Kauai that killed four people and left three seriously injured.
From initial findings, the NTSB noted a possible problem with part of the tour helicopter's hydraulic system.
Before the A-Star slammed into the ground nose first searing off its entire front, pilot Joe Sulak knew he was in trouble. The NTSB report said Sulak first reported hydraulic problems, then hydraulic failure.
Then just before the helicopter crashed, without explanation the pilot told the dispatcher: "OK, we're done."
The NTSB initial report found the hydraulic system was OK, the pump intact, drive belt attached, hydraulic reservoir full, except for possible problems with the left lateral servo.
The servo is part of the helicopters hydraulic system, like power steering in a car. The system makes it easier to control the helicopter.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday sent out this directive to all operators of A-Stars nationwide, telling them to double check their servos. The FAA said it has become aware of potential for separation or excessive wear and tear on servo bodies.
The FAA said the warning of a potential safety hazard with servos is related to two earlier A-Star crashes, not the Princeville crash.
"It is really too early to say what the cause of the crash is. NTSB and FAA are still investigating it, and it's too early for us make any comments," FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.
The NTSB has sent the Heli USA's entire hydraulic system, including the servos to its lab in Washington for further investigation.
It is expected to take at least a year to get a final report.

In Hawaii, fatal Kauai helicopter crashes raise safety issues

By James Gilden, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Sometimes the best way to see what's on the ground is from the air, which prompts thousands of travelers to take sightseeing flights over some of Earth's beloved landscapes.
But two recent fatal crashes in Hawaii, both involving helicopters and both on Kauai, again raise the question of how safe these bird's-eye views might be.
On March 8, a Heli-USA Airways sightseeing helicopter crashed at Princeville Airport, killing the pilot and three passengers and seriously injuring three other passengers. Three days later, one person was killed and three others were seriously injured when a sightseeing helicopter operated by Smoky Mountain Helicopters Inc. went down in Haena.
Including this month's accidents, 35 people have died in Hawaiian helicopter sightseeing flights since 1995, which was the first full year for new Federal Aviation Administration rules governing Hawaiian air tour operators.
Steve Bassett, president of the Laurel, Md.-based U.S. Air Tours Assn., an air tour industry group, defends "flightseeing" as "an extremely safe industry."
"When you end up in a situation like [two fatal accidents within days of each other], the entire industry gets tarred and feathered," he said.
Still, tourists continue to flock to these air tours, according to the U.S. Air Tours Assn. Two million tourists climbed on board such flights in the U.S. in 2004, from New York to Hawaii. Most sightseeing-flight accidents occurred in some of the more rugged and beautiful terrain in the country.
In the last 10 years, there have been 20 helicopter sightseeing tour accidents in Hawaii, 10 in Arizona, eight in Alaska and one in New York.
Nationally, accident rates are about a quarter that of flights on general aviation planes (private planes operated usually by nonprofessional pilots) but 10 times greater than that of a commercial airline.
Most air tour operators fly under rules for "nonscheduled air carriers," which mandate more rigorous training, pilot experience and maintenance standards than general aviation but less rigorous than those for commercial air carriers.
In 2006, these nonscheduled air carriers had 54 accidents (17 were helicopter accidents and, of those, six were sightseeing flights), according to data from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Reducing the number of accidents is a priority for government and the aviation industry.
In February, the FAA issued new rules that require sightseeing helicopters to be equipped with flotation devices as well as personal flotation devices for any flights that are not within gliding distance of shore. In Hawaii, that means any inter-island flight but not those that take off and land on the same island. Operators have 18 months to comply with the new rule.
Still, the NTSB thinks the FAA should be doing more. In its final report issued last month on a 2004 fatal helicopter crash in Hawaii, the NTSB charged the FAA with "not providing direct surveillance and enforcement" of the special rules for operating air tours in Hawaii.
Those rules require flying above 1,500 feet and the preflight completion of a "performance plan" that takes into account such factors as weight of the passengers, air temperature and altitude of the planned flight.
"Pilots continue to violate [the special rules] ... either intentionally or unintentionally, thus placing themselves and their passengers at unnecessary risk for accidents, particularly in marginal weather conditions," the report said.
Travelers who want the thrill of a helicopter ride can do several things to reduce the risk.
The NTSB maintains an online database ( www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/query.asp ) with accident information searchable by state and type of aircraft, but not by operator. (A chart listing accidents by tour operator can be found at www.theinternettraveler.com/helicopter.html .)
To be safe, Bassett says travelers should choose a commercial air tour operator that is advertised as a "Part 135" carrier, the FAA's designation for carriers subject to higher standards than general aviation operators.
Travelers also should pay attention to the pilot's safety instructions and ask how to get out of the helicopter in case of an accident, especially if flying over water.
Ask questions if there is any uncertainty, especially if the pilot fails to provide pre-takeoff instructions, because safety, as travelers know, should never be left up in the air.

