Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 28, 2013

Merle Becker and a donkey greeted USA Today writer and photographer Laura Bly to Aikane Plantation Coffee Co.
Photo by Laura Bly for USA Today. See www.usatoday.com

KA`U COFFEE INSPIRED A FULL PAGE STORY over the weekend in USA Today, the largest circulating newspaper in the country. USA Today claims to have more than 3.2 million readers.
      Reporting from Pahala, writer Laura Bly begins at Ka`u Coffee Mill, quoting a visiting Texas health food store owner Shelly Oerlemans saying she will “travel far and wide for a great cup of coffee. Her latest destination: the Ka'u (say "KAH-ooh") Coffee Mill, surrounded by rows of coffee and macadamia nut trees on the windswept slopes of the Big Island's Mauna Loa volcano.”
          Bly writes that “The brews dispensed here — which starry-eyed connoisseurs describe as ‘chocolate, cherry and coconut, accompanied by floral notes of orchid and citrus’ — are generating nearly as much buzz as their more famous cousins from the Kona coffee region, a two-hour drive to the northwest. And with price tags commanding $20 to $100 a pound, they're part of a percolating business that's luring Hawaiian vacationers way off the standard Mai Tai circuit.”
       The story quotes Ka`u Coffee Mill’s Brenda Iokepa Moses saying, "Most of our farmers are in a beautiful situation: They're selling out as soon as they produce their coffee." The story reports that Ka`u Coffee Mill “welcomes as many as 100 visitors a day to a tasting showroom that opened last March.”
       Bly reports that “This year marks the 200th anniversary of coffee cultivation in Hawai`i, and bright red "cherries" (dead ringers for cranberries) are grown and processed on each of the state's five major islands.

Flyn' Hawaiian Coffee van made 3.2 million circulation USA Today over the
 weekend with a photo by writer and photographer Laura Bly.
See www.usatoday.com

       “But the heart of Hawai`i's $31 million-a-year coffee industry is on the Big Island, where a combination of rich volcanic soil and ideal climate — sunny mornings and misty afternoons, with wet summers and cool, dry winters — has translated to ideal growing conditions," the USA Today story reports.
       In a section titled “Roots clear back to 'papa,'” USA Today describes another Ka`u Coffee farm.  She writes about a pair of donkeys, Madeline and Jasmine, who "constitute the official greeting party at `Aikane Plantation Coffee Company, one of about 50 small farms that are transforming the economic landscape in the Big Island's sparsely populated Ka'u region.
       “Though Ka'u's coffee industry took off when the area's sugar cane plantations folded nearly two decades ago, its roots go back much further — in Aikane Plantation's case, to co-owner Merle Becker's great-grandfather 'Papa' J.C. Searle. Today, Merle and her husband Phil combine cattle ranching with coffee growing from the same trees 'Papa' planted in 1894.
       “Visitors who manage to find the place — tucked off an old sugar cane road that connects the small towns of Na`alehu and Pahala — are welcomed with award-winning java, a taste of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts or peaberries (single, rare coffee beans prized for their taste) and a free tour of their 150-acre spread.
       Bly writes: “From picking to pulping, the business of coffee is clearly tough work — but one infused with passion."
      The story also mentions the Ka'u Coffee Festival, this coming April 27-May 5 and Kalaekilohana Bed & Breakfast Inn as one of the places to stay when visiting Ka`u Coffee country. The online photos include a shot of famous Ka`u Coffee farmer Lorie Obra and both online and print editions show the Flyn’ Hawaiian Coffee van in Na`alehu. See more at www.usatoday.com.

Lorie Obra at her award-winnning Ka`u Coffee farm is included in the
online USA Today photos by Laura Bly.

