Privacy Policy | About Our Ads Work at Wailua Homesteads Park continues and requires the extended closure through most of January 2025 for some parts of the park The Kauaʻi County Department of Parks and Recreation announced that the tennis and basketball courts at the park will be closed through Jan The closure is necessary for playcourt resurfacing work the addition of pickleball courts and other upgrades It is part of the county’s $3.1 million playcourt resurfacing project Baptiste Sports Complex in Kapaʻa and Puhi Park in Līhuʻe Contact Kylan Dela Cruz at 808-241-4927 or kdelacruz@kauai.gov with any questions or for more information about the projects and closures Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More Hawaii — Kauai County Department of Parks and Recreation announced that Wailua Homesteads Park's tennis and basketball courts will be closed from Sept DPR is closing the courts for resurfacing work The county contracted Pacific Concrete Cutting & Cording The upgrades are part of the county's $3.1 million Playcourt Resurfacing Project which will also include work at the Wailua Houselots Park A county park on the East Side of Kaua‘i is set to add something unprecedented: A māla lā‘au bringing well-being to the community around it The māla lā‘au will be located at Wailua Homesteads Park a popular site already home to athletic fields Kaua‘i-based conservation and education nonprofit Understory Alliance – joined by supporters including Kaua‘i County personnel and Get Fit Kaua‘i – held an open house at the park on June 19 to solicit community input needed to shape the project going forward “The purpose of this is not just to feed our community but also take care of our place,” Sari Pastore executive director of Understory Alliance and a lifelong resident of Hāʻena on the North Shore of the Garden Isle told dozens of Wailua Homesteads residents in attendance Wednesday evening “A food forest is very human-centric; it’s thinking about just what people need thinking about what that place needs,” Pastore continued “But this project takes care of our whole ecosystem including the people in the community who live here and the place … It helps reduce stormwater runoff it increases food security and really is amazing for our mental health.” The Wailua Homesteads māla lā‘au will occupy approximately .7 acres at the rear of the nearly 17-acre park Plants grown at the site – which rests at the bottom of a gentle slope topped by the park’s athletic fields – will be determined by the neighborhood community NTBG ecologist and Understory Alliance board member Uma Nagendra was present Wednesday to discuss possible selections “The goal is to have a mix of native plants Polynesian-introduced plants – all of which have a purpose,” she said “Do people want to have a lot of lei plants to be able to gather from and make lei … Do people want to be able to come here and pick lemons Understory Alliance was met on Wednesday with widespread enthusiasm a 32-year-old lifelong resident of the Wailua Homesteads remembers a garden once occupied the space currently slated for the māla lā‘au “It was a community garden but wasn’t designated as such It would have an uncle [a common term for an elder in Hawai‘i] come down here weeding all the time,” Kekaualua said “That’s where these bananas came from.” Kekaualua plans to volunteer at the māla lā‘au and may even apply for a potential paid stewardship position “I hope there’s more projects like this … This area is perfect because it’s alongside a water source,” he said in reference to an adjacent stream “Having the connection from the ʻāina [land] to the wai [water] is definitely something that needs to be done.” Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Wally Rezentes Jr is another member of the local neighborhood He and his colleagues reviewed several sites with Understory Alliance before the nonprofit gravitated toward Wailua Homesteads Park We’ve never done anything like this,” Rezentes Jr said of his department’s relationship with Understory Alliance “We’ve had stewardships and similar type stuff in parks but a lot of that is mainly about maintenance … This is pretty unique for us.” wants the Wailua Homesteads project to succeed If Pastore – who hopes to plant a māla lā‘au in every Kaua‘i community – can find interest elsewhere on the island We’re going to board it up,'” Rezentes Jr “Although there’s going to be a fence It’s not going to be under lock and key.” The Wailua Homesteads māla lā‘au will indeed be open to the public 24-7 to be paid for through a Kaua‘i County grant is needed to keep destructive pigs – not people – out Residents will be welcome to cultivate or otherwise enjoy the site at any time although Understory Alliance will organize monthly volunteer workdays The nonprofit leader envisions the māla lā‘au as a relatively self-sustaining endeavor that will demand little but provide much “I kept hearing the same thing over and over again [at Limahuli Garden and Preserve] that it was so hard for the people of Kaua‘i to get out there to access something that is so special,” Pastore said too busy … We don’t have the ability to stop what we’re doing and go take ourselves into nature you don’t have to take off work … How can we care for our collective and not burden individuals How do we make sure our needs are met?” she continued “By having healthy bodies and healthy spirits This project literally does all of those things.” This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page “Kaua‘i As It Was In the 1940s and 1950s,” Mike Ashman (1921-2018) wrote a chapter about the harlots he’d heard tell of residing at Wailua Homesteads Ashman wrote: “There were two or three cottages separated alongside what today is called Kamalu Road On the covered lanai in front was a long wooden bench where patrons waited their turn to be invited inside At the small kitchen table were about four chairs where the next batch of customers was served cold beer or soft drinks along with bagoong and kim chee “Most of the girls were haoles from the mainland and some were Polynesians from the South Pacific.” (function(d,s,n){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];js=d.createElement(s);js.className=n;js.src="//player.ex.co/player/bdc806f4-0fc1-40a1-aff0-a3d5239c169c";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}(document,"script","exco-player")); “We’re here to make a lot of money and then go back home with a nice nest egg “A couple appeared on Kaua‘i one day stately Samoan who looked like she might have been a high school beauty queen “She went to work for Von Hamm Young Company as a part-time outside saleswoman peddling her bike through plantation camps He volunteered to work free as a disk jockey for KTOH “Early every afternoon he would drop her off at some plantation camp where she began making calls on homemakers she peddled her bike to their cottages and dormitories If they desired something other than electric frying pans or bicycles she’d close her display case and wait for him to pick her up Wear a Lei was the theme of this year’s annual Kauai Museum Lei.. Members of the Waimea High School girls football team arrived home on Sunday from the 2025.. An unprecedented garden will take root at Wailua Homesteads Park on Kaua‘i early next year following a community survey that reports strong support for the project a Kaua‘i-based conservation and education nonprofit proposed to establish a māla lā‘au (forest garden) at the East Side county park stated at the time that the project would not move forward unless community interest was evident widespread approval for the māla lā‘au has been documented through the survey results “This is what people have been asking for,” said Pastore The māla lā‘au will occupy more than half an acre at the rear of the nearly 17-acre Wailua Homesteads Park a popular recreational site home to athletic fields will be installed to keep destructive pigs out these forest projects will not require a lot of day-to-day maintenance,” said Kaua‘i horticultural professional Rhian Campbell Understory Alliance’s director of resource stewardship The Wailua māla lā‘au community survey report recorded responses submitted by 127 participants 83% expressed strong support for the project while 15% needed more information before they could fully support the project Only two people (1.67% of respondents) opposed the māla lā‘au maintenance and a belief it could attract vandalism or homeless encampments its plants are intended to resist invasive weeds and perpetuate themselves by forming a self-supporting hope those who use the māla lā‘au will form a reciprocal relationship with the public resource “When we harvest from a plant we should be thinking about how we can keep the gifts we receive from nature circulating in that community,” Campbell said that values “putting a little effort into caring for publicly shared spaces that can provide broader benefits for the whole community.” overgrown hau and invasive plant species like guinea grass and African tulip trees The land will be cleared to make way for the māla lā‘au Plantings in the māla lā‘au are to be determined by community input Survey respondents have expressed interest in lei materials Native species will also have a home in the garden The community māla lā‘au will not only offer food and a space for cultural practices and education It also is intended to benefit residents’ physical and mental health by providing ready access to nature too busy … We don’t have the ability to stop what we’re doing and go take ourselves into nature,” Pastore said in June Work on the garden at Wailua Homesteads Park is projected to begin within three months Understory Alliance will develop similar projects elsewhere on Kaua‘i if communities express interest and funding can be secured He is now writing grants to fund a part-time steward position at Wailua Homesteads Park the Hawaiian people and other Indigenous communities have taught her that many plants existed first and helped guide and support people on their journeys plants take care of us much more than we take care of them,” she said For more information about Understory Alliance, including the community survey report and upcoming workshops, visit understoryalliance.org Investigative stories and local news updates Coverage of the Hawaiʻi State legislature in 2025 Award winning in-depth reports and featured on-going series Get the week’s news delivered straight to your inbox Focusing on the form of development could help us avoid becoming another Oahu This is Part 2 in a series on land use and transportation. Read Part 1 here.  