Ka`u News Briefs May 11, 2011

Geothermal is the power resource for the city of Ormoc in the Philippines.

COUNCIL MEMBER BRITTANY SMART has proposed that Hawai`i County set up a sister relationship with the Visayan city of Ormoc on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. She said the island is particularly of interest since it is almost entirely powered up by geothermal energy, with the rest of the electricity generated by hydroelectric plants. She said there is a lot to learn from our Filipino friends. The mayor of Ormoc is in support, and Mayor Billy Kenoi is positive about the relationship, said Smart. She plans to present a resolution to the county council by the end of the year. The proposal also has the support of the Congress of Visayan organizations.

A TIME OUT LAW for foreclosures got the signature of Gov. Neil Abercrombie yesterday. Keali`i Lopez, director of the Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs, said this morning that the law, which requires lenders to meet face-to-face with homeowners to work out a settlement, will help keep people in their homes. She predicted that it will not lead to mortgage companies pulling out of Hawai`i. Lenders would still take homeowners to court when unable to reach a settlement.

`AINA KOA PONO is planning its biofuel farm and has a researcher on the ground in Pahala to check out the land and help determine which plants to grow to make energy. According to engineer Sandy Causey, the company will use sterile grasses and no GMOs. The company plans a refinery on Meyer Camp Road and thousands of acres of plantings that would be used to make biofuels to be trucked to Kona to the electric plant next to the airport.

Bull Kailiawa grows taro, banana, papaya and other food plants
 around the imu at his coffee farm.  Photo by Julia Neal

KHON2 FEATURED KA`U COFFEE growers Bull Kailiawa and his nephew Bubba George last night and this morning on news broadcasts in a feature about their farm. “A slice of coffee heaven can be found on Hawai`i Island,” said reporter Jai Cunningham. “It’s called Cloud Rest and it’s where the Kailiawa Coffee Farm is nestled. It’s in Ka`u, and was just recently named a top ten coffee in the world, the only American-grown coffee to receive such an honor.” 

     “We got a lot of deep volcanic soil here, and anything grows good in volcanic soil, and it’s proven right now,” said Thomas ‘Bull’ Kailiawa. The secret to the Kailiawa success is no secret. “Hard work, hard work, tender loving care,” said Kailiawa. As for the top international honor, he said, “Really excited, really excited. It means a lot, especially for us farmers here in Hawai`i, and especially the people in Ka`u.”
     The award is just another example that Hawai`i Island is now the place when it comes to coffee, said the KHON2 newsman.
     Kailiawa and all the Ka`u coffee farmers will be at the festival this weekend, with a ho`olaule`a, coffee tasting and recipe contest on Saturday, all day, and coffee education on Sunday. Farm tours will be held both Saturday and Sunday.

Eucalyptus trees above Pahala are being harvested
and sent to China.  Photo by Julia Neal

ABOUT 1000 TREES are being cut from Kamehameha Schools land above Pahala for a test run for selling the eucalyptus to China. The tentative plan is to harvest the trees on site and load them into closed shipping containers and deliver them straight to the harbor, where they will be shipped to China. 

THE ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP for this Saturday’s Ho`olaule`a at Pahala Community Center is growing. Big D will be on board with the Brown Bags to Stardom winners One Journey, Cyril Pahinui, two halau - with one coming all the way from Lana`i and one from Ka`u – Lori Lei’s Hula Studio. Lorna and Mary Ann Lim, Bobby Koanui, the Kahumokus, Bolo, Tony Salvage, the Ka`u `Ukulele Kids and Hands of Time are all on the program.
     Opening at 9 a.m. will be Miss Ka`u Coffee Brandy Shibuya and her court. She will dance hula to the song Poliahu.

KILOHANA DOMINGO DEMONSTRATES the intricate art of feather work on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center today from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. His mother, Lehua, also shares her `anoni style of weaving pandanus leaves into hat designs. Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park entrance fees apply.

