Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Taiko srumming  and Bon dancing are in season around the island and Ka`u Bon dancers will be traveling to Buddhist temples to
participate. Taiko drummers joined in the 2009 O Bon Dance at Na`alehu Hongwanji. Photo by Peter Anderson

FREE HEALTH EXAMS AND CARE began today at 8 a.m. on the Pahala School campus and also at Ocean View Community Center. An Air Force, Army and Navy medical care team is providing physical, eye and dental exams and care at no cost to anyone who goes to either location, first come, first serve. By 11 a.m. in Pahala local residents were waiting, in particular, for optometry exams. Dental exams could be available tomorrow.

Air Force, Army and Navy  reserve physicians, dentists and optometrists
give free checkups and care in Ka`u through June 12.
 Photo from U.S.Army

      Tropic Care 2013 involves 75 military reservists providing health care services free of charge. Patients are seen on a first-come, first-served basis and are advised that there may be long wait times. Clinics are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. except for the last day, Wednesday, June 12, when they close at noon. Locations are Pahala School Campus and Ocean View Community Center.
      In addition to medical services, residents living off the grid and using a generator for power will have access to service members specializing in mechanics, who will work on any systems that need attention.
      For more information about Tropic Care, contact Arends at 701-566-1932.

HAWAI`I ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY comes to Ka`u tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Pahala Community Center for public comment on draft Five-Year Action Plans and the company’s Integrated Resource Planning, tasked with meeting future energy needs. According to the utility, themes include reducing electric bills, working for a clean energy future, modernizing the grid and fairness to all customers.
      The Resource Plans are required to ensure affordable electric rates, maintain service reliability, and accommodate expected increasing proportions of variable and/or intermittent generation resources. According to the Public Utilities Commission, integrated resource planning is for safe and reliable utility service at a reasonable cost. Draft planning documents can be read at
www.irpie.com, the website of the PUC’s independent representative facilitating and monitoring the process.

S02 LEVELS CAN BE HIGH even with blue skies and wispy clouds. With a bright sunny day, dawning in Pahala, there were runny noses and itchy eyes as the SO2 level created an Orange alert beginning at 5:45 a.m. but was back to a healthy Green status by 8:15 a.m. Orange means the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups and the recommendation from the state Department of Health is: "To avoid outdoor activities that cause heavy breathing or breathing through the mouth." For people experiencing health effects, the recommendation is that "If you experience breathing difficulties, such as chest tightness or wheezing, stop activities, use a rescue inhaler and find a place to sit down and rest." For healthy people potential health effects are not expected, "however actions to reduce exposure to vog may be useful." The simple closing of windows until the alert passes helps keep the air clean indoors. Turning on a fan can also be helpful. See http://hiso2index.info and click on Pahala and Ocean View for Ka`u levels of SO2, a history of the days levels and more information.

Hurricane Flossie pushed up against South
Point at Kalae but never climbed ashore. 

HURRICANE MAKANI IS an exercise for Civil Defense and all those signed up for Civil Defense alerts throughout the islands are receiving email and text alerts. This morning’s mock message - not a real hurricane- said that "Category 4 Makani is nearing landfall on the Big Island of Hawai’i ....Hurricane Hunter Aircraft are conduction what will be their final flight through Makani before the crew and plane must be grounded for safety. Satellite and aircraft data suggest that Makani may not be done strengthening."
     The Civil Defense exercise plots mock storm Makani tracking west-northwest all along the chain of islands. Civil Defense agencies on all islands use the pretend storm to practice their drills. The closest a hurricane came to Ka`u in recent years was Hurricane Flossie, which sat off South Point for several days and never came ashore in 2007. Ka`u Hospital, Pahala Plantation Cottages, the gas station in Na`alehu, Pahala Library and others boarded up their windows.

