Ka`u News Briefs Oct. 27, 2012

The recent Ka`u Plantation Days is an example of a geotourism event that combines agritourism and cultural tourism. The event was planned by and for residents of the district and celebrates a sense of place and the multicultural background of the residents.
Geotourism was discussed this week in Volcano, Pahala and Kohala. Photo by Julia Neal

HUNTING AXIS DEER IS NOW ALLOWED, with the Board of Land and Natural Resources eliminating the need for a special permit. Previously, hunting deer on Hawai`i Island required a special permit because axis deer are not identified as a game mammal on Hawai`i Island.
      Yesterday’s vote by the BLNR removes that permitting requirement and allows hunters to control deer on public lands without restrictions for season or bag limit. All other hunting rules, such as hunting only during daylight hours and the requirement of a valid hunting license, remain in effect. Hunting on private lands requires written permission of the landowner.

Grazing axis deer damage agricultural crops. Photo from DLNR

      Under the declaration, BLNR chairperson William Aila, Jr. identified axis deer as being harmful to agriculture, native plants, and wildlife on the island of Hawai`i, as well as constituting a threat to public safety. On Maui and Moloka`i, where axis deer may already be taken without regard to season or bag limit on public lands, axis deer have caused severe damage to local agriculture and forest resources, and have increased erosion and sedimentation that contributes to damage of coral reefs and nearshore fisheries.
      Under the declaration issued by Aila, licensed hunters are encouraged to assist in the effort to protect Hawai`i Island’s natural resources and farms by harvesting any deer encountered in public hunting areas on Hawai`i Island.
      In accordance with the department’s hunting regulations, there are no restrictions on the days or seasons that deer may be hunted on the Big Island and no limits on the numbers that may be taken. The declaration is required by rule to be term-limited and will last for a period of five years, through Oct. 25, 2017.
      To report a suspected sighting of axis deer on the Big Island, call 443-4036.

Sen. Malama Solomon

SEN. MALAMA SOLOMON URGES all interested Hawai`i Island residents to attend next week’s public hearings on proposed Hawai`i Electric Light Co. rate increases. Meetings are scheduled at Hilo High School Cafeteria on Monday and Kealakehe High School on Tuesday. Both begin at 6 p.m. At issue is one proposal to raise electric rates 4.2 percent. The other would increase residential electric bills across the Big Island and O`ahu by approximately $1 per 600 kilowatt-hours for the proposed contract between `Aina Koa Pono and HELCO and could lead to construction of a refinery along Wood Valley Road above Pahala. 

      Solomon says she will present her petition at Kalakehe and that it is signed by more than 1,000 people against the proposed rate increase. Her report says she “sees this expression of public opposition as a clear mandate to demand the Governor and Public Utilities Commission (and State Consumer Protector) deny HELCO’s proposed rate increase, especially given recent significant profits reported by both HELCO and its parent company, Hawaiian Electric Light Co. HECO reported $29.4 million in income for the second quarter of 2012 – about 70 percent more profit than it earned in the same quarter in 2011."
      Solomon also urges the governor to rescind Executive Agreements between the state of Hawai`i, the U.S. Department of Energy and HECO that were put in place in 2008. Solomon says, “These agreements effectively relinquished the state of Hawai`i’s control of its energy policy to HECO and thereby enabled HECO to function as an unregulated monopoly focused on profits for its stockholders rather than stable, lowest-possible-cost electricity for the families and business of Hawai`i. These agreements sanctioned HECO as a state-supported energy monopoly and enabled passing on to ratepayers all costs for HECO’s expansion and diversification away from fossil fuels.”
      Petition signers and the senator ask the governor, PUC and Consumer Protector to demand that the public utility shoulder costs for timely transition away from fossil fuels and not place the burden of this transition on the consumer. Solomon says she will ask the PUC to adopt as a matter of public policy a requirement that the utility provider “must swiftly make the transition from fossil fuels to ‘stable, lower cost electricity’ – not just ‘renewable alternative fuels’ – to relieve constituents of high and continually escalating rates.”