`AINA KOA PONO’S PROPOSAL before the Public Utilities Commission has received another round of comments and questions from Life of the Land. The community group was given an intervener status on Friday, which means it can become more involved in the court-like proceedings on whether to approve the proposal that would allow a 20-year contract between Hawaiian Electric Light Co. and Hawai`i Electric Co. for a fixed-price purchase of biofuel from `Aina Koa Pono.
      AKP plans to cut trees, shrubs and grasses between Pahala and Na`alehu to make pellets to feed into a microwave refinery it plans to build just off Wood Valley Road. The clearing would be followed by an effort to establish a biofuel farm on land that includes thousands of acres of cattle pasture. The contract would mean higher electric bills on O`ahu and the Big Island. The plan is to truck the diesel to the power plant in Kona.
      Life of the Land questions a HECO and HELCO statement that the AKP proposal is reasonable and in the public interest. “How is that possible?” asks Life of the Land.

    The organization also points to the utilities’ statement in justifying `Aina Koa Pono’s plan: “It is probable that it will be easier to achieve higher levels of renewable energy generation on islands other than O`ahu.”
      Stated Life of the Land, “That statement is certainly in HECO’s interest but is it reasonable and in the public interest in light of the U.S. Department of Energy report that the recoverable ocean wave energy off O`ahu can supply ten times the electricity consumed statewide?” Life of the Land pointed to another statement that O`ahu can produce almost 1,000 MW of photovoltaic; and University of Hawai`i scientsts’ assertion that O`ahu can have several 100 MW OTEC facilities.

The pastures on and around Makanau table top mountain would become part of the `Aina Koa Pono biofuel farm, which would truck
diesel from its refinery off Wood Valley Road up Hwy 11 to the HELCO power plant. Photo by Julia Neal

      The brief filed by Life of the Land pointed to the acreage that biofuel farms would need to generate enough fuel for electricity. It said that using `Aina Koa Pono’s projection of how much biofuel could be produced per acre, over 65 percent of the agricultural land on O`ahu would be needed to supply that island’s energy needs.
       Life of the Land asked about the potential of other energy sources. “Does HECO/HELCO dispute the estimates of the potential renewable energy available on O`ahu for photovoltaic?”
      “Does HECO/HELCO dispute the estimates of the potential renewable energy available on O`ahu for wave?”
      “Does HECO/HELCO dispute the estimates of the potential renewable energy available on O`ahu for OTEC?” Life of the Land asked HECO/HELCO to “Please provide all documentation that O`ahu lacks sufficient renewable energy resources to provide all of its renewable energy needs.”
      HECO/HELCO responded: “The Companies have no documentation that, with certainty, either supports or refutes that ‘O`ahu lacks sufficient renewable energy resources to provide all of its renewable energy needs.”
      Regarding the 20-year, fixed-price contract that AKP and the utilities desire, Life of the Land pointed to a statement by the utilities that they “had discussions with AKP regarding the possibility of shortening the term of the 20-year AKP Biodiesel Supply Contract. However, AKP’s financiers indicated that the project could not be financed for a term shorter than 20 years.”

A sovereignty flag flies over Kawa when Abel
Simeona Lui visits. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

Life of the Land asked for a “list of all financers HECO/HELCO met with re AKP. Please provide all documentation that HECO reviewed as part of its due diligence analysis regarding this statement and asked “Is this response based on your discussion with AKP financers?”

   Regarding the biofuel farm that AKP plans to develop, after cutting trees, shrubs and grasses to process in its refineries, Life of the Land asked, “Is the existing acreage bare or vegetated? What soil additives will be needed? What pesticides and in what quantities will be used? What fertilizers and in what quantities will be used? Haw any crop testing involved genetically-engineered crops?”  See more on the PUC discussion at www.puc.hawaii.gov, under the `Aina Koa Pono docket.

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK on Tuesday will feature Hawaiian Volcano Observatory chief technical support specialist Kevan Kamibayashi who will explain installation and operation of monitoring sensors. He will describe the way signals are sent to the observatory from remote locales. The presentation will be in Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park at 7 p.m. Two-dollar donations appreciated and park entrance fees apply.

THE FUTURE OF KAWA is the subject of a public meeting to be held by Hawai`i County and the state Department of Land & Natural Resources this Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. County representatives have been meeting with local families to help plan the management of the more than 700 coastal acres recently acquired by the county through state and federal funding to protect estuaries and through county property taxes. 

