Ka`u News Briefs Feb. 21, 2012

A public hearing on proposed state Senate and House of Representative district boundaries takes place this
evening at 6 p.m. in County Council chambers in Hilo. The green and  light pink areas would be new House Districts, splitting Ka`u. Ka`u would also be in two Senate Districts,  outlined in orange. 

DEVELOPERS ARE SUPPOSED to pay their way in creating infrastructure, such as roads, to reach and leave their project, according to county regulations. However, this “fair share” policy is expected to raise only about $3 million of the 2012-2013 capital improvements budget, according to a Nancy Cook Lauer story in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. Her story points out that the county Planning Department publishes a fair share report each year.
      She writes that “a fair share assessment is levied against new development to help pay for infrastructure to support the additional population that development brings.... Ironically, the district of Puna, the fastest-growing region in the county, has no fair share funds available in any category of infrastructure. Nor are there any funds available in Ka`u,” where Ocean View was a fast-growing community over the last decade.
      The story points out that concerns about individuals being able to afford to build homes has prevented the County Council from levying fees on each house built rather than on developers creating subdivisions and the larger development projects. Council member Pete Hoffmann, who called for a change to impact fees for each building, told the Tribune-Herald that $3 million is not “a lot of money to do anything with,” noting that one mile of road costs $3 million.

A MINIMUM OF SIX DAYS NOTICE for public hearings for issues under consideration by the county could be out the window, if a bill in the state House of Representatives passes the 2012 Legislature. Civil Beat reported on the measure this morning, noting that the Legislature is already exempt from the law, which allows deal making at the last minute with little input from the public. The measure for the counties, which goes to hearing today, is House Bill 2742. It has raised concern with Common Cause and community watchdogs Ian Lind and Larry Geller. Civil Beat reporter Michael Levine wrote: “We’ve seen the effect that this kind of exemption has on the Legislature. At the Ledge, the Sunshine Law exemption essentially has meant that much of the horse-trading over which bills live and die happens behind closed doors. Unless lawmakers want to talk about it, you never find out what happens, and you never get the full story.” See more at civilbeat.com. 

A Ka`u Family Center program supports
Ka`u fathers. Photo from United Way

KA`U FAMILY CENTER is offering a new program aimed at supporting Ka`u fathers. Family Support Hawai`i’s Fatherhood Initiative, Na Makuakane Maika`i O Hawai`i, has been available to fathers in Kona for the past eight years and is now available to men in Na`alehu and the surrounding communities.
      The Fatherhood Initiative’s mission is “to support men in developing and applying the fathering skills needed to be a positive influence to their children,” shared Pam Naumann, Youth Development Program Manager. The program offers both personal visits and group activities. During personal visits male family support staff and community mentors can visit fathers in the home, community, or workplace to be supportive in caring for their children. They can also assist with personal and family issues such as parenting skills, stress management, conflict resolution and child development.
      Group activities involve social activities and parenting classes just for fathers to discuss parenting issues. Father Coach Larry Ursua will be offering these services at the Ka`u Family Center on Thursdays. For more information, call Ursua at 334-4153.

ORDERING LIBRARY BOOKS, DVDs and other services from home has become more dynamic with the Hawai`i State Public Library System’s new portal at www.librarieshawaii.org. While Pahala Library is often closed and Na`alehu Library is small, the new system provides patrons with the ability to more effectively order from anywhere in the state library system and have the books, DVDs and other materials delivered directly to a library in Ka`u. Its powerful new search engine simultaneously explores the library system’s holdings, OverDrive ebook and digital audio books and music holdings, newspaper index entries, and subscription online databases.

      The new portal showcases several technological enhancements, including “fuzzy logic,” a feature that corrects errors such as misspellings and typos, and yields search results every time. The portal is mobile friendly, adjusting to allow the website to be viewed and used by mobile browsers.
      The new portal offers ChiliFresh, a global patron interaction platform to facilitate peer book reviews, creation of book clubs by staff and patrons, and provide a vehicle for interaction between book club participants.
      Funding for these electronic services is provided by the Federal Library Services and Technology Act, which is administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

NEW STATE REAPPORTIONMENT MAPS for Hawai`i County will be presented at a public hearing today at 6 p.m. in County Council chambers in Hilo. The maps show the addition of a fourth state Senate seat for the Big Island and new boundaries for state House of Representative districts. With a boundary west of Punalu`u, Ka`u would have two state representatives.

Helene Hayselden, seated, demonstrates the art of making
a feather kahili. Photo from NPS

VIOLET MAY MAKUAKANE and Helene Hayselden demonstrate the art of making a feather kahili tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Park entrance fees apply. 

DONATIONS FOR A RUMMAGE SALE to benefit Ka`u Hospital Charitable Foundation’s scholarship fund are being accepted this week. The scholarship fund assists any Ka`u student enrolled in any medical training program. Items can be dropped off at Kama`aina Kuts behind Na`alehu Ace Hardware through Saturday. The rummage sale takes place Saturday, March 3. Call Ursula at 896-2624.

