Ka`u News Briefs Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Legislation calling for tax relief on donations to the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan is on its way to President Barack Obama.
Map from wunderground.com

AS THE MILITARY PLANS TO EXPAND TRAINING areas and the number and sophistication of war games conducted on the Big Island, its leaders plan to meet with warriors and defense industry leaders from around the world next month in Waikiki. The conference, April 8 – 10, is called Land and Power in the Pacific.

Officials said one aim of LANPAC is "assuring security and stability in the Pacific."

     Representatives from more than thirty countries are invited to the confab. Speakers include generals from the U.S., Japan and Bangladesh. The Association of the United States Army’s Institute of Land Warfare and the U.S. Army Pacific and U.S. Pacific Command are organizing LANPAC. A statement says that one aim is “assuring security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.”
      See a map at afcea.org/events/tnlf/east12-/documents/MathewsRevRecvd.pdf.
      “Participants will explore, in depth, the concept of strategic land power and the future of the Asia-Pacific theater with valuable perspectives from U.S. military and civilian leaders, industry leaders and service leaders from allied countries in this very important region of the world,” retired Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, president of AUSA, said in a release.
      Seven of the 10 largest armies in the world are in the Pacific theater, and 22 of the 27 countries in the region have an army officer as chief of defense, according to John R. Deni at the Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute. 

      However, the Army has struggled to establish its place in the Pacific in a time of downsizing and a stated Pentagon goal of avoiding the type of foreign nation occupation operations that fell to the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan.
      Featured speakers will include Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, head of U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter, along with Gen. Dennis Via, commander, U.S. Army Materiel Command; Vice Adm. Robert L. Thomas Jr., commander, U.S. 7th Fleet; Gen. Kiyofumi Iwata, chief of staff, Japan Ground Self Defense Force; Gen. Iqbal Karim Bhui­yan, chief of staff, Bangladesh Army; Lt. Gen. Robert S. Ferrell, U.S. Army chief information officer; and Brig. Tim Gall, land component commander, Headquarters, Joint Forces, New Zealand.
      Last year’s inaugural LANPAC forum was advertised as a way to “leverage the strategic location of Hawai`i to bring together government and industry representatives.”
      More than 600 attended the symposium, including representatives from 17 countries, U.S. Army Pacific said.
      The event, held last year and also this year at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, will feature industry exhibits.

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

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO., HAWAI`I ELECTRIC LIGHT CO. and other electric utility companies are in danger of being FedExed, “like the post office got FedExed,” as rooftop photovoltaic systems become lower-priced, said former U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. 

      Chu suggested that utilities go into the rooftop solar business. He presented his arguments for the new business model at the University of Chicago, as reported in Forbes by Jeff McMahon.

Steven Chu

      “This is not a radical model,” Chu said. “This is the old telephone system model, where the telephone companies owned the phone, they rented you the phone for so long, they maintained it.” In Chu’s model, the utility would own the panels and batteries and sell electricity to customers at a much lower rate.

      The model benefits the utilities and their customers, according to Chu.
      Utility companies could expand without needing to install new transmission lines, complete environmental impact reports, “and all of that stuff,” he said. They would also benefit from a distributed network of panels and batteries “where they need it the most, at the end of the distribution system, for grid stability.”
      Besides getting lower rates, customers would get solar power without having to pay for installation, as well as get a battery backup that works up to a week.
      Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, criticized HECO’s slowing of rooftop solar installations because of concerns about capacity and safety. “Solar installations don’t threaten grid stability until they approach 20 percent of the customer base,” Chu said. As of January, seven percent of HELCO’s customers had solar systems.
      Lynn Unemori, of HECO, told McMahon the company has adopted “a more cautious approach to applications for new PV systems on circuits with a large amount of PV already installed, solely for reasons of safety and reliability.”
      See forbes.com. To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

LEGISLATION TO OFFER TAX RELIEF on charitable donations to the Philippines is on its way to President Obama after being passed by Congress. 

