State to consider charge that developer mishandled Indian remains

State to consider charge that developer mishandled Indian remains

On Nov. 13, Hearthside Homes' officials will defend its development permit for a 300-home project in Huntington Beach.

The Hearthside Homes building site where 174 pieces of human remains were found.

HUNTINGTON BEACH — State officials will consider revoking a housing development permit after a group of American Indians complained that the developer mishandled their ancestor's remains and failed to report 6,000 bags of artifacts and 10 boxes holding fragments of ancient human remains.
On Nov. 13, the California Coastal Commission will hear a request that they revoke the permit for the 300-home Brightwater Hearthside Homes project, which sits atop what is believed to be an ancient burial ground and village once shared by the Gabrielino-Tongva and Juaneño band of Mission Indians.

The commission's staff, however, is recommending the commissioners vote against revoking the developer's permit, according to a staff report.

"The revocation request fails to demonstrate intentional inclusion of inaccurate, erroneous or incomplete information in connection with the subject coastal development permit application, where accurate and complete information would have caused the Commission to require additional or different conditions on the permit or deny the application," the report states.

Hearthside Homes Senior Vice President Ed Mountford said he's not surprised by the staff recommendation.

"Well, because the allegations are completely bogus," said Hearthside Homes Senior Vice President Ed Mountford. "I'm confident that we did not withhold any information from the commission or falsify any information, which would be grounds for revoking our permit. We didn't do anything like that so I'm confident the commission will come to that conclusion, as well."

Over the past 30 years, archaeologists hired by the developer discovered 174 sets of ancient human remains, half of them unearthed in the past 21 months. Human remains can mean a full skeleton or fragments.

The Hearthside project in Bolsa Chica Mesa has come under fire recently by the state's Native American Heritage Commission, which has accused the developer of not documenting appropriately all grave items found on the site.

Since the 1970s, activists and tribal members have pushed for preservation of the site. After lawsuits and disputes over a plan to develop the site, Hearthside Homes won permission to build in 2005. A condition on the project was that any discovered remains would be reinterred elsewhere in the area and appropriately documented.

Earlier this month, commissioners granted the revocation hearing after tribal members, environmentalists and preservationists joined forces, staged protests and signed a petition asking the commission to revoke the developer's permit.

The groups allege that the developer has been less than forthcoming about human remains and artifacts found at the site – disrespecting their ancestors.

After the petition was sent, Paul Moreno, an American Indian who helped spearhead the petition, said more discoveries came to light.

Anthony Morales, who is appointed by the state's Native American Heritage Commission as a "most likely descendant" for the Hearthside site, told commissioners that more than 6,000 bags of unsorted and unidentified material remained at the location.

In addition, Morales said there were an additional 10 boxes believed to be as unidentified human remains at the site. These boxes, Morales added, had also not been cataloged and have gone unreported to the Orange County Coroner as required by law.

"This is a whole different incident that just shows us again that this guy is doing whatever he wants, in a sense," Moreno said of the developer. "Who knows what he's done behind closed doors. It's just about him getting caught."

Mountford has said that the developer has followed every regulation and condition for the permit. He said he believes the Bolsa Chica Land Trust is behind the protests and revocation petition. The Land Trust, he added, tried unsuccessfully before to get a revocation hearing.

The revocation hearing is Nov. 13 in City Council Chambers at Long Beach City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd. The meeting begins at 8 a.m. but the exact time of this particular hearing is still unclear. For more information, go to www.coastal.ca.gov/mtgcurr.html or call 562-590-5071. The meeting will also broadcast live at www.coastal.ca.gov.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/permit-commission-developer-2216348-remains-site

Maui Family Rejects Apology from Maui Electric

Maui Family Rejects Apology from Maui Electric
Written by KGMB9 News - news@kgmb9.com
November 02, 2008 05:56 PM


A Maui family who's sacred heiau was trashed by sub-contractors hired by Maui Electric are publicly rejecting the company's apology.

The Kaleo and Kahaialii family says they were filming a documentary at the site in west Maui. When they found two MECO vehicles parked on the sacred land and toilet paper on the ground, MECO officials say one of the workers admitted defecating on the site. The family says their trust has been shamefully violated.

"In their claims to move forward, they have taken the giant step backwards. For these reasons, their attempt for an apology is unacceptable to the family at this time," Wilmont Kahaialii said.

The family says it plans to a file a lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric Industries, parent company of Maui Electric.

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/11012/40/