Ka`u News Briefs June 21, 2011

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is waiving entrance fees today to celebrate the first day of summer. Here, Halema`uma`u is seen from the Kilauea Iki Overlook.  Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE has signed 15 more bills passed by the 2011 Hawai`i State Legislature, bringing the total signed this year to 146. 

     One of the Acts stiffens penalties for labor trafficking and is, in part, a response to the Global Horizon case that is in federal court and involves a labor company that provided Thai workers for macadamia and coffee in Ka`u and elsewhere.
     This House Bill 141 establishes class A and B felony offenses for labor trafficking; establishes an offense for nonpayment of wages; and establishes an offense for unlawful conduct with respect to documents.
     Here are the other recently signed Acts and what they mean: 

Gov. Neil Abercrombie

* House Bill 953 recruits Board of Education staff positions by amending the salary cap. 

* Senate Bill 1282 provides schools the option – but no requirement – to administer a test that compares each Hawai`i student nationally.
* Senate Bill 806 changes term lengths on the Hawai`i Teachers State Board.
* Senate Bill 1068 makes killing or attempting to kill the pet of another person without their consent animal cruelty in the first degree.
* Senate Bill 1489 attaches attorney’s liens to proceedings after commencement of arbitration proceedings, and orders settlements and awards pursuant to an arbitration proceeding. Also, removes the deadline to file a notice of claim of the attorney’s lien.
* Senate Bill 1089 allows the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations penalizes businesses that fail to give notification of 60 days before relocating or ending their operations.
* House Bill 747 relates to liquor liability insurance by removing the definition of convenience minimarts.
* House Bill 663 requires clear and conspicuous disclosure of automatic renewal clauses and cancellation procedures for all consumer contracts and offers with an automatic renewal provision.
* House Bill 909 authorizes family court to issue financial restraining orders.
* House Bill 1333 increases the maximum monetary claim that may be filed in small claims court.
* House Bill 1613 requires an application to register to vote to include a space to request a permanent absentee ballot.
* House Bill 716 establishes new election deadlines to comply with state primary election date required by federal law (for overseas military voters).
* House Bill 1107 authorizes members of the Army and Air National Guard who are qualified by training and authorized by their commanders to use electric guns subject to state law when assisting civil authorities in disaster relief, civil defense, or law enforcement functions.
* House Bill 240 gives the Attorney General and City Prosecutor more tools to combat prostitution by providing security and protection to witnesses in cases that involve promoting prostitution.
     See more at http://capitol.hawaii.gov.

Barbara Chung Ho

SUMMER READING WORKSHOPS AT KA`U LIBRARIES will feature Barbara Chung Ho. Admission is free. 

     Chung Ho will present two interactive and customized workshops: The Folk Art of Chinese Knotting and The Folk Art of Chinese Paper Cutting. Chung Ho will share history of folk art and conduct step-by-step demonstrations on basic techniques of Chinese knotting and paper cutting.
     The one-hour workshops are suitable for ages 12 and older. Supplies will be provided. Interested children and adults can call the Pahala Library at 928-2015 for the Monday, June 27 event at 1 p.m. or the Na`alehu Library at 939-2442 for the Tuesday, June 28 event at 10 a.m.
     Performances by Chung Ho and other featured artists from the Statewide Cultural Extension Program are co-sponsored by the University of Hawai`i’s Outreach College, Hawai`i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

TO MARK THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is waiving entrance fees today. Also, Kilauea Military Camp, inside the park, is making all of its facilities and services available to the general public for the day. For more information call 967-7315.

THE MISS KA`U COFFEE PAGEANT airs on Na Leo O Hawai`i Community Television channel 54 tomorrow at 6 p.m.

Learn how to protect against wildfire Thursday evening at Na`alehu
  Community Center. Photo courtesy of Hawai`i Wildfire Management Org.

THE HAWAI`I WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION holds a workshop about wildfire preparedness on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. The workshop covers strategies to protect homes and families against wildfires. To register, call Carolyn at 885-6354.

Ka`u News Briefs June 20, 2011

Brad Wood, of Roast, Inc. in Nashville, TN purchased Bull Kailiawa's coffee during the Grounds for Health auction.
Photo by Julia Neal

`AINA KOA PONO, LLC was seventh among lobbyists spending money to influence government officials in Hawai`i during the first four months of this year, according to Civil Beat, a Hawai`i news organization created by E-Bay founder Pierre Omidyar. `Aina Koa Pono and its lobbyists shepherded legislation through the state House of Representatives and Senate this spring to change Public Utilities law and garner tax breaks for its proposed $350 million refinery between Pahala and Wood Valley and a fuel farm between Pahala and Na`alehu.