World Heritage Sites around the globe include Hawai`i Volcanoes
National Park. See whc.unesco.org. Map from UNESCO

MAINTAINING A SENSE OF PLACE is one of the principles of geotourism, explained by Jonathan Tourtellot, founder of the

National Geographic Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations. He met with groups in Volcano, Kohala Coast and Pahala this week, describing geotourism as an “economic approach for maximizing beneficial tourism and good destination stewardship.” 

      The longtime National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler editor defined geotourism as “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place – its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.”
      Tourtellot said the goal of geotourism is “to help preserve, protect, and educate in ways that support the natural and cultural distinctiveness of appealing places and the well-being of the people who live there.”
      He said places in Hawai`i that fit this description include the old sugar towns that have unique architecture and multicultural communities that many visitors enjoy.

Jonathan Tourtellot

      Geotourism can combine such niches as ecotourism and agritourism. “By featuring the destination as a whole, a geotourism strategy can strengthen the case for responsible, beneficial tourism by embracing all tourism assets uniquely distinctive to the locale. Thus allied, advocates for those assets can form a constituency of stewardship. Together they have enough political and economic clout to challenge local threats to the place’s natural and cultural resources while building a unique marketing case for their destination,” he said.
      Tourtellot made presentations and held discussions with visitor industry representatives who talked about ways to keep the unique qualities of their own Big Island destinations. He pointed to places around the world that are considered treasures in the visitor industry, drawing tourists who avoid the “sameness” of some resort developments that could be anywhere in the world and often spread across villages and landscapes once tourism becomes successful.
      Realizing what brings visitors to a destination in the first place is one of the first steps in protecting the prize. It can help the community to create a stewardship and planned enhancements to sustain visitation for generations and economic success for the local residents, he explained.
      Tourtellot also discussed the advantages of becoming one of the World Heritage Sites, which are treasured by many travelers across the globe. Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is one of 21 World Heritage Site in the United States. The sites are monitored by UNESCO.
      The visit was sponsored by Big Island Visitors Bureau and celebrates the 25th anniversary of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park as a World Heritage site.
      See geotourism.org, travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/sustainable/, and whc.unesco.org/en/list.

Ella Louis; illustrator Kay Yokoyama; Marion Villanueva, wife of the late
Gus Villanueva; and Dorothy Kalua at the reception for the new book
Aloha `Aina: Big Island Memories. Photo by Julia Neal

STORIES ABOUT KA`U AND SUGAR DAYS are featured in the new book, Aloha `Aina: Big Island Memories, released this week at East Hawai`i Cultural Center. The stories of retired Ka`u Hospital nurse Eleanora Jerusalem Louis and the late paniolo Edwin “Gus” Garcia Villanueva, who was raised in a sugar camp, were honored at the event.
      Louis grew up in what was called Hospital Camp in Pahala. Her dad worked as an LPN. Louis recalls that during plantation days, “Day and night, the cane trucks would go up and down the road from the cane fields to the mill to dump their load. A whistle would blow timely as the crew changed shifts at 6:30 a.m., 12:00 noon and 3:00 p.m. Noon was to let the men know it was lunch time The community set their clocks by the whistle.”
      Louis writes about the flume, recalling that it carried cane to the mill. “One waterway ran alongside our home, across the main street and down a tunnel into the mill. We kids would ‘dam’ the water with rocks that rolled down with the water so we could swim and play in it. We had to watch out, too, that we never got splinters into our backsides as we slid along the bottom of the flume. Sometimes we rode the cane over the main street and jumped off by swinging on the vines that hung from a mango tree that grew tall near the flume. This was dangerous too, because if the load came down swiftly, we could get bad hurt. We always had a kid as a “lookout” in case cane or watchman came along the route. The flume men later took out the rocks so they wouldn’t plug up the waterway.”
      Villanueva tells the story of living in a Puerto Rican Camp and also enjoying the flume. “One day, some of my friends and I went to the top of the flume and took off our clothes then jumped into the flume on top of sugar bundles going to the mill. We timed our ride and jumped off before the mill, only to discover the luna (the boss) on his white horse. He was Portuguese. I believe his name was Cabral. He took us back to the avocado tree to get our clothes and marched us home naked to our parents who were not too happy. We got a dirty licking.”
      The 288-page Aloha `Aina: Big Island Memories can be purchased through East Hawai`i Cultural Center. Call 961-5711 or email arts@ehcc.org. It is also available at amazon.com.

