Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 4, 2013

Ka`u has more government-owned land than any other district in Hawai`i. The Public Lands Development Corp. is aiming to partner with private enterprise to use state land for economic development and to bolster state revenues. State land is shown in light green.
  Map from state Office of Planning, Hawai`i Statewide GIS Program.

THE PUBLIC LAND DEVELOPMENT CORP and its possible erosion of home rule over land use is an issue coming up in the new County Council. Council member Margaret Wille, of Kohala, is an attorney, and she plans to hold a workshop on the PLCD for the Council’s Planning Committee at 1 p.m. next Tuesday. While the meeting will be held in Hilo Council chambers Tuesday, the public can watch the proceedings and ask questions from Ocean View Community Center, where interactive video has been installed. The PLDC is a state agency under the Department of Land and Natural Resources, set up by the Legislature to allow use of state lands for economic development through partnering with private entities. Its board is comprised of public officials and some developers.

Margaret Wille

      Wille told West Hawai`i Today in a story this morning that Hawai`i County has the most state land and the most to lose. “She wants the Council and the community to have a better understanding about whether the appointed five-member board could override county zoning and land use codes,” the Nancy Cook Lauer story says.
      West Hawai`i Today quotes Wille saying, “Most of this is public lands under the public trust. The state is the trustee for Native Hawaiians and the public. You are accountable to those beneficiaries. You’re not just acting like this is private property to do with as you will.”
      Most of the Big Island’s legislators have vowed to repeal or seriously change the PLDC law during the 2013 Legislature.
      The Hawai`i County Council in October unanimously passed a resolution asking the Legislature to repeal the PLDC. Kauai and Maui passed similar resolutions. However, the City & County of Honolulu declined to pass the resolution, meaning that the legislative package from the association of counties does not include a resolution to repeal PLDC law. According to the West Hawai`i Today story, “Wille said the county has a responsibility to hold fast to its local laws, and she wants a thorough understanding about which laws could be jeopardized by state action. She also wants the PLDC’s administrative rules to be more clear on the public’s right to judicial review to have legal standing to contest the agency’s actions in court.”
      State House Rep. Denny Coffman told The Ka`u Calendar that he voted for the PLDC law but made a mistake. He changed his mind and is planning to seek a repeal during the upcoming legislative session.

CU Hawai`i staff, (l-r), asst. supervisor Erin Santos, member services rep.
Jeannette Castillo, Ka`u branch manager Mako Okazaki, and member
services representatives Kellene Kainoa and Lena Ortega.

CU HAWAI`I FEDERAL CREDIT UNION will close the Na`alehu Branch on Saturday, Jan. 12 for construction work on the front doors that will allow 24-hour access to the ATM. To make up for time lost for the community, the credit union is extending its Friday, Jan. 11 hours until 6 p.m. The credit union reopens on Monday, Jan.14. To assist members, the Pahala office will be open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 11 and again on Saturday Jan. 12 from 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 am.

KEA`AU CAME TO KA`U YESTERDAY. Ka`u High Varsity soccer teams faced off against Kea`au on the Trojan field. The boys team held Kea`au the first half, but the Cougars slipped in a goal in the second half to win 1-0. The Cougar girls also beat Trojan wahine 6-0.

KAMEHAMEHA VISITED Ka`u High gym last night to play the girls JV and Varsity basketball teams. Kamehameha JV beat Ka`u 40-27, with Kerrilyn Domondon and Lea Apia-Dolan each scoring nine points. Trojan Varsity also lost 64-29, with high-scorer Shyann Flores-Carvalho putting away six points. Casey Koi and Denish Navarro each added four.

SUNDAYS ARE SIZZLIN’ at Kilauea Military Camp in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park this month. Bowling is $1 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Crater Rim Café has Chef’s Specials from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Choices are short ribs and lu`au-style ono for $13.50 or teri chicken meal deal for $8.95 including dessert and beverage. KMC is open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. 967-8371

ON TUESDAY, JAN. 8 After Dark in the Park marks the 30th anniversary of Kilauea’s ongoing east rift zone eruption, with Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Tim Orr reviewing highlights and talking about recent developments. The program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

THE DEADLINE FOR YOUNG WOMEN to enter this spring’s Miss Ka`u Coffee Pageant is Tuesday, Jan. 15. Categories are Miss Ka`u Coffee and Miss Ka`u Peaberry. By May 13, Miss Ka`u Coffee candidates must be ages 17 to 24, and Miss Ka`u Peaberry candidates must be ages 7 to 9. The winners reign over the annual Ka`u Coffee Festival on Saturday, May 4.
      Applications are available at R&G Store in Pahala, Pahala Community Center, Grandma’s Closet in Na`alehu and Kahuku Gift & Garden Shop in Ocean View. For more information, call Gloria Camba at 928-8558 or Pahala Plantation Cottages at 928-9811. Organizers also welcome volunteers to help produce the pageant.