I was born and raised in Wailua Homesteads When someone wanted to open a small corner store down the street from us Our rural lifestyle will be destroyed forever Because we all know that residential and commercial areas should never mix private landowners did things like build factories next to people’s homes,” said Marie Williams a long-range planner for the county of Kauai poor people experienced the greatest impacts and had to deal with incompatible uses like factories and mills being sited where they live.” The practice of urban planning is closely tied to protecting residents from harmful industrial practices historically has been to “group and separate uses into commercial Spend time amidst the noise and fumes of any of our industrial parks in Hawaii and you can understand the importance of protecting residents from industry But this complete separation of all uses is such an integral part of our vehicle-centric lives that we have a hard time seeing beyond our current zoning practices Although the community mobilized a valiant fight in defense of their “rural” principles after seven years the corner store finally received its use permit but I did start riding my bike there in the afternoons to buy a slice of pizza This isn’t another story about overblown fears It’s about how deeply the ideology of separating uses is engrained in our suburban mindset and how this separation is the root cause of both our decaying town centers and our growing congestion “Working places and commerce must be mingled right in with residences,” wrote Jane Jacobs one of history’s most influential urban activists While The Country Store provides a convenient place to buy milk you are still driving at least 15 minutes to get to work or a supermarket and the carbon emissions that come with it is the price that we pay to live in a quiet suburban neighborhood we have traditionally managed traffic by building new roads and widening old ones Because “the simple needs of automobiles are more easily understood and satisfied than the complex needs of cities,” wrote Jacobs But Hawaii’s Department of Transportation only has funding for 20 percent of our necessary transportation projects; and a slim majority on our Kauai County Council repeatedly has blocked adequate funding for even basic infrastructure maintenance and bus service expansion So we are being forced to look outside of the box As I wrote last week congestion and emissions from transportation we need to rethink our development patterns Kauai’s first General Plan in 1970 included a dire warning for our island: has been led “into a blind alley of unsolvable traffic problems and a hopeless dispersal of people and services which cannot possibly be served adequately by any economically feasible alternative to the automobile The resultant destruction to the limited land and natural resources has not yet reached its inevitable limits but the grotesque evidence of an environment spawned and predominately controlled by a helpless psychological addiction to a pathetically inefficient method of transportation is there for all to see Should Kauai and the state continue to fund the development of roads and highways knowing full well that they eventually generate more traffic more congestion than they are designed to alleviate safer and less destructive system of transport; and in so doing maintain and improve the quality of the environment “To those accustomed to the relative leisure and comfort of driving on Kauai such foresight and imagination is as difficult as the foresight required on Oahu twenty years ago While the need for a paradigm shift in transportation was evident 45 years ago the regulatory tools necessary for such a change hadn’t been developed “We’ve learned that people want to halt suburban sprawl yet do not want to change the scale of their historic towns,” Marie Williams said to me “And so the fundamental problem that we have to face is how do we protect and revitalize our historic town cores while providing for more housing options?” An alternative planning approach known as form-based codes could provide the tool to begin solving both ends of that issue. Kauai recently joined the less than one percent of municipalities around the country that are beginning to employ this new method of zoning ordinance “It’s a tool to implement the community’s desire to manage growth while protecting what they love about their town,” said Williams it focuses on creating a high-quality building developers only have to conform development to the required use (residential while the specific look of the development isn’t addressed Kauai’s newest development is a Petco and Safeway strip mall straight out of Anytown USA and accessible only by car and diversity of development within our town cores Because each town is unique, the process requires that future growth is shaped and codified through intensive public input to match the existing character of the place — what’s known as individual community place typing. Once the form-based codes are set (as they currently are for Koloa and Kalaheo) developers just need to comply with the specific building requirements and can receive expedited over-the-counter permitting The final set of codes varies depending on proximity to the town center — with high-density buildings towards the middle shifting to lower density towards the outskirts The purpose is to require specific types of structures and street set backs that have proven conducive to commercial activity and mixed use as well as higher density housing types such as duplexes and shorter blocks are also mandated as a way to help promote connectivity and bring development back to a pedestrian scale There are 400 more births than deaths every year on Kauai By requiring a diverse array of multi-family dwellings and apartment-style homes while eliminating density restrictions within our urban cores form-based code incentivizes future development and population growth to occur within a walkable perimeter of our towns As outlined in Kauai’s Multimodal Transportation Plan reducing vehicle miles traveled depends on a land use program that “is guided by the three principal requirements for sustainable development: compactness Form-based code provides the route to achieve all three of those principles in order to reduce our reliance on personal automobiles while expanding housing and preserving the historic nature of our plantation era towns Unfortunately, being named a finalist for a Pulitzer prize doesn’t make us immune to financial pressures. The fact is, our revenue hasn’t kept pace with our need to grow, and we need your help Civil Beat is a nonprofit, reader-supported newsroom based in Hawaiʻi. We’re looking to build a more resilient, diverse and deeply impactful media landscape, and we hope you’ll help by supporting our essential journalism Civil Beat has been named the best overall news site in Hawaii for the 14th year in a row by the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter 5: The National Weather Service forecast office in Honolulu reports the heavy rain has ended and stream gauges are dropping around Kaua‘i Flooding is no longer expected to pose a threat so the flood advisory that was previously in effect until 12:15 a.m 5:  A flash flood advisory was canceled and upgraded to a warning for portions of Kaua‘i until 12:15 a.m radar indicated heavy rain over central and eastern portions of the island According to the National Weather Service in Honolulu the Hanalei River stream gage jumped to nearly 6 feet in the last hour This typically results in the closure of Kūhiō Highway near the Hanalei River bridge due to flooding Rain was falling at a rate of up to 3 inches per hour Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly Some locations that will experience flash flooding include: Līhu‘e Original post: The entire Garden Isle is under a flood advisory until 9:15 p.m bringing with them the threat of flooding on roads and in poor drainage areas and streams National Weather Service radar indicated at 6:17 p.m rain falling at up to 2 inches an hour focused over south and east portions of Kauaʻi Heavy rain will also move into the North Shore shortly Some locations that will experience flooding include Līhuʻe The public is advised to stay away from streams drainage ditches and low-lying areas prone to flooding Courtesy of Kaua‘i County Council Services The county Department of Parks & Recreation completed work on a set of pickleball courts at the Anne Knudsen Park in Koloa on Monday Basketball courts at Wailua Houselots Park are in line for a county Department of Parks & Recreation resurfacing project LIHU‘E — The county Department of Parks &Recreation opened the county’s first dedicated pickleball courts at Anne Knudsen Park in Koloa on May 1 — one of five major court resurfacing projects on the docket which also included a resurfacing of the park’s tennis and basketball courts “The courts are already being used heavily by the pickleball community,” said Parks &Recreation Director Pat Porter “There was a line of pickleballers there when we opened the gate.” Porter laid out the department’s plans to implement an “island-wide court resurfacing program,” before a Kaua‘i County Council committee meeting on Wednesday the department would resurface courts at about two parks each year until they have redone all 30 courts under county jurisdiction Next up are the tennis and basketball courts at the Mayor Bryan J Wailua Homesteads Park and Wailua Houselots Park “When we say ‘resurfacing,’ we’re really talking about a full rebuild,” said Porter “With the condition of a lot of our courts they really need to be rebuilt from the ground up.” The complete cost for the Knudsen court project was just under $1 million Resident Alice Parker testified at Wednesday’s meeting that county courts are in “desperate need” of resurfacing we’re going to rot in place if we can’t get out and move around,” she said Porter also announced that the department plans to install three miniature restrooms at parks throughout the island including replacements for two destroyed in bizarre accidents One project would replace a restroom at Lucy Wright Park in Waimea which was destroyed when a car plowed into the restroom which was irreparably scorched in a vandalism incident The park is located directly next to the Hanepepe fire station The third will replace a restroom at Lihu‘e Baseball Field “These three came up on short notice,” said Porter “We’re trying to replace them as soon as possible.” The county will likely use the Portland Loo brand restrooms — small stainless steel structures — which will hopefully prove more resistant to fires and vehicles Council Parks &Recreation Committee Chair Addison Bulosan emphasized the importance of community involvement in parks projects “I really encourage you to share your input on what things need to be taken care of that you digest reader comments on stories like this one The North Shore desperately needs a more enhanced County Park The Kilauea Park has a playing field and some access to an enclosed gymnasium but no tennis or pickleball or outside basketball courts there is not enough room at that park to build such courts to serve the many North Shore residents in need of better recreational facilities A temporary bridge along Kamalu Road in Wailua Homesteads WAILUA HOMESTEADS — Driving through Wailua Homesteads got a little less complicated for motorists on Wednesday The county Department of Public Works said it replaced the damaged Yasutake Bridge on Kamalu Road with a temporary structure more than six months after the structure was shuttered because of safety concerns following a one-car accident “While the roadway is now open to traffic the public is urged to observe the posted speed limit and all precautionary road signage when using this temporary bridge,” said County