Bill to restrict Kauai vacation rentals makes progress

By Tom Finnegan

The Kauai County Council has pushed forward a bill that would regulate -- in some cases, outlaw -- vacation rentals and other nonhotel accommodations in residential areas of Kauai.
After two years of meetings, panels and discussion, the bill is currently in the Council's Planning Committee for review. It was deferred yesterday, as they wait for comments from the County Attorney's Office. Once finished, the bill will be sent to the whole Council for a vote.
Bill 2204 would eliminate all new transient vacation rental properties and bed-and-breakfast operations outside designated areas across the Garden Isle.
Owners of current vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfast properties who have paid their general excise taxes and the Transient Accommodation Tax for a year will be allowed under the current version of the bill.
But they will be required to get nonconforming use permits every two years, and will not be able to transmit their permits to new buyers if they sell their property.
But another issue arose, causing the ire of many in attendance yesterday: a new amendment that would outlaw all vacation rental and bed-and-breakfast properties on land zoned for agriculture, including those in agriculture subdivisions.
County Councilwoman JoAnne Yukimura, who proposed the amendment, said under her interpretation of state law, buildings on agriculture land should be relegated to homesteads and farm dwellings, not used for commercial enterprise.
"It's been a huge white elephant for many years in the state," she said. "They're not legal right now under state law."
Councilmembers said they hoped the new county attorney, former Big Island Judge Matthew Pyun Jr., who was sworn in yesterday, would give his opinion on the matter by the next committee meeting, April 4.

New Law in Kauai Regarding Vacation Rentals

Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2007 12:14 PM
Subject: CAUTION: New law in Kauai regarding vacation rental


Aloha to our fellow Kauai residents & property owners.

As some of you are aware and many more unaware the Kauai County Council is moving forward with a Bill (No. 2204) which will make most vacation cottages, vacation rentals and B&Bs on Kauai illegal. This Bill may be passed as soon as March 21st to the 28th, 2007 - within less than 2 weeks. In it's latest version it appears the Bill would only provide for grandfathering in of vacation rental and B&B businesses that have existed since 1982.

25% of Kauai's accommodation choices are alternative lodging options, and if you see the stats, many visitors make these choices because they prefer vacation cottages, homes and B&B to large hotels and resort complexes. The B&B, vacation home & cottages market on Kauai supports many local families & businesses with income - think of all the housekeepers, gardeners, window cleaners, and local stores that supplies are being purchased from etc. The effect of this Bill on our local economy could be vast!

Up until now, every vacation rental and B&B owner stood by himself trying to defend their livelihood - BUT NOW WE HAVE JOINED TOGETHER as a group so that the voices of the many will be heard more loudly and clearly.

If you are a property owner on Kauai who depends in part, or solely on income generated by your vacation rental or B&B you must join us now before it's too late: we have less than 2 weeks to mobilize. Check the website below and call the Kauai County Council to make your voice heard. Sign the following Petition to the Kauai County Council
http://www.wethepeopleofkauai.com/Pages/petition-residents.html
and tell everyone you know.

If you are a resident who works as a cleaner, housekeeper, window washer, gardener, realtor, painter, landscaper, repair men, furniture store, local restaurant, local hardware store, cleaning supply store, or in any other job related to vacation rental on Kauai you must also join us to prevent potential loss of income to you and your family.
http://www.wethepeopleofkauai.com/Pages/petition-residents.html

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION BY MARCH 20TH, 2007 (NEXT TUESDAY) and we will present it to the Kauai County Council at their meeting on Wednesday, March 21st, 9 AM at the old county building. On behalf of "We The People Of Kauai", Many Mahalos!

