Pohakuloa Lease renewal hearings and comments

People are saying the Army may seek a special district within the 
conservation zone, or try to change conservation land rules, or try go 
to the Land Use Commission to take the land out of conservation zoning.  

Protect

Pohakuloa

No Military Lease Renewal, No Land Swaps, Stop the Bombing and Desecration, Make the Military Clean Up its Toxic Mess, Return the Land to the Kanaka Maoli!

The Big Lie – “We are Stewards of the Land” PTA commander LTC Timothy Alvarado, June 29, 2023, Hawaii Tribune-Herald

A Few Simple Truths:

1. Millions of live rounds are fired annually at Pohakuloa by the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and foreign troops involving a wide range of weapon systems from dozens of firing points on land leased from the State of Hawaii. (p. 52 of draft 2 EIS)

2. Depleted Uranium (DU) is just one of many toxins used at the 133,000-acre site in over 75 years of bombing and shelling. DU oxide particles can be carried long distances in the wind and when inhaled can cause a wide range of cancers, birth defects, and even genetic damage passed to future generations.

3. Pohakuloa is a Lahaina firestorm in the making for Hawaii Island and the danger is increasing with climate change. There have been 892 recorded fires attributable to military activities at PTA since 1975 according to the military. (p. 354)

4. Whatever happens mauka comes makai. We are all downwind, downhill of Pohakuloa. The military poisoning of military families and civilians from Red Hill jet fuel leaks into Oahu’s water table is not an isolated military toxic event.

Learn more: See the 11-minute video — How the Army Got to Bomb Hawaii For $1  https://youtu.be/-nsn4Sxy8r8  The Pohakuloa 14 min. video “Now that you Know, Do You Care?” https://vimeo.com/94598875  Also, the video of Dr. Lorrin Pang, M.D., public health officer, retired 24 years in the Army Medical Corps and listed in the Who’s Who (top 3%) of America’s Best Doctors explaining the health dangers of inhaling DU oxide dust particles https://vimeo.com/19153948.  Also read – A Brief History Of US Military Poisoning Of Hawai’i – PopularResistance.Org

1 . Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject violence & war as solutions. 3. Defend civil liberties.
       4. Oppose all discrimination: anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Russian, anti-LGBTQ, etc. 5. Seek peace through peaceful means and work for justice in Hawai`i and around the world.

Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action

P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760

                            Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts.

For more information see https://www.malu-aina.org

May 3, 2024, Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet – week 1179 – Fridays 3:30-5 PM downtown Post Office

“Experience Pohakuloa Day” Report

Here is a report on the ” Experience Pohakuloa Day” protest outside the PTA main gate April 25, 2024.  Five of us were there to hold signs, 4 dressed in all white hazmat type suits with masks and hard hats.

The good news is that only 2 full size school buses entered PTA for the event. One of the buses was from Connections Charter School in Hilo.  The other bus had elementary school students.  I could see their faces barely above the window level of the bus.  I do not know from which elementary school the bus was from. There were far fewer school buses than in previous years.  So it appears that the letters, emails and faxes we sent to every school on the island warning about the hazards of going to PTA had some effect.  A few smaller vans also entered, some possibly carrying school students.  I would estimate only about 70 cars entered the base in the 2 and 1/2 hours that we stood outside the main gate holding signs. From 8:30 – 11 AM. So the overall numbers of schools and general public were down significantly compared to past years. Several of the vehicles accepted our leaflet.  Most did not.  I asked one of the van drivers if they were from a school.  The driver said No.  We are from Pro Life.  One of the other protesters said I should have told the driver “if she’s Pro Life — she is heading in the wrong direction.  Turn around!” 

We had a radiation monitor active for the time we were outside the main gate.  The winds were strong coming from the east at a speed estimated to be 30 MPH with higher gusts.  Our radiation monitor was measuring counts per minute.  Normal background was about 25 cpm.  We had a high reading of 75 cpm with numerous over 50 cpm.  Our highest readings over the years involve winds from the south coming off the base toward the Saddle Road.