Engineer Troy Tanigawa in a statement on Wednesday “Speed humps were installed during this project to slow traffic speeds in the vicinity of the temporary bridge Please also note that the temporary bridge is raised and includes steeper approach ramps to comply with floodplain requirements for the area so motorists using trailers or low-profile vehicles are advised to drive cautiously or avoid using this temporary bridge.” The scope of the work included the installation of a 60-foot Acrow bridge speed calming devices and additional paving work are used to divert traffic around or over such sites Yasutake Bridge was closed on June 10 amid safety concerns with critical scour conditions that affected the foundation Further scouring was found four days later by Consor Engineers That resulted in a recommendation the bridge be closed until a temporary bridge could be installed Goodfellow Brothers was contracted for the bridge work The closure of the bridge meant that motorists could no longer use a stretch of Kamalu Road That forced motorists to detour via Opaeka‘a Road Pu‘u‘opae Road and Olohena Road and created heavier traffic patterns through Wailua Homesteads Anyone with questions or comments may call the Department of Public Works at 808-241-4996 or email publicworks@kauai.gov Kaua‘i County Department of Parks and Recreation is notifying the public that the dual-use tennis and pickleball courts as well as basketball court at Bryan J Baptiste Sports Complex in Kapa‘a will be closed from March 17 through September The work is part of the county’s $3.1 million Playcourt Resurfacing Project which also includes improvements at Wailua Homesteads Also known as Kapa‘a New Park, the complex is located at 4536 Olohena Road. It is named after the late Bryan J. Baptiste who served as Kaua‘i County mayor from 2002 until his death in 2008 Baptiste had a dream of improving the more than 5-decades-old complex which until the 1970s hosted Pop Warner football games and making it a permanent home field for Kapa‘a High School He set that dream in motion as mayor in 2006 with the help of Leadership Kaua‘i’s adult class and countless others The 18-acre district park complex is now home to a Little League field the dual-use tennis and pickleball courts and comfort stations Parks and Recreation thanks the public for its patience and understanding as work proceeds at Bryan J Baptiste Sports Complex and other parks included in the county’s Playcourt Resurfacing Project Additional updates about work as part of the Playcourt Resurfacing Project include: Contact Parks and Recreation at 808-241-4460 or via email at parks@kauai.gov for more information or with any questions about the resurfacing projects erosion at Wailua Beach forced the state Department of Transportation to place sandbags to protect Kuhio Highway A new sand-saver project aims to rebuild the beach in the area the state is widening the highway near the former Coco Palms Resort WAILUA — The state Department of Transportation plan to rebuild the Wailua Beach shoreline using patented technology have gotten a shot in the arm Nadine Nakamura announced the project received $1.15 million in capital improvement projects funding late last month The Kuhio Highway Emergency Shoreline Mitigation design includes an ungrouted rock revetment to protect infrastructure from extreme weather events which weighs approximately 5,200 pounds when filled with concrete Incoming waves hit the tubes’ wide end “The Sandsaver works by using the energy of breaking waves to thrust suspended sand particles up the beach while simultaneously dissipating the energy of the waves thereby restoring the sand and reducing overall erosion to the beach,” the state DOT said The state DOT and partners at the University of Hawai‘i propose to study wave action along Wailua Beach using acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) before the Sandsavers go into the water Divers would install six such instruments at various depths off Wailua Beach ADCPs will gather the full-wave spectrum and current velocity of the water column to support the location and configuration of the Sandsavers,” the state DOT said The state DOT’s plans also include the installation of signs The emergency shoreline mitigation project is expected to begin in April 2023 according to state DOT Kaua‘i District Engineer Larry Dill Volunteers including the Mo‘olelo Muralists touch up portions of the murals on Loop Road in Wailua Homesteads damaged by graffiti a nonprofit and a state agency are involved in a mural project led by Kapa‘a High School art teacher Vanessa Owens at the Keahua bridge on Loop Road in Wailua Homesteads The Keahua bridge mural on Loop Road in Wailua Homesteads is seen prior to restoration The Keahua bridge murals on Loop Road in Wailua Homesteads are once again in pristine condition after graffiti damaged them Artists have plans for further enhancements after the current rainy season WAILUA HOMESTEADS — Volunteers have repainted the Keahua bridge murals on Loop Road this holiday season months after the paintings celebrating Native Hawaiian culture and nature were defaced by vandals But the cleaning process also scrubbed away portions of the underlying artwork leaving concerned residents determined to return with paintbrushes the Kapa‘a High School art teacher behind the murals led the restoration efforts that spanned Dec “We were really amazed that there wasn’t (any fresh vandalism),” Owens said in a recent interview The lack of new graffiti allowed Owens and artist Jill Weiner and members of the nonprofit Kamawaelualani Corp.’s Mo‘olelo Murals program to repair the damaged murals rather than replace them entirely “We didn’t want to change it if we didn’t have to,” Owens said The art teacher also thanked local state Department of Land and Natural Resources personnel and Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School students for giving the bridge a final cleaning prior to painting Kaua‘i’s DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife Forest Management Supervisor Mapuana O‘Sullivan has been a great help to the muralists “She’s just been awesome and supportive,” Owens said The Keahua bridge murals depict a pair of hula dancers telling a story of the native plants and animals found within the surrounding area Owens would like to install an educational plaque and surveillance signs listing phone numbers to report future acts of vandalism More artwork will also be added to the bridge once the current rainy season passes A key enhancement will be a quote provided by Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner Sabra Kauka who served as a consultant during the project’s planning process in 2019: “Eia ka wai la he wai e ola,” Kauka’s quote reads It translates to English as “Here is the water see how the visitors disrespect our island There should be cameras set up to catch these “juvenile” vandals They might be adults but this is so childish and of course The bridge art is always a welcome sight up there and I and my visitor friends always appreciate it Get some wildlife cams up there and teach these vandals a lesson Erosion at Wailua Beach has forced the state Department of Transportation to place sandbags to protect Kuhio Highway WAILUA — The state is trying to rebuild Wailua Beach It’s a process that’ll include new technology that will trap sand and renourish the eroded beach that threatens Kuhio Highway according to the state Department of Transportation and is made of polyethylene plastic and concrete The sloped device has holes in the unit which allow waves to flow through The holes have small channels that trap the sand on either side of the device (the technology) promotes the restoration of the beach through the natural wave action of varying sand on the beach and traps the sand on both the mauka and makai side of the device and proposes to build the beach back,” state DOT Kaua‘i District Engineer Larry Dill said last week at a community meeting to discuss the latest Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) priorities which is coming up to the right-of-way owned by the state has already undercut portions of the county’s bike path sandbags have been placed along the beach to protect the structure that abuts the highway The Sandsaver was first used in Keyna in 2020 according to manufacturer Granger Plastics Company and within four days the system was able to accumulate 1,500 cubic yards of sand in and around the system state DOT deputy director of the Highways Division said this beach-renourishment is meant to last long-term A soft revetment of boulders along the slope with mixed concrete is an idea the state is attempting to mitigate the problem without fully hardening the environment using emergency-relief Federal Highway Administration money given for recovery from the March 2021 storms is estimated to cost $1.4 million for the 1,700-foot area The project will also utilize the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa’s College of Engineering which will monitor the project on land and at sea Wailua Beach is the pilot site for the project but the state has already identified Waikoko on the North Shore and Makaha Beach on O‘ahu as other potential pilot locations As the department continues the permitting and environmental process this project could start by the end of this year If the State or County hadn’t moved tons of sand from the beach to try to fortify the bridge after the flood which allowed the next flood to take all of the sand they moved out to sea this never would have happened…Blame the engineers of that catastrophe… Who wouldn’t want to shore up Wailua Beach and keep the ocean back from the highway and bike path (multiuse path) How long would it last till the ocean rises beyond that irrational fix leaving plastic/cement junk on the sea bed These measures are no match for a rising sea and not good for life forms including coral Rerouting the road should have been the option instead of putting in the 2nd lane at that location When will we wake up to the reality that sea level rise will render much of our coast unusable We need to move our roads and bridges away from the coast now There was an early 70s (1971?) “Master Plan” taking hours and hours of community involvement and time to come up with (and largely ignored) planning document for decision-making it proposed a second bridge further up-river on the Wailua and a re-routing of the highway back into the coconut grove That would have left a large area near the ocean potentially accessed from Kapaa or Lihue side creating a potential large beach-front park for use by Coco Palms tourists and residences alike Had that plan been followed from 50 years ago But why would Master Plans actually influence what actually happens Since I have sat in the traffic jam around there for many hours and thought about solutions the present plan seem short-sighted April 17: A flood advisory that was in effect for the Garden Isle until 9 p.m was allowed to expire but a high surf advisory for north and west shores of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau continues until 6 a.m Large breaking waves of 12 to 16 feet are expected along north shores and 8 to 12 feet along west shores This