Ka`u News Briefs, Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Ka`u Scenic Byway Committee is planning more educational signage projects along Hwy 11 in Ka`u. This stretch is between
Pahala and Volcano, adorned with a rainbow last Saturday. Photo by Julia Neal

ON THE AIR AGAIN - KAHU 91.7 FM RADIO can be heard in Pahala and into Na`alehu, and on the Ka`u side of Volcano. The station is operated by Hawai`i Public Radio and broadcasts the HPR2 programming. HPR engineer Don Mussell turned the station on yesterday, after installing a new antenna on the old wooden pole behind the KAHU radio station building on Maile Street in Pahala. He said this morning that the station is working fine and looks forward to expanding the broadcast range to the entire south end of the island. According to Michael Titterton, general manager of Hawai`i Public Radio, the nonprofit organization plans to put broadcasting equipment at Kulani between Volcano and Hilo, which will allow everyone in Puna and throughout Ka`u to hear the station.
     KAHU was founded by Wendell Ka`ehu`ae`a with the help of many local donors, grants, volunteer broadcasters and The Ka`u Calendar news organization. Ka`ehu`ae`a said he hopes that local origination programming will come back to KAHU in the future. Titterton said that local programming is in the long-term plan for Hawai`i Public Radio and its HPR2 remote stations like Hana and Ka`u.

Radio engineer Don Mussell installed equipment and returned KAHU 91.7 to the
airwaves yesterday with programming from Hawai`i Public Radio. Photo by Julia Neal

      Titterton also said that Al Kam, whose group owns the old mill site from where KAHU is transmitting HPR2,  has “graciously donated the location for the station.”
     HPR2 programs include BBC World Service News, All Things Considered, the BBC’s World Today, Prairie Home Companion, the TED Radio Hour, jazz, blues and bluegrass shows, as well as a Kanikapila Sunday of Hawaiian music.
    See www.haawaiipublicradio.org and http://www.hawaiipublicradio.org
/hpr2programlistings.
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AFTER HEARING MORE THAN FOUR HOURS OF TESTIMONY from almost 100 people yesterday, Hawai`i County Council decided to adjourn and continue its meeting about a bill banning genetically modified organisms on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 9 a.m.
      Ka`u’s Council member Brenda Ford suggested that testifiers who hadn’t spoken might be willing to allow the meeting to move to discussion, but other Council members wanted to hear more testimony. Council member Valerie Poindexter, of District 1, was pleased with the progress, saying, “We’re in the second Council” with this bill. Council chair J Yoshimoto agreed.
      More than 80 percent of the testimony was in favor of Bill 113, which bans GMO crops on Hawai`i Island with a few exceptions, including papaya. It also allows for emergency exemptions.
      Following are some statements by testifiers, both for and against the ban:
      SUPPORTING BILL 113 and a ban on GMOs:
o GMO is an invasive species.
o GMOs are man-made viruses.
o Keep Hawai`i Island pure and create pure-seed companies.
o I have a right to know what’s on my land and in my food.
o Let’s play it safe.

Actress Rosanne Barr supports the GMO ban. She owns a mac nut farm on
Hawai`i Island. Photo from Big Island Video News

o GMO does not equal more money for farmers.
o Papaya farmers are spraying 10 times the national average of pesticides.
o Hawai`i is a healthy destination for visitors.
o We have a responsibility to the keiki.
o It’s not the end of farming; it’s the beginning of farming.
o It’s about changing integrity of the landscape.
o Everything is already provided for us here.
     Actress Rosanne Barr, who owns a farm in Hamakua, said, “What I want back for my taxes is for my grandchildren not to be poisoned.”
      David Case, president of Hawai`i Hawai`i Farmers Union, said there are economic consequences to use of GMOs and said pollination of non-GMO crops is an issue.
      East Ka`u’s state Sen. Russell Ruderman, who owns the Island Naturals chain of grocery stores, said, “Organic is the fastest growing food sector. GMO is the taint; not this bill.” Ruderman mentioned a list of GMO crops that foreign markets will not accept. “Keep other Big Island crops off the boycott list,” he said.

