SATURDAY, NOV. 6, 2010 - NEWS BRIEFS

IN ONE OF HIS LAST EFFORTS to bring money to Ka`u before his term ends in early December, Council member Guy Enriques is supporting Mayor Billy Kenoi’s effort to float a 56 million dollar bond for capital improvements on the island. Eight-point-eight million would go to a Wai`ohinu recycling and garbage transfer station.
    Some Council members are concerned about the county borrowing so much money. Hamakua Councilman Dominic Yagong said he is worried about such a large sum with millions of dollars in interest each year. Should the bond be floated he wants the money to be used for exactly what it is borrowed for, he said.
    Enriques said he is eager to bring some of this capital into Ka`u to make jobs and to fix the outdated rubbish dump.
    Incoming council member Brittany Smart said she supports the new recycling and rubbish transfer station for Wai`ohinu but would like to see Ocean View also included. She said she would want to make sure the money goes for those specific projects should the bond be floated.

AN ISLAND-WIDE PIG HUNTING CONTEST is underway today with the check in station for weighing the pigs right here at KAHU Radio station on Maile Street in Pahala. Come on down and meet the hunters, their dogs and see the prized pigs as they are brought in from the forests of Ka`u.

REMOVING FLOATING INVASIVE PLANTS FROM PUNALUU POND and a road cleanup are on the agenda today for O Ka`u Kakou. Anyone can volunteer. Meet at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach to help pull the floating plants out of the pond where they choke the oxygen from the water. OKK also has a general membership meeting for Wednesday, November 17 at Aspen Center at Punalu`u at 6:30 p.m.

MISS KA`U COFFEE, Ulu Makuakane, will represent Ka`u as a guest at the Miss Kona Coffee pageant tonight at the Sheraton Keahou Beach Resort and Spa. Ulu is attending University of Hawaii in Hilo majoring in health and nutrition. She will wearing her crown and sash in Kona to honor Ka`u.

A FREE TAIKO DRUM CONCERT will be held Sunday, November 7 at 4 p.m at Pahala Community Center. Puna Taiko, led by Paul Sakamoto, will perform and allow you to try out Taiko. The event is sponsored by Ka`u Main Street and everyone is invited. There is no age limit. It is a pot luck but drinks will be provided. This is the annual meeting of Ka`u Main Street.

THE RAINS ARE BACK but the drought will not be over for Ka`u until there are regular steady rains that nourish the grasses and foliage for hundreds of thousands of acres of pasture and forest. Ranch animals and wildlife have been starving from lack of food and becoming dehydrated for lack of water, during months of some of the lowest amount of rainfall ever recorded. Fortunately for Ka`u, forecasters are predicting a wetter than usual winter and Spring. The drought has hurt not only ranching but the coffee and macadamia nut industries here.

VOLCANO ART CENTER blessed its new educational center yesterday and promised a slew of concerts. Coming to the Kilauea Military Camp theater are the Galliard String Quartet on November 14, Makana on November 21, the Honolulu Brass on December 12, the Honolulu Jazz Quartet on Jan 15, Jeff Peterson on Feb. 5 and the Spring Wind Quintet on March 13. See the November Ka`u Calendar newspaper for all the details.

TWO VETERANS DAY EVENTS take place in Ka`u this coming Thursday, November 11. The Kilauea Military Camp ceremony is at 3:30 p.m. on the front lawn and will offer a free dinner for all U.S. Active and Retired Military and Veterans. A free concert with Hawaiian masters of Slack Key and Ukulele will take place at Punalu`u Beach from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.