KA`U AND VOLCANO LOCATIONS are featured in the latest edition of Expression Gold, the Magazine for American Express card members. The photo feature includes the managers suite, living room, art and quilts at Pahala Plantation House, Ka`u Coffee Mill coffee and Trini Marques with her Ka`u Coffee Farm. The article cover Kilauea Lodge and Volcano Art Center as well as Volcano Art Center and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The article was coordinated by former Pahala and now Hilo resident Kaori Miitani. The 60-page magazine is mailed to all American Express Gold Card holders in Japan.

RAISING FUNDS FOR FRIENDS OF VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK and promoting Ka`u and Volcano businesses and the arts converge at the 13th Annual Friends' 4th of July Silent Auction at Cooper Center. Donations of goods and services, including meals at restaurants, B&Bs and vacation rental stays, arts, crafts, Ka`u Coffee, locally grown teas, photography, jewelry, massage gift certificates note cards and more are welcome to help raise money for the non-profit organization that supports the national park with education, exploration and service. The silent auction coincides with the annual Volcano Fourth of July Parade, which ends at Cooper Center. Contact Ab Valencia at 985-7373 or admin@fhvnp.org to make a donation or volunteer to help at the event.

INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE IN NA`ALEHU is taking applicants for the Saturday, June 29 event. Individuals and groups who would like to participate in the parade call Debra McIntosh 929-9872. Those wanting to volunteer with the parade set up call Lee McIntosh at 929-9872. The parade, which was saved by the McIntosh family when it was abandoned four years ago, is under the umbrella of the non-profit community organization `O Ka`u Kakou. Debra McIntosh said that the parade will start at Na`alehu School and end at Na`alehu Hongwanji Mission, a reverse of the parade direction form earlier years. The reason for the change in direction is that that there is more room for the floats, riders and walkers to organize at the beginning of the parade at the elementary school, McIntosh said.

Parade walkers, riders and floats can sign up for Independence Day in Na`alehu.
Photo by Julia Neal

KA `OHANA O HONU`APO’s Fathers Day event on Sunday, June 16 is looking for contestants for its Bar-B-Que pork contest. First prize is $100. The afternoon, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., is called Pork in the Park and includes musicians on stage, samples of pork for the voting for a Fan Favorite, shaved ice on sale and a shady tent to enjoy Honu`apo Park on Fathers Day. For more on the contest and the celebration, call Lehua Lopez-Mau at 929-9891.
     Ka ‘Ohana O Honu‘apo’s mission, as stated on www.honuapopark.com is: “To restore, care for and protect the natural and cultural resources within the Honu‘apo area. Utilizing the values of malama ‘aina (care for the land), kupono (honesty and integrity), and kuleana (duty and responsibility), we will work in community partnerships to preserve this area for future generations.”

OBON SEASON IS ON and while no bon dances are planned this year in Ka`u, dancers from the district are expected to visit the temples around the island for the dance in the round, Japanese string and wind instruments, taiko drums, ethnic foods, and honoring ancestors during harvest season. Here is the schedule:

Saturday, June 8 - Keauhou Shopping Center at 6 p.m. Call 323-2993.

Saturday, June 15 - Honomu Henjoji Mission at 7 p.m. Call 963-6308.

Saturday, June 22 - Papaikou Hongwanji Mission at 7 p.m. Call 964-1640.

Saturday, June 29 - Honomu Hongwanji Mission at 7 p.m. Call 963-6032.

Friday and Saturday, July 5 and 6 - Puna Hongwanji Mission at 7 p.m. Call 966-9981.

Saturday, July 6 - Kohala Hongwanji Mission at 7 p.m. Call 775-7232.

Friday and Saturday, July 12 and 13 - Hilo Meishoin Mission at 7:30 p.m. Call 935-6996.

Saturday, July 13 - Daifukuji Soto Mission in Honalo in Kona. Call 322-3524.

Saturday, July 13 - Paauilo Hongwanji Mission, at 7 p.m. Call 776-1369.

Friday and Saturday, July 19 and 20 - Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin at 8 p.m. Call 961-6677.

