Ka`u News Briefs, April 18, 2013

Teachers overwhelmingly ratified a new contract with the state yesterday, bringing higher pay and more health benefits.
Photo from HSTA

THE UNION FOR HAWAI`I PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS voted to ratify a contract with the state of Hawai`i. The HSTA website reports that “After more than two years working without a contract, 95 percent of teachers statewide voted in favor of the tentative agreement presented by the State and the HSTA on March 24th.” The union reports that 70 percent of HSTA members participated in the vote.
      “Our goal from the start was to establish a fair and equitable contract that offers professional pay and improves working conditions to attract the best and the brightest into the classrooms in order to enhance student learning and produce real results,” said Wil Okabe, HSTA president.
      The HSTA states that after a tentative agreement was established, the HSTA conducted an aggressive outreach campaign to educate teachers about the proposed contract, providing electronic and hard copies of the agreement via e-mail, the HSTA Web site and in schools, engaging in forums on the HSTA Facebook page, and conducting informational briefings.

Ka`u teachers will not only receive more pay, they will be able to use a new venue
for sports, presentations, concerts and other activities at the new gymnasium in
 Pahala now under construction. Photo by Julia Neal

      The new contract will take effect July 1 - in time for the next school year. Teachers will see the equivalent of a 3 percent pay increase above the restored 5 percent cut in July 2012. In subsequent years, teachers will see increases of 3 percent and 3.2 percent, and health insurance premium percentages will also be restored. “These benefits will help to create better working conditions to stabilize the teacher workforce. Under the new contract, the State plans to establish a fair and thorough evaluation system in order to improve teaching practices and enhance learning environments for our students. Teachers will be represented during the decision process to establish the educator evaluation system. The State is committed to providing the necessary support to ensure the success of the evaluation system,” states the HSTA.
      Its leader added: “Through sign waving, e-mails, letters, and phone calls, HSTA members have shown unwavering commitment to education, putting pressure on the State to settle the contract in the best interests of the teachers and their students. With the support of our members, the HSTA plans to move forward by collaborating with all stakeholders to transform public education in Hawai`i.” 

County Council member Brenda Ford.

PROJECT UNIT DEVELOPMENTS should be taken out of the county code by the County Council, according to the opinion of County Council member Brenda Ford. PUD's are often used by developers who purchase agriculture lands to make some lots smaller than the 20-acres for which they are zoned. Along the Ka`u Coast, plans have included making small oceanfront lots and leaving large parcels mauka. Other plans have included making small lots for specialty farm estates and leaving unbuildable and unfarmable hillsides and gulches in large parcels.

          Ford called PUD's “a developers’ dream.” She said PUD's are being used “as mega variances and almost always, in my opinion, the variances are usually detrimental to the community surrounding the development. They are skewed in favor of the developers, who walk away with millions of dollars in profit without putting in sufficient and appropriate infrastructure. The end result is that at some point in the future, the taxpayers have to pay for the infrastructure.” 

         Ford also said that “developers love ag land because it is cheaper than land already zoned residential and with the variances, like PUD's, can change the use from agriculture to residential.             

        “PUD's, when misused, cause tremendous controversy in the community and may result in expensive lawsuits where the county must defend the decision of the Planning Director. These lawsuits can result in years of delay in the court system and ultimately, if appropriate infrastructure is left out, the taxpayers will ultimately pay the bill for the infrastructure that is needed. 

      “When ag land is sold in five or ten acres for millions of dollars, a real farmer cannot afford to buy that land. They will never be able to make a profit off of it, even if it’s coffee or other specialty market crops.”
      Legislation before the County Council that would require council approval of PUD's, Bill 291, will come up before the council planning committee on July 9. A separate measure that would retain the authority with the Planning Director but require an additional public hearing will also be considered. 