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

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

Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 3, 2013

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Kilauea Volcano's current eruption. Photo from USGS/HVO

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO was sworn in today, one of 20 women – a record for the U.S. Senate. She is the first female senator from Hawai`i and the first Asian woman in the U.S. Senate. She is also the nation’s first Buddhist senator. She was born in Japan and moved to Hawai`i with her mother as a young girl. She is an attorney and served in the state Legislature, as Hawai`i’s lieutenant governor and in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing rural O`ahu and the Neighbor Islands.

Sen. Mazie Hirono was sworn in this morning by Vice Pres. Joe Biden,
who is President of the U.S. Senate. Pool Press Photo

      Hirono told Diane Sawyer of ABC News that more women in the Senate will help because “women are problem solvers.”
      Veteran Senator Barbara Mikulkski, a Democrat from Maryland, told Sawyer, “I can’t tell you the joy that I feel in my heart to look at these 20 gifted and talented women from two different parties, different zip codes to fill this room. In all of American history, only 16 women had served. Now there are 20 of us.”
      California Senator Barbara Boxer, also a Democrat, said that women are still “underrepresented” in the Senate. I think that because of this new class and the caliber of the people coming and the quality of the people coming, I think that hopefully in my lifetime - and I really do hope and pray this is the case - we will see 50 percent.”

Sen. Hirono visited a Boys & Girls Club `ukulele class at Pahala
Plantation House in 2007.

      Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, said that the mix of women Republicans and Democrats ensures that they are not forming a “sorority.” She said these women don’t want gender to define them as senators.
      Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said, “What I find is, with all due deference to our male colleagues, that women’s styles tend to be more collaborative.” In an online ABC News presentation from the women senators, called Advice for Young Girls and Boys, Hirono stated, “My Mother, who changed my life by bringing me to this country, showed me, not told me, to take risks and never give up.”
      The Sawyer interview with Hirono and the other women senators will be shown this evening on ABC’s World News.

The late Sen. Dan Inouye said Mazie is the bipartisan person the Senate
needs. Photo by Julia Neal

      Hirono has come to Ka`u numerous times as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, including a 2007 meeting with local Boys & Girls Club members who serenaded her with their `ukulele music learned from Keoki Kahumoku. She was also key in legislation that provided funding for preserving lands along the Ka`u Coast.
      After she won the election in November, Sen. Dan Inouye said, “Since the moment she declared her candidacy, I have said that Mazie is the person Hawai`i needs in the Senate. She is the bipartisan partner I need.” Inouye did not live to see that day. He died on Dec. 17.

Tulsi Gabbard, third in the top row, joined women of the U.S. House of
Representatives this morning for a group photo. Photo from the Office
of Rep. Nancy Pelosi

TULSI GABBARD was sworn into the U.S. Congress today. At 31, she is the youngest member of the House of Representatives, the first American-Samoan congresswoman and the first Hindu. She takes the place of Mazie Hirono, who left the post to successfully run for the Senate. She is an Iraq War veteran, a former member of the state Legislature and a former member of Honolulu City Council. 

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL for Ka`u’s children returning from the holiday break. Na`alehu School reports a total enrollment of 437 students. Pahala School has 156 students from pre-kindergarten to 6th grade and 133 in middle school, and Ka`u High has 251 students, with 54 in the Class of 2013.
      While driving in school zones, drivers should use caution and be attentive of children walking to school and crossing in crosswalks.
      Sergeant Robert Pauole, of the Traffic Services Section, reminds motorists that drivers must use vehicle headlights from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise and at any other time when visibility is diminished due to insufficient light or unfavorable atmospheric conditions. Using headlights during those hours and conditions provides better visibility for the driver and for other motorists and pedestrians.
      As part of its It Can Wait campaign, AT&T reminds drivers that texting and driving can be a deadly combination. Texting drivers are 23 times more likely to be in an accident. A car crashes once every five minutes, on average, while a driver is texting. The campaign tells drivers that no text is worth dying for – it can wait. Find out more at
 www.ItCanWait.com.

Kilauea's 30-year-old eruption began at Pu`o `O`o Jan. 3, 1983.
Photo from USGS/HVO 

TODAY IS THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY of Kilauea Volcano’s current eruption. The ongoing Pu`u `O`o–Kupaianaha eruption, which began in January 1983, ranks as the most voluminous outpouring of lava from the volcano’s east rift zone in the past five centuries, according to U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. To date, lava from the eruption has destroyed 214 structures. “This destruction is a reminder of why it’s important to understand how Hawaiian volcanoes work,” said HVO scientist Tim Orr. To mark the anniversary, he presents a program at UH-Hilo tonight at 7 p.m. More programs take place in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and around the island throughout the January, Volcano Awareness Month. 

