FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           December 6, 2005

Release M-109

MAYOR ANNOUNCES AG THEFT REGIONAL OUTREACH SESSION  

Mayor Mufi Hannemann, City Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz, and the Honolulu Police Department will host a regional outreach session on agricultural theft at the Waialua High School cafeteria at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, December 12.

Key representatives from state and local government will be in attendance, as well as the major area landholders, and Oahu Farm Bureau president Dean Okimoto. This meeting is aimed at giving farmers the necessary tools to fight this crime, and is the first follow-on to the initial agricultural theft summit at City Hall in September.

“Ag theft is an extremely serious issue that impacts everyone on our island. The best weapon to combat this crime is education,” Mayor Hannemann said. “We want to take the message to farmers in rural Oahu by holding this session in their backyard and in their language, be it English, Laotian, Chinese or otherwise.”

The session will include brief remarks from the mayor, City Council chairman, as well as HPD and Farm Bureau officials. Following the introductions, farmers will break off into groups based on language with HPD officers from the district facilitating discussion and education. Translators will be available at no cost.

Further follow-on meetings will be held at various districts throughout Oahu in the coming months.

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Contact:

Alex Berenberg, 523-4249