A SPAGHETTI DINNER to benefit Ka`u Hospital takes place this Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. 

NOELANI HOOPAI, of Kamehameha Schools East Regional office, will be at Na`alehu United Methodist Church social hall on Monday, Feb. 27 from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. to help Hawaiian families complete applications for any summer enrichment program and Ho`oulu Data Center.

SEE OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.

Ka`u News Briefs Feb. 20, 2012

Ed and Audrey Case visited Ka`u yesterday.
Photo by Julia Neal

ED CASE, CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE, came through Ka`u yesterday. After stopping at Volcano Farmers Market, he visited Pahala Plantation House, KAHU Radio, restaurants and other small businesses along the way to Kona. Case, as congressman, was instrumental in helping to fund coastal preservation in Ka`u and launched a study for a National Seashore here. He said he supports preserving wild places and natural resources.
      “Fundamentally, I believe in our natural resources. So many of them are in the path of development, and I would exert every opportunity to preserve them,” he said. He has been involved in a similar effort on Maui between Paia and Sprecklesville, to create the Patsy Mink Memorial National Seashore.
      Another one of Case’s recollections from his time as Ka`u’s congressman is meeting with the people. Case came to Ka`u more often than any other congressman or senator in memory, and had his staff collect the concerns and questions of local people and got back to them. He said he likes to meet the voters. He said it is easy for our representatives in Washington, D.C., once they are in office, to stay away from people and send out press releases as their contact with the people. He said he prefers to come to Ka`u and listen one-on-one so he can see for himself the needs of the community. He said there is also a lot of opportunity for the federal government to help the local economy and with preservation efforts, and that many people do not understand that they can work directly with the federal government.

      Case vowed to help redevelop the old plantation water system for agriculture in Ka`u and said he could perhaps help add onto funding through the federal government. He noted that Jimmy Nakatani, the new head of the Hawai`i Agribusiness Development Corp, the quasi-state organization that helps with ag, ran his congressional office in Honolulu when Case was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
      In his run for U.S. Senate, Case faces current U.S. Representative Mazie Hirono in the Democratic primary and would likely face former Governor Linda Lingle in the general election if he wins the primary. During the last election, he took on veteran Sen. Dan Akaka and lost, but Akaka has decided to retire, leaving the seat open. Case described his race against Hirono as “a rough, tough fight. We have different agendas, approaches and styles,” he said. “This is a crucial election for Hawai`i. Any time you change U.S. senators, it is really important, given all the work U.S. senators can do for a state. What makes this a generational election is that whoever is elected “will probably take the place of the senior senator when Inouye retires.”

      Case said he is proud to be a Democrat, “but I don’t think the future of our country lies in this endless partisan fight to the death. That won’t create solutions for our country. There is a place for partisan debate and decisions, but that is not the be all and end all of government. What is really going to work is finding what works for the broad mainstream of our country,” he said. 

      Regarding the federal budget problems, he said, “One of the biggest challenges is getting our fiscal house back in order. One extreme is to increase taxes and chase revenue, and the other side is to cut taxes” and chase government cost cuts. He recommended “some of both approaches.”
      He said that elected officials “need to be more bridge builders and problem solvers, especially in the Senate.”

THE HISTORY OF PAHALA is now available. Marge and Dennis Elwell compiled the book, which has information about the sugar plantation as well as chapters on Hilea, Kapapala and Wood Valley. It includes many historical photographs. Proceeds support Na`alehu Main Street. To order copies, call 929-7236 or email marge@hawaii.rr.com.

Violet May Makuakane with one of her feather kahili.
Photo courtesy of NPS

NEW STATE REAPPORTIONMENT MAPS for Hawai`i County will be presented at a public hearing tomorrow at 6 p.m. in County Council chambers in Hilo. The maps show the addition of a fourth state Senate seat for the Big Island and new boundaries for state House of Representative districts. With a boundary west of Punalu`u, Ka`u would have two state representatives.

VIOLET MAY MAKUAKANE and Helene Hayselden demonstrate the art of making a feather kahili on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Park entrance fees apply. 

A SPAGHETTI DINNER to benefit Ka`u Hospital takes place this Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center.

SEE OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.

Ka`u News Briefs Feb. 19, 2012

Holland America Line's m.s. Rotterdam is the site of a luncheon benefitting Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park

on Friday, March 9. Photo from Holland America Line

A BALANCE BETWEEN PUBLIC SAFETY AND COST has to be attained in the state building code, according to Rep. Bob Herkes, who is working on the issue in the 2012 state Legislature. He said this morning that there is some strong opposition from his proposal to “blow up the building code” and take it back to an earlier time when construction was more affordable. The opposition is coming from the statewide Fire Council and some civil engineers, he said. “We have to allow affordable homes to be built and to put people to work,” said Herkes. When proposing the building code changes, Herkes said he doesn’t want people living in vans, buses, tents and under tarps when they could be building their own homes – four walls and a room.

