Ka‘ū News Briefs, Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Sunset and stargazing adventures are back in action on Maunakea, as the University of Hawaiʻi establishes
new rules for access and operations on the mauna. The businesses shut down in July during protests blocking the
road to construction of the planned Thirty Meter Telescopes. See story below. Photo from Mauna Kea Summit Adventures

AFTER A WILD WEEKEND OF FLOODING at ranches and farms in Kaʻū, with roads torn up and streams breaching their banks to carve new paths through the land, the weather calmed down Monday into Tuesday.
    Phil Becker, President of the Kaʻū Farm Bureau, reported 17 inches of rain at the Aikane coffee farm and ranch. He said he and Merle found 1500 to 2,000 feet of fencing taken down by the storm.
He said he wants to thank Ray Mizuno and his county road team for cleaning up the old cane haul road between Pāhala and Nāʻālehu. Becker said he has never before seen such a stream of vehicles that steadily traveled on the mountain bypass during the nearly 24 hours from Saturday night into Sunday when Hwy 11 was closed with flooding at Kāwā Flats. He noted damage to the rural bridges, including one near his home.

A rural bridge was damaged during the recent flooding. Photo by Phil Becker

     Kapāpala Ranch reported 15.05 inches of rain in four days, from Thursday through Monday at 8 a.m., with most of it from Saturday to Sunday morning. Residents and workers reported ranch roads destroyed and having to make new paths across pastures to travel Pāhala.
     National Weather Service recorded the peak three-day total day from 2018's Hurricane Lane – the highest flow in 30 years – was 56 inches at Kahuna Falls, with a storm total of 58 inches. The preliminary peak flow value from Wailuku River from this storm system was 52,500 cubic feet per second at a stage value of 21.61 feet. This was the second highest flow value in the last 30 years; peak flow from Lane's rainfall was 82,300 cfs at 24.40 ft stage. At Honoliʻi Stream just north of Hilo, peak flow on the night of Saturday, Jan. 11 had a preliminary value of 14,200 cfs at 17.32 ft stage, which is the fourth highest in the last 30 years. By comparison, peak flow at this site from Hurricane Lane was 19,900 cfs at 19.9 ft stage.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.

TULSI GABBARD'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN RELEASED THE FOLLOWING, AHEAD OF TODAY'S DEMOCRATIC DEBATE. The tribute to Kaʻū's congresswoman who is running for President, without participation in the debate, comes from a Standing Rock Sioux Tribe member, Cody Two Bears, who wrote: "I'm not watching tonight's debate and I hope you'll give me a second to explain why: Not one of those candidates on the stage tonight speak for me. Most don't speak for you. Billionaires and millionaires, people who bought their way onto the stage, establishment mouthpieces, a candidate who appropriated my culture — they don't represent our diverse American voices. Where are the indigenous voices? The women of color? The warriors for peace? The people like Tulsi who time and time again have stood on the front lines of the most important challenges facing our nation."
     Cody Two Bears stated that "Tulsi is all of those things, but mostly she's a leader who shows up. She showed up at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota to stand arm in arm with my tribe against Big Oil and the Dakota Access Pipeline when they tried to grab our land and soil our planet for dirty profits. She showed up as a soldier in Iraq, and then Kuwait, to put her life on the line for all of us. Tulsi always shows up... and then she listens.

Cody Two Bears of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
calls Gabbard a "Warrior for the People."
Photo from Cody Two Bears

     "I firmly believe now more than ever — while we face a warming world, a planet on the brink, the threat of war with Iran, and nuclear war — we need a president who will ensure the history, the lived experience and the voices of indigenous people, and black and brown people around the world, are heard. We need a candidate who can bridge the great and growing divide between Americans that ignores our common humanity. Our common dreams of shared health, wealth and happiness. I believe Tulsi is the only candidate who can do this, and that's why we need to stand with her now. When our voices are being silenced, and left off that debate stage. When we're being out-raised and outspent by candidates who don't represent all of us.
     "Tulsi represents the values of living in harmony with nature and having respect for the Great Spirit, Father God and Mother Earth. She has the spirit of aloha, respect for all. Tulsi is not just speaking up for my people, she's a voice for indigenous people everywhere: No other candidate is standing up for the indigenous people of the Middle East, the indigenous Yazidis, Druze, Christians, and minority Muslims that are being targeted and persecuted based on their beliefs, bankrolled by Saudi Arabia. Will you help me today in lifting up Tulsi's voice for peace, for our planet, for all of us?"
     In lieu of the dabate, Gabbard scheduled a live stream talk story with Dennis Kucinich, Lawrence Lessig, and Stephen Kinzer. Her campaign calls it "an urgent and timely conversation about the escalating war with Iran, the constitutionality of Trump's actions and the best path forward to peace." It is available at tulsi.to/discussion.

