Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 27, 2012

A measure in the House would put a fee on all paper and plastic bags. Photo from projectgreenbag.com

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, SIERRA CLUB and Surfrider Foundation are supporting a 10-cent fee on single-use paper and plastic shopping bags. The program could raise more than $20 million year and reduce use of those bags that wind up blowing down the highway and floating in the ocean. Income would go the state Department of Land and Natural Resources for its watershed program. The ultimate goal is to encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable shopping bags.

Robert Harris, Sierra Club
Hawai`i Photo by OHA

            According to Sierra Club executive director Robert Harris, who took the case to the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection yesterday, the law will not change the recently approved plastic bag ban that goes into effect in Hawai`i County next January. Some funds could initially go to merchants, who will shoulder the cost of switching from plastic to more expensive paper bags.
            Big Island Rep. Denny Coffman sponsored the House bill to charge for bags, claiming it will cause a drastic reduction of single-use bags within three years. If the incentive doesn’t reduce single-bag use by 75 percent by July 2016, the fee would rise to 25 cents a bag. The Sierra Club calculates that 10 cents a bag will reduce bag use by 50 percent. Harris said that Washington, D.C. launched such a program with a five-cent bag fee, causing a 75 to 90 percent reduction.
            Volcano resident Guy Kaulukukui, who is deputy director of the Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources, was wary about the incentives. “It’s hard to imagine that a 10-cent fee would reduce use by half,” he told the Sophie Cocke, a reporter with Civil Beat. “I think it’s much more difficult to change consumer behavior,” Kaulukukui told Civil Beat. 

Guy Kaulukukui, a Volcano resident. Photo from
The Kohala Center

            Some people weighing in at www.civilbeat.com suggested higher charges at the counter, with several calling for a fee of $1 per bag. In addition to funding the DLNR, the bill would provide 20 percent of the revenue to grocery stores to offset higher costs from implementing the program. The second year, the fee would go down to 10 percent. See more at civilbeat.com.

TESTING PUBLIC HOUSING APPLICANTS for drugs was shelved at the Legislature yesterday. Rep. John Mizuno noted it would cost about $43 per test and said it is unnecessary since there is already law in place allowing testing, should there be suspicion of drug use.
     According to a story in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser this morning, he said, “I don’t want to cut someone off and have them end up homeless.” Also shelved was a bill that would have screened participants in Temporary Aid for Needy Families. A similar law was declared unconstitutional by Florida courts. 

Kawa was placed in the public domain, in part, with money from the
Two-Percent land Fund. Photo by Julia Neal

MAYOR BILLY KENOI has signed the bill to place the Two-Percent Land Fund on the election ballot this November. The charter amendment would tighten up the process, requiring that deeds for land purchased ensure preservation of the property in perpetuity. The wording says the land shall be for “the use and enjoyment of the people of Hawai`i County and may not be sold, mortgaged, traded or transferred in any way.”
            West Hawai`i Today reported this morning that Kenoi said he supports the bill that puts two percent of property tax income into the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Fund. County Council member Brenda Ford sponsored the charter amendment to prevent the Council and mayor from changing the two-percent requirement.
            Funds were recently used to purchase lands around Kawa Bay to place them in the public domain.

KUMU LEILEHUA YUEN and Manu Josiah present 50-minute narrated demonstrations of the preparation, protocol and offering of traditional hula and chant at the hula platform in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Hands-on cultural demonstrations are offered from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the porch at Volcano Art Center Gallery. Donations are welcome, and park entrance fees apply.

A MURDER MYSTERY PLAY sponsored by Na`alehu Main Street will be performed tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Tickets for The Hurricane are $10 in advance and $15 at the door, including refreshments and heavy pupus. Call 929-7236 for tickets.

Jason Scott Lee promotes preservation of Hawai`i's
watersheds. Photo from DLNR

JASON SCOTT LEE’S documentary about preservation of Hawai`i’s watersheds airs on KHNL television tomorrow from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. In The Rain Follows the Forest, Lee describes his simple lifestyle in Volcano where he farms kalo. The Rain Follows the Forest is sponsored by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources. 

