Ka`u News Briefs Sept. 2, 2011

Gloria Camba and Bong Aquino with an award for their Ka'u Royal Coffee.
Photo by Julia Neal

IN A VICTORY FOR COFFEE FARMERS, Safeway has agreed to put labeling on Kona Coffee showing the amount of coffee that is not from Kona. Department of Agriculture Chair Russell Kokubun wrote to Safeway saying it was misleading to label coffee Kona when 90 percent of it was coming from another country. He noted that such labeling is required in Hawai`i and wanted Safeway to voluntarily do the same at mainland stores. Safeway has agreed. Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative president Gloria Camba said, “This fairness in labeling should help both Kona and Ka`u in selling our famous pure Hawaiian grown coffees.” 

Jenn Rasmussen checks a hive for invasive small hive beetle.
Photo from BIBA

BEEKEEPERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD will explore this island and convene on worldwide risks to bee populations and agriculture Sept. 12 - 15. The gathering of the Western Apicultural Society will be at Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. The public is invited and beekeepers are expected to visit some apiaries in Ka`u. Apiary recovery following assaults by Varroa mite and small hive beetles will be one focus of the meetings. Volcano encaustic artist John Matsushita will demonstrate painting with bees' wax Sept. 14. The public is invited to take part in the 2nd annual Hawaiian Natural Honey Challenge that evening at the hotel.
     After the conference, Larry Connor, PhD., a beekeeping columnist and Wicwas Press publisher, will present a day-long masters' workshop in Hawi on Sept. 16 on rebuilding the apiary after losses. 

THE NEW TEMPORARY MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE RESOLUTION PROGRAM is expected to go into action soon, according to Rep. Bob Herkes who explained his effort at the public forum hosted by Sen. Gil Kahele this week. It prevents non-judicial foreclosures without a mediator, in an attempt to put the lender and homeowner face to face to work out term. 

Rep. Herkes authored a tough law to stop lender abuse.

     The dispute resolution can last up to 30 days. Homeowners must have lived on their property for at least 200 days to be eligible. Homeowners have to prove their ability to pay off their loan.
     The new law also requires mortgage lenders with 20 percent market share in the state to have a local office in Hawai`i. The program was a response to what Herkes described as “tremendous lender abuse.”
     His bill that was signed into law earlier this year, has been called the toughest foreclosure legislation in the country. Herkes said that people were being tossed from their homes without even knowing that the lender had gone out of business and homeowners have had to spend substantial money to get their houses back.
     The new law also allows foreclosures to be conducted in the courts without juries and streamlines the process of converting a non-judicial foreclosure to a judicial one.
     “This levels playing field with borrower and lender,” said Herkes.

Interisland shipping ag. products is now
taxed. Photo by Julia Neal

MANY GENERAL EXCISE TAX EXEMPTIONS are over, explained Sen. Gil Kahele at his forum this week. Under Bill 754, income from the following will be taxed: interisland shipping of agricultural products, loading and unloading of cargo, tugboat and towage services, aircraft and aircraft engine rent for interisland travel, sugarcane producers, real property leases of labor unions, shipbuilding and repairs, aircraft maintenance and construction, among others. Reimbursements received by federal cost-plus contractors for material, plant, and equipment costs will also be taxed. The bill also suspends deductions from contractors’ and real property lessees’ gross income. 

     “It was a tough decision to make for me personally,” said Kahele, “I voted for it but with reservations. Not to make an excuse for it, but I was not 100 percent.” According to Kahele, the bill will raise state $200 million annually at a time when the state struggles with a $1.6 shortfall. A building contractor in the forum expressed his concern over the suspensions, calling the bill inappropriate when contractors are “dying left and right.” The exemptions will be restored after June 30, 2013.

SEN. GIL KAHELE will host more community forums in Ka`u, at 5:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center on Oct. 14 and at Pahala Community Center on Oct. 26.