http://www.wethepeopleofkauaicom/

Oh, the prices you'll pay for not planning ahead

By Michelle SlatallaNew York Times News ServicePublished March 18, 2007

There is nothing more terrifying than watching a child read a hotel dining room menu on the third morning of a vacation.As a chubby finger runs down the page -- $5 for toast, $15 for scrambled eggs, all my retirement savings for the full buffet -- I silently tally the cost of the previous days' half-eaten meals.I repeat a silent mantra. Please, not the orange juice, anything but the orange juice.The finger stops. It is pointing at the $10 million glass of freshly squeezed orange juice."Are you sure you're going to drink all that?" I snap.The child nods sweetly, takes one sip from the elegant stemmed glass and then skips off to the pool to investigate the possibilities of watching ice cubes melt in abandoned $12 Coca-Colas.When it comes to holding the line on costs for family vacations, I am a failure. How well I remember the Christmas of the $20 liquados (in Cabo San Lucas) and the summer of the untouched $15 apple juice frappe (Beijing) and the recurring nightmare, year after year, of the $9 banana-mango smoothies (Miami).Although I have developed two coping mechanisms -- I hide these expenses from my accountant and I vow, after every ruinous trip, never to repeat the mistake -- neither is effective at solving the problem.That's because I go into denial (No more summer vacations! Or Christmas trips! Ever!) until suddenly an uncontrollable urge strikes in, say, mid-November to book a trip in December. By then, of course, only the most ridiculously expensive vacations are left for last-minute planners and I find myself on a remote beach, about to purchase a $34 Caesar salad that none of my daughters will end up eating anyway because "the sauce has black specks."All my friends are smarter. They're always whisking their families off on fabulous vacations that cost next to nothing because, they say, they eschew hotels in favor of renting condos or apartments or houses they found on the Internet.While we were waiting in the carpool lane the other day, my friend Abby confided that she had just booked a London flat through APlaceLikeHome.co .uk to house her family of five this summer.Tom and Lisa just took their three children to Maui to stay in a condo they found on MauiA PlaceApart.com. And Jessica, who finds historic English cottages (at www.nationaltrust cottages.co.uk), said an added benefit of this approach is that sometimes your children learn to milk cows. (And the subsequent sips of milk are free.)Maddeningly, however, this approach has never worked for me. After I saw Tom looking relaxed and tan earlier this month, I rushed to the computer, only to learn that everything on MauiAPlaceApart.com was booked for the summer. Well, at least all the two-bedroom units that didn't have scary floral-print curtains, on all the possible dates that didn't conflict with our schedule.Similarly, when I widened my search to VRBO.com, which lists tens of thousands of rentals worldwide and is where my friend Tina found a house to rent on Oahu for a family reunion, I learned that it probably was too late to rent for this summer any of the places that caught my eye at locations that included the west side of Maui, or the north shore of Kauai near Hanalei, or even on the north shore of Oahu near Haleiwa.One problem with these sites is redundancy. Although much has been made of the great selection online these days, the truth is that many Internet rental sites' listings overlap.This can be confusing.It was only as I was composing an e-mail inquiry to Vaca tionRentals.com that I realized that the site's listing No. 13132 ("'Old Hawaii' Garden Island paradise") was identical to VRBO.com's listing No. 24936. (I'd recognize that green-frond pattern on the master bedspread anywhere.)Similarly, CyberRentals .com's "Steps to Hanalei Bay" ($2,250 a week, sleeps five) was the same as VRBO.com's listing No. 49105 ("Hear the surf"), which I already had learned was unavailable.To be fair, it wasn't that everything already was booked for summer, just everything that appealed to me for reasons of having a great location, or a great price, or a great view, or even other more idiosyncratic qualities like a recently renovated bathroom or a lack of floral patterns in the master bedroom.A rental agent who responded to my query about a beachfront house on Kauai (Already booked!) suggested an alternative property nearby that had one minor difference: It overlooked a parking lot. On Oahu, a three-bedroom, three-bath beachfront house for $3,500 a week near Haleiwa was already booked too, but a more expensive alternative -- $5,250 a week -- was still available.I hesitated. At that price, the costs would be headed into the territory of a resort vacation.It was at this point that Tina, my practical friend who holds the record for going the most years without allowing any of her children to order a club sandwich poolside, came to my rescue with a plan designed to reduce costs while increasing options."Let's rent a house together and go to Mexico in December," she said. "We'll really be booking ahead."So I started again, with a destination of San Miguel de Allende and a goal of finding a house that could sleep 14, since my friend Amy and her family wanted to get in on the trip as soon as they heard Tina was organizing it.This time, I had more luck.Although the "Authentic, Romantic Hacienda" that "sleeps 30-40" for $10,400 a week was unavailable, at VRBO.com I found "Villa Mariposa," with seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a heated pool and a reasonable price tag of $3,600 a week. (Be still my heart -- $1,200 a family.)Tina took over from there, arranging with the rental agent to send a $1,000 deposit and to request menus for meals that a resident chef could prepare for an additional cost.The next challenge? Getting there. With 14 people and scant direct flights from Northern California to the nearest airport in Mexico, I probably would give up and suggest we all start walking today so we could arrive by Dec. 22.But I'm sure Tina, who has never uttered "three banana-mango smoothies, please," has another solution in mind.