      OPPOSING BILL 113 and a ban on GMOs:
     · We’re not gardeners; we’re farmers. We feed the locals, and we feed the world.
     · There are only 93 certified ag farmers in state.
     · This bill discriminates against farmers and ranchers.
     · Farmers need freedom to choose.
     · What happens to our (farming) families?
     · GMOs have been lumped together with dangerous chemicals.
        Dennis Gonsalves, who led the team of scientists that developed genetically modify papaya, said, “I know of no cases where GMO papaya cross-pollinated with non-GMO papaya.”
   A geneticist at University of Hawai`i who grew up in Ka`u said, “Things that are dangerous should be banned, not all GMOs. He said there are ways to handle products that are dangerous, such as recalls and making changes to the products.
    Former Council member Kelly Greenwell said GMOs are necessary to maintain a food supply. “The natural is long past,” he said.
   An agronomist from University of Hawai`i encouraged the council to table the bill and gather more information from farmers, scientists and others with knowledge on GMOs.
   Text of Bill 113 is available on the County Council agenda at hawaiicounty.gov. Written testimony was also submitted. To comment on of “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Ka`u Scenic Byway at Honu`apo Lookout with a rainbow. Photo by Carrie Berry

KA`U SCENIC BYWAYS COMMITTEE members met this week and talked about reaching out to the community to explain the mission and receive input for future byway projects. The organization, a committee of the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, plans a meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. at Na`alehu Methodist Church.
     Stephanie Donoho, the County of Hawai`i's representative on the state Advisory Committee for Hawai`i Scenic Byways, talked about funding avenues. The public is invited to view displays of current projects, which include a Ka`u Byways website, new signage and plans for the future. The next regular byways meeting will be on Monday, Dec. 2, also at Na`alehu Methodist Church at 6 p.m. The committee recently held a blessing for its first educational signage installation at South Point lookout on Hwy 11. The organization also attended the Pancake Breakfast in Ocean View to spread the word. For more information, call Marge or Dennis Elwell at 929-7236.

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BENTO RAKUGO VISITS PAHALA PUBLIC & SCHOOL LIBRARY tomorrow, Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Performers present a comic story while sitting on a Japanese cushion throughout the entire performance, speaking all of the voices in both the first person and third person. All stories are spoken in English. The program is suitable for ages 5 and older, and young children must be accompanied by parent or caregiver. Call 928-2015 for more information.

HAWAIIAN MUSIC MASTERS AND THEIR STUDENTS present a free concert Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. The concert, featuring Dennis Kamakahi, Ledward Kaapana, Keoki Kahumoku, George Kahumoku, Jr., James Hill, Anne Davidson, Bolo and many more celebrates the eighth annual Hawaiian Music & Lifestyles Workshop held by Keoki Kahumoku and his Center for Hawaiian Music Studies. Attendees are encouraged to bring folding chairs and mats for seating on the lawn. Plate lunches will be available for purchase.

BETTER CHOICES, BETTER HEALTH, A FAMILY AFFAIR will be held this Saturday, Nov. 9 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pahala Community Center, with health education, prevention booths, nutritional and healthy food demonstrations, Hawai`i Health Connector enrollment and much more. It is sponsored by Ka`u Rural Health Community Association, Inc.

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

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

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013

American Honey Queen Caroline Adams, center, asks members of Vince Krakau's first-grade class to spread their knowledge about honeybees and what can be done to help the necessary pollinators of food and ornamental plants. First row: Malyann Lokot, Owen Flores and Kaui Young. Second row: Jayden Haina-Sesson-Haalilio, Stephen Throne, Vince Krakau, Manu Yahna, Caroline Adams, Angelica Bivings and Trinity Torres. Photo by Nalani Parlin

AGRICULTURAL DIVERSITY HELPS KEEP honeybees healthy by providing a variety of nutrients. The bees make farmed and wild fruits, nuts and vegetable plants more productive by helping with their pollination, said American Honey Queen Caroline Adams, who spoke to Ka`u residents on Sunday and Monday. Adams, who represents the American Beekeeping Federation, is visiting 25 states during her reign. She said her organization encourages those with orchards and large fields of row crops to set aside an acre or a border with a variety of wild or other planted crops to provide diverse nutrients to the bees. She also complimented Hawai`i for producing the most expensive honey in the world, a kind of kiawe honey.
      The American Honey Queen encouraged Ka`u residents to purchase local honey so they know where it comes from. Some “honey” made in China, she noted, is not real honey – it is thinned out and infused with high fructose corn syrup. The American Beekeeping Association is fighting importation of such products labeled as honey, Adams said.

