Ka`u News Briefs Aug. 26, 2012

Terrain around the Mars rover Opportunity created from 817 images taken by a panoramic camera. Scientists
 involved with the mission, including Dr. Ray Arvidson, come to Ka`u to study similar landscapes. Photo from NASA

Neil Armstrong trained in Hawai`i Volcanoes
National Park.

NEIL ARMSTRONG TRAINED AT HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK for his Apollo 11 mission, where he became the first human to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, calling it “one giant leap for mankind.” On their return to Earth, Armstrong and astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins landed in Hawaiian waters.

      Armstrong, who died yesterday at the age of 82, was one of many engineers and scientists who come to the park and Ka`u Desert to become familiar with unusual landscapes before spacecrafts journey to other planets. The local volcanic landscapes show similarities to moonscapes and terrains of other planets like Mars, where scientists discovered that most Martian lava is basalt, much like Hawaiian volcanoes.

Dr. Ray Arvidson, a Mars rover scientist, brings researchers
and students to Ka`u each year to study the landscape.

      Annually, Dr. Ray Arvidson, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University St. Louis, brings researchers and students to Ka`u, making Pahala Plantation House their base station and conducting research in the Ka`u Desert and national park.

Apollo 13 astronauts Fred Haise and Jim Lovell studied
the surface of volcanoes in Hawai`i Volcanoes National
Park.  Photo from NASA

      Arvidson was a leader in the Spirit rover mission on Mars. He currently works as mission deputy scientist for Opportunity, a Mars rover studying Martian soils and traveling far beyond its expected abilities. In its eighth year on Mars, Opportunity recently discovered minerals formed from water flowing out of volcanic rocks, the best evidence yet of liquid on the Red Planet. 

      While Opportunity lost its rover partner when Spirit quit communicating with Earth, Arvidson recently told the Associated Press, “We’re going on eight years, but we’re not done yet.”
      NASA’s newer and larger rover, Curiosity, recently traveled 352 million miles to land on Mars on Aug. 6. Along with Opportunity, it is sending amazing images and data.
      See NASA’s Curiosity mission link at http://www.nasa.gov/mis-sion_pages/msl/index.html and a You Tube video on Spirit and Opportunity at http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/24098.aspx.

THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES and Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust urge Hawai`i residents to report wildlife crimes, including illegal wild animal transport or abandonment. In January, HSUS set up a confidential, toll-free tip line for the Department of Land and Natural Resource’s Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement, 1-855-DLNR-TIP, to report information on wildlife crimes. Callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for these crimes.

Report illegal wild animal transport or abandonment at
1-855-DLNR-TIP. 

      In June, Gov. Neil Abercrombie enacted Senate Bill 3001; Act 144, sponsored by Sen. Gil Kahele and supported by HSUS, DLNR and others, to explicitly prohibit the possession, transport or release of wild deer. Under the new state law, first time violators face a misdemeanor charge with a mandatory fine of not less than $10,000 and payment of any costs incurred in the eradication of any deer and the deer’s progeny who has been possessed, transferred, transported, or released after transport, or by imprisonment of not more than one year, or both.
      Under the federal Lacey Act, violators can face either a misdemeanor charge with up to one year in jail and a $100,0000 fine or a felony charge with a maximum fine of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years, or both, and civil penalties of up to $10,000.
      Big Island residents are asked to report deer sightings at 443-4036.

The 3.9 quake is in blue in the ocean, between
underwater volcano Lo`ihi and Punalu`u.
Map from USGS

THREE EARTHQUAKES registered around Ka`u yesterday. The largest was a 3.9, out in the ocean between Punalu`u and the underwater volcano Lo`ihi. The quake struck about 11 miles east-southeast of Na`alehu and woke up some residents in the night at 2:55 a.m. The others were barely felt by anyone, a 2.0 at the same location as the larger one, and a 2.7 five miles northwest of Pahala. No damage reported.

THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS to install photovoltaic systems so far this year has already surpassed the total for 2011. Public Works Department has received almost 1,100 permit applications this year, compared to 972 for all of last year, reports Tom Callis in today’s Hawai`i Tribune Herald. Callis quotes director Warren Lee saying, “We expect a big surge at the end of the year for tax credits.”
      Callis reports that it is also taking longer for permits to be approved. Along with an electrical permit, Hawai`i County now requires a building permit to install solar electric and water heating systems.
      Lee says the county is working to improve the permitting process with an online tracking system as well as online submission of application available beginning next month.

VOLUNTEERS ARE INVITED to remove sediment from an anchialine pool on the Ka`u Coast Tuesday. Sign up with Megan Lamson at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park U.S. Mint quarter.

