Ka`u News Briefs April 4, 2012

Farmers are using several different fungi to combat the coffee berry borer. Photo by Karla Casco

COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER BRENDA FORD is questioning Hawai`i Electric Company’s barriers to homeowners wanting to invest in solar energy equipment and sell excess electricity back to the utility. During yesterday’s County Council committee meeting on Agriculture, Water & Energy Sustainability, she pointed to homeowners having to pay up to $15,000 for a study before HELCO will consider hooking up their solar voltaics to the grid. “Those of us on the council represent a lot of angry consumers of electricity,” Ford told HELCO Pres. Jay Ignacio, according to a story in this morning’s West Hawai`i Today. The report by Nancy Cook Lauer says Ignacio explained that the study is necessary to make sure the electric grid would be stable and said that HELCO customers should not have to pay for the analysis. Ford pressed Ignacio to explain HELCO's profits and high rates charged to customers.

Good farming practices in Ka`u are helping to keep the
borers away, according to a researcher speaking to
farmers last night. Photo by Karla Casco

KA`U COFFEE FARMS are clean and with continued good mnagement have a good chance in successfully battling the coffee berry borer, said researcher and Kona farmer John Sigurdson of Makapueo Farms. He spoke last night at the Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative meeting, saying Ka`u farms are different than in Kona where some farms are completely surrounded by abandoned or feral coffee fields full of borers. He also said he observed that Ka`u farmers are taking good care of their coffee fields, through pruning and keeping leaves and old berries off the ground. He presented his research on using a fungus found in Hawai`i to combat the borer and said the cost of this homegrown fungus could be much cheaper than other fungus brought into the islands to fight the problem. He said that one coffee berry borer beetle can produce 30 to 50 beetles in 25 days and with this exponential reproduction rate can produce 6 trillion beetles in eight months. The beetle has devastated farms in Kona.

RADIATION IN THE OCEAN from last year’s Japan tsunami that damaged Fukushima nuclear plants remains under study. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, released this week, report scientists studying the dispersion of cesium-134 and -137, two radioactive isotopes unnatural to the ocean. Cesium-134 has a half-life of a little over two years and could only come from Fukushima reactors. Cesium-137’s half life is about 30 years. It entered the Pacific during above-ground nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s and 60s, providing a benchmark for measuring releases from the Fukushima reactors. Debris from the tsunami could reach the Hawaiian Islands next year, but the scientists expect that much of the radiation will have fallen to the ocean floor before arriving here.

The University of Hawai`i research vessel,
Ka`imikai-o-Kanaloa, helps track radiation from the
Fukushima disaster.  Photo from NOAA

     Last summer scientists departed Yokohama, Japan, aboard the University of Hawai`i research vessel Ka`imikai-o-Kanaloa. They sampled water from the surface to 3,200 feet in depth and hauled in samples of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and small fish. Their ongoing effort examines 15 different radionuclides likely to have been released from Fukushima.
     They found that the combined amount of radioactive material from the damaged power plant constitutes the largest accidental release of radiation to the ocean in history. However, none of the sampling so far has shown radiation above EPA drinking water standards since it dispersed so broadly in the ocean.

DOLL MAKERS ARE MAKING DOLLS. Musicians are rehearsing. Crafts persons and artists are registering for Ka`u School of the Arts' Spring Fling on May 5 on the grounds of Punalu`u Bake Shop. The vendor form and details are available on-line at www.kauarts.org. Several vendor spots are still available to be reserved.

NEW HIGHS FOR GASOLINE PRICES were recorded this morning. According to AAA, regular averages $4.60 statewide, up more than 27 cents a gallon from a year ago. The nationwide average is $3.93 and the state with the second highest gasoline prices is Alaska. Maui and Big Island prices are higher than O`ahu’s. In Ka`u the price for regular in Pahala at Ka`u Gas is $4.80. It is also $4.80 at the 76 in Na`alehu. In Ocean View, the price of regular at Kahala Gas is $4.72, $4.76 at Ocean View Market and $4.66 at Kahuku Country Mart.