      The Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act will allow Americans who make donations for storm relief and recovery in the Philippines to deduct them from their taxes.

      Under this bill, donations must be made after the President signs this bill into law and before April 15, 2014 in order to qualify.

      Sen. Mazie Hirono co-sponsored the legislation. “Given the great deal of help still needed, the Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act will help spur another round of new contributions when charitable giving has tapered off and help American families get more back from their tax returns this year,” she said.
      Ka`u’s Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who co-sponsored similar legislation in the House, said, “In the past several months, people in Hawai`i and across the country have shown a tremendous outpouring of compassion and support for so many of our friends and family who were deeply impacted by the devastating Typhoon Haiyan. I continue to pray for those who lost loved ones, and I encourage everyone to not forget that there is still so much work to be done, and to consider how we can help in their efforts.”

      Legislation to provide tax incentives for charitable giving was also enacted following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

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

ALOHA BLUEGRASS BAND AND KEOKI KAHUMOKU present a free concert at Pahala Plantation House this evening at 7 p.m. Donations are welcome.
      Information about the performers is available at alohabluegrassband.com.

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND AND NATURAL AREA RESERVES teams invite volunteers to their annual Manuka Natural Area Reserve shoreline hiking cleanup in South Kona this Saturday. The region includes anchialine pools, rugged beaches and a couple of embayments.
      “Every year, we are able to cover more ground and move further north along this rocky, remote shoreline,” said HWF coordinator Megan Lamson.

      Space is limited. RSVP to Lamson at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

Whale Tale Photo from Thomas C. Stein 

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK encourages volunteers to register to help count humpback whales during the final 2014 Sanctuary Ocean Count held this Saturday, March 29 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

      Ka`ena Point, near the end of Chain of Craters Road, is one of Hawai`i Island’s 21 Sanctuary Ocean Count sites. It is the first pullout along the ocean, close to the end of the road – about a 45-minute drive from the park entrance. Bring a cushion or chair to sit on, snacks, sun and rain protection. Binoculars are optional. Check in with Sanctuary Ocean Count site leader, park ranger Adrian Boone.
      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 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.”
      For more information, see hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov. To register online, see sanctuaryoceancount.org, or simply show up for all or part of the count.
      For additional questions, call the Ocean Count Hotline 808-268-3087. To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

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

 

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The final Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Whale Count for 2014 takes place Saturday. Photo from HIHWNMS

HILO CIRCUIT JUDGE GREG NAKAMURA heard arguments regarding Hawai`i County’s registration of genetically modified crops yesterday. Attorney Margery Bronster, representing the plaintiffs, raised concerns about the county keeping information provided by the farmers confidential. 

      “I would try to keep as much information as confidential as possible,” county Research and Development Department director Laverne Omori said in response to a question from Bronster, according to a story in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. She also said her office “lacked clear rules and procedures for the new program.”

Ka`u's U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

      Tom Callis reports that one of the plaintiffs, Hawai`i Papaya Industry Association president Ross Sibucao, said he fears release of information about his farm could make him a target for vandalism. “It’s my livelihood,” he said.  

      “You grow these trees from babies on up. 

      “To have them vandalized, it’s fearful.”
      Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille, who introduced the anti-GMO bill, told Callis the registry is needed for disclosure and that “general information about where GMO crops are grown should be made public.”  

      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.

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

THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES will vote Thursday on legislation that would dismantle the Antiquities Act of 1906, according to Germonique R. Ulmer, vice president of Public Affairs for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She called the Antiquities Act “our best public lands conservation tool.”
      Ulmer said HR1459, dubbed the “Preventing New Parks” bill, undermines the President’s ability to act swiftly to preserve lands of public interest through national monument designation. The Grand Canyon, Acadia, Chaco Canyon and Olympic National Parks are just a few of the places first protected under the Antiquities Act. President Obama created national monuments at Virginia’s Fort Monroe and Colorado’s Chimney Rock with strong public support.
      HR1459 has three major provisions:

• places arbitrary limits on the number of monuments a president can designate using the Antiquities Act; 
• requires Congress to approve, for the first time, monument designations; and
• creates unprecedented roadblocks to swift presidential action; 

      Ulmer asks the public to contact their respresentatives and ask them to vote no on the bill. “Together, we can stop this major threat to our public lands and our heritage,” she said.
      Ka`u’s U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard can be contacted at gabbard.house.gov or 202-225-4906. Her Hawai`i Island constituent liaison, Blaise DeLima, can be contacted at 755-5806.