will make swimming and surfing in the advisory areas dangerous The public should heed all advice from ocean safety officials — when in doubt April 17: The flood advisory for Kaua‘i was extended until 9 p.m today as radar indicated at just before 6 p.m heavy showers continuing to repeatedly develop over portions of the island producing rainfall at rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour April 17: National Weather Service forecasters in Honolulu have again extended a flood advisory in effect for the entire island of Kaua‘i as heavy rains are causing flooding on roads and in poor drainage areas and streams Ponding water in urban and other areas also is happening or imminent that rain was falling at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour over much of the Garden Isle Some locations that will experience flooding include Līhu‘e The public is again advised to stay away from streams Do not cross fast flowing or rising water in your vehicle or on foot — turn around A flood advisory was initially posted for windward portions of the island earlier this morning and then expanded just before noon to include the entire Garden Isle through 3 p.m as heavy rains had moved over the rest of Kaua‘i Forecasters in Honolulu also issued a high surf advisory for north and west shores of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau in effect until 6 a.m April 18 as the rough weather continues to persist on and around the islands April 17: Rain has picked up over portions of Kaua‘i and a new flood advisory is now in effect till noon radar indicated heavy rain over the windward side of the island Rain was falling at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour according to the National Weather Service in Honolulu locations that will experience flooding include Līhu‘e Ponding of water in urban or other areas is occurring or is imminent This advisory may need to be extended beyond noon if flooding persists April 17: National Weather Service radar shows that the heavy rain over windward Kaua‘i has diminished and flooding is no longer expected to pose a threat the flood advisory that was in effect until 2 a.m April 16: Heavy rain moving over east Kaua‘i is causing flooding on roads and in poor drainage areas and streams causing the National Weather Service forecast office in Honolulu to issue a flood advisory for the area until 2 a.m heavy rain falling at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour over windward Kaua‘i with the heaviest falling from Līhuʻe northward to Anahola Visit the National Weather Service Honolulu forecast office website to stay up to date with the latest weather forecast and advisories located on Kamalu Road in Wailuā on the East Side of Kaua‘i the public is urged to observe the posted speed limit and all precautionary road signage when using this temporary bridge,” County Engineer Troy Tanigawa said in a recent announcement from the County of Kaua‘i The scope of work included the installation of a 60-foot Acrow bridge speed-calming devices and additional paving work Goodfellow Brothers was contracted for the project “Speed Humps were installed during this project to slow traffic speeds in the vicinity of the temporary bridge,” Tanigawa continued “Please also note that the temporary bridge is raised and includes steeper approach ramps to comply with floodplain requirements for the area so motorists using trailers or low-profile vehicles are advised to drive cautiously or avoid using this temporary bridge.” Kaua‘i county closed the bridge on June 10 based on safety concerns with critical scour conditions that affected the bridge’s foundation county consultants Consor Engineers conducted dive inspections of Yasutake Bridge and discovered further scouring of the bridge the engineering consultant recommended that the bridge remain closed until the temporary bridge is in place Anyone with questions or comments may contact the Department of Public Works at (808) 241-4996 or publicworks@kauai.gov Pamela Welch / Special to The Garden Island Dead java plum and other species of trees are seen in Wailua Homesteads Courtesy University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources The light-colored Austropuccinia rust is seen on a leaf WAILUA HOMESTEADS — Trees are dying in the Wailua Homestead and Kapahi areas WAILUA HOMESTEADS — Trees are dying in the Wailua Homestead and Kapahi areas the main trees in question are considered invasive species — the java plum a member of the same family as ‘ohia; and the myrtle family noticed the trees around her home have been looking unhealthy “Although the situation is not as serious as ROD (rapid ‘ohia death) these trees are considered invasive species their sheer numbers will create a very observable change to the island landscape,” she said While scientists with University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTHAR) haven’t been in the field to investigate they agree the culprit might be Austropuccinia rust Scientists have noted Austropuccinia rust has been known to attack the native ‘ohia as well Known also as “guava rust,” it has about 400 plant hosts and most commonly infects the myrtle family “(It) is the same rust disease that killed all the rose apple (mountain apple) statewide about a decade ago,” said J.B “I don’t know why the rust would hit java plum now rather than years ago.” Friday consulted with fellow CTHAR researcher Roshan Manandhar Kauai extension agent with the Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Services Manandhar says he’s been getting reports of the rust surfacing on island since December He agrees that’s what’s causing the defoliation of the java plum but both scientists say it’s a bit harder to identify because the rust kills the leaves and no other sign of the pathogen appears until the leaves flush out again but in 2016 there were outbreaks on Oahu and Moloaki that killed hundreds of trees They think that the rust outbreaks could be linked to weather it’s most favorable condition is rain — wet weather (that’s) moist and humid so they can grow,” Manandhar said He said the rust disease can be in a tree without symptoms for up to two months Initial symptoms are purple blotches on the leaves and that can happen three or four times within a period of two or three years before the whole branch dies That leads to crown dieback and then eventual tree death Because this is happening to the invasive java plum there is no current plan to stop the rust from taking down the trees Scientists say it’d be better for the native forests if all of the java plum disappeared “If it’s in the home garden you might be unhappy because it’s been there for 20 or 30 years and you’ve been harvesting fruit from childhood,” Manandhar said Just keep watching the java plum dying.” is that it’s a different strain than the already-known guava rust I haven’t been able to collect a leaf sample and send it in for a diagnosis,” Manandhar said Both Manandhar and Friday say they don’t know of any new pathogens on the other trees that Welch reports are dying in the Kapahi and Wailua Homesteads area but Friday points out the biggest killer of landscaping trees is poor management — too much weed-whacking or herbicides All those Java Plum Trees need to die and go away Waves from the shore break pummel an adult sperm whale that beached off Lydgate Park in Wailua on Saturday morning Waves from the shore break wash over an adult sperm whale Spectators watch and discuss a whale that beached off Lydgate Park in Wailua on Saturday Spectators look at and photograph a beached sperm whale on Saturday morning at Lydgate Park in Wailua program specialist for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Sanctuary provides whale education for spectators who stop to watch the beached whale off Lydgate Park in Wailua on Saturday including Jean Souza of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Sanctuary Jamie Thomton of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries and Aaron Swink of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources plan a response action to a beached whale on Saturday at Lydgate Park in Wailua program specialist with the Hawaiian Island Humpback Whale National Sanctuary provides whale education to a spectator who stopped to watch the beached whale Contributed by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Two pieces of large equipment are needed to pull a beached 60-ton sperm whale ashore at Lydgate Park in Wailua on Satuday A Hawaiian cultural practitioner approaches a beached sperm whale at Lydgate Park in Wailua on Saturday LIHU‘E — A beached whale closed Lydgate Beach on Saturday state and federal agencies responded to the scene that drew numerous spectators 60-ton sperm whale was first sighted on a reef on Friday evening before a high tide eventually brought it ashore on Saturday morning “It looks like the whale most likely died at sea the trade winds,” said Jamie Thomton of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries who referred to the whale as being in the large adult male category in a video interview provided by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources On-scene video showed personnel from a number of agencies at the site including a man wearing a red T-shirt attempting to put a strap around part of the whale in order for it to be removed from the shore break a work crew then slowly inched the whale ashore with the use of heavy motorized equipment The cause of death was to be determined at a later time Shark warning signs were also posted at the scene “We will look at the animal thoroughly to see if there are any signs of external wounds,” said Mimi Olry who is the marine mammal response field coordinator on Kaua‘i for the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources in a video interview provided by the Department of Land and Natural Resources She said the exam process would look for such things as a boat strike netting scars or signs of some fishery entanglement on the whale The on-site exam was to be conducted by a team from the University of Hawai‘i Health and Stranding Lab Planning is underway for the final disposition of the whale’s remains Sperm whales are listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act A state forest management area road known as Loop Road reopened Monday offering access that has been off and on for the last three years Right past Keahua Bridge on a Wailua forest management road known as Loop Road a sign Tuesday warns that the road is closed the reopening of Loop Road was a welcome sight Tuesday afternoon after three years since its initial closure and damage The state Department of Land and Natural Resources made the announcement Monday and continued to urge caution on the Wailua road and only vehicles with 4-wheel-drive capabilities and high clearance should access the road at this time,” the department said in the announcement damaged during the April 2018 floods by landslides and fallen trees has faced construction postponements due to rainfall and vandalism Repairs were managed by the department’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife with contractor Wa‘alani Enterprises The DLNR did not disclose how much the encompassing