Thursday, August 28, 2008

Senator Akaka helps save the Tomb of the Unknown Solider in Washington D.C.

National Trust for Historic Preservation Tomb Update

UPDATE: Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers

Report Delivered to Congress: Cemetery Officials Commit to Repair, But Preservationists Must Remain Vigilant

I am pleased to report that last fall, thousands of you responded to our call to urge the Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery and Congress to “repair, not replace” the Tomb of the Unknowns in response to non-structural cracks in the marble face of the monument.

Your voices were heard and in January 2008, Congress, led by Senator Jim Webb and Senator Daniel Akaka, mandated that a report be prepared laying out all the options for the Tomb including repair. That report from the Department of the Army, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Arlington National Cemetery, was delivered to Congress on August 11th.

In the report, federal officials have agreed to properly repair the Tomb in the immediate future, which is a dramatic turn-around from their previous position and a direct result of the action of preservationists, veterans, and other concerned citizens. THANK YOU!

While we were elated to learn that repair is in the offing, we remain very concerned about the long-term future of the historic Tomb, which is the only national monument to soldiers killed in World War I and one of our country’s most important war memorials.

Why? Because decision-makers at the Cemetery continue to seriously consider replacement of the authentic Tomb as a possible “long term” strategy, according to the report. Astonishingly, they continue to pursue this misguided approach even after their own analysis concludes that replacing the Tomb with a replica would:

-Significantly harm the historic character of Arlington National Cemetery and
-Cost exponentially more than restoring the Tomb: a whopping $2.2 million compared to $65,000 for repair.

National Trust staff now is preparing our detailed response to the report, which we received on August 14th, and you should be assured that we will continue our efforts to protect the Tomb as the federal historic preservation review process moves forward. If you would like to read the report to Congress, you can access it at www.preservationnation.org/tomb.

How can you help? Take action today!

  • Forward this email to a friend or colleague. The more people who know about the situation in Arlington National Cemetery, the better our chances for negotiating the best short-term AND long-term solution.
  • Send an email thanking your Senator on the Armed Services Committee for requesting the report. Without their action, we have no doubts the Tomb would have been lost.
  • Read this article about the Tomb on CNN and leave a comment in support of its preservation.

Thanks so much for your support. For more information on the Tomb of the Unknowns and other news from the preservation movement, visit PreservationNation.

National Trust for Historic Preservation



Monday, August 4, 2008

Exhibition Celebrating Hawaii's Nisei





Lyman Museum exhibition celebrates Hawaii's Nisei. August 16 - October 15

Friday, August 1, 2008

HAWAII’S LEGACY LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAM SEEKS APPLICANTS FOR UP TO $4.7 MILLION IN LAND ACQUISITION FUNDING

For immediate release: August 1, 2008

HONOLULU – The Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Legacy Land Conservation Program (LLCP) is seeking applicants for grants from the State Land Conservation Fund to fund the protection, through acquisition, of lands having value as a resource to the State of Hawaii.

“The intent of these grants is to contribute to the protection and conservation of unique cultural, natural, historical, and recreational resources that have value to people of Hawai‘i,” said Laura Thielen, Chairperson of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR).

State agencies, county agencies, and non-profit land conservation organizations may apply for funding. The LLCP provides a source of funding for the conservation of watersheds; coastal areas, beaches, and ocean access; habitat protection; cultural and historic sites; recreational and public hunting areas; parks; natural areas; agricultural production; and open spaces and scenic resources.

Proposed projects may include acquisition of fee title or conservation easements. County agencies and non-profit project applicants must be able to provide at least 25 percent of the total project costs.

The 2008 application cycle will provide up to $4.7 million in grants through a competitive process. Project applications will be reviewed by the Legacy Land Conservation Commission, which will nominate projects for funding.

Projects are subject to the approvals of the Land Board, Attorney General and the Governor.

Earlier this year, BLNR approved and Governor Lingle released $4.7 million from the Land Conservation Fund to one county and four non-profit land conservation organizations to acquire and protect five properties on Maui, Kaua‘i, Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i and O‘ahu that have value as natural or cultural resources to the state.