   Kawa is the main surfing beach for Ka`u and a place for shore fishing and hiking. It has been the subject of a land dispute in which Abel Simeona Lui claimed ownership through his family lineage and Native Hawaiian sovereignty rights over the property where he lived for some 20 years, but lost his claims in court. He said he will attend the meeting and his flag can be seen flying over the property when he visits Kawa.

Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 27, 2013

More than 300 young people up to 14 years of age participated in `O Ka`u Kakou's annual Keiki Fishing Tournament at Punalu`u yesterday. Photo from Fred & Mary Ramsdell

GAME ANIMALS COULD BE CONSERVED and managed by the state if a proposal by East Ka`u state Rep. Richard Onishi goes into effect. The proposal, House Bill 104, calls for an amendment to Article XI of the Hawai`i State Constitution to include game animals on state lands as resources to be managed and conserved by the State.

      The Nature Conservancy submitted testimony against the proposal stating, “While we agree that game animal resources need to be wisely managed, both for their benefits and the risks they pose, we don’t believe a state constitutional amendment is necessary or warranted to achieve this goal…. Certainly, reasoned discussion and planning is important to determine where and how to manage game animals, including significant areas for both enhanced game animal production for public use and enjoyment, as well as game animal removal for native species, habitat, watershed, public health, private property, and agricultural protection. However, there is no shortage of game animals throughout the islands, no chance whatsoever that they could be eliminated from the state – nor should they be – and no risk that hunting opportunities will disappear from vast tracts of state and private lands.”

The Nature Conservancy testified against a state constitutional
amendment that would include game animals on state lands as
resources to be managed and conserved by the state.
Photo from yourdiscovery.com

     Should the bill start gaining traction at the Legislature, The Nature Conservancy recommends that any constitutional or statutory change “must clearly state both the benefits (food, recreation, etc.) and the risks (native species and habitat loss, watershed damage, public and private property loss, disease) from game animals, and that some of these benefits and risks need to be weighed differently in different geographies on the islands.”
      Another testifier, Ann Kobsa, wrote that “passage of this bill would be a disaster for native Hawaiian ecosystems! I work very hard to try to reduce the pig population in the area of my farm, and I am next to State Forest Reserve so I hope my efforts make a difference there. I removed 18 pigs from this forest in 2012. I watch as patch by patch the destructive pigs convert native forest to weeds. Even though I am a subsistence farmer and hunter, living entirely off my land, I value native ecosystems over free, easy game animals, which are not free at all but come at a great cost to nature.
    “The axis deer especially must be eradicated, and all introduced ungulates should be eliminated or reduced on all the state lands where native plants and animals remain, to maximize the chances that native species will survive,” she wrote.

`O Ka`u Kakou provided food for all at yesterday's Keiki Fishing
Tournament at Punalu`u. Photo from Fred & Mary Ramsdell

      The bill would add “game animals” to language in the state constitution that says, “For the benefit of present and future generations, the State and its political subdivisions shall conserve and protect Hawai`i’s natural beauty and all natural resources including land, water, air, minerals and energy sources, and shall promote the development and utilization of these resources in a manner consistent with their conservation and in furtherance of the self-sufficiency of the State.” The words “game animals” would be inserted in the list of protected natural resources between “water” and “air.”

GIVING AGRICULTURAL ENTITIES A BREAK on electric bills is one of the goals of East Ka`u state Rep. Richard Onishi. He introduced House Bill 1449 last week, and it passed first reading. It would establish a pilot program to determine whether preferential electricity rates for agricultural activities would better aid in the sustainable perpetuation of local agriculture in Hawai`i.

FUNDING FOR COFFEE BERRY BORER research, House Bill 353, was co-introduced by Onishi and Coffman to fight the pest that is plaguing the Hawaiian coffee industry.