     The Democratic Presidential Debate was scheduled for 4 p.m. Hawaiʻi Time on CNN stations and CNN.com, which cosponsored it with the Des Moines Register newspaper. Candidates in the debate:
Former Vice President Joe Biden; former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar; Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders; businessman Tom Steyer, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.

Sunset is spectacular on Maunakea and part of the Hawaiʻi Forest & Trail tour. Photo from Hawaiʻi Forest & Trail

MAUNAKEA TOUR COMPANIES WILL LIKELY RECEIVE NEW PERMITS to continue their operations. Gov. David Ige on Monday approved and signed new administrative rules for Maunakea land managed by University of Hawaiʻi. The rules take effect on Thursday, Jan. 23.
     Tour companies, some of them in business for decades to offer sunset and stargazing from Maunakea, shut down last July when protesters of the planned Thirty Meter Telescope blocked the road to the summit to stop construction trucks. Companies laid off tour guides, drivers, mechanics, and other workers and cancelled catering and other services, for the tours, which provided employment in the community.
     Maunakea tour companies are up and running again with reservations available online.

     The UH Board of Regents adopted the new rules on Monday after an 11-hour meeting at UH Hilo, where 99 people testified. 

     UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin, who oversees the Master Plan and Comprehensive Management Plan for UH-managed lands on Maunakea, said this week, "It is now time to utilize these rules to address the issues with excessive traffic that have been raised, as well as to issue new permits for commercial tour operations. We look forward to working with the community as we move forward."

     Ige said, "With the opening of Mauna Kea Access Road and a return to normal activity on the mountain, I believe it is the right time to approve the rules. I have personally observed that there was too much traffic on Mauna Kea and these rules will give the university the tools needed to better manage public and commercial access."

Bonnie Irwin is UH Hilo Chancellor
 and says it is time to address traffic
 and issue new permits for 
commercial tours on Maunakea.

     The purpose of the rules, under HRS section 20-26-1, is to "provide for the proper use, management, and protection of cultural, natural, and scientific resources of the UH management areas; to promote public safety and welfare by regulating public and commercial activity within the UH management areas; to ensure safe and appropriate access to the UH management areas for the public; and to foster co-management with the Department of Land and Natural Resources in UH management areas."

     The governor's office stated the final version of the rules "is the result of extensive consultation and public outreach" that included Native Hawaiian organizations, Hawaiʻi Island business organizations, commercial tour operators and government agencies including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Office of the Hawaiʻi County Mayor, the Mauna Kea Management Board, and Kahu Kū Mauna.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.

THE COUNTY'S SOLID WASTE MEETING FOR KAʻŪ TONIGHT was cancelled due to the recent stormy weather and will be rescheduled. The Public Information Meeting by County of Hawai‘i Department of Environmental Management's Solid Waste Division had been scheduled for tonight, Jan. 14 at Nā‘ālehu Clubhouse. Among the topics to come up at the next meeting will be improvements and changes at the county's transfer and recycling stations where people take their trash.
     Visit hawaiizerowaste.org or call the Solid Waste Division Office at 961-8270 for more.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.

State Senator Map, showing District 2 and District 3.

THE 30TH STATE LEGISLATURE OPENS tomorrow, Wednesday, Jan. 15. Floor sessions will begin at 10 a.m. The galleries will open to the public at 9:30 a.m. from the rotunda level. Seating is limited.

Sen. Dru Kanuha

     In keeping with recent practice, the floor session will be kept to a minimum. No musical entertainment is planned, and no family, friends or guests will be seated on the chamber floor. Years ago, the opening was a huge celebration with hula, music, food, many speeches and an abundance of floral presentations, with parties in every legislator's office.
      Floor proceedings will air Wednesday live on ʻŌlelo channel 53 from 10 a.m. and live through local public access stations.
     To look for subject matter of interest in bills proposed and to follow Kaʻu's legislators and the bills they introduce, support and oppose, see www.capitol.hawaii.gov. The online access presents an easy-to-drive program to keep up with the session and to submit testimony. Kaʻu's Senators and House members:   

Sen. Russell Ruderman

     Sen. Dru Kanuha represents District 2: Honuʻapo, Nāʻālehu, Green Sands, Mark Twain, Discovery Harbour, South Point, Waiʻōhinu, Ocean View, and Miloliʻi into Kona. He serves on the Housing, Education, Government Operations, and Ways & Means Committees. He can be contacted at 808-586-9385, senkanuha@capitol.hawaii.gov, and works from Room 206 at the state capitol building.