PAHALA COMMUNITY CENTER’S Easter Egg Hunt & Fun Day happens today. Registration and activities begin at 3 p.m., and egg hunt starts at 4 p.m. Call 928-3102 or 929-9611.

OCEAN VIEW NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH meets tomorrow night, 7 p.m., at the Ocean View Community Center. Call 939-7033 for more.

Palila on Mamane at Keauhou Bird Conservation Center.
Photo by Ken Bohn

KEAUHOU BIRD CONSERVATION CENTER Tour takes place Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Attendees see and learn about native birds that the facility houses, including the ‘alala (Hawaiian crow), which is extinct in the wild; the palila, a finch-billed honeycreeper found only on the slopes of Mauna Kea; the Maui parrotbill, an insectivorous Hawaiian honeycreeper; and the puaiohi, or small Kaua`i thrush. Cost is $20 for Friends members and $30 for non-members. Students are half-price. Call 985-7373 or visit www.fhvnp.org to register.

FIRST FRIDAY AT VOLCANO ART CENTER is this coming Friday at the Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the public is invited to join a free class in which participants search for Hawaiian values and study the lord’s prayer (Pule a ka Haku) and other familiar Hawaiian literature. From 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., the VAC offers a free hula class for adults. Keiki Hula, $10 each, will be held from 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. For more, call 967-8222 or visit www.volcanoartcenter.org.

VISIT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.

Ka'u News Briefs April 3, 2012

Jeremy Hodges shows U.S. Representative Mazie Hirono Kathleen Kam's mural at Keauhou Bird Conservation
Center, which will be open for tours this Friday. Photo by Marvin Buenconsejo

ONE WHALE EVERY 15 MINUTES was the average around the Big Island during the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count this season. The count helped to confirm that the humpback whale population is increasing at an annual rate of seven percent a year. The final 2012 count was held last weekend, including sites in Ka`u and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. More than 570 volunteers gathered data from the shores of O`ahu, Kaua`i and Hawai`i Island. Participants tallied humpback whale sightings and documented the mammals’ surface behavior.
      The sanctuary, managed by NOAA and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, protects humpback whales and their habitat in Hawaiian waters where they migrate each winter to mate, calve and nurse their young. Up to 12,000 humpbacks come to Hawaiian waters every year, returning to their birthplace between November and May after migrating from as far away as Alaska. Hawaiian waters provide critical breeding habitat for approximately two-thirds of the north Pacific stock of humpback whales.

      Last weekend’s count “capped off a successful season with over 2,000 volunteers participating and observing humpback whales displaying a variety of behaviors, as well other marine wildlife including Hawaiian monk seals, sea turtles, spinner dolphins and many sea birds,” said Christine Brammer, Sanctuary Ocean Count project manager. “High winds made viewing challenging along some coastlines around the state.”
      For information on becoming a volunteer for the 2013 Sanctuary Ocean Count, call 1-888-55-WHALE ext. 253 or visit www.sanctuaryoceancount.org.
      NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Find out more at Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov.

ALL COOL FUEL, LLC which scooped up all 16 county agricultural land leases in a closed auction recently, has withdrawn its bid on eight of the parcels, saying it wanted to leave some for local farms. All Cool wants to grow biofuel to process at an ethanol facility it plans at the Natural Energy Lab next to Kona Airport. All Cool Fuel president Duane Bitner told Stephens Media reporter Nancy Cook Lauer yesterday that he empathized with the small farmers who had hoped for land leases. “When I saw that I was the only off-island bidder, I felt really bad,” he said, noting that he grew up on a farm in Utah and empathized with the small Hamakua farmers. Referring to the local farmers losing out on the bids to outside interests, he said, “We just hated it when people do stuff like that. That’s not how I want to start off a relationship with the island,” Stephens Media reported. All Cool Fuel is releasing 156 of the acres that it won in the bid, leaving the land for the second highest bidders, the Hawai`i Tribune Herald story says.