FUNDING FOR FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA and 4-H programs through the Department of Education and University of Hawai`i College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources was introduced by Onishi as House Bill 486. The bill says that “the Legislature finds that supporting local agriculture is a strategic public investment that will build community resilience and strengthen the productive base of the economy. The current lack of young farmers and ranchers with the experience, skills, and ambition to undertake the rigorous and complex work of farming and ranching as a business poses a significant hurdle to revitalizing local agriculture. To address this problem the Legislature finds that rebuilding existing programs that educate, support and encourage youth for agriculture careers, specifically Future Farmers of America and 4-H programs, is a timely and efficient means of achieving community resilience and sustainability.” The bill passed first reading and will be heard by the Agriculture and Finance Committees. 

MORE THAN 800 VOLUNTEERS gathered data from the shores of Punalu`u and South Point at Ka Lae and on selected places on O`ahu, Kaua`i, and Hawai`i Island during Saturday’s annual Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count.

Yesterday's Sanctuary Ocean Count was the first of three opportunities to
volunteer this year. Future dates are Feb. 23 and March 30.
Photo by Barbara LaCorte/NOAA

      The count is a yearly shore-based census that provides snapshot data on humpback whales. Participants tally humpback whale sightings and document the animals’ surface behavior during the survey. Volunteers collected data from 59 sites statewide. A total of 267 whales were seen during one of the 15-minute time slots from 11:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m, the most of any time period throughout the day’s count (57 sites reported data). Weather conditions and sea states were ideal for viewing humpback whales, but vog made seeing whales at a distance difficult. Preliminary data detailing whale sightings by site location is available at: http://www.sanctuaryoceancount.org/resources/
     While no whales were seen this morning at Punalu`u, as many as five were spotted at Ka Lae during a number of the counting periods that repeated every 15 minutes between 8 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.
      Two more Sanctuary Ocean Counts are scheduled to take place on Saturdays, Feb. 23 and March 30. For more information on becoming a Sanctuary Ocean Count volunteer, visit sanctuaryoceancount.org or hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov or call 1-888-55-WHALE ext. 253.
      The sanctuary, which is administered by a partnership of National Oceanic Administration Agency’s Office, National Marine Sanctuaries and the State of Hawai`i through the 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.

Youngsters practice their skills at the keiki fishing pond.
Photo from Fred & Mary Ramsdell

MORE THAN 800 PEOPLE GATHERED around the tidepools, ponds and nearshore waters during low tide yesterday at Punalu`u, with more than 300 young people up to 14 years of age joining in a fishing contest. The community group `O Ka`u Kakou provided the barbless fishing hooks and bamboo poles. More than 600 small fish were pulled from the water, placed in buckets to be measured and thrown back in the water, according to OKK member Fred Ramsdell. Fishing gear and other prizes were given to every participant. Free food for all included shave ice, hot dogs, chips, fruits and vegetables. This was the fifth annual Keiki Fishing Tournament to draw a large group to the estuaries and tidepools at Punalu`u for the contest. Ramsdell said there was “great participation from the community for setting up and taking down the event facilities.”

Wayne Kawachi, at left, and Guy Enriques, with microphone, hand out
prizes at `O Ka`u Kakou's annual Keiki Fishing Tournament at
Punalu`u yesterday. Photo from Fred & Mary Ramsdell

      Educational displays from the state Department of Land & Natural Resources taught participants about legal and illegal fishing practices, providing many handouts on the rules. Mothers Against Drunk Drivers also had a booth. The crowd brought canned food for the food bank, and Keoki Kahumoku emceed and entertained.

AT TUESDAY’S AFTER DARK IN THE PARK program, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s chief technical support specialist Kevan Kamibayashi explains the installation and operation of HVO’s various monitoring sensors and how their signals are sent back to the observatory from remote locations. The free program at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park begins at 7 p.m. $2 donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

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

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

Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 26, 2013

A bill introduced by Rep. Denny Coffman focuses on beach access and protection from encroachement.