IN SPORTS, Ka`u High School Girls Basketball played at home last night. In JV play, Ka`u scored 37, while Waiakea won with 56. High scorers for Ka`u were Denisha Navarro with 18 and Shyann Flores-Carvalho with 11. In varsity play, Ka`u scored 37, while Waiakea came up with 56. Ka`u varsity high scorer was Joyce Ibason with 10, as reported by Ka`u High athletic director Kalei Namohala.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 26, 2012

Ocean View houses can be protected by Neighborhood Watch and simple security practices. Photo by Julia Neal

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP and Ka`u Chamber of Commerce hosted a crime prevention presentation by Neighborhood Watch, community policing officer Blaine Morishita and deputy prosecutor Mitch Roth last night. Morishita said people can protect their homes by following such practices as installing security lights, gating or putting a chain across driveways and other measures or simply locking doors, sheds and garages. Roth talked about looking at crimes from a fresh point of view. He said there is a crime triangle with three elements: a victim, an offender and a location. Too often, the community expects police to solve the problem by itself. “If your only tool is a hammer, all your problems are nails.” He said the most effective law agencies in the country are “people who care.” He commended the Ocean View Neighborhood Watch program and those that started it several years ago, saying that they have helped prevent many crimes. “Community is more than just eyes and ears; community is part of the problem-solving process,” Roth said. 

Deputy prosecutor Mitch Roth, Neighborhood Watch founder Bob Barry,
Neighborhood Watch volunteers Joe McDaniel and Ocean View
Community Development Corp. treasurer Robin Lamson.
Photo by Nalani Parlin

     Ten percent of the offenders commit 55 to 60 percent of crimes, Roth said. Ten percent of victims represent 42 percent of victimization. Ten percent of locations represent 60 percent of police calls for service. Police go to the same places over and over, helping the same victims and going after the same offenders. The three E's to solve the crime problems are education for the victim, enforcement of the offender and engineering for the location, Roth said. He also quoted Robert Peal, the father of modern day policing, for whom the London police called the Bobbies are named. Peal said that “police are the public, and the public are the police, with police being the only members of society who are paid to do what is incumbent upon every citizen.” Roth said, “We are all in this together.”
     Roth offered to come back to meet with the community and Morishita to work on coming up with solutions. Speaking of working together to problem-solve crimes, Roth said that they could "get a group together, go through what is going on and look at the situation. Where are these guys selling this stuff? What are the times crime is happening? What are the patterns?”

Community policing officer Blaine
Morishita. Photo by Nalani Parlin

     Morishita also urged the community to report crimes as much as possible. If more crimes are reported, the statistics could warrant getting more officers for Ka`u, he said.
     Bob Berry, one of the founders of Neighborhood Watch, reviewed the history of the organization. Mike Dubois, who organized the meeting, said that driving around the neighborhood is still a great way to solve problems but that residents need to move into a quicker response mode and higher-tech security. He said once a crime happens, the Neighborhood Watch network could be warned through phone calls and over the Internet, not only to find the culprits but to advise residents to take care. A website could keep people up to date on recent crimes, descriptions of culprits and gathering information.
     Neighborhood Watch has groups throughout Ka`u. To get involved, call Arlene Araki at 989-5141 in Ocean View, Jeff Purser at 929-9576 in Discovery Harbour, or Carla Andrade at 928-6268 in Pahala.

DRUG TESTING FOR PUBLIC HOUSING could become a requirement if the state House of Representatives proposal passes the state Legislature. With the exception of the elderly and anyone under 15 years of age, applicants could be subjected to the testing. The argument for the legislation says that drug dealers and users are living and going to public housing and should be removed. Sponsors of the bill also tie drugs to the inability or unwillingness to pay rent. The state is absorbing more than $800,000 in unpaid rent. 

Rep. Denny Coffman

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO. could become a distributor and stop manufacturing electricity if Big Island Rep. Denny Coffman’s bill passes the state Legislature. Coffman is one of the policymakers studying high electric rates in Hawai`i who wants to create more competition in the business of making power. Hawai`i has some of the highest rates in the country, four times more expensive than some places on the mainland.
     According to a Stephens Media story by Erin Miller, the bill to be introduced by Coffman would require the state Public Utilities Commission to make developing geothermal to replace fossil fuel a top priority. It also tells the PUC to seek utility producers in order “to acquire the lowest cost, electrical grid-safe electricity generated from non-fossil fuel sources” ahead of buying any fossil fuel. The bill can be read at the newly revised Legislature website, where testimony can easily be given and anyone can search for subjects of their interest and see what their legislators propose. See www.capitol.hawaii.gov.

