The Kaʻū Calendar News Briefs, Hawaiʻi Island

Monday, February 07, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Monday Feb. 7, 2022

Farm Dog of the Year contest celebrates farm dogs and the many ways they support farmers and ranchers in producing nutritious
food for families and their pets. Enter at https://www.fb.org/land/fdoty See more below. Photo from the Farm Bureau

HAWAI'I FARMERS UNION UNITED is encouraging folks to weigh in on agriculture related bills before the 2022 Hawai'i Legislature and is asking for people to send their approval for the ones listed below.

See www.capitol.hawaii.gov where citizens can search for any subject, any bill, and any sponsorsof legislation, as well as follow each Senate and House bill's progress. Click on the number of each House and Senate bill below to read them and give testimony. Farmers Union is asking for testimony by Tuesday at 10 a.m. on the following:

H B2028 - Relating to Raw Milk. Authorizes and decriminalizes the sale of raw milk and raw milk
products directly to consumers for human consumption, with certain restrictions. Requires the Board of Agriculture to adopt rules governing the direct sale of raw milk and raw milk products. Establishes labeling requirements.

H B2285 - Relating to Hemp. Repeals the 6/30/2022 sunset date of Act 14, SLH 2020, which established statutory provisions relating to hemp production and processing.

HB2431 - Relating to Sustainable Food Systems. Establishes the sustainable food systems working group within the office of planning and sustainable development.

Tony Vera is the speaker at the first workshop of the year for Ka'u chapter of Hawai'i
Farmers Union United this Thursaday, Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. at the Mamaki Farm in Wood
Valley. The subject is Natural & Ancestral Farming Techniques.

SB3004 - Relating to Composting. Establishes and appropriates funds for a compost reimbursement program within the department of agriculture and one full-time permanent compost reimbursement program manager position to oversee the program. Requires an annual progress report of the program to the legislature prior to each regular session.

HB2493 - Relating to Carbon Sequestration Incentives. Establishes the Hawaii farmland and forest soil health carbon smart incentive program (program) to incentivize carbon sequestration activities through incentives contracts that provide for compensation for eligible practices by program participants. Appropriates funds for positions and for administering the program.

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A WORKSHOP ON NAURAL AND ANCESTRAL FARMING TECHNIQUES will be held this Thursday, Feb.10 at Wood Valley Mamaki Farm at 10 a.m. The speaker is Tony Vera, owner of Mayan World Farm. Cost is $10 for members and $25 for nonmembers. RSVP to kau@hfuu.org

FARM BUREAU FARM DOG OF THE YEAR for 2023 competition is open with the deadline to submit photos, stories and videos of top farm and ranch dogs on July 1. The Hawai'i Farm Bureau made the announcement of the nationwide call to select best farm dogs. Hawai'i falls into the western district of the competition, which includes farm and ranch dogs from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai'i, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.

Ranchers and farmers can enter their dogs to the
Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year contest.
See https://www.fb.org/land/fdoty

The Farm Dog of the Year contest celebrates farm dogs and the many ways they support farmers and ranchers in producing nutritious food for families and their pets across America. Farmers can can submit applications for the 2023 Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year contest, supported by Purina.
The grand prize winner – Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year – will win a year’s worth of Purina Pro-Plan dog food and $5,000 in prize money. The winner will be recognized at a Farm Dog of the Year award ceremony at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in January 2023. Up to four regional runners-up will each win $1,000 in prize money.

The 2022 Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year is Fit, who herds sheep on a Florida ranch.

In addition to the Farm Dog of the Year competition, beginning in October, members of the public are invited to vote online for their favorite dog in the People’s Choice Pup part of the overall competition. The People’s Choice Pup will win bragging rights and Purina products including one year’s worth of Purina Pro-Plan dry dog food. The winner of People’s Choice Pup, along with the Farm Dog of the Year and runners-up, will be announced in January at AFBF’s Convention.

Learn about 2022 Farm Dog of the Year named Fit and the upcoming
contest for 2023 at https://www.fb.org/land/fdoty

A panel of judges selected by the American Farm Bureau Federation shall select the winners. Judging of the contest will be based on nomination materials submitted. Desired attributes in the Farm Dog of the Year are helpfulness to the farmer and his/her family, playfulness and obedience. See more at https://www.fb.org/land/fdoty.

Learn about Fit, the 2022 Farm Dog of the Year at https://www.fb.org/land/fdoty.