MORE FINANCIAL AID is being proposed by the University of Hawai`i at Hilo administrators. The university plans to hike tuition at Hilo by $120 per semester, increasing the need of more grants. UHH plans to increase financial aid contributions by 1% annually over the next five years. By 2017, 20% of this new revenue would constitute increased financial aid, UHH Chancellor Donald Straney told Stephens Media. 

     UHH is also planning to increase the number of jobs on campus. “Studies show that the more students work on campus,” says Straney, “the more likely they are to take a full load (of classes) and be engaged in what they're studying. Basically, if you give them a job, they graduate faster," he told Stephens Media.  Public forums on the proposed tuition schedules will be held on Sept. 28, 3:30 p.m. at UH Hilo and Sept. 29, 2 p.m. at Hawai‘i Community College. 

Saturday's the day to take hazardous household waste to Wai'ohinu.

HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUB OF KA`U’S Steak Fry and Laulau Fundraiser will be held on Monday, September 5th (Labor Day) in the Ocean View Market parking lot from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

TOMORROW IS THE DAY TO DROP OFF HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE at Wai`ohinu Transfer Station. That’s this Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Automotive fluids, batteries, fluorescent lights, pesticides and latex paints are some of the items being accepted. Latex paints can be traded out. For more information, call 961-8554 or visit hawaiizerowaste.org.

Ka`u News Briefs Sept. 1, 2011

The Deep 7 fish, which can be legally fished during the bottom fishing season. Photo from Hawai'i state Dept. of Aquatic Resources.

BOTTOM FISHING SEASON FOR THE DEEP 7 opened today. The Deep 7 fish are: onaga, ehu, opakapaka, kalekale, gindai, lehi, and hapu‘upu‘u. Even with the season open, there is a kapu on a section of water to the southeast of Kalae – South Point. Two other restricted areas are along the northeast side of Kohala and Hamuka, and just southeast of Hilo. A kapu on all the Deep 7 prohibited fishermen from catching these fish from March 12 through yesterday. Federal fishing regulators have set an Annual Catch Target for Hawai`i at 325,000 pounds of Deep 7 fish. When the limit is reached, based on required reports by fishermen, the fishing season will be closed.

Kulani Correctional Facility. Photo from Dept. of Public Safety

KULANI CORRECTIONAL FACILITY LANDS are still be considered as one of the locations to help return prisoners from the mainland and transition back into the community.
      According to Sen. Gil Kahele, who held his first community forum last night at Cooper Center in Volcano Village, the main correctional facility could be constructed on Hawaiian Home Lands closer to Hilo. The effort is to help prisoners be closer to their families, provide local counseling that will help them become good citizens and train them for employment. The effort is also directed at keeping tens of millions of dollars in Hawai`i that go out each year to pay for out-of-state. Kahale also noted the need for retaining the Youth Challenge Academy, which is now at Kulani.

Rep. Bob Herkes. Photo by Julia Neal

THE MOBILE MEDICAL VAN, championed by Rep. Bob Herkes and supported by Sen. Gil Kahele with successful legislation this year, should be on the road in November. Herkes gave the update at Kahele’s public forum last night. The van will likely be stationed at Na`alehu School and will be supported by telemedicine. It will travel to the most rural areas of Ka`u and South Kona. Referring to Neil Abercrombie signing off on the legislation in July, Herkes said: “I can’t tell you how happy you are, after all that hard work, when the governor signs it.”

A FOOD SECURITY bill that helps farmers receive loans is already helping agriculture, said Kahele, who helped push Bill 1153 through the Legislature this year. He noted that some farmers have already received loans from the program.

THE SOUTH KONA WILDERNESS AREA that passed the Legislature this year to preserve the cultural, biological ad historical aspects of the area could be expanded. The measure was championed by Kahele and Herkes for decades. Kahele said he wants to add the ahupua`a of Kapua onto the Wilderness Area. It is owned by Honolulu developer Jeff Stone.

