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Saturday, June 08, 2013

Ka`u News Briefs June 8, 2013

Cardiologist Larry Derbes checks Minda Brown at free heart screenings by Hawai`i Island Cardiovascular, Inc. that end
this afternoon at 4 p.m. at Ka`u High School near the band room. Other free screenings and treatments by military
reserve medical providers continue through the weekend and Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Ocean
View Community Center and Ka`u High School, wrapping up at noon on Wednesday. Photo by Julia Neal
LAST DAY FOR HEART SCREENING at Ka`u High School. The free service offered by Dr. Larry Derbes, MD, FACC, a Waimea cardiologist, and Hilo cardiologist Nathan Zilz, MD, PhD, runs until 4 p.m. today and is sponsored by Hawai`i Island Cardiovascular, Inc. EKGs and echocardiograms are offered.
Mary Stancill heads up Hawai`i Island Cardiovascular at the
Ka`a Ho`ola health care van sponsored by Kona
Community Hospital and HMSA.
Photo by Julia Neal
      Mary Stancill said the nonprofit she directs seeks to improve heart health on the Big Island where there are more cardiac problems than among the state population overall. The service is in the HMSA Ka`a Ho`ola rural healthcare van stationed near the band room at Ka`u High School. The team is also offering the all-in-one free immunizations for tetanus, whooping cough and dyptheria and finger prick preliminary blood screening for diabetes as well as blood oxygen screening.

TROPIC CARE, with Air Force,  Navy and Army reservist medical care providers, continues its free dental, eye, medical, psychiatric screening and care Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Wednesday until noon. Locations are Ka`u High School and Ocean View Community Center. The reservists are staying onsite as if they were in the field for the military. Care is open to anyone with or without insurance. Many of the physicians are specialists.

DEADLINE FOR FILINGS BY HECO AND HELCO regarding the proposed `Aina Koa Pono project was yesterday, and the testimony is expected to be online Monday on the state Public Utilities Commission website at puc.hawaii.gov.
      West Hawai`i Today and Hawai`i Tribune-Herald reported yesterday that state Consumer Advocate Jeff Ono said recently that he supports the proposed biofuel farm and refinery up Wood Valley Road.
      Ono flew to the Big Island recently and toured the proposed refinery location, saw the test plot for biofuel crops and some of the lands where the crops would be grown. He was accompanied by AKP partner Chris Eldridge and a representative of Olson Trust, which owns most of the property proposed for the project.
      Several community members who have studied the issue, given testimony or are farmers and ranchers in Ka`u said they were not contacted to meet with Ono while he was here to discuss possible impacts of AKP on the expansion of coffee and other food crops.
      Sen. Josh Green said he would contact Ono and ask him to visit with Ka`u residents who represent a broader view of the community than those partnered with the venture.
      County energy coordinator Will Rolston told Stephens Media reporter Nancy Cook Lauer that the county will continue to oppose the project. “Hawai`i County Mayor Billy Kenoi has repeatedly said he’s not in favor of any more alternative energy sources for the island unless they result in a lowering of utility bills, not raising of them.”
      Rolston told the reporter that that “he questions whether the refinery, relying on what he says is unproven technology, will even result in a net increase in energy, after plants are grown and harvested, then microwaved, and the resulting fuel is hauled 80 miles from the refinery to the HELCO plant.”
      According to the Stephens Media report, Rolston said, “We’re sitting here and we’re trying to figure out how it could work. The math doesn’t add up.”
      The story also reports that reporter Cook Lauer called Kenton Eldridge, co-founder and chairman of the board of `Aina Koa Pono, last Thursday and that he declined to discuss the PUC process other than saying, “We have technology that works.”
      While the public hearings in Hilo and Kona are over, testimony can still be submitted to hawaii.puc@hawaii.gov. Case number is 2012-0185.
      See more at www.westhawaiitoday.com.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie signing the Civil Liberties and the Constitution
Day bill. Photo from Office of the Governor
GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE HAS SIGNED a bill establishing Jan. 30 of each year as Civil Liberties and the Constitution Day in recognition the actions of individuals who have fought for the constitutional and civil rights of all Americans, While not a state holiday, the observance is intended to celebrate, honor and educate the public about these individuals’ commitment to preserving civil liberties.


      “Civil Liberties and the Constitution Day will serve to recognize and remind us of the courage of those who remained committed to freedom, even when their own civil liberties and rights were being challenged,” Gov. Abercrombie said. “It is the actions of these individuals – these brave ‘resisters’ – that best reflect the ideals of the U.S. Constitution.”

      Senate Bill 856, enacted as Act 94, was passed by the 2013 Legislature without dissenting votes and was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, Hawai`i Council for the Humanities, Japanese American Citizens League, Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education, State Civil Rights Commission, and University of Hawai`i.
      The bill references actions of the United States government, including the internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942, authorizing the removal of any or all individuals from military areas as deemed necessary and desirable and mandating the forced internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry. Hawai`i and the entire West Coast of the United States would later be defined as a military area, resulting in the relocation of more than 110,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry to internment camps. One month later, on March 21, 1942, United States Congress passed Public Law 77-503, which established penalties for violations of Executive Order 9066.

Sunday Walk in the Park explores
Kilauea Iki. NPS Photo by
Jay Robinson
FRIENDS OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK hosts its monthly Sunday Walk in the Park tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Nick Shema leads an exploration of Kilauea Iki Trail, Na Huku, Escape Road and Crater Rim and Byron Ledge Trails. Free for Friends members; non-members can join the organization in order to attend. For more information, call 985-7373 or email admin@fhvnp.org.

NA`ALEHU PUBLIC LIBRARY OFFERS BOOK SPEED DATING this Wednesday, June 12, at 3:30 p.m. Patrons up are asked to bring their favorite book, regardless of genre, fiction or non-fiction, or at least have a short summary prepared to share with other patrons. The event is intended for young adult and adult readers.
      Library assistant Jennifer Losalio said that at the event “in pairs, each person has three minutes to share his or her favorite book with his or her partner. The purpose is to highlight details of the story, without giving too much away, so as to convince his or her partner to read the book. After each partner has had three minutes to share his or her favorite book, one partner will rotate out so that everyone will have a chance to speak to each other.” She added that the “goal of this event is not only to get people interested in reading different books, but to also bring together readers who are perhaps interested in starting a book club that could be hosted at the library once a month.”

      Space for the event is limited. Interested patrons are encouraged to sign up in advance at the library’s circulation desk or call and RSVP at 929-2442. Depending on its success, the event may be hosted again in the future.

PORK IN THE PARK, Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo’s Father’s Day event on Sunday, June 16 is looking for contestants for its barbeque pork contest. First prize is $100. The afternoon, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., includes musicians on stage, samples of pork for the voting for a Fan Favorite, shave ice on sale and a shady tent to enjoy Honu`apo Park on Father’s Day. For more on the contest and the celebration, call Lehua Lopez-Mau at 929-9891.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.