Bon Dancers shown here from a past dance at Na`alehu Hongwanji will join in festivities around the island beginning this weekend.
Photo by Peter Anderson

Saturday, July 20 - Honoka`a Hongwanji Mission at 7 p.m. Call 775-7232.

Saturday, July 27 - Hilo Hongwanji Mission, 7:30p.m. Call 935-8331.

Saturday, July 27 - Kona Hongwanji Mission, 7 p.m. Call 323-2993

Saturday, July 27 - Papa`aloa Hongwanji Mission at 6 p.m. Call 962-6340.

Saturday, Aug. 3 - Kurtistown Jodo Mission at 8 p.m. Call 966-9777.

Saturday, Aug. 3 - Taishoji Soto Mission at 8 p.m. Call 935-8407.

Saturday, Aug. 10 - Hamakua Jodo Mission at 8 p.m. Call 775-0965.

Saturday, Aug. 10 - Higashi Hongwanji Mission at 8 p.m. Call 935-8968.

Saturday, Aug. 17 - Hakalau Jodo Mission at 8 p.m. Call 963-6110.

Saturday, Aug. 17 - Kamuela Hongwanji Mission at 7 p.m. Call 885-4481.

Saturday, Aug. 24 - Pahoa YBA Kaikan at 8 p.m. Call 966-9981.

Saturday, Aug. 31 - Honohina Hongwanji Mission in Ninole at 7 p.m. Call 963-6032.

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

Ka`u News Briefs June 3, 2013

Diners at The Rim, the newly named restaurant at Volcano House Hotel in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, have a
spectacular view of the glow from Halema`uma`u Crater. Photo from hawaiivolcanohouse.com

THE RIM IS THE NEW NAME FOR VOLCANO HOUSE RESTAURANT. The announcement was made to the public on this morning’s Hawai`i News Now show with Howard Dicus in Honolulu. Naming the restaurant The Rim came from a contest through which entrants sent in their ideas by May 15. It also involved review by the Kupuna Council for Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, said Aqua Resorts’ senior vice president for Sales & Marketing, Elizabeth Churchill. She said The Rim was suggested by several entrants and that it is still to be determined whose suggestion came in first in order to give out the prize. The prize is a two-night stay with one dinner for two and a bottle of wine plus two breakfasts for two.
      The former name of the Volcano House Restaurant was Ka Ohelo.
      The Rim is open daily for breakfast 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and dinner 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Uncle George’s Lounge, which keeps its traditional name, is open with all-day menu and drinks from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For reservations, call 756-9625.
      Churchill also presented a photo on this morning’s television news of one of the 33 newly redecorated rooms at Volcano House.
      The posted rates are $350 a night for deluxe Crater View Room, $335 for a Volcano Crater View Room, and $285 for a Rainforest View Room. A kama`aina rate is posted for $185 per night, and there are discounts for seniors and the military.
      Cabins are also available at lower rates. See hawaiivolcanohouse.com for more on accommodations and menus. Aqua Resorts promises locally sourced food.

LONGS DRUG STORE CONSTRUCTION is ongoing at Pahala Shopping Center. Longs is expected to be open in July. The old Tex Drive-In restaurant, which later became PT Café, has been gutted, and Longs plans to install new flooring and fixed windows and siding for the air conditioning required for its establishment. Taylor Built Construction is one of the contractors on the project along with architectural and project management from mainland firms, including The Hatch Group, a contractor which oversees construction of facilities from Walgreens, CVS/Pharmacy which owns Longs to commercial buildings for Marriott, Hilton, Loew, Hyatt and Embassy Suite hotels to grocery stores like Vons, Ralphs and Albertson’s on the mainland.

George Applegate

GEORGE APPLEGATE, a veteran visitor industry career man, retired on Friday from his post as executive director of the Big Island Visitors Bureau. He is succeeded by Ross Birch, who has marketed the Big Island for 20 years and most recently was manager of Makalei Golf Club. 

