Ka`u News Briefs Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park encourages Ka`u residents to sign up for the Sanctuary Ocean Count of humpback whales. Photo from wayfaring.info

THE THREE NOMINEES FOR STATE HOUSE DISTRICT V that the Democratic Party sent to Gov. Neil Abercrombie were Richard Creagan, Steve Sakala and Michael Matsukawa, announced John Buckstead, chair of the Democratic Party for West Hawai`i. From these three names, Abercrombie chose Na`alehu resident Richard Creagan to replace Denny Coffman, who resigned last month.

Steve Sakala Photo from sustainables-
akala.weebly.com

Michael Matsukawa
Photo from Kohala Center 

      Matsukawa, an attorney from Kailua-Kona, has been active in a variety of community and government issues, including the Kona Community Development Plan. He was also Hawai`i County Corporation Counsel in the early 1990s.
      Sakala is an environmental consultant and proprietor of Honaunau EcoRetreat Farm and Education Center. He is also on the board of Kona Pacific Public Charter School and vice president of the Kona Chapter of Hawai`i Farmers Union.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

ROYAL HAWAIIAN ORCHARDS, with offices in Pahala and Hilo, is seeking to expand its branded macadamia nut product line by raising $9 million in a rights offering, in which existing stockholders can buy a specified number of new securities from the firm at a specified price within a specified time. 

      The company considers the rights offering a major step toward realizing its goal to transition from being a farming company to a branded healthy snack food company, president and CEO Scott Wallace said. “Our strategy is to capitalize on consumers’ views of nuts as an upscale healthy snack that can command prices above traditional mass-marketed products,” Wallace said, pointing out that the products have no artificial ingredients or genetically modified organisms, are gluten-free and contain no sulfites.

Royal Hawaiian Orchards wants to expand its line of maadamia products.
Image from royalhawaiianorchards.com

      “We are leveraging the existing nutritional properties inherent in tree nuts in our line of macadamia-based foods,” Wallace said. “Our strategy is based on promoting the health benefits of macadamia nuts, which are similar to those of almonds, a food product that has achieved strong market positioning based on growing consumer awareness of associated wellness properties.”
      Wallace said the company’s brand of macadamia nut-based snacks, introduced in late 2012, “has been accepted by consumers as a healthy snack alternative,” in more than 3,000 stores in Hawai`i and on the mainland.
      “The funds from this rights offering will be used to quickly expand distribution nationwide to national, regional and independent grocery and drug chains, as well as mass merchandisers, that target consumers with healthy eating habits and the disposable income needed to afford premium products,” Wallace said. “By pursuing a branded products strategy and continuing to farm macadamias, we believe that we may have a pricing advantage, because we are able to produce nuts from our own orchards at a relatively fixed and currently favorable cost and do not have to compete to purchase nuts from third parties.”
      Wallace said that the strategy also serves to mitigate the company’s exposure to fluctuating commodity prices, should wholesale nut prices decline.

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KA`U’S STATE SEN. RUSSELL RUDERMAN, who testified in favor of banning genetically modified organisms before Hawai`i County Council, has written what he says is the first of a series of articles on the subject in Big Island Weekly. 

      In the first installment, Ruderman attempts to “clear up some confusion about Bt corn.”

Sen. Russell Ruderman

      Ruderman says “there is a world of difference between the safe spray application of Bt to plants compared to the high levels of ingested and environmental Bt toxin that result from genetically modified Bt corn.”
      Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis, is a bacteria which produces a toxin that kills many insects. When sprayed externally on a plant, Bt kills the insects but is not absorbed into the plant, Ruderman says. “In this form, it is safe for the plants and the humans or animals that ingest them.”
      In the case of Bt corn, the Bt bacteria has been artificially inserted into the genes of the plant, and every cell of the plant produces the Bt toxin, according to Ruderman. “In this case, the Bt toxin is ingested by humans or animals eating the GMO Bt crop, and large amounts of Bt toxin enter the soil as the tillage remains behind.  

      “In GMO Bt crops, we are consuming the toxin with every bite, and this poison builds up in our bodies and in the fields,” Ruderman says. 

