Ka`u News Briefs May 19, 2011

The Class of 2011 paraded through Pahala this morning in their cars and trucks, honking their horns
on the last day of school for seniors.  Photo by Julia Neal

`AINA KOA PONO principals, who plan to build a refinery and a biofuels farm just outside Pahala, were quoted in Pacific Business News this week. They supported electric rate hikes across O`ahu, Maui and Hawai`i counties to help pay for their $350 million project. Co-founder Melvin Chiogioji told PBN: “The fact of the matter is that all of us are going to require some sort of premium in order to finance the [biofuel] projects.” He said, however, that higher prices may not last. Once biofuel operations are scaled-up the price point is expected to fall for certain projects. PBN writer Sophie Cocke reports that, “with the expectation that oil prices will rise, executives of biofuel companies are betting on their fuel to become cost-competitive. While in the short term biofuels could cost ratepayers more, Hawaiian Electric officials have been strongly supporting their development.

     As with traditional petroleum sources, biofuel can be used in the utility’s existing generators and provide a constant source of energy, unlike solar and wind energy, which are intermittent due to cloud cover and variable wind speeds.”

     `Aina Koa Pono went to the legislature to pass a new law that would allow the price increase across the islands. That law is awaiting Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s signature. PBN reported `Aina Koa Pono co-founder Kenton Eldridge saying that if the law had not passed, “we would have worked closely with Hawaiian Electric to assess the situation and explore options.”

COUNCIL MEMBER BRITTANY SMART has moved for the council to reconsider Mayor Billy Kenoi’s proposal to start charging $1 for each Hele-On Bus ride with seniors, the disabled and students still enjoying free passage. Smart made the move after voting against the bill to stop free bus service. She said she didn’t realize that voting against the $1 fee would mean that the bus fares would go back to rates in place when free bus service was instated. Without kokua zones passengers would pay approximately $5 for a one-way trip from Ka`u to Hilo or Kona. Said Smart, “While there was mention of the Kokua Zones expiring at the end of this fiscal year – the end of June – at no point in any discussions, including council chambers, the media and community meetings was it stated that the bus fares revert to fares existing prior to the kokua zones.” Council rules allow for any council member voting with the majority to move to reconsider the vote at the same meeting or next regular meeting, if notification is given to the county clerk within five days after the vote.
     Smart gave the notification and plans to change her vote to prevent the rates to ride the Hele-On from soaring.

RIDING THE BUS FROM KA`U to Hawai`i Community College and University of Hawai`i is popular for getting homework done – a way to manage time rather than drive the hour to hour and a half distance to school. The American Association of University Women is encouraging women to go back to school and to take up training for work. It is offering a Women in Transition free seminar on Saturday, June 4 from 8 a.m. to noon at the University of Hawai`i Center in Kealakekua. Keynote speaker Jeanne Hartney will talk about going back to college after a long absence of working and raising a family. Training on resume writing, and offerings at West Hawai`i, will be offered. Those attending can apply for a $1,000 scholarship. Registration is required for this free seminar. Call 322-4858.

The last day before becoming
alumni of the Class of 2011.
Photos by Julia Neal

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL for seniors at Ka`u High School, and graduation ceremonies will be held tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. at the Ka`u High School Gym. Keynote speaker is Kurt Dela Cruz, of the University of Hawai`i. A musician, comic, and youth counselor, he will talk about his days at Ka`u High and give an inspiring talk to the Class of 2011. 

Seniors take the helm of the familiar
mode of transportation by security
and the principal.

     Valedictorian is Dakota Walker, and salutatorian is Jaeneise Cuison, who will also give speeches. The last day of school for underclassmen is tomorrow. This morning the seniors took a traditional spin around Pahala, blasting the horns on their cars and trucks with signs celebrating the Class of 2011. 

NANI KAHUKU `AINA presents plans for its Kahuku Village resort development along the coast near Ocean View today at 5:30 p.m. at Yano Hall in Captain Cook. The development is on 16,000 acres between Ocean View and South Point and would include hotels, condominiums, golf courses and a nature park around Pohue Bay. For more information, call project manager Aaron Eberhardt at 808-224-5308.