      Applegate, 66, started at the Naniloa Hotel in Hilo as a bellman, became a vice president of Big Island Tours and started with the Big Island Visitors Bureau in 1989 as director of sales and marketing. He held the directors position for some 13 years.
      Applegate has formed George Applegate Consulting, LLC, based in Hilo, and will continue to work with the Hawai`i Visitors and Convention Bureau, according to various business news reports.

THE INTERAGENCY HAWAI`I INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL has launched a new website highlighting the growing role the council plays in cabinet-level coordination on invasive species issues in Hawai`i. 

      The website, accessible directly at hisc.hawaii.gov or via the state’s upgraded hawaii.gov Web portal, places new emphasis on the actions of the HISC, including resolutions, funded research reports, and strategic plans.
      “Collaboration across state departments has resulted in clear progress toward addressing the impacts of invasive species in the Islands,” Gov. Neil Abercrombie said. “The new HISC website, which is part of our state’s effort to expand the use of hawaii.gov as a resource for user-friendly information about government programs and services, provides greater opportunity for the public to join in this effort by learning more about what each and every one of us can do to protect Hawai`i.”

HISC lists woodrose as an invasive species.

      HISC was created in 2003, when the Hawai`i State Legislature declared invasive species “the single greatest threat to Hawai`i’s economy and natural environment and to the health and lifestyle of Hawai`i’s people.” 

      HISC’s statutory authority mandates identification of state funds available for invasive species prevention, control, outreach and research and requires HISC to coordinate the state’s position on invasive species issues and provide advice to the governor and Legislature.
      The website details how these funds have been spent, making final project reports and research results available for the entire eight-year history of the organization.
      HISC has committed to providing more public education by utilizing its new website as a one stop shop for information on high-profile invasive species in Hawai`i, recent news regarding invasive species, and detailed reports for all projects funded via the HISC.
      “Because invasive species have such a detrimental effect on critical things like our water and food security, we are committed to working across departments on this important issue,” said HISC co-chair William J. Aila, Jr. “But we also need the public’s help, especially in spotting pests like snakes and other plants and animals that don’t belong in Hawai`i. The new HISC website provides information on how to report a pest by phone or online.”

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC AND HAWAI`I ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANIES hold a two-hour meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Pahala Community Center to seek public comment on draft Five-Year Action Plans. The Action Plans are part of the Integrated Resource Planning process, which looks at how the utilities will meet future energy needs. 

      According to HEI, strategic themes of the plan are to lower customer bills, work toward a clean energy future, modernize the grid and address issues to create fairness to all customers.
      The companies must consider whether the Resource Plans effectively ensure affordable electric rates, maintain service reliability, and accommodate expected increasing proportions of variable and/or intermittent generation resources.
      According to the Public Utilities Commission, “The goal of integrated resource planning is to develop an Action Plan that governs how the utility will meet energy objectives and customer needs consistent with state energy policies and goals while providing safe and reliable utility service at a reasonable cost through development of Resource Plans and Scenarios of possible futures that provide a broader long-term perspective.”
      Information about IRP, including the four energy scenarios that guided the planning analysis, is available at www.irpie.com, the website of the PUC’s independent representative facilitating and monitoring the process.
      The completed analysis and Draft Action Plans are also available for public review on the website.

Hawaiki Rising is the topic at After Dark in the Park
tomorrow at 7 p.m.

PAT SHUDAK, CEO OF SOLAR HUB UTILITIES, meets tomorrow with Hawaiian Ocean View Ranchos residents to discuss the company’s plans to place solar panels on 20 HOVR lots. The meeting begins 4p.m. at the Hawaiian Ranchos Road Maintenance Corp. building. A Facebook message from Kahuku Photography asks residents to come to the meeting to learn how this development will impact the neighborhood. 

HAWAIKI RISING: HOKULE`A, Nainoa Thompson and the Hawaiian Renaissance is the topic at tomorrow’s After Dark in the Park. In his new book, author Sam Low tells the story of the Polynesian sailing canoe, Hokule`a, in the words of the men and women who voyaged aboard it. Nainoa Thompson and his crew became the first Hawaiians to navigate the Pacific without charts or instruments in a thousand years. The program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $2 donations support park programs; park entrance fees apply.

