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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee holds five topic-focused meetings next month. Map from Draft Ka`u CDP
A SERIES OF TOPIC-FOCUSED Steering Committee meetings has been scheduled to review community feedback and make preliminary decisions about revisions to the Draft Ka`u Community Development Plan. 
      On Tuesday, Aug. 11, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center, topics are Town Infill and Agricultural Subdivision.
      At Ocean View Community Center on Saturday, Aug. 15 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Steering Committee will discuss Ocean View Development and Special Permits.
Coastal Development and Management is on the agenda of one of next
month's meetings. Image from Draft Ka`u CDP
      Coastal Development and Management are on the agenda Tuesday, Aug. 18 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center.
       Discovery Harbour Community Center hosts a discussion about development in that area on Tuesday, Aug. 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
      The Steering Committee returns to Na`alehu Community Center on Saturday, Aug. 29 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., when the topic is Economic Development.
       Meeting ending times are approximate, and other meetings may be scheduled as needed. Agendas and more information about the meeting topics and format will be shared as the dates approach. Steering Committee meetings are open to the community, and public testimony is welcome.
       The CDP Planning Team plans to provide materials in advance of each meeting that bring into clear focus public input, critical issues and alternative strategies related to each topic, said Planner Ron Whitmore. Each meeting will be actively facilitated to help the Steering Committee consider trade-offs of different strategies. It is hoped that each meeting will conclude with preliminary decisions by the Steering Committee about CDP revisions.
       A Steering Committee is also scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 22 starting at 5:30 at the Na`alehu Community Center to make final recommendations for CDP revisions and adoption. Before that meeting, a summary of all CDP revisions being considered will be made available.
       Summaries of feedback received during the March-June public review period are available in the CDP Input section of the project website, kaucdp.info.
      Steering Committee members or Community Planning Assistant Nalani Parlin are available to answer questions. Contact information is available on the website.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Gov. David Ige announced members of his Leadership Team on Homelessness.
Photo from Office of the Governor
GOV. DAVID IGE’S NEWLY FORMED Leadership Team on Homelessness is tasked with finding short-term and long-term solutions as state and federal governments work together to address the issue in Hawai`i. 
       The leadership team includes Gov. Ige, state Sen. Jill Tokuda, state Rep. Sylvia Luke and designees of U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono.
       “The underlying issues that lead to homelessness, such as lack of affordable housing, cannot be resolved quickly,” Ige said. “Meanwhile, we cannot wait for a comprehensive, long-term solution. There are measures we can take and will take immediately.”
       The leadership team will identify and assign parcels of land to be used for creation of temporary shelters in one or two communities; implement measures to transfer residents of homeless encampments to shelters; work with service providers to establish protocols to assess shelter residents for financial, physical, mental health and other needs; and determine costs and obtain funding to meet these objectives.
      The leadership team will also consult with law enforcement leaders, nonprofit organizations and other interested parties to assist with implementing short-term objectives.
       In addition, as a result of the team’s discussions and findings, legislation may be introduced in January 2016 to fulfill unmet or unfunded needs and services.
       “The Legislature understands the gravity of the situation and the need to pull all executive and governmental agencies to the table in an effort to execute and implement solutions that can be replicated in communities across the state,” said Tokuda, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
      Ige said, “This isn’t just another committee. This team is making a commitment to work together to find solutions now. There is something important going on. We are the people responsible for the public’s welfare. This team is meeting face to face to address homelessness, and we are going to hold each other accountable.”
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard discussed TPP
on the House floor. Image from C-SPAN
REP. TULSI GABBARD REITERATED her frustration with lack of transparency in the Trans-Pacific Partnership in a speech on the House floor today. TPP trade ministers from the 12 participating nations begin private meetings in Ka`anapali, Maui today, where they are expected to conclude negotiations on the deal that will impact 40 percent of the world economy. Protesters will gather at the Westin Hotel on Maui tomorrow at 12 p.m. to voice objections on the secrecy of this deal and the potential impacts it will have. 
       “Not only were the American people shut out of this trade deal when Congress passed fast-track authority legislation,” Gabbard said, “these negotiations continue as we speak in a shroud of secrecy, with the American people reliant on sites like WikiLeaks as they seek information about how this agreement will impact us.
      “The people of Hawai`i and all Americans are rightfully concerned about how this trade deal will impact our jobs, our families, our economy, our environment and our nation’s sovereignty. We, the American people, deserve to know what’s in this deal and to have a say in what happens. How can a genuine public debate occur on a deal as monumental as this when no one knows what’s in it? It is hard to imagine a deal more demanding of transparency.
      “People from Hawai`i and around the world are gathering tomorrow on Maui to protest this secret deal. They are sick and tired of multinational corporations benefiting on the broken backs of working-class Americans, and they will not stop until their voices are heard.”
      Gabbard, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, has repeatedly called for transparency in TPP negotiations and voted against granting the Administration “fast-track” Trade Promotion Authority earlier this year. While Congress passed TPA, she has called for increased protections for domestic workers displaced by trade, including Trade Adjustment Assistance.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

TD8E may become a tropical storm before dissipating on its way to Hawai`i.
Map from National Hurricane Center
TROPICAL DEPRESSION 8E continues its voyage toward Hawai`i Island but is expected to dissipate before arrival, according to the National Hurricane Center. Models show no or minimal strengthening, but the official forecast still allows for the system to become a tropical storm sometime during the next 24 hours. 
      North-northwesterly shear that is currently affecting the depression is expected to decrease gradually after 12-24 hours. Then, the cyclone will also be moving into a drier air mass, further limiting its strength.
      A subtropical ridge continues to steer the depression west-northwestward, but the cyclone is expected to turn westward later today and maintain that trajectory.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Susan Scott
OCEAN VIEW RANCHOS SOLAR SUBSTATION, planned by Hawai`i Electric Light Co., is the subject of a steering committee meeting on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. The substation is designed to support solar farms on more than 20 lots in the community. 

AUTHOR AND MARINE BIOLOGIST Susan Scott discusses her adventures sailing on her 37-foot sailing vessel to Palmyra and her work there on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Her experiences are the subject of her book Call Me Captain.
      Scott will also discuss her artwork made from marine debris collected during her work on Midway. Scott said Palmyra and Midway are “book-end” atolls both significant to Hawai`i’s past and present.
      Scott writes a weekly column called Ocean Watch for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and has written six books about nature in Hawai`i.
      Call 967-8222 for more information.

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and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.
See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_July2015.pdf.