Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 13, 2012

New rules for West Hawai`i Regional Fisheries Management Area cover South Point to Upolu Point. A public hearing is set for Dec. 5.

PROTECTING REEF FISH in West Hawai`i Regional Fisheries Management Area waters along 147 miles of coast from South Point to Upolo Point will be the subject of public hearings before the end of this year. A Big Island hearing before the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources this Thursday was delayed because of insufficient public notice. The new hearing date is set for Wednesday, Dec. 5 at Kealakehe High School in Kona at 6 p.m.

Coral reefs are younger and can be more vulnerable on the Big Island.
Photo from Division of Aquatic Resources

      Dr. Bill Walsh, the state Aquatic Biologist in Kona, said this morning that reefs along the west side of the Big Island are in need of management particularly since they are small, young and close to shore. With the Big Island being the newest of the Hawaiian Islands, the reefs have had time time to develop than larger reefs on older islands. While many of the reefs in the West Hawai`i Regional Fisheries Management Area are remote, change is coming, and people are finding out about these special places.
      The newest protected place proposed for the West Hawai`i Regional Fisheries Management Area would be a point-to-point 1,500-foot Fish Replenishment Zone at Kaohe Bay, in waters off Pebble Beach in South Kona. The Fish Replenishment Zone would extend to 100 fathoms, and an aquarium fish-collecting ban would be among the new rules. Such Fish Replenishment zones already exist at Ho`okena, Miloli`i and several other places up the coast.

Some reef fish will be protected, others allowed for aquarium collecting.
Photo from DLNR

      The management area also includes numerous Netting Restricted Areas.
      On the agenda for the entire West Hawai`i Regional Fisheries Management Area, which covers 35.4 percent of West Hawai`i’s shoreline, is prohibition of spear fishing with SCUBA tanks, a practice already banned in waters off numerous Pacific Islands and Australia. The new rules would establish size and bag limits for some tangs and kole. They would establish a list of 40 aquarium fish species that collectors and dealers could harvest. One purpose of this “white list” would be to protect and expand populations of reef fish that are rare and unsustainable in home aquariums.
      Aquarium collecting would be more heavily regulated throughout the management area, including a requirement for a specific West Hawai`i Fisheries Management Area permit and adherence to rules involving labeling and size of the aquarium specimens collected.

      For more on the proposal and the rules up for public comment, see www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/announcements.html.

The West Hawai`i Regional Fisheries Managment Area covers 35 percent
of the western coast of the Big Island. Photo from DLNR 

      Public written testimony is due Dec. 19 and can be emailed to darkona@hawaiiantel.net, faxed to 327-6229 or mailed to Division of Aquatic Resources. 74-381 Kealakehe Parkway, Kailua-Kona, HI, 96740.

PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON PUBLIC LAND DEVELOPMENT CORP. rules will be taken through today, in person in Honolulu at the state Department of Land & Natural Resources Board Room; by email to joy.y.kimura@hawaii.gov, fax to 808-587-0390, or by mail with a postmark today to Public Lands Development Corp., No. 1 Capitol District, 250 S. Hotel St., Room 501, Honolulu, HI 96813.
      According to a story in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, Brenda Ford is the most vocal critic of the PLDC on the Hawai`i County Council. “She said simply leaving permit approval with a county’s Planning Department is not enough to provide for local oversight.
      “Without zoning or land use regulations applying, she worries that development, particularly on state-owned shorelines, would occur with little control,” the newspaper reports.
      The Tribune-Herald quotes Ford as saying, “My belief is each island should be in charge of designing their own destiny, and this strips away home rule for each island.

Twenty-five legislators who were elected on Nov. 6 have signed on to
support repeal of the bill that established the PLDC, according to
grandtheftaina.com.