This coastal Ka`u land, owned by EWM Enterprises,was previously planned for
subdivision into estates but is now slated for preservation acquisition.
Photo from Hawai`i Pacific Brokers

      Ford said she objects to any planning director having the power to approve or disapprove PUD's. She said there is no requirement for the Planning Director to have a Masters Degree in Planning or other appropriate education and experience. The Planning Director is an appointee of the mayor. She noted that she is not singling out the current Planning Director but considering the overall process.
      “Massive piles of public testimony can be disregarded by a planning director” who is not accountable to the public since the planning director is not elected, Ford said.
      Ford talked about the current effort in the County Council to require PUD's to be approved by the County Council rather than the Planning Director. The problem with the council’s effort, she noted, is that the County Charter, which takes precedent over council decisions, allows the Planning Director to approve variances, including PUD's. She said the council’s effort could be stopped by the county attorney and that the mayor would probably veto it.
      She said the council, however, could vote to end the use of PUD's until a better code is written. “I would like PUD's yanked out of the code because they are continually abused. They are a developer’s dream. Developers are laughing all the way to the bank,” said Ford. 

Sen. Mazie Hirono hopes to ease visa requirements for visiting foreigners.

CANADIAN SNOWBIRDS will be able to stay longer in Hawai`i without renewing visas, under Sen. Mazie Hirono intiatives included in a bi-partisan immigration reform package being pushed in congress. 

      According to a release from Hirono’s office, including a story from Civil Beat, “The provision is a relatively minor portion of the historic and sweeping bill that provides a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. Still Hirono’s office said it would make it easier for tourists to visit the state.”


      Hirono's staff said she will “further try to amend the immigration package to increase the length of visas for Chinese visitors from one to five years.
 Under what’s in the immigration bill, Canadian citizens older than 50 years old who own or rent accommodations in the U.S. would be able to stay 240 days under their tourist visas. They can now only stay 180 days,” the Civil Beat story reports. Gang of Eight member Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, who helped write the immigration bill, said, “Senator Hirono has been a leader in pushing smart foreign visitor visa reforms that create jobs and encourage foreign tourism,” the story says. 

MORE VISITORS TO THE NEIGHBOR ISLANDS is the goal of the Hawai`i Tourism Authority, whose vice president of brand management gave a talk on the Big Island this week. David Uchiyama’s organization reported that the number of tourists reached nearly eight million in 2012 and they spent $14.3 billion. He said that opportunities abound for the Neighbor Islands as visitors desire “new expericences, ones with more substance and authenticity than what they’ve seen or done before.” 

Hawai`i Tourism Authority promotes more visitation
of Neighbor Islands for such natural and cultural sites as
Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
Photo from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park

      He said the Tourism Authority also works toward more airlines coming here and the return of regular direct flights from Japan to Kona. He pointed to many new links between Hawai`i and domestic and foreign cities through Hawaiian Airlines. He also pointed to the cruise ship industry barriers, and talked about the possibility of applying for the cruise ships to gain a waiver for having to use the more expensive low sulfur fuel required in Hawaiian waters. Other benefits being sought by the cruise ship industry include making it easier to get permits and pay fees, allowing gambling in Hawaiian waters, building a passenger terminal in Kona and developing a master schedule to lessen crowding and to help improve passenger experience on shore.      

National Library Week brings hula, poetry and
much more to tomorrow's celebration at
Pahala Library. Photo by Julia Neal

PAHALA LIBRARY offers a book sale today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a celebration of 50 years of service tomorrow during National Library Week. The theme for this year’s National Library Week is “Communities Matter at Your Library.”
      Beginning at 10:30 a.m. and continuing throughout Friday are performances by hula halau and students of Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary School. Hawaiian Civic Club of Ka`u offers craft demonstrations. At 1 p.m., an airbrush artist offers temporary tattoos.
      At 2 p.m., students of Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary who entered and won the Haiku Poetry writing contest read their poems and receive prizes. Winners of contests running this week are announced.
     Funds raised help support both Pahala Public & School Library and Na`alehu Public Library with programs and materials. Donations can be dropped off at both libraries.
      Pahala P&S Library is open three days a week - Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Plans are in the works to open the library five days a week with longer hours.
      “Continue to support Pahala Public & School Library by using it often,” said Debbie Wong Yuen. For more information, call 928-2015.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ATPAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM ANDKAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

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

Ka`u News Briefs, April 17, 2013

Kilauea Iki trail and crater will be explored in the Kilauea Iki hike with Charlene Meyers on April 23, during National Park Week.
Photo by Michael Szoenyi, National Park Service

GRADING OF THE NEW SITE for the Ka`u Gymnasium and Disaster Shelter has begun with excavators working and truckloads of dirt and rocks leaving the site, some of it donated to local businesses and homeowners. Among the local contractors hired to help out are Taylor Built Construction, Inc.

