Final days

As I write this column, I am reminded that this past year has been one of many firsts. I cannot even remember all of them but certainly the beginning acceptance of this paper by the community in the valley has to be one of my most welcoming first experiences.

I set out to provide a medium for valley residents to learn about things going on around them that might impact them, to provide a bit of education about agriculture that they might not find elsewhere, and to give them a forum to express their opinions. It seems that the other forms of media have always favored one particular viewpoint and did not usually want to cover any others that might differ from theirs. I didn’t think that was right.

 

We have since found out that there are many in our community who have different viewpoints from the standard media and they have welcomed our efforts to give them a voice. I am thrilled to do so and accept your heartfelt thanks because we all need to be able to express our opinions otherwise we live in a false world. I am afraid that there are those among us who are so filled with hate that they would be happier if the paper did not exist but it is too late for that now.

 

In 2009 we have many challenges facing us, locally and as a nation. There are those of us who would like to see a more reality-based economy, a shunning of the values of thievery and lying that seem all too pervasive these days, and an effort to revitalize the values of education, hard work to get ahead and the importance of a family in whatever form it may take. As far as I am concerned, America may have many warts and problems, but there is no place on earth where the opportunity to succeed beyond one’s wildest dreams is still possible. It is not necessary to cheat either, but education and hard work is required. What a great feeling it is to know that you have done something worthwhile!

 

 

Not on the ranch

During the holidays my husband and I have taken our son and our relatives from England to our place in Hawai`i on the Big Island. Our son has been here before but our English relatives have not. We are having a wonderful time showing them our Hawai`i. These are the same people we went to the Chelsea Flower Show with and toured around Scotland this past spring. I am enjoying showing off all of the exotic flowers, trees and greenery that grow here.

 

They are also very entertained by the birds they have seen so far. Every morning the lawn has several pairs of yellow finches whose orange heads dig in the ground for bugs. Linnets are also common here as well as mynahs that build nests in the roof tiles with sticks and bits of plastic that fly by from construction projects.

We have not yet seen the turkeys that wander around at will but our relatives will be disappointed after seeing the turkeys at the ranch. This is because, in order to keep them out of my garden, a feeder has been set up away from the house and they have learned to go there to be fed on a regular basis. Thus, they are much more robust than the Hawaiian turkeys that feed on whatever bugs and seeds they can find. It has been dangerously dry here for the past two years so the feed has been scarce.

 

We went to our farm in Hawi yesterday because we had not been there in awhile and because we wanted to see if the whales had arrived yet. A few have been spotted so far but it seems that they are a bit late in arriving this year. We’re hoping to have a good look at them before we leave. Our little house on the farm is next to a cliff on the northern part of the island, facing the channel between the Big Island and Maui.

The whale mothers bring their young there to have lessons on how to do the basic whale maneuvers such as tail and fin slapping and finally the breech. It is said that the youngsters must learn to breech properly in their mother’s eyes before they can go on the long journey back to Alaska. It is really quite a sight to see and one we would like to share with our English relatives.

 

Today the guys went fishing out of Kawaihae harbor. We’re hoping they bring a big one back for dinner. If they are unsuccessful they can stop at the fish market in the harbor and tell us they caught it and we wouldn’t know the difference. In any event, they’ll have a great time as the seas are fairly calm and there is not too much wind yet. The first couple of days after our arrival it was quite windy (the Kohala winds) and we had a full day and night of much needed rain.

We heard from one of our rancher friends here that many cattle have died in the past year due to lack of water and feed. News like this does not travel very far but it surely will contribute to the negative economic situation. I am glad to see the rains come and hope that the drought will be reversed.

This island has a long and proud tradition of ranching with the paniolos (Hawaiian cowboys) that has been an important part of the culture. On one of the Hawaiian holidays, one of my favorites, a parade takes place on the northern end of this island with horseback riders and horses decked out in massive garlands of flowers with each island represented with a different color scheme and flowers to match. It is stunning to watch.

 

 

Happy 2009

It seems funny to write that year and I wonder what happened to last year as it seemed to go by so fast. I have heard that as you get older, that is the case. As we start a new year together, we must find new resolve to overcome some leftover issues.

Three issues come to the fore as ones that we will need to conclude in a way that represents all of us, not just a few who have selected themselves to hold the titles. We will need to come to some agreement as to how we are going to equitably deal with the issues emanating from the casino in our midst such as the traffic and crime. We cannot interfere with the inner workings of that group of people but we can support the wishes of the members when asked to. We can, however, ask of our representatives that they become more proactive on our behalf to require that proper measures be taken to lessen the impact on our lives caused by the casino.

 

We will need to deal with infrastructure issues such as to further investigate and correct problems within the structure of responsibility for our water supply. I don’t think any of us is naďve enough to think that the whole AB2686 fiasco has gone away forever. I daresay we will see something similar to it in the new year but we most assuredly have to be vigilant and make sure that we have people in charge who are trustworthy, who do not lie to the community, and who will represent the community that pays their salary in their best interests, not someone else’s. This is critical and we’re watching.

The Santa Ynez Valley Community Plan has yet to be finalized after a ten year period of contentious meetings with one group of people determined to freeze us in place by regulation and another group of people, many of them property owners, who would be financially stripped of the value of their properties if the “regulation folks” were to have their way.

 

If you did not attend those meetings, you would not be aware of just how nasty they were. The powers that be at that time, some of whom remain in the valley today, were convinced that if ranches were downzoned from 100AG to 320 or 640 meaning that to build just one house would require either 320 or 640 acres, that this scheme would make any sort of development virtually impossible.

Well, in one sense, that is probably true but it also takes away totally any ability on the part of the property owner to determine how they want to use their property which is exactly why they have been paying those property taxes all these years.

 

Of course, there is no interest in compensating the owner for this loss, nor is there any intention to reduce the taxes on those downzoned properties. From my perspective as one of those property owners destined to be robbed of any reasonable value for my ranch, I knew it was just a matter of time before this ugly concept reared its ugly head again.

There are those in our community who have very different ideas from most of us and, frankly, these concepts are unconstitutional in the United States. Of course, some of these folks would like us to be more socialistic like other parts of the world even though most of us have discovered that although it sounds nice, it doesn’t work for anybody but those who make themselves the elite. That is what I believe these people have in mind for themselves.

In the new year we will have to stand up for the values we hold dear and together we will be successful in ridding ourselves of those values that are not upheld by our Constitution.

 

There have been questions raised about our last election and I hope to report either this week or next exactly what has been found.

I believe that it is important to NOT jump to any conclusions until we have all the evidence before us.

 

I have had emails from parents who were understandably concerned about what I might have been saying about their son or daughter regarding their participation in the election on the campus.

I, in fact, have not made any claims about anyone in particular on the campus to date, and particularly not about named students. I am not doing that here either but there clearly are some questions that need answering.

It is my intention to present information as it becomes available so that we may all clearly understand this past election.

In the meantime, I hope that your holiday celebrations are fun-filled and joyous. I wish you the very best in the New Year.