KILAUEA LODGE OWNER LORNA JEYTE said that she hopes tourism officials will help to educate visitors on the local culture, nature and out-of-the way places and activities. She said that the visitor promotions concentrate too much on “sand and palm trees.” Other speakers at the Kahele forum asked that farmers markets be publicized to visitors.

Sen. Gil Kahele. Photo by Julia Neal

THE AXIS DEER threat came up at the Kahele meeting, where it was noted that permission has been given for state personnel to hunt them on Hawaiian Home Lands around South Point. Several people asked whether local hunters could take part and Kahele said that could happen over time.

DAVID HOWARD DONALD, of Volcano, suggested that the state might consider pushing forward its alternative energy goals by acquiring Hawaiian Electric Industries and using the profits of the electric company to give back to the community with lower rates and other programs. He said that electric rates are low in such places as Quebec in Canada, where the people own the power company and profits don’t have to be exported to investors.

INTERNET AVAILABILITY for remote areas also came up at the Kahele meeting. One speaker suggested installing at the end of cable lines, a transmitter to beam internet to even more remote areas.

REVAMPING BUILDING CODES and the permitting process is a project planned by Rep. Bob Herkes. He said last night that the Big Island has a bad reputation for taking a long time to get a building permit and that he would be talking with the mayor this morning.

SEN. GIL KAHELE will host more community forums in Ka`u, at 5:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center on Oct. 14 and at Pahala Community Center on Oct. 26.

ALTERNATING LANE CLOSURES continue through tomorrow in both directions on Hwy 11 between Mileposts 69 and 72 near South Point Road from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The road crew is resurfacing and installing guardrails.

THE HIGH SURF WARNING has been extended by the National Weather Service until 6 p.m. Several days of high surf have seen crashing waves along the Ka`u Coast and waves washing over the beach at Punalu`u into the ponds.

HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUB OF KA`U’S Steak Fry and Laulau Fundraiser will be held on Monday, September 5th (Labor Day) in the Ocean View Market parking lot from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Ka`u News Briefs August 31, 2011

Photos of TekGar's microwave technology
at a North Carolina plant were provided by
`Aina Koa Pono partner Chris Eldridge.

 `AINA KOA PONO’S MICROWAVE process for its proposed refinery between Pahala and Wood Valley is the subject of an editorial in the Honolulu Star Advertiser this morning, written by the vice president of AECOM, the engineering company hired to manage the project.
     Shawn Kelly writes that, prior to the master agreement, AECOM performed an at-risk assessment of the “microwave depolymerization process” technology, which has taken six months and many hundreds of hours to complete. He says that AECOM initially believed that the `Aina Koa Pono process could be “another ‘pie in the sky’ technology tweak that had little or no merit…. We had to convince ourselves that this new process would work safely, economically, produce a saleable product and, most of all, must be a solid opportunity for AECOM.”

     “To the surprise of many,” writes Kelly, “we have reached a very positive conclusion on all metrics required for a successful roll-out of an old technology in a new industry — the fuel industry. The next step is to prove our assumptions by test data, currently in progress, which will bring the level of understanding down to the ground and ready for prime time,” the AECOM executive writes. 

The feed hopper at a TekGar plant
in North Carolina.

     He says, “Our research has shown that the process is viable, poses no risk to the public or plant personnel, and can be characterized to be as safe as your microwave at home.”
     `Aina Koa Pono will host a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19, at Pahala Community Center, its first since February.

OCEAN VIEW’S NEW POTABLE WATER STATION will have a bigger turnaround area, following a meeting with community members and the county water department. Work was stopped after Don Nitsche, Mike Dubois and Allan Stafford traveled to Kona to a water department meeting and told officials that the plans were flawed. The water department met with Ocean View residents on Tuesday and agreed to the change. Bolton Construction is set to complete the project without any further delay by Sept. 30.