BUDDY SOARES, the father of Ka`u rancher Kyle Soares, is honored with state and U.S. flags flying at half-mast throughout Hawai`i today. In addition to a career with Pan American and Aloha Airlines, Amfac, Hawaiian Electric and University of Hawai`i, Wilfred Clinton “Buddy” Soares won election to the state House of Representatives in 1966 and joined the state Senate in 1975, serving through 1986. A Republican, he was known for his feisty style and humor, handed down to his son, who speaks on Ka`u issues at many public meetings. Soares was 83 when he passed away late last year. Services are today on O`ahu.
      Gov. Neil Abercrombie, in ordering the flags to be flown at half-mast, said, “Buddy Soares was what every legislator should aspire to be – knowledgeable, open to all, a friend to everyone, a master of relationships, and able to close on any contentious issue leaving everyone content that they were treated fairly. It was a genuine pleasure to serve with Buddy. Just seeing him put a smile on your face. If aloha can be said to describe anyone, that person was Buddy Soares.”

Rep. Denny Coffman

BEACH ACCESS & PROTECTION FROM ENCROACHMENT is the focus of one of West Ka`u state Rep. Denny Coffman’s bills introduced to the 2013 Hawai`i State Legislature. Coffman’s House Bill 17 would require maintenance of public beach access by adjacent landowners and imposes penalties for noncompliance. It would establish shoreline access as an objective of the coastal zone management program. It would require the state Department of Land & Natural Resources to provide written notice to affected property owners. The bill was heard yesterday at the state Capitol by the Committee on Water & Land. It passed the committee unanimously. 

      One testifier called the measure “a valuable tool to protect the public’s right to beach access. He said his own neighborhood experienced homeowners decreasing the size of the beach by introducing plantings in the sand. “We have also found, in some cases, that the plantings cause beach erosion similar to seawalls.”
      Other testimony came from James E. Coon, a member of Ke Kahu O Na Kumu Wai, the Marine and Coastal Zone Advocacy Council. “Establishing public access to the shoreline is one of the important objectives of the Coastal Zone Management Program,” wrote Coons.
      Another testifier focused on the intrusion onto public beaches by private landowners. “Pristine, world class sandy beaches are now lush, private, vegetative oases. This measure can provide the tools needed to stop the premature loss of highly valued public trust lands, the beach,” wrote Caren Diamond. She pointed to irrigation and fertilizer being used to establish “thick unnatural strands of vegetation on the beach.”

SOBER UP BEFORE BEING RELEASED is the plan for people arrested for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol and illegal drugs. House Bill 66, introduced by West Ka`u state Rep. Denny Coffman, would clarify the imposition of conditions to ensure that persons arrested for DUI are sober prior to being released from custody. The bill passed first reading on Jan. 17 and has been referred to the Judiciary Committee.

REPEALING THE PUBLIC LAND DEVELOPMENT CORP. LAW is a Coffman bill. Coffman said he made a mistake earlier, voting for the legislation that gives private developers the opportunity to use state-owned land without the oversight of the county. House Bill 1133 would repeal it, and it passed first reading.

A bill by Rep. Denny Coffman would make feed-in-tariff systems more
available. Image from thinkprogress.org

SUPPORT FOR LOCALLY GENERATED ELECTRICITY and more efficient use of energy by consumers drives a Coffman bill that would make the feed-in-tariff system more available to independent energy producers. The bill would incentivize “a class of, or classes of, eligible customer-generators who generate electricity and upon meeting utility requirements are compensated at current Public Utility Commission established tariff rates for electricity fed back to the electric grid.” 

      The legislation says that increased use of renewable sources to generate electricity “would increase Hawai`i’s energy self-sufficiency and achieve broad societal benefits, including increased energy security, diminished vulnerability to oil price increase, enhanced sustainability, economic development and job creation.” It says, however that the “current net-metering system does not encourage energy efficient behaviors and does not incorporate recovery for costs for transmission and distribution infrastructure, grid reliability and other costs that are typically included in usage rates.” In addition to more net metering, the bill seeks to encourage people to use “solar or heat pump hot water, energy star appliances, lower power consumption in lighting and other energy efficient behaviors.”

