9th Life Hawai‘i
Kitty Of The Week

LUCKY BABIES

These two kitties we just adopted out to very happy new parents. These babies had to be hand-fed for a short while and have become EXTREMELY attached to their new mom and dad and their new mom and dad are just as thrilled. Even though these two lucky kitties found their forever homes, we do have more just like these.
9th Life Hawai‘i is a non-profit, non-kill 501C3 organization dedicated to the protection of homeless cats on Maui. To adopt a cat, donate, or volunteer please call Phyllis Tavares at 572-3499 or visit online at www.9thlifehawaii.org. Donations (which are always needed) can be mailed to 9th Life Hawaii - P.O. Box 538 - Makawao, HI 96768.

Response To Joiner Letter

I read The Maui Examiner "letter" from Buck Joiner and had a good laugh. When I showed the rest of my girlfriends, they too almost fell over in laughter. We wondered what "Buck's" problem with Dain Kane was - then guessed the following: major insecurity, grossly jealous, small-man's-disease, small-(you fill in the blank)-syndrome, etc.? Then we agreed that no one listens to "Buck" anyways and laughed at him some more. Thanks for the laughs Maui Examiner. We look forward to more letters from "Buck."

Tamara S. (and friends)
East Maui

In light of the many brave men and women and their families sacrificing so much in defense of our nation's freedom over the years, my administration and I have made every effort to help both veterans and active military personnel as much as possible. That is why I appreciate Bill Stroud's recent letter, "Where's the state money for veterans and their families?" (MN, 4/1/06), which provides me with a good opportunity to highlight the administration's extensive support for the military - both veterans and those currently in active duty.
Since taking office in 2003, our administration has supported both veterans and active military personnel in many ways including the following:
• Included $300,000 in the administration's proposed FY 2007 budget for the construction of the second phase of the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center;
• Transmitted a proposed resolution to the County Council for the suspension of real property taxes on properties owned as residences by military personnel who are called upon and deployed as activity duty during times of war;
• Obtained an executive order from the State of Hawai`i for the property the Kihei Veterans of Foreign Wars Post is on, so Maui County could then give the VFW a long-term lease on this important veterans center, assuring its continued service to the veterans community;
• Provided $9,000 annually for the lease of the Moloka`i Veterans Center;
• Provided $5,000 annually to support activities for veterans on Maui;
• Provided sufficient funds annually for the maintenance of the veterans' cemeteries on Maui, Moloka`i, and Lana`i;
• Established of the Mayor's Military Appreciation Program and tasked the Office of Economic Development to work with and advertise participating businesses which provide discounts to active military personnel and their families; and
• Sponsored the "Welcome Home Troops" Parade on May 7, 2005.
For more information on any of the above-referenced matters, please contact Denny Schwind, the Mayor's Representative for the Maui County Veterans Council, at 270-7971.

Alan Arakawa
Mayor, County of Maui

MECO Solar Like Fox Guarding Hen House

MECO has a solar contractor rebate of $1000 per hot water tank. Most of the time the contractor kind of gives the money back to the consumer. This would be great except that MECO has strict requirements for the solar systems.
They will not allow any hot water solar system to have more than 50 percent square feet of collector to gallons in the tank. This makes upcountry and windward hot water solar systems under-perform and act only as a pre-warmer for MECO's high priced electric hot water. So why go to the expense of installing a solar hot water system if it won't heat the water up? Also at the water meeting at the Pukalani community center in March with Dr. Mark Edwards, it was pointed out that your water heater is a breeding ground for the pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterium (pinkish-orange slime) that has been causing the itching and rashes plaguing upcountry residents. Also legionella (legionnaires disease) bacterium thrives in lukewarm hot water heaters on Maui. To make things worse residents are told to turn down the thermostat on their water heaters to 120 degrees F. to prevent scalding and save energy. 120 degrees F. is a good temperature for these disease causing bacterium to thrive. Temperatures at 140 F. and up will kill these pathogens. A piping hot solar system at 170 degrees F. kills off pathogens and sterilizes the hot water tank in your home like an autoclave.
It is well known that marginal areas for solar like Kula/Haiku need closer to 80 –100 percent square feet of collector to tank gallons. MECO's reasoning for the 50% rule is that on rare clear days in upcountry windward areas, systems will overheat and scald the residents. Secondly solar systems and non-solar hot water tanks build up pressure from the expanding hot water in them making blow outs possible from the TP valve or worse, the panels or tank itself blows out. MECO approved hot water systems clearly, are undersized for upcountry/windward areas. The simple solution is to include a thermostatic mixing valve, just like the one in your cars' cooling system, and a thermal expansion tank to every hot water system installed (solar or not) to prevent scalding and blowouts. Also you could add an extra panel or two to your MECO system giving it a boost.
This MECO solar size requirement is clearly a conflict of interest, and is like the fox guarding the hen house. Upcountry/windward solar systems by MECO approved contractors are too small and cannot eliminate your water heating electric costs.
Many residents turn off the breaker to their hot water heaters when solar is installed so on cloudy days the water cannot get to 140 degrees F. to kill off pathogens. The water temperature will only get to 100 degrees F. and is at an ideal temperature for bacteria to thrive. Also, mindful residents place carbon filters for their whole house eliminating chlorine in the water going to the water heater thus allowing pseudomonas and legionella to breed in the warm water.
My humble recommendation is for all hot water systems (solar or not) to have installed a thermostatic mixing valve like the Heat Guard (Australian) or from the Lenard Valve Company, and a thermal expansion tank like the Thermex. Also reset the water heater thermostat temperature to 140 degrees F. to kill off pathogens. There should be a solar mandate for all new construction in Hawaii.
MECO's solar contractor rebate program is clearly a conflict of interest, and is consequently causing disease, and high water heating bills for residents who think that all of their hot water heating bill is taken care of with solar.
Until this happens, build your own thermosyphon solar hot water system and save $$$. Thermosyphon solar systems are self-limiting and do not need a pump and controller. Or use a solar contractor who is not on the MECO list.

Franklin Russell
Kula