Ka`u News Briefs May 16, 2012

Pahala Hongwanji school building has been saved with a new re-roofing project. Photo by Julia Neal

ANOTHER HISTORIC BUILDING has been saved in Pahala. The Pahala Hongwanji Japanese school, after years of rain pouring into the building that threatened to take the structure down, has been re-roofed. The effort began about seven years ago, with Pahala Plantation Cottages, which owns adjacent land, supporting the survival of the hongwanji and caring for its historic buildings with some $36,000 in rental fees for its parsonage over five years. The federal VISTA program donated a crew of volunteers, through the Boys & Girls Club, for a cleanup, and the Edmund C. Olson Trust committed more than $9,200 in re-roofing materials. `O Ka`u Kakou president Wayne Kawachi, who grew up in the hongwanji community, led the volunteer effort to put on the new roof, which was completed yesterday. He said the volunteers plan to fix broken windows, repair and sand wooden floors, repair plumbing and paint the building and its restroom facilities inside and out. He said that several community groups have already asked to use the building. After the Japanese school closed, it was used as a Judo hall, a lab for a University of Hawai`i archaeology project, and an art studio for Sandra Lei Johnson, who taught at Ka`u High School.

Mike Duminski, who lives in Discovery Harbour and Portland, Oregon,
helps `O Ka`u Kakou president Wayne Kawachi put some of the last
roofing sheets on the restroom of the old school and Judo hall, soon to
be repainted and have windows repaired, wooden floor refinished and
open for community use. Photo by Julia Neal

      Volunteers for the roofing project included: Kawachi, Irv Massey, Douglas Castro, Ron Ebert, Walter Wong Yuen, Mike Duminski, Bradley Westervelt, John Enriques, Rodney Kuahiwinui, Bob Kovach and Rodney Saragosa. Nadine Ebert, Carol Massey and Jeanette Howard provided food. OKK plans to help with another roof in Pahala and with repairing the broadcast stand on the campus of Ka`u High School, Kawachi said.

KA`U’S SENATOR GIL KAHELE has come out with a statement declaring the 2012 state Legislature “extremely productive for Hawai`i Island.” He helped bring home $35 million and credited the House and Senate Big Island legislative team for helping to “improve the quality of life for our Hawai`i Island families.” Kahele said he looks forward to working with “the executive administration and our governor to ensure that these funds are released so work can begin on these critical projects.”

Sen. Gil Kahele promotes Ka`u Coffee.

      Among Kahele initiatives approved:
* Ka`u Irrigation System Upgrade – $1.5 million for plans, design and construction for improvements to the transmission ditch and flume system of the old plantation water system.
* Ka`u High School – Softball field improvements – $400,000
* Ka`u High & Pahala Elementary – Science Facility Upgrades
* Friends of Volcano School of Arts & Sciences – $618,000 for plans and design to relocate Volcano School of Arts & Sciences to Keakealani School in Volcano Village.
*Volcano Road – $4 million for widening from Kea`au to Pa`ahana, with signs, pavement markings, drainage, guardrails.
* University of Hawai`i-Hilo College of AG, Forest & Natural Resource Management– $25,000 for plans, design, construction for beehive research facility.
* Miloli`i Wharf and Small Harbor Pier Renovation – $500,000 for plans, design and construction.
*Transpacific Cable Project– $2.2 million for plans to create privately managed, shared open access submarine fiber optic cable land stations statewide.
      Successful legislation for which Kahele was primary introducer:

* 2648 –Authorizes use of campaign funds for scholarships to full-time students in higher education or vocational schools.
* 2337 – Authorizes state Department of Transportation to extend term of any airport concession in exchange for revenue enhancing improvements.
* 2386 –Requires Native Hawaiian Roll Commission to be responsible for verification documents provided by individuals seeking to be on the roll.

The 2012 state Legislature appropriated $618,000 for plans
and design to relocate VSAS to Keakealani School.

* 3003 –
Differentiates between “geothermal resources exploitation” and “geothermal resources development.” Makes permissible in all state land use districts and conservation district zones. 