      See hvo.wr.usgs.gov for a complete program schedule.

TOMORROW IS THE DEADLINE to enroll in Community School GED/Diploma classes to be held at Ocean View Community Center through Waipahu Community School for Adults’ Kona Campus. Registration is in person only at the Kona Campus from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registrants must bring a valid government-issued photo ID and $20 cash. Following registration, required assessment testing takes place on Monday, Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. at Kealakehe High School Cafeteria. For more information, call 327-4692.

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

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

Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 2, 2013

Hawai`i's new U.S. Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat, holds up his watch for Republican Senator John Barrasso near the Senate chambers after a vote on the fiscal cliff on Capitol Hill yesterday. The Senate passed legislation New Year's Day to neutralize a fiscal cliff combination of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that kicked in at midnight. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

TAX RELIEF WAS EXTENDED FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS yesterday, and the bill could be signed by autopen, as Pres. Barack Obama returned to Hawai`i overnight to join his family vacation. “The robotic device that replicates the president’s signature has been used by Obama twice, both times when he was overseas,” reports U.S.A. Today. The alternative is to fly the paperwork from Washington to Hawai`i for the President to sign it.

      In averting the Fiscal Cliff, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 557 to 167. Rep. Mazie K. Hirono said, “This legislation is much more balanced than proposals House Republicans have pushed over the past year. It keeps tax rates low for middle class families while asking the wealthiest among us to chip in a little bit more. It preserves tax credits that help make education affordable and support strong families, and extends unemployment insurance for those still looking for work.

Rep. Mazie Hirono

      “It also creates stability in the tax system so businesses small and large can make investments in the future and have access to incentives to help advance areas like clean energy. The bill also supports our seniors by making sure that doctors who serve Medicare patients get fairly compensated. In addition, the bill provides another two months to reach a balanced compromise to avoid the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration that we all recognize would hurt our economy. And this bill rightly freezes the pay of members of Congress, who should not receive a raise while our economy is still so fragile.
       “While it’s good that this deal is done for now, Congress has a lot more work to do in the coming months. We still have to avoid defaulting on our nation’s debt and avoid the rest of the across-the-board cuts. Failing to address these critical issues responsibly would be a disaster for our economic recovery.
       “It is my hope that the governing by gamesmanship will end. If it doesn’t and we continue lurching from one manufactured crisis to another, we’ll be putting our nation’s future in jeopardy. Let us all hope that cooler heads will prevail in the 113th Congress for the good of the people of Hawai`i and our nation,” said Hirono. Hirono takes office tomorrow with a swearing in to become a U.S. senator to take the place of Sen. Dan Akaka, who is retiring.
        The legislation now goes to President Obama for his signature. Obama left for Hawai`i this morning at about 1 a.m. Washington time and arrived on O`ahu to join his family at their Kailua vacation home.

U.S. SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ was in Washington to participate in the Senate vote, which passed 89-8 ahead of the House vote.
      Schatz, sworn into his new position last week to replace the late Sen. Dan Inouye, said: “The legislation that the United States Senate just passed is not ideal, but the alternative would be disastrous for the middle class in Hawai`i and for the American economy. With this legislation, we can generate some of the needed revenue to fund important programs and prevent a tax hike on lower- and middle-income families. It also puts off damaging cuts to critical safety net programs and the military.
      “I’m pleased about the extension of unemployment benefits. While unemployment continues to drop across Hawai`i, tens of thousands of our neighbors still need help getting back on their feet.
      “It is important to remember that this crisis was manufactured by a congressional stalemate. We can and must do better. After passing this measure, we should work with President Obama to come up with a balanced approach to our national budget and put us on a path toward long-term economic growth.”

SEN. DAN AKAKA posted an aloha message on his website: “To the People of Hawai`i, the end of my final term in the United States Senate is quickly approaching. As I begin the difficult task of closing my offices, I want to take this time to thank you for allowing me the honor and privilege to serve you for 36 years. 

     “My dream was to work in a job in which I could help people, and you gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dream. Throughout my career in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, my priority has always been to do what’s best for Hawai`i and its people. I am proud of my accomplishments on behalf of our federal workers, consumers, veterans and all the people of Hawai`i. You have always been my first and foremost priority. I will always be grateful to the people of Hawai`i and will cherish the time I spent representing you in Washington, D.C. Although I will no longer be able to respond to your letters, please be assured that your views are very important to me. If you are encountering problems with a federal agency or need assistance in resolving a problem, I highly recommend that you contact the other members of the Hawai`i Delegation.
      “Again, thank you for the opportunity to serve you and for your trust and confidence in me.”