HAWAI‘I COUNTY TRANSIT DIRECTOR Tom Brown discusses the Hele-On bus system and other mass transit issues at Ocean View Community Center this evening at 7 p.m. The meeting is one of County Council member Brittany Smart’s District 6 Matters meetings.

STUDENTS AT VOLCANO SCHOOL of the Arts and Sciences present their ninth season of an Evening of Theater tomorrow. Curtain time is 6 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theater. Sixth-grade students present the Nathan Hartswick comedy The Ever After, seventh-graders perform in the Robert Swift melodrama The Paper Bag Bandit Rides Again, and eighth-graders present The Beggar and the Wolf by Patrick Rainville Dorn.

Ka`u News Briefs May 10, 2011

ML Macadamia reported a profit for the first quarter of 2011.

ML MACADAMIA ORCHARDS is enjoying the benefit of the recent rains, having gone from a loss in the first quarter last year to a profit this quarter. Last year the severe drought saw less than three inches of rain in the first quarter. The first three months of this year saw nine inches of rain in the Ka`u orchards around Pahala. According to the report from ML, revenues in the first quarter of 2011 were $2.5 million, comprised of $2.2 million from the sale of 3.0 million contract pounds of macadamia nuts and $320,000 in contract farming revenue. In comparison, revenues in the first quarter of 2010 were $2.4 million with $1.2 million from the sale of 1.6 million contract pounds and $1.2 million in contract farming revenue.
     The significant shift from farming revenue to nut sales in 2011 is due to the acquisition of the IASCO orchards, which ML now owns below Hwy 11 in Pahala. ML used to farm the land by contract. All of the Partnership’s production for 2011 will be sold to Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation with approximately 80 percent under fixed price contracts of 73 cents per pound (same as 2010) and the remaining 20 percent under the market-based contracts acquired from IASCO. The vast majority of the Partnership’s financial results will be determined by the third and fourth quarter harvest levels. Rainfall in the Ka`u region has improved over the past six months, but there is no guarantee that 2011 production will rebound to historical levels, according to the ML report.

TAXING TIME SHARE PROPERTIES at a different property tax rates than apartments, condominiums and hotel rooms is a way that some government officials are considering to help balance budgets. Maui County is already charging $14 for $1,000 of valuation for time shares. That is higher than the $8 for hotel properties and much higher than owner-occupied residences. Time shares are often owned by some 51 people for each unit, and they all share in paying the property taxes. Maui is the only local government in the country taxing time shares at a different rate, according the Pacific Business News, which is quoting the American Resort Development Association. Maui is thinking of raising the time share property tax rate to $15 per $1,000 valuation and hotel and resort properties to $9 per $1,000 valuation. The only time share properties in Ka`u are at Punalu`u Beach, and the Hawai`i County Council did not propose such a special tax this year.

LEADERS OF THE SPECIALTY COFFEE INDUSTRY are traveling to Ka`u, the state’s largest agricultural district, this weekend to learn about award-winning Ka`u Coffee. Representing three areas of the U.S. Mainland, they include specialty coffee guru George Howell, of Terroir Coffee in Action in Massachusetts; Skip Fay, of Dunn Bros. Coffee in Minneapolis; and James Freeman, of Blue Bottle Coffee in Oakland, California. 

George Howell shares his coffee expertise
at the Ka`u Coffee College this Sunday.

     The coffee experts are participating in Ka`u Coffee’s inaugural reverse trade mission as part of the third Ka`u Coffee Festival May 14-15 at the Pahala Community Center. They will learn first-hand about Ka`u Coffee during Saturday festival activities, including guided tastings and farm tours. On Sunday, the men will give guest lectures to local coffee farmers at the free Ka`u Coffee College. 