TUESDAY IS THE LAST DAY to request Absentee Mail Ballots for the General Election. Walk-in voting continues through next Saturday, Nov. 3 at Aupuni Center Conference Room in Hilo, West Hawai`i Civic Center’s Community Room in Kona and Waimea Community Center on Kawaihae Road. Registered voters with photo ID can go to any of these absentee voting polling places. Any questions can be directed to Hawai`i County Elections Office at 961-8277. 

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS NOW OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

Ka`u News Briefs Oct. 26, 2012

Ka`u photographer Peter Anderson captured images of Kilauea Volcano's activity at Halema`uma`u Crater last night.

Light from molten lava lights up the sky.
Photo by Peter Anderson

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY scientists report that the lava level at Halema`uma`u Crater continues to rise. The most recent lava level measurement was made yesterday at the top of a rise/fall event when the lava lake surface was about 89 feet below the floor of the crater. The best viewing site is Jaggar Museum, and observers say the lava may top the vent and pour onto the floor of the larger Halema`uma`u Crater. Photos and webcams at hvo.wr.usgs.gov/activity/kilaueastatus.php show dramatic images of the current activity. 

KAWA WILL BE GUARDED with limited access to the public for about 30 days, following removal yesterday of Abel Simeona Lui, Moses Heanu, Katrina Morgan and several campers, the county reports.
      This morning, retired police officer Bill Door and an active duty police officer from Kona were standing guard. They said that police and police reserve will rotate through Kawa, providing coverage 24 hours a day.

County workers create a road for access to structures at Kawa.
Image from bigislandvideonews.com

      The county is conducting an archaeological and cultural management study, and, according to Lau, there are more than 60 burials – iwi kupuna - and a heiau. He said the county is working with lineal descendents of families who lived in Kawa in generations past to learn the history and plan for its future management. In addition to graves, Lau said, there are more than 100 archaeological and cultural sites at Kawa that will be documented and protected as part of the county plan. He said the county has found that the families with Kawa history want to share the culture in a way that sites will be protected.
      “We ask the people to be very patient with us as the archaeological survey is done,” said Lau. “We want to open up Kawa to the public as soon as we can…. We are not here to keep the public out.”
      Lau said the goal is not to block recreational use of the area, “whether people visit Kawa to surf, ulua fish, or just to come and enjoy the beautiful scenery or look at the green sea turtles…We will get it open as quickly as we can, but it will have some parameters and guidelines.”

County workers disassemble a structure at Kawa to be held
in storage at Na`alehu Police Station.
Image from bigislandvideonews.com

      During the eviction yesterday, Hui Malama Ola Na `Oiwi, a native Hawaiian health care agency, offered help to find housing and other assistance, but the service was turned down, Lau said.
      “The police did a great job in being firm but being very respectful to the situation,” said Lau.
      Sheriffs presented Lui and his companions with a writ of execution yesterday just before 7 a.m. and gave them two hours to gather up their belongings and leave Lui’s house and other structures on the property.
      Lau said Lui’s house, fencing and other structures at Kawa will be dismantled and along with other belongings will be placed in a container in a storage area at the Ka`u Police Station, where owners can pick them up within the next month. Yesterday, the county started filling potholes with dirt and gravel to make it easier for county trucks to reach Lui’s dwelling and other structures to dismantle them.
      Lui told Hawaii Tribune-Herald reporter Erin Miller “Nothing has changed. Ka`u was never conquered. This is my ancestral land. The land belongs to God. God gave the land to the chiefs, to the people to malama.” He told the reporter, “I really don’t know what to do. I will go back to the land.” The story also reports him asking why the county removed him after four years of negotiations, conversations and court actions. “What is the rush that they come and cause this?”

