Updated at 5:36 p.m., Friday, October 5, 2007
Naeole retracts allegation against official
Advertiser Staff
HILO, Hawai'i — Big Island County Councilwoman Emily Naeole has publicly retracted an allegation she made earlier this week that Hawaiian Homes Commission Chairman Micah Kane suggested Naeole might be removed from her leased land in Puna if she voted in favor of a county ban on "superstores."Naeole made the allegation during a Big Island County Council meeting, but Kane denied that Naeole's lease was even discussed.
Naeole today said she does not want to continue the dispute, and would like to move on.
"The thing is, we really had a hot confrontation going on," Naeole said of her conversation with Kane. "He said he never said it, I thought I heard that's what he said, so I'm just calling it a misunderstanding, and I want to retract what I said."
Kane opposes the ban on superstores, while Naeole has supported a ban.
Wal-Mart is negotiating with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for a new lease for land next to its existing Hilo store, where the company has said it intends to build a larger "superstore" with a full grocery line.
Naeole voted with a 5-4 council majority to prohibit superstores on Hawaiian Home Lands, but to allow them on other lands. The bill still needs to win majority approval in another council vote to pass.
