Yet Another Break-in and Robbery at the Ala Wai Unnerves Tenants

Yet another robbery two nights ago at the Ala Wai Small Boat public harbor is making tenants nervous there.  The owner of a fishing boat on D-pier lost over $5,000 worth of fishing gear to thieves who pried open a hatch entryway and made off with the gear.  The owner, who asked not to be named, was at the tail end of an expensive and lengthy restoration of his thirty-four foot boat -- a dream he's had for his retirement years.  "All I want to do is go fishing . . . take the ohana out for a day on the water . . .  entertain friends . . . now this . . .  very discouraging . . .  ."

There is no security at any of Hawaii's public marinas.

The Ala Wai Small Boat public harbor is already reeling from an ongoing series of break-ins and robberies over the past six months,  serious pollution issues, including being awash in human sewerage, thousands of pounds of plastic (at varying times of the year), and a wide assortment of other polluting flotsam that seems to endlessly find its way into the harbor and then out into our ocean and onto our beautiful beaches on that side of Oahu, and a procedural dysfunction that conspires to keep legitimate boaters waiting years for public harbor slips.   Environmentalist and DLNR boss Case has been mostly mum on the subject, and the DLNR, seemingly overwhelmed, is not particularly happy about being reminded by the public that it continues to be ineffective in dealing with any of these issues.  Several boaters are going so far as to suggest that the DLNR is stonewalling good-faith public communication and participation.  Chair Case apparently has no email address, and whoever receives emails at the generic email address (DLNR@Hawaii.Gov) may or may not route your communication to the correct party.  Public hearing announcements about important rule changes are sprung as a surprise and one can only infer from this that they'd rather the public not show.

"DOCARE don't care . . .",  "DOBOR is out of touch with the ocean recreation and boater community . . .", "DLNR where are you? . . . "  Just some of the comments we've heard since the most recent break-in and robbery at the Ala Wai Small Boat public harbor managed by Suzanne Case's DLNR.

Boaters continuous call for help from the DLNR seems to fall on deaf ears.  The DLNR has been mostly silent or evasive, saying only that it does not have the resources to cope with the job it was given.