NEW HAWAI`I DELEGATES TO THE U.S. SENATE AND HOUSE of Representatives will take their seats tomorrow for the opening of the 2013 U.S. Congress. The Hawai`i delegates are all Democrats. Democrats make up 55 percent of the Senate and 46.3 percent of the House. The late Dan Inouye has been replaced by Democrat Patrick Leahy as the Senate’s new president pro tempore - third in line for the presidency. 

      Representing Hawai`i will be freshman Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and returning Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, as well as recently appointed Sen. Brian Schatz and recently elected Mazie Hirono, who left her House seat to successfully run for the Senate.

OWNERS OF 30 ACRES IN DISCOVERY HARBOUR are considering a lodge concept for the property, according to a story in West Hawai`i Today. Before they can develop the property, however, questions about the zoning must be resolved. “We have no specific plans because we don’t have any developers on board yet,” South Point Investment Group partner Gary McMickle told reporter Tom Callis. “Our goal is to get the zoning done properly and go from there.”

A big city fireworks show lit up the skies above Pahala
 on New Years Day night, last night. Photo by Julia Neal.

      Callis reports that a company called Green Sands, Inc. filed a special permit application 44 years ago, but Hawai`i County tabled the issue while finishing its general plan for the area. The plan was finished in 1971, but, says Callis, the permit was never resurrected.
      According to Callis, when South Point Investment Group, LLC bought the property in 2009 and sought to use it for commercial development, the Planning Department denied the request, saying the permit was never approved. “It doesn’t appear that the special permit was ever denied,” the hui’s attorney Randy Vitousek told Callis. Vitousek contends that the permit went into effect since it was never formally denied. Callis reports that, according to county planners, the county’s Board of Appeals has decided otherwise and has denied the appeal.
      The group plans to continue seeking approval. McMickle told Callis the next step may be to get a judge to decide whether the permit was authorized. Vitousek said the Planning Commission could also be another venue.

      For more, see westhawaiitoday.com.

FIREWORKS LIT UP THE PAHALA SKIES LAST NIGHT with a show by Big Island Klimate Kontrol. Rodney Freitas and family raised funds at the shopping center, by phone calling and selling plate dinners. The fireworks ended with live music by Deeva and her family and Demetrius Oliveira. The annual event was dark for the last two years but the organizers are hoping to raise enough money to carry on for News Years Day night 2014.

Hawai`i County Council's first meeting in 2013 is next Wednesday, Jan. 9.
Photo from hawaiicounty.gov

KA`U AND SOUTH KONA RESIDENTS who made New Year’s resolutions to participate more in government can do so at Ocean View Community Center’s remote testimony site. The first County Council meeting of the New Year is a week from today on Wednesday, Jan. 9 beginning at 9 a.m. Committee meetings on Tuesday will also be available at the center. Agendas are online at hawaiicounty.gov.

KA`U RESIDENTS WHO MADE NEW YEAR’S resolutions to exercise more have many options.

Pahala Pool is open several hours each week for residents' use.
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

      Pahala Pool offers Water Aerobics Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 a.m. Public Recreational Swim and Adult Lap Swims hours vary throughout the week. For more, hawaiicounty.gov/pr-recreation or call 928-8177. 

      Pahala Community Center will have Open Gym for Adults beginning Jan. 23. Register Jan. 14 – 18 with Nona at 928-3102.

      Zumba classes are popular throughout the district. Volcano Art Center offers classes Monday at 5:30 p.m. Certified instructor Erin Cole teaches the dance/exercise classes Monday at 6 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center and Thursday at 5 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Cole also offers a Muscle Toning class Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Kilauea Military Camp holds Zumba classes Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m.

      Yoga is available at many venues, including Pahala Community Center Monday at 6:30 p.m. Emily Catey focuses on stretching and releasing physical and mental tension at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus Monday at 7:30 a.m. and Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Ocean View Community Ccnter offers Iyengar and Yin Yoga Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. Gentle Senior Yoga is every Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Na`alehu Hongwanji, followed by Meditation at 4 p.m. Beginning and Intermediate Yoga takes place Tuesday and Thursday at 8 a.m. at Noa’s Island Massage in Na`alehu, and Gentle Yoga is available at Cooper Center in Volcano Village on Fridays at 8 a.m.

      Other options include Line Dance classes Wednesday at Pahala Community Center and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Discovery Harbour Community Hall. Also, free square dancing lessons take place at Ocean View Community Center every Saturday at 7 p.m.
      For more information, see The Ka`u Calendar and kaucalendar.com.

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

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