FOOD SAFETY is another Coffman bill. House Bill 279 would establish a Food Safety Task Force within the Department of Agriculture to study and recommend methods to prepare for compliance with the federal Food Safety Modernization Act and food safety management practices within the state. On Jan. 22, the bill passed first reading and has been referred to the Agriculture and Finance Committees.

A MONEY BILL for drought mitigation has also been introduced by Coffman. House Bill 281 passed first reading and was sent to the Agriculture, Water & Land and Finance Committees of the state House of Representatives. The bill says, “The legislature finds that a viable agriculture industry requires a steady, reliable supply of water. However, drought conditions continue to adversely affect Hawai`i’s farms and ranches, hampering the state’s ability to produce quality products on a consistent bases throughout the year.” The justification for the bill says that drought committees were formed at the county level and that funding for the drought mitigation projects would be provided to the local government in each county.

Rep. Denny Coffman is seeking funding for coffee berry
borer research.

COFFEE BERRY BORER research would be funded under another Coffman Bill that would underwrite a program at the Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center to develop methods for the prevention and treatment of coffee berry borer infestation. Grants in aid would come from the state agriculture development and food security special fund.

VIDEOCONFERENCING to allow Ka`u and other rural communities to testify via video camera is supported by Coffman, who introduced Bill 358. It would require both chambers of the Legislature to implement rules to permit residents to present testimony through audiovisual technology. It would provide funding to establish audiovisual systems throughout the state.

KA`U HOSPITAL would benefit from another Coffman bill. House Bill 417 would provide $2.8 million to the Hawai`i Health Systems Corporation to implement and sustain its primary care training program at the Hilo Medical Center. This program is expected to also provide physicians in Ka`u. The bill passed first reading and was sent to the Health and Finance Committees.

HELPING THE HOMELESS GO HOME is a bill introduced by Coffman. House Bill 533 would establish a return-to-home program to assist eligible homeless individuals to return to their home states when there is a support network able to receive them and care for them. The bill would help finance the logistics and transportation.

STOP SMOKING, LIVE HEALTHY is a message imbedded in a Coffman bill in the state House of Representatives. House Bill 540 requires the state employer-union health benefits trust fund to require all the health plans to give a break on co-payments to those employees and retirees who do not smoke. It also considers deductions for other risk lowering behavior.

Possible geothermal sites, in red stripes, include hot spots near South
Point and between Pahala and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park
in the Ka`u Desert.

HAWAI`I ELECTRIC LIGHT CO. has filed a proposed final Geothermal Request for Proposals with the Public Utilities Commission. The company is seeking approval to issue the 50-megawatt Geothermal RFP and begin the bidding process for potential geothermal resource developers.
      “This is a significant next step toward adding more renewable energy and lowering costs for our customers,” said HELCO president Jay Ignacio. “As an important part of the process, we must ensure any project thoroughly addresses environmental and cultural concerns from our community.”
      In a statement, HELCO said it is seeking to add up to 50 megawatts of geothermal power at prices not tied to the cost of oil “to help lower electricity costs for customers. The added power must also blend operationally with other resources, including renewable energy from wind, solar, biomass and hydro.”
      The Geothermal RFP pursues technologies that provide renewable, dispatchable energy and firm capacity, to allow the utility to schedule and control output from the geothermal plant. “This will support HELCO’s integration of intermittent renewable resources such as wind or solar while maintaining reliable service for Hawai`i Island customers,” the statement says.
      Once a final RFP is approved by the PUC and opened to bids, bidders have 60 days to respond. HELCO expects to make a selection 120 days after bids are due.
      Additional information, including the complete proposed schedule, may be found at geothermalrfp.helcohi.com.

TOMORROW IS A SIZZLIN’ SUNDAY at Kilauea Military Camp in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Bowling is $1 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Crater Rim Café has specials from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. with short ribs and lu`au-style ono for $13.50 or teri chicken meal deal for $8.95 including dessert and beverage. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. 

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

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