      The senator says there have been several scientific studies showing ill effects in humans and animals from such high quantities of Bt toxin. “And as a result of this new widespread use, Bt-resistant strains of bugs have now developed for the first time. Tellingly, Bt corn itself is listed as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency. In a human study, Bt bacteria were found to have transferred to the normal bacteria in the gut lining in subjects that ate Bt corn, creating a toxin-producing bacteria culture inside human digestive systems.”
      Ruderman says he will discuss such health studies in more depth in future articles.
      He suggests that consumers can avoid corn and corn products entirely or look for “non-GMO” or organic corn ingredients. “GMO products, including Bt corn, cannot be labeled organic,” Ruderman says.
      Ruderman asks interested parties to contact him at russell@russellruderman.com.

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Ka`ena Point, at the end of Chain of Craters Road, in a Sanctuary Ocean Count site.
Photo from NPS

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK ENCOURAGES volunteers to register to help count humpback whales during the 2014 Sanctuary Ocean Count held the last Saturday of January, February and March (Jan. 25, Feb. 22, and Mar. 29), from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

      Ka`ena Point, located at the end of Chain of Craters Road in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, is one of Hawai`i Island’s 21 Sanctuary Ocean Count sites. Volunteers on shore monitor humpbacks in nearshore waters for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. Residents and visitors look forward to this yearly event, which provides important population and distribution information about humpback whales around the Hawaiian Islands.
      “The Sanctuary Ocean Count is an ideal opportunity for the community and the park to work together as stewards of the ocean,” said HVNP Public Affairs officer Jessica Ferracane. “These splendid creatures swim more than 2,000 miles to Hawai`i from Arctic waters every winter, and the annual count is one way to observe and record their behavior and ensure their future.”
      Registered volunteers meet Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park volunteer and Sanctuary Ocean Count site leader Jennifer Watson at the end of Chain of Craters Road on the scheduled count days.
      For more information, see hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov  or call the Ocean Count Hotline at 808-268-3087. To register online, go to sanctuaryoceancount.org.

An example of Process Painting by Patricia Hoban
Photo from VAC

KA`I HO`OPI`I SHARES MUSIC OF HIS `OHANA during a Na Leo Manu: Heavenly Voices program today at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply. 

KA`U AGRICULTURAL WATER COOPERATIVE DISTRICT meets tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Royal Hawaiian Orchards Macadamia Field Office. For more information, call Jeff McCall at 928-6456. 

PROCESS PAINTING - SPIRIT OF CREATIVITY is the topic Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. Patricia Hoban takes participants on a journey that encourages experimentation, exploration, discovery and play. “We strive to get rid of our internal critic and judge through this endeavor,” Hoban said. “When people learn the process, they can paint from within, letting their subconscious or right brain engage in spontaneous expression.” No previous art education or experience is needed. Fees are $45/$40 VAC members plus $5 for supplies. Register at 967-8222. 

KA`U HOSPITAL URGES RESIDENTS to complete its Community Health Needs Assessment at surveymonkey.com/s/93HQ5MX. The deadline has been extended to Jan. 31.

SEE THE DIRECTORY from the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce at http://snack.to/fzpfg59c.

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

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014

The new Hawai`i Growth Model data visualization website allows the community to track progress at the Pahala campus and other Hawai`i public schools. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U COFFEE MILL AND ITS SISTER BRAND Ka`u Coffee Trading Co. recently launched sales of Ka`u Coffee Singles. “Great innovations can come in small packages,” says Ka`u Coffee Mill founder Edmund C. Olson. 

      Designed for the popular Keurig coffee brewer, each Single offers .35 ounce (10 grams) of pure Ka`u Coffee. “Singles allow coffee drinkers to prepare the exact amount perfect for one cup of precious Ka`u Coffee,” Olson said. Both Ka`u Coffee Mill and Ka`u Coffee Trading Co. Singles are Ka`u Estate Grown Medium Roast.

Ka`u Coffee Singles have the exact amount to brew one cup.
Photo from Ka`u Coffee Mill

      Olson said that distribution of Singles will broaden Ka`u Coffee Mill’s program to make 100 percent Ka`u Coffee a household name. Ka`u Coffee Singles come in packs of a dozen and are available at the new Big Island Trading Co. near the corner of Hwy 11 and Hwy 19 in Hilo. Ka`u Coffee Singles are also available at Ka`u Coffee Mill, www.kaucoffeemill.com and Hamakua Macadamia Nut Co., www.hawnnut.com.
      Look to the future for an expanded line of roasts and brands in Ka`u Coffee Singles, Olson said.