POWER WAS KNOCKED OUT to about 1,700 customers for about an hour yesterday when a tree fell across Hwy 11 near Manuka State Park near Ocean View. Hawaiian Electric Light Co. switched the lines to a different power source to restore electricity. One lane was able to keep traffic flowing until the tree could be cleared. 

Hawai`i Island is promoted as separate, with its own personality, with its
longtime slogan, "The Big Island." Image from gohawaii.com

THE NEW YORK TIMES carried a story yesterday concerning the new visitor industry campaign that seeks to brand each one of the Hawaiian Islands as a separate place to go with its own personality. It talks about the film The Descendants — with its five Oscar nominations bringing more attention to Hawai`i. The story says the new approach is used in all media from television to print, the gohawaii.co website and social media. The campaign is costing about $7 million and is organized by the Hawai`i Tourism & Convention Bureau. The most targeted market is the West Coast because it is more affordable to fly here from California. In the ads, this island is still called “the Big Island,” Kaua`i is “Hawai`i’s island of discovery,” Maui is “the magic isle” and O`ahu is “the heart of Hawai`i.” The commercials are airing on HGTV, Travel Channel and other cable outlets. Print ads are in Real Simple, Travel & Leisure and other- magazines. 

THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is still looking for volunteers in Ka`u to help count the humpbacks on this Saturday, Jan. 28, Feb. 25 and March 31. The annual 2012 Sanctuary Ocean Count is from 8 a.m. to noon, when volunteers record the behavior of whales over a four-hour period. More than 60 sites along the shores of the Big Island, O`ahu and Kaua`i have been selected for the count. To learn more, see http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov. Register online or call 1-888-55-WHALE, ext. 253.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory offers images and movies of the eruption
at hvo.wr.usgs.gov

LAVA IS MORE ACTIVE in the two Kilauea Craters. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports lava rising in Halema`uma`u Crater with spattering on the south side of the lava lake, 250 feet below the edge of the crater. Pu`u `O`o is experiencing lava filling a depression on the crater floor. About two miles southeast of the crater a surface flow is apparent, but nothing yet is going into the ocean. 

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS sponsors a Western Line Dance class tonight and every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Discovery Harbour Community Clubhouse. Call 929-7544 for more information. 

JASON SCOTT LEE’S documentary about preservation of Hawai`i’s watersheds airs on KHNL television tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. In The Rain Follows the Forest, Lee describes his simple lifestyle in Volcano where he farms kalo. Lee, who often fishes with friends along the Ka`u Coast, is famous for his acting roles on the London stage and in films such as the Bruce Lee Story, The Jungle Book and Rapanui. The Rain Follows the Forest is sponsored by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources.

KUMU LEILEHUA YUEN and Manu Josiah present 50-minute narrated demonstrations of the preparation, protocol and offering of traditional hula and chant at the hula platform in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park this Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Hands-on cultural demonstrations are offered from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the porch at Volcano Art Center Gallery. Donations are welcome, and park entrance fees apply.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 25, 2012

Keiki play while a monk seal basks at Honu'apo. Photo by Julia Neal

ALL OF THE KA`U COASTLINE and the shores of all the inhabited Hawaian Islands are proposed for federal designation as critical Hawaiian monk seal habitat, but the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is objecting, according to a story in Civil Beat by Sophie Cocke. The story reports the DLNR contending the designation “would create an unnecessary layer of bureaucratic red tape and do little if anything to promote the species’ survival.”
      However, environmental groups object, “arguing it’s a critical step for a seal population that is heading toward extinction,” the Civil Beat story says. Only 1,100 Hawaiian monk seals are believed to remain, and the population could be declining about four percent a year.
      “If the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration bows to state pressure to significantly amend or discard the designation, it could be sued by environmental groups who have not hesitated to use the courts elsewhere to win protection under the Endangered Species Act,” reports Civil Beat. It was a band of groups in Hawai`i - the Center for Biological Diversity, Honolulu-based KAHEA and Ocean Conservancy that first petitioned NOAA in 2008 to extend critical habitat designation to the shores of all the inhabited Hawaiian Islands, since the uninhabited northwest Hawaiian Islands were already protected, notes Civil Beat.