* 2001 –
Amends Hawai`i State Planning Act to include promoting development of indigenous geothermal energy resources located on public trust land as a firm source of power. Requires consultation from Native Hawaiian community and general public.
* 3001 –Prohibits interisland possession, transfer, transport, or release after transport of wild or feral deer; establishes mandatory fines.
* 3002 –Amends provisions relating to licensing and penalties for real estate brokers and salespersons by requiring real estate commission to consider whether a licensee relied in good faith on the information they provided.
      Successful Resolutions for which Kahele was primary introducer:
* SCR 156 – Urges creation of exploratory committee for an International Aviation Training Center at Hilo International Airport with Advanced Degree Training Program at University of Hawai`i at Hilo. Requests that the governor convene a 10-member exploratory committee to examine feasibility and resources for the program. Requires committee to report findings, recommendations and budget requests to the 2013 Legislature.
* SCR49 – Requests Department of Transportation to form a working group to expeditiously resolve the issue of Roads in Limbo statewide.
* SCR67 – Urges Hawai`i Agriculture Research Center to establish proposed Kunia Agriculture Processing and Sales Center.
* SR33 – Urges counties to preserve property tax exemptions for kuleana lands.
* SR42 – Establishes working group to discuss creation of 
strategic plan for development and marketing of Hawai`i tea industry and makes recommendations for labeling requirements.

Hilo Hattie was a sponsor of Ka`u Coffee Festival and provided
transportation from the Hilo store.

FOUR KA`U COFFEE LABELS are selling well at Hilo Hattie, which became a sponsor of the Ka`u Coffee Festival for the first time this year. The longtime Ka`u Coffee at Hilo Hattie is Aikane Plantation Coffee Company, which has sold there for more than three years and serves up samples at the store when cruise ships dock in Hilo. Aikane is featured in every Hilo Hattie store in the state, said Ka`u Coffee farmer Phil Becker. Joining the Ka`u Coffee display during the festival and beyond are Rusty’s Hawaiian 100 Percent Ka`u Coffee, Ali`i Hawaiian Hula Hands Coffee and the Local Buzz. Hilo Hattie helped with the festival by advertising the event with large displays in its store and post cards with an offer that raises money for the festival. Two shuttle bus roundtrips between its Hilo store and Pahala Community Center ran last Saturday during the Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a. 

      Hilo Hattie is still cooperating, selling collectible festival posters and T-shirts. Island manager Randy Repp said, “We are going to keep on keeping on with Ka`u Coffee” and that Hilo Hattie is open to other Ka`u Coffees, ready to cup them as the Ka`u Coffee producers bring them in to sample.
      Ka`u Coffee Festival Committee chair Chris Manfredi said that Hilo Hattie has “capabilities that go beyond the typical sponsor relationship. Their customer demographic is an important one for the festival. It was great working with their team. We look forward to collaborating with them even more in the future.”

Puna Coast Day by Patti Pease Johnson

THIS SATURDAY is National Kids to Parks Day, with activities planned at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. 

     Junior Ranger Day takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with activities at the Kahuku Unit including `oli, GPS, compass, pacing, mo`olelo of Ka`u and the string game hei. Open to children of all ages and their `ohana. Call 985-6019 to pre-register and be included in lunch.
      Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s Volunteer Forest Restoration Project this month is a kid- and family-friendly event set for 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Kilauea summit area near Kilauea Visitor Center. Participants plant native tree seedlings and remove invasive ginger. Volunteers can be any age, and children must be supervised by a parent or guardian. Pre-registration is required. Call 985-7373 or email forest@fhvnp.org.

PATTI PEASE JOHNSON offers a workshop on pastels this Saturday from 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Class begins with an overview of pastels, papers, fixing and mounting paper. Students practice on newsprint and then choose the design for their original 8X10 finished piece. Beginning and experienced artists are welcome. The fee is $65, plus $10 for materials. To sign up, call 967-8222 or email julie@volcanoartcenter.org.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.

Ka`u News Briefs May 15, 2012

A monk seal mother and pup bask on the beach. Photo by Judy/Clayton Sweatland from NOAA

THE PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS UNION will take a re-vote on the settlement with the state that they rejected earlier this year. The voting will take place online and on the phone from this Thursday, May 17 to Tuesday, May 22. Information is being sent to Hawai`i State Teachers Association members' home mailing addresses today. The envelope will have the HSTA logo and the name of the company managing the voting services, Votenet.
      “Given how tremendously busy our members are in the last weeks of school, we will be conducting the vote online rather than requiring members to report to a polling site,” says a statement on HSTA’s facebook page.
      The state Attorney General, however, has announced that the agreement has no legal standing. A statement from Gov. Neil Abercrombie points out that, “in February, HSTA submitted a comprehensive proposal, which has not been withdrawn.”
      Any members who have not received a mailing by Thursday can contact HSTA at 808-833-2711 with their names, schools and e-mail addresses for further instructions on how to vote. HSTA also has a telephone hotline available for member questions about the reconsideration vote at 329-5075, ext. 212.