     Follow the bills Kanuha introduces at capitol.hawaii.gov.

State Representative Map, showing District 3 and District 5.

     Sen. Russell Ruderman represents District 3: Punaluʻu, Pāhala, Wood Valley, and Volcano, through to Hawaiian Paradise Park and Puna. He serves on the Human Services, Agriculture & Environment, and the Commerce, Consumer Protection, & Health Committees. He can be contacted at 808-586-6890, senruderman@capitol.hawaii.gov, and works from Room 216 at the state capitol building.
     Follow the bills that Ruderman introduces at capitol.hawaii.gov.

Rep. Richard Onishi

     Rep. Richard Onishi represents District 3: Punaluʻu, Pāhala, Wood Valley, and Volcano into South Hilo. He serves on the Tourism & International Affairs, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection & Commerce Committees. He can be contacted at 808-586-6120, reponishi@capitol.hawaii.gov, and works from Room 404 at the state capitol building.
     Follow the bills that Onishi introduces at capitol.hawaii.gov.

Rep. Richard Creagan

     Rep. Richard Creagan represents District 5: Honuʻapo, Nāʻālehu, Green Sands, Mark Twain, Discovery Harbour, South Point, Waiʻōhinu, Ocean View, and Miloliʻi into South Kona. He serves on the Agriculture, Judiciary, and Tourism & International Affairs Committees. He can be contacted at 808-586-9605, repcreagan@Capitol.hawaii.gov, and works from Room 427 at the state capitol building.
     Follow the bills Creagan introduces at capitol.hawaii.gov.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.

See public Kaʻū events, meetings, entertainment. 

See Kaʻū exercise, meditation, daily, and weekly events. 

Print edition of The Kaʻū Calendar is free to 5,500 mailboxes 

throughout Kaʻū, from Miloliʻi through Volcano, and free on 

stands throughout the district. Read online at kaucalendar.com

and facebook.com/kaucalendar.

See monthly and weekly Kaʻū and Volcano Events, Meetings, Entertainment, Exercise, and Meditation at kaucalendar.com.

Kaʻū Winter Sports Schedule

Girls Basketball

Thu., Jan.16 @Kealakehe

Wed., Jan. 22 @HPA

Boys Basketball

Wed., Jan. 15 host Kealakehe

Fri., Jan. 17 @Parker

Mon., Jan. 20 @Honokaʻa

Soccer

Wed., Jan. 15 @Konawaena

Sat., Jan. 18 Girls @Kamehameha

Wed., Jan. 22 and Sat., Jan. 25 Girls BIIF

Wrestling

Sat., Jan. 18 @HPA

Sat., Jan. 25 @Kamehameha

Swimming

Sat., Jan. 18 @Kamehameha

Sat., Jan. 25 @Kona Community Aquatic Center

UPCOMING

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 15

Ocean View Community Association Board of Directors Mtg., Wednesday, Jan. 15 – third Wednesday, monthly – 12:30-1:30p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-7033, ovcahi.org

Friends of the Kaʻū Libraries Annual Mtg., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 5:30 p.m. at Pāhala Plantation House on Maile Street. Elections for officers will happen during the short business meeting, followed by potluck pūpū. Sandra Demoruelle, naalehutheatre@yahoo.com or 808-929-9244.

Family Reading Night, Wednesday, Jan. 15 – third Tuesday, monthly – 6-7p.m., Nā‘ālehu Elementary School Cafeteria. Family reading, make & take activities, snacks provided. Free,

THURSDAY, JAN. 16

Aloha Kidney in Kaʻū, Thursday afternoons, 1-3:30p.m., Jan. 16 through Feb 20, Kaʻū Resource Center, 96-3126 Puahala St. in Pāhala. The free class series on Chronic Kidney Disease lead by retired kidney doctor Ramona Wong. Bring a pen and whomever cares/cooks/shops for the person(s) with CKD. Enroll online by Friday, Jan. 10 at alohakidney.com or call (808) 585-8404.