Sophie Cocke, Civil Beat journalist.  
Photo from Civil Beat

      Marti Townsend, director of KAHEA, told Civil Beat that the federal government wasn’t “fulfilling its mandate to protect the species from extinction.” Under the critical habitat protection, NOAA would review activities that require federal permits or action or use federal funds to make sure monk seals would be safe. The designated protected zone would run from a depth of 1,650 feet offshore and extend onto the beaches and about 16 feet inland. It would cover the coasts of all the islands, except for harbors and military bases.
      The DLNR called the proposal “overly broad,” and said it is “inconsistent with the actual physical and biological needs of the endangered monk seal, and is an extraordinary regulatory burden on government officials unrelated to the management activities that would actually promote recovery of the seal population.” Fishermen have testified that seals can be aggressive and go after their catch.
      Jean Higgins, who works for NOAA on the monk seal issue, told Civil Beat that leaving out any coastal areas would require proof that the designation would create significant economic impact or a national security risk. Omitting strands of coast could invite a lawsuit, she said.
      Miyoko Sakashita, an attorney and oceans director for the Center for Biological Diversity, told Civil Beat that “beaches and marinas proposed for critical habitat are what the science tells us are essential areas for the endangered monk seal.”
      NOAA could either decide on a habitat map in June or ask for a six-month extension, reports Civil Beat. See more at civilbeat.com.

THE TEACHERS UNION will come to the Ka'u campus for a listening session concerning union negotiations with the state. The meeting is set for this Friday, Jan. 27 at the Ka'u High School Band Room from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The meeting follows the rejection of a new employment contract by members of the Hawai`i State Teachers Association. Union leaders are touring the state to get input. Teachers say they want to know how they will be judged, as the proposed contract ties teacher pay to student performance. According to a statement from the union, “HSTA leaders want to hear from teachers. This listening tour is just one of many opportunities being provided to teachers to give feedback and input about the contract, ratification process and the options for negotiations going forward. Teachers are reminded to bring their school IDs with them.
THE STATE SUNSHINE LAW could be eased to allow public commission, committee and board members to attend events, conferences and other meetings without violating the open meetings law. The current law has restricted such volunteers as members of the Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee from going to some community meetings, as they could be seen as convening outside of their CDP steering meetings.

TAX CREDITS FOR LARGE CAPACITY BIOFUEL REFINERIES are proposed at the 2012 state Legislature. The bill, carried over from last year, would allow up to $12 million a year in tax credits toward capital investment of building a biofuel farm and refinery, if at least 75 percent of the feedstock is grown in Hawai`i. The cap on the tax credit would be $12 million a year in capital investment, and the law would require the refinery to be operational before the tax credits are taken. Tax credits would cover “capital expenditures in agricultural infrastructure, including irrigation and drainage systems, land clearing and leveling, establishment of crops, planting and cultivation. It would also include purchase of processing equipment, boilers, turbines, generators, waste treatment systems, pipelines and liquid storage tanks at the facility,” the bill says.
     “The local production of these biofuels could contribute to Hawai`i’s renewable energy objectives, reduce the impact of world oil price volatility, provide a measure of energy security, provide economic diversification, encourage increased agricultural production and circulate Hawai`i’s energy expenditures within Hawai`i’s economy,” the proposed legislation says. Biofuel farms and a refinery has been proposed for Ka`u.

Jason Scott Lee practices sustainable farming,
planting Kalo in Volcano. Photo from DLNR

THE RAIN FOLLOWS THE FOREST airs on KHNL television tomorrow from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Jason Scott Lee documentary talks about preservation of Hawai`i’s watershed as Lee describes his simple lifesyle in Volcano where he farms kalo. Lee, who often fishes with friends along the Ka`u Coast, is famous for his acting roles on the London stage and in films such as the Bruce Lee Story, The Jungle Book and Rapanui. The Rain Follows the Forest is sponsored by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources.

Ka`u High's Girls Basketball won at home last night in both the JV and Varsity games. Ka`u racked up 45 points to Kea`au's 25 in the JV game. Denisha Navarro was the high point scorer with 27. In Varsity, Ka`u scored 42 points and Kea`au 39. Taylor Pocock scored 9, with Joyce Ibasan, Janessa Jara and Shaylin Navarro each scoring 8, reports Athletic Director Kalei Namohala.