Hawai`i corrections system recruits joined officials during a meeting with
Gov. Neil Abercormbie. Image from Big Island Video News

KULANI PRISON IS ON SCHEDULE to reopen in July, Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced at a meeting with correctional facility staff and recruits recorded by Big Island Video News. His plan is to return prisoners housed on the mainland as part of an initiative toward a “complete revamping and reorientation” of the state correctional system. 

      “Everybody who had return rights is going to be given the opportunity,” Abercrombie said.
      He said reopening Kulani is “a visible step that we’re reversing” the practice of sending inmates out of state.
      Abercrombie also announced plans to replace Hilo Prison and build a new prison in Kona. “The question that has to be answered right now is, ‘What’s the cost of sending people out of the state, not just in dollars and cents terms, but in lost opportunities for dealing with our own difficulties, our own way, inside our own `ohana, inside this state.”
      He said the overall plan is to bring everyone back, “making an investment and seeing to it that we come to grips with our own problems inside Hawai`i and inside our own family.”
      He said programs at the facility would include an inmate-to-farmer program with training in all phases of ag and a natural area reserve program, with the hope of reducing the rate of recitivism, “giving people the sense that they are not just in a hopeless situation.”
      See bigislandvideonews.com.

BETTER CHOICES, BETTER HEALTH: A FAMILY AFFAIR is set for Friday, April 11. From 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pahala Community Center, Ka`u Rural Health Community Association, Inc.'s 17th Annual Rural Health Conference offers health, education and prevention booths, nutrition and healthy food demonstrations, Hawai`i Health Connector enrollment, games and door prizes.

      Participants include Tutu & Me Traveling Preschool, Bay Clinic, Med Assist School of Hawai`i, United Healthcare, `Ohana Healthcare and Hawai`i County Office of Aging.

      Registration deadline is Monday, April 7. The organization will present its annual report to members and elect its board. For more information, call 928-0101.

Vendor spaces are available at Kauaha`ao Congregational Church's bazaar next month.
Photo from Debbie Wong Yuen

KAUAHA`AO CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN WAI`OHINU invites individuals and groups to be vendors at the church’s fundraising bazaar on Saturday, April 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The church is at the corner of Hwy 11, Kama`oa Road and Pinao Street, just above the Wong Yuen Store and Gas Station. 

      The flea market is open to any club, church, school, athletic organization or individual. The charge for a 10x10-foot booth space is $10. Vendors are asked to bring their own tent, tables, chairs, and, if power is needed, a generator.
      The church will be selling laulau plate lunches, chili and rice, hot dogs, baked goods and more.
      For more information or to reserve a space, call Walter Wong Yuen after 7 p.m. at 928-8039.

THE ALOHAHAS IMPROV-COMEDY-SKETCH COMPANY returns to Ocean View Community Center for their spring show Saturday, April 19. Doors open for $15 ticket sales at 7 p.m. for adults 18 years or older, and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.

CJ Roughgarden is a member
of the Alohahas.

      The show line-up consists of members performing a series of improvisation games with audience suggestions and participation. Part of the show features original comedy sketches written and performed by the improv members.
      Advance $10 tickets may be purchased at thealohahas@gmail.com or 938-2091.
      More information on the live show, company members and show tickets is available at thealohahas.com or facebook.com/thealohahas.

