The AP reports that the Hawaii National Guard was granted approval by the Kau’i County Planning Commission to fence off a nearly 10-acre firing range in Kekaha. The excuse: “to deter vandalism, to control access and to provide security.”
The planned 6-foot-tall, 1.2-mile-long fence is to be topped with three strands of barbed wire. It will be constructed along the eastern, western and southern boundaries of the range.
Last January, the commission approved an Army request to install a fence 102 feet from the shoreline. Rifle Range is a popular surf spot in the area.
In 2007, Bob Sato, who works with youth, teaching them to surf and producing a video program on the cable access station, was assaulted by private security guards from the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The guards were using the firing range and told Sato to leave the public surfing area near this firing range. Sato stood his ground, pointing out that he was on a public beach outside the military base. He videotaped the entire incident. The guards threatened Stato and grabbed his camera. When Sato reported the assault, the police cited him instead. The video appears to have been taken down from YouTube, but here are some articles about the incident.
Now it appears that the military is engaging in another land grab.
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