TUESDAY’S AFTER DARK IN THE PARK celebrates the release of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter. The program begins at 7 p.m. in Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. Two-dollar donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

CEREMONIAL RELEASE of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter takes place Wednesday from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the park’s Kahua Hula south of Kilauea Visitor Center on Crater Rim Drive. HFS Federal Credit Union will provide $10 rolls of the commemorative quarters for exchange. The event is free, and park entrance fees apply.

DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY meets with the public Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center to discuss Ocean View’s well and distribution of water. According to DWS, the meeting is in response to “increased reports of incorrect information in the community.”

Vision and other screenings come to Ka`u Saturday.

MOBILE OUTREACH HEALTH SCREENINGS are available in Ka`u this coming Saturday. WE … a Hui for Health brings its van to Ocean View farmers market from 8 a.m. to noon, then to Ka`u Resource & Distance Learning Center in Pahala from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Health screenings include retinal, lung function, glucose, blood pressure, take-home kidney function, women’s health, hepatitis and hearing. Counseling regarding learning disabilities, smoking cessation, family caregiving, organ donating and more is also available. The screenings are free and on a walk-in basis. For more, contact Annie at 808-282-2265 or annie@projectvisionhawaii.com. 

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Ka`u News Briefs Aug. 25, 2012

Hawai`i Youth ChalleNGe may have to find a new home if a prison is reinstated at Kulani between
Volcano and Hilo. Photo from Hawai`i Youth ChalleNGe Academy

REOPENING KULANI PRISON, which shut down in 2009, is under study by the state with Gov. Neil Abercrombie releasing $248,177 for environmental studies and planning on Friday. While the prison would hold only about 200 inmates and likely remain minimum security with vocational training, Kulani would be part of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative that would help bring back inmates sentenced by the Hawai`i justice system but imprisoned on the mainland. Advocates say the funding spent on housing inmates in mainland prisons would be better spent here with prisoners having a better chance of being rehabilitated in Hawai`i, closer to families and culturally appropriate social services.

The mentoring pyramid from Hawai`i
Youth ChalleNGe Academy

HAWAI`I YOUTH CHALLENGE ACADEMY may have to find a new place or share the 640-acre Kulani Prison site, should the prison reopen. Hawai`i Youth ChalleNGe Academy is run by the Hawai`i National Guard with help from volunteer mentors. The academy is an alternative school with the mission “to provide opportunities for at-risk, non-traditional students to learn life skills, to become productive, responsible and successful citizens while working toward their high school diplomas.” In addition to classroom learning, Youth ChalleNGe has helped students achieve such outside skills as lifeguard training and robotics. See more at ngycp.org/site/state/hi.

STATE CONSUMER ADVOCATE Jeffrey T. Ono has “questions and concerns regarding the reasonableness” of the proposed contract for `Aina Koa Pono to sell biodiesel at a fixed rate for 20 years to Hawai`i Electric Light Co. In his Division of Consumer Advocacy Preliminary Statement Position, Ono wrote to the PUC on Aug. 22, saying the Consumer Advocate will determine whether HELCO and `Aina Koa Pono have sufficiently addressed concerns raised by the PUC in its Decision and Order rejecting a similar HELCO/ `Aina Koa Pono biofuel contract in 2011, as well as issues put forth by the Commission on Aug. 9, 2012.

Consumer Advocate Jeffrey T. Ono

      Concerns of the PUC include tying up the cost of purchasing the biofuel for 20 years and the impact on other renewable energies. “As a result of these and other concerns, the Consumer Advocate is unable to presently state its position on the merits of the application and cannot offer its recommendation to the Commission regarding whether the application should be approved or denied,” Ono wrote. The Consumer advocate said he will soon issue information requests to further study the `Aina Koa Pono – HELCO proposal.
      Last year the Consumer Advocate took the position of opposing the intervention of consumer and environmental group Life of the Land into the proceeding. However, for this year’s proposal, Ono wrote to the PUC on Thursday, saying, “The Division of Consumer Advocacy, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (‘Consumer Advocate’) respectfully represents that the Consumer Advocate is not taking a position on the Life of the Land’s Motion to Intervene.”  The proposal involves using pasture and other lands between Na`alehu and Pahala to clear and plant biofuel crops and building a refinery off Wood Valley Road, above Pahala, providing 400 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs, according to `Aina Koa Pono.