Problem with copter alleged

A California aviation attorney alleged that the Heli USA A-Star helicopter that crashed at Princeville Airport on Kauai last week had experienced "hydraulic issues" a few days before the crash, based on an unconfirmed report.
Mike Danko, an aviation attorney from San Mateo, Calif., who is representing the O'Donnell and Scholtz families -- victims in the crash -- said he had received other unconfirmed reports from witnesses that pilot Joe Sulak had experienced hydraulic failure in another A-Star helicopter that resulted in an accident.
"That failure was determined to be the result in part of faulty maintenance on the operator's part," Danko said yesterday in a news conference at the Hawaii Prince Hotel.
A Heli USA official said there had never been such problems with the crashed helicopter or one piloted earlier by Sulak.
Danko said there had been numerous reports of hydraulic failures in A-Star helicopters over the past 10 to 15 years. Nigel Turner, chief executive officer of Heli USA Airways, said yesterday that his chief mechanic reported they "never had a problem with that aircraft."
As for whether Sulak had ever had a problem with hydraulic failure, Turner said, "Sure. When he was shot down over Vietnam three times, he had some hydraulic problems."
But never any hydraulic trouble with Heli USA, he added.
He also lashed out at "ambulance-chasing lawyers" getting involved only a week after the crash and possibly hampering the investigation.
"Now is not the time for contingency lawyers," he said.
He added that "the last thing we need are lawyers trying to make money interfering with the investigation," and that it is "inappropriate for lawyers going on" television and making unsubstantiated statements.
His friend Sulak, he added, was an important part of the community, as is the company. "Only a year ago, when the dam broke, Joe was flying people back and forth," many for free, he added.
Brian Rayner, lead investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the Kauai portion of the Heli USA crash was completed yesterday. But follow-up interviews and testing of engine parts still need to be completed and could take months, he added.
Parts from the downed chopper have arrived at the NTSB lab in Washington, D.C., where they are being cataloged and will be tested, he said. A preliminary report will likely be completed within two weeks, but the final report, which identifies the cause, can take more than a year.

Crashes don't stop Hawaii air tours

Gliding through the clouds, Ain McKendrick spotted humpback whales just below the surface of the ocean, photographed the lush green mountains and gawked at waterfalls.
He wasn't going to miss an opportunity to see Kauai from above despite two fatal tour-helicopter crashes on the Hawaiian island in four days.
"We knew about the accidents ... and we felt safe," said McKendrick, a 36-year-old technology worker from San Jose, Calif.
Helicopter tour companies on Kauai reported a few cancellations and a slight slowdown in reservations after the two fatal accidents. Five people died and several were seriously injured in the crashes; the pilots had radioed about mechanical problems.
Taulbee wasn't alone in his enthusiasm to fly.
The lobby at Will Squyres Helicopters was crowded with customers, and Island Helicopters sent up its normal 16 flights.
McKendrick, a recreational pilot, and his girlfriend were among the first people to take a tour from Heli-USA Airways, which resumed flying Monday for the first time since one of its aircraft crashed on March 8 at Princeville Airport on Kauai's North Shore. The crash killed four people including the pilot.
Last Sunday, a chopper from Inter-Island Helicopters spun out of the sky just miles away at a YMCA camp in the remote Haena area. One passenger died and several were seriously injured.
Some visitors fearful
Helicopter tours have been very popular in Hawaii, with about one in 10 tourists who visited the islands in 2005 taking an air tour, state tourism officials said. That's more than 750,000 passengers paying about $200 for a typical 45- to 55-minute ride.
The crashes came just a few weeks after the National Transportation Safety Board blasted Federal Aviation Administration officials, alleging insufficient oversight and regulation of Hawaii's helicopter tours.
And some visitors say they're reluctant to fly, with five fatal tour helicopter crashes on Kauai in less than four years killing a total of 18 people.
"Now I certainly won't go," said Charles Phillips, who lives on Oahu.
Phillips, 53, already had concerns about the safety of the helicopter rides, but told his wife after Thursday's crash that they should consider a flight with the odds against a second crash anytime soon.
Phillips said he got rid of the idea after last Sunday's accident.
The heavily advertised tours are one of the most popular tourist activities on Kauai and the only way to see most of the island in an hour.
Eight companies on the island take passengers to see the filming locations of "Jurassic Park" and "King Kong," the Na Pali coastline and Waimea Canyon. Extinct volcanos, rain forests, rainbows and waterfalls are also often seen on narrated tours.

