Ka'u News Briefs Nov. 25, 2011

`AMA`AMA, THE STRIPED MULLET, ARE KAPU from Thursday, Dec. 1 through Saturday, March 31. The Department of Land and Natural Resources reminds the fishing public that the fishing season will be over as “`ama`ama are about to enter their peak spawning season.” DLNR chair William J. Aila said, “The annual winter closure is designed to help the fish reproduce successfully and protect the species from overfishing.” Violations of the size or season restrictions can result in fines of up to $500 and/or 30 days in jail, plus up to $100 for each fish taken. 

     “We ask the public’s kokua in complying with the closed season,” said Aila. “While it’s DLNR’s job to protect our marine resources, everyone shares in the responsibility to take care of important fish species like `ama`ama to ensure their survival into the future.”

     Copies of statewide fishing regulations for `ama`ama and all other marine species are available at all aquatic resources offices. Fishing regulations can be found on the DAR website at hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar. To report fish catch size or net violations, call 643-DLNR (643-3567).

THE THIRD EARTHQUAKE 3.0 OR GREATER, in a week, rattled Ka`u on Thanksgiving Day. This one struck at 10:33 a.m., 10 miles north-northwest of Na`alehu and 11 miles west of Pahala. An earthquake on Wednesday registered 3.8. It was six miles west-southwest of Na`alehu and eight miles north of South Point, just east of South Point Road. Last Sunday, Nov. 20, a 4.0 earthquake shook Mauna Loa just four miles from the summit on the Kona side, and a 3.0 struck just 10 miles from the summit on the Ka`u side. Visit http://tux.wr.usgs.gov/.

TRIATHLETES will zoom through Ka`u today on Hwy 11. Ultraman World Champion competitors started this morning with a 6.2 mile swim in Keauhou Bay. They cycle through Ka`u on their way to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The 38 men and women stay overnight in Volcano and cycle down side roads in Puna, back to Hilo and up to Hawi, where they overnight again. On the third day, they run a double marathon to Kailua-Kona. The Ultraman is considered one of the most demanding individual multi-sport events anywhere. The triathletes traveled to the Big Island for Ultraman from the U.S. mainland, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden and Slovenia, as well as from other Hawaiian Islands.

ELIMINATING FLOODING OF HWY 11 AT KAWA FLATS is the topic of an Environmental Assessment now available for public review and comments. The EA calls for the road to be raised a maximum of 10 feet so that culverts can be placed under it to carry water from the north drainage basin to the makai side of the highway.
     A public meeting about the project will be held on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. at the Na`alehu Elementary School cafeteria. The EA can be read at the Na`alehu and Pahala Public Libraries or online at the Hawai`i Department of Health’s Office of Environmental Quality Control website. The link is http://oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov/Shared%20Documents/EA_and_EIS_Online_Library/Hawaii/2010s/2011-11-23-DEA-Mamalahoa-Highway-Drainage.pdf.
     The last day to file comments is Dec. 23.

Floating lanterns will honor ancestors at Punalu`u Beach
tomorrow. Photo by Naomi Hayes

A CEREMONY AT SEA to remember loved ones who have passed on will be held at Punalu`u Beach tomorrow. Taiko drumming, cultural chants, prayers and interfaith chants precede the ceremony, where the names and messages for loved ones are sent with floating lanterns out to sea. The event is sponsored by the Ka`u Rural Health Community Association, American Cancer Society and HMSA. Donations are taken to raise funds for health care education scholarships. A potluck will be held. Call 928-0101. 

THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION has approved the Feed In Tariff Tier 3 proposal from Hawaiian Electric Co. that will enable more energy producers to sell their power to HECO at fixed rates with 20-year contracts. This could help the smaller energy producers receive income from their alternative energy projects that produce 501 kilowatts to five megawatts. Alternative power will include onshore wind, in-line hydroelectric and concentrated solar power production.

Mokulele Airlines

MOKULELE AIRLINES has a new owner. Mesa Air Group sold the interisland turboprop service to Transpac Aviation, Inc. of Scottsdale, AZ. The airline will continue to book its four nine-seat, Cessna Caravan aircraft and jet service under the go!Mokulele brand. Passengers continue to book reservations on both the jet and caravan service on www.iflygo.com and www.mokulele.com. Current Mokulele employees are expected to remain with Mokulele Flight Services. Mokulele has flights from Kona to Kahului, Maui and on to Moloka`i. There are also direct flights from Hilo and Kona to Honolulu.