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

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Ka`u News Briefs June 2, 2013

Allowing mulching and composting on agriculturally zoned lands could help keep green waste out of landfills and provide
extra income for farms like this one up Wood Valley Road, with coffee and macadamia. Photo by Julia Neal

ALLOWING COMMERCIAL COMPOSTING AND MULCHING on agriculturally zoned land is a measure coming up before the County Council this week. The bill is proposed by Ka`u’s County Council member Brenda Ford, who said the law limiting composting to industrially zoned lands is “archaic.” According to Ford, creating compost and mulch on land near or where the inputs are gathered will reduce the spread of invasive species. Coffee farmers in Ka`u have been particularly concerned about the possibility of mulch made in Kona being shipped into Ka`u containing the coffee berry borer which has devastated the Kona Coffee industry.
     Lobbying for the measure has also come from former Ka`u council member Brittany Smart, a resident of Discovery Harbour. She said that legally processing green waste from many sources on ag land would open up opportunity for community mulching and composting centers where residents could take their green waste only a short distance from their homes and farms.

Discovery Harbour resident and former
County Council member Brittany Smart.
Photo by Julia Neal

     While rarely enforced, current county law prohibits the chipping and processing of green waste coming from another property unless the processing is located on industrial zoned lands.
       Allowing the mulch and compost processing sites to be on agricultural land would also be good for soil and water conservation, as the green waste can help prevent the lands from drying out, said Smart who now works for Big Island Eko Systems. She also noted that concentrating green waste, anything organic in a landfill - on a single site - can lead to fires when the decomposition creates gas. She said that having many green processing sites on ag land could reduce the chance of fires through taking the green waste there rather than to the concentrated county landfills.
      “It makes it a whole local operation. You generate the material. You process the material and you use the end product, all in the same area.” Smart said that the local processing of green waste also provides farmers with a valuable end product to use on coffee fields and “they will know where it comes from. This is a further protection of Ka`u coffee farms from the coffee berry borer,” said Smart.
      Smart also explained that the new bill would still require compliance with state Department of Health regulations, regarding such possibilities as dust and noise. The rules are tonnage based and also depend on the source of the compost, including whether it would be limited to only plants, she said.
      Both Smart and Ford said that more composting on ag lands could can also give farmers an additional income from coffee, macadamia and other green wastes when they sell the finished mulch to other local farmers and gardeners.

OPPOSITION TO PUBLIC BUS FARE INCREASES is expected to come from Ka`u’s County Council member Brenda Ford as the council considers the hike from $1 to $2 as well as ending free rides for students, the elderly and disabled. Ford said she wants to keep the fare low to encourage more ridership. According to a report in the Hawai`i Tribune Herald this morning, council member Drew Kanuha said an increase in the fares could lead to more stops and routes. He also told reporter Erin Miller that $2 for a ride from Ka`u to South Kohala remains a bargain.
See www.hawaiitribune-herald.com.

Hele On Bus fares could go up to $2 per person under a proposal before
the County Council. Photo from www.billykenoi.com

AN INCREASE IN ANNUAL VEHICLE FEES charged by the county also comes before the council this week, this one before the Finance Committee on Tuesday. It's the first hike in a decade. Mayor Billy Kenoi’s budget would raise the weight tax rates for trucks and non-passenger commercial vehicles from 2 cents a pound to 2.5 cents a pound. Passenger cars and vans would be charged 1.25 cents a pound. The tax has been .75 cents a pound since 2004.
      Ka`u County Council member Brenda Ford said she leans toward supporting the hike.

THE ABILITY TO TESTIFY and view County Council meetings from Ka`u at the Ocean View Community Center will remain in place. However, County Council member Brenda Ford urges area residents to attend the meetings and share their voices. The interactive capabilities faced budget cuts this year with a claim that not enough Ka`u residents were using the facility to keep the interactive system in place. Ford defended the ability to remotely view and testify for all citizens around the island. The next opportunity is Tuesday, June 16  with  Committee meetings and Wednesday, June 17 with the full County Council meeting.