Kauai Crash Investigations Develop

Both of the helicopters that crashed in the last week on Kauai have been moved to a secure site. But crucial pieces from the second wreck on Sunday are still missing.
Five people were onboard the Hughes 500 helicopter that went down in Haena. Two of the passengers were reportedly celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. Douglas and Judy Barton of Newport, New Hampshire are both in serious condition at the Queen's Medical Center. KGMB9 has learned the crash left 51-year-old Judy paralyzed from the waist down. Her 60-year-old husband is a machinist. He suffered multiple fractures when the chopper spiraled to the ground.
Donald Torres, the 30-year-old pilot, has been posting messages on his MySpace page letting everyone know he is okay. He is preparing a written statement for the National Transportation Safety Board. Investigators hope to interview him soon. On Tuesday, a new team from the NTSB inspected the wreckage at the YMCA camp.
"We haven't seen any residue that you would expect from a bird strike, but that doesn't mean that it didn't happen," said NTSB investigator Jim Silliman.
Several important parts, including the tail rotor and rotor blades, are still missing. Divers recovered some components on Monday, but not those key pieces of evidence. The rough surf kept them out of the water on Tuesday. Authorities hope a search on Wednesday will turn up more pieces.
"Obviously, that's a primary focus. But we're also looking at maintenance records, we're looking at pilot records and doing the things that we always do in an investigation," explained Silliman.
Another NTSB team is looking into last Thursday's Princeville crash. They interviewed Heli USA Airways employees and shipped out aircraft parts to the mainland for testing. An eyewitness also told them the collision appeared to happen slowly.
"She didn't find anything unusual about the movement of the helicopter until it very suddenly pitched nose over and contacted the ground nose down," said NTSB investigator Brian Rayner.
Heli USA officials canceled flights on Tuesday because of bad weather.
"We are a very professional team here and my primary concern as president of this company is to number one, take care of the families and number two, find out why the accident happened and make sure it doesn't happen again," said CEO Nigel Turner.
One of the passengers from that first flight, Cornelius Scholtz, has been upgraded from critical to serious condition.
Both wreckages are at a hangar at the Lihue airport. Initial reports from the NTSB should be done in about a week. Final reports will be issued in about a year.

Kauai Reacts To Helicopter Fatality

It's the crash heard all around Hawaii. The day after a Heli USA helicopter plummets onto Princeville airport, reality starts to sink in.
"Somebody comes to enjoy themselves and get a beautiful view of the area and something like this happens. You know, it's really sad," said Ed Shiffra, a visitor from Arizona.
"We were shocked," said Marvella Alford, a visitor from the Big Island. "I feel very badly about the families and the visitors who come to see the beautiful island and they didn't get a chance to see anything."
Thursday night, Princeville airport is dark and quiet. By morning, a guard limits access. The airport was closed on Friday, as investigators try to piece together this complicated puzzle.
Investigators continue sifting through the wreckage, as police tape surrounds the crash site.
William Joseph Sulak was the pilot of the ill-fated flight. On Kauai he was known as "Helicopter Joe." He was a veteran pilot and has earned the Federal Aviation Administration's highest pilot rating for close to 30 years.
"So, I'm sure the pilot did what he could to get it back down, but when you're losing hydraulics, you're losing control," said Jerry Springbrum, a pilot from Minnesota.
As visitors mill around Kauai, some wonder if it could have been them.
"Yes, I wanted to," said Alford. "Get a sitter for (my baby), and me and my husband get some time to go up. Time was cut short. We didn't get a chance to do that."
Some say this crash helped shape how they spend the rest of their vacation.
"And I really wasn't planning on doing it," said Shiffra. "And once I heard about the tragedy, I was sure I wasn't going to do it."
But others say it won't stop them from enjoying our islands from the air.
"That happens so far and few between," said Alford. "It would be very unlikely that would happen anytime soon."
"It's a tragic loss," said Nancy Springbrum, a visitor from Minnesota. "My heart goes out to the families."
The vast majority of helicopter tours on Kauai were grounded Friday because of unfavorable weather conditions. The companies we spoke to, say they don't want to take any chances.