project cost or answer other follow-up inquiries Tuesday While the boulders that cut off access have been removed the North Fork Wailua River low-water crossing may be unpassable in dry conditions as the department is in the process of obtaining permits Loop Road provides access into the Lihu‘e-Koloa Forest Reserve Keahua Arboretum and out to Jurassic Gate trail and Blue Hole the DLNR noted the project has taken longer than expected DOFAW dug a trench across the road to stop vehicular traffic but that was filled in by community members The pushback from the community led to the installation of an access gate The DLNR said it will close the road when necessary during heavy rainfall Homeownership is on the near horizon for an initial group of Native Hawaiian households to benefit from a historic 2022 appropriation by the state Legislature The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands on Saturday selected 52 beneficiaries to receive homestead leases at a Maui project where a developer is going to build homes for the lot lessees at the agency’s planned Pu‘uhona Homestead subdivision in Wai­kapu near Wailuku Initial homes featuring three to five bedrooms on lots averaging 7,500 square feet are expected to be completed by mid-March and are to be sold to beneficiaries for $509,800 to $699,000 Pu‘uhona represents the first DHHL homestead project delivered using part of $600 million appropriated by state lawmakers two years ago to reduce the agency’s waitlist for homesteads “The awarding of these homes to these families today is a fantastic step forward for our state,” Gov Josh Green said in a statement announcing Saturday’s lease awards “Housing is such a critical need for our residents in general and Native Hawaiian beneficiaries on the waiting list have been acutely aware of that need for a very long time.” About 28,700 applicants are on DHHL’s homestead waitlist and the $600 million appropriated via Act 279 in 2022 was aimed at significantly reducing the backlog that the agency has struggled with in large part due to meager funding from the state over many decades and a high cost to install infrastructure on land DHHL owns DHHL has projected that the $600 million will allow it to develop about 2,200 lots in addition to acquiring land for subdivisions that can be produced faster and for less expense compared with developing some of the agency’s land holdings Some money also is intended to assist beneficiaries in other ways Some of the projects being funded by Act 279 have come about after the appropriation was made while others were in DHHL’s development pipeline previously Planning for Pu‘uhona dates back to around 2018 when DHHL solicited proposals to provide the agency with land on Maui for a project initially called Pu‘unani In 2019 a deal was made with Maui development firm Dowling Co to convey 47 acres of land for the project to DHHL in return for 300 affordable-housing credits that Dowling can use to satisfy Maui County requirements for producing affordable housing tied to other development projects and the balance is due when homes are completed delivering initial homes at Pu‘uhona was expected in 2023 followed by completion of all 137 homes and 24 house lots at the project this summer But that timetable was subject to appropriations from the Legislature that didn’t happen DHHL used $22.7 million from the Act 279 appropriation to fund Pu‘uhona site work that began in May 2023 under a contract with Maui Kupono Builders Dowling is expected to begin building the first phase of 52 homes in September DHHL also is providing $25 million in Act 279 funding to Dowling as a loan that will keep home prices lower by reducing the amount of more costly financing the company needs to develop the homes before selling them to beneficiaries Two more phases of work are to follow to complete Pu‘uhona which is to include 24 lots for homes that will be built either by beneficiaries themselves or by Habitat for Humanity Maui receive 99-year land leases that cost $1 a year and must pay for or build their own home Dowling President Everett Dowling said in a statement that it has been an honor and a privilege to work with DHHL “We hold DHHL and its beneficiaries in high esteem and are committed to providing quality homes that will anchor them in a community where they can thrive and build lasting legacies for generations to come,” he said said in a statement that he hopes the Pu‘uhona homes will help Maui in the wake of the Aug 8 wildfire that destroyed most of Lahaina and killed 101 people KAPAA — Kapaa High School had its Kauai Interscholastic Federation football season opening game on Sept The varsity Warriors defeated Waimea High School particularly one family from Wailua Homesteads that night meant much more than watching a game It was a night to honor a beloved brother and son It’s good to just be out here,” said Warriors junior defensive back Ali’i Brown on Wednesday “Even though he’s not watching me in the stands it’s just good knowing that he’s watching over me.” Keanu Shannon Lawai’a “Anu” Saito died on Aug The cause of his death is unknown and is still being investigated by police “It’s kind of the motto we came up with since all this happened — we’re just living I think that’s just the best way we can honor my son — just by living and loving each other “My wife has been unbelievable throughout this whole thing she’s been solid throughout this whole thing Just really proud of my family right now.” He taught me a lot of things — playing video games Saito graduated from Kapaa High School in 2015 He was a member of the school’s football team Always happy,” said Kapaa High School varsity football head coach Philip Rapozo after Wednesday’s practice but that shoulder just kept popping out and he would just keep coming Saito was a student at Kauai Community College and was working on an associate’s degree in liberal arts Saito shared a lot of his photos on his Instagram social media account “awwnew.” “He was an awesome photographer,” Paka said Just personal photos he’d post on Instagram You know the kids nowadays with the social media Desaray Saito-Brown said her son was also caring of animals Doolittle’ because he really loved animals the Warriors dedicated the game in Saito’s memory the team — including Saito’s brother — took to the field I was just going to go to the game with my jersey,” Brown said “But after we did the seven nights prayer thing I should play.” My older brother wouldn’t want me to be on the sidelines just because of that “I actually played more than I thought I would,” he added I played like the whole fourth quarter on defense The Brown family watched as the middle brother played with the varsity they told me they dedicated the game to us,” said Paka who is also a defensive line coach for the school’s junior varsity team We’re talking about ninth and tenth-grade kids They had enough to think about not themselves for the game you can imagine how ninth and tenth-grade JV kids would be reacting went out there proudly and dedicated the game to my family Front-row center was Brown holding a portrait of his brother It’s just good knowing that I got people supporting me and my family,” Brown said so it’s good knowing people are supporting us They’re there for us whenever we need anything.” Saito-Brown added: “With the support of the football team to play and to want to be there — it’s just very supportive of the football team And also when they huddled around him after and they took a picture with him it’s an amazing and beautiful thing — to show that in such loss there’s so much beauty and so much living that is going on Rapozo said the last few weeks have been rough but the football field has served as a place of refuge Everybody’s with a heavy heart when the dad and the brother is part of our football family here,” he said The younger brother is here every day in practice Though the family’s “Pocho Prince” — as Saito-Brown called her son — may not be with them anymore But I thought he was my prince,” Saito-Brown said But just with the determination this boy had and all the things I’ve watched from when he was a little boy all the way until his older years Always wanted to see his brothers at games and all of that.” like my friends and a lot of family friends We’re just living because if we just sit around and not think about it We’re just living and trying to enjoy things We’re going to miss him a lot and it hurts every day Saito is survived by his mother Desaray Saito-Brown father Paka Brown and other numerous family members and friends Contributed by state Department of Land and Natural Resources Stream crossings along Loop Road in Wailua Homesteads can be dangerous This photo shows part of an abandoned vehicle stuck on Loop Road in Wailua Homesteads This is one of two August emergency incidents that triggered digging a trench along Loop Road in Wailua Homesteads to enforce a road closure for safety purposes there is going to be a gate across Loop Road the public access road to the Lihue-Koloa Forest Reserve That gate will be closed Monday through Friday and its installment is timed with the beginning of a $500,000 road-repair project expected to take three to six months to complete The project is meant to return the road to its condition prior to the April 2018 floods that caused heavy damage according to the state Department of Lands and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife on Kauai The decision was announced after DOFAW director Sheri Mann met with about 20 community members in early September to discuss the ongoing closure and trench that was recently dug across the road The idea for a gate came straight from community members at that meeting It was generated from conversations between them Mann and County Councilmember Felicia Cowden about how to regulate illegal activity and promote safety along the road that’s known to be treacherous at times Construction is being done by local company Wa‘alani Enterprises contractors will begin preparing a staging area for material and equipment off Kuamoo Road,” DLNR representatives said in a statement about the gate “A gate will be installed just after the Powerline Trail on Loop Road.” That is the location where DOFAW dug a deep trench and placed large boulders across the road in August Less than a week after that roadblock was created community members filled in the trench and removed the boulders DOFAW hasn’t recreated the trench since explaining it was an intuitive reaction to a situation she and her staff deemed dangerous The problem is that Wa‘alani Enterprises will be using and storing heavy — and expensive — equipment along Loop Road That could present a danger to vehicles and pedestrians in their path and a concern about vandalism when workers aren’t around DLNR says the gate is meant to protect equipment and the public’s safety “The major concern during the period of road-repair work is the safety of the public and the contractors the gate will remain closed from Monday to Friday during the construction period,” DLNR said in their statement “We understand the relationship that the community has with the area and agree it would be beneficial to have the road open on the weekends for the public if there is