Honu`apo in the early days of development into a sugar
transportation hub that lasted for many decades,
degrading the wetlands.

TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY for public comments on the Wetlands Habitat Restoration Plan for Honu`apo Estuary. The goal is to improve local and migratory bird habitat, and the proposal calls for controlling predators like cats, dogs and mongoose with active predator control, predator-proof fencing around the Honu`apo estuary, and removing kiawe trees and other alien vegetation to restore freshwater input. Alien vegetation in the mudflats would also be removed to improve bird forage habitat. Endemic and native plants would be planted to provide habitat. The effort would be to restore more open mudflats for foraging birds and deepwater pools for birds, fish and turtles. Call Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo executive director Lehua Lopez Mau to see the complete plan and with questions at 929-9891. 

THE SOUTHSIDE VOLLEYBALL CLUB is having a car wash on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Ka`u Federal Credit Union in Na`alehu. The club is raising funds to go the Nationals in Minnesota this summer. Baked good and desktop plants such as anthuriums rooted on lava rocks will also be available for purchase.

FREE ART DEMONSTRATIONS and hands-on activities are featured at the annual Artists in Action event happening on Saturday at Volcano Garden Arts in Volcano Village from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. One of the artists participating is Dina Kageler, who was a judge at last month’s Miss Ka`u Coffee pageant.

Buddy and Sammi Fo at Hana Hou.  Photo by Nalani Parlin

A GATHERING HONORING the life of legendary Hawaiian composer, musician and entertainer Buddy Fo will be held this Saturday at 4 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Fo and his wife, dancer Sammi Fo, made their home in Ocean View after a career spanning from New York to Las Vegas, Honolulu and Maui to the Big Island. Fo was a member of the Invitations. He and Sammi performed in recent years at area restaurants, house concerts, festivals and music workshops. Sammi said she will continue teaching hula in Ka`u.

Ka`u News Briefs May 18, 2011

Nani Kahuku 'Aina's Kahuku Village plans will be presented tomorrow night, 5:30pm, at Yano Hall, Captain Cook.

NANI KAHUKU ‘AINA will present plans for its Kahuku Village resort development along the coast near Ocean View tomorrow, Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Yano Hall in Captain Cook. The development is on 16,000 acres between Ocean View and South Point and would include hotels, condominiums, golf courses and a nature park around Pohue Bay. For more information, call project manager Aaron Eberhardt at 808-224-5308. 

THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I has made a motion to participate in the ‘Aina Koa Pono rate case that would raise the price of electricity to help pay for a refinery and biofuel farm near Pahala. The county states that the economic development impacts of the project need to be fully evaluated and understood by the county, including the impact that the proposed facility and contract with HECO companies will have on the development of other renewable energy resources that do not have the land and greenhouse gas emission impacts associated with the biofuel proposal. 

      The motion from the county also states that the county wants to ensure that the development of renewable resources is accomplished in a sustainable fashion. It points out that the proposed contract will provide an amount of fuel that will account for a substantial percentage of HELCO's annual energy production. The contract value may be in the range of $50 to $100 million a year. "Because the contract is long-term, twenty years, this contract would essentially lock in a cost structure and generation mix for Hawai‘i Island that may preclude additional biofuels contracts and may well preclude many other forms of renewable energy resources available on the Big Island, including proven technologies such as geothermal, wind and solar," the motion states. The PUC denied the county's motion, stating that it came too late in the process. 

MAILE PICKERS WERE RESCUED above Wai‘ohinu Tuesday afternoon after being reported missing at 9:03 a.m. The men failed to return home Monday after hiking above Wai‘ohinu to pick maile. They apparently became disoriented in the heavily forested area.  

     The reporting party gave fire personnel directions to the missing parties vehicle and general directions to the maile picking area. The fire crew established communication with the missing parties via text messages. They instructed the men to build a signal fire, which allowed the Fire Department’s Chopper One to pinpoint their location. The smoke indicated the men were 1.5 miles above Lorenzo Road in Wai‘ohinu; about 1.6 miles North West of their vehicle. 

     The helicopter crew airlifted the men one at a time via Billy Pugh net along with one Fire Rescue Specialist in the net to safety. The men were uninjured and did not require any medical attention. 