NTSB investigating two Kauai helicopter crashes

Firefighters have recovered components that broke off from a Kauai tour helicopter before it crashed Sunday, killing a passenger. Brian Rayner is an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. He says the components that fell into the ocean could support speculation that the chopper may have hit a bird. The county has identified the 60-year-old man killed in the crash as Michael Gershon of Walnut Creek, California. Dania Hansen, of Los Altos, California, and Douglas and Judy Barton of Newport, New Hampshire, were critically injured and taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital. The Bartons were later transferred to The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu. The 30-year-old pilot Donald Torres was treated for minor injuries. The Hughes 500 helicopter operated by Inter-Island Airways crashed at a Y-M-C-A camp in the remote Haena area. The F-A-A says the accident came shortly after Torres heard a loud bang and lost control while trying to land. The accident occurred just three days after four people were killed in another tour helicopter accident on Kauai.

Second Kauai helicopter crash kills 1

Another sightseeing helicopter crash on Kauai killed one passenger yesterday. The crash was just miles from a tour helicopter accident four days earlier that killed four. Three other people on the flight were in critical condition this evening. The crash occurred at about 1 p-m after the pilot heard a loud bang and then lost control of the aircraft while trying to land in Haena on the island's north shore. The Hughes 500 helicopter then struck some trees with its main rotor blade. The company operates in Kauai as Inter-Island Helicopters. Two of the injured passengers were flown from Wilcox Memorial to The Queen's Medical Center on Oahu. A fifth person from the helicopter was treated and released. It was the fifth tour helicopter crash on the island in less than four years, killing a total of 18 people.

KAUAI COPTER CRASH

Three couples from the mainland -- one celebrating their 25th anniversary, another couple just married -- were identified as being on the Heli USA A-Star 350BA helicopter that crashed Thursday afternoon on the lone runway of Princeville Airport.
One spouse from each couple died in the crash; the survivors are at the Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu.
Police identified the couples as John and Victoria O'Donnell of East Rockaway, N.Y.; James and Teri McCarty of Cabot, Ark.; and Cornelius Scholtz and Margaret Inglebrecht of Santa Maria, Calif.
Along with pilot Joe Sulak of Princeville, Kauai, Teri McCarty, John O'Donnell and Inglebrecht died in the crash.
McCarty's husband, James; O'Donnell's wife, Veronica; and Inglebrecht's newlywed husband, Scholtz, remained in critical condition last night.
COURTESY TO THE STAR-BULLETINDebris and the wreckage of the Heli USA A-Star helicopter sat shrouded yesterday on Kauai.
Rosemary Crescitelli, the O'Donnells' next-door neighbor, told Honolulu television station KITV that the couple came to Hawaii for their 25th wedding anniversary on a trip paid for by their two adult children.
"John was just very caring and giving and lovable and helpful," Crescitelli said. "And his wife ... is the same way. We just love her."
Scholtz and his wife were married 11 months ago, said Molly Miller, a former co-worker at CVS Pharmacy in Santa Maria, where Scholtz had worked as a pharmacist.
"She's a sweet girl, a wonderful person, outgoing, friendly," said Miller, who had only met Inglebrecht through Scholtz. She recently graduated from a college in South Africa, she said.
Scholtz arrived in California two or three years ago and worked at CVS with Miller and would talk about wanting to take his wife on a vacation to Hawaii, she said.
Scholtz left CVS for Rite Aid last fall. The last time she saw him was about a month ago when he stopped by to give her a hug, Miller said. They were a wonderful couple, she said.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COMGini Wittorff, Donna Hermann and Bette Conroy flew with Heli USA helicopter pilot Joe Sulak the day before Thursday's fatal accident in Princeville.
State officials are setting up a victims assistance center to help family members flying in to be with those still struggling to survive.
Also yesterday, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration began their investigation of the crash, but the afternoon's heavy rain kept them away from the aircraft, which still sits under a tarp on a grass patch near Princeville Airport's runway.
A makeshift roadside memorial of flowers, a Bible and a small teddy bear holding a red plumeria lay yesterday against the wire fence of the tiny, privately owned airport, which was closed to the public. An American flag was lowered to half-staff in front of the Heli USA hangar.
Heli USA grounded the rest of its aircraft until at least Monday out of respect for the victims and staff, said Nigel Turner, the Las Vegas-based company's chief executive officer.
Other helicopter companies started flying just after 7 a.m. yesterday morning out of Lihue Airport, until the heavy rain grounded all flights before midday.
Local air tour companies reported that there were some cancellations and a few questioning phone calls but some new business as well. One family who was supposed to fly Heli USA yesterday rebooked and went out on one of the first flights yesterday morning, said employees at Air Kauai Helicopters.
Heli USA's scenic helicopter tour, which costs $240 per person, takes passengers across the lush island to see waterfalls, canyons, the rugged Na Pali coastline and humpback whales in the ocean.
The pilot, Sulak, had a clear FAA record in at least 30 years of flying, said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.
He received his pilot instructor's license in 1977, and his air transport pilot's certificate, the FAA's "most advanced license ... like a Ph.D.," in 1978, Gregor added. He also had more than 10,000 hours of experience flying in A-Star helicopters alone.
Since 1994, 39 people have been killed in 10 helicopter accidents in Hawaii.
The last fatal tourist helicopter crash on Kauai involved a Heli USA A-Star 350 that flew into a thunderstorm in September 2005. Three passengers drowned when the helicopter sank in the ocean.

