Diary

Quick Hits 04-12-2006

by Chris Haire |

Who or what is responsible for the tragic death of 34-year-old Oliver Johnson, who died last week from a flesh-eating bacterial infection, which he most likely was exposed to when he was in the polluted waters of Ala Wai Harbor? Should it be the as-yet-unnamed individual who allegedly got into a physical altercation with Johnson, an act which preceded his dip in the Ala Wai? Is it the city and county of Honolulu for diverting 48 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai Canal, thereby creating an environment for the growth of the bacteria that claimed Johnson’s life? Is it a liver condition, which a medical examiner said was brought on by alcoholism that lessened Johnson’s resistance to the bacterial infection? Is it the workers at Straub Clinic & Hospital who reportedly treated Johnson on the night of the incident and may have released him without properly taking care of his wounds? Is it Johnson himself? On analysis, it may certainly well be a convergence of factors that led to Oliver Johnson’s horrific and sad end.

The residents of Kukui Gardens want answers. Last week in a meeting with representatives for Kukui Gardens Corp. and the Clarence T. C. Ching Foundation, many of the 2,500-plus residents of the low-income housing project tried to find out who was the potential buyer of the Gardens. They received no answer. The residents fear that the corporation plans to sell to a company that does not intend to keep housing at Kukui Gardens affordable, as is currently mandated under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

According to a recent document prepared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Wespac), Wespac may have misrepresented the number of bottomfishing permits at the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). In a March 16 release touting Wespac’s proposed fishery management plan (FMP) for the NWHI, the council lists the number of permits at 17. However, a March 30 environmental impact supplement mentions that the number of permits is currently capped at nine. In the FMP, Wespac supports ‘lowering’ the number of permits from 17 to 14.

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