American Honey Queen Caroline Adams encourages Ka`u
residents to attend the Hawai`i Honey Festival.

      Adams, who comes from Plano, Texas, has her own hives. She talked about the life of the bees and the care given to their queens. She also encouraged Ka`u residents to attend the Hawai`i Honey Festival coming up on Saturday, Nov. 23 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Nani Mau Gardens. Attendees will be able to vote on a People’s Choice Award for best tasting local honey. There will be a Bee Friendly plant sale, food, beekeeping demonstrations and bee education. Adults can enter for $3, and keiki are free. 

      During the session yesterday at Pahala Senior Center, Julie Pasquale, the nutritional director there, offered a tasting test between an imported honey and Raw Natural Honey from Ka`u Honey Co. in Wai`ohinu. The local honey is made from the nectars of lehua, Christmas berry, citrus, macadamia, mango, lilikoi and other wildflowers. It won the taste contest over the imported honey.
      Adams also stopped at Na`alehu School yesterday morning and visited the children of Vince Krakau’s, Dayna Santiago’s and Dale Sales’ first-grade classes, as well as Karen Wallace’s fourth-grade class. She asked students to take her honeybee challenge, which included sharing at least one thing they learned about honeybees with someone else and explaining one thing we can all do to protect and help bees. She taught students that when honeybees approaches you, they are often smelling you and actually do not want to sting you, because then they will die. If you swat at the bees, they will be scared and might sting you to protect themselves. The best thing to do, said Adams, is to wrap your arms around yourself and walk away. Her presentation was videotaped for other classes who want to see her presentation but did not have time due to scheduling.

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IN RECENTLY RELEASED KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN draft documents, Ka`u is described as being part of what is called the fourth wave of economic development.
      “The field of economic development has come full circle to recognize the wisdom of communities like Ka`u that never forgot the root meaning of economics,” the document states. It describes the first three waves of economic development as focusing on business attraction, business retention and then community-based economic development.
      “In the emerging fourth wave, economic development re-integrates the local economy with the preservation and enhancement of each place’s unique natural, cultural, and community assets,” the document states. “In other words, the fourth wave of economic development – the wave that Ka`u’s soul never left – is about localization, holism, stewardship, reciprocity and genuine wealth.”
      The document discusses ho`owaiwai and defines the Hawaiian word as the holistic understanding of wealth. “Even more simply,” it says, “fourth wave economic development – and economic development in Ka`u – is about wealth creation, retention, and sharing. Again, wealth is not limited to financial capital. Rather, it includes many different types of capital – human, intellectual, social, cultural, natural, political, etc.”

Hawai`i County planner Ron Whitmore, seen here with his
family, says Ka`u is part of the "fourth wave of
economic development."

      Ho`owaiwai is also the name of Hawai`i County’s plan for building genuine wealth and the name of the statewide network “whose goal is to help families and communities build genuine wealth, and to do so in a way that is appropriate for island people – respecting the relationship island people have with the islands that feed them, both body and spirit,” the document says.
      “Returning to Ka`u’s values, priorities, and objectives, indicators of oikonomia, na `ohana economy and ho`owaiwai should account for all three of the community’s goal areas – managing and conserving natural and cultural resources, preserving and strengthening community character and building a resilient, sustainable local economy,” the documents conclude.
      The documents are available for review online at kaucdp.info and at area libraries and community centers. The Planning Department invites comments through Dec. 16, and a feedback form is available on the website.
      The documents will also be discussed during Ka`u CDP Steering Committee’s meeting a week from today, on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.
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FREE TUTORING FOR STUDENTS OF KA`U is offered by Kathryn Tydlacka, M.Ed. Parents are asked to make a small contribution to Ka`u Learning Academy, which is now operating as a 501(c)3. All donations go toward the development of this charter school, said Tydlacka, who noted that she will employ computer-based programs to assist instruction. “This has been made possible by Ross Rammelmeyer’s generous donation of five laptop computers and a projector and screen,” she said. “We have successfully completed round one of the application process, and based on the enthusiasm of many supporters, we feel certain we will succeed in bringing a much-needed charter school to Ka`u.” Contact her at kathryntydlacka@hotmail.com.