vandalism or destruction to newly repaired sections DOFAW will have to close the gate on weekends as to not hinder the progress of the repairs.” who is involved in a hui that is cultivating lo‘i in the area of Loop Road told DOFAW they would not allow construction to begin on the project unless Wa‘alani Enterprises consulted with them directly — they described concerns their taro lo‘i would be threatened by construction DLNR said DOFAW met with the hui regarding the matter Mario Moreno / Special to The Garden Island captures some koi fish to relocate them to the resort from the Kauai Hindu Monastery in Wailua Homesteads Staff with The Point at Poipu have relocated 20 koi fish from the Kauai Hindu Monastery to South Shore resort Staff with the Kauai Hindu Monastery and The Point at Poipu capture koi fish from the monastery ponds in Wailua Homesteads for relocation to the South Shore resort POIPU — Twenty koi are adjusting to their new home at The Point at Poipu resort refugees from a pond off of the Wailua Reservoir that’s scheduled to run dry at the end of the year POIPU — Twenty koi are adjusting to their new home at The Point at Poipu resort refugees from a pond off of the Wailua Reservoir that’s scheduled to run dry at the end of the year Caught in the quagmire of irrigation management on Kauai’s Eastside the fish were living at the Kauai Hindu Monastery in Wailua Homesteads in a pond connected to the state-owned irrigation system that has been managed for 18 years by the East Kauai Water Users Cooperative revocable-permit licensing rules were created for water-diversion management in the 2018-19 state legislative session triggering a more-expensive process that the cooperative couldn’t handle on their own according to East Kauai Water Users Cooperative President Jerry Ornellas management of the entire system is reverting back to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources which confirmed they’d take over on Wednesday Kauai legislators say there are still conversations ongoing between DLNR and the state Department of Agriculture’s Agribusiness Development Corporation about maintenance of the system and DOA has been tasked with some of the studies needed to bring management of the system up to speed with new rules “The Legislature appropriated $2 million in environmental studies needed to obtain a revocable permit from DLNR,” said state Rep “The Department of Agriculture is in the process of undertaking those studies we hope that DLNR and/or ADC will maintain the system and continue agriculture uses in the district.” DLNR says it’s going to shut down the water flow as soon as possible “Present course of action is to close the diversions and lower the water levels in the reservoir,” DLNR representatives said told TGI Thursday DLNR representatives also said Thursday the plan is to close diversions “prior to assuming management of the irrigation system.” Once the monastery realized time was running out for their collection of koi attracting the attention of Mario Moreno and David Abalos at The Point at Poipu who had just bought and introduced 100 baby koi to the property and it’s a mystery as to what happened to them,” Moreno said “We’ve been trying to repopulate for about a year now.” Resort staff jumped on the opportunity and connected with the monks Moreno’s team was on its way to Wailua on a fishing adventure The monastery grounds are gorgeous and they helped us catch fish,” Moreno said “It was a break from my team’s normal routine.” Both Moreno and the monestary’s Yogi Acharya Arumuganathaswami said staff worked together well The fish were fast and difficult to catch It was a wild adventure that lasted about four hours “I even took a smack to my jaw from the biggest one we caught,” Moreno said “I had him in the net and then he came around and smacked me.” Now the fish are adjusting at The Point at Poipu living in three different ponds on the property there will be published feeding times so guests can see the fish up close There are still two colorful koi left for capture in the pond at the Kauai Hindu Monastery “We’ll go back and get them,” Moreno said They’re happy and eating and they’re really creating a buzz for our guests already.” Mayor Derek Kawakami tries his hand at turning the developing mochi as Alan Okuhara and Matthew Kawamura look on Sunday during the mochi making at Ed Kawamura’s home in Wailua Homesteads try their hand at forming mochi rounds Sunday at the mochi making at the Ed Kawamura home in Wailua Natsuko Nishikawa ladles servings of ozoni for guests at the mochi-making at the Ed Kawamura home in Wailua Homesteads Sunday Austin Sadamitsu waits to be called while Masa Tsunekawa of Japan injects some naughty humor into the mochi-making Sunday at Ed Kawamura’s home in Wailua Homesteads Kyle Sadamitsu and Mayor Derek Kawakami wait their turn as Austin Sadamitsu takes a swing at making mochi Sunday at the Ed Kawamura home in Wailua Homesteads WAILUA HOMESTEADS — Mayor Derek Kawakami was tasked with learning a new aspect of making mochi Sunday during the mochi making at the Ed Kawamura home in Wailua Homesteads Derek and his family have been doing mochi with the Kawamura ohana long before he was elected mayor and did not let his new office keep him away from the annual New Year’s tradition “He pounded mochi earlier,” said Glenn Mizumoto He’s working with Alan Okuhara to learn how to turn the rice.” Mochi making is the process of turning uncooked mochi rice into the familiar morsel the task involving the pounding of the cooked rice in a mortar the developing mochi needs to be turned so the mochi comes out uniformly smooth Water needs to be added so the mochi does not get hard The mochitsuki brings together a number of people friends and community members who gather to collectively create mochi including the kagami sets which are placed as New Year decoration and believed to bring good fortune “This is an international event,” Kawamura said “The Mexican is staying home this year but we have people from all over coming to help Mochi really brings people together.” Among those visiting at Sunday’s event Tanya Ramsey of Washington had her daughters and a visiting friend getting an education while creating the New Year’s morsel “My dad Wally Isoda still lives here,” Ramsey said “We try to get back here every couple of years to visit formerly of Egypt but now living in Washington coming along with my daughter.” Leesha Kawamura’s exchange student from Japan also helped inject humor into the day that featured people flowing in and out of the house enjoying generous helpings of refreshment that also included ozoni a soup using mochi that is traditionally enjoyed at New Year’s Flooding from the Wailua River affected several businesses Friday evening The water levels in the Wailua River rose to flood levels due heavy rains Friday Large sand berms restricted the flow of the river to to ocean causing the river to rise above flood levels Kaua‘i Police Department officers monitor the flooded Wailua Marina Friday afternoon A curiosity-seeker gets photos of the rapidly-declining Wailua River from the launch ramp at Kaumuali‘i Park Friday afternoon The vegetation line indicates how high the Wailua River rose over its banks Friday afternoon vegetative debris collect at the Wailua Bridge The passage ways on the eastern end of the Wailua Bridge are cleared of sand build up by the force of the Wailua River flood waters Friday afternoon his pickup loaded with belongings from families that were forced to evacuate long the Wailua River stop to check on the well-being of contractor Nathan Wood’s facilities Friday afternoon Karen and Phil Wood come to check on the Wailua River Friday after getting some clean up work done at contractor Nathan Wood’s facility that suffered some damage from the flood water A log blocks one span of the Wailua Bridge on the Lihu‘e end the Wailua River rose rapidly due to flash-flood conditions The Kaua‘i Police Department advised homeowners in the area to be mindful of the river and be prepared for potential evacuation Officials asked the public to avoid being on the roads and Officials monitored the Wailua River and Kuhio Highway closed Friday in the vicinity of Hanalei Bridge as flash flooding caused waters to rise “A little higher and a little longer,” said Phil Wood of Nathan Wood General Contractor who paused from cleaning the shop and offices near the bank of the Wailua River “The damage could’ve been a lot greater.” and once the collected sand and debris under the Kuhio Highway bridges over the river were flushed by the raging floodwaters water subsided almost as quickly as it rose “The level was pretty high,” said an officer monitoring the situation at the flooded Wailua Marina “We had to evacuate the thrift store and some of the residents living along Kuamo‘o Road because the water was level with the road Kamika Smith of Smith’s Motor Boat Service and Smith’s Tropical Paradise was obviously a victim of the flooding that forced fallen trees and other vegetative debris into the kayak-launching area There were no damages to the parked river barges where flood waters were waist-deep at several points “The water came over the berm at the Smith’s Lu‘au and Tropical Paradise,” Smith said I was able to move the car and told one of the ladies she had to move her car Nathan Wood General Contractor was one of the businesses impacted by floodwater and had associates’ cars parked on the high end of the kayak-adventure parking lot off Kuamo‘o Road “It happened pretty quickly,” said Karen Wood We moved a lot of the supplies to the Puhi lot.” vice principal at King Kaumuali‘i Elementary School had his pickup laden with household goods from one of the families evacuated from the river-bank area He stopped to check on the well-being of the employees using vacuums and squeegees to clear their warehouse “We gotta do the good-neighbor thing,” Mitchell said “At least I got a doughnut,” he said “Travis — he’s the next generation Wood — is the hero He even got boxes of Girl Scout cookies.” The National Weather Service said that at 5:17 p.m radar indicated just a few showers moving over Kaua‘i from the east but water levels in streams and rivers remained dangerously high and Kuhio Highway in the vicinity of the Hanalei Bridge remained closed The trough that created the unsettled weather over the past few days was expected to weaken through the weekend and lessen the chances of heavy showers trade winds will continue to deliver passing clouds and showers I am so saddened about the Wailua River Banks overflowing Hoomana Thrift Shop just had a Re Grand opening I hope rain and attempted flooding will diminish soon and that no damage is done to Hoomana and other neighboring homes and businesses After a gargantuan effort to clean up following the last flood they are flooded again please stop at Hoomana (corner of Kuhio HWY and Kuamoo Rd.) and ask what you can do to help Donate time or money and help this store which has provided for all of us for years and which has facilitated the entry of hundreds of disadvantaged people into the employment mainstream through their tireless efforts Anyone in construction might consider how to raise the flooring onto higher ground Why no dredging