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| Four Pot Advocates Show Up for Budget Hearing |
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Posted by FoM on March 20, 2002 at 10:20:42 PT By Tiffany Edwards, West Hawaii Today Source: West Hawaii Today 
Four out of the five people who showed up at a public hearing Monday on the county's 2002 - 03 fiscal year testified against money allocated toward "Green Harvest."Those testifying at the hearing included marijuana advocates Roger Christie and Aaron Anderson, along with Sarah Taylor and Ina Campbell, both of Puna. The fifth attendee did not testify but sat with those who did and gestured his support for them by slapping his leg, nodding and muttering "give to 'em." Kona's public hearing on the budget 6 p.m. Wednesday King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. The County Council has scheduled another public hearing on the budget at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, conference room four. Although next year's budget will not be finalized until May, councilmembers have begun the process of conducting budgetary reviews with county departments. They face the challenge of an $8.1 million shortfall in the $160 million general fund, and 7.7 percent cuts within each department without an increase in revenues. For those testifying at Monday's public hearing, the focus was mostly on the marijuana eradication program and two grants - $160,000 from the state Department of Attorney General and $265,000 from the Drug Enforcement Agency - to support the Green Harvest missions. In addiiton to describing the program as "the Hawaii Taliban" creating "a para - miliary civil war and an excuse to spy on all citizens," Christie noted a resolution was passed last year allowing the county to receive grant money toward the program - with conditions. "Those conditions have not been met over one year later," said Christie, noting that police are still working on the program's rules and regulations which the County Council required them to draft. "The police continue to operate on the money without meeting the conditions of the resolution and now seek even more money. I call that a fraud on the taxpayers," he said. Taylor told the council to "give the grant money back" and Campbell suggested the money be instead spent on programs for the youth. Hilo Councilwoman Bobby Jean Leithead - Todd said the grant money has to be used specifically for marijuana eradication. Campbell also spoke against a property tax increase, and she and Christie referred to a list of police's objectives in the next fiscal year that was submitted with their departmental budget. Those objectives include "at least 900 arrests" and "at least 50,500 citations," which Campbell pointed out implies that the police "lie and wait" to give citations in order to meet quotas. After noting 50,500 citations is "one citation for every three people living here," Christie asked the question, "Do we want our police department desiring to issue 'at least 50,500 citations'? If so, I think we have a police department that feeds like a vulture on the lives of our own good people. "It sounds like a quota system that needs to be changed to reflect serving and protecting the citizens of Hawaii County, rather than treating us as a source of revenue," Christie said. Kona Councilman Curtis Tyler pointed out the state keeps the money paid for traffic fines. Newshawk: Roger Christie - http://www.drugsense.org/dpfhi/ Related Articles: DEA Claims Green Harvest Rules Followed Discussion of Pot Rules Enforcement Pot Advocates: Police Omitted Users' Rights Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #3 posted by freedom fighter on March 21, 2002 at 08:59:03 PT |
| bothered to show up and say, "NO MORE!". Greatest thing the state of Hawaii can do is give the money back to the DEA. ff [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by The GCW on March 20, 2002 at 19:13:10 PT |
| Also: http://www.thc-ministry.org/ [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by Dark Star on March 20, 2002 at 10:49:48 PT |
| To be a little bird at the window in Hawaii for a great show like this! [ Post Comment ] |
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