Opponents try to scuttle new Hawaii ferry

Just four months before launch of the first ferry service linking all major Hawaiian islands, thousands of petitioners and critics are claiming it should never have been given the go-ahead.
Without public comment, transportation officials exempted the Hawaii Superferry from an environmental review typically required of projects that use government money — in this case, $40 million worth of harbor improvements on Oahu, the Big Island, Maui and Kauai.
"There's the perception that this is being ramrodded through and pushed down people's throats," said Ron Sturtz, president of Maui Tomorrow Foundation, a community advocacy group that sued the state for an environmental study. "There are many people on the Hawaiian Islands who feel this project is being driven by big money and big politics."
Opposition to the Superferry has been growing in the state Legislature and communities on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island.
The effort to scuttle the two ferries, which together cost $190 million to build, is mounting late in the process. The first ferry — a four-story, 900-passenger, 250-car catamarans built especially for Hawaii at a shipyard in Mobile, Ala. — is just about ready for delivery and set to launch July 1. The second is being built.
The first Superferry is to make daily trips between Honolulu and the islands of Kauai and Maui with one-way fares of $42 per person and $55 per vehicle. The second ferry would add service to the Big Island. Currently, the only regular interislands travel is by air, with one-way fares ranging from $29 to more than $100.
Concerned citizens cite worries over traffic congestion, collisions with humpback whales, the spread of invasive species and strains on limited harbor space.
Information
Hawaii Superferry : www.hawaiisuperferry.com/
Environmental Council : http://hawaii.gov/health/oeqc/envcouncil.html
Maui Tomorrow : www.maui-tomorrow.org/
SB1276 : www.capitol.hawaii.gov/
A recent opinion by the state Environmental Council said the Department of Transportation erred when it granted the exemption to a review, and about 6,000 Kauai residents have signed a petition against the ferry. The county councils on the Neighbor Islands have voted on resolutions asking for closer environmental scrutiny of the Superferry.
A bill in the state Senate would force the Superferry to submit to an environmental impact statement, which can turn into a lengthy process that would stall service indefinitely.
"The Department of Transportation made a mistake when they granted the exemption," said Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kauai-Niihau. "It was a bad decision, and it was a decision that did not follow the letter or the intent of the law."
Superferry officials argue they have exceeded environmental requirements, even without a government-ordered review.
"It's unfortunate that the debate so far has been about the idea that somehow we're an environmental problem. We think we're an environmental poster child," said Superferry Chairman John Lehman, former Navy Secretary and member of the 9/11 Commission.
For example, the ferry will hire two lookouts to watch for whales, alter its routes and slow down during peak whale season. Its employees will inspect vehicles for invasive species and prohibit mud-caked cars from making the voyage. The unloading of cars from the ship won't cause significant traffic, Lehman said.
The decision to exempt the Superferry from having to go through an environmental impact statement was made in 2004 by Barry Fukunaga, who was harbor director at the time and is now the interim director of the state Department of Transportation. He consulted with the Office of Environmental Quality Control and county governments, but no public hearings were held.
Fukunaga said there was no reason to target the Superferry when other modes of transportation don't need to take on environmental reviews.
"We don't think we'd require anything different for any other vessel," he said. "You're not going to have an environmental assessment for every airplane that lands in the airport and every ship that comes into the harbor. ... This is an 11th-hour effort to stop the ferry from entering service."
But Mike Faye, chairman of the Environmental Council, contends that transportation officials should have looked at the far-reaching environmental effects of the ferry to force an independent review. The Environmental Council is a citizen board responsible for making environmental impact statement rules.
"It's pretty clear that a project of this magnitude should have had an environmental review," Faye said. "They chose to pick some narrow things in their exemption list, used it, and didn't look at the whole picture."
The bill requiring an environmental review passed its committee last week and will be voted on by the full Senate this week. Then it would cross over to the state House, where it will likely face obstacles.
Rep. Joe Souki, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, has said previously he does not plan to hear the proposal because it's unfair to single out the Superferry. Souki, D-Waihee-Wailuku, declined comment when contacted for this article.
Even if the bill doesn't pass into law, Faye suggested that a consultant could be hired to do an informal environmental study.
"It's not too late to start addressing these things," he said.
Two lawsuits calling for environmental evaluations, one before the Hawaii Supreme Court and another in Maui Circuit Court, are also pending.