A surf meet was scheduled at Kawa in November. Photo by Julia Neal

      Lui has lived on the property for more than 20 years, at one time with his late wife and two children. He has gone to court numerous times in the face of numerous eviction notices, unsuccessfully claiming title to the land. Four separate owners attempted to evict him. The last is the county, which bought the land with county, state and federal funding to preserve estuaries and archaeological sites in the face of earlier private plans to sell it off.
      Before the county bought the land, one section of the Kawa property, which had been purchased by a hui led by former Ka`u Realtor Marcia Johnson, was the subject of two-page advertising spreads in real estate magazines urging investors to buy the last available bay in Ka`u.
      Kawa is also the most popular surf spot in Ka`u, and Lui has regularly hosted surf meets there. The next meet, promoted by flyers posted around Ka`u, was set for Friday, Nov. 23 and Saturday, Nov. 24. Called Lokahi O Kawa`a, it is posted as a Barrel Riding, Aircatching and Bodysurfing Shootout with men’s and women’s divisions. Entry fee was posted as $10.

      See more at hawaiitribune-herald.com and bigislandvideonews.com.

SUPPORT FOR `AINA KOA PONO’S proposed diesel refinery in Ka`u and contract with Hawai`i Electric Light Co. has been submitted to the state Public Utilities Commission by parties involved with the enterprise. O`ahu resident and retired radiologist Grover J. Liese, MD is a member of the board of advisors for Sennet Capital, a Hawai`i merchant bank led by `Aina Koa Pono chairman Kenton Eldridge. On its website, Sennet Capital lists `Aina Koa Pono as one of its Transactions.

James Cuddihy Image from the
Louisiana-based Sugar Journal

      Liese lists the following as reasons he sees `Aina Koa Pono’s project as a “public benefit. 1) This new industry is a major step in the quest to diminish Hawai`i’s dependence on imported oil. 2) The process can be tailored to each of our islands. There will be no need for inter-island energy transmission lines. 3) It keeps Hawaiian money in Hawai`i. 4) It will create new jobs in a new industry. 5) It supports and expands the agricultural industry. 6) It meets Hawai`i’s Clean Energy objectives. I request support for `Aina Koa Pono’s Application with HELCO as outlined above,” Liese says.

      James A. Cuddihy, Jr., a former superintendent for the sugar plantation in Pahala who lives in Louisiana and has worked in the oil industry, writes, “`Aina Koa Pono is an opportunity, using private funds, to inject life into a depressed area. If successful, the venture will spread to the other islands. It is an almost perfect synergistic industry because it is sustainable, produces a marketable and valuable product with almost no pollution (zero discharge). It would initially take invasive plants and remove them from the ecosystem. It would replace them with a productive, sustainable crop on lands which had been used for sugar cane for close to 100 years— no environmental, ecological or cultural change.
      “It would not only supply jobs directly (agriculture, trucking and industrial), but it also creates jobs associated with production (industrial, equipment parts and service community). Economically, for every dollar spent in production, six dollars of revenue are generated within the community. The direct permanent employment of 200, generating $22 million, will generate another $132 million in direct revenue within the state. This does not include additional revenue generated through the purchase of equipment, parts.”
      Cuddihy has worked as a consultant for `Aina Koa Pono and given presentations at public meetings in Ka`u. He says, “At the meetings I have attended, there is a vocal minority who give culture, esthetics, natural disasters, pollution, fear of new technology, dislike for change and the unwillingness to pay for a way of living as reasons for not continuing the project. Anyone can find fault with any venture, particularly new technology. Perhaps there should be a requirement for those expressing a negative viewpoint, they have to supply an alternative solution. There may be alternative solutions in the future but `Aina Koa Pono is ready today.”