      “I’m not opposed to smart development,” Ford said. “This is not smart development.”
      Development proposed by the PLDC would use public state-owned lands for economic development to raise money for state government, particularly the DLNR and its conservation programs. State legislator Denny Coffman, who was re-elected last week and will serve from Honu`apo through Na`alehu, Ocean View, Miloli`i and up the Kona coast, said he made a mistake when he voted for PLDC amendments that weakened local oversight and environmental protection. The Tribune-Herald reports on Coffman: “He didn’t realize what was in the committee’s amendment, saying it ‘went under the radar for him.’” He told the reporter, “After that whole bill was passed, after I read the bill, I realized personally I made a mistake. I just don’t think the state should be in the business of trying to develop land to make money.” Coffman told The Ka`u Calendar that he wants the PLDC abolished.
      According to grandtheftaina.com, 25 legislators who were elected on Nov. 6 have signed on to support repealing the bill that established the PLDC. Among them are both senators representing Ka`u - Russell Ruderman and Josh Green. The other newly elected member of the House of Representatives in this area is Dennis Onishi, whose district runs from Punlau`u through Pahala, Volcano and Puna. He has yet to decide on the PLDC.
      No public hearings on the neighbor islands are planned for the PLDC rules.

SEVERAL PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS in the Hawai`i Electric Light Company and `Aina Koa Pono docket before the Public Utilities Commission have requested a new, shorter Schedule of Proceedings. The proposed schedule would set the final due date for Companies’ responses to Information Requests on rebuttal testimony as May 3, 2013 instead of Aug. 2, 2013. Those agreeing to the new schedule are HELCO; `Aina Koa Pono; the Consumer Advocate; the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism; and the County of Hawai`i. “Biofuels is an important part of Hawai`i’s energy future,” the request states. “The Companies, the Consumer Advocate, DBEDT and COH recognize the importance of alternative fuels and have made this docket a priority, thus resulting in the shorter time schedule. In short, the Schedule is reasonable, as it goes through extensive procedural steps in a timely manner and is consistent with the goals of the Commission’s Rules, namely, to afford the ‘just, speedy and inexpensive determination’ of every matter,” the request states.

      Life of the Land, which intervened and is one of the parties in the procedure, objected to the new schedule.
      A decision by the PUC would come after the schedule is completed in August 2013.
      Deadline for public written comments to the Public Utilities Commission regarding the proposed biodiesel supply contract is Friday, Nov. 30. Email testimony to hawaii.puc@hawaii.gov or mail to 465 South King Street, #103, Honolulu, HI 96813.

DR. TERRY HUNT, co-author of The Statues That Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island, outlines evidence for Easter Island’s prehistoric success and explores how and why this most isolated culture avoided collapse at tonight’s After Dark in the Park. The program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

A FREE CONCERT AT Pahala Plantation House features Ali`i Keanaaina and his band tomorrow at 7 p.m. In September, they played at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium and will perform music from their new CD, He Mele No. Call 928-9811 for more information.

Ali`i Keanaaina and He Mele No present music from their
new CD tomorrow evening at Pahala Plantation House.

POHAKULOA COVE, SOUTH OF GREEN SANDS, is the site of Hawai`i Wildlife Fund’s Ka`u coast cleanup on Saturday. Volunteers meet at Wai`ohinu Park at 7:45 a.m. to carpool and caravan to the site. Four-wheel-drive and high-clearance vehicles are needed to access the cove. RSVP at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com to coordinate rides. 

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS hosts its Fall Fling this Saturday at Punalu`u Bake Shop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event includes music, hula, creative corner, talent contest and an arts and crafts sale. For more information, call Ms. Davis at 967-7565.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS NOW OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 12, 2012

Ali`i Keanaaina and his band perform music from their new CD He Mele No Wednesday, 7 p.m., Pahala Plantation House.
Photo from National Park Service

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT, WAYS AND MEANS, AND EITHER EDUCATION OR LAND & WATER are the committees that newly elected state Senator Russell Ruderman is hoping for. He said that a recent organizing meeting gave him the impression that “the Senate has a very cooperative atmosphere with intelligent and open leadership.” He said this morning that he is settling into his new office at the state Capitol in Honolulu, “hiring staff and beginning to learn my way around. Everyone has been very enthusiastic about my presence there, and many of the environmental groups are particularly happy to have a new ally over there.” Ruderman will serve Punalu`u through Puna. Sen. Josh Green will serve Honu`apo through Kona.

