Ka'u News Briefs Sept. 28, 2011

Native-to-Native company, Innovations Development, is working on geothermal resources in New Zealand and Hawai'i.

INNOVATIONS DEVELOPMENT GROUP, the Native-to-Native company working on geothermal in New Zealand, is holding meetings today in Waimea and one tomorrow in Kailua-Kona regarding potential locations for additional geothermal to make electricity for this island. The meetings will feature Mililani Trask, an attorney and principal in the hui; Bob Lindsey, trustee for the Big Island for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Wally Ishibashi, of ILWU Local 142; and member of the Geothermal Working Group; and Richard Ha, co-chair of the Geothermal Working Group. Government maps of places with geothermal potential include the Ka`u desert. Today’s meeting is at 5 p.m. at Kanu o ka`Aina New Public Charter School in Kamuela. Tomorrow’s meeting is at Kealakehe High School in Kona at 6 p.m.

Potential geothermal sites in Ka'u extend from Mauna Loa slope to
South Point and Ka'u Desert Coast. Map from U.S. Dept. of Energy

NANI KAHUKU `AINA'S PLAN for hotel, golf course, condominums, estates and commercial centers between South Point and Ranchos is subject of a public meeting at Miloli`i this Friday. The meeting, sponsored by Pa`a Pono Miloli`i, will be held at 2:30 p.m. at the Halau - the Miloli`i Pavilion. The organization is calling for more community involvement in reviewing the plan to change land to Urban designation from Conservation along the coast to create a development called Kahuku Village. The meeting will be followed by a presentation by Conservation international and Pa`a Pono Miloli`i on a marine conservation program.

INTERISLAND SHIPPING EXPENSES should be dropping slightly as both Pasha Hawai`i Transport lines and Matson Navigation Co. lowered their fuel surcharges, with the drop in fuel prices. Horizon has yet to decide whether to lower its surcharge.

ALAN PARKER, from the County Office of Aging, will be the speaker at District 6 Matters, sponsored by County Council member Brittany Smart Thursday at 9:45 a.m. at Cooper Center in Volcano Village. Rural issues for seniors will be discussed. Call 961-8536 for more.

Keoki Kahumoku at Honu'apo 0ct. 9.

KA`OHANA O HONU`APO celebrates another year of its stewardship of Honu‘apo Park with a Sunday afternoon of Hawaiian music and ono food on Oct. 9 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Whittington Beach Park. Ka ‘Ohana encourages everyone to bring their acoustic music instruments to this free family event and jam with Keoki Kahumoku, Jr. Along with the music, Ka ‘Ohana offers $5 chili and rice bowls, drinks and baked goods to raise funds to help improve Honu‘apo Park. 

     During the event, board members Ken Sugai, Wendy Vance, Megan Lamson, Michelle Galimba, Chris Manfredi and Sue Barnett answer questions about Ka ‘Ohana’s new plan to restore native bird habitat in Honu‘apo’s wetlands. “We’d like everybody to come and have a good time in the park during the long holiday weekend,” announced Ka ‘Ohana’s executive director Lehua Lopez-Mau. “Keoki has done a terrific job teaching some of our keiki how to make and play the ‘ukulele, and now they have an opportunity to play their ‘ukulele along with their uncles, aunties, grandparents and the rest of the family.”
     For more information or to donate baked goods, call 929-9891.

VOTING continues today at Ka`u Federal Credit Union for the cover art for The Directory, Ka`u’s phone book and community and business resource guide put out annually by the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce. Voting is open all week at the credit union in Na`alehu. Deadline to sign up for listings and advertising in The Directory is the end of this month. Download an application at kaucreditunion.org or call 928-6471.

FEMA CERTIFICATION classes will be offered and the deadline to sign up for the free emergency preparedness course is this Monday, Oct. 3. Classes are sponsored by the Pacific Regional Disaster Preparedness Center and cover community preparation and response to terrorism, tsunamis and other hazards. The classes will take place Oct.11-14 at the Hawai`i Innovation Center in Hilo at 117 Keawe St., and at Bougainvillea Plaza in Kona. For more information and registration, visit the website, prdpc.org, call 933-2439 or email course-registration@prdpc.org. 

This years homecoming parade through Pahala is Saturday. Photo by Julia Neal

HOMECOMING CELEBRATIONS are all this week at Ka`u High School and this is called Spirit Week. On Monday, each class wore different colored clothes, yesterday was Paniolo Day, today is Nerd Day, Thursday is Trojan Wear Day and Flashback Friday features kids wearing clothes from different eras. The Homecoming Dance is Friday night and the Homecoming Parade is Saturday throughout Pahala Village preceding the homecoming game which kicks off at 6 p.m. on the Ka`u High ball field against Kohala.