TUITION HIKES are proposed by University of Hawai`i. During the first year, beginning fall of 2012, U.H. plans to hike tuition per semester by $132 at Manoa, $120 at UH-Hilo, and $60 at community colleges. UH-West O`ahu would face a possible $228 per semester increase, since it has a new campus with higher costs.
     Community colleges like Hilo currently charge $88 per credit hour. Under the proposed tuition schedule, this would rise to $130 by 2016. Undergraduate tuition at UH-Hilo is $2,820, and would rise to $3,828 by 2016. Graduate students, who currently pay $4,392 a year, would have to pay $5,748.
     These increases, we believe, are reasonable,” said president of UH M.R.C. Greenwood, “and they were kept as low as possible in light of how Hawai`i families are struggling financially in these times. These increases will allow us to provide more financial aid, start addressing our long-delayed repair and maintenance backlog, upgrade our business systems to better manage enrollment and the need for classes, and expand the degree offerings in fields that we know will offer good-paying jobs of the future. It’s an investment we absolutely have to make in our only public institution of higher learning in Hawai`i.”
     Public meetings on UH campuses regarding the proposed tuition hikes are to be announced.

DAILY FLIGHTS TO KONA should bring more visitors to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and through Ka`u as Alaska Airlines is doubling its service with daily fights from Oakland and San Jose beginning next March 12. Introductory rates are $179 but must be purchased by Sept. 3 for travel between March 12 through June 9. 

BIG ISLAND CONSTRUCTION saw no job growth this month, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. While growth remained flat on the Big Island, Maui and Kaua`i suffered a contraction of growth, shedding 12 percent of its construction jobs. Jobs added in Honolulu – six percent growth – offset the jobs lost on neighbor islands. 

LOCAL HAWAIIAN PRODUCTS are being sought by Chinese Ministry of Commerce for export during the billion-dollar gift giving Chinese New Year season. Thirteen representatives of retailers and importers in China will visit Hawai`i in November for high-end products sold individually or used for gift baskets. These include food products, beverages, nutraceuticals, beauty and vanity products, apparel, specialty gifts, wood products, and other gift products unique to the islands.
     “If Hawai`i companies ever planned to do business in China, opportunity just knocked,” said Richard Lim, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, which is coordinating the visitation. “The Chinese government themselves is offering Hawai`i businesses a chance to enter the world’s most rapidly expanding market.”
     The representatives would both purchase and help with product entry requirements and distribution of selected items. Companies interested in registering for this program should contact Milton Kwock at 587-2759 or mkwock@dbedt.hawaii.gov by Sept. 15.
     DBEDT is developing a list of product vendors for a mini-trade show or site visitations and will be asking for samples and digital information regarding the Hawai`i-made products. 

Pu`u `O`o crater is refilling after the recent collapse.
Photo courtesy of USGS

ANOTHER VENT ERUPTION OF PU`U `O`O MAY OCCUR, says Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Geologist Janet Babb said the same circumstances that led to the vent eruptions earlier this month and in March are developing again. “Pu`u `O`o crater filled and became overpressurized and something had to give, and so lava burst out of the west flank,” said Babb. 

     The lava that has been flowing out of Pu`u `O`o in the past weeks covered about 570 acres. “The lava that was in Pu`u `O`o has drained out,” said Babb, “so now it’s begun to refill.” Lava has refilled 25 percent of the crater’s volume, and another vent eruption may occur within the next couple of months.

SEN. GIL KAHELE’S first in a series of community forums will be held tonight at Cooper Center in Volcano from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. He will provide a re-cap of the 26th legislative session as well as address specific issues pertaining to the community. Participants may email questions or concerns prior to the meeting to senkahele@capitol.hawaii.gov. More sessions in Ka`u are scheduled for October.

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE can be dropped off at Wai`ohinu Transfer Station this Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Automotive fluids, batteries, fluorescent lights, pesticides and latex paints are some of the items being accepted. For more information, call 961-8554 or visit hawaiizerowaste.org.