THE PROPOSED HIKE IN BUS FARES for the island-wide Hele On system failed to pass the County Council this week. Ka‘u's council member Brittany Smart voted against the fare hike and she was joined by Dennis Ikeda, Brenda Ford and Pete Hoffman. Voting for the fare hike were Dominic Yagong, Angel Pilago, J Yoshimoto, and Dennis Onishi. Mayor Billy Kenoi proposed the hike; he says the system needs income to pay for itself. Excluded from paying would be students, the disabled and the elderly. Discount passes would be available to everyone, including visitors. The council deadlocked on the issue and it will come up again at a future council meeting. 

      Smart talked about the importance of people riding the bus to reduce traffic congestion and extending the life of county roads. Na‘alehu resident Eva Uran testified that this part of the island needs more bus service. The bus goes to Hilo twice a day and is sometimes so crowded that she has to stand, she said. 

Brittany Smart

COUNCIL MEMBER BRITTANY SMART voted this week to spend money in Mayor Billy Kenoi's reserve fund to hire a consultant to study the property evaluation system for property taxes. J Yoshimoto, Dennis Ikeda, Fresh Onishi and Angel Pilago voted against the expenditure. The opponents said the review and revisions could be done in house and save the county the consulting fee, which could cost up to $250,000. Pilago said the legislative auditor could handle it. The measure is a non-binding resolution. The review is fueled by perceptions that West Hawai‘i properties are unfairly valued many times more than East Hawai‘i properties. 

THE COUNTY COUNCIL will help shepherd the construction of a new slaughterhouse for the island. Ranchers have said during the last few years that it is difficult to get an appointment to take care of livestock at the limited slaughterhouse operations available on the island. The state is providing $4.5 million to change the situation. 

Hilo Landfill takes Ka'u garbage, Pahala through Volcano

GARBAGE FROM NA‘ALEHU AND OCEAN VIEW north is hauled to the west side of the island to the landfill at Pu‘uanahulu while Pahala and Volcano garbage is hauled to the Hilo landfill. With only five to eight years of space left at Hilo the county administration is in the middle of another study, this one costing $200,000 and culling information to decide whether the garbage from Hilo should be trucked through such routes as saddle road to the west side of the island. Another alternative is to expand the Hilo landfill. The County Council's Environmental Committee reviewed the issue and some members, such as Pete Hoffman called the study a waste of money, saying there is no way that garbage should be hauled from one side of the island to the other. Either way, garbage from Ka‘u will still make a long haul. 

Mike Cooney won a grant to
study crops for biodiesel

A MILLION DOLLAR, TWO-YEAR grant to study appropriate crops for biodiesel has been won by the U.H. Hawai‘i Natural Energy Institute's Mike Cooney. Also involved will be Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Science, Department of Oceanography, College of Business Administration and the company RealGreen Power. The study will focus on jatropha curcas, which resists drought and grows quickly. It will also study whether waste biomass could become an appropriate soil enrichment for Hawai‘i farms. A competition for the grant was held by the U.H. Office of Research & Graduate Education. 

Southside Volleyball Club held a
booth at the Ka'u Coffee Festival
to raise money

THE SOUTHSIDE VOLLEYBALL CLUB will host a carwash this Saturday, May 21st at the Ka‘u Federal Credit Union parking lot in Na‘alehu from 8 a.m. to noon. There will be baked goods and desktop plants, such as anthuriums rooted on lava rocks for sale. The fundraiser helps send Ka‘u youth to a national volleyball championship on the mainland. 

KILAUEA VISITOR CENTER AUDITORIUM, will host a dance tonight with Halau Hula Kalehuaki‘eki‘eika‘iu, under the direction of kumu hula Ab Valencia. Show time is 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Ka`u News Briefs May 17, 2011

Sustainable Resources International, Inc. came to Honu`apo to make the wetlands study. Its co-principal Andy Hood
gave a presentation Sunday to local residents.  Photo by Kristin Dunn

PUBLIC COMMENTS are still being taken for the Wetlands Habitat Restoration Plan for Honu`apo Estuary. The deadline for comments is this Friday, May 20. The goal is to improve local and migratory bird habitat, and the proposal calls for controlling avial predators like cats, dogs and mongoose with active predator control, predator-proof fencing around the Honu`apo estuary, and removing kiawe trees and other alien vegetation to restore freshwater input. Alien vegetation in the mudflats would also be removed to improve bird forage habitat. Endemic and native plants would be planted to provide habitat. The effort would be to restore more open mudflats for foraging birds and deepwater pools for birds, fish and turtles. Call Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo executive director Lehua Lopez Mau to see the complete plan and with questions at 929-9891.