Design of the Ka`u Gym & Disaster Shelter

     The gym and shelter, which could cost up to $20 million when equipped is expected to be completed within 18 months. The location is between the tennis courts and the cafeteria of the Pahala school campus. The complex will be operated by county Department of Parks & Recreation.

A NEW CEO FOR BAY CLINIC, INC. was announced today by its board. Harold Wallace, Jr., MPH, is the new Chief Executive Officer of East Hawai`i’s federally qualified health center.
      A statement from Bay Clinic’s Board Chair Tanya Aynessazian says, “Harold Wallace is an experienced health care professional with significant experience in federally-funded community health centers, physician group management and hospital operations. As the number of uninsured and underinsured patients increase amid a backdrop of changes with the Affordable Care Act, Harold’s leadership comes when our role in health care goes beyond being a safety net – we are essential health care providers in the communities we serve. Harold’s commitment to community health has been demonstrated through his service for over two decades, and we are happy to have his expertise in Hawaii at this time.”

Bay Clinic's new CEO Harold Wallace oversees construction of
 the new facility in Na`alehu along Hwy 11.

      Wallace has served as Bay Clinic’s Interim Chief Executive Officer since June 2012, in which time, according to the statement, “he has strengthened the fiscal operations of the organization and spearheaded two major capital projects, including the new Ka`u Family Health Center on Hwy 11 in Na`alehu.
      The other is the Pahoa Family Health Center renovation project. Both locations will provide expanded access to primary medical and behavioral health care, as well as establish an on-site dental care unit at each location.
      Prior to his appointment as Bay Clinic’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, Wallace was the Chief Executive Officer at Total Health Center, a federal qualified community health center in Texas. As Vice President of Ambulatory Services for the Schneider Regional Medical Center in the US Virgin Islands, Wallace was instrumental in redesigning the outpatient delivery model for physical specialty clinics and in establishing telemedicine services to increase medical access through virtual office services in Rheumatology, Dermatology, Pulmonology and pre/post evaluations for cardiac surgery patients. Wallace also gained experience as the Chief Operations Officer at the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, a comprehensive community health center with eleven locations, almost 200 employees and an annual budget of $16 million.
       “With all the current developments, we will continue to grow by actively recruiting providers like our new pediatrician that will be starting at our Pahoa health center in May and implementing technologies like a web-based patient portal to meet the diverse health care needs of our patients,” said Wallace.
      Bay Clinic, Inc. is a federally qualified community health center and 501(c)(3) organization with a 2013 budget of $17 million, and over 160 employees in ten locations in Hilo, Kea`au Ka`u and Pahoa. With over 18,000 patients served in 2012. Learn more about Bay Clinic, Inc. at www.bayclinic.org.

HAWAI`I COUNTY HAS SUBMITTED questions to the state Department of Business and Economic Development regarding the proposed contract being considered by the Public Utilities Commission for `Aina Koa Pono to grow feedstock and refine biofuel in Ka`u and sell it to Hawaiian Electric Co. and Hawai`i Electric Light Co.

     Hawai`i County asks for more information about DBEDT’s testimony that “the Contract can provide a type of hedge – a financial hedge by reducing ratepayers’ exposure to price volatility, and a physical hedge because the locally produced biodiesel reduces ratepayers’ exposure to man-made, natural, or other disturbances that can affect the supply chain of Hawai`i’s imported fuels.” 

Richard Lim, Director of DBEDT

     Hawai`i County asks DBEDT to “describe the type of man-made, natural or other disturbance that can affect the supply chain of Hawai`i’s imported fuels. In the event of such a disturbance, please describe the probability that such an event would also disrupt a supply chain of locally sourced fuels. In the event of such an event that would affect the supply chain of Hawai`i’s imported fuels, what would be the similar effect on supply chains for other imported goods that are perhaps even more important to the survival and well-being of Hawai`i’s citizens – specifically, food or medical supplies?
     “If high, fixed long-term prices benefit consumers by providing a hedge against price volatility, then does DBEDT believe the same logic should be applied to all commodities that are considered important or essential to the well-being of Hawai`i’s citizens and businesses, and to protect against disturbances to import supply chains?
     “Would DBEDT propose public policy to uniformly eliminate price volatility by fixing prices of essential items (say, food and medical supplies) at the highest possible levels conceivable under forecast conditions?
     “Would DBEDT support such a policy if (for example) it also “jump- started” additional on-islands food production? If so, would such production have to be on each island, as a catastrophe (for example, tsunami) that wipes out import supply chains is likely to also wipe out harbors for inter-island commerce? If so, would DBEDT support extending such a “food security” and “food price stabilization” policy to food items not currently produced extensively or at all on the islands (wheat, corn, stone fruits, apples, almonds, poultry, etc.)?”
     DBEDT director Richard C. Lim is one of the founding partners of Sennet Capital, which lists the `Aina Koa Pono project as one of its “transactions.” See www.sennetcapital.com.
     Hawai`i County’s and other parties’ information requests in the Public Utilities case are available at puc.hawaii.gov. Responses to the questions are due Friday, May 10.