A RECENT SURGE IN USE OF COUNTERFEIT BILLS ACROSS THE ISLAND has drawn Hawai‘i Police Department to warn the public.
The warning issued on Monday states that "Within the past three months, more than 14 separate investigations have been initiated islandwide involving the use of counterfeit bills ranging in denominations from $5 dollar to $100 bills. The counterfeit bills were presented to both private individuals and to retail employees in exchange for monetary goods or services.
"In many instances, the counterfeit bills have markings indicating that the bill is 'prop' money with writing such as 'for motion picture purposes,' and 'this note is for motion picture purposes, it is not legal tender,' also 'motion picture purposes,' and 'in props we trust' on either the front or the back of the bill.
The printing of counterfeit bills and the usage of counterfeit bills to obtain goods or services is prohibited under both state and federal law and are felony offenses punishable by up to ten years of incarceration and monetary fines.
Hawai‘i Police Department "encourages the public and retail employees to thoroughly inspect all U.S. currency and to notify police if they come across fraudulent bills in order to prevent the monetary loss of goods or services. Taking note of individual characteristics of the person presenting the counterfeit bill along with their behavior patterns may assist law enforcement in identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting suspects."

People can also protect themselves against falling susceptible to counterfeit bills by learning about the different security features of denominations of U.S. currency at The Seven Denominations | U.S. Currency Education Program (uscurrency.gov). I
Those who have fallen victim to counterfeit bills, please contact the police department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.

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Sunday, February 06, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022

Miloli'i Canoe Club is back in action with practices starting this Tuesday. Its quiver of canoes includes the historic koa canoe,
the Malolo, shown here. Photo from Miloli'i Canoe Club

MILOLI'I CANOE CLUB RELAUNCHED on Saturday, when more than 30 new and returning paddlers gathered near shore of the remote fishing village to sign up for the 2022 paddling season. The last competitive paddling events were held in 2019, before the pandemic shut down races statewide.
President of Miloli'i Canoe Club, Elroy Reyes, was born and raised in Miloliʻi and was one of the founding members of the club when it reorganized in 2015, with help from Pa'a Pono Miloli'i. Reyes said the 2015 relaunch came after 81 years of no involvement in statewide canoe racing.

Saturday was registration day for the 2022 paddling
season. Photo from Miloli'i Canoe Club

However, many Miloli'i villagers kept up their physical strength over the decades through paddling their own personal 'opelu canoes, often on a daily basis, to fish for 'opelu to feed their families and community. Hoe wa'a (canoe paddling) remains a longtime tradition for the families of the fishing village of Miloli'i.

The Miloli'i Canoe Club has carried this strength forward by doing well in the statewide paddling seasons before the pandemic. Many of the paddlers who signed up for the new season on Saturday have lineage to generations of kupuna of the village who paddled canoe.

One of the sacred members of the Miloli'i Canoe Club is the Malolo, a 40-foot koa wood waʻa (canoe). Reyes said the Malolo may be the oldest canoe in the state of Hawaiʻi. His great grandfather, Kekumu Kawaauhau, built it in 1928. In 1954, the Malolo won the Molokaʻi Channel Race in record-breaking time.

Miloli'i Canoe Club President Elroy Reyes, left, with the Malolo, a koa
canoe built in 1928 by his great grandfather, Kekumu Kawaauhau.
Photo by Katie Graham

The Malolo has a sister waʻa, Naiʻa, who is housed by the paddlers of Hui Waa O Waiakea in Hilo. "They are twins, carved from the same koa log. Malolo is the brother and Naiʻa is the sister," said Reyes. The Malolo was restored in 2015 by Bill Rosehill.

Reyes said, "My job is to be the steward of the canoe," which continues to be a central part of the Miloliʻi Canoe Club.

To register and learn more about the club, email miloliicc@gmail.com. Adults and keiki ages 8 and up are welcome for membership. Current County pandemic guidelines will be followed for outdoor gatherings and practice.
Those who would like to support the Miloliʻi Canoe Club, can consider a monetary donation. More details on donating can be found at paaponomilolii.org/projects/milolii-canoe-club.