DISASTER TRAINING BY THE AMERICAN RED CROSS will be held at Na`alehu Elementary School on April 14 and 21. Disaster Services: An Overview is the title of the session from 9 a.m. to noon on the 14th, followed by a class on Disaster Assessment Basics from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. On April 21, the class will be on Shelter Operations and Shelter Simulation from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Red Cross is recruiting disaster services volunteers on the Big Island. The first step is to take the classes. Volunteer candidates must register for and attend the entire series. See more and register online at www.hawaiiredcross.org, or call Barney Sheffield at 217-0805.

PLANS TO MOVE PAHALA LIBRARY from public to school administration are being deferred in both the state House of Representatives and Senate. Both Sen. Gil Kahele and Rep. Bob Herkes said they hope the library will remain open for the public and school students. Use It Or Lose It is the Friends of Ka`u Libraries’ campaign slogan. The organization is asking for the administration of both the schools and the library system to make hours more convenient for students and their families to go to the library and also to make it easier to check out books and other materials.

THE KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL COMMITTEE meets tonight at Pahala Community Center at 5 p.m. Anyone wanting to help with the ho`olaule`a on Saturday, May 12 is invited to attend. For more on the lead-up events with a dinner and Robert Cazimero at Kalaekilohana and the recipe contest at Ka`u Coffee Mill, see www.kaucoffeefestival.com.

PAHALA COMMUNITY CENTER’S Easter Egg Hunt & Fun Day happens tomorrow. Registration and activities begin at 3 p.m., and egg hunt starts at 4 p.m. Call 928-3102 or 929-9611.

KEAUHOU BIRD CONSERVATION CENTER Tour takes place Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Attendees see and learn about native birds that the facility houses, including the ‘alala (Hawaiian crow), which is extinct in the wild; the palila, a finch-billed honeycreeper found only on the slopes of Mauna Kea; the Maui parrotbill, an insectivorous Hawaiian honeycreeper; and the puaiohi, or small Kaua`i thrush. Cost is $20 for Friends members and $30 for non-members. Students are half-price. Call 985-7373 or visit www.fhvnp.org to register.

VISIT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.

Ka'u News Briefs April 2, 2012

Baby Hawksbill turtles are born along the Ka`u-Volcano Coast. Photo by Jay Robinson

PAHALA PUBLIC LIBRARY may not be turned over to Ka`u High School and Pahala Elementary School to use for other purposes. Members of the public are asking to keep the library open for both the community and the students. In a letter last week to the House Committee on Education, retired Hawai`i schoolteacher Lynn Hamilton, of Pahala, objected to testimony that “Pahala doesn’t need a public library,” that its materials and equipment could be turned over to other libraries and that the library system could focus on Na`alehu and Mt. View libraries.
       “This means that Pahala will not have a public library,” she wrote, pointing out the long distance from Pahala to Na`alehu. The Pahala Public & School library, which is adjacent to the high school campus and walking distance to all of Pahala’s residents, “is for the entire community,” wrote Hamilton. “We are a small town in a rural area, but this is our library for all the people.” She said Pahala Library has problems that could be solved. Students could check out more books if they could go there during and after school. The library is only open a few days a week from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. With students being in school next year to 3:15 p.m., the hours are incompatible with students using the library after school until the late bus takes them home. “Library hours don’t fit with many working people’s hours," she said. She also noted the value of the library in providing public and student access to the Internet and said that the Gates Foundation, in allocating funds to the library, “recognizes the need for rural areas to have computer access if they are to be able to compete in the 21st century. We want our children to have a library during school, after school, all summer, when they have graduated from school, and for a life of learning,” said Hamilton.
      On Friday, the House Education Committee recommended that the measure to turn the library over to the schools be deferred. See www.capitol.hawaii.gov.

President Obama spoke at the Conference on Conservation.

