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Friday, December 01, 2023

Kaʻū News Briefs December 1, 2023

Holidays in Kahuku this Saturday
Holidays in Kahuku this Saturday brings entertainment, food, handmade gifts for sale, free shave ice, activities for
keiki, including Santa with gifts from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kahuku Unit of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. 
See poster below and story http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2023_11_25_archive.html,
Photo of Kahuku Visitor Contact Station and Festival Grounds by B. Hayes/NPS




COUNTY LEGISLATION TO MAKE IT EASIER TO BUILD HOMES got the green light from Mayor Mitch Roth, with his signature this week. The bill passed the County Council in November. Roth said, "We've dedicated ourselves to finishing the building permitting process for our residents, and this bill is a significant step in achieving that goal. Recognizing the challenges posed by factors such as COVID-19 and subsequent inflation, we aim to alleviate prolonged building processes and burdens on local homebuilders. The bill establishes a structured and time-sensitive framework for permit applications, expirations, and extensions to streamline the process and provide clarity on timelines, conditions, and limits.”
    County Council Chair said the Council drafted the bill in cooperation with county Department of Public

Works. They revisited "the fundamental purpose of the building codes and their  timeline: Ensuring the safety of the building in our community. Bill 84 removes language that was ambiguous, discretionary, or not aligned with its purpose. The result is a streamlined procedure that I hope the public will find easy to understand and reasonable to follow. To me, working on Bill 84 represents the best example of creative problem-solving and collaboration between the administration and the council for the benefit of the community."
    County Council member Sue Lee Loy said the Bill helps homeowners and lenders have a bright line of understanding on approval timelines and pointed to its importance during times of inflation.
    A statement from the County says it aims to "streamline the construction code permitting process." The measure "simplifies and standardizes application timelines, extensions, and expirations to align with updated construction code standards mandated by State law."
    In its statement, the County stated important provisions of the ordinance:
    Purpose: Aligning construction projects with current safety standards, the ordinance simplifies and standardizes timing elements for construction code permits.
    Amendments to Chapter 5, Article 4, Section 5-4-7: The ordinance introduces a one-hundred-eighty-day timeline from the submission date for applicants to obtain a permit. It outlines provisions for extensions and the process for restarting an application if abandoned.
    Amendments to Chapter 5, Article 5, Section 5-5-4: Standardizing permit expiration, the ordinance sets a six-year expiration period for permits issued after August 17, 2020, outlining conditions and steps upon expiration.
    Amendments to Chapter 5, Article 5, Section 5-5-5: The ordinance addresses permit extensions, specifying circumstances for granting extensions and setting a limit of one extension for one hundred and eighty days.

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Rainy weather mellowed but before it did, NPS photographer Janice Wei captured this image at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. 

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE REPORTED FRIDAY EVENING that the kona low, which brought heavy rains, "will weaken into a trough west of the state tonight, with some lingering moisture and instability bringing the chance for some showers and even a thunderstorm to portions of the state through Saturday. A return to trade wind weather will begin Saturday night, with showers favoring windward slopes and coasts.
    "The trades will gradually strengthen Sunday and Monday, with breezy conditions expected Tuesday and Wednesday. An approaching front will gradually ease the trade winds and shift them around to the southeast late next week."


THE ANNUAL HAWAI'I TRI-PARK PASS program, providing admission to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park and Haleakalā National Park, with a single pass, will make a change  Jan. 1. New passes will authorize entry for one person per pass with one signature per pass.
    Current passes that have two signatures and allow those two people entry will be honored until they expire, said a statement from National Park Service on Friday. The park specific passes are part of the nationwide America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Passes program. The change is happening nationwide.
    Another change for the annual Hawaiʻi Tri-Park Pass is that it is now available for purchase online, a frequent request from many park visitors. Purchasers can download the digital pass from Recreation.gov and exchange it for a physical pass if desired at any of the three participating Hawaiʻi parks.
    The statement from NPS explained that "The change from two signatures to a single signature is necessary to ensure consistency and fairness among all Interagency Passes and park-specific passes, and to prevent fraud and reduce revenue loss. The change will affect purchasers of the passes at all pass sales outlets, including the park entrance and the USGS Store site. Park passes are not transferable."


TWO HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL GAMES COME TO KAʻŪ ON SATURDAY. Trojans Girls Varsity will take on Christian Liberty Academy at 3 p.m. Pahoa Boys Junior Varsity will take on Kaʻū at 5
p.m. The Varsity game will be at 7 p.m. The games will be held in the Herkes Kaʻū District Gym in Pāhala.
    This week, Kaʻū Trojan boys traveled to Waikea and the JV team beat Waiakea Warriors 44 to 36. Waiakea won in the first quarter 8-6, but the Trojans came back dominating the last three quarters 9-5, 15-4, and 14-9.
    Top Kaʻū scorers were Rhyder Ahmed 14, Loaa Kaupu 9, Kualana Akiona 8, Isiah Manilla Louis 6, Aidan Ahmed 3, Zayden Gallano 2 and Tristan Rasmussen 2.
     In Varsity competition, Waiakea  Warriors beat the Trojans 52-28. Kaʻū lost the first three quarters 3-12, 6-15, 8-13 and tied the fourth at 12 to 12. 
    Top scorers were Justin Karasuda 10, Keaka McDonnell 6, Tyson Kuahia-Faafia 6, Joe Buyuan 5 and Jestin Penera 1.   

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Directed by Kaʻū's own Farley Sangels and four other
musicians from Kaʻū.




5,000 in the mail, 2,500 on the street.