Miloli'i Canoe Club paddlers celebrated a victory, one of many achievements before the pandemic. They start practice on Tuesday for the 2022 season. Photo from Pa`a Pono Miloli'i

KA`U COFFEE FARMERS GRAB LAND - AND CONTROL OF THEIR FUTURES is the headline of a Honolulu Civil Beat article published during the past week. It is written by Civil Beat agriculture writer Thomas Heaton from New Zealand, who was on the ground recently in Kaʻū to talk with food, tea and coffee farmers, ranchers and other community members for a series of stories.
The Kaʻū Coffee story notes that among the coffee growers, "Many are former sugarcane plantation workers who, when their employer went bust, started one of the most renowned coffee regions of the world."
The story reports the coffee lands are being sold by Resource Land Holdings, which less than six years ago, paid $1,666.66 an acre for a 6,000 acre, $10 million purchase in Kaʻū. The coffee lands are about 300 acres within the large tracts of ranch and coastal lands, forested hillsides and gulches that Resource Land Holdings purchased. The coffee farms were started under licensing to growers by the former sugar plantation that shut down and later sold the lands.

Delvin Navarro, right, with his Ka'u Coffee being photographed for a 2019 cover story in Japan Airlines magazine, plans
to purchase his farm. He talked to Civil Beat for its story published this past week on the sale of Ka'u Coffee farms.
See https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/02/kau-coffee-farmers-grab-land-and-control-of-their-futures/
Photo by Julia Neal

The Civil Beat story reports RLH's subsidiary Kaʻū Mahi's representative Jim McCully saying the coffee farms have been valued, for sale to the farmers, between $12,000 to $21,000 an acre.

Using those prices, that means that the approximately 300 acres of coffee lands owned by RLH at the Pear Tree and Moa'ula coffee farms, selling for an average of $17,000 an acre, would provide the company with more than $5 million - more than half of the $10 million it paid for the entire 6,000 acres in 2016.

Kaʻū Coffee farmers told The Kaʻū Calendar that the coffee lands are priced higher per acre than most of the other lands RLH has sold in Kaʻū because the coffee farms are smaller in acreage and the coffee trees increased the value, under the RLH model for selling them. Also the subdivision will allow houses on each property and the coffee trees will belong to the new owners.

RLH expenses to hold the coffee lands have included its management of farmers renting it, the cost of subdividing the land, any financing it may have, and putting in paved roads to the some of the farms.
McCully told Civil Beat that when RLH bought the property, "it was still zoned in such a way it would have been classified as a 'luxury ag subdivision' which would have priced the farmers out entirely." The Civil Beat story reports McClully saying that "he worked with the Hawai'i County’s planning department to lower the prices and reclassify the lands as purely agricultural."
The story says that dozens - nearly half the coffee farmers - are going for the purchase. Some told The Kaʻū Calendar they have no choice but to try to buy, as they fear other people will gobble up the properties. A few coffee growers are paying cash and others are going for low interest government and private loans. Some farmers said that they hope the loan payments will cost them only a little more than the rent they pay to Kaʻū Mahi for using the land.

Moa'ula is included in a Civil Beat story about Kaʻū Coffee lands being sold, with first option to farmers.
See https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/02/kau-coffee-farmers-grab-land-and-control-of-their-futures/
Photo by Julia Neal

Some Kaʻū Coffee Growers Cooperative representatives told The Kaʻū Calendar that prices to the farmers might have been lower if Kaʻū Mahi offered the farmers "a first right of refusal," instead of "right of first offer," meaning that the market would have set the price rather than Kaʻū Mahi setting a take-it-or leave it price for the farmers with a deadline.

Whether the properties would go fast to outsiders, given that there is no potable water and that most lots are tied up with licenses to rent the land to the existing farmers, is still to be seen, said the advisors. They also said that the risk of Coffee Leaf Rust, the devastating disease that has wiped out coffee in other regions, has come to Kaʻū and should be disclosed by the seller in any real estate negotiation for the coffee lands. According to some of the farmers applying for loans, most are waiting to find out if they are approved and the subdivision is in the final stages of being finalized.

The Civil Beat story quotes Kaʻū Coffee Mill manager Lou Daniele, saying some farmers on Kaʻū Mahi lands are talking to him about leasing, but there is not enough land for everyone. A number of coffee farmers spread their risk by renting property on the Coffee Mill lands, owned by Olson Trust, years ago.
Read the Civil Beat story with more quotes from the Kaʻū Mahi representative and coffee farmers Delvin Navarro and John Ah San. The story also quotes Chris Manfredi, a former Moa'ula and Pear Tree coffee land owners' representative, who is now a coffee broker, Hawai'i Coffee Association President, and an organizer of Kaʻū Coffee Festival.