     According to online postings by the State Ethics Commission, `Aina Koa Pono spent $58,049 on lobbying from January through April. The other top ten lobbying organizations in Hawai`i included the American Beverage Association, Kamehameha Schools and the teachers union. `Aina Koa Pono, as seventh in spending among Hawai`i organizations lobbying the Legislature, outspent the Hawai`i Chamber of Commerce. Ethics Commission filings by `Aina Koa Pono President Mel Chiogioji reported that almost all of the money spent on lobbying went to the law firm Alston, Hunt, Floyd & Ing. Registered lobbyists for `Aina Koa Pono are William Kaneko and Zachery McNish, who both work for the law firm.

     According to the filing, the purpose of the lobbying was to support or oppose legislative and/or administrative action in the area of ecology, energy and environmental protection. 

     Representatives of `Aina Koa Pono said the legislation and tax incentives will help to raise money in financial markets to support its venture. The company promises 300 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs in Ka`u. The refinery would process trees, brush and crops it would grow or arrange to harvest in Ka`u. Its microwave processors would vaporize feedstock to create biofuel that would be tanker-trucked to Kona for the Hawaiian Electric Light Co. power plant near the Keahole Airport. The company also promises to make fuel for transportation to help relieve Hawai`i from purchasing fossil fuel.

GROUNDS FOR HEALTH, which raised money for health care in underserved coffee regions, has announced that its online auction that featured many Ka`u Coffees generated a record sum for the nonprofit. Justin Mool, of Grounds for Health, said more than 200 coffee companies from around the world participated, “despite high green coffee prices and a tight market.” Coffee producers, importers, roasters, and retailers came together, and 52 coffee importers and producers donated over 25,000 pounds of green coffee, which was then bid upon by roasters and retailers during the online auction held by the Stoneworks auction house in Vermont.
     Some notable donations, said Mool, included a gourmet El Salvador package from Aida Batlle that fetched $24.60/lb (earning $7,380.00 total), an Ethiopia Bench Maji Gesha from Royal Coffee, Inc. that was purchased for $12.04/lb (earning $6,370.60), and SCAA Coffees of the Year Winners Hawai`i Kailiawa Coffee from Ka`u Coffee Mill and Colombia Valle del Cauca that closed at $40.20/lb and $53/lb respectively.
     Grounds for Health Chair of the Board and Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company CEO Frank Dennis expressed appreciation that during “a very volatile coffee market the coffee industry continued to show great support and commitment to the Grounds For Health initiative, with a 30 percent increase over 2010 in total auction value.” See groundsforhealth.org. Grounds for Health is also on twitter and facebook.

THE PARENTS OF PRESCHOOL YOUNGSTERS program is no more this week. The program, run by Parents and Children Together and Family Support Hawai`i, suffered funding cuts by Congress. The program helped three- to five-year-olds by training their parents for tools, skills and confidence to help their children succeed in school and beyond. The program offered weekly activities that included home and group meetings. More than 3,000 children have been served since the program started in 1996.

Modeling of lava coming up in the hot spot that forms the
Hawaiian islands chain may have to be revised to show the
hot spot west of the islands. Image courtesy of USGS

THE PLUME OF LAVA coming out of the Earth to create the Hawaiian Islands and the ongoing volcanic activity may be farther west than originally believed, according to the latest Volcano Watch report from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. New ways of measuring seismic activity have shown activity that could locate the hot spot west of the islands, which could mean that the plume travels laterally before rising into Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes. A debate will continue, and modeling of the ongoing creation process of the islands could be revised, the report says. 

RAINS THAT EASED THE DROUGHT in Ka`u have helped grow a lot of plant life on wild lands, creating fuel for wildfires, particularly if we have a dry summer. That is what Fire Chief Darryl Oliveira is predicting, noting that rains overall are still below normal across the island. He said there could be “more intense, active burning. Oliveira sees every day as a possible brush fire day and encourages people to haul green waste to the dump and plant more succulents around the house. He suggested making sure smoke detectors work with new batteries.

