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Monday, October 19, 2015

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, Oct. 19, 2015

Here comes Major Hurricane Olaf, 1,280 miles east-southeast of Hilo at 11 a.m.  Olaf, a category 4, is expected to turn north and
pass well east of Hawai`i late this week. Map from NOAA. See more below.
LAWFUL HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT, organized to reinstate Hawaiian government from March 1999,  today released results of its elections held Saturday, Sept. 12. Elected were its Ka`u Representative, Noble, and Prime Minister of the Hawaiian Islands. Two polling places were set up in Ka`u, at Pahala and Ocean View, for all kanaka 18 years and older to vote. 
Image from The Lawful Hawaiian Government
      John Kalua`u is the elected Noble of Ka`u district, and Eli Whitney is District Representative. Henry Noa is Prime Minister. “Congratulations to these men who stepped up to represent all kanaka, keiki and kupunas for a four-year term,” said Hope Cermelj, of LHG. 
      LHG is not affiliated with Office of Hawaiian affairs, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands or the Hawai`i State government and departments.
      For more information about the elections and the Lawful Hawaiian Government, see thelawfulhawaiiangovernment.org, or call Alohalani (last name not provided) at 808-896-9201.
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HAWAI`I’S MARSHALLESE COMMUNITY is the topic of a series of articles in Civil Beat. Today, reporter Chad Blair focused on Jonithen Jackson and the community he leads in Ocean View. Blair, who visited with Jackson and Ka`u state Rep. Richard Creagan, a physician who served in the Peace Corps in the Marshall Islands,  reported that about 300 Marshallese “live in the houses at Jackson’s makeshift commune or frequent the worship hall and recreational area that he has built there.” Jackson also starred in The Land of Eb, a film about the plight of Marshallese in Ocean View. 
      According to Blair, Jackson’s hope is to return to the Marshall Islands as mayor of Enewetak, a series of atolls where he has not lived for nearly 25 years.
Marshallese leader Jonithen Jackson is the topic of a Civil Beat story today
on Marshallese in Ocean View.. Photo by Julia Neal
      The United States contaminated the area by testing nuclear devices at Enewetak nearly 60 years ago. Hawai`i’s Marshallese community consists of what Blair refers to as “nuclear nomads,” people exiled due to unsafe radiation levels found in people, fish and coconut crabs.
      Jackson first went to Majuro, then Washington state before arriving in Ka`u. He was an auto mechanic here before electronic systems replaced his skills. He now “works with the Big Island coffee industry, which has frequently hired Marshallese to pick coffee beans,” Blair reported.
      Blair explained that land “is at the very core of identity for Marshallese and all Micronesians, a primordial bond that cannot be broken even by nuclear devastation and removal from their ancestral lands. The Enewetakese, for example, organize their society based on land ownership, and traditional rituals involve the land.”
      “What you have, in my home, on my island, when I sit and look around, I feel like … comfortable,” Jackson told Blair. “You feel like you are not in Hawai`i. I live here and worry what people are going to say. But in home, back home, well, it’s nothing like that. I am just relaxed. We bring everybody; we talk story. It’s nothing like here.”
      See civilbeat.com.
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Hurricane Olaf is strengthening and heading into the Central Pacific.
Map from NOAA
HURRICANE OLAF HAS CONTINUED to rapidly intensify into a category-four storm. At 11 a.m., Olaf was 1,280 miles east-southeast of Hilo. It is expected to cross longitude 140 west into the Central Pacific basin tonight, but is still forecast to turn north and pass several hundred miles to the east of Hawai`i on Saturday.
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RISING TEMPERATURES COULD SPREAD MOSQUITOS and avian malaria, which has devastated native bird populations. However, some species are apparently developing a resistance to the disease. A story by Ivy Ashe in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald said that some populations of amakihi are increasing despite the birds being infected by malaria.
      “Apapane and amakihi are the two that seem to adapt,” USGS research biologist Carter Atkinson told Ashe. However, birds with chronic avian malaria hold the disease.
      Research to be published next month compares disease prevalence between 2011 and 2013 with that done at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge in the 1990s. According to Ashe, bird populations have increased in the refuge, while disease prevalence has fallen.
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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Sen. Brian Schatz
U.S. SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ has introduced legislation to explore the viability of creating a National Museum of the American People in Washington, D.C. The proposed museum would be the first of its kind to tell the immigration stories of every American and celebrate the contributions of every ethnic and cultural group in the country. It would provide a venue to unite the diverse stories that connect us as Americans. The museum will offer a unique narrative regarding the people and communities that have helped forge who we are today and highlight the links that bind together past, present and future generations.
      “The story of America is a story about immigration,” Schatz said. “ For generations, people from around the world and from all walks of life have come to the United States to build better lives for themselves and for their families. From the sugar cane plantations on Maui to the shipping ports in Maine, immigrants throughout our history have made tremendous contributions to America. But many of their stories are left untold. Building the National Museum of the American People would help tell the story of every immigrant of every ethnic group and would be a great way to celebrate the patriotism, contributions and achievements of all Americans.”
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Ka`u High Trojan wahine won their Senior
Night match. Photo from KHPES
KA`U HIGH GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TEAMS won their final two match-ups of regular-season play last week.
      The Trojans met Christian Liberty Academy on Senior Night last Tuesday, Oct. 13. Both Ka`u teams won in two sets. Varsity’s scores were 25-19 and 25-20; Junior Varsity, 25-16 and 25-18.
      On Friday, Oct. 17, Ka`u wahine hosted Hawai`i Academy of Arts & Sciences. Varsity overcame HAAS 25-23 and 25-13, and JV overpowered their opponents 25-9 and 25-7.
      “Great way to end the season,” Ka`u Athletic Director Kalei Namohala said.
      Big Island Interscholastic Federation championship play for the Trojans begins tomorrow at 6 p.m. at home.
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SEAN “OLANUI” ROBBINS PRESENTS a Hawaiian music concert Wednesday at 6:30 p.m at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Robbins’ recently released debut CD, Olanui, will be available for purchase.
      Free; park entrance fees apply.
      Call 985-6011 for more information.