THIS IS THE FIRST DAY this season for visiting the studios of Volcano artists. The Volcano Village Artists Hui’s 25th Annual Art Studio Tour & Sale is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday. Seven studios are open for meeting painters, sculptors, woodworkers, photographers and other creators of fine art and crafts, which will also be for sale. Get the map at volcanovillageartistshui.com or at local businesses.

Eddie Andrade is organizing the Christmas
Parade for Pahala. Call 928-0808.

SEE HOLIDAY WREATHS made of locally collected foliage, fabric and many other materials. The wreaths created by artists are part of a competition at Volcano Art Center Gallery. Décor, activities and presentations are part of Christmas in the Country, all day today, tomorrow and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

CHRISTMAS IN KA`U will be sponsored by Thy Word Ministries Ka`u at the Na`alehu Hongwanji Building on Hwy 11. The event on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with song, hula, dance and free Hawaiian plate lunches is open to everyone. Vendor spaces are available by calling Pamela Taylor at 937-3386. 

COMMUNITY GROUPS and businesses can also sign up to be in the Pahala Christmas Parade, Sunday, Dec. 11. The parade begins at 1 p.m. at the Pahala Armory and winds through Pahala and to the Ka`u Hospital, finishing at the Pahala Catholic Church for refreshments. Call Eddie Andrade at 928-0808.

Ka'u News Briefs Nov. 24, 2011

Ka`u High & Pahala School Gym is used for graduation and many other community events. Photos by Julia Neal

KA`U HIGH & PAHALA ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS have written a support statement for the new Ka`u Regional Disaster Shelter and gym, which will be the subject of public planning sessions Dec. 19 and 20 on the school campus.

Hula on the wooden floor of the gym.

     One reason given for needing the gym is that “on days with poor weather and/or heavy vog, students must forego the badly needed opportunity to exercise and release constructive energy.” The designated emergency shelter for the school is its band room. “This location is not optimal because the location is on the back side of the campus, which is unfamiliar to most people, especially tourists,” the school statement says. “There is also no cell phone service, and the designated site can only hold 200 people” for the District of Ka`u, where there are approximately 5,000 people plus visitors.
     The school reports that during the last three years, the band room shelter opened for earthquakes, tsunamis and road closures due to flooding. “With the vog/SO2 the band room is one of the few safe rooms for the community; however, if the vog/SO2 elevates to an unsafe level during the school day, students take priority, and the community has no shelter to report to” and must drive 50-plus miles to the nearest shelter or to a place with clean air.
     The need for more space for school athletics is stressed by the school statement. There is not enough room in the existing gym during school hours and before the after-school bus leaves. The new gym could be used for multiple volleyball courts, basketball, and wrestling. The school also would like a weight room to help condition students for sports, even those not practiced or played in the gym, like cross country, track, soccer and football. 

The gym hosts inspirational speakers, including U.H.
alumni Davone Bess, of the Miami Dolphins.

    The new gym will also be used by County Parks & Recreation, “which has almost no access to the gym,” the school says. With the new gym completed, “the old gym will be made available for county after-school programs targeting elementary and middle school,” and its programs could increase.
     “Programs may be able to start right after school, allowing Na`alehu and Ocean View middle and elementary students to participate and then be able to catch the 4:30 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. activity bus to go home.”
     The new gym will even help the Na`alehu Parks & Recreation programs to start earlier, as the Na`alehu gym will no longer be needed for busing Ka`u High School and Middle School athletes to practice their sport.
     “The main goal for the new district gym is that it will provide an educational structure for our students and be a safe haven for the members of our community/district during times of peril due to natural disasters. The new gym and shelter will help to build “a stronger, healthier community all-around,” concludes the school statement.

The gym is the stage for musical events.

     The county Department of Public Works is taking public input on the gym and shelter design through Dec. 6 for preliminary design concepts and then again at the public meetings in Pahala Dec. 19 and 20 at 5 p.m. at the school cafeteria.