     A pioneer of the specialty coffee movement in the early 1970s, George Howell founded The Coffee Connection, a high-end coffee retailer that was acquired by Starbucks in 1994. He is an expert on single-origin coffee.
     Marshall “Skip” Fay is executive vice president of Dunn Bros. Coffee Franchising, Inc. He opened Dunn’s first franchised coffee house and roastery in 1994, and today there are 90 locations.
     Named one of the New York Times’ “Nifty 50,” James Freeman is on coffee’s radar for his Blue Bottle coffee company in the San Francisco Bay Area. Freeman’s network of coffee carts and cafes offers carefully made coffee drinks, and he is committed to selling beans less than 48 hours out of the roaster.”
     The reverse trade mission is sponsored by the state Department of Agriculture and the Ka`u Coffee Festival.

Melon-headed whales live in shallow water of Hawai`i Island.

JESSICA ASCHETTINO, a research associate with Cascadia Research Collective, shares information about melon-headed whales at After Dark in the Park, tonight at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. Normally considered an open-ocean species, these whales also live in shallow water off Hawai`i Island. 

KILOHANA DOMINGO demonstrates the intricate art of feather work on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. His mother, Lehua, also shares her `anoni style of weaving pandanus leaves into hat designs. Park entrance fees apply.

HAWAI`I COUNTY TRANSIT DIRECTOR Tom Brown discusses the Hele-On bus system and other mass transit issues at Ocean View Community Center tomorrow at 7 p.m. The meeting is one of County Council member Brittany Smart’s District 6 Matters meetings.

STUDENTS AT VOLCANO SCHOOL of the Arts and Sciences present their ninth season of an Evening of Theater on Thursday. Curtain time is 6 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theater. Sixth-grade students present the Nathan Hartswick comedy The Ever After, seventh-graders perform in the Robert Swift melodrama The Paper Bag Bandit Rides Again, and eighth-graders present The Beggar and the Wolf by Patrick Rainville Dorn.

Ka`u News Briefs May 9, 2011

Miss Ka`u Coffee Brandy Shibuya performed the opening hula at a fundraiser for Japan at the
Waikoloa Bowl amphitheater on Saturday.

UPDATES ON THE KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN are available online at kaucdp.info. Ron Whitmore, the county planner assigned to the task, notes that several issues are on the table for the community. Council member Brittany Smart has introduced Resolution 60-11, Delaying Council Action on Certain Land Use Approvals, calling for no general plan amendments or zoning changes until the development plan is approved. She plans to hold a District 6 Matters meeting to discuss it with the community on Thursday, June 9 at 7 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center.

Meyer Camp Road, the proposed site of `Aina Koa Pono's
proposed biofuel refinery.  Photo by Julia Neal

     The site proposed for the `Aina Koa Pono biofuels project is off of Meyer Camp Road, between Wood Valley Road and the Hester farm. State land use law and the Hawai`i County zoning code permit the proposed facility with plan approval, said Whitmore. No General Plan amendment, rezoning, or environmental assessment is required, so no approvals from the Planning Commission or the County Council are required, he said.

     Whitmore can be contacted at 967-8137 or rwhitmore@co.hawaii.hi.us.

THE STATE FREIGHT TAX on imported goods has gone up from 50 cents to 75 cents per 1,000 pounds to help pay for agricultural inspectors to keep out invasive species. The tax, just passed by the state Legislature, could bring in as much as $5.25 million per year and help fund the return of some of the 37 inspectors let go during the administration of Gov. Linda Lingle. Hilo is looking for one job to be reinstated, while Kona is looking for two, including an entomologist. Another tax increase – this one on petroleum products imported to Hawai`i – could help pay for a fight against the coffee berry borer and varroa mite out of a fund for food security and ag development.