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK invites everyone to join special hikes and programs offered at the park during National Park Week, April 20 – 28. Entrance fees are waived next Monday through Friday, April 22 – 26.
This year’s theme, “Did You Know,” provides a fun way to get to know the park. For example, did you know that Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is 520 square miles, nearly as large as the entire island of O`ahu (597 square miles)?
     For the special, free programs during National Park Week, participants should wear sturdy hiking shoes and long pants and bring a hat, raingear, day pack, snacks and water. 

Park Ranger Adrian Boone will lead a special trek to the Pu`uloa Petroblyphs during
National Park Week on April 25. Photo by Jay Robinson of National Park Service

     Volunteer ranger Charlene Meyers leads the Kilauea Iki Crater Hike, an invigorating four-mile, three-hour hike through the rain forest and onto the crater floor of Kilauea Iki on Tuesday, April 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. She discusses how the 1959 eruption forever changed this landscape.
 Participants meet at Kilauea Iki Overlook Parking lot on Crater Rim Drive.
     Amazing Mauna Ulu Hike on Wednesday, April 24 at 11 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. explores volcanic features like fissures and lava trees that were formed during the 1969-74 Mauna Ulu eruption. Volunteer ranger Noel Eberz leads the one-mile, one-hour round-trip hikes and highlights the process of plant survival on this harsh lava landscape.
 Participants meet at the Mauna Ulu parking lot, four miles down Chain of Craters Road
     On the Pu`uloa Petroglyphs Hike Thursday, April 25 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., park ranger Adrian Boone guides a two-hour, 1.5-mile round-trip trek across ancient lava flows to the largest petroglyph field in Hawai`i. Participants discover the meanings inherent in these rock carvings and gather a greater understanding of the native people who created them.
 Meet at Pu`uloa Petroglyphs parking area, near the end of Chain of Craters Road (a 45-minute drive from the park entrance).

     National Park Service Volunteer Day is Saturday, April 27. From 9 a.m. to noon, hikers help save Hawai`i’s native rainforest when they join forces with volunteers Jane and Paul Field to remove Himalayan ginger, faya, strawberry guava and other invasive non-native plants that threaten the native understory alongside Halema`uma`u Trail. Tools are provided. Meet at Kilauea Visitor Center.

     There are also regularly scheduled programs in the park and at the Kahuku Unit, during National Park Week. For a complete listing, see nps.gov/havo. In addition, Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park has special programs during National Park Week. See fhvnp.org. 

Ka`u Coffee Growers Co-op and MIss Ka`u Coffee contenders, in the recent Merrie
Monarch Parade, get ready for their Friday, April 26 pageant. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL is gearing up with the return of farmers, roasters and marketers from an annual international convention where Ka`u coffee won awards placing in top ten in the world. More than a week of Ka`u Coffee Festival events begins with the Miss Ka`u Coffee Pageant on Friday, April 26 at Ka`u Coffee Mill. With $10 tickets. The Simply Elegant 2nd Annual Ka`u Farmers Table takes place at Kalaekilohana on Saturday, April 27 – reservations required. Triple C. Recipe Contest on Sunday, April 28 is at Ka`u Coffee Mill beginning at 2 p.m. Register to compete.
     The Ka`u Mountain Water System Hike is Wednesday, May 1 starting at the coffee mill. Coffee & Cattle Day with lunch offers a tour of `Aikane Plantation Coffee Farm on Friday, May 3. Reservations required. Also on Friday, May 3 is Ka`u Star Gazing at Makanau Mountain. Reservations required.
     The Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaulea on Saturday, May 4 includes a day of free music, hula, Ka`u Coffee tasting, educational displays with vendors of coffee food and artwork at Pahala Community Center. Ka`u Coffee College is a day of education on Sunday, May 5 from 9 a.m. at Pahala Community Center. See more at  www.kaucoffeefest.com

IN SPORTS, KA`U HIGH’S Trojan Girls Softball team lost 5-14 against the Waiakea Worriors yesterday at Pahala ballfield. Ka`u Trojans racked up six hits. Cierra Kaopua scored a home run in the fourth inning.