HAWAI`I’S RENEWABLE ENERGY GOALS are on lawmakers’ minds during this year’s state Legislature that opens tomorrow, according to a story in Civil Beat.
      According to Sophie Cocke, Ka`u’s Sen. Russell Ruderman, vice chair of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, hopes to legalize industrial hemp as a crop that can be harvested for biofuel.
      She also reports that leaders of Hawai`i’s energy and environmental committees hope to pass a law requiring the state to derive 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2050. Currently, the goal is 40 percent renewable energy by 2030.
      Rep. Chris Lee, chair of the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee, said the mandate would ensure that liquefied natural gas, if it is imported to Hawai`i in hopes of lowering consumer electricity bills, is eventually phased out and ensure that it remains a bridge fuel to more renewables.

Sen. Russell Ruderman

      Lawmakers hope to further the state’s renewable energy efforts by encouraging introduction of hydrogen cars to the Hawai`i market, boosting biodiesel and stimulating a market for biofuels in the transportation sector, Cocke says.
      One bill calls for building hydrogen fuel stations throughout the state.
      Blue Planet Foundation is supporting legislation that requires that five percent of diesel fuel sold in the state contain at least five percent locally produced biodiesel.
      Sen. Mike Gabbard, chair of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, told Cocke he wants legislation requiring state regulators to review technological and economic obstacles to creating a modern grid system that can accept larger amounts of renewable energy.
      Another bill would create energy storage targets for the utilities in order to integrate more renewable energy into grids without causing power disruptions.
      Lawmakers and clean energy advocates seek legislation that would help community-based renewable energy projects. “Half or more of Hawai`i residents are simply unable to participate in clean energy because they don’t have a roof directly above their head, they live in a shady area, a condo or are a renter,” said Jeff Mikulina, executive director of Blue Planet Foundation, a clean energy advocacy group. Under the program, solar arrays could be placed in communal areas such as on warehouse roofs or in fields, allowing neighboring residents access to the solar energy.
      Hawai`i’s $1.05 per barrel oil tax, which expires June 2015, is also on the agenda this session. Lawmakers hope to extend the deadline through 2030 and allocate more of the funds to support energy and food security programs.
      See civilbeat.com.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Summaries of 2013 legislative activity by members of Hawai`i's congressional delegation are available at GovTrack.us.
From left, Sen. Mazie Hirono, Sen. Brian Schatz, Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

THE GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY WEBSITE GovTrack.us has released its 2013 report cards for members of Congress. The report cards summarize legislative activity for each lawmaker, including Hawai`i’s Democratic delegation. 

      During her first year in the Senate, Mazie Hirono missed only one vote. Hirono ranked first among Senate freshmen who worked on legislation with the House. She also wrote bipartisan bills, with 60 percent of them having co-sponsors who are not Democrats.
      Sen. Brian Schatz had one of his nine bills enacted – the Native American Veterans’ Memorial Amendments Act. It was co-sponsored by Hirono, Alaska’s two senators and the vice chair of Indian Affairs. Schatz also co-sponsored 211 bills or resolutions. He missed four votes.
      Of the 131 bills Rep. Colleen Hanabusa co-sponsored, 40 percent were introduced by lawmakers who are not Democrats. She missed 17 votes.
      Rep. Tulsi Gabbard introduced only three bills, and one of them – the Helping Heroes Fly Act – was enacted into law. Gabbard was among the highest 10 percent of legislators in joining bipartisan proposals. She missed 18 votes.

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THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION has made available to parents, students and the Hawai`i community a public version of the Hawai`i Growth Model data visualization website at growthmodel.hawaiipublicschools.org/growth_model/public/index.htm.
      This interactive website allows users to click among multiple data streams comparing the state’s Complex Areas, schools and student groups, generating bubble charts that plot how those groups are faring according to two key yardsticks: Proficiency and Growth.
      “The launch of the public Hawai`i Growth Model data visualization website is an exciting step in the department’s journey to provide better information about school performance in timely, easy-to-access, user-friendly ways,” deputy superintendent Ronn Nozoe said.
      “The ability to visualize growth data in context with how a school or complex is performing in relation to others over time is critical to building understanding and collaborative action,” Nozoe said.
      The public can explore the website at HawaiiPublicSchools.org for key information about this new tool.
      Since summer 2013, DOE teachers and key staff have been using a private version of the Growth Model website to analyze student achievement data that helps inform instruction and guide school initiatives. The staff website is protected by federal and DOE regulations from being released publicly. Users of the public Growth Model website cannot view data for populations of fewer than 20 students.
      By making comprehensive data sets easily sortable and searchable, the Growth Model website supports all three goals of the department’s Strategic Plan: Student Success, Staff Success, and Successful Systems of Support.

