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Thursday, August 06, 2015

Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015

Kahuku Unit has many free programs on weekends this month, including The Birth of Kahuku this Saturday.
NPS Photo by Michael Szoenyi
FORMER HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK SUPERINTENDENT Bryan Harry told Hawaiian Conservation Alliance conferees yesterday that a university partnership with the national parks called the Pacific Cooperative Studies Group has contributed significantly to the understanding and protection of native and natural systems.
Bryan Harry Photo from HCA
      Harry is one of the founding members of Hawaiian Conservation Alliance, which has put on the conference wrapping up tomorrow in Hilo, for 23 years. He said that the Pacific Cooperative Studies Group, founded 40 years ago, has enabled the university to have top professors involved in management of the resources in the park and in documentation and studies that also help with management.
       A story by Ivy Ashe in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune-Herald explained that “today, there are nearly 350 staff members in the PCSU. Forty-eight percent are present or former University of Hawai`i students, and 21 percent are Native Hawaiians. Its long-term projects cover everything from studying the hoary bat population to the Maui parrotbill’s habitat. ...
      “As the years went by, the PCSU began to work on community outreach, something that was not funded nor considered a priority in the organization’s early days. And when outreach did become a focal point, volunteers and staffers found it difficult to convey their messages to private landowners. The technical reports weren’t something an average person would pick up and spend an afternoon reading, and the issues the PCSU was trying to broach weren’t without controversy.”
      Ashe said, “The public’s mindset toward conservation began to change in part because of grassroots efforts at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. For instance, several Youth Conservation Corps groups helping build ungulate fencing involved local kids.”
      Christy Martin, a 16-year PCSU veteran, told Ashe, “That really starts the ball moving. They started to see the native plants and become concerned for them.”
      Martin told Ashe that outreach is about “putting a human face to conservation” and making what seems abstract a personal matter. She gave the spread of invasive miconia in the 1980s as an example where the issue comes literally into people’s backyards.
      “All of a sudden, you had (the plants) on private lands. It really changes what needs to happen,” Martin said.
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Greggor Ilagan
PUNA’S TWO-TERM COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER Greggor Ilagan is running for state Senate, the seat currently held by Sen. Russell Ruderman. 
      “A great future is dependent on footprints of great leaders,” Ilagan said. “It was true then in my past when I was in the military, and more so now while I am serving in the County Council.
      “The future of politics as I’ve always seen it is about the people. I want to continue making a difference on the issues affecting our families, friends and neighbors. This has compelled me to run for state Senate.
      “I will continue being the person who listens to people’s concerns and solve problems important to them. I need your support, and can’t wait to see what we will accomplish together for a better tomorrow.”
      Ruderman’s four-year term in the Senate expires next year, and he has not decided whether or not to run again. According to Nancy Cook Lauer, of West Hawai`i Today, he is considering running for mayor of Hawai`i County or County Council. Mayor Billy Kenoi has reached his term limit.
      See westhawaiitoday.com.
       To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Tropical Storm Hilda is following Guillermo toward Hawai`i. Map from NOAA
GUILLERMO IS PASSING to the north of Hawai`i Island and is now on a westward path that could impact O`ahu and Kaua`i before leaving the state.
      Tropical Storm Hilda is following Guillermo’s path in the East Pacific, reported the Central Pacific Hurricane Center and National Hurricane Center in Miami. Guillermo is now below tropical storm intensity as it tracks north of the state. Hilda’s cloud pattern has significantly increased in organization since late yesterday. It is forecast to become a hurricane by Sunday but, like Guillermo, lose strength before reaching the vicinity of Hawai`i next week. 
       To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

BEES AND PESTICIDES: Comments are being collected on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Proposal to Mitigate Exposure to Bees from Acutely Toxic Pesticide Products. Comments can be sent to Cathy Tarutani, of University of Hawai`i Plant & Environmental Protection Services, for her comment and submission by Friday, Aug. 14 or directly to the EPA no later than Friday, Aug. 28.
      “This issue may be very important to stakeholders concerned with crops that require insect pollination,” Tarutani wrote. She urged farmers to study proposed pesticide label changes.
      A PDF of slides and a recording of webinar on the subject can be accessed by clicking on links at http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/cb/csb_page/updates/2015/bees-webinar.html. The docket for this issue can be found at Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2014-0818.
      A summary of EPAs proposed action is available at http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2014-0818-0003.
      The full proposal is available at http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2014-0818-0002. A fact sheet about the proposal is available at http://www2.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/proposal-protect-bees-acutely-toxic-pesticides.
      Contact Tarutani at 808-956-2004 or cathy@hpirs.stjohn.hawaii.edu.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Hawai`i Ag Extension Service offers advice for coffee berry borer management.
A WARNING TO EXERCISE coffee berry borer control as harvest season approaches has been issued by the University of Hawai`i Ag Extension Service. Agent Adrea Kawabata wrote to farmers yesterday: “CBB populations will explode if you stop spraying during the harvest season. Continue to sample, monitor and spray for CBB throughout the harvest season and especially after picking, as CBB tends to be actively moving around the coffee trees and farm because of the shaking of trees and removal of cherry. Completely enclose picking bags, and line them on the inside with a plastic trash bag, if possible, to reduce CBB escapes.” 
      Coffee berry borers first damaged orchards in Kona and spread to Ka`u. For assistance, Kawabata can be reached at 322-4892 or andreak@hawaii.edu.
      For more education on coffee, see http://hawaiicoffee.weebly.com/educational-events-and-announcements.html. Online are: Proceedings of the 2015 CBB Summit; a new CBB publication; an article about Pseudomonas fulva, a bacteria in Coffee Berry Borer gut; 2015 Hawai`i Coffee Association Conference Highlights; Coffee in Brazil: Important Impacts and Lessons Learned; and Hawai`i Coffee Association’s 2015 State-wide Cupping Competition. 
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HAWAI`I’S PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION will hosts public listening sessions next month for residents to comment on the proposed $4.3 billion sale of Hawaiian Electric Industries to NextEra Energy, Inc.
      Hawai`i Island sessions are scheduled at 6 p.m. at Hilo High School cafeteria on Tuesday, Sept. 29 and Kealakehe High School cafeteria in Kona on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.


Ocean View Community Center is raising funds for a new roof.
OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER holds a yard sale Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. to raise funds to replace the roof. Call 939-7033 for more information. 

OCEAN VIEW EVANGELICAL CHURCH at 92-8977 Leilani Circle holds its third annual Ho`olaule`a & Lu`au on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Follow signs. Registration begins at 9 a.m.

DURING STEWARDSHIP AT THE SUMMIT Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, volunteers help remove invasive Himalayan ginger from park trails. Meet at Kilauea Visitor Center. Free; park entrance fees apply.

THE BIRTH OF KAHUKU on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park explores Kahuku’s rich geologic history and traverses the vast 1868 lava flow. Participants see different volcanic features and formations and identify many parts of the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa on a guided, easy-to-moderate hike. Call 985-6011 for more information.

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


BUSINESS SPACE IS AVAILABLE for rent at the open location where Kama`aina Kuts and Styles by Elise are located in Na`alehu. Call Corrine at 937-1840 for more information.
See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.
See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_August2015.pdf.