PIERRE OMIDYAR, the founder of Civil Beat, the award-winning news gathering organization in Hawai`i, is the only Hawai`i resident on the Forbes 2011 list of the wealthiest Americans. He is founder of Ebay and moved to O`ahu a couple of years ago. Omidyar’s Civil Beat editor John Temple will be at the University of Hawai`i’s Media Symposium this weekend in Hilo.

Ka`u News Briefs September 27, 2011

A proposed reapportionment map would split Ka`u for the state House of Representatives.

REDISTRICTING MAPS that would cut Ka`u in half and put Rep. Bob Herkes in a district more aligned with Puna are going to be challenged, according to the Hawai`i Island Democratic Party. The Democrats and several other groups, including one led by Sen. Malama Solomon, are planning an appeal to the state Supreme Court. 

     The statewide reapportionment commission voted to approve the new districts last night on O`ahu. The basis of the suit, however, is to exclude non-residents, such as the military, from the census used for the reapportionment. Excluding non-residents, which are concentrated on O`ahu, would likely give the Big Island a fourth Senate seat. The deadline to file the suit is 45 days from yesterday’s vote.

STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE member Richard Ha is warning policy makers about the downside of accepting energy solutions that fail to reduce the cost of electricity. He says it threatens food security, as many agricultural operations require electricity. Ha’s opinion piece is published in this morning’s Civil Beat. Ha is working with a hui to buy Hawaiian Electric Company in order to develop more geothermal and other alternatives that he says could make Hawai`i a growing economy that uses cheap energy. 

     Writes Ha: “Expensive electricity throttles Hawai`i's food self-sufficiency, too. People may not immediately think of maintaining the cold chain – a temperature-controlled supply chain – as a place where a significant cost of getting food to their plate occurs. The cooling costs on a farm, at a wholesaler, at a retailer and in the home refrigerator are all affected by electricity costs.

Richard Ha

“The higher electricity rates become, the higher the costs of growing food in Hawai`i become. These costs must be paid by Hawai`i's farmers and in many cases cannot be passed on to the consumer.
     “As fossil or biofuel oil costs rise, and our farmers’ cost of production also rises, farmers are unable to pass on the increased costs,” Ha writes. See civilbeat.com for more stories on energy and agriculture in Hawai`i.

SIDEWALK TO NOWHERE is what Chris Manfredi is calling the state proposed sidewalk that could threaten large shade trees and rock walls along Hwy 11. Manfredi, a land manager who lives in a house along the proposed sidewalk path, told National Public Radio-Hawai`i in a story broadcast yesterday, that he knew of no stakeholders in Ka`u who asked the state to build the sidewalk. A state Department of Transportation plan listed the sidewalk as the highest priority on the Big Island. According to the NPR story, it was placed in the plan to improve “connectivity and accessibility,” but was neither funded nor scheduled. There is already a sidewalk on the makai side of the highway.
     Marge Elwell, secretary of the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce and a leader in the Scenic Byways movement, noted that one of the rationales for the scenic byways designation is the beautiful drive along the tree-lined highway through Na`alehu. Friday is the deadline to comment on the plan.
     The plan can be read, and comments can be made, at hawaiipedplan.com or 808-587-6395.

A meeting on Nani Kahuku `Aina resort plans will be held at the Miloli`i
Halau this Friday. Photo by Julia Neal

NANI KAHUKU `AINA'S PLAN for a resort between South Point and Ranchos is subject of a public meeting at Miloli`i this Friday. The meeting, sponsored by Pa`a Pono Miloli`i, will be held at 2:30 p.m. at the Halau - the Miloli`i Pavilion. The organization is calling for more community involvement in reviewing the plan to change land to Urban designation from Conservation along the coast. It will be followed by a presentation by Conservation international and Pa`a Pono Miloli`i on a marine conservation program.

POSTAL SERVICE EMPLOYEES are rallying in Honolulu this morning. Across the country the employees are launching campaigns to help keep more funding in the USPS with some national television ads saying that much of the post office fees for stamps and sending packages are kept by the federal government for unrelated services. While thousands of post offices across the country are threatened with closure, none of Ka`u’s post offices are on the list.

THE DEADLINE to sign up for free emergency preparedness classes being offered for FEMA certification is next Monday, Oct. 3. Classes are sponsored by the Pacific Regional Disaster Preparedness Center. They cover community preparation and response to terrorism, tsunamis and other hazards. They will take place Oct.11-14 at the Hawai`i Innovation Center in Hilo at 117 Keawe St., and at Bougainvillea Plaza in Kona. For more information and registration, visit the website, prdpc.org, call 933-2439 or email course-registration@prdpc.org.

More cruise ships expected in Hilo with visitors traveling to Ka`u
 in first week of October. Photo by Julia Neal

MORE CRUISE SHIP VISITORS could be seen at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and as far as Punalu`u Black Sand Beach, as nearly 10,000 visitors will be landing in Hilo on five cruise ships. According to a Stephens Media report, the cruise ship visitor count has been slowly growing over the last few years, following a crash in the business that cut the passenger landings in half.