See the story at https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/02/kau-coffee-farmers-grab-land-and-control-of-their-futures/

LOCALICIOUS HAWAI'I ART & VIDEO CONTEST for students K-12 is open for submissions through Feb. 28. Sponsored by the Hawai'i Agricultural Foundation, the competition is entitled Producing More than Produce. It is presented by Hawai'i
Gas.
Students are invited to submit entries of original artwork or video to support Hawai'i's agricultural industry. "The contest challenges students to use their creativity to showcase the importance of our local farmers, ranchers, and fishermen to our community," says the call for submissions.

Hawai'i Agricultural Foundation's 2020-2021 Overall Art Winner, Aileen Kang's Hawaiian Poke Bowl

New this year, the contest incorporates video content and extends the opportunity to secondary students. Art and videos are judged separately. The art contest is open to students in grades K-5, with poster entries incorporating the theme: Hawai'i Agriculture: Producing More Than Produce. The video contest is open to students in grades 6-12 with a 30 second Public Service Announcement (PSA) on HAF's mission to promote agriculture and farming. There will be four prizes per contest, with awarded gift cards as follows: 1st place - $200, 2nd place - $150, 3rd place - $100, 4th place - $50.
All submissions must be exclusively student-created and cannot incorporate anything, in whole or in part, that is owned or created by any third party. The eight winning entries will be part of a special
stationery set featuring the winning pieces of art and PSAs.
To find out more and to enter see https://www.hawaiiagfoundation.org/localicious-hawai%CA%BBi-art-and-video-contest/

SEE FEBRUARY CALENDAR OF EVENTS & SPONSORS

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See the February Print Edition of The Kaʻū Calendar at

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Saturday, February 05, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022

Eucalyptus logs piled up to send to the Hu Honua, which still seeks approval to open its biofuel plant north of Hilo on the coast.
The felled trees would be shipped through Hilo to burn them for electricity. Photo by Julia Neal

HAWAI'I SUPREME COURT DISMISSED BIOENERGY PLANT HU HONUA'S appeal this week to delay a Public Utilities Commission hearing on the greenhouse-gas impact of its 28-megawatt facility located on the coast north of Hilo that would burn wood to generate electricity. The hearing had been set for Jan. 31 and the court turned down the appeal to delay it further.

In Kaʻū, above Pahala, stands of farmed eucalyptus and piles of logs are slated to be trucked to the power plant to burn them. The harvested wood has been decaying on the ground as Hu Honua continues appeals to the state Public Utilities Commission and courts to start up the electric plant.

With the hearing going forward, Life of the Land Executive Director Henry Curtis said, "Now we can finally cross-examine Hu Honua`s witnesses. Then the Commission will rule based on the documented facts including the higher costs, the climate change impacts, and the hidden environmental impacts," of the proposed bioenergy factory in Pepe'ekeo.

Opposition to the power plant's agreement to sell electricity to Hawaiian Electric includes assertions that it could pollute the ocean, contribute to climate change problems. and that burning wood was inappropriate and costly given cheaper wind, sun, hydroelectric and geothermal energy sources. Hu Honua contends that its method of making electricity by burning wood should be included in a portfolio of energy sources for the island for maximum energy security without dependence on oil and coal. Tawhiri Power, with its windmills in Kaʻū, opposes the Hu Honua plan.

Life of the Land filed the motion with the Hawai'i Supreme Court against Hu Hunoa's appeal to require the PUC to delay its hearing on the matter. The court wrote, "any appeal by Hu Honua (including this one) merely creates unnecessary delay.”
Life of the Land described the history of the latest court decision as follows: "Hu Honua BioEnergy LLC wants to cut down forests and burn the wood to generate electricity to be sold to HELCO. In January, Hu Honua sought an indefinite delay in the Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission's Evidentiary Hearing scheduled to have started on January 31, 2022. After the Commission rejected the idea, Hu Honua appealed to the Hawai`i Supreme Court. Life of the Land filed a motion to dismiss."
The court issued its decision on Friday, upholding Life of the Land`s motion to dismiss.

Tawhiri Power, with its windmills at South Point, opposes Hu Honua's wood burning model
for making electricity. Photo by Peter Anderson

IN OVERTIME, THE TROJANS BEAT CHRISTIAN LIBERTY ACADEMY IN A PLAYOFF GAME in Girls Basketball on Saturday, Feb. 5.