Senator Russell Ruderman at the Hilo Democratic Rally Nov. 5.
Photo by Julia Neal

DR. JOSH GREEN RESPONDED to a Honolulu Star Advertiser story over the weekend regarding a letter he wrote to help resolve a dispute between the City & County of Honolulu and a company that provides medications for dispersal to worker-injury patients in physician's offices. Green said that the city was behind over $600,000 in payments to the company Automated HealthCare. If Automated HealthCare cannot pay physicians who use its automated software to disperse drugs at their clinics, more financial pressure is placed on doctors who take workers’ compensation cases. The number of workers’ comp-case doctors has been in rapid decline. 

      The story pointed out that the company donated $4,000 to Green’s successful re-election campaign for state senator, and the story contended that one aspect of the issue is that the city is contesting the cost of the drugs as being too high.

      Green provided the following statement this morning: “Anyone who knows me is aware that I am always committed to making sure we deal with our healthcare crisis in Hawai`i, especially the shortage of physicians and nurses. (We are 22 percent short now.) In this case, several people were concerned that if they didn’t receive their reimbursements, which are hundreds of thousands of dollars behind from the city of Honolulu and others, they would immediately be laying off staff, or worse, their docs would stop seeing injured workers altogether.

Dr. Josh Green

      “I simply asked the city to amicably resolve their differences so that doctors and nurses could get fair and timely payments for care they already had delivered to injured workers.
Otherwise, these doctors told me, they wouldn’t be able to practice in Hawai`i any longer, making our physician shortage worse. Everyone in Ka`u and Kona knows how bad this would be if that happened.”
      Green said that “as the only physician in the Legislature, people all across the state ask me everyday to reach out to major institutions like the city or state or insurance companies to get them access to care, to get their practice reimbursed for care they have delivered, to get them a new wheelchair, to help get their loans forgiven if they commit to undeserved areas, the list goes on and on.
      “I am humbled to try and get everyone access to healthcare in a fair and timely way in Hawai`i, and that is all my letter to the city of Honolulu was about,” wrote Green.

PUBLIC FUNDING FOR THE RECENT ELECTIONS supported the successful candidacy of Ka`u’s new County Council member Brenda Ford and more than half of the other winning contenders, according to a Peter Sur analysis this morning in the Hawai`i Tribune- Herald. The other winning candidates for Hawai`i County Council who chose public over private funding for their campaigns are Karen Eoff, Greggor Ilagan, Margaret Wille and J Yoshimoto.
      “More significantly, in every County Council race where at least one publicly financed candidate entered, that candidate won,” the Tribune-Herald story says. “All three publicly funded candidates who failed in their quest to seek office lost to other publicly funded candidates: Bradley Westervelt and Maile David, who lost to Ford, and James Weatherford, who was edged out of a runoff with Ilagan and the mostly self-funded Fred Blas.
      “The intent of the law was to level the playing field for candidates who weren’t able to raise large amounts of campaign cash. Candidates who qualify for the public funding receive money intended to free them from the strings and chores that accompany fundraising for office; by doing so they also choose to forego all private campaign donations.
      “By state law, the pilot program is slated to continue for one more election cycle, in 2014, provided there are enough funds to keep the program running,” writes Sur. However, there may not be enough money to fund it, the story says. See more at www.hawaiitribune-herald.com.

World EcoSource's mobile production units use solar-powered and
water-conserving growing systems. Images from www.worldecosource.com

FOOD FOR THE FUTURE is what a new company in the Hawai`i market calls its program. World EcoSource Corp. claims its MobileFeed(R) system “uses a fraction of the water of typical crops in a hydroponic, solar powered environment to create a truly sustainable green life cycle farming system.” The units are designed to feed both livestock and people. 

      K. Hill Livestock is the exclusive dealer for the state of Hawai`i, and a press release from the company cites Hawai`i’s “dependence on imported goods.” World EcoSource and K. Hill “recognize the demand for a sustainable economical and reliable feed source for not only livestock, but also for human inhabitants on the under-developed areas of rural Hawai`i. The units will be shipped to Kawaihae Harbor and distributed from Kailua-Kona, HI.