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 USGS geologist Matt Patrick Photo from HVO

GEOLOGIST MATT PATRICK, OF USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, presents an update on Kilauea’s summit eruption, including an overview of the volcanic processes occurring within the vent, today at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $2 donations support park programs; park entrance fees apply.

KA`I HO`OPI`I SHARES MUSIC OF HIS `OHANA during a Na Leo Manu: Heavenly Voices program tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

KA`U AGRICULTURAL WATER COOPERATIVE DISTRICT holds its next meeting at Royal Hawaiian Orchards Macadamia Field Office Thursday at 4 p.m. For more information, call Jeff McCall at 928-6456.

KA`U HOSPITAL URGES RESIDENTS to complete its Community Health Needs Assessment at surveymonkey.com/s/93HQ5MX. The deadline has been extended to Jan. 31.

SEE THE DIRECTORY from the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce at http://snack.to/fzpfg59c.

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

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, Jan. 13, 2014

Steve Sakala, Hawai`i Farmers Union United Kona Chapter vice president, at left, was one of the persons considered by the Democratic Party to replace Rep. Denny Coffman, who resigned, in the upcoming state Legislature that begins Wednesday. Photo from HFUU

HAWAI`I FARMERS UNION UNITED held its 2014 Food Summit last week on O`ahu. Among those attending were Gov. Neil Abercrombie; Rep. Richard Onishi, who represents East Ka`u at the 2014 Hawai`i Legislature; Jessica Wooley and Clarence Nishihara who chair the House and Senate Agriculture Committees; Maria Gallo, dean of the University of Hawai`i College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources; Jeri Kahana, Commodities Branch chief of the Department of Agriculture; Scott Enright, chair of Dept. of Ag,; farmers; land use experts and scientists.

      They participated in fruitful discussions, said an attendee from Ka`u, Malian Lahey, who works in the Ka`u Coffee business and owns a farm in Wood Valley. She said that during the convention she was able to advocate for state recognition of Ka`u Coffee as a regional trademark. Seven other coffee regions in Hawai`i have trademarks held in trust by the state Department of Agriculture.

     Also discussed at the convention was the challenge for truck farmers and those growing on small family plots to afford compliance with food security regulations that sometimes favor large farms.
    Attendees toured commercial Korean Natural Farming sites that operate without the use of pesticides and herbicides or petrochemical fertilizers.
     CTHAR dean Gallo recently wrote in an op-ed that “fortifying prime agricultural lands and infrastructure, and supporting local farming are critical elements for food security for our state. Agriculture must be a predominant theme in our sense of place.”
      The event included discussions of bill coming up in the state Legislature, which convenes Wednesday. The first item on the agenda was the Good Agriculture Practices legislation, which would create a statewide food safety certification standard under the state Department of Agriculture in conjunction with a CTHAR Good Agriculture Practices training course and self-audit. HFUU said the training is in jeopardy of losing its funding in April and urges farmers and others to voice their support for the program.
      Another bill HFUU supports is On Farm Mentoring, which provides grants to farmers or qualified entities that source 75 percent or more of their inputs from the farm to teach their farming practices.
      Hawai`i Origin Products Act calls for a producer-driven labeling regime for Hawai`i’s origin products, to protect purity and quality of select products, as well as creating a state-appointed Origin Products Commission consisting of farmers.
   Ka`u comes under the Hawai`i Farmers Union United Kona Chapter.
     See more on the convention at hawaiifarmersunionunited.com.