THE CHINA NATIONAL TOURISM ASSOCIATION sent its top official to the Big Island, and he spoke to the U.S. Travel Association, promising more visitors, particularly if visa restrictions are eased. Hawai`i is receiving fewer Chinese visitors than such places as France because of the difficulty in getting visas, even though Hawai`i represents a dream vacation for many, Chinese visiting officials said.

MANA I KA LEO: THE POWER OF THE VOICE will be shown at After Dark in the Park tonight at 7 p.m. The documentary film examines the cultural importance of oli, the Hawaiian tradition of chant. It won the Audience Award for Favorite Short Film at the 2010 Hawai`i International Film Festival. After Dark is held in the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park Visitor Center Auditorium. A small donation is requested.

COUNCIL MEMBER BRITTANY SMART holds a District 6 Matters meeting at Cooper Center in Volcano Village on Thursday at 9:45 a.m. Alan Parker, from the Office of Aging, will discuss rural issues with the public. Call 961-8536 for more information.

Ka`u News Briefs September 26, 2011

Hawaiian Home Lands in Ka`u are at Kama`oa, Pu`ueo, Wailau and Wai`ohinu.

THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS is researching the possibility of developing geothermal resources on Hawaiian lands and claims that ownership of the resource could exclusively belong to Hawaiians. According to a story by Civil Beat writer Sophie Cocke, a DHHL committee released a report last week asking the Legislature to make clear “the Department of Hawaiian Home Land’s inalienable rights to the minerals.”
     However, the state government claims it is the state that owns all mineral rights on all lands in Hawai`i. According to Civil Beat, Puna Geothermal paid $12.6 million in royalties between 2001 and 2009. Half went to the state, 30 percent to Hawai`i County and 20 percent to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The geothermal resource made electricity for Hawaiian Electric Light Co.
     Guy Kaulukukui, a Volcano resident and deputy director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, told Civil Beat that the issue of mineral rights is relatively new in Hawai`i. He said the state did not transfer mineral rights to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands.
     Some DHHL staff members and supportive attorneys, however, argue that Hawaiian Homelands in place before statehood retain mineral rights.
     Hawaiian Home Lands in Ka`u include thousands of acres on the South Point peninsula. They are located at Kama`oa and Pu`ueo. The other Hawaiian Home Lands in Ka`u are at Wailau and Wai`ohinu.
     Several geothermal development groups have been organized by native Hawaiians.

Street trees and rock walls could be threatened by a proposed sidewalk in Na`alehu.  Photo by Marge Elwell

THE DEADLINE for comments on the plan that would put sidewalks down the mauka side of Hwy 11 in Na`alehu, threatening rock walls and street trees, is this Friday, Sept. 30.

     Council member Brittany Smart said that she contacted project manager Rachel Roper about concerns voiced by the community. Individuals have expressed concern about the possible loss of trees and parking area across from Na`alehu Park.
     Roper’s response was that any plan should be consistent with community values. “We do not want to unnecessarily impact the community,” she said.
     The plan can be read, and comments can be made, at hawaiipedplan.com or 808-587-6395.

KA`U FEDERAL CREDIT UNION is concentrating its operations at its main headquarters in Na`alehu, Monday through Saturday, and in Pahala on Friday. All Ocean View members, where the credit branch has closed, can use online banking, phone services and walk-in services at the Na`alehu office, Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Manager Cheryl Weaver said that the consolidation was made as a cost-cutting measure and to retain overall services for credit union members.

Peter Anderson's Nene won the Ka`u
Chamber of Commerce's Directory
cover art contest last year.

VOTING BEGINS today for the cover art for the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce Directory 2012. Artists delivered their submissions on Saturday to the Ka`u Federal Credit Union, and voting by the public takes place this week during credit union business hours. The Directory is Ka`u’s phone book and resource publication. Deadline to submit listings and advertising is Oct. 31. Applications are online at kauchamber.org or call 928-6471. 

WHILE GAS PRICES AVERAGE under $4 a gallon on the mainland and are under $3 in some places, gas in Hawai`i averages $4.24 cents a gallon, having gone up three cents during the last week. Gas prices this morning in Ka`u were: Ka`u Gas Pahala, $4.32; 76 Station Na`alehu, $4.37; Kahala Gas Ocean View, $4.38; Kahuku Country Market Ocean View, $4.32. 

MANA I KA LEO: THE POWER OF THE VOICE will be shown at After Dark in the Park tomorrow at 7 p.m. The documentary film examines the cultural importance of oli, the Hawaiian tradition of chant. It won the Audience Award for Favorite Short Film at the 2010 Hawai`i International Film Festival. After Dark is held in the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park Visitor Center Auditorium. A small donation is requested.