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Monday, January 11, 2016

Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Monday, Jan. 11, 2016

Keiki return to Punalu`u this month for `O Ka`u Kakou's eighth annual Keiki Fishing Tournament. See more below. Photo by Nalani Parlin

HAWAI`I STATE LEGISLATURE gets off to a fast start next week. Opening Day is Wednesday, Jan. 20. Hawai`i’s constitution mandates that the regular legislative session starts at 10 a.m. on the third Wednesday of January. 
      Friday, Jan. 22 is the last day to introduce all non-administration bill packages, consisting of bills bundled together by common interest groups and accepted and labeled as packages by the clerks. Various packages of legislation are available at capitol.hawaii.gov on Reports and Lists.
      Jan. 22 is also the deadline for organizations to submit Grant-in-Aid applications. Grants may be appropriated to nonprofit and other organizations for various public purposes that are recognized as priorities and are seen as complimentary to state government functions. Applications, information and more specifics regarding the deadline appear under Legislative Information on the Legislature’s website.
Gov. David Ige presents his State-
of-the-State address two weeks
from today.
      Gov. David Ige presents his state-of-the-state address on Monday, Jan. 25. The governor’s annual address to the assembled joint Legislature presents an opportunity for him to report on affairs of state and to put forth recommendations and initiatives. Many visitors come to the Capitol to hear the governor’s speech and witness the proceedings from the gallery, accessible on the ground floor/atrium level.
      Monday, Jan. 25 is also the last day to introduce what is known as the Governor’s Package. The bills are prepared by executive branch agencies for consideration by the Legislature and are introduced on behalf of the executive branch by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
      Wednesday, Jan. 27 is the last day for legislators to introduce bills. A bill is introduced when it has been filed with the House or Senate Clerk, who gives it a number with an HB or SB prefix and then puts it on the calendar for First Reading by the chamber. After First Reading, it is given its committee referrals, which specify the committees that must hear and pass the measure for it to succeed. Only legislators may introduce bills. At introduction, each bill is given a Bill Status webpage that can be accessed via the Legislature’s website and used to track all the measure’s activity.
      Hawai`i Legislature's Public Access Room offers a wealth of information about the upcoming session at lrbhawaii.org/par.
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HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION offers a 2015 Year in Review at hawaiipublicschools.org.
      A high point listed in the review was the latest U.S. Department of Education monitoring report confirming that Hawai`i has made significant progress as a result of its systemic reforms. HIDOE’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act Flexibility Monitoring Report scored across the board ratings of “meets expectations.”
      Beginning School Year 2013-14, the HIDOE was granted its ESEA flexibility waiver, which resulted in Hawai`i’s new school accountability and improvement system, the Strive HI Performance System. Strive HI replaced many requirements of the No Child Left Behind law with benchmarks aligned with goals of the department and Hawai`i State Board of Education Strategic Plan.
      “Hawai`i’s public high school students have shown that the transformative, systemwide changes undertaken by HIDOE in the implementation of its 2011-18 Strategic Plan are paying off,” the review stated.
      The College & Career Readiness Indicators report released by Hawai`i P-20 Partnerships for Education showed Hawai`i’s students have made steady, and in some cases, significant improvements in key indicators of college and career readiness, including Hawai`i State Assessment reading and mathematics scores, college enrollment and early credit attainment. The CCRI report provides a detailed look at accomplishments of Class of 2014 students in high schools statewide and provides a measurement of their readiness for college and career.
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Tropical Storm Pali is forecast to stay far from Hawai`i. Map from NOAA
CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER is tracking Tropical Storm Pali, which was 1,370 miles southwest of South Point this morning. Forecasters previously said that, because of El Nino conditions, tropical storms could continue to form in the Pacific beyond hurricane season, which ended Nov. 30. 
      Pali is expected to move south and west through the week, remaining far away from Hawai`i.
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LAST SUMMER AND FALL made up “the wettest dry season in 30 years” on Hawai`i Island, National Weather Service hydrologist Kevin Kodama told John Burnett, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. “Part of it is because of the wet summer. It really helped to boost the rainfall,” Kodama, said.
      Burnett said NWS is predicting a dry wet season for Hawai`i Island because of El Niño, which creates warm ocean temperatures. “We’re definitely in it right now …,” Kodama said. “While we may see light bits of rain hit the Big Island here and there, overall, considering it’s in the wet time of year, the pattern looks very dry, overall. There’s not a whole lot of significant rain events on the horizon, at least for the next one to two weeks, so it’s following the playbook.”
       Drought “could be pretty substantial,” Kodama told Burnett. “So it could take a pretty good rainfall to make up for that, considering we’re not likely to get very much rain in what should be a pretty wet time of year.” 
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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Ka`u's Hawai`i County Council member Maile David provided funds to support
`O Ka`u Kakou's Keiki Fishing Tournament. Photo by Julia Neal
EARLY REGISTRATION IS RECOMMENDED for the eighth annual Keiki Fishing Tournament and Food Drive. Sponsored by `O Ka`u Kakou, the event takes place Saturday, Jan. 23 at Punalu`u Beach Park from 8 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. 
      Children select their prize in the order they registered, no later than Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 12 p.m.
      Registration form pick-up and drop-off is available at schools and gas stations in Pahala and Na`alehu, Mizuno Superette in Pahala, Na`alehu Ace Hardware, Wong Yuen Store in Wai`ohinu, Ocean View Auto Parts and Kahuku Country Market in Ocean View. Entry is at least one canned or non-perishable food item per fisher.
       Keiki use barbless hooks on hand-poles in the catch-and-release tournament. Every participant takes home a prize.

KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS ONE-STOP-SHOP services are available tomorrow from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Pahala Community Center.
      Help is available in completing applications for admissions, financial aid, Ho`olulu Hawaiian Data Center, summer school, summer enrichment and distance learning.

A Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists collects data at the summit
of Mauna Loa. Photo from USGS/HVO
HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY scientist Asta Miklius discusses recent activity at Mauna Loa and its current status tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. 
       $2 donations support park programs; park entrance fees apply.

HU, OR KUKUI NUT TOP, demonstrations take place Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Kilauea Visitor Center’s lanai in Hawai`i
Volcanoes National Park. Park rangers and staff from Hawai`i Pacific Parks Association share their knowledge and love of this popular traditional art and pastime.
      Free; park entrance fees apply.

INTRODUCTION TO MOKUHANGA BEGINS Thursday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Sensei Glenn Yamanoha teaches Traditional Japanese Woodblock Printmaking, a relief printing technique using Japanese tools and natural materials. The series of five workshops will be offered on Thursday afternoons. Well-known painter/printmaker Glenn Yamanoha will introduce the fundamental techniques of Mokuhanga such as cutting with chisels, preparing blocks and paper, registration and printing with a baren.
      Yamanoha studied Mokuhanga in Kyoto, Japan on a Monbusho (Japan Government) scholarship between 1988 and 1990.
      No experience is necessary for this introductory workshop. Call 967-8222 or see volcanoartcenter.org to register.

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



See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.
See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_January2015.pdf.