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ALAN S. DOWNER IS THE NEW ADMINISTRATOR of the state Historic Preservation Division. Department of Land and Natural Resources chairperson William Aila, Jr. said, “With extensive experience as director for one of the nation’s largest historic preservation agencies, Downer brings tremendous experience in leadership…. I also believe his qualifications will provide SHPD with much needed direction on working with the National Park Service to meet requirements under its Corrective Action Plan.”
      Downer served 27 years as director of the Navajo Nations Historic Preservation Department in Window Rock, Ariz. He was hired in 1986 to establish the first tribal historic preservation agency in the United States. The Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department remains one of the largest public historic preservation agencies in the United States.
      “Mr. Downer has the right experience to lead the Hawai`i’s State Historic Preservation Division,” Gov. Neil Abercrombie said. “The division plays a vital role in protecting and preserving Hawai`i’s historic and cultural sites, while balancing complex issues that affect the state’s economy.”

      Downer presently is special advisor to the executive director for the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources, a multi-agency resource management organization responsible for the management and stewardship of the natural and cultural resources of the Navajo Nation.
      Prior to working for the Navajo Nation, Downer was senior archaeologist for the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, overseeing the western United States, where he had the responsibility to review many Section 106 cases for Hawai`i and worked extensively with project sponsors, federal agencies, Native Hawaiian groups, and the State Historic Preservation Officer. The work required a working knowledge of the fundamentals of Hawaiian history and Native Hawaiian culture.

Videoconferencing is available at Ocean View Community Center for
County Council meetings today and tomorrow.

      Downer received his Bachelor of Science in geology from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. and his Masters in anthropological archaeology and his PhD in applied anthropology from University of Missouri–Columbia.

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HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL MEETINGS TAKE PLACE today and tomorrow. A special meeting is scheduled today at 2 p.m. to discuss a bill that would prohibit most GMO crops.

      The council's regular meeting is tomorrow, and both meetings are held at Council Chambers in Hilo.

      Ka`u residents can participating via videoconferencing at Ocean View Community Center.

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK PRESENTS Susan Cordell, senior scientist and research ecologist for the USDA Forest Service’s Institute of Pacific Island Forestry, discussing forest management tomorrow. The program begins at 7 p.m. this evening at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $2 donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

BENTO RAKUGO VISITS PAHALA PUBLIC & SCHOOL LIBRARY Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Performers present a comic story while sitting on a Japanese cushion throughout the entire performance, speaking all of the voices in both the first person and third person. All stories are spoken in English. The program is suitable for ages 5 and older, and young children must be accompanied by parent or caregiver.
      Call 928-2015 for more information.

HAWAIIAN MUSIC MASTERS AND THEIR STUDENTS present a free concert Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. The concert celebrates the eighth annual Hawaiian Music & Lifestyles Workshop held by Keoki Kahumoku and his Center for Hawaiian Music Studies. Attendees are encouraged to bring folding chairs and mats for seating on the lawn. Smoked meat plates will be available for purchase. 

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 Monday, Nov. 4, 2013

American Honey Queen Caroline Adams met with enthusiasts at Pahala Senior Center this morning. Photo by Julia Neal

RECENTLY RELEASED KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN draft documents offer an analysis of Ka`u’s local economy, which the documents refer to as Na `Ohana Economy. 

      “Ka`u exemplifies the truly place-based understanding at the root of the word ‘economics’ – the Greek term oikonomia, which means ‘management of the household,’  states Appendix V4C. “Management of the household is not only about money. It’s about everything that makes for a healthy family, community and environment.