The combined Kaʻū High and Volcano School of the Arts & Sciences team took the first two quarters over CLA with scores of 11-6 and 6-4. CLA come back with 11-3 in the third and the teams tied 11-11 in the fourth. The Trojans took the game with an 11-2 overtime. Final score was 43-34.

Scoring for the Trojans were Tyra Wong Yuen - 25, Heidi Vidal - 7, Nalani Blanco-Louis - 4; Riley-Ann Brown - 3; Kawai Smith - 3 and Grace Smith - 1.

For Girls Basketball, Big Island Interscholastic Semi's happen on Monday, Feb. 7 with Finals Wednesday, Feb. 9. State Finals are set for Wednesday, Feb. 16-19.

In Boys Basketball, at home on Saturday, Feb. 5, the Trojans hosted Kohala Cowboys.

In JV play, Cowboys took the first quarter 22 to 6. Ka'u took the second, 23-9. Kohala took the third 13 - 10 and the fourth 16 - 10. Scoring for the Trojans were: Tyson Junior Kuahuia-Faafia - 22; Collin Hanshew - 10; Keaka McDonald - 8; Ocean Nihipali-Sesson - 4; Jestin Panera - 3 and Patrick Riehle - 2.

In Varsity play, Kohala swept through the quarters with 26-6, 15-6, 18-4 and 8-6. The final score was 67-22. Scoring for the Trojans were Kealiikoa Reyes-Nalu - 10; Ivan Ramos - 3; Michah /espejo - 3; cyrus Eder - 3; Keenan Toriano - 2 and Jonah Beck - 1.

The next game remains at home taking on Kea'au Cougars on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. The Trojans travel to play the Pahoa Daggers on Friday, Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. and Waiakea Warriors on Monday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.

BIIF Division II Semi Finals are Monday, Feb. 21. Finals are Wednesday, Feb. 23. The state Finals are March 3-5.

Swimming took the Trojan team on Saturday, Feb. 5 for islandwide competition to be hosted at Kamehameha School in Kea'au. Swimmers travel again to Hawai'i Preparatory Academy on Saturday, Feb. 12. BIIF finals are a two-day event on Friday Feb. 18 and Saturday, Feb. 19. State finals are March 4 and 5.

FREE HELP WITH FAMILY HISTORY in Kaʻū is available 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Tuesday. All are welcome to the Family History Center. The aim is to "Come Discover Your

Past," says the statement from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which hosts the weekly sessions at 95-5682 Hawai'i Belt Road in Na'alehu. The drop-in assistance includes free Ancestry.com, Family search.org, and other online resources.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar/. See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See February events and Kaʻū Calendar newspaper sponsors at http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/02/events-of-february-2022.html.

APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY: LEARNING FROM EXCELLENCE IS THE KU'IKAHI MEDIATION CENTER topic for its free talk on Thursday, Feb. 17 as part of the Finding Solutions, Growing Peace Brown Bag Lunch Series. Talks are third Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom.

This month's speaker is Suzanne Quinney, who explained: "Appreciative Inquiry is a collaborative and highly participative approach to personal and community development. It identifies and enhances the 'life-

giving forces' that are present when a team, group, or business is working at its best. People become stronger when working from strengths, rather than weaknesses."
In this talk, learn about a positive development tool for creating change, resilience, and creativity.
Quinney specializes in appreciative and strength-based approaches, facilitating seminars and team events. Co-author of highly recommended training resources and articles on Appreciative Inquiry, she speaks at national events and international conferences. In 2019, Quinney moved back to live in NE Scotland, where she is part of the Findhorn intentional community.
Ku'ikahi's Brown Bag Lunch Series is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to enjoy an informal and educational talk-story session and connect with others interested in "Finding Solutions, Growing Peace."
To get the Zoom link, register online at https://freebrownbagtalk.eventbrite.com. For more information, contact Ku'ikahi Mediation Center at (808) 935-7844 or info@hawaiimediation.org. Or visit www.hawaiimediation.org.
This lunch-and-learn series is made possible thanks in part to funding from the County of Hawai'i and Hawai'i Island United Way.

SEE FEBRUARY CALENDAR OF EVENTS & SPONSORS

http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/02/events-of-february-2022.html

See the February Print Edition of The Kaʻū Calendar at

www.kaucalendar.com

About The Kaʻū Calendar

Monday, February 07, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Monday Feb. 7, 2022

Sunday, February 06, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022

Saturday, February 05, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022