HOW TO INFLUENCE STATE LAWS is the topic at free workshops this Friday. Keanu Young, of the state Legislature’s Public Access Room, provides the public with tools and resources to help them become active participants in the legislative process. Workshops are at 11 a.m. at Ocean View Community Center and 2:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.
      See par@capitol.hawaii.gov or 974-4000 x7-0478 for more information.

RESIDENTS CAN LEARN about Social Security this week. Workshops take place Wednesday at Na`alehu Community Center, Thursday at Cooper Center in Volcano Village and Friday at Ocean View Community Center. All sessions are from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. See ad at left for topics covered. Reserve at 327-5410. 

JAZZ IN THE FOREST CONTINUES with two performances this Saturday, featuring Keahi Conjugacion with Volcano Art Center’s Jazz Ensemble.
      The Wine and Beer Room will be open before and after the concert. Also, an area has been set aside for dancing.
      Two shows are offered, with a matinee at 4:30 p.m. and an evening performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the matinee are $15 for VAC members ($20 non-members) and for the evening show are $20 for VAC members ($25 non-members).
      Tickets are available at VAC’s Administration Office in Volcano Village, VAC Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and online at volcanoartcenter.org. The last day to purchase tickets in advance is Friday, Oct. 23. After that, tickets will be sold at the door if they are not sold out.

What will Ka`u residents vote for to grace
the cover of The Directory 2016?
BEAUTY OF KA`U ART SHOW opens two weeks from today. The annual show generates the cover for The Directory, Ka`u Chamber of Commerce’s business and community guide for Ka`u. The Chamber raises scholarship money for higher education for Ka`u students through memberships and Directory participation.
      Registration is $5 per adult entry, $2.50 per youth entry and $1 per keiki entry.
      Hours for public viewing at CU Hawai`i Federal Credit Union in Na`alehu are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2 through Thursday, Nov. 5.
      Each day, the public may sign in and receive a ballot to vote for their favorite entry. Each ballot, a numbered ticket, will also be entered into a drawing for door prizes to be held each hour, and the winner does not need to be present. Prizes are being donated by various Ka`u merchants.
      The overall winner, chosen by judges, will be featured on the cover of The Directory 2016 and receive $100 and an article inside The Directory.
      A reception to view the winners and greet the artists will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, with light refreshments.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.






See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.
See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.