      “The people of Ka`u do not want to sacrifice their other values and priorities for the sake of economic development. In fact, their three core value areas – `aina, `ohana and rural lifestyle – only reference the economy in the context of agriculture’s role in the local lifestyle.
      “The concept of oikonomia mirrors that of `ohana in traditional Hawaiian culture,” the document states. “Mary Kawena Puku`i emphasizes this holistic ‘management of the household’ in The Polynesian Family System in Ka`u with her focus on the institution of `ohana. According to Puku`i, features of `ohana include:

Caroline Adams, American Honey Queen, met Pahala
residents and promoted the importance of bees.
Photo by Julia Neal

• a cohesive force tied by ancestry, birth, and sentiment to a particular locality or `aina; 
• a mutual benefit association that ‘manifests genuine community spirit;’ 
• an economic community where relationships regulate personal, social and economic intercourse; 
• an internal system that includes voluntary giving of food, utilitarian articles, and services as well as communal labor for large-scale projects. 

      According to the draft CDP document, a prime example of oikonomia and `ohana in Ka`u is the vibrant informal economy. “In the informal economy, money doesn’t change hands,” it says. “Instead, people live off the land, and the medium of exchange is reciprocity. … The people of Ka`u share what they have. Bounty from the garden or hunt is shared with `ohana, which includes far more people than those connected by blood. As one resident put it, ‘Only in Ka`u. We share, that’s the Ka`u style – with our family, our neighbors, everyone.’”

      The documents are available for review online at kaucdp.info and at area libraries and community centers. The Planning Department invites comments through Dec. 16, and a feedback form is available on the website.
      The documents will also be discussed at the Ka`u CDP Steering Committee meeting Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.
      To comment on of “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

AMERICAN HONEY QUEEN Caroline Adams met with Pahala Senior Center enthusiasts this morning and talked about the importance of local gardens, like the very successful one at the center, to provide a variety of flowers, each with different nutrients, to keep honeybees healthy.

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Kathleen Kam was artist-in-residence at Na`alehu Elementary School in 2011.

MURALIST KATHLEEN KAM is spotlighted in the November issue of Hawai`i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts Enews. Kam has painted 18 public murals, with more on the way, she said. Her 75-foot by nine-foot mural at Ka`u Coffee Mill took two years to complete. Some other locations where her murals can be seen on Hawai`i Island are Punalu`u Bake Shop in Na`alehu, Keauhou Bird Sanctuary and Kilauea General Store in Volcano Village, KTA Superstores in Hilo and Hawai`i Plantation Museum in Papa`ikou. 

      As an artistic teaching partner with the Artists-in-the-Schools program, Kam has taught art at several Hawai`i Island schools, including Na`alehu Elementary and Ka`u High & Pahala Elementary, where another mural complete by Kam and students is located.
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HAWAI`I COUNTY IS JOINING THE JAPANESE Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Hawai`i, Japanese Community Association and Kona Japanese Civic Association in the Aloha Oshima relief drive.

      Oshima Island, a sister city of Hawai`i County, was the place hardest hit when Typhoon Wipha ravaged coastal towns along Japan’s east coast on Oct. 16. Wipha brought torrential rains – a record-breaking 33 inches in 24 hours – that caused flooding and mudslides that destroyed nearly 300 homes. According to the most recent update, 32 deaths have been reported, and nine people remain missing.

Oshima Island has a sister-city relationship with Hawai`i Island.
Photo from wikimedia commons

      Through the end of December, donations to “Aloha Oshima” will be accepted at Bank of Hawai`i branches statewide. “I offer our aloha and deepest condolences to Mayor Masafumi Kawashima and the residents of Ohshima Island,” Mayor Billy Kenoi said. “Although the destruction caused by Typhoon Wipha is unprecedented, we know that the strength and resolve of the people of Ohshima will carry them through.”
      In Japanese, Oshima means big island. It is about 35 square miles with a population of 8,200 and is home to waterfalls, valleys, and Mt. Mihara, an active volcano 2,507 feet tall. Located 75 miles south of Tokyo, Oshima is the largest island in the Izu group, over a dozen islands extending south from the Izu Peninsula.

      Hawai`i County’s sister city relationship with Oshima Island was initiated in 1962 by the Board of Supervisors, the predecessor to today’s County Council. The chairman and executive officer of the Board of Supervisors, the predecessor to the office of the Mayor, was Thomas K. ‘Lofty’ Cook. Members of the Board of Supervisors at the time were Wing Kong ‘Winkie’ Chong, Elroy Osorio, Helene Hale, Sherwood Greenwell, Ikuo Hisaoka, and Elias Yadao.       

