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| Kiko Johnston-Kitazawa lent his outrigger canoes for the cleanup at Punalu`u pond over the weekend. |
O KA`U KAKOU had a successful cleanup of Punalu`u Pond over the weekend. Community police officer Dane Shibuya and youth worker Teri Lee Shibuya and a group of students who camped for the weekend at Punalu`u helped out, along with Kiko Johnston-Kitazawa and his sailing canoes and many other volunteers.
THE FIRST TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE visible in Hawai`i since August of 2007 will begin after dark tonight and the moon will be in total eclipse at 9:42 p.m., just in time to celebrate the first day of winter. The moon will travel high over the Ka`u sky and into the earth’s shadow, then back to normal by midnight.
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| David Louie |
A NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL has been appointed for the state of Hawai`i and awaits confirmation by the senate. David M. Louie, 59, is a trial lawyer with the law firm of Roeca, Louie & Hiraoka. He has practiced for the past 33 years in the areas of personal injury defense, construction defect litigation and commercial litigation. He was named one of the Best Lawyers in America for the upcoming 2011 list and a Hawai`i Super Lawyer from 2008 through today. He has served as the President, Vice-President and Director of the Hawai`i State Bar Association and has been a Lawyer Representative for the United States Ninth Circuit Court and chaired the State of Hawai`i Aloha Tower Development. He graduated from Occidental College and Boalt Law School at Berkeley. He is a frequent lecturer for numerous continuing legal education seminars.
POPULATION STATISTICS FOR KA`U and Volcano, which were released last week as part of the American Community Survey, show a relatively high rate of home ownership in Ka`u and Volcano. In Volcano there are approximately 301 rental housing units and 625 owner- occupied homes. In Pahala, where home ownership has gone up since the plantation shut down in 1996, there are 153 rental homes and 242 owner-occupied houses. In Na`alehu there are 171 renter occupied homes and 197 owner- occupied homes. In Ocean View there are 239 rental homes and 957 owner-occupied houses.
THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY also shows how many people were foreign born and speak a language other than English at home. In Ocean View 5.8 percent are foreign born, and 12.7 percent speak a foreign language at home. In Na`alehu 16.4 percent are foreign born and 19.6 percent speak a foreign language at home. In Pahala, 14.1 percent are foreign born and 22.1 percent speak a foreign language at home. The most predominant foreign languages spoken at home are dialects of Filipino, Spanish and Marshallese.
REGARDING KA`U’S POPULATION, the survey shows a small decrease in population in Pahala from 1,378 in 2000 to 1,373 in 2009. The population of Nā‘ālehu has increased. In 2000 it was estimated to be 919. By 2009, it had grown to 1,271. Ocean View’s population has also increased from 2,178 in 2000 to 2,699. Volcano’s population also decreased slightly, according to the survey. It was estimated to be 2,231. The 2009 estimate is 2,211.
KA`U HIGH SCHOOL BAND will perform at Prince Kuhio Plaza today from 4 to 6 p.m. If you are in Hilo you are invited to stop and listen to their show.
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO vote on Kilauea Military Camp’s Cottage Christmas Decorations.
Name your top three favorites on an entry blank available at the KMC Front Desk, Café, General Store and Recreation Center. Each person who votes will receive a Holiday Dollar that can be used at KMC – including the bowling lanes. The lights, just up the road from the Jaggar Museum lookout at Kilauea caldera, will be up through the New Year.