Attorney Ron Self grows olives and other trees and food crops in Wood
Valley. He opposes the refinery.

OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED `AINA KOA PONO DIESEL REFINERY has been submitted to the state Public Utilities Commission by attorney Ron Self, who farms property around his home in Wood Valley. “Clearly, the small number of people, companies, and government interests behind and benefiting from this enterprise believe that the people of Hawai`i are so unsophisticated that all they have to do is use good words to cover-up their bad intentions. These few rich and politically powerful interests have converged to try to take extra money out of Hawai`i residents for the foreseeable future, 20 years, at least, and control and manipulate energy markets in this state for the same period of time….

      “When you break down the proposed project, the facts show that AKP will burn biomass, then refine it, with an old outdated technology in the field of bio-energy. We don’t know what physical dangers will come from such an operation because no Environmental Impact Statement has been done…. 

      “AKP has stated that it will produce and sell 16 millions gallons of bio-diesel a year to Hawai`i Electric Light Co. and another eight million gallons of biodiesel to Mansfield Oil. How are they going to do that on 12,000 acres of Olson and Mallick land in Ka`u, when the standard yields of biomass per acre per year is between 50 and 150 gallons per acre-per year. That will only be 600,000 to 1.8 million gallons a year on 12,000 acres. Where does the other biomass come from? Is AKP planning to haul a massive amount of trash to Ka`u for stock? Where are the disclosures and truth? If so, then Ka`u is in the wrong place to put the diesel refinery. It should be put where the trash is, not a hundred miles away from the sources.”
      Self also addresses the proposed contract between AKP and HELCO that would raise electric bills. “We need electric rates to go down, not up to create an economic advantage. Allowing such a system will crush all hope for alternate energy systems in Hawai`i, and continue the monopoly of energy in Hawai`i held by the HECO Companies. As a farmer who lives within a half mile of the proposed site, that grows koa, ohia, sandalwood, coffee, and olives, I am completely opposed to the whole concept being proposed to harm the treasure of Ka`u and take over $200 million from the pockets of the residents of Hawai`i to build this monstrosity. Don’t allow the people to be the guarantor of this boondoggle so that AKP can get financing for it. The Gods of Hawai`i weep for Ka`u at this proposal.”
      See all the testimony, pro and con, submitted at www.puc.hawaii.gov. Click on the `Aina Koa Pono link under What’s New and on documents.

PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE `AINA KOA PONO CASE before the Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission are next week – Monday, Oct. 29 at Hilo High School cafeteria and Tuesday, Oct. 30 at Kealakehe High School cafeteria, both at 6 p.m. No hearings are scheduled for Ka`u, where `Aina Koa Pono plans to build a refinery near Wood Valley Road.
      According to company officials, `Aina Koa Pono would install some 27 Micro Dee microwave units, each 10 by 15 by 30 feet, to process pellets made from shrubs, trees and grasses harvested between Pahala and Na`alehu. The pellets would be microwaved and sent up a stack, with various grades of diesels manufactured. Sixteen million gallons of the biodiesel would be trucked up Hwy 11 to HELCO’s oil-burning power plant near Kona Airport annually. An additional eight million gallons of diesel would be manufactured per year to sell for transportation through a Georgia-based fuel broker. Hawai`i Electric Light Co. proposes a 20-year contract to purchase the diesel from `Aina Koa Pono at an undisclosed price.

      `Aina Koa Pono plans to install the first module of its refinery independent of Public Utilities Commission approval. According to a statement from the company, the one unit will be able to process 33 tons of biomass per day and one million gallons of biofuel per year and will be for transportation fuel only. The fuel will be shipped by truck, likely one a week, to Hilo.