KA`U DIRECTORY COVER CONTEST reception to view all the winners and greet the artists will be 9 a.m. to 11a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, with light refreshments at the CU Hawai`i credit union office in Na`alehu.
      The show will be open to the public beginning Oct. 1, Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Entries will be accepted on Friday, Sept. 28, from noon until 5 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 29, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Lorilee Lorenzo won third place in last year's Directory art contest. This
year's contest features a separate Keiki Division.

      Categories are Graphic, Sculpture, Wood, Photography and Craft, and all pieces must have been completed in the last 12 months. The fee is $5 for each artwork. “We request that all pieces be for sale for the usual price, Keiki exhibits excepted,” said Ka`u Chamber of Commerce president Dallas Decker.
      The Keiki Division is for children in grades one through six, one entry per keiki. Keiki categories are graphics and photos, no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, including frames, if any. The entry fee is $1, and these entries are not eligible for the cover of The Directory. Only the first 60 Keiki exhibits will be accepted.
      Each day during the showing, Oct. 1 - 6, the public may sign in and receive a ballot to vote for their favorite exhibit. The adult winner of the popular vote will be featured on the cover of the 2013 Ka`u Directory, with appropriate credit being given inside.
      The ballot, a numbered ticket, will also be entered into a drawing for door prizes to be held each hour, and the winner does not need to be present to win. Prizes are being donated by various Ka`u merchants.
      This year, a panel of local artists will judge all exhibits and award prizes in each category, including Best in Show. Each category will be rewarded with first, second, and third prizes and, if appropriate, as many as two honorable mentions. Ribbons will be given for each of the prizes, and all first-prize winners will appear in the 2013 Ka`u Directory.
      Entry forms will be made available at local schools and merchants and will be available at the door on Sept. 28 and 29. All entries must be picked up from the building by the artist between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6 or between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 8.
      To donate door prizes or to help with expenses, call Karen Ingraham at 929-8484.

John Cruz performs tonight.

AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH JOHN CRUZ is tonight. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus. For more, contact Dave Wallerstein at 967-822 or volcanoartcenter.org.

A GUIDED HIKE AT THE KAHUKU UNIT of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is set for tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The two-mile hike explores pastures, a quarry, an airstrip and the vast Kahuku lands, with a focus on the areas human history from the earliest Hawaiians through today. Participants meet at the visitor contact tent near the ranch buildings. Bring boots, rain gear, long pants, water and a snack.

SCIENCE SUNDAY AT HONU`APO PARK is tomorrow. Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo and Hawai`i Wildlife Fund host Science Sunday in the Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Marine ecologists from Hawai`i Wildlife Fund will join natural resource managers from `Imi Pono No Ka `Aina, The Nature Conservancy, Big Island Invasive Species Council and the Division of Aquatic Resources to present information about ocean species, watershed and water quality and Japanese tsunami debris. There will be hands-on activities for keiki, prize giveaways, and Hawaiian Civic Club of Ka`u will be providing free hot dogs.

IN ADVANCE OF THE U.S. MINT’S ceremonial release of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter on Wednesday, U.S. Mint representatives and coin enthusiasts discuss American currency and the new quarter Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. Two-dollar donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED to the U.S. Mint’s ceremonial release of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter on Wednesday from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. HFS Federal Credit Union will provide $10 rolls of the commemorative quarters for exchange. 

      The new quarter is part of the Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The coin features an engraved image of an eruption on Kilauea’s East Rift Zone on its reverse side and inscriptions that read Hawai`i Volcanoes, Hawaii 2012 and E Pluribus Unum. It was designed and sculpted by U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver Charles L. Vickers.
      The Hawai`i Volcanoes quarter is the fourth quarter to be launched in 2012 and the 14th in a series of 56 circulating America the Beautiful quarters. The reverse side designs are symbolic of a national park or other national site in each state, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories.
      All coins in the program have a common heads side featuring a portrait of George Washington and the inscriptions United States of America, Liberty, In God We Trust and Quarter Dollar.
      “This highly collectible quarter is a significant milestone for Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, for the residents of Hawai`i and for the Hawai`i Island destination,” said park superintendent Cindy Orlando. “Now everyone will carry a reminder of Hawai`i’s first World Heritage Site in their pocket.”
      County of Hawai`i Tourism specialist Stephanie Donoho will serve as master of ceremonies, and representatives from the U.S. Mint, the governor’s office and the state delegation will participate.
      The ceremony takes place at the park’s Kahua Hula south of Kilauea Visitor Center on Crater Rim Drive. The event is free, and park entrance fees apply.

GIRLS TROJAN VOLLEYBALL starts its season on Tuesday night with a home game at 6 p.m. against Waiakea.