The public watched and photographed tiny honu`ea in 2009 as they
emerged from their nest at Punalu`u and headed for the ocean.
Photo by Julia Neal

FEDERAL MONEY TO HELP MONK SEALS AND TURTLES will come to Hawai`i, according to the offices of Sen. Dan Inouye and Sen. Dan Akaka. The $128,000 grant administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will start up a Marine Protected Species program for Hawaiian Monk Seals, Hawksbill Turtles and Green Sea Turtles. All of them frequent the Ka`u Coast, with its remote shoreline being a major nesting place for the endangered Honu`ea, hawksbill turtle. A major aim of the program is to reduce the number of incidents in which humans bother and harm theses marine animals and to document the disturbance, as a growing number of people are frequenting the coast to fish and have fun. 

      The work will include developing and delivering public education products and activities. Outreach efforts will be designed to enhance public knowledge of seal-friendly and turtle-friendly ocean recreation and fishing practices. The work will entail direct intervention at popular beaches and fishing areas.

Green sea turtle basks as Kiko Johnston-Kitazawa's
canoe takes off from Punalu`u Beach.
Photo by Julia Neal

      Inouye said, “Protecting the monk seal, the most endangered fin-footed marine mammal in U.S. waters, the green sea turtle and the hawksbill turtle will require a concerted effort by all who use the ocean.” He said the grant “will continue the process of correcting misinformation about the monk seal while also addressing the challenges facing the green sea and hawksbill turtles. We must be diligent stewards of the ocean, and I am very pleased the administration recognizes the need to invest in the protection of these marine animals.”
      Akaka said, “the monk seal and honu are among Hawai`i’s most treasured native species. We must do all we can to protect these important marine animals so that our keiki and future generations can learn from and enjoy them like we do.”
      Inouye said that deaths of four monk seals in six month points to a need for intervention and culturally sensitive education and outreach.

NA`ALEHU INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE is accepting entries. The annual event this year will be Saturday, June 30 along Hwy 11. The parade starts at 11 a.m. at Na`alehu Hongwanji Mission and ends at Na`alehu Elementary School. Community groups, local businesses, elected officials and those campaigning are invited to show their patriotism, said organizer Debra McIntosh.

Miss Ka`u Coffee 2011, Brandy Shibuya, rides in last year's Fourth of July
Parade in Na`alehu. This year the parade is on Saturday, June 30.
Photo by Julia Neal

      Prizes will be given for most patriotic and most unique entry. Free parking will be available at the Na`alehu park. Call McIntosh at 929-9872 for more information. 

      After the parade, Na`alehu Assembly of God church will provide free hot dogs, chili, rice, shave ice, games, and a church concert until 3 p.m.

THE FOURTH OF JULY PARADE and celebration in Volcano will be held Wednesday, July 4. The parade begins at 9 a.m. at the post office and follows Old Volcano Road to Wright Road, where it turns left and ends at Cooper Center. The celebration continues there with an arts & crafts fair, silent auction, live music and entertainment. Parade registration deadline is June 27.

All ages can plant native tree seedlings at a forest
restoration project Saturday. Photo from NPS

KILAUEA VISITOR CENTER AUDITORIUM in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park hosts an Evening of Hula and Hawaiian Music tomorrow from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Halau Hula Kalehuaki`eki`eika`iu ma Kilauea, under the direction of kumu hula Ab Kawainohoikala`i Valencia, presents this free program. Park entrance fees apply.

A VOLUNTEER FOREST RESTORATION PROJECT takes place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Kilauea summit area near Kilauea Visitor Center. Participants plant native tree seedlings and remove invasive ginger. Volunteers can be any age, and children must be supervised by a parent or guardian. This kid- and family-friendly event is sponsored by Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Pre-registration is required. Call 985-7373 or email forest@fhvnp.org.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.

Ka`u News Briefs May 14, 2012

 Sueki and Satsuki Funai  (center) have grown organic coffee in Ka`u for generations and were honored with a Ka`u Coffee Festival Lifetime Visionary Award trophy, surrounded by award-winning Ka`u Coffee farmers
Lorie Obra, Willie Tabios, Bull Kailiawa and Francis and Trini Marques. Photo by Ralph Gaston

THE FIRST KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL Lifetime Visionary Award was presented last weekend to Sueki and Satsuki Funai, of Pahala, who have grown organic coffee in Ka`u for generations. Sueki has taken care of shade-grown coffee at the Moa`ula coffee plantation well into his 90s. The farm was started generations before the rise of the new Ka`u Coffee industry. The Funais are famous for having sold most of their coffee to a church in Japan.

Starbucks quality manager Anthony Carroll
Photo by Ralph Gaston

THE FUTURE OF KA`U COFFEE and how to improve the industry were topics at Ka`u Coffee College held yesterday at Pahala Community Center. Anthony Carroll, manager of coffee quality for Starbucks, said it’s all about the quality and being able to fill orders. He estimated that Ka`u Coffee will be sold in more than 300 of the 17,000 Starbuck stores worldwide this fall. Under the Starbucks Reserve program, Ka`u Coffee is served by the cup and sold whole bean in bags. 

