Ka`u News Briefs June 30, 2011

Chef Jean Louis visits coffee orchards and farms and ranches when working on the Volcano Project plan.

CHEF JEAN LOUIS THEMISTOCLE RANDRIANTIANA, one of the partners in the Volcano Project, is serving as personal chef for England’s Royal Highnesses Prince William and Princess Kate this weekend in Montreal, Canada. Chef Jean Louis is senior culinary professor of the renowned International Tourism & Hotel Institute in Montreal. He also works on the culinary educational plan for the Volcano Project and has visited Ka`u Coffee farms and met with local farmers and ranchers to make plans to use locally grown food at the Volcano Project. Volcano Project founders David Howard Donald and Anne Lee said they are hoping to hear soon whether the National Park Service has accepted their proposal to manage Volcano House Hotel for Volcano Project.

AN ACROSS THE BOARD PAY CUT of five percent for all state workers begins tomorrow. The pay cut was approved by all the government unions except the Hawai`i State Teachers Association. It also requires workers to pay for half of their health care insurance. The teachers' union is still hoping to go back to the bargaining table and vote on the issue, but the administration said it has given its last, best offer and will implement the pay cuts on July 1 when the new state budget goes into effect.

THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT has issued a Request for Proposals for making compost in order to prevent green waste from filling up the two county landfills. Free county mulch from green waste is no longer being brought to Ka`u following Ka`u coffee farmers successfully petitioning Mayor Billy Kenoi to end the program. The coffee farmers worried that the mulch could contain a dangerous pest, the coffee berry borer, which has devastated Kona coffee farms. The RFP for processing green waste calls for a fully composted, disease- and pest-free garden additive, hopefully in production within six to eight months, said County Council member Brittany Smart.

Wahine pull down the steer. Photo by Julia Neal

FRIENDS OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK will conduct its annual Fourth of July Silent Auction from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Cooper Center on Wright Road in Volcano Village, which is the destination of the annual Fourth of July Parade. Auction items for 2011 include four rounds of golf, Hawai`i Forest & Trail's exclusive Kohala Waterfalls Adventure, an encounter program with Dolphin Quest, a Sea Quest rafting and snorkel adventure, and an underwater adventure for two aboard Atlantis Submarines on Hawai`i, Maui or O`ahu. Overnight stays in Volcano, yoga classes, massage, acupuncture and memberships for `Imiloa Astronomy Center are among the offerings, along with art, food, and gift baskets. For more information, call 985-7373 or admin@fhvnp.org.

S0UTHSIDE JR. BOYS VOLLEYBALL is competing well in Minneapolis. In yesterday’s first day of competition, the 12 and Under team beat the Gigantes from Puerto Rico, Kuikahi from O`ahu, the Borinquen Coqui from Puerto Rico. They lost only to Southern California Volleyball Club and another Puerto Rican Club called the Vaqueros. Ka`u team members are Kameron Iokepa-Moses, Nai`a Makuakane, Addison Enriques and Avery Enriques.

LAST DAY TO SIGN UP to march in the annual Independence Day Parade is tomorrow, July 1. The parade begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday and travels along Hwy 11 in Na`alehu. Call 929-9872. It is followed by two days of rodeo at the Na`alehu Rodeo Grounds. The annual Fourth of July Parade in Volcano will be held at 9 a.m. on Monday.

Punalu`u Bake Shop is one of many Ka`u businesses joining the Independence Day Parade, Saturday, July 2. Photo by Julia Neal

Ka`u News Briefs June 29, 2011

Halemaumau vent at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

     REP. BOB HERKES is hoping that his vog task force bill, aimed at studying the effects of vog here will survive the veto pen of Gov. Neil Abercrombie. Herkes told the Hawai`i Tribune Herald that the task force would accomplish a job left undone by a state Interagency Task Force on Sulfur Dioxide Emissions, a 45-member group from around the state. The new 15-member task force would be chaired by the County Civil Defense Director. While vog is much less than it was two years ago when Halemaumau’s new vent opened and the major vog events began, it is still a problem affecting agriculture, wildlife and people, said Herkes. Chief of state Civil Defense, Maj. Gen. Daryll Wong helped Herkes write the bill. The governor said it would duplicate exiting programs, but Herkes hopes to change his mind.

     PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS may wind up with a 5 percent wage decrease and paying half of their health insurance costs as the teachers’ union contract with the state expires tomorrow with no agreement in place. Labor law allows the Department of Education to implement its last, best contract offer. The governor said yesterday said that the unprecedented deficit has created a situation in which everyone has to sacrifice.

Military helicopter trainees at
Poakuloa Training Area.
Photo courtesy of PTA.

MAUNA LOA & MAUNA KEA will be free of high altitude military helicopter training at least until the Army completes environmental impact reviews for the sate. Gov. Neil Abercrombie wrote to the military saying that he was sure they could be done “with dispatch.” Environmental studies were already completed and approved by the federal government. Training is for pilots getting ready to go to Afghanistan, where challenging high altitude flying is required for moving troops by helicopter.

     ‘AINA KOA PONO plans to present its proposal for a refinery between Pahala and Wood Valley and a biofuel farm between Na`alehu and Pahala to the Hawai`i Island Economic Development Board today at the organization’s meeting to be held at Puna Geothermal. The development board is comprised of such business leaders as the president of Hawaiian Electric Light Co., mangers of GasCo., KTA, Bank of Hawai`i and First Hawaiian Bank, along with some non-profits such as Kamehameha Schools.

     PAHALA PUBLIC AND SCHOOL LIBRARY will shut down for more than a month beginning on Friday. The stated reason is a staffing shortage. The library reopens on Monday, Aug. 8. Librarians are directing patrons to Na`alehu Public Library on Hwy 11. Call 939-2442. To line up books to check out from public libraries, go to librarieshawaii.org for a catalogue of titles, eBooks, digital audio books and a wide variety of online databases with access to full-text materials from magazines, newspapers, journals and other publications. Also online is an Ask-A-Librarian E-Reference service. A library card is not required to use this service.

    THE KOHALA CENTER has come out with a new report called Energy Efficiency Strategies for Low-Income Communities on Hawai‘i Island, written by the Center for Industrial Ecology at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. It can be seen online at www.kohalacenter.org/research.html. U.S. Department of Energy data shows Hawaii has the highest electricity rates in the country. According to the report, local households spend roughly six percent of their income on electricity, three times the national average of two percent.
     The report analyzes money spent to educate and help low income people with energy efficiency and concludes that a company contracted for this island was paid $3 million but spent less than $1 million here on the service.
     Will Rolston, the county’s Energy Coordinator, said the county will pursue and remedy any inequity in energy efficiency money that should be deployed on our island. “It is self-evident that as we lift under-served community members, it strengthens the entire Island.”

     THE DEADLINE TO SIGN UP to be part of the Na`alehu Independence Day Parade is this Friday, July 1. The parade starts at the Hongwanji and travels down Hwy 11 to the school on Saturday, July 2, beginning at 11 a.m. It is sponsored by `O Ka`u Kakou. Call 929-9872 to sign up.
     The Volcano Parade is on Monday, July 4 at 9 a.m. starting at the Volcano Post Office on Old Volcano Hwy. Participants can show up at 8 a.m. Call 967-7800.

Keiki, men and women enjoy the annual Independence Day Rodeo at the Na'alehu Rodeo Grounds. Photo by Julia Neal

     THE ANNUAL INDEPENDENCE DAY RODEO will be held after the parade on Saturday, July 2, and all day Sunday July 3, at the Na’alehu Rodeo Grounds, with events for keiki, men and women.

     THE COMMUNITY BOOKSTORE at Kauaha`ao Church in Wai`ohinu is open tomorrow and every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 938-0411 for more information.

Ka`u News Briefs June 28, 2011

Gov. Neil Abercrombie plans to veto a bill that was put forth as a measure to protect important agricultural lands.
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE INTENDS TO VETO A BILL that passed the state Legislature and was put forth as a measure to protect important agricultural lands. While the bill was intended to encourage landowners to keep the best Hawai`i lands in ag forever, it also gave many incentives for industrial development that could be connected to ag. It would have given property tax breaks, reduced requirements for building permits, reduced electric rates to run the operations and state funding for water development.
     Department of Ag Chair Russell Kokubun testified during the Legislature, calling for the bill to be delayed until the counties come up with their mapping of important ag lands to be preserved. The Land Use Research Foundation, comprised of large landowners and developers, had strongly supported the bill, as did the Hawai`i Cattlemen’s Association.
     The Sierra Club testified against portions of the bill, stating that it could intentionally if not automatically “approve undesirable development projects throughout Hawai`i.” The Sierra Club pointed out that the measure would create a 90-day automatic approval of any construction project connected to crops or other agriculture on lands designated as important ag lands. “Automatic approval of any permit is simply poor policy,” the Sierra Club wrote. “Permits should be granted on their merits, not by mistake or governmental inefficiency,” stated the Sierra Club.