Sen. Dan Akaka

SEN. DAN AKAKA is backing up Hawai`i’s new law to force lenders to negotiate with property owners in foreclosure. He and ten other senators have introduced the Regulation of Mortgage Servicing Act. The bill is aimed at helping homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure stay in their homes by bringing more fairness and transparency into their dealings with mortgage servicers. 

     According to Akaka staffers, the act would end the dual track process, under which a foreclosure process proceeds at the same time that a homeowner is being considered for non-foreclosure alternatives. It would also require banks and other mortgage servicers to create a single point of contact for homeowners to work with and provide an independent, third-party review before sending a family to foreclosure.
     “My office has received countless requests for help from local families frustrated by delays, confusion, broken promises, and conflicting advice from their loan servicers. These families are simply trying to find a way to stay in their homes, and the added hardships they have endured are inexcusable,” Akaka said. “This legislation will help families and loan servicers to communicate and work more effectively toward their mutual benefit.”
     Hawai`i ranked 11th in the nation for foreclosures with one of every 45 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during 2010. There were 12,435 properties with foreclosure filings — including notices of default, public auctions and bank repossessions — in Hawai`i last year.

THE LEGACY LAND CONSERVATION program is not only protecting coastal lands and other scenic places, it is purchasing agricultural land for preservation. The state Legacy Land fund is providing $4.5 million in grants for the purchase of lands on the Big Island and O`ahu, with $7.6 million in private, federal and county money.
     The legacy land money comes from ten percent of the state income from a tax generated when properties change hands. It is called the land conveyance tax. Ten percent of the conveyance tax goes to the Legacy Land Conservation Fund, and a commission decides which parcels to buy. This year’s funding goes to ag land in North Kohala and near the Turtle Bay resort on O`ahu, as well as a heiau and wetland. Ideas for other ag lands to be preserved are being taken for next year.

Ka`u Coffee Mill owner Ed Olson and miller Lee Segawa
check the coffee beans.  Photo by Julia Neal

THE NEW KA`U COFFEE MILL hosted visitors during the Ka`u Coffee Festival over the weekend. The mill can now take coffee cherry and mill it, dry it, hull it and roast it. Ka`u Coffee Mill has a Pinhalense mill and Diedrich Roaster. It is located on Wood Valley Road. To make an appointment to visit the mill or to bring in coffee call 928-0500. 

KILAUEA DRAMA & ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK is holding auditions for their July presentation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta Patience. They are looking for five women, five men, a chorus of maidens and dragoons of all ages. Auditions take place at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park tonight starting at 6:30 p.m. Contact Suzi Bond at 982-7344 or kden73@aol.com.

NANI KAHUKU `AINA will present plans for their Kahuku Village development along the coast near Ocean View on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Yano Hall in Captain Cook. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, call project manager Aaron Eberhardt at 808-224-5308.

Precious Ka`awa's Ka`u Coffee Espresso
Brownies.  Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

KA`U COFFEE RECIPE CONTEST winner for the student category in Candies, Drinks and other Desserts is Precious Ka`awa, with her Ka`u Coffee Espresso Brownies. The winning recipe will be included in a cookbook to be produced by the Ka`u Coffee Festival. The recipe contest is an annual event at the Ka`u Coffee Festival at Pahala Community Center. 

THE ENDANGERED HAWAIIAN PETREL is the topic of After Dark in the Park tonight at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Seth Judge, from UH-Hilo, presents his graduate research on this species that has suffered a drastic decline because of numerous threats.

ALSO AT KILAUEA VISITOR CENTER AUDITORIUM, Halau Hula Kalehuaki‘eki‘eika‘iu, under the direction of kumu hula Ab Valencia, performs tomorrow from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.