THE WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON CONSERVATION will be reported at the County Council’s environmental committee on Tuesday. Council member Brittany Smart attended the confab in March in Washington D.C. President Barack Obama gave the keynote address, noting that conservationists are a diverse group. “We’ve got hunters and fishermen; we’ve got farmers and ranchers; we’ve got conservationists and government leaders; we’ve got tribal leaders,” the President said. He commended them for “working hard every day” to make sure that America’s “incredible natural resources” are “here for my daughters and your children and hopefully their children to enjoy.” Obama quoted Aldo Leopold, who said conservation “is a positive exercise of skill and insight, not merely a negative exercise of abstinence and caution.” Obama said conservation can build an economy, as in preserving lands for hunting and fishing. He said the “outdoor economy” supports more than nine million jobs and brings in more than a trillion dollars nationwide each year. 

      For this Tuesday’s meeting, Smart said, she plans to include the subject of hunter access here on the Big Island.

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES arrived on schedule 92.8 percent of the time last year and earned second place in quality of performance among domestic airlines. Air Tran was first, followed by Hawaiian, JetBlue, Frontier, Alaska, Delta, Southwest, US Airways, SkyWest, American, Continental, United, Atlantic Southeast, Mesa and American Eagle. The analysis includes lost bags, delayed fights, getting bumped and consumer complaints, as well as arrival times. Authors of the report said that airlines are improving. See http://airlinequalityrating.com/reports/2012.aqr.pdf.

USGS graph shows a series of DI events, with deflation
indicated by downward tilt and inflation by upward tilt.

THE NUMBER OF VOLCANIC DEFLATION - INFLATION events at Kilauea has increased substantially, beginning with the summit eruption in 2008. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported in its latest Volcano Watch that during these DI events, sudden deflation lasts for one to three days, followed by equally sudden inflation that returns the tilt to pre-event levels. Prior to 2008, the number of DI’s averaged five to 10 per year. There were 47 in 2008, 64 in 2009, 68 in 2010 and 87 in 2011. Thus far in 2012, there were 37 DIs, “on pace to shatter the records from previous years,” the USGS scientists report. They explained: 

      “The 2008 increase in numbers of DI events corresponds to the start of the summit eruption, when gas emissions from the summit increased markedly (by about a factor of 4 to 5). As magma loses gas, it becomes denser and sinks, allowing less dense, gas-rich magma to rise toward the surface. This convection, similar to what can be seen in a boiling pot of soup, is common in magma chambers and can even be observed from circulation patterns within Kilauea’s summit eruptive vent. DI events might be an expression of such convection, with the deflation phase corresponding to sinking of dense magma, and inflation resulting from the rise of gas-rich magma.”
      DI events are often associated with changes in eruptive activity. During the deflation phase, lava effusion at Pu`u `O`o tends to decrease as the summit lava column lowers, while the inflation phase is accompanied by a rise in the summit lava column and sometimes a surge in lava from Pu`u `O`o.

Honu`ea, an art exhibit focusing on Hawksbill turtles,
invites entries in all media from all ages. Photo from VAC

AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS of all ages are invited to submit works of art for an exhibit at Volcano Art Center raising both awareness and funds for honu`ea, the critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtles. Entries are open to all ages, working in all media. Entry fee is $25 for up to two works for adults, and $5 per entry for youth under 18. Submit entries by mail on or before Fri, April 20 or at VAC’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Fri, April 20 or Sat, April 21. For a prospectus, entry forms and more information, visit www.volcanoartcenter.org.

VOLUNTEERS CAN HELP Hawai`i Wildlife Fund clean up an anchialine pond in Ka`u tomorrow. Sign up with Megan Lamson at 769-7629 or meg.hwf@gmail.com.

PAHALA COMMUNITY CENTER hosts an Easter Egg Hunt & Fun Day Wednesday. Registration and activities begin at 3 p.m., and egg hunt starts at 4 p.m. Call 928-3102 or 929-9611.

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