THE GOVERNOR HAS ALSO INFORMED THE LEGISLATURE of his intent to veto the following bills:

THE FOOD SAFETY AND SECURITY PROGRAM proposed for the state Department of Agriculture.

THE VOG TASK FORCE bill, which passed the 2011 state Legislature. An interagency task force, championed by Rep. Bob Herkes, was designed to find ways to address vog and its impact on the people of Hawai`i.

A LIGHT POLLUTION BILL designed to make Hawai`i a “Starlight Reserve.” It would have required new and replacement outdoor light fixtures to be fully shielded beginning on July 1, 2013. It specified that replacement of existing roadway lighting may be partially shielded under certain conditions. 

     The bill stated that “the Legislature finds that the night sky is a tremendously valuable natural and cultural resource for the residents of Hawai`i, and for visitors to Hawai`i. The dark night sky has tremendous scientific value for astronomy, and is vitally important for endangered species in Hawai`i, including birds and turtles. Mauna Kea, on the island of Hawai`i, is the best astronomical observatory site in the northern hemisphere.
     Unnecessary light pollution is threatening the dark night sky over the Hawaiian islands. This light pollution includes sky glow, energy waste, glare, light trespass, visual confusion, and environmental harm. Light can travel enormous distances through the Earth’s atmosphere, and therefore does not respect county boundaries, the bill that passed the Legislature stated.
     While the University of Hawai`i and the telescope companies and a number of citizens testified for the bill, there were calls for delay in passing it because of concerns about the cost during tough economic times.

A VOTER REGISTRATION BILL that would have provided online voter registration requirements and voter registration through the website of the office of elections by Jan. 1, 2014.

COUNCIL MEMBER BRITTANY SMART said she supports the 2 percent fund to purchase land for preservation but decided the money taken from property taxes to conserve lands for the public could be reduced to 1.5 percent for this fiscal year in order to help pay for retirement benefits for county workers. She said she worries that failing to set aside the money for future retirees could not only threaten the county’s ability to pay retirement benefits but could also threaten the county’s good bond rating. She voted for the 1.5 percent clause during Council budget deliberations in early June. This was a compromise, as the Council had been considering reducing it to 1 percent, she noted.
     Last Friday, Smart explained, she voted on an entirely separate issue, along with seven of the other nine Council members to change the county code to require a minimum of 1 percent of property tax income to be put in the land use fund. The wording matches the County Charter amendment passed by voters in the last election that requires at least one percent of property tax income be used for purchasing lands for conservation. She also said she supports Council member Brenda Ford’s Charter Amendment effort to restore the fund to 2 percent of property taxes received. 

Ka`u Summer Fun will again participate in the Fourth of July Parade
in Na`alehu this Saturday. Photo by Julia Neal

THE DEADLINE TO SIGN UP to be part of the Na`alehu Independence Day Parade is this Friday, July 1. The parade starts at the Hongwanji and travels down Hwy 11 to the school on Saturday, July 2, beginning at 11 a.m. It is sponsored by `O Ka`u Kakou. Call 929-9872 to sign up. 

     The Volcano Parade is on Monday, July 4 at 9 a.m. starting at the Volcano Post Office on Old Volcano Hwy. Participants can show up at 8 a.m. Call 967-7800.

THE COMMUNITY BOOKSTORE at Kauaha`ao Church in Wai`ohinu is open tomorrow and every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 938-0411 for more information. 

THE PAPAHANAUMOKUAKEA MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT is the topic at After Dark in the Park tonight at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. UH graduate Jennifer Nelson discusses the Northwestern Hawaiian Island Chain, which is the single largest conservation area under the U.S. flag and one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world.