NA`ALEHU STUDENTS AND STAFF SHARE their learnings and projects at the annual Math and Science Night on Thursday, April 24 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event will be held in the main school building. Visitors are welcome to bring their families and visit grade-level displays and hands-on activities in classrooms, on the lanai and in the center courtyard. Highlights include exploding fourth-grade volcanoes, make-and-take art pieces with recycled materials, fifth-grade science projects and sixth-grade marble ramp experiments. Families will have an opportunity to take home a native tree starter, in honor of Earth Day, when engaging in the Kamehameha Schools Literacy Instruction and Support booth with their keiki.
      For more information, call the school at 939-2413.

PARTICIPANTS LEARN TO WEAVE A STAR from leaves of the pandanus tree when members of `Aha Puhala o Puna share the art of lauhala weaving as part of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s ongoing `Ike Hana No`eau: Experience the Skillful Work workshops. The free program takes place tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center. Park entrance fees apply.

ALOHA BLUEGRASS BAND AND KEOKI KAHUMOKU present a free concert at Pahala Plantation House tomorrow at 7 p.m. Donations are welcome. 

      Information about the performers is available at alohabluegrassband.com.

DURING STEWARDSHIP AT THE SUMMIT in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., volunteers meet at Kilauea Visitor Center to help remove invasive Himalayan ginger from park trails. Free; park entrance fees apply.

MORE STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS TAKE PLACE SATURDAY.
      At Manuka NARS Shoreline Hiking Cleanup, volunteers hike two or more miles to access the cleanup sites. RSVP to kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.
      Sanctuary Whale Count volunteers gather at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach, Ka Lae and also at Ka`ena Point in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park to tally humpback whale sightings and document the animals’ surface behavior during the survey. Sign up at sanctuaryoceancount.org, or call 808-268-3087.

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

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, March 24, 2014

Na`alehu Elementary students Chrystal Quiros and Saphire Kahakua-Brown won third place in the Elementary Division of last year's Art of Recycling contest with Water Cycle. This year's contest is coming up in April. Photo by Susan Champeny

RICHARD HA RESPONDED THIS MORNING to Sen. Russell Ruderman’s opposition to his reappointment to the state Board of Agriculture: “We should be toning down the rhetoric, not ramping it up as Sen. Ruderman did by writing that he was revulsed by my reappointment to the Board of Ag. What we need as we move into an uncertain future of rising energy and food costs is the spirit of aloha. Let’s come together to have a meaningful and respectful discussion about our food security.

Richard Ha

      “Saying that I am an enemy of organic farming is not true. You can see on my blog ... that I see the problem of rising costs for both conventional and organic farmers. We have to help each other address those costs. I feel that we need all farmers to be able to feed Hawai`i. I’m in favor of organic farming. The problem with organic farming is the large, industrial farming on the mainland having lower costs of production than the organic farming here in Hawai`i. So that’s why conventional and organic farmers have to help each other. It is not accurate to say that I am against organic. That is not right.
      Ha said that “Sen. Ruderman said he was revulsed by my reappointment when emailing people about his opposition to my having a second term on the Board of Agriculture. That is inappropriate for a person in his position because it sends a shiver through the agricultural community, and people could be afraid to speak out.”
      Ha said, “This is not about me, but the appropriateness of his actions, given his special position of being a senator. That’s the problem. It makes people afraid that what is said in public is different than what is said in private.”
      On his blog, hahaha.hamakuasprings.com, Ha discusses organic farming. “Organic, hydroponic, conventional, big farmers, small farmers: We need to find ways to coexist,” Ha writes. He says that, because Hawai`i doesn’t have a winter season, both organic and conventional farmers here are at a disadvantage. “We use much more energy than a mainland farmer to produce our crops, because we are always having to fight insects and diseases. This is just reality. We have to rely on different methods here, many of them dependent on energy that only gets more and more expensive, and all of this increases our costs. We need to work together to lower each other’s costs, not fight about methods and labels and all that.”
      Ha writes that getting costs down “will improve the Big Island’s food security (being able to get adequate and sufficient food) and move us further toward our goal of increased food self-sufficiency (growing what we need right here at home).”