The 2008 LLCP Grant Application and instructions are available at http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw/llcp starting August 1, 2008. Applications must be received no later than 4:30 p.m., HST, on September 15, 2008.
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For more information, media may contact: Molly Schmidt Legacy Land Conservation Program Coordinator Phone: (808) 586-0921 Email: molly.e.schmidt@hawaii.gov

Falls of Clyde will be sunk unless rescue arrives soon

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080801/NEWS01/808010369&template=printart

August 1, 2008
By Leanne Ta
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Falls of Clyde, formerly a main attraction in Honolulu Harbor, will be sunk next month unless a buyer comes forward with the millions of dollars needed to save it, the Bishop Museum said yesterday.

Plans to sink the 128-year-old ship, which has been serving as a centerpiece for the museum's Maritime Center, could be carried out in a matter of weeks, according to Blair Collis, vice president and chief operating officer of the museum.

Unless someone comes forward by Sept. 1 with a plan to save and restore the vessel, it will be sunk 15 miles off Honolulu Harbor, museum officials said.

"We don't want to dispose of the vessel but it's a very difficult situation," Collis said.

The museum is spending several hundred thousand dollars each year on insurance, labor costs and supplies associated with maintaining the ship, which has been closed to the public since last year, he said.

"This is a burden the museum is unable to continue to bear," he said.

Workers yesterday were preparing the ship to be towed from the harbor. A U.S. Coast Guard team will do a safety inspection today to make sure the ship, which has been stripped of its masts and rigging, is in proper condition to be moved from its berth at Pier 7.

Tentative plans had been set earlier this week to sink the ship on Tuesday. The museum had already contacted the Coast Guard to prepare for that.

Some members of the community, however, were outraged, saying that museum directors had "given up" on the ship. The Friends of the Falls of Clyde, a loosely organized group that has been trying to save the decrepit ship, said yesterday that it will make a last-ditch effort to save the vessel. The group is in the process of registering itself as a nonprofit organization.

"We're not giving up," said member Chris Woolaway. "There are people out there who are working really hard to find solutions to save her."

For about a month and a half, members of the group have been meeting with Bishop Museum officials once a week to negotiate the fate of their beloved ship.

Woolaway and others are working to raise awareness about the museum's plans to sink the ship. They hope that public outcry can "slow down the process," she said.

"This is a part of our history, and it has international interest, too. If they sink her, well, that's it," she said. "If she's gone, she's gone."

Historic ship
The Falls of Clyde is listed as a National Historic Landmark. Before it was de-rigged last month, it held the distinction of being the world's last remaining four-masted, steel-hulled, full-rigged ship.

"We've been talking to the Bishop Museum under the assumption that they were negotiating in good faith. Then all of a sudden word came down that they have plans to scuttle the ship on Tuesday," Woolaway said.

"There's now a feeling of distrust" among the negotiating parties, she said.

As of yesterday afternoon, neither the Friends of the Falls of Clyde nor the Coast Guard had been informed that the museum had decided to delay the Tuesday sinking.

The date was changed yesterday when museum officials became aware that three different parties are interested in adopting the ship. Two of the parties are from Hawai'i, while the third is an individual from Australia, said Collis, who declined to identify the parties.

"The situation changes quite rapidly," Collis said. "We don't have a new date set for its sinking but it could be set for later in the week, later in the month or beyond."

Collis said that the individual from Australia — dubbed by those involved as a "white knight" and ship's savior — provided a detailed memorandum at about 1 a.m. yesterday, which prompted a decision to push back the sinking of the ship.

"I've asked him to fly up here immediately, and I think he understands the urgency of the situation," Collis said.

No formal agreements have been signed yet, and museum officials have yet to meet with the man, whose name was not released.

Money pit
Joseph Lombardi is project manager with Ocean Technical Services, which has been hired by the museum to get the ship ready to be towed out of the harbor, whether it's sunk or sold.

The firm conducted a structural survey that concluded it would cost $24 million to $32 million to restore the ship to "a level of presentability at which the public can be aboard," Lombardi said.
If someone were to come forth with a plan to transfer the ship, it would cost upwards of $9 million just to stabilize the ship for offshore towing, he said.

Transferring the ship to Australia would require putting it in drydock, which would cost millions more, he said.

Meanwhile, workers continue to prepare the ship for a possible final fate, 1,800 feet down in the ocean.

"Right now, because we don't know what the 'white knight' is all about, we're going to have to assume that we're going to sink the ship," Lombardi said.

"We've already cleared the ship of 250 cubic yards of debris, stabilized its curatorial items, and taken its rigs down to make her more stable.

"She's in really tough shape, and I think she knows her days are limited."

The leaky vessel is currently being kept afloat by shore-based electrical pumps.