      “We see tremendous growth potential throughout all of the Pacific Islands including U.S. territories of Samoa and Saipan, where populations and livestock are heavily dependent on import of goods,” said Geoffrey Bagatelos, president of PacWest Equities, Inc, the parent company of World EcoSource. “Hawai`i has limited resources available for large scale feeding operations that force the import of expensive feed stock, and this agreement will allow for ample amount of feed to supply a large herd and stabilize fluctuating expenses of import due to volatile fuel costs.” 

      The World Eco Source MobileFeed(R) and MobileFood(R) units are turnkey systems for either the production of livestock-based consumables or human based protein and vegetable consumables. “The MobileFeed(R) units are truly a sustainable green life cycle farming system. Using solar-powered and water conservation growing systems, one trailer can produce 1,500 pounds daily of organically grown grass for year-round livestock consumption, lowering feed costs by 200 percent while producing Certified Organic, Grass-Fed livestock, increasing profitability of the final product,” the statement says.

      “The MobileFood(R) units enable the rapid production of certified organic vegetables and proteins for humans through life-cycle harmonic integration of fish farms and hydroponic vegetables, with one half of the system feeding/fertilizing the other half, and vice versa. Growing tilapia side-by-side with vegetables, and using the same water from the fish to fertilize the greens is not something new, but by combining the hydroponic know-how with World Eco Source patented technologies, the outputs have finally become commercially feasible,” the company statement contends.

Dr. Terry Hunt

      The company claims that by “creating a living food supply, the livestock enjoys better health, higher energy and increased proteins, nutrients, minerals and enzyme absorption. Utilizing live Grass feed, livestock increases it’s intake of Vitamin A by 600 percent while enhancing fertility rate across the board.”
      Company promotional materials also claim that “the live feed produced is palatable, nutritious and free from contamination. For cattle, the green barley grass increases milk yields which are common despite considerable reduction in use of ready-made concentrate feed.” See more at www.worldecosource.com.
     

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK FOCUSES ON RAPA NUI Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Dr. Terry Hunt, co-author of The Statues That Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island, outlines evidence for Easter Island’s prehistoric success and explores how and why this most isolated culture avoided collapse.

ALI`I KEANAAINA AND HIS BAND present a concert Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. Keanaaina won the 19th annual Clyde “Kindy” Sproat Falsetto Storytelling Contest in 2010. The band, which played at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in September, will perform music from their new CD entitled He Mele No. Call 928-9811 for more information.

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND HOSTS a Ka`u coastal cleanup event Saturday at Pohakuloa Cove south of Green Sands. The last large-scale cleanup effort at this exact location was in November 2010, when two glass balls were found, said coordinator Megan Lamson. 

      Volunteers meet at Wai`ohinu Park at 7:45 a.m. to carpool and caravan to the site. Four-wheel-drive and high-clearance vehicles are needed to access the cove. RSVP at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com to coordinate rides.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL NOW OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 11, 2012

Large pelagic fish like ahi and swordfish are expected to decline in Hawaiian waters with plankton moving north as the Pacific warms.
Photo from NOAA

FEWER TUNA AND SWORDFISH may be frequenting Hawaiian waters in the future, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists. Research by Phoebe Woodworth-Jefcoats and Jeff Polvina predicts a decline in large pelagic fish by as much as 75 percent in the central Pacific Ocean north of the equator. A story published Friday in Civil Beat says, “This could mean far fewer fish to be caught and sold in local markets and higher prices for consumers. The Hawai`i commercial fishing industry alone generates roughly a half-billion dollars in sales annually and provides 11,000 jobs, according to a recent report. The Aloha State’s recreational fishery adds another 7,000 jobs and more than $773 million in total sales.”

Honolulu Fish Co. sends fresh catch all over the world.

   The Nathan Eagle story points to a conclusion of researcher Polvina: “The fishing industry is generally more concerned with short-term impacts from weather changes like those caused by El Nino. This is a long-term slow change on a decadal basis. It’s sort of like rust on your car that is slowly going along."