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Ka`u News Briefs Aug. 24, 2012

The Directory, the annual publication of the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, has issued a call to artists for the 2013 edition.  Above,  a section of the 2012 winning art by Kathleen Kam, showing evolution of agriculture in Ka`u.
The original is at Ka`u Coffee Mill, open seven days a week. 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m, Wood Valley Rd.

PUBLIC HEARINGS will be held, but not in Ka`u, on the proposed 20-year, fixed rate contract for `Aina Koa Pono to sell biofuel to Hawai`i Electric Light Co. Big Island hearings are Monday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m., Hilo High School cafeteria and Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m., Kealakehe High School cafeteria in Kona. Another hearing will be scheduled for O`ahu.
      At the same time, public hearings will be held for HELCO’s proposal to increase electric rates 4.2 percent, independent from the proposed `Aina Koa Pono hike. HELCO asks the PUC to allow increases for all electric ratepayers on the Big Island and O`ahu – to average $1 per 600 kilowatt-hours of household use to pay for the `Aina Koa Pono biodiesel.
      The `Aina Koa Pono proposal involves land between Pahala and Na`alehu and a refinery at the mouth of Wood Valley that would provide 16 million gallons of biodiesel a year to truck to the HELCO refinery near Kona Airport. Another eight million gallons would be sold to a Georgia based fuel distributor, according to `Aina Koa Pono.

The `Aina Koa Pono test plant in North Carolina.
Photo from biofuels-solutions.com

      The refinery would be constructed just off Wood Valley Road along Meyer Camp Road, providing 200 permanent jobs and 400 construction jobs, according to `Aina Koa Pono. The complex would include a refinery and chimney, a processor to turn biomass into pellets before putting them through the refinery, parking lots for worker vehicles, trucks, loaders and other machinery, a mill yard to store the biomass brought to the property along with additives such as xeolite to be imported from off island, and diesel storage tanks to hold the biodiesel before trucking it out of Ka`u.
       The latest version of the Micro Dee (microwave deplymerization) refinery process, undergoing tests in North Carolina, would require about 790 gallons of water per hour, according to estimates by `Aina Koa Pono. The water would come from agricultural water sources nearby. For a 24/7 operation, this would amount to about 19,000 gallons a day or under seven million gallons of water a year.
      Most letters to the PUC since HELCO submitted the proposal on Aug. 1 have focused on the proposed fixed cost of the biofuel over 20 years and the question of whether it would suppress other renewable energies coming online.
      `Aina Koa Pono says it expects its biodiesel would eventually be less expensive than fossil fuel that HELCO uses in the power plant it owns near Kona Airport.

AN OPPONENT OF THE `AINA KOA PONO approach to producing biodiesel in Ka`u and raising electric rates to pay for it is state House of Representative member Denny Coffman. He chairs the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection and recently won the primary election to represent Honu`apo north through Kona. Coffman is an incumbent but his district changed after the 2010 census. It now includes a large section of Ka`u.

State Rep. Denny Coffman has issued a
statement on renewable energy. He is
running to represent Honu`apo
through Kona. Photo by William Neal

      Coffman recently wrote an editorial that states the following: “The state does not have an energy plan. We have an evolving energy strategy that is not complete and certainly not documented. Traditional planning for electricity is accomplished via an Integrated Resource Plan. Our Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative agreement actually put the IRP process on hold for the last four years. The IRP process is now in full development and it must include planning to replace oil-burning facilities with renewable energy resources or other lower cost fossil fuel options such as natural gas. Hawai`i needs a plan that reduces our cost of electricity.”

      Says Coffman, “the PUC should not approve any HECO, MECO or HELCO power purchase agreements or long term fuel supply agreements until after the completion of our IRP and any associate energy plans developed by the energy office. To approve any long term contracts prior to completing the IRP allows a for-profit company to control and dictate our energy plan. The only exception should be PUC approval of contracts that clearly reduce our use of crude oil and reduce the cost of electricity.”
      Coffman points to the `Aina Koa Pono project as “an example of a contract that must not be approved by the PUC until after we have completed the IRP process.” He says that based on HELCO’s recent press release on the proposal, “the cost for this fuel would be higher than today’s diesel fuel costs; a price based on low sulfur crude oil that is costing in excess of $135 per barrel. To cover the cost of this more expensive fuel, a new surcharge would be required for all HECO and HELCO customers.
      “The concept of creating local biofuels in and for Hawai`i is very much a state-wide objective I support. However, continuing to focus on long-term fuel contracts that only guarantee that our rates will increase is losing focus on what must be our real objective; stabilizing and lowering our electricity costs. 