at the Wailua river mouth prior in order to relocate sand so that it isn’t blocking the exit of water This was totally foreseeable….What a shame not to have equipment &/or foresight Didn’t DOT Highways dump all that sand beneath the old bridge Is that what caused the flooding because the water couldn’t drain to the ocean more quickly I heard they dumped all that sand there or left it there because a couple of supports that hold up that bridge are actually floating I don’t know if its true but seems to make sense as to why they haven’t dredged the sand around the river mouth… Contributed by the Kaua‘i Police Department who caused a fatal hit-and-run crash while driving 30 miles per hour over the speed limit Jared Denault allegedly drove a Nissan pickup truck across the center line on Kaumuali‘i Highway near Koloa on June 19 2020 — crashing head-on into a Porsche driven by 60-year-old Lihu‘e resident Gustavo Orellana who was born in Ecuador and owned and operated Gus Tile Marble &Granite Shop Denault pleaded no contest to charges of negligent homicide in the second degree and accidents involving death or serious bodily injury Four other charges against him were dropped Denault moved to withdraw his no-contest plea with his attorney reporting that he pleaded no contest in hopes of getting a supervised release Judge Randal Valenciano sentenced Denault to 10 years in prison for the accidents involving death charge and five years for the negligent homicide charge The terms will run at the same time with credit for the time already served He was also ordered to pay $3,427 in restitution Denault was made to pay $111,526 to Ornella’s insurance provider Progressive in an order filed on April 14 $11,026 for property damage to the vehicle Denault is one of several defendants making their way through the Kaua‘i courts for hit-and-run accidents Anahola resident Thomas Castro entered a no-contest plea on Monday in a case related to a fatal four-car crash that occurred on Good Friday in 2022 He faced charges of negligent homicide in the second degree negligent injury in the first and second degrees and inattention to driving for his role in the crash which killed a 59-year-old Princeville resident is set to be sentenced on May 11 for his role in a Nov dump truck crash on Kuhio Highway in the vicinity of the turnoff to Lydgate Park who caused a Christmas Eve 2021 collision that killed two people Igne was drinking at the time of the accident and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.133 percent He ran his own business and employed his family in that business Ten years for taking the life of a man who was the breadwinner of his family Ten years for running away and trying evade his punishment Hopefully he’ll do his time somewhere else The first bridge built across Kaua‘i’s Wailua River — a three-span that traversed the mouth of the river — was fabricated in 1890 by Alexander Findlay & Co Scotland and shipped to Kaua‘i in sections the wrought-iron bridge was dismantled by Kaua‘i County Engineer and Road Supervisor Joseph H Moragne and replaced by a reinforced concrete arch bridge he’d designed Part of the disassembled wrought-iron bridge was then used in the construction of the ‘Opaeka‘a Road Bridge which was also designed and built by Moragne in 1919 The third Wailua River bridge — the Wailua Cane Haul Bridge — was built to enable Ahukini Terminal and Railroad Co to haul sugar by train from the Make‘e sugar mill in Kealia and the Lihu‘e Plantation sugar mill in Lihu‘e to the shipping terminal at Ahukini Landing as well as pineapples from Hawaiian Canneries in Kapa‘a downriver of Moragne’s 1919 reinforced concrete arch bridge it initially had one lane and a roadway length of 395 feet supported by seven intermediate piers and two end piers When Lihu‘e Plantation switched from trains to cane haul trucks in the 1950s the Wailua Cane Haul Bridge was converted to a roadway for the cane haul trucks the State Department of Transportation acquired the Wailua Cane Haul Bridge for use as a third lane over the Wailua River and work converting it to a two-lane bridge was completed in 2011 The fourth Wailua River bridge is the two-lane Wailua River Highway Bridge built in 1949 upriver of the Wailua Cane Haul Bridge and the 1919 concrete arch bridge it replaced The Warren truss bridge actually replaced a wooden bridge that had been washed away some years previous Mayor Kawakami (center) joined by representatives of the Department of Public Works Closed since January 2020 for pre-construction work WAILUA – A blessing was held Friday for the ‘O‘Opaeka‘a Bridge Closed since January for pre-construction work The closure period could be extended due to weather delays WAILUA – A blessing was held Friday for the ‘O‘Opaeka‘a Bridge between Pu‘upilo Road and Pulana Street “Mahalo to Hawaiian Dredging Construction and to the community for your patience with this project,” said Mayor Derek S “Today’s blessing is for the safety of the workers who will work on this historical bridge and strengthen it for the benefit of our community.” The scope of this $5 million project include retaining and repairing existing visible trusses adding new abutments behind existing abutments and installing steel crash tested railings inside trusses The bridge will maintain its existing width New striping will indicate shared roadway with bicycles a 5 million dollar 30 foot repair that takes 9 months I guess this will buy many giant pickup trucks with bright fog lights and nothing in the back Anadah racket by the good old boys and gals plantation family connect the dots nepotism dilapidated tires and other past-their-prime household items dotted the grounds around Wailua Reservoir before Lori Stitt took action The local resident lives about one mile from the reservoir at mile marker 5 on Kuamoo Road The local resident lives about one mile from the reservoir at mile marker 5 on Kuamoo Road and walks there at least three times a week “There was a dumping of an old fashioned TV set and the glass was all smashed and Stitt took care of the mess for those who left it behind she’s been taking at least one garbage bag of trash out from the area every week “Local trash is definitely happening weekly,” Stitt said Wailua Reservoir Public Fishing Area is a local fishing hole managed by the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources A portion of it is a dedicated to wildlife and a bird sanctuary Representatives from DLNR said the entity is “not quite ready to respond” to questions about the litter it is illegal to contaminate or pollute a reservoir The majority of the trash she gleans from the land around the reservoir is cigarette butts and she’s concerned they are being washed into the reservoir But cigarette butts aren’t the only things visitors have left behind put it down in the rocks leading down to the reservoir and I was thinking about the bacteria,” Stitt said She said she wonders what would have happened if a different animal had scattered the contents “It’s an easy way to contaminate the reservoir The majority of trash on beaches around Kauai comes in from the ocean according to Surfrider Kauai Chapter’s president Barbara Wiedner who cleans the beaches around Kauai through the Net Patrol program But it’s not just marine debris that litters the island abandoned vehicles and household trash are left by humans Surfrider Kauai cleaned up beaches along the Eastside of Kauai with about 200 volunteers the organization paid about $1,500 for the removal of about 25 derelict cars from the Anahola area Stitt said she’s encouraged to see evidence of other people joining in to keep the area clean A few trash cans in strategic locations around the reservoir would help the situation The day he nearly died in the Kaiwi Channel is really the day his life began And he's now living it to the fullest while also living off the grid and running a company with two old school pals The day his life nearly ended in the Kaiwi Channel is the day his life really began It’s a chickenskin moment when paddling phenomenon Luke Evslin talks about what could have been the end of his life Yet somehow what he’s simultaneously describing is his life’s beginning ‘I’m going to die,'” he says “But I wasn’t scared about death I just had this feeling of love for everybody around me and was sad to be leaving that ‘I don’t want to leave this behind.’ I just felt waves and waves of love.” sustained lifethreatening injuries when the propeller from an escort boat sliced into his back during a water change in the 2010 Moloka’i Hoe an annual event known as the season-capping mother lode of six-man outrigger canoe races with his duck at his home in Wailua Homesteads Amanda C Evslin has created quite the buzz on-island with the progress he’s made with Pu’uwai paddlers having taken them from a group that started with six people to a team burgeoning at the seams “I think now we have around 70,” Evslin says “We take out nine canoes at most practices.” Pu’uwai paddlers Brandon and Sonya Raines say Evslin has brought a new positive energy to the club “He’s just such an old soul for his age and so inspirational,” says Brandon Raines who paddled for the club when Evslin arrived as coach Evslin will be training crews for the course on which he was injured the 40-plus-mile Na Wahine O Ke Kai and Moloka’i Hoe across the Ka’iwi Channel and hopefully every crew will go,” Evslin says Evslin one-manning in one of his company’s canoes Photo from Luke Evslin Paddlers then climb into the canoes on the left side to relieve paddlers who jump out on the right the canoe keeps moving forward as paddlers unzip the canvas and jump out zip up and start stroking without missing a beat the canoe association has lengthened the first change to be farther out so that canoes and escort boats have roughly 15 more minutes to spread out into the channel But there’s still no law on the books regulating the licensure of boats or the requirement of propeller guards for these long-distance races Evslin says encouraging legislators and insurance companies to offer incentives to boat owners who use propeller guards could help save lives “My accident was totally preventable,” he says Canoe clubs also could fundraise to purchase propeller guards It was during the first water change that Evslin paddling at the time for Kailua Canoe Club jumped out of the escort boat to replace the stroker in seat No and neither did the other relief paddlers who were treading water alongside him Evslin’s sewn-up wounds after three surgeons simultaneously operated on him Photo courtesy Luke Evslin Evslin was left with a series of 5-inch-plus-wide lateral slices to his torso which left his spine exposed and drained him of enough blood in the water for crew members to think he had been attacked by a shark Remembering the moment in the water when he was screaming out for help recounts the incident with empathy for what his crew must have been going through “They had to keep paddling that whole race not only without an escort boat ‘Is Luke alive or dead?'” he says non-victimized attitude that seems to define Evslin more than being a survivor who was on the Mainland taking care of her 95-yearold father when she got the phone call that her son