Nāʻālehu School Family Reading Night, Thursday, Jan. 16 – third Wednesday, monthly – 6-7p.m., Ocean View Community Center. Family reading, make & take activities, snacks provided. Free. 939-7033, ovcahi.org

SATURDAY, JAN. 18

Hawaii Wildlife Fund - Ka‘ū Community Cleanup, Saturday, Jan. 18. Space available. BYO-4WD also welcome. R.S.V.P. in advance to 769-7629, mattieHWF@gmail.com, or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com. wildhawaii.org

Soft Pastel Still Life Workshop with Patti Pease Johnson, Saturday, Jan. 18, 9a.m. Beginner and intermediate artists welcome. 967-8222, volcanoartcenter.org

Birth of Kahuku, Saturday, Jan. 18, 9:30-11:30a.m., Kahuku Unit, HVNP. Free, easy-to-moderate hike. Bring snack and water. nps.gov/havo

Hike Back in Time To The 1969-74 Mauna Ulu Eruption, Saturday, Jan. 18, 10a.m.-1p.m., Mauna Ulu parking lot. USGS HVO geologist Dr. Carolyn Parcheta leads a two-hour guided walk along the fissure that started the Mauna Ulu eruption, the longest observed effusive rift eruption at the time which built lava shield, Mauna Ulu, growing mountain, a prominent landmark on Kīlauea's East Rift Zone. Free; Park entrance fees apply. 985-6101, nps.gov/havo

Ocean View C.E.R.T. Mtg., Saturday, Jan. 18 and Feb. 4 – every other Tuesday – 10a.m.-1p.m., Ocean View Community Center. Community Emergency Response Team monthly meeting and training. Jan. 4 meeting canceled due to septic work at OVCC. 939-7033, ovcahi.org

Pupule Papales Band, Saturday, Jan. 18, 7-10p.m., Kīlauea Military Camp's Lava Lounge, in HVNP. $5 cover charge, free to in-house guests. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. kilaueamilitarycamp.com

SUNDAY, JAN. 19

Hi‘iaka & Pele, Sunday, Jan. 19, 9:30-11:30a.m., Kahuku Unit, HVNP. Free, moderate, one-mile walk. 985-6101, nps.gov/havo

MONDAY, JAN. 20

Fee Free Day at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Monday, Jan. 20, midnight-11:59p.m. Park entrance fees waived for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. 985-6101, nps.gov/havo

AdvoCATS, Monday, Jan. 20, 7a.m.-4:30p.m., Ocean View Community Center. Free spay/neuter for cats. 895-9283, advocatshawaii.org

TUESDAY, JAN. 21

Cultural Understanding through Art & the Environment: Ti Leaf Lei Making with Jelena Clay, Tuesday, Jan. 21 – third Tuesday, Monthly – 11a.m.-1p.m., Volcano Art Center. Pre-registration required; class size limited. $10 per person supply fee. 967-8222, volcanoartcenter.org

After Dark in the Park – Kīlauea Lower East Rift Zone 2019: Quiet But Insightful, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 7-8p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium. Why did the fissures erupt along a linear pattern?  How long will it take for the lava to solidify? Why is vegetation still dying in the area? Join USGS HVO geologist Carolyn Parcheta as she explores these and other queries, and shares recent observations and findings by HVO scientists. Free; Park entrance fees apply. 985-6101, nps.gov/havo

ONGOING

Apply for Mosaics of Science by Monday, Feb. 3. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park's 12-week paid summer internship position is designed to engage university students and recent graduates with on-the-ground work experience in the National Park Service. A $4,800 stipend, and all travel costs are covered, including a week-long career workshop in Washington,  D.C. to meet with NPS managers.

     The internship is open to U.S. citizens and permanent legal residents ages 18-30, and to military veterans up to age 35. Funding is provided under a cooperative agreement for youth conservation activities as part of the Public Lands Corps program, which mandates that these age ranges are followed. 

     The selected intern will assist with the development of education curriculum for Kīpukapuaulu and Pu‘u Loa trails in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
     For more information, contact Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Education Specialist Jody Anastasio by email at jody_anastasio@nps.gov. To apply go to go.nps.gov/mosaics or mosaicsinscience.org.

T-Ball and Coach Pitch Baseball League: Ocean View Team - Mondays and Wednesdays, Kahuku Park. Nā‘ālehu Team - Tuesdays and Thursdays, Nā‘ālehu Park. Pāhala Team (seeking coaches) - attend Nā‘ālehu practice. T-Ball, 3:30-4:30pm, ages 5-6. Coach Pitch, 4:30-6p.m., ages 7-8. Programs take place through April 16. Wear cleats or tennis shoes, bring a glove if possible. Extras gloves available for use. All skills and genders welcome. $35 per teammate. See Ka‘ū Youth Baseball on Facebook. Josh or Elizabeth Crook, 345-0511

Tūtū & Me Home Visiting Program is a free service to Pāhala families with keiki, birth to five years old. This caregiver support program offers those taking care of young keiki "a compassionate listening ear, helpful parenting tips and strategies, fun and exciting activities, and wonderful educational resources" from Tūtū & Me Traveling Preschool. Home visits are one hour in length, two to four times per month, for 12 to 15 visits. Snacks are provided. See pidfoundation.org or call 808-938-1088.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.