Coffman says new refineries should join other ones at Campbell
Industrial  on O`ahu. Photo from Tesoro

      “Unfortunately, our Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative and Renewable Portfolio Standards directed the utility to transition to clean renewable energy. The agreement and law did not direct the utility to replace low sulfur fuel oils with lower cost resources. This opened the door to replace expensive oil based fuels with expensive biofuels. The 110 MW facility at Campbell Industrial Park on O`ahu uses expensive biofuel produced in Iowa and shipped to Hawai`i.
      “Hawai`i Island is already helping the HEI utility companies to reach its RPS goals with our large mix of renewable energy facilities. However, Hawai`i Island customers pay over 42 cents per KWH for our electricity. As it plays out, a majority of Hawai`i Island’s wind, hydroelectric and geothermal renewable energy is procured under long term contracts that compensate the independent power producer at the price of oil (avoided cost). They now want to increase our costs by adding expensive biofuels to the mix.”
      Coffman notes that “Some tell us that we should not get too upset about the `Aina Koa Pono contract. After all, the technology that they propose using is only at the demonstration phase and that building an oil refinery in Ka`u has many environmental challenges. It is a development project that will span many years and may never come to fruition. They also tell me that we only pay for the biofuel if and when it is delivered to HELCO. If their expensive biofuel plan does not work, what is the other option for the Keahole Power Plant; burning oil forever?”

    Coffman writes that, “Most biofuel analysts that I have talked with tell me that biofuels should be used for transportation. The process proposed to produce AKP’s fuel is a two-step process. First the biomass must be microwaved or cooked to produce an oil. Then the oil must be taken through a refinery distillation process to produce a fuel. I believe that all refinery type operations should be accomplished at the Campbell Industrial Park on O`ahu. We already have two refineries in operation there.

State Rep. Denny Coffman suggests HELCO should invest in creating a smarter grid
to handle photo voltaic and wind generated power rather than focus on expensive
biofuels. Only a portion of the energy produced by Tawhiri Power LLC's Pakini
Nui Wind Farm at South Point is currently purchased by HELCO.
Photo from btrplc on flickr.com

      “Over the twenty years of the AKP contract, the rate payers of Hawai`i will be paying for approximately half a billion dollars of infrastructure to enable the production of biofuel. Is this the best place to spend that kind of money or are there major electrical grid projects that would be more beneficial for Big Island's electric customers? What about a new smart grid to better accommodate wind and PV?

      “While I believe that biofuels will someday be part of our overall energy mix, this is what bothers me about the `Aina Koa Pono contract. HELCO should not be focused on a speculative biofuels project on Hawai`i Island. HELCO’s focus on Hawai`i Island should be two fold: Cost effectively replacing oil burning facilities with geothermal power plants and finding a way to renegotiate existing power purchase agreements to replace the avoided cost contracts. We can and must find a way to provide a profit margin for renewable energy independent power producers while lowering the cost of electricity,” concludes Coffman.

AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH JOHN CRUZ is tomorrow night; doors open at 6:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus. For more contact Dave Wallerstein, 967-822 or volcanoartcenter.org. 

Botanist Tim Tunison teaches backyard forest restoration.
Photo from Volcano Art Center

BACKYARD FOREST RESTORATION is taught by botanist Tim Tunison tomorrow at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tunison teaches step-by-step methods of returning backyards to native forests using Niaulani Rain Forest as a living, successful example. Donations of $10 or more are encouraged. Register at 967-8222 or programs@volcanoartcenter.org.

SCIENCE SUNDAY AT HONU`APO PARK is this Sunday, Aug. 26. Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo and Hawai`i Wildlife Fund are hosting Science Sunday in the Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Marine ecologists from Hawai`i Wildlife Fund will join natural resource managers from `Imi Pono No Ka `Aina, The Nature Conservancy, Big Island Invasive Species Council, and the Division of Aquatic Resources, to present information about ocean species, watershed and water quality, and Japanese tsunami debris. There will be hands-on activities for keiki, prize giveaways, and the Hawaiian Civic Club of Ka`u will be providing free hot dogs.

2011 winner of  The
Directory Cover Contest.

KA`U DIRECTORY COVER CONTEST and Ka`u Chamber of Commerce Art show are set for the CU Hawai`i credit union building in Na`alehu. Oct. 1-6.The theme is The Beauty of Ka`u. Five categories for entries are: Graphic, Sculpture, Wood, Photography and Craft. The fee is $5 per entry and no more than three entries may come from any artist, and no more than one entry per category. See more in tomorrow’s news briefs.

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