AUTHOR TOM PEEK debuts his first novel, Daughters of Fire, at Volcano Art Center Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at VAC’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Peek says the book “invites the reader on a journey into the deeper beauty and hidden turmoil of Hawai`i.” For more information, visit daughtersoffire.com and volcanoartcenter.org, or call 967-8222.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS NOW OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

Ka`u News Briefs Oct. 25, 2012

County dump trucks and other county and police vehicles along with an ambulance were stationed along Hwy 11 in front of Kawa
 today, as Abel Simeona Lui and others were evicted from the property in preparation of an archaeological survey.
Photos by Geneveve Fyvie

THE KAWA ARCHEAOLOGICAL SURVEY, organized by Hawai`i County, is set to begin soon as the county takes down unpermitted dwellings and limits public access. Numerous county officials, police and an ambulance were stationed along Hwy 11 this morning as several people were escorted off the property, with at least one woman taken away in a police car.

Lui was escorted from Kawa by Hawai`i
County police this morning.

      Among residents asked to leave was Abel Simeona Lui, who has lived at Kawa for more than 20 years and has claimed ownership through family history. However, courts have turned down his claims to the land numerous times. Lui also claims rights to the property through Hawaiian sovereignty.
      According to a press release from the Office of the Mayor, “Kawa, a 784-acre area that came into the stewardship of the County of Hawai`i through the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation program, is a special place that is home to endangered species and contains many cultural resources, historically significant sites, and burials. It is the County’s kuleana, or responsibility as steward of Kawa to protect and preserve this `aina and these special sites.”
      A site visit to Kawa by the state Historic Preservation Division in September of 2012, “confirmed the presence of a large burial complex, numerous smaller burial sites and hundreds of archeological features. Burial and historical sites are afforded protection under law,” the press release states.
      The county statement says that “after many months of listening, learning and developing a greater understanding of the many special sites at Kawa, the time has come for the County of Hawai`i to move forward in fulfilling its role. In order to provide responsible stewardship of Kawa, the County will be conducting an archaeological survey of cultural, historic and burial features on the property.

Lui spoke with ambulance personnel before leaving Kawa.

      “Access to Kawa will be limited while this archaeological survey is conducted. This limited access will be enforced by the Hawai`i County Police Department.
      “Social service agencies will assist anyone staying at Kawa with securing other living arrangements. Any structure on the property will be disassembled by workers from the county’s Department of Public Works.
      “Once the archaeological survey is complete, a management plan will be implemented to protect the cultural, historical and burial features of Kawa while allowing public access to learn about and enjoy this wahi pana, this special place,” the county statement says.

Lui drove himself away from Kawa, unaccompanied, toward Na`alehu. 

      Prior to the disassembling of structures, Hawai`i County Police were seen speaking with Lui and escorting him to a waiting ambulance at the main entrance to Kawa. After more discussion, a paramedic then escorted Lui across Hwy 11 to his car, which had been packed with his personal items, apparently with help from friends. Lui asked to retrieve his chicken and dog and police allowed a member of the public to retrieve them from his house site. Police escorted him to his car and Lui drove away, unaccompanied, toward Na`alehu.
      Once all members of the public were escorted from the Kawa property, County workers proceeded to build a barrier to limit access to the public during the “operation.” Archaeologists will commence with the survey once the property is safe and secure, according to county officials.

Representative image from ainakoapono.com

MORE `AINA KOA PONO TESTIMONY is going to the state Public Utilities Commission. Pahala homeowner and attorney Teresa Tico writes that the proposal for Hawai`i Electric Light Co. to purchase diesel from `Aina Koa Pono at a cost that would increase electric bills “is inconsistent with the public interest.” She points to the utility's profits soaring in the past year and notes that parent company Hawai`i Electric Industries’ CEO Connie Lau is “the highest paid CEO in the State of Hawai`i, higher than Bank of Hawai`i’s CEO. According to Forbes, her combined compensation for 2012 is $5.29 million dollars.
      “In light of the soaring profits to HEI and the unprecedented compensation package it pays its CEO, we must ask ourselves why we tax payers are paying the highest energy rates in the United States and why HEI isn’t footing the bill for the biofuel project.”