Pesky Poultry Irritate Some Kauai Visitors and Residents

It's a foul problem that's ruffling the feathers of some on the Garden Isle: roosters and chickens. And lots of them. What's a sleepless person to do?
Visitor Kyle Kirschbaum flew in from Alaska and the first thing he noticed was crowing day and night on Kauai. "We've been to all the other islands and the first thing we noticed when we got here was the chickens."
Chickens at church, at the cemetery, and tempting fate by dawdling around Burger King. Apparently, this chicken wants to have it her way. Kirschbaum sighs, "It could be every 5 minutes you might have a rooster. You can't take naps. You can't hang out. You're always hearing a rooster, you know, roostering. Or cock a doodling."
These feathered friends annoy enough people that the county council hears about it regularly. Councilman Mel Rapozo says, "We've heard it all. I've heard a request we pass legislation to ban chickens. Suggestions to offer a bounty for anyone who can bring in dead chickens, and the county can pay a price. Working with the community college culinary arts students to provide them all the chickens."
Turning citizens into banty bounty hunters? "We could do, like, a Hunt Chicken Day," shrugs Kirschbaum.
Rapozo says the ideas won't take flight. "Sometimes I get offended when newcomers tell me we need to get rid of the chickens because I think the chickens have a place here in our culture."
Critics find that eggsasperating. "If one of the roosters had the bird flu it'd only be a matter of time before you had it because there are so many roosters on the island," speculates Kirschbaum.
But for now, local lawmakers say to get used to it. "It's part of this culture and we just gotta learn to live with it. I am not planning to do anything to legislate chickens away."
Dr. Becky Rhoads of the Kauai Humane Society says, "I have no idea how many feral chickens are on Kauai. I would be surprised if anyone knows. For the past two years we have been offering humane live traps for folks to capture and remove nuisance chickens from their property. This is very similar to the feral cat humane trapping programs on most of the islands with humane societies. We offer this program to offer a humane alternative to control nuisances caused by chickens. We don't want people to cruelly control nuisance chickens by shooting, poisoning, etc. Folks pay a $25 deposit and get to use the trap for two weeks at a time. When the trap comes back, they get the deposit back. Most feral chickens brought to KHS are euthanized as they are feral game fowl, not adoptable as pets. Occasionally we receive commercial laying hens caught in traps which are adopted out to farm homes. I know of no successful way to keep a rooster quiet so no, we don't have any tips for keeping them quiet."
The State Department of Land and Natural Resources monitors avian flu in feral chickens. Megan Laut in the Division of Forestry and Wildlife is on the inter-agency working group for avian influenza planning and response. She says, "DOFAW has been collaborating with USFWS and USDA - Wildlife Services to sample wild birds for avian influenza since late August 2006. Both federal agencies have regional or national plans that outline the methods to sample birds, the number of samples required, and which species of birds to sample. All of the samples are tracked and reported on a national database. At a national level, these federal agencies do not recognize feral chickens as wild birds, but we worked with our local partners to incorporate them into our sampling program. We have sampled live birds, and the public is encouraged to report dead feral chickens to the 211 hotline, whereby members from the Invasive Species Committee pick up the bird(s) and send them to the lab for sampling. Avian influenza has NOT been detected in Hawaii, and if it did enter the state, we would work to contain it."