KA`U FARMERS planning to start a Ka`u chapter of the Hawai`i Farmers Union United are invited to a meeting of the Kona chapter, which covers Ka`u. It will be held this Thursday, March 27, 5:30 p.m. at Buddha’s Cup Coffee, 78-1377 Bishop Road (Old Poi Factory Rd) in Holualoa. The event is a potluck and features speaker Bob Shaffer, who will discuss benefits of compost and micro-organisms in improving the health of soil. Steve Bess will speak about a new agriculture mediation program available to the farming community. “Along with your delicious local dish, please bring your own plates, utensils and cups so we can reduce our impact on this beautiful island,” said HFUU president Steven Sakala. 

      Ka`u member Malian Lahey, who is helping to organize a local chapter, said that “Hawai`i Farmer's Union United is a national organization that supports family farmers. It is neither pro- nor anti-GMO, but supports GMO labeling. HFUU is devoted to carrying the requests and needs of small farmers to lawmakers at the state and federal level.”

      Call Sakala at 757-7945 or Lahey at 808-280-2851.

      Information about the organization is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smDxIWKgXk4&feature=em-share_video_user#aid=P-PrcjnCHZQ.

Alu Like is one organization that will continue
to receive federal funding.

MEASURES FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN CHILDREN proposed by U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz are included in the bipartisan Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 that the Senate passed recently. The bill updates and improves the Child Care Development Block Grant program created in 1990, which provides states with federal funding to help low-income families afford child care while working or in job training programs. 

      “More than 9,000 children in Hawai`i are able to attend child care programs thanks to the federal Child Care and Development Fund,” said Hirono. “This bipartisan bill strengthens safety and program quality to better focus on the healthy development of our keiki. The additional measures added to the bill will ensure that Native Hawaiian child care programs such as Alu Like and Keiki o Ka `Aina will continue to receive the resources they need to best serve children and working families across our state.”
      The Senate also passed an amendment to increase funding for Native and tribal child-care organizations, including Native Hawaiian organizations. The amendment, cosponsored by Hirono, increases current Native organization funding from “not more than two percent” to “not less than two percent” of total CCDBG federal funds.
      Schatz said, “We must build more opportunities for native children to learn and excel in school and fulfill their true potential, and we need to provide tribes and native communities with the tools and support needed to design programs in ways to best serve the needs and circumstances of native children in their communities.”
      The CCDBG Act of 2014 makes several improvements to the current child-care law:

• Requires states to coordinate with existing early education programs, special education and Native Hawaiian organizations. 
• Requires comprehensive background checks for all child care providers receiving federal funds, including state criminal and sex-offender registries and state-based abuse and neglect registries. 
• Shares information on quality child care options, how families can access key resources and posts the results of health and safety inspections online. 
• Calls for child care providers to undergo training in First Aid and CPR, prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and child abuse prevention. 
• Helps provide increased professional development, including child care college coursework or credentials. 
• Allows CCDBG funds to be used to construct and renovate native child care facilities.

Rep. Richard Creagan

Rep. Richard Onishi

KA`U REPRESENTATIVES VOTED IN FAVOR of the 2014-15 supplemental state budget passed by the state House. 

      “This budget recognizes the importance of agricultural sustainability and the need to provide greater support to our farmers and ranchers,” said Ka`u Rep. Richard Onishi during the vote. “It includes over $9.2 million dollars to bring valuable water throughout the state via irrigation projects and $3.5 million dollars for important watershed projects for Upcountry Maui and Hawai`i Island’s Hamakua districts.
      “The budget supports our livestock industries and provides $3 million dollars for a Zero Waste Conversion Project, which will focus on the development of livestock feed and biofuel. It also recognizes that aquaculture plays an important role in our food sustainability, and allocates $300,000 for a Fish Feed Feasibility study. The budget also includes funding for the national Ag Corps program and for a Farm to School Coordinator.”
      Ka`u Rep. Richard Creagan said, “I am pleased that this includes $482,000 for new equipment for our state laboratories, almost $3 million for programs that service individuals with disabilities, and $2.8 million for Hilo Medical Center’s Primary Care Training Program which, while based in Hilo, will provide medical training for physicians throughout the Big Island, including Kona Hospital and Ka`u Family Health Center.”