     Polvino told Civil Beat that a decline in tuna and swordfish near the Hawaiian Islands brings up a need to plan for a fishing fleet that could reach farther into the Pacific and also brings up food security issues.

     The reason for the prediction that large, pelagic, ocean-roaming fish will become less plentiful near Hawai`i, the researchers explained, is that the density of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the water is expected to decrease with increased ocean acidification and higher water temperaturees. With global warming, the phytoplankton and zooplankton are expected to increase north of Hawai`i and big fish could become more plentiful off the coast of such places as California as the water gets warmer.

     The story quotes state Board of Land & Natural Resources chief William Aila, saying, “The whole food chain is primarily dependent on phytoplankton and zooplankton. So if the zooplankton and the phytoplankton cannot get their skeletons in place, then they don’t exist. And if they don’t exist, everything that depends on them on up no longer exists.”

     The Civil Beat story also summarizes state aquatic biologist Don Heacock’s take on the issue. “Especially given fishing’s role in Hawai`i’s culture, he said, it’s important to do everything possible to prepare for the effects of climate chainge. He said this effort could start on land by doing things like accounting for sea-level rise in planning, taking steps to control erosion and working harder to become food self-sufficient.” See more at www.civilbeat.com.

PROPOSED PUBLIC LAND DEVELOPMENT CORP. rules go to a hearing this Tuesday, Nov. 13. However, no hearings are set for the neighbor islands where many citizens last summer urged government to abolish the PLDC. The new agency under the Department of Land & Natural Resources is designed to set up partnerships with private entities to use state land for economic development to create more revenue for the DLNR.
      However, fearing an erosion of home rule and overdevelopment of publically owned lands under the stewardship of the state, the Hawai`i and Kaua`i county councils recently passed resolutions asking the 2013 Legislature to get rid of the law that created the PLDC.
      In response to public concern the PLDC has come up with several drafts of its rules, calling for more public input and transparency when proposals are made to use state lands.

The governor says good credit ratings make state bonds
 an excellent way to invest in Hawai`i

      This Tuesday’s hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in the DLNR boardroom in Honolulu. A previous public meeting on PLDC in the same room drew an overflow crowd, spilling out into the hallway where citizens watched proceedings broadcast on public television. Sierra Club executive director Robert Harris told Civil Beat reporter Sophie Cocke: “I think it is pretty obvious by what they are doing, that they really don’t want a lot of public input.”

     Board members of the PLDC are: its chair, state Budget & Finance Director Kalbert Young; DLNR chief William Aila; real estate developer and Punalu`u Bake Shop and Ka`u property owner Duane Kurisu, who is the designee of the state Senate; state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism deputy Mary Alice Evans; and state House of Representatives designee, former state senator Robert Bunda. See more at www.civilbeat.com. Read the draft rules at http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/pldc.

INVEST IN STATE BONDS, urges Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who says that Hawai`i’s “AA/AA/Aa2” credit rating was recently reaffirmed by three major credit agencies. In a statement released Friday, the governor says he encourages Hawai`i investors to take advantage of this strong rating and purchase tax-exempt state bonds on Tuesday, Nov. 13 and Wednesdady, Nov. 14.

      “This reaffirmation by these agencies validates the progress that we have made as a state over the last two years and demonstrates that the financial strategies and ideas of my Administration are the right ones for Hawai`i,” said Abercrombie. “By purchasing state bonds, Hawai`i residents can invest in our state’s future and put their money to work building public facilities, improving our highways and repairing our children’s schools. This pre-sale puts individual investors ahead of Wall Street to buy Hawai`i bonds, keeping money here at home to help build the local economy while providing a tax-exempt investment opportunity for Hawai`i residents.”
      The state is planning to sell approximately $800 million in General Obligation bonds. Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s Rating Service reaffirmed their “AA” rating, while Moody’s Investors Service reaffirmed its “Aa2” rating of the state. They also attached “stable” outlooks on their ratings, indicating positive expectations on future economic and financial trends for Hawaii. As part of the review process, each agency visited Hawai`i in October to meet with state finance officials and the Governor, the statement from Abercrombie says.