Rep. Bob Herkes, with his wife during Volcano's Fourth of July parade,
will run for state Senate. Photo by Julia Neal

THE TOUGHEST FORECLOSURE LAW in the country, which was championed by Rep. Bob Herkes and passed last year, is getting some revisions, said Herkes. About 100 pages of recommendations from a task force are being reviewed at the Legislature before passing amendments to Act 48. He said amendments will “correct some deficiencies we found after it passed.” Herkes said he wants to “make sure that the mediation program will work” between lenders and homeowners who face foreclosure.

REP. BOB HERKES confirmed this morning that he will run for the newly proposed state Senate district. “I think the significance is there is no training needed for me,” said the longtime state member of the House of Representative. Herkes took Sen. Richard Henderson’s place for one year back in the 80s. After working as a member in the state House and knowing most of the members of the Senate, “It won’t take me any time to be effective,” said Herkes, a resident of Volcano. His new Senate district would run from Punalu`u through Pahala and Volcano and into Puna.

A VOG TASK FORCE MEETING will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 29 at Pahala Community Center at 5 p.m. The task force was proposed by Rep. Bob Herkes to tackle the problems with air quality events and volcanic emissions in connection with agriculture, human health and the effects of vog on infrastructure, like metal buildings, fencing and vehicles. Herkes said he wants people to come to the meeting and share their experiences with vog so that the state government and Legislature will understand its effects on Ka`u residents and the environment.

New state Senate and House of Representative districts
will be presented at County Council chambers.

NEW STATE REAPPORTIONMENT MAPS for Hawai`i County will be presented at a public hearing on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in County Council chambers in Hilo. A fourth state Senate seat was established by the state Reapportionment Commission after the state Supreme Court ruled that the one-person, one-vote rule be followed after the 2010 census showed a 24.5 percent population growth on the Big Island. 

      Rep. Bob Herkes has announced his candidacy for the new Senate seat. His departure opens up opportunities in the state House of Representatives for candidates to fill seats in House Districts Three and Five, with the boundary between the two districts being west of Punalu`u.

INSTRUCTION TIME IN KA`U SCHOOLS will increase by one hour per day, four days per week, under a tentative agreement reached between the state and the Hawai`i State Teachers Association. Ka`u is in one of the zones targeted by Race to the Top reforms. In order for the state to hold onto federal Race to the Top grant funds, progress must be made on requirements of the program.

      The agreement also calls for 12 additional days of teacher training. Teachers would get compensation in salaries totaling 18 percent.

      The previously proposed contract had competency requirements for teachers that include tying their status to the success of students. Some teachers said this could be unfair to teachers in schools and classrooms where students have many challenges. It also called for pay increases after keeping pay cuts in place for several years. The Hawai`i State Teachers Association leadership had approved the contract and sent it to a vote, but teachers rejected it in a two-to-one vote.

      A vote on the tentative agreement by union members in the zones is scheduled for Feb. 27.

Park rangers practice a short-haul search-and-
rescue by helicopter. Photo from HVNP

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK urges hikers to plan carefully. Officials want to reduce the number of search-and-rescue operations in the park. Last year, there were 21 SARs.
      Emergency Operations coordinator John Broward said that “hikers need to be aware that SAR missions take time, and that launching a helicopter in the dark or in inclement weather is extremely dangerous. If it’s not worth the risk of flying, we have to wait for daylight, or for better weather, or try to get the injured person out on foot. Hikers should be prepared to spend the night, as it’s a very real possibility.
      “Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is an inherently wild place, and not just a walk in the park,” Broward said.
      Information on how to prepare for a backcountry adventure is available at www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/hike_bc.htm and from park rangers.

NA`OHULELUA HISTORICAL CHURCH’S monthly Plant and Seed Exchange takes place today from noon to 3 p.m. The church is 1.7 miles from Hwy 11 on Kama`oa Road.

DONATIONS FOR A RUMMAGE SALE to benefit Ka`u Hospital Charitable Foundation’s scholarship fund are being accepted this week. The scholarship fund assists any Ka`u student enrolled in any medical training program. Items can be dropped off at Kama`aina Kuts behind Na`alehu Ace Hardware through Saturday. Call Ursula at 896-2624.

FRIENDS OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK invite the public to experience the nostalgia and aloha of Hawai`i’s old-time boat days, replete with colorful flower lei, graceful hula `auana, and lively Hawaiian music. Their benefit luncheon takes place aboard Holland America Line’s m.s. Rotterdam, docked in Hilo Harbor, on Friday, March 9.
      Tickets are $65 and must be purchased by March 5. Call 985-7373 or visit www.fhvnp.org.

SEE OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.