Student volunteers help with the Keeping It Green Hawai`i program.
Photo by Rene Mansho

RECYCLE HAWAI`I AND EARTH-FRIENDLY SCHOOLS HAWAI`I invite Ka`u schools, organizations, businesses and government agencies here to work toward earning Keeping It Green Hawai`i awards. The KIGH program highlights projects and activities that promote recycling, resource awareness and sustainable practices in Hawai`i. The program recognizes positive green projects that are being implemented in the community, thereby encouraging others to create projects that care for our environment and take action to address local and global issues. 

      To be considered for a Keeping It Green Hawai`i award, nominees must meet at least three criteria established by Recycle Hawai`i. Criteria range from practicing the 3 R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle; protecting natural resources and native species; alternative energy and green building practices, to respect for native Hawaiin gathering rights and cultural practices.
      “Since initiating the Keeping It Green Hawai`i program in 2007, 50 businesses, organizations and schools have shared their ways and means of promoting green practices and sustainability,” said Recycle Hawai`i executive director Paul J. Buklarewicz. “The growing awareness and participation in KIGH by so many who express their conscious actions highlights their strongly held conviction in environmental stewardship of our fragile island communities.”
      Awardees for 2013 KIGH, which were announced in March, are The Green House Center for Sustainability and Going Green Recycling Community Clean-Up Program on O`ahu, plus Seaview Performing Arts Center for Education (S.P.A.C.E.) and Hualalai Academy on Hawai`i Island.
      For more information, see recyclehawaii.org or call 808-969-2012.

Over Under, by K-2 students at Volcano School of Arts &
Sciences, won Elementary Division first place last year.
Photo by Marsha Hee

TOMORROW IS THE DEADLINE for teachers to register their students in Recycle Hawai`i’s ninth annual Art of Recycling School Competition, which takes place next month. The program aims to increase environmental awareness and encourage recycling and sustainable practices in our community. This popular event is open to students in grades K-12 who create original artwork from recycled or reusable materials for jury and exhibit. 

      An ARSC entry and waiver form must accompany each selected art piece to the appropriate district site. Entries from Na`alehu, Pahala and Volcano go to Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo on Thursday, April 3, between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Ocean View entries go to Kona International Market in Kailua-Kona on Thursday, April 10 between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
      Artwork focuses on themes of reduce, reuse, recycle; island sustainability; preserving/protecting Hawai`i’s natural environment; or zero waste. Entries are judged on originality, theme, personal expression, execution of materials and artistic merit. Outstanding entries in Elementary, Middle, and High school levels receive prize certificates. Outstanding class/schools receive cash prizes. Reception/awards ceremony and art exhibit are open to the public.

      For more information and entry forms see recyclehawaii.org. For questions, call 985-8725 or email hiartrecycle@gmail.com.
      This program, sponsored by Recycle Hawai`i, is funded in part by Hawai`i County Department of Environmental Management (hawaiizerowaste.org) and the Swain Barber Foundation.

USGS HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY geologist Frank Trusdell talks about the eruptive history and current status of Mauna Loa tomorrow. The After Dark in the Park program at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes’ National Park begins at 7 p.m. $2 donations support park programs. Park entrance fees apply. 

PARTICIPANTS LEARN TO WEAVE A STAR from leaves of the pandanus tree when members of `Aha Puhala o Puna share the art of lauhala weaving as part of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s ongoing `Ike Hana No`eau: Experience the Skillful Work workshops. The free program takes place Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center. Park entrance fees apply.

ALOHA BLUEGRASS BAND AND KEOKI KAHUMOKU present a free concert at Pahala Plantation House Wednesday at 7 p.m. Donations are welcome.

      Information about the performers is available at alohabluegrassband.com.

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