Teresa Tico

      She points out that Mayor Billy Kenoi “has gone on record stating that 'We need affordable alternative energy.' HELCO’s proposal is not affordable nor is it reasonable and necessary. It places the burden of an alternative energy that may not be good for the environment, on the ratepayers who can’t afford it, and returns the guaranteed profit to the corporation that is already enjoying soaring profits. `Aina Koa Pono’s goal is apparently to secure a contract with HELCO (and HECO, and HEI) in order to bolster its chances of financing a refinery that would ultimately be used for transportation fuel. This hui should not be allowed to use the customers of the electric company as its security for financing.”
      Tico also writes that approval could set a bad precedent. “The `Aina Koa proposal is to make fuel for one power plant but will result in hiking electric bills for people across the board, even for those not served by the Keahole power plant. How would the PUC handle similar proposals for biofuel contracts for other power plants –contract that would also raise rates across the board to finance them? How could the PUC protect the ratepayer if it sets this precedent.” She asks the PUC to deny the `Aina Koa Pono application.
      See Aina Koa Pono’s presentation at ainakoapono.com and the microwave depolymerization refinery presentation at the company website for Sustainable Biofuel Solutions at biofuels-solutions.com. See more testimony and the `Aina Koa Pono proposal at puc.hawaii.gov.

Chevron tang (pictured) is one of the ten most popular
tropical fish collected in West Hawai`i waters for aquariums,
according to DLNR.
Photo from animal-world.com

EARTHJUSTICE, THE CONSERVATION COUNCIL, THE CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY and the Humane Society of the United States filed suit yesterday in state court.
      They were joined by Willie and Kaimi Kaupiko, of Miloli`i, and other individuals. The suit contends that the state Department of Land & Natural Resources should have refrained from issuing aquarium fish collecting permits until environmental studies were completed. The suit points to the Hawai`i Environmental Policy Act, saying the DLNR should have examined impacts of fish and invertebrate collection permits under HEPA, particularly since the agency stated as early as 1998 that “studies to characterize the effects of removal of reef fish on the coral reef ecosystem are necessary if this activity is to continue.”
      Those filing the suit say they hope the court will suspend aquarium fish collecting until a study can be conducted. The complaint says that aquarium collecting on the west side of Hawai`i has increased more than 800 percent over the last 30 years and that “aquarium collectors had significant effects on the populations of seven of the ten aquarium collection fish species examined.”

Axis deer hunting could be allowed on
the Big Island.
Photo from eliteoutfitter.com

FIVE YEARS OF AXIS DEER hunting on the Big Island may be allowed by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources, no licensing, no bag limit. The issue comes up at this Friday’s Board of Land & Natural Resources meeting. DLNR estimates there are only about 100 of the illegally introduced axis deer here. They were shipped in by air/and or boat by people trying to improve hunting on the Big Island. Such activity, however, is a felony.
      The Big Island Invasive Species Committee sends out hunters five days a week and have come up with three deer so far. Anyone seeing the deer can call 443-4036.

WOLD HERITAGE ANNIVERSARY ROUNDTABLE today from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fairmont Orchid to celebrate Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s 25th year as a World Heritage Site and the 40th anniversary of the international World Heritage Convention. Admission and parking is free. RSVP online at eventbrite.com, or contact Jessica Ferracane at 985-6018 or jessica_ferracane@nps.gov.

GOURD WORKSHOPS WITH JELENA CLAY are offered Saturday, Oct. 27, at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. Fees apply. For more, call 967-8222.

KA`OHANA O HONU`APO IS POSTPONING its free family music event, Kanikapila 2, that was scheduled for this Sunday, Oct. 28, at Honu`apo Park, according to the organization's executive director Lehua Lopez-Mau. “This event will be re-scheduled for early next year.”

PAU HANA WITH RICHARD ONISHI, a talk story meet and greet session is held at the Pahala Community Center on Sunday, Oct. 28, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. For more visit friendsforrichardonishi.com.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS NOW OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. 

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.