TO MARK THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is waiving entrance fees tomorrow. Also, Kilauea Military Camp, inside the park, is making all of its facilities and services available to the general public for the day. For more information call 967-7315.

THE MISS KA`U COFFEE PAGEANT airs on Na Leo O Hawai`i Community Television channel 54 this Wednesday at 6 p.m.

THE HAWAI`I WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION holds a workshop about wildfire preparedness on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. The workshop covers strategies to protect homes and families against wildfires. To register, call Carolyn at 885-6354.

Ka`u News Briefs June 19, 2011

One Journey and friends at the recent Ka`u Family Fun Fest to raise money for Bay Clinic's new building. The group won top high school music video at last night's ceremonies in Honolulu. Photo by Julia Neal

ONE JOURNEY WON BEST MUSIC VIDEO in Honolulu last night for the statewide Brown Bags to Stardom contest. One Journey also won best musical arrangement and best song. 

Eunice Longakit won Best Female Vocalist
 in the Brown Bags to Stardom music video
competition last light in Honolulu.

Lead singer Eunice Longakit won best music vocalist. One Journey took runner-up trophy in the best musical group category. Their music video came in third place in the online popularity voting, more than 600 votes ahead of the fourth-place winner. Producer Johnny Kai said the win was incredible given the small school size of Pahala and the big school populations at the O`ahu schools that competed. 

THE AXIS DEER INVASION CHALLENGE was discussed at a small gathering of Hawaiian Homes Commissioners and Native Hawaiians yesterday at Na`alehu Community Center. According to community organizer Anna Cariaga, who attended the event, Hawaiians asked the commissioners to help organize local hunters to get rid of the invasive deer, which were previously found only on Lana`i, Moloka`i and Maui and have been seen now in Ka`u. She said the local hunters would make use of the meat for their families. She said organized eradication through local hunting groups would be much better for the community than helicopter hunts that sometimes leave the game to decompose in the wild. She said she strongly disagrees with anyone who might think it is OK to import axis deer to build herds for hunting. “This is illegal, and anyone doing this can be arrested and fined,” she said. The commissioners on hand were Lei Mana DaMate and Ian Lee Loy. 

HAWAIIAN HOMES’ PURCHASE OF 40 houselots in Discovery Harbour has not gone well, and only one house has been built. Anna Cariaga, who met with commissioners yesterday, said construction is too expensive and Hawaiians who live a rural life of ranching, farming, hunting and fishing are hesitant to move into a subdivision with restrictions on what can be in the yards, hanging out clothes to dry and other attempts to upscale the community.

GEOTHERMAL FOR KA`U was also discussed at the Hawaiian Homes meeting, with emphasis on Native Hawaiians being the beneficiaries of such alternative energy projects. Thousands of Hawaiian Home acres in Ka`u are in the South Point, Kalae, area.

Abel Simeona Lui says he is appealing last week's ruling
that would turn over Kawa to the county.

ABEL SIMEONA LUI traveled around Ka`u yesterday and told the press and community members that he is appealing a decision by Judge Joseph P. Florendo that could clear the way for the county to make more than 800 acres between Punalu`u and Honu`apo into a coastal preserve and park. Lui and his followers, who oppose the park, said they are working on federal court cases and also claimed that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is helping them to avoid eviction. Florendo ruled last week that former owner Thomas Okuna owned the property and legally sold one section at Kawa to realtor Marcia Johnson who sold it to the county for a park. He also ruled that Okuna legally sold two other sections to the Edmund C. Olson Trust, which purchased them for the purpose of providing them to the county for coastal preservation. The area has estuaries and many Hawaiian historic sites. Lui claims that it was unfairly taken from his family and that he is the heir tasked with stewarding Kawa. 

THE DEADLINE TO ENTER the Na`alehu Fourth of July Parade has been extended to July 1. `O Ka`u Kakou is sponsoring the parade on Saturday, July 2 at 11 a.m. Patriotic citizens, businesses and organizations interested in participating or donating can call Debra McIntosh at 929-9872.

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP CELEBRATES Father’s Day with a brunch until 1 p.m. and a Surf ‘n’ Turf special from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Crater Rim Café in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Call 967-8371 for more information. 

TO MARK THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is waiving entrance fees on Tuesday, June 21. Also, Kilauea Military Camp, inside the park, is making all its facilities and services available to the general public for the day. For more information call 967-7315.