      A monument commemorating the sister city relationship was erected in 1992, the 30th anniversary of the relationship, in Lili`uokalani Gardens, by Oshima Mayor Nagaharu Shimizu.       The most recent visit to Hawai`i Island by friends from Oshima Island was in October 2012. Mayumi Jinguh and Zen Tanaka of Oshima visited on behalf of Mayor Masafumi Kawashima, delivering a letter and a 50th anniversary gift – a copper relief depicting a rainbow bridge between Hawaii Island and Oshima Island. Tanaka, and the people of Oshima Island, including Mayor Masafumi Kawashima, participated in crafting the piece.

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TROY KEOLANUI, CO-OWNER OF OK FARMS HAWAI`I in the Amau`ulu area of Hilo, told Colin M. Stewart, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, that he is committed to slowing the spread of coffee berry borers to other farms in East Hawai`i. Announcement of the pest’s presence in Hilo was made last week by the state Department of Agriculture.

OK Farms co-owner Troy Keolanui, seen here with visitors to the diversified ag farm, vows to
combat spread of the coffee berry borer recently found there. Photo by Andrew Hara

      “The insect has been found in less than .1 percent of our harvested cherry, and we are now 75 percent complete with the 2013 crop,” Keolanui said. “All cherry is processed and mechanically dried within 24 hours to prevent any insects from surviving. Any damaged beans are mechanically sorted out, leaving only high quality beans. No pathogens or contamination is carried by the beans or passed on to the consumer.
      “As a farmer, this is just something you have to deal with. Like you would if you had a dog that got fleas. You don’t kill the dog, you give it a flea bath, and you clean the area to remove the fleas … and you move on with life.”
      According to the story, Keolanui contacted the Tribune-Herald on Tuesday, saying that he felt transparency was the best way for Big Island coffee farmers to combat the destructive pest.
      “We’re not embarrassed. This was something that was inevitable. … Now, we just want to do our part to slow the spread. To protect other farms from having to deal with it,” he said.
      Keolanui told Stewart that workers first knew they had a problem about eight weeks ago, when they noticed damage to some beans after they had been processed.
      Keolanui said plans to control the beetle by managing pickers, spraying orchards with a natural fungus that kills the beetles, spraying neem oil, which he said impedes the insect’s growth and then using insectides.
      OK Farms Hawai`i is also planning to add five more acres of coffee orchards. “We think Hilo has a great future in coffee,” Keolanui told Stewart. “We don’t see this as the end of the world. It can be controlled.”
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.

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THE FOLLOWING KA`U HIGH SCHOOL & Pahala Elementary School middle school students have earned a place on the first quarter honor roll: 

Grade 8
      Summa Cum laude (3.75-4.00): Rowlie John Flores, Revis Petitt and Sierra Yeager.
      Magna Cum laude (3.5-3.74): Malie Ibarra, Junel Candaroma, Scandy Echeilam, Junially Manantan and Ezra James Ramones.
      Cum laude (3.0-3.49): Junialla Manantan, Jim Esquida, Sheena Marie Flores, Daryl Moreira, Jr, Analei Emmsley, Shailei-Marie Penera, Zachary Ishii and Rodel Pascua.
Grade 7 
      Summa Cum laude: Aaron Delos Santos and Brennen Nishimura.
      Magna Cum laude: Jennifer Abalos, Keala Liu, Malia Nicole Corpuz and Zyrae-Jawn Kailiawa.
      Cum laude: Monique Hughes, Daedrie Kai, Therese Pascua, Justine Rosario, Karlee Fukunaga, Lei Chun Galban Kin In, Randall Patton, Jr, Naython Perry, Kanani Petrill-Abrojin, Chaunalisa Velez, Kalena Yeager, Ryan Ah Yee, Josiah Barrios, Mei Lin Galban Kin In, Taenna Holeso, Helena Nihipali-Sesson, Seazon Gouveia-Makuakane, Kayla Kainoa-Aukai and Terree Oyama.

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SUSAN CORDELL, SENIOR SCIENTIST and research ecologist for the USDA Forest Service’s Institute of Pacific Island Forestry, discusses forest management tomorrow at After Dark in the Park. The program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $2 donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

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.