AN EARTHQUAKE just east of South Point Road and nine miles west-southwest of Na`alehu struck yesterday at 6:15 p.m. Discovery Harbour area residents reported strong jolts and a shaking but no injuries or damage. The temblor was initially reported as a 4.0 magnitude but was later downgraded to 3.8. Last Sunday a 4.0 earthquake was recorded just four miles from the Mauna Loa summit, and a 3.0 was recorded nine miles up Mauna Loa from Pahala.

THE WINDING ROAD BETWEEN KONA and Ocean View took another life as James Keka, of Ocean View, died yesterday following a one-car crash at the 92-mile marker as he was heading south on Hwy 11 and lost control of his car, sending it over a 30-foot drop-off on the makai side of the highway.

HAWAI`I POLICE DEPARTMENT reminds Ka`u residents to Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, as DUI check points will be scattered across the island. Police suggest designated drivers be available to transport holiday drinkers from home to home and from restaurants and bars. 

VEHICLE REGISTRATION NOTICES were sent out by the State of Hawai`i charging less money than owed. The county will send out new notices to correct the error. The state authorized increased fees for next year, including an increase from the $25 registration fee for each vehicle to $45 and doubling the vehicle weight tax. Owners of cars, trucks and vans can either go to vehicle registration offices to pay the correct amount or wait for the corrected bill in the mail.

THANKSGIVING DAY DINNERS are serving up all over Ka`u today: 

     In Na`alehu - Hana Hou from 11 a.m. until closing and South Side Shaka’s noon to 9 p.m.
     Ocean View Community Center serves a free Thanksgiving feast from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
     In Volcano, Kilauea Military Camp’s Crater Rim Café from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

A bracelet by Volcano Village
Artists Hui member Zeke Israel

VOLCANO VILLAGE ARTISTS open their studios to the public for an annual Tour & Sale tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Meet the artists and see and buy creations in many media at seven studios. Pick up maps at local businesses or at volcanovillageartistshui.com. 

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY continues at the Volcano Art Center Gallery tomorrow and through the weekend with an invitational exhibit of wreaths made by artists. Art demonstrations, print and book signings by gallery artists, handcrafted decorations and gifts are offered. Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park entrance fees apply.

THE FLOATING LANTERN CEREMONY to remember deceased loved ones begins at Punalu`u Saturday at 11 a.m. Taiko drumming, dance, interfaith chants and prayers precede the release of lanterns floating into the ocean. Registration is required. Donations are accepted for scholarships for health careers. It is sponsored by Ka`u Rural Health Community Association, the American Cancer Society and HMSA. Call 928-0101.

Ka'u News Briefs Nov. 23, 2011

Floating Lantern Ceremony will be held this Saturday at Punalu`u.  Photo by Matt Coats

LEE MCINTOSH IS THE FIRST CANDIDATE TO ANNOUNCE entry into the 2012 County Council race for District 6. A resident of Discovery Harbour, McIntosh said his campaign “will seek to qualify for comprehensive public funding.” A small businessman, McIntosh owns and operates his own landscaping business in Ka`u. He volunteers time as a member of `O Ka`u Kakou, as a board member of the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce and its Scenic Byways Committee, as well as the Discovery Harbour Common Grounds Committee. 

Lee McIntosh

     Among his supporters is Nadine Ebert, who said she supports McIntosh because “he is of good moral standing,” and because “he knows the problems that come with trying to have a business in this county and state. He lives in Ka`u and works with service groups in the area as well as with his church.”
     A statement from his campaign says that McIntosh “believes that moderation must be restored to the Council. As a problem solver, he will thoroughly explore all the options available before making a decision. Liberty, limited government, personal responsibility, and fiscal accountability are just some of the core values that are part of the foundation that will guide Lee as he searches for solutions,” the statement says.
     Another supporter, Carol Massey, said, “Lee is genuinely interested in the well being of our community. He keeps informed of the issues facing us, and will work hard for District 6.”
     Said McIntosh, “There are several issues that have plagued our island for years. It’s time to identify sensible solutions and start taking action.” For more, see www.LeeMcIntosh.org.
     McIntosh could be running against one or two incumbents, as Council member Brittany Smart and Brenda Ford are both in District 6 under the new redistricting boundaries.