Tom Peek, of Volcano, picked up his silver Benjamin Franklin
Book Award last week in New York. Photo by Julia Neal

TOM PEEK, AUTHOR OF DAUGHTERS OF FIRE, picked up his silver prize in the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards last week at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Times Square in New York. His debut novel takes up resort development politics, the Hawaiian mafia, Hawaiian gods, values and spirituality, as well as earth and sky science on the ever-looming active volcanoes. It is also a romance and murder mystery. Ka`u places in the novel include Volcano, Kapapala, Pahala and Punalu`u.
      The award for Popular Fiction comes from the Independent Book Publishers Association, the largest not-for-profit trade group in the U.S. book industry.
      Peek, a Volcano resident wearing maile and kukui lei, also represented Hawai`i last week at the largest book confab in the United States. Book Expo America takes place annually at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York where Peek signed copies and talked to book buyers, distributors and other authors.  Publisher is Koa Books. See www.daughtersoffire.com

A Volcano area kipuka from Josel Namkung, a Retropective,
 which won Gold in the Benjamin Franklin Awards competition.
Image from Cosgrove Editions

THE VOLCANO AREA was included in another winning book at the Independent Book Publishers Awards in News York last week. Josel Namkung, a Retrospective includes a photo from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park of a kipuka and bending green grasses with a tiny bit of reddish color. The Gold Winner for Art and Photography, the volume, which spans about three feet when opened, is printed with the highest quality available, said its publisher Dick Busher, of Cosgrove Editions, who joined the Hawai`i contingent during the awards ceremony. The images were taken using film and large format cameras.

      Namkung, with a six decades of career, has photographed in Hawai`i and mainly in the Pacific Northwest and Korea.
      In his approach to the art, Namkung avoids the sky “because it reveals the identity of the place. The horizon and ridge lines will give you ready answers. I like to give my viewers questions, not answers. Let them find beauty in the most mundane things, like roadside wildflowers and tumbled weeds. Observe the essence of things. That’s Zen. It doesn’t have to be some spectacular manifestation of nature,” writes Namkung in the introduction to the book. See http://johselnamkung.net to read more on the photographer and publisher and to order. To view the collection of photographs, see http://johselnamkung.net/a-retrospective/for-book-lovers/

Edmund C. Olson donated Wanaku Center and was joined by Ka`u Coffee Mill
staff for the first annual Hilo Brewfest yesterday. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U COFFEE MILL joined in the effort yesterday to raise money for more new physicians taking up practice on the island. Amery Silva and Phyllis Segawa from Ka`u Coffee Mill manned a booth at the first annual Hilo Brewfest held at Wainaku Center on the shores of Hilo Bay. The event, at $40 a ticket, sold out and raised more than $40,000 for the Hilo Medical Center Foundation. It was sponsored by Hilo Rotary Club and the Edmund C. Olson Trust donated the grounds of Wainaku Center. Many of those who attended said they had never been able to visit Wainaku Center during the time after the old C. Brewer sugar building was renovated and used as the company’s headquarters for land sales. Ed Olson said he bought the building and has been renovating it for community, family. corporate and visitor events and tours as well as weddings.

FREE MEDICAL CLINICS for the public at Pahala School campus and Ocean View Community Center begin Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tropic Care 2013 involves 75 military reservists providing health care services free of charge, including physical exams, dentistry, optometry (exams and glasses), nutrition education, medication review and provision of some medication. Patients are seen on a first-come, first-served basis and are advised that there may be long wait times.
      Clinics are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. except for the last day, Wednesday, June 12, when they close at noon. Locations are Pahala School Campus and Ocean View Community Center.
      In addition to medical services, residents living off the grid and using a generator for power will have access to service members specializing in mechanics, who will work on any systems that need attention.
      For more information about Tropic Care, contact Arends at 701-566-1932.

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.