had been airlifted to Maui Memorial Medical Center “He insisted I not come back because he was in the hospital ‘There’s nothing you can do,'” she says ‘Come home when I’m out of the hospital and be with Grandpa another week.” It was likely his strength of mind that got him through what was arguably as traumatizing as the initial injury the seemingly eternal transport from the accident site to the surgery table all of which he endured without pain medication Pu’uwai Canoe Club president Brian Curll who has worked to get propeller guards required by his canoe club for water change races like Kaua’i’s Na Pali Challenge says there aren’t enough licensed escort boats here Curll says it’s a mutual understanding that the Coast Guard stays out of longdistance events as racing canoe is considered a cultural practice “Part of why the Coast Guard didn’t activate the helicopter is because it has to pretend the race doesn’t exist,” he says adding that had Evslin’s injury occurred in the middle of the channel Getting Evslin back to land before being airlifted included an additional bodysmacking 45-minute boat ride to shore as paramedics sat on him to prevent further blood loss (two days later he had regained only 40 percent of his blood) all the while not explaining to him the extent of his injuries “I would hear a gasp every time someone saw me and I just wanted to know how bad it was,” he says Evslin kept having to witness new people reacting to his story each time he was transferred ‘I got hit by a boat,'” he says “I asked the urologist if I could borrow his phone to call (fiancée) Sokchea,” he says adding he was relieved to have made it this far Luke Evslin showing off his garden at his home in Wailua Homesteads Three propeller-related fatalities have occurred in the state since his accident the first of the five cuts actually pushed him away from the boat and the only muscle to be severed was his gluteus muscle The blade that crossed his spine broke the bone away Redefining the term “lucky break,” Evslin says even the blade that broke his pelvis bone sliced it “clean,” rather than the manner in which a pelvis usually breaks: in two “Literally everything that happened from the moment of the first hit that moved me enough to keep my spine further away which would have been worse because I would have had to get back in water and hoisted up something else for which he’s grateful now a vegetarian who rides a bicycle and lives off the grid in a yurt with his wife has committed to a completely sustainable lifestyle but now it’s like his heart breaks for the earth,” Micki says “He doesn’t want to hurt anything In healing himself he wants to heal everything.” With wife Sokchea at their home wedding Kevin Foley photo “It all worked out for the best,” he says “One moment you’re in a boat thinking ‘I’m about to do a race,’ then it’s ‘I’m going to die.’ All of a sudden your world goes upside down and you understand mortality and how quickly things change As for whether he will compete in the 2012 longdistance Moloka’i race alongside the team he’s prepping to go I love this island and everything about it But it is really frustrating to see the direction we’re heading I would like to work toward sustainability Kauai was told a ghost story by her friend — a Japanese rice farmer she only identified by name as Taka — who’d been living for about three years with his family Kauai was told a ghost story by her friend — a Japanese rice farmer she only identified by name as Taka — who’d been living for about three years with his family in a cottage nestled among hau trees by the fork of the Wailua River What follows is a condensed version of Mrs Wichman’s original recording of Taka’s story Taka was awakened at home by the sounds of drums and singing further up the valley and believing some Hawaiians must be having a party for the music and voices were distinctly Hawaiian he set out with a lantern along a trail to see what it was all about he saw a group of older women seated on the ground beating drums and calabashes and singing in unison but watched from among guava and hau bushes he heard the splash of paddles in the river and the swish of water outside his cottage and watched this strange white craft disappear around the bend of the river on its journey upstream he heard the sounds of drums and singing far in the distance and walked to the meadow where he once again observed the old scene – the dancing and the women and heard the drums and calabashes beating out the time Then the whole pageant misted away into nothingness as it had done formerly WAILUA — The Kaua‘i Motocross Riders Association hosted a motocross race on Sunday at the Wailua Motocross Track On the Keiki Track it was Po’okela Silva taking first in the 50-C class followed by Kaimana Kaui In the 50-B class it was Alexander Nelson first and Braysen Ornellas second and the 50-A class saw David Dabin in first and Richard Silliman in second KMRA President Paul Medeiros had to settle for second with a flat rear tire while Puncho Lopez took first in the Quad class Brandon Carvalho took first with Zack Young and Kalei Souza filling the other positions in the 250 Expert class Carvalho also took first in the 125 Expert class Randall Osakoda took first followed by Branden Orsatelli and Darrell Dabin Bryson Yoro took the overall win with Kimo Azares Kai Haughland and Jose Mikemund chasing close behind David Dabin had a breakdown opening the door for Kory Bunao to win while Tyler Hirakawa cruised to second Treysen Barretto took the overall win in the 85 class followed by Kaipo Estrella Jackson Littlefield and Jim Littlefield rounded out the rest of the class In the Masters class Dean Silliman took the win over Jim Littlefiled The next KMRA race at the Wailua Motocross Track will be on Nov Can a private-sector agricultural group formed to keep Eastside irrigation water flowing peacefully coexist with state agencies intent on establishing a public fishing area and waterbird sanctuary using some of the same water Representatives of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources on Kauai were making preparations to own and operate the former Lihue Plantation reservoir ditch and flume irrigation system after the former Amfac subsidiary got out of sugar in late 2000 along came the East Kauai Water Users Cooperative and now there is a memorandum of agreement allowing the cooperative to manage the water system and the state to establish a public fishing area and wildlife wetlands at Wailua Reservoir near the end of Kuamoo Road in Wailua Homesteads the only state-established freshwater public fishing area on Kauai is at Kokee State Park where Puu Lua Reservoir and some Kokee streams attract anglers intent on landing trout each summer and fall feeling neglected and having to make a long drive to fish at Kokee have been using Wailua Reservoir as a public fishing area even though it hasn’t been officially designated as such program manager with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources “We anticipate going forward with some proposal to establish it as a public fishing area,” though no timetable has yet been established That process will involve formulating Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) regulating fishing at the reservoir which will involve a public hearing on Kauai The public fishing area will be low-budget using existing funds and manpower to manage and maintain the resource “There’s not going to be any approvals for increased hires increased spending,” given the state’s current financial crisis “We’re going to have to live within our means and other frills won’t happen this year Anglers now take largemouth and tucanare bass “People have been fishing this reservoir for a long time It’s just that the public access was not definite,” Oishi said “By establishing it as a public fishing area that assures that there is public access to fishing.” But that doesn’t mean state officials will build roads Employees of DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife would also like to establish a waterbird sanctuary at Wailua Reservoir It appears that all the proposed uses could exist simultaneously KALAHEO — Mai‘lika Napoleon came up with a long distance bomb and a bucket to combine with Jondi Das’ four points as Wailua exploded for 14 third quarter points to rise above the tenacious Kalama defense enroute to a 33-24 KALAHEO — Mai‘lika Napoleon came up with a long distance bomb and a bucket to combine with Jondi Das’ four points as Wailua exploded for 14 third quarter points to rise above the tenacious Kalama defense enroute to a 33-24 win as the Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association (KYBA) opened up the first night of a three-day 14 Under girls basketball tournament Thursday night at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center Kalama adjusted their defense and held Napoleon to just three fourth quarter points while Das chalked up another pair of field goals to ice the victory Napoleon finishing with high point honors for Wailua on 11 points followed by Das at eight markers Kira Nakamura added five points with Leilani Laranio and Emmalia Donigan each finishing with three points in the win Kalama guard Anuhea Rilveria topped the visiting Maui squad with ten points followed a digit back by Shannon Walsh closing the books on nine points Miki Kama came off the bench to add six points and a pair from Randi Vierra figured in the final math Lori Yamashita came up with seven of Ikaika’s 11-point first quarter as the visiting team of Kaimuki kept a hard-pressing Kilauea Hui at bay Yamashita finishing the game with high point honors at 13 points Kilauea answered the 11-4 first quarter bulge with an 8-2 second frame behind four points from Kimiko Kuwabara and a bucket each off Danielle Jure and Kieren Pond only to have Ikaika ice the win in the 4-2 final stanza Yamashita accounting for all of the Kaimuki squad’s marks and a pair from Chelsy Okuma rounded out the victory Pond’s hustle on the court yielded ten points for the Hui followed by Jure and Kuwabara finishing with four points apiece Guard Sarah Tangalin chipped in three in the effort Sanoe Keliinoi and Ashlyn Ubongen combined for four points each to build up a seven point lead after three quarters for the Kauai Fire Raiders only to have Kaumakani answer in the final frame with an 11-4 run to force the contest into overtime Joanna Andres leading the Supersonic charge with a trey and a bucket and Chaelyn Briones fueling the drive with a bomb from three-pointland no field goals and a paltry one-for-four showing at the free throw line took its toll on the Raiders as Kaumakani got a bucket from Sera Pascual in the two-minute OT to take a 24-23 win into the locker rooms topped the Supersonic scoring with eight points followed by Pascual’s six points who was avidly cheering on petite Ana Kama of Kalama and a digit by Lorrine Lagoc-Agrade rounded out the victory Keliinoi topped the Fire Raiders’ performance with eight points followed by Tiffany Ikeda adding six and a digit from Tristan Rosare figured in the final numbers After firing a one-under par 71 on the opening round of the David S finishing the Kauai Interscholastic Federation season as Centr..