Dominic Yagong

IDEAS TO CHANGE THE BUILDING CODE are due Dec. 28, but County Council chair Dominic Yagong is asking people in the building trades to get involved now to help make buildings more affordable but safe. According to a Stephens Media story by reporter Nancy Cook Lauer, Yagong said, “I think the building code could be the catalyst to economic recovery.” He asks that the public send in ideas to his office ahead of a Council meeting on the building code on Dec. 6 in Hilo Council Chambers. 

     According to the Stephens Media story, “Hawai`i County administrators and corporation counsel have repeatedly told the county any changes must be more stringent than the state code.” The story quotes Yagong saying, “It just seems like they purposely obstruct the Council’s authority.” He said the public and the Council have an opportunity to tailor the code to the Big Island and to help make housing more affordable.

QUEST, the quasigovernmental health insurance plan that serves under-employed and small business people and their families in Hawai`i, may tighten up its eligibility requirements and eliminate some 3,000 low-income adults, according to a report in Pacific Business News this morning. With tough economic times, since 2008 Quest has seen an increase of 34 percent in the number of people it insures. Quest insures about 20 percent of Hawai`i residents and has been touted as one of the best plans in the country to prevent families from living without health insurance. 

MATSON CONTAINER SHIPPING FEES are going up again. Rates are going up $225 for containers coming from the mainland and $110 for containers going from Hawai`i to the mainland. The increase involves a rate adjustment and increased handling charges, raising the total cost by 5.6 percent. The base terminal charge is $1,075 plus the increased and other fees related to the type of goods being shipped. “While Matson recognizes this is a difficult time economically, this rate adjustment is consistent with our long-standing philosophy of implementing modest, incremental increases as necessary to maintain the highest level of service to our customers,” a company spokesman said.

DRIVE SOBER OR GET PULLED OVER is the slogan for the Hawai`i Police Department, which will conduct DUI checks around the island over the Thanksgiving weekend. In Kona and Hilo various restaurants and bars plan to distribute coupons for free taxi rides for those too inebriated to drive home.

THE ANNUAL KA`U CHRISTMAS PARADE is gearing up, with Eddie Andrade organizing the decades-old event for Sunday, Dec. 11. The Boys & Girls Club, Catholic Church, Keoki Kahumoku and his `ukulele students, Ka`u Coffee Mill and many others are planning their floats and their marching groups. The parade goes to homes throughout Pahala and makes a stop at Ka`u Hospital to visit with patients before finishing with refreshments at the Catholic Church.

PAHALA COMMUNITY CENTER’S annual Rubberband Turkey Shoot is scheduled for today at 3 p.m. All ages are welcome. Call Nona at 928-3102 to sign up.

THANKSGIVING DAY DINNERS are offered throughout Ka`u:
     Hana Hou Restaurant serves up a buffet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a dinner from 2 p.m. to closing. Call 929-9717 for reservations.
     South Side Shaka’s Restaurant offers a Thanksgiving dinner from noon to 9 p.m. Call 929-7404.
     Ocean View Community Center puts on its free annual Thanksgiving feast from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Call 939-7033 to volunteer.
     Kilauea Military Camp serves a Thanksgiving Day Buffet at the Crater Rim Café from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The menu includes turkey, fettuccine, salads, desserts and more. Fees apply.

Volcano Village Artists Hui member
Mary Goodrich's Koa Forest.

VOLCANO VILLAGE ARTISTS HUI opens up studios and workshops for its 25th Annual Tour & Sale Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Meet the artists and see and purchase their works in many media at seven studios in Volcano Village. Maps are at local businesses and at volcanovillageartistshui.com. 

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY continues at the Volcano Art Center Gallery Friday through Sunday. See the annual invitational wreath exhibit, art demonstrations and print and book signings by gallery artists, plus handcrafted decorations and gifts offered only during the holiday season. Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park entrance fees apply. 

A FLOATING LANTERN CEREMONY at Punalu`u will honor loved ones who have passed on this Saturday from 11 a.m. at the beach park. Taiko drumming, dance, interfaith chants and prayers will precede the release of the tiny floating lanterns into the ocean. Registration is required, and donations are being taken for college scholarships for health careers. It is sponsored by Ka`u Rural Health Community Association, the American Cancer Society and HMSA. Call 928-0101.