We only had one person driving into the base who yelled at us.  It was a Chinese hate filled statement, something to the effect that “the Chinese will make minced meat of you.” Reminded me of boxer Mohamed Ali who protested the Vietnam war saying “No Vietcong ever called me the N word.”

All in all, it was a good day of protest.  But would have been better with 50 or 500.    Maybe next time at the PTA EIS public Meetings set for 6-8 PM Monday, May 6th at Waimea District Park, and Tuesday, May 7th 6-8 PM at Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo.  The military wants its PTA lease renewed or a land swap, etc.  Tell them NO new lease.  No land swap, etc.  Stop Bombing Pohakuloa. Clean up the military mess at PTA and return the land to the Hawaiian people like Kaho’olawe. But do a much better clean up job than was done on Kaho’olawe.  These are public meetings but should be public HEARINGS where the community can listen to each others testimony instead of being told to go over in the corner and record your statement with a stenographer. And instead of just 2 meetings on THE BIG ISLAND, there should be public hearings in every one of the 9 districts on Hawaii Island. Let your elected officials know your thoughts.

As we were packing up to leave a Na Leo TV in Hilo reporter and camera person asked to interview me about my thoughts on the event.  It should be posted in about 1 week on  naleo.tv iMahalo. Jim Albertini

See sign holding photos below outside PTA main gate on

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Malu ‘Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown) Hawai’i 96760 Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org

Sign holding outside PTA main gate  Thursday, April 25, 2024

 

Pohakuloa  

Radiation Dangers!

      Depleted Uranium (DU) radiation, is just one of many toxins used at the 133,000-acre military Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA), located in the center of Hawaii Island from over 75 years of bombing and shelling. After years of military denial that DU was used at PTA, information surfaced in 2007 that confirmed its use, not only at PTA but at Schofield Barracks on Oahu, likely Makua Valley, possibly Kaho’olawe, etc. Even before DU was confirmed to have been used at PTA, our organization detected elevated radiation readings with certified radiation monitors several times background levels, blowing in the winds off PTA. DU which has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, was first used at PTA as a spotting round for the Davy Crockett nuclear weapon system in the 1960s. Modern DU weapons are used as armor-piercing penetrating weapons.

      DU does not pose a danger when outside the body. But DU metal when burned creates tiny DU oxide particles that can be easily inhaled. Once inhaled, according to Dr. Lorrin Pang, MD, these particles can travel through the body’s lymph system and cause cancer in various organs. DU can also cause birth defects, and genetic damage that can be passed to future generations. Dr. Pang, a Hawaii resident, spent 24 years in the Army Medical Corps and was listed in the Who’s Who (top 3%) of America’s best doctors. Dr. Pang says especially vulnerable to DU inhalation are young children and pregnant women. See a short video by Dr. Pang on DU dangers here https://vimeo.com/19153948 Also watch an important 14-minute video about Pohakuloa – “Now that you know, do you care?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r10eRMjIRw Continued bombing and shelling at PTA can resuspend DU and other toxins that can be carried long distances in the wind.

      On Thursday, April 25, 2024, the military invited school children and the general public to “Experience Pohakuloa Day” on the base. Our organization sent letters, emails, and faxes to every school on the island advising against any student excursions to PTA out of health concerns. In a Public Service Announcement to the schools, we included the link to the video by Dr. Pang.

      The military has ignored a Hawaii County Council resolution (#639-08) that called for stopping all live fire at PTA and any activities that create dust until comprehensive, independent testing, monitoring and clean up of the DU present is done. So who, or what, is the military defending?

Protect Hawai’i Keiki!   Stop Bombing Pohakuloa!

1 . Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject violence & war as solutions. 3. Defend civil liberties.
       4. Oppose all discrimination: anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Russian, anti-LGBTQ, etc. 5. Seek peace through peaceful means and work for justice in Hawai`i and around the world.

Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action

P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760

                                                                             Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts.

                        For more information see https://www.malu-aina.org

-- 
Jim Albertini Malu 'Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola'a (Kurtistown) Hawai'i 96760
Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org

Please pass this on to all parents of school children, teachers, etc.

Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action

P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawaii 96760

Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org

website www.malu-aina.org

To Hawaii Island School administrators, teachers and staff, March 27, 2024

Re: Experience Pohakuloa Day

First, mahalo for your important work of educating and supporting the students of Hawaii Island.

Experience Pohakuloa Day is set for Thursday, April 25, 2024, when school children and the public are invited to the Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA). Please help circulate the Public Service Announcement below to all teachers on the island, DOE staff, and parents of school-age children about this event.

OUR ORGANIZATION ADVISES AGAINST ANY STUDENT EARTH DAY EXCURSIONS TO POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA.  We believe that an independent, comprehensive study needs to be done to determine the full extent of toxic contamination at Pohakuloa from more than 75 years of live-fire bombing involving a wide range of toxins, including Depleted Uranium radiation.  We call for a complete cleanup of the contamination before any further public events (such as Experience Pohakuloa Day) are held at Pohakuloa. Please be mindful of the Red Hill military contamination of groundwater wells on Oahu and thousands being sickened as a result.

Public Service Announcement (PSA)

Parents of young children and pregnant women are warned of the dangers of DU (Depleted Uranium) and other military toxins at the Pohakuloa Training Area!

Please view the short video of Dr. Lorrin Pang, M.D., public health officer and retired 24 years in the Army Medical Corps explaining the health dangers of inhaling DU oxide dust particles, including various cancers, birth defects, and genetic damage. (See https://vimeo.com/19153948). As Dr. Pang explains, especially vulnerable are young children and pregnant women.

Allowing children in your care to attend programs at Pohakuloa, unnecessarily puts them at risk.  For more information, contact Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action, P.O. Box 489, Kurtistown, HI 96760. Tel. (808) 966-7622. Email ja@malu-aina.org.  Website www.malu-aina.org

Mahalo for your prompt attention to this matter.

Jim

Jim Albertini, President of Malu ‘Aina  and former Hawaii school teacher

-- 
Jim Albertini Malu 'Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola'a (Kurtistown) Hawai'i 96760
Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org

                                             Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education

P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760

Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts.

For more information see https://www.malu-aina.org

-- 
Jim Albertini Malu 'Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola'a (Kurtistown) Hawai'i 96760
Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org

Public Meetings on Pohakuloa EIS should be Public Hearings with Public Testimony!

April 23, 2024

usarmy.hawaii.nepa@army.mil

The two “Public Meetings” set for the Big Island on May 6th from 6-8 PM at Waimea District Park and May 7th from 6-8 PM at Imiloa Astronomy Center should be PUBLIC HEARINGS and not limited to two hours.  These meetings (that should be held in all 9 BIG ISLAND districts) need to provide an opportunity for members of the public to offer public testimony.  That means let others hear what each person is saying.  I remember being at such a public hearing on Pohakuloa 20 years ago at the Naniloa that went on from 6PM to 2 AM.  Hundreds of people participated because it was important to hear one another.

The 2 hr. public meetings now set for the PTA lease renewal are not public hearings. It’s more like a science fair where people can walk around various military stations set up on specific topics to learn and ask questions.  While there is nothing wrong with that aspect, it is not enough.   If a person wants to speak on the record, they are told to go over into the corner and speak to a stenographer. No one else can hear what that person has to say.  The existing public meetings are designed to isolate and disempower the community by not being able to hear one another’s concerns.

What’s needed in addition to the “science fair model” is public testimony following the opportunity to view and raise questions at the various displays.  Public testimony empowers the community by hearing one another’s concerns.  We learn by listening to one another, not just listening to military propaganda.

Jim Albertini, president of Malu Aina

cc: government officials and the news media