     To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Drones have high potential for use in agriculture, according to agronomist Kevin Price.
Photo from wikipedia

MOST INCOME FROM USE OF DRONES, about 80 percent, will come from agriculture, Kansas State University agronomist Kevin Price told farmers at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 95th Annual Convention in San Antonio.
      Agricultural applications of drones, also known as small unmanned aircraft systems, include data collection on crop health, vigor and yields, tracking the spread of invasive plant species and monitoring cattle feedlots. Price said data collection by cameras on drones is extremely accurate – to within one inch.
      “The biggest challenge is extracting useful data from the tons of it that is collected,” Price said. “New software needs to be created that can take data and transform it into useful information.”
      Price said that while the economic potential of drones is tremendous, it will not be realized without approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA recently announced research on how to integrate drones safely into the national airspace, with some of the testing to take place in Hawai`i.
      According to Price, drone technology continues to develop rapidly, and costs are declining.
      Ka`u is represented at the national Farm Bureau meeting by Chris Manfredi, of Na`alehu, who is acting president of the Hawai`i division of the organization.
      See more at fb.org.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Researches say fisheries should be closed when leatherback turtles
are present to protect the endangered species.
NOAA photo by Scott Benson

A STUDY OF ENDANGERED LEATHERBACK turtles proposes closing fisheries when the turtles are present. “Ultimately, it is in the interest of both the fishing and conservation communities to work together toward developing a clearer understanding of times, locations and conditions under which undesired bycatch of leatherback turtles occurs, to reduce these interactions and to help alleviate the current biodiversity crisis in our oceans.” 

      A team of researchers from Drexel University in Philadelphia, several other universities, the federal Southwest Fisheries Science Center and the nonprofit Leatherback Trust used GPS devices to track 135 turtles in the Pacific and determine where and when they are at risk of being caught and killed by longline fishing boats. Their results were published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
      “Leatherback turtles get caught on longlines by both biting at the bait and getting entangled in the lines themselves,” said James Spotila, a research team member and professor of environmental science at Drexel. “Fishermen do not want to catch the turtles but have had limited success in avoiding them. Now they will be able to set their lines in areas where the turtles are unlikely to occur, making the ocean safer for turtles and reducing the cost to the fishermen of having to deal with the giant turtles."
     While leatherbacks are less familiar to Hawai`i residents than hawksbills and green sea turtles, they are a native species in Hawaiian waters, found mostly offshore where they have encountered long line fishing fleets.
      The study, however, found the greatest risk was in two areas. One is adjacent to nesting beaches in Indo-Pacific islands such as Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya and the Solomon Islands in the western Pacific. According to the study, these areas are under exclusive economic control of national authorities and can readily be regulated.
      In the eastern Pacific, the greatest risk is in a system of currents called the South Pacific Gyre. Management is more problematic here because this area is outside national waters, researchers said.
      “Encouragingly, several emerging partnerships between fisheries operators and biologists, aimed at sharing information, have greatly refined targeted bycatch management, and have provided examples for approaching such a complex issue as marine turtle bycatch.”
      See rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org.

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KA`U SCENIC BYWAY COMMITTEE’S meeting today at 5 p.m. at Na`alehu Methodist Church is open to the public. One item on the agenda is wrapping up the Corridor Management Plan to submit to the state Department of Transportation, including discussion of public comments from copies left in libraries. 

      Dennis Elwell reported that the interpretive sign at South Point lookout in Ocean view will be replaced by a full board, instead of a patch, to correct a misspelling.
      The committee will also discuss appointing a new chair.

      For more information, contact Elwell at delwell.hawaii.rr.com or 929-7236.

Ka`i Ho`opi`i performs Wednesday.
Photo from NPS

HAPPENINGS AT HALEMA`UMA`U is the topic at After Dark in the Park tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      In March 2008, a new volcanic vent opened within Halema`uma`u Crater at the summit of Kilauea. Since then, the eruption has consisted of continuous degassing, occasional explosive events and fluctuating lava lake activity in an open crater that is now 520 feet by 690 feet in size. While thousands of visitors flock to see the nighttime glow emitted by the lava lake, the volcano’s summit eruption also provides an abundance of data and insights for scientists.
      Geologist Matt Patrick presents an update on Kilauea’s summit eruption, including an overview of the volcanic processes occurring within the vent. $2 donations support park programs; park entrance fees apply.

KA`I HO`OPI`I SHARES MUSIC OF HIS `OHANA during a Na Leo Manu: Heavenly Voices program Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

KA`U AGRICULTURAL WATER COOPERATIVE DISTRICT holds its next meeting at Royal Hawaiian Orchards Macadamia Field Office Thursday at 4 p.m. For more information, call Jeff McCall at 928-6456.

KA`U HOSPITAL URGES RESIDENTS to complete its Community Health Needs Assessment at surveymonkey.com/s/93HQ5MX. The deadline has been extended to Jan. 31.

SEE THE DIRECTORY from the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce at http://snack.to/fzpfg59c.

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