Governor's Turtle Bay working group seeks input

The Governor's Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group is encouraging the public to stay involved with the efforts to acquire the Turtle Bay property.

Residents can visit www.hawaii.gov/gov/turtlebay for news, meeting minutes, legislative progress, video of the community talk story and more.

The group welcomes the public's ideas and feedback. E-mail the group to receive regular updates at TurtleBayAWG@gmail.com.

The group meets next on Wednesday.

Turtle Bay plan gains support

What started as a surprise statement in the governor's State of the State speech could be headed toward reality, with legislators and community members backing a proposal that would preserve Turtle Bay from further development.

More on the story at Honolulu Advertiser

Hearing Relating to the Purchase of Turtle Bay

The Senate Committee on Water and Land heard testimony on SB2423 SD1, which provides tools for the acquisition of 850 acres of land at Turtle Bay, including five miles of pristine coastline on O‘ahu’s North Shore.

More info at Governor Linda Lingle's area of the Hawaii state website.
Watch the video.

The Time to Preserve Turtle Bay Land is Now

It is critical that we support Gov. Linda Lingle's proposal for the state to buy the land surrounding Turtle Bay Resort.

We need to preserve and protect this undeveloped land for ourselves and future generations. Once it is dug up or paved over, it will be gone forever.

The governor has a great idea, and the Legislature is considering a bill to approve the purchase. The people of Hawai'i need to voice their support to keep this part of the country country.

We will not get a second chance to do it right.
Anne Sabalaske
Honolulu

Turtle Bay bill advances

The measure would let the state buy the land to preserve it.

Plans to halt development of the Turtle Bay area are gaining momentum in the state Legislature, according to House and Senate supporters.

Yesterday a House committee approved the bill to permit Gov. Linda Lingle to stop development by arranging for the purchase of the Turtle Bay resort and surrounding property.

More at the Honolulu Star Bulletin

Hundreds meet with Lingle on Turtle Bay

Gov. Linda Lingle last night told a crowd of more than 500 people that the proposed state purchase of Turtle Bay property is a chance "to plant our flag in the sand" against runaway development.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Turtle Bay exec says buyout idea hurting

The general manager of the Turtle Bay Resort said a proposal by the state to purchase the North Shore resort has already "severely impacted" business and has placed the "primary economic engine on the North Shore in a potentially perilous position."

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Chamber's Position on Turtle Bay Resort's Proposed Expansion

Letter from North Shore Chamber of Commerce:

Aloha Members,

I am writing to inform you of a motion that was passed at our February Board of Directors Meeting and share some of the general feelings of the board. The motion that I am referring to is as follows:

"The Board of Directors of the NSCOC previously decided to NOT take a position on the proposed Turtle Bay Resort expansion. However at the recent January membership meeting, a motion was presented and passed which does not reflect the position of the board nor its entire membership."

As stated in the motion, the board had previously discussed the proposed expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort and felt that as a Chamber of Commerce it would be inappropriate to take a position in this situation. The Chamber's key role is to support business and educate members regarding issues.

Here are the circumstances that led to the above action. At the general membership meeting on Jan 31st a motion was made, in accordance with our Bylaws, to amend our meeting agenda to include a discussion about Turtle Bay . The motion was seconded and we allotted 5 minutes on our agenda to discuss this item. When we reached this item on the agenda the following motion was made and passed:

"The North Shore Chamber supports the existing Turtle Bay Hotel and Operations and opposes the full expansion plan as proposed.”

As I have already stated above, the board does not feel it appropriate to take a position in this situation. Furthermore, I feel while the motions made at the membership meeting were within the guidelines of our bylaws, it was not a fair and open way to deal with this issue. If the Chamber is going to take positions of this nature, I would expect that we would provide a forum to hear from both sides and make our entire membership aware that we would be having this type of discussion. I am not suggesting we do this, rather pointing out that this motion was made and passed without due diligence.

Please feel free to contact me or any of our board members should you want to comment on this issue.

Mahalo,

Josh D. Heimowitz
Chairman
North Shore Chamber of Commerce
Phone: 637-4615 Ext. 32

Governor Lingle to hold North Shore Talk Story

Governor Lingle will hold a Talk Story Session March 4, 2008 from 6:30 - 8:30 at Kahuku High School Cafeteria. The main topic is in regard to the unique initiative the Governor announced in the recent State of the State speech.

Let YOUR voice be heard! Share your ideas for acquisition, preservation and conservation of the land surrounding the Turtle Bay Resort.

Lawsuit Likely to Determine Turtle Bay Purchase

A foreclosure lawsuit filed in state court last month by Credit Suisse seeks to take complete control of Turtle Bay Resort after owner Kuilima Resort Company defaulted on its loan of $275 million.

More reporting at KHON2 News

Lawmakers Support Buying Turtle Bay Resort

The governor's idea of buying the Turtle Bay Resort property is getting support from some lawmakers and many community groups.

Two senators have introduced a bill that would allow the state to buy the land around the resort but not the hotel itself.

More reporting at KGMB9 News

New Network of Organizations Support the Governor's and the Legislature's Plans to Acquire Turtle Bay Resort

The Koolauloa-North Shore Alliance is a newly formed umbrella group for dozens of organizations who support the initiative to purchase the undeveloped lands at the Turtle Bay Resort.

More of the story at Hawaii Reporter

Dozens back state plan to buy Turtle Bay land

A bill to preserve open space on the North Shore said to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars received overwhelming support from dozens of residents yesterday at the state Capitol.

More of the story at Honolulu Advertiser

Creditor wants Turtle Bay under court control

As the governor has proposed buying the Turtle Bay resort, the property owner is fighting legal efforts to place the sprawling North Shore resort under control of a court-appointed receiver.

More at Honolulu Advertiser

Turtle Bay proposal called head-scratcher

Gov. Linda Lingle's plan to buy the Turtle Bay Resort — and keep the hotel and golf courses operating — does not make economic sense without another money-generating project on the property, the attorney for the resort's management said yesterday.

More at Honolulu Advertiser

Lingle says state should buy Turtle Bay

Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle on Tuesday proposed that the state buy the Turtle Bay property on Oahu's North Shore to protect it from further development.

More at Pacific Business News

Developers have big plans for Hawaii town

Developers are proposing to build more than 700 new homes in Kahuku — without substantially increasing the population and traffic along the Windward Coast.
More at Honolulu Advertiser

Hawaii resort owner defaults on $283M loan

Financial difficulties deepened yesterday for the owner of the Turtle Bay Resort, which is planning to build five new hotels on O'ahu's North Shore.

More at Honolulu Advertiser
More reporting at Pacific Business News

Comments have ranged, but the majority sees this as the next step in Oaktree's departure from the North Shore resort. With financial woes hitting them as early as June of this year, it looks that the expansion plans are far more less likely to happen unless parent company Oaktree infuses some of their reported $55 billion in this struggling resort.

The vulture fund company may be trying tactics to reduce the underestimated resistance, but the PR battle has little chance of being repaired.

City gives more time to plan Hawaii resort

The city has given Kuilima Resort Co. six more months to meet requirements that will set the stage for a major expansion at Turtle Bay Resort.

Read the whole story at the Honolulu Advertiser

On-Air Panel Discussion concerning Turtle Bay Resort

Defend Oahu Coalition board members Mark Cunningham and Choon James will be guests on Hawaii Public Radio (KHPR 88.1 FM) next Wednesday, October 17, 2007 from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. The discussion will focus on the proposed Turtle Bay Resort expansion announced by parent company Oaktree Capital Management.