KEEPING FARMS CLEAN and free of fallen and overripe or dried out coffee beans is the most important preventive for infestation of the coffee berry borer, said Dr. Robert Hollingsworth, a research entomologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service. He told farmers at Ka`u Coffee College on Sunday that coffee berry borers can live only a few days outside the coffee cherry and bean. If farms are clean between harvests, borers have nowhere to live, said the entomologist. He said that some farmers in studies elsewhere task pickers to clean fields every few weeks even when they are not harvesting. The cost of paying pickers to clean up fields could be less than the cost of chemicals and labor to apply chemicals to fend off coffee berry borers, he said. During harvest, he recommended, pickers can carry two containers, one for old and overripe beans that are considered trash and one for beans going to the mill.

Jeff Taylor, of PT's Coffee, talks about picking as one of the most
important aspects of quality coffee. Photo by Julia Neal

INCENTIVIZING PICKERS to refrain from picking green coffee leads to a much better product and higher prices, said Jeff Taylor, of PT’s Coffee Roasting Company in Topeka, Kansas. He was one of the speakers in a Reverse Trade Mission for which coffee experts and buyers were brought to the Ka`u Coffee Festival last weekend. He and his colleague from Finca de Las Planas gave examples of giving prizes like bicycles and chickens for those who pick the best coffee without the green beans. Counting on the floating and separation of green and ripe beans by machinery at the mill “won’t have a good quality.” Said Taylor, “you have to draw the line somewhere. You can’t let your pickers run your business and pick green beans.” Taylor said that farmers can also give orientation classes to pickers before putting them in the field to help them understand why picking the best beans will help everyone become more successful. 

      Taylor, who is a nationally renowned micro-roaster, talked about roasting coffee light, saying that dark coffee is like giving someone a well done steak. He contended that medium light and light roasts bring out the true taste of the coffee.

NATIONAL AVERAGE FOR THE COST OF GAS IS $3.73 a gallon, but in Hawai`i gas averages $4.51 a gallon after falling 1.6 cents over the last week. HawaiiGasPrices.com reports that the cost of gas in the Islands is 12.6 cents a gallon more expensive than a year ago, while mainland prices are 20.3 cents lower than a year ago. This morning, regular gas is $4.72 a gallon at Ka`u Gas in Pahala, the Wiki-Wiki 76 station in Na`alehu, Kahala Gas in Ocean View and at Ocean View Market. Kahuku Country Market is selling regular for $4.66. One of the reasons prices are higher in Ka`u is that wholesalers charge the remote stations a premium for hauling gas out here.

Students have hands-on experience in beekeeping
under the tutelage of research professor Lorna
Tsutsumi at UH-Hilo Farm Lab. Photo from UH-Hilo

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I-HILO highlights research and other scholarly activities at its new website hilo.hawaii.edu/keaohou. The effort comes out of the Office of Research and is called Keaohou - New Consciousness; New Knowledge. The online magazine features photos and profiles of work by faculty, students, and staff with a link to information on seed money grants, intramural programs, travel awards, the new myGRANT system and research. Dr. Daniel Brown, interim vice chancellor for research and economic development, said the website fulfills a longtime dream and credits Susan Enright, who developed the site. According to Brown, “We all talk about how small UH-Hilo is, but we are no longer all that small, and we often don’t know about the interesting work our colleagues are doing. It is really surprising, even to people on campus, the quality and quantity of first-class scholarship that takes place here in Hilo.”

Kumu hula Ab Valencia directs members of his halau.
Photo from NPS

KILAUEA VISITOR CENTER AUDITORIUM in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park hosts an Evening of Hula and Hawaiian Music Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Halau Hula Kalehuaki`eki`eika`iu ma Kilauea, under the direction of kumu hula Ab Kawainohoikala`i Valencia, presents this free program. Park entrance fees apply. 

THIS SATURDAY is National Kids to Parks Day, with activities planned at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      Today is the deadline to sign up for Kahuku Junior Ranger Day. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., activities at the Kahuku Unit include `oli, GPS, compass, pacing, mo`olelo of Ka`u and the string game hei. Open to children of all ages and their `ohana. Call 985-6019.
      A kid- and family-friendly Volunteer Forest Restoration Project takes place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Kilauea summit area near Kilauea Visitor Center. Participants plant native tree seedlings and remove invasive ginger. Volunteers can be any age, and children must be supervised by a parent or guardian. Pre-registration is required. Call 985-7373 or email forest@fhvnp.org.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.