Shizuno Nasu and Miss Ka`u
Coffee Brandy Shibuya
Photo by Julia Neal

TWO FUNDRAISERS FOR VICTIMS of the Japan tsunami in March were supported by Miss Ka`u Coffee over the weekend. Coffee queen Brandy Shibuya performed the opening hula at the Mother’s Day fundraiser for Japan at the Waikoloa Bowl amphitheater on Saturday. The dance interpreted the Teresa Bright song Poliahu. Representing the Ka`u Coffee industry, she gave a talk about the importance of reaching out to Japan. On Sunday she represented Ka`u Coffee at a fundraiser for tsunami victims at Volcano Art Center, where dancer Shizuno Nasu performed. Miss Ka`u Coffee will perform at the Ka`u Coffee Festival during the ho`olaule`a this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the educational day and farm tours on Sunday, May 15. 

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION is set for Friday, May 20 at 5 p.m. at the school gym. The keynote speaker is Kurt Dela Cruz, and 62 students are planning to graduate. Call 928-2088.
     Hawai`i Community College will host its ceremony for approximately 420 graduates at Edith Kanakaole Stadium in Hilo on Friday, May 13 at 7 p.m. Keynote speaker is Mayor Billy Kenoi. Call 933-0702.
     West Hawai`i Community College will host its graduation on Saturday, May 14, at 1:30 p.m. at Sheraton Keauhou Beach Hotel with about 64 students graduating. Keynote speaker is former newscaster and now associate vice president of External Affairs for U.H. Lynn Waters. Call 322-4856.
     University of Hawai`i at Hilo will see more than 600 students graduate at Edith Kanakaole Stadium in Hilo at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 14. The speaker will be Dr. Hank C.K. Wuh, founder and CEO of Cellular Bioengineering. 

KA`U RESIDENTS WHO have been taking scrap metal to the Kea`au Solid Waste Transfer Station will have to hold off until late October. Both the green waste and scrap metal collection site will be closed starting today and will be closed until Friday, Oct. 28. The transfer station is being redesigned to be more accessible and easier to use. Except for green waste and scrap metal collections, all services will remain open at the Kea`au Transfer Station during the construction period. For more information, contact Michael Friend, SWD Civil Engineer, at 961-8296 or go to the County Solid Waste Division’s website: www.hawaiizerowaste.org. 

THE KA`U HIGH VARSITY BOYS volleyball team ended their bid for states on Friday after losing to the West Division II number two seed HPA. Ka`u won the first game, 25-18, but HPA came back to win the next three despite the Trojans’ efforts. Scores were 17-25, 25-27 and 12-25. Callen Koi served up three aces. Kill-leader was junior Holden Galigo with eight kills, followed by senior Tyler Navarro-Villa making seven and senior Donald Garo putting down six. Senior setter Kasey Camba helped his team with 21 assists and 11 digs. Navarro-Villa played hard, also making 10 digs.

Kilohana Domingo presented an `oli at
 Gov. Neil Abercrombie's confirmation
 ceremony in Pahala in December.
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

KILOHANA DOMINGO DEMONSTRATES the intricate art of feather work on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. His mother, Lehua, also shares her `anoni style of weaving pandanus leaves into hat designs. Park entrance fees apply. 

HAWAI`I COUNTY TRANSIT DIRECTOR Tom Brown discusses the Hele-On bus system and other mass transit issues at Ocean View Community Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The meeting is one of County Council member Brittany Smart’s District 6 Matters meetings. 

KA `OHANA O HONU`APO is inviting all the people of Ka`u to give their input, comments, and mana`o on their draft Honu`apo Wetlands Habitat Restoration Plan on Sunday, May 15, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Honu`apo Park. Refreshments will be provided. Restoring bird habitat in Honu`apo’s wetlands has been a top priority of Ka `Ohana since its founding in 2005, said executive director Lehua Lopez-Mau. “Based on community input over the two-year park planning process which ran from 2008 to 2010 and culminated in the Honuʻapo Park Resources Management Plan finalized in June 2010, preserving and enhancing the natural and cultural resources of the park is one of the primary objectives in improving Honu`apo Park for the Ka`u community,” she said.
     Call Lopez-Mau at 929-9891 with any questions or for more information about the draft Honu`apo Wetlands Habitat Restoration Plan.