HSTA, which is asking for a new teacher's contract, endorsed
Mazie Hirono who won the Nov. 6 election for U.S. Senator.
Photo from HSTA

THE HAWAI`I STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION is accusing the Hawai`i Labor Relations Board of delaying action on its complaint concerning the union contract for teachers working in public schools. HSTA President Wil Okabe said he hopes the Hawai`i Supreme Court will consider the harm caused by the delays. He said a precedent could be in the making to allow the state to bypass good faith bargaining, impose its will over contract terms and rely on appointed labor boards to delay justice. “We sought relief from the deep cuts to our pay and health care premiums. We sought relief from the imposed furlough days for all public school teachers. The labor board is telling the Supreme Court it has the discretion to take as long as it wants, possibly years, to render a decision; the labor board has offered no time table,” said the teachers union leader.
     The state Supreme Court gave the labor board until Friday, Nov. 9 to explain the delay. In its response, the labor board pointed to the voluminous record of the case – some 8,000 pages of records and exhibits but said it will come up with a decision. The teachers are working without a union contract in place.

A HOUSE FIRE on Paradise Parkway in Ocean View engulfed the single-story, 20 by 40 – foot structure on Friday. Three walls of the house had collapsed by the time firefighters arrived at 10:02 a.m. and damage estimates are at $120,000, according to the Hawai`i Fire Department. There were no injuries reported by the house owner who was on the scene when firefighters arrived. There was no electricity wired to the home and no nearby hydrant.

Keoki Kahumoku organizes the workshop and sings with Diana Aki. Photo by Julia Neal

THE SEVENTH ANNUAL KAHUMOKU WORKSHOP that gives scholarships to local youth and provides a venue for adults to learn `ukulele, guitar, steel guitar, bass, fiddle, voice and music composition from some of the top Hawaiian music masters, wraps up today. Yesterday the workshop held its annual free Veterans Day concert for the public, featuring John and Hope Keawe, Moses and Keoki Kahumoku, Diana Aki, Sonny Lim, Bolo, Kona Bob,  James Hill, Anne Davison and many more. The event, held at Pahala Plantation House and sponsored by the Center for Hawaiian Music Studies, was founded by Keoik Kahumoku. To donate, sponsor a youth or sign up for next year’s workshop, see www.konaweb.com/keoki or contact Tiffany Crosson at 938-6582 or tiffayfredom@gmail.com

Hula at the free concert yesterday in Pahala.
Photo by Julia Neal

TODAY IS VETERANS DAY AND KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP hosts an open house, inviting all park visitors to experience how KMC supports America’s troops by utilizing any of KMC’s facilities and services. A Veterans Day ceremony begins at 3 p.m, by KMC's flagpole. A Veteran's Day buffet will follow at 4:30 p.m. at KMC's Crater Rim Cafe. The menu offers prime rib, spinach and mushroom fettuccini, breaded ono, roasted rosemary red potatoes, bacon green beans, French onion soup, rice, fruit cocktail cake, ice cream and beverage. Entry for the buffet is $23.95 for adults and $12.50 for children 6-11. Public is invited to attend.

SUNDAY WALK IN THE PARK is set for Nov. 11 in the Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park explore Palm Trail, a 2.6-mile loop with some of the best panoramic views Kahuku offers. Free to members; membership available at event. Call 985-7373 or email admin@fhvnp.org for more.

LUNCH WITH A RANGER is at noon today at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s Kahuku unit. Meet at the Kahuku Visitor Greeting Area. Rangers choose varied topics ranging from land management and conservation issues to environmental and cultural history and guide an open discussion with visitors over a bring-your-own-bag lunch. Check the Activities Boards at the Kahuku Visitor Greeting Area for the day’s Lunch With a Ranger topic and location. Lunch with a Ranger is also offered Nov. 18.

MEDICINE FOR THE MIND is Sunday from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. Free Buddhist healing meditation for beginners and advanced. Call Patty Johnson for more, 985-7470.

PAHALA AND NA`ALEHU PUBLIC LIBRARIES are closed tomorrow for Veteran’s Day holiday. The closure means no library this week in Pahala as the facility is only open on Mondays.