Ka`u News Briefs April 16, 2013

Ka`u crew representing Ka`u Coffee and Ka`u as a visitor destination at Boston Convention Center over the weekend:
Ka`u Coffee Mill founder Ed Olson, coffee farmer Sammie Stanbro, Ka`u Coffee Mill general manager John Cross,
chief roaster Kalikoweo Keolanui-Daniele, harvest manager Lou Daniele, The Ka`u Calendar publisher Julia Neal and interns
William Neal and Lee Neal. Front and center is multiple SCAA coffee competition top 10 winner Bull Kailiawa.

KA`U COFFEE GROWERS, ROASTERS and marketers returned victoriously from Boston last night and today with two awards, showing regional excellence for Ka`u Coffee. Both Rusty’s Hawaiian 100 Percent Ka`u Coffee and Ka`u Coffee Mill placed in the top ten worldwide in the coveted Roasters Choice awards for 2013. The competition is sponsored by the Roasters Guild, which is the trade guild of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. The SCAA considers itself the world’s coffee knowledge leader and largest coffee trade association. The competition was held at the Boston Convention Center last weekend.

Rusty's Hawaiian representatives in Boston, Joan Obra and Miguel Meza.
Photo by Julia Neal

      The top 10 coffees were showcased with two mornings of tasting at the Brew Bar in the convention center on Saturday and Sunday. Winning coffees were three from Colombia, two from Ka`u and one each from El Salvador, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Ecuador.
      Chief roaster Kalikoweo Keolanui -Daniele represented Ka`u Coffee Mill at the event and said the top 10 entry was a collaboration with chief roaster Lee Segawa. Daniele said the win confirms that Ka`u has incredible coffee and that the mill, which was built by Edmund C. Olson to help farmers save time and distance for processing their coffee, is also gaining a reputation as a fine roaster.
      The tasting notes for the competition described the Ka`u Coffee Mill entry as coming from typica beans. The notes call it rich in flavor with piquant acidity and intriguing hints of sweetness and spice. Citrus and jasmine aroma. Fresh butter undertones, hints of lime, currant, bergamot and a long spiced finish.” The roast philosophy reported by Ka`u Coffee Mill is: “Delicate Hawaiian coffees are required to be lightly roasted to enhance their exquisite taste profiles. Therefore, our preference is to roast at the lower end of the roast spectrum to ensure our customers taste our crop in each cup!”
      The tasting notes described Rusty’s Hawaiian as having “crisp acidity, sweet, bright, fruit flavor. This gives a caramel and molasses note that is a very clean cup.” According to the roast philosophy, “We prefer to roast lighter to maximize the sweetness and aroma of the coffee.”
      Also attending the SCAA convention for the fourth year was Bull Kailiawa. His coffee is a multiple winner of SCAA awards.
      Also in attendance was Chris Manfredi, Ka`u Farm Bureau president and land manager for property  where Rusty's Hawaiian and many other Ka`u Coffees are grown. Manfredi is the person who first encouraged Ka`u Coffee growers to submit their coffees to the SCAA competition more than five years ago.

Pete Licata with Lorie Obra, of Rusty's Hawaiian
Coffee, at Ka`u Coffee Festival.
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

PETE LICATA, who spends time in Ka`u and chose Rusty’s Coffee for previous competitions around the world, took first place in the 2013 United States Barista Championship held over the weekend in Boston. Competitors showed off their skills in making four espressos, four cappuccinos and four original signature drinks of their own creation – all within 15 minutes. Licata will represent the U.S. at the World Barista Championship in Melbourne, Australia May 23 – 26. Licata won the U.S. Barista’s Championship in 2011 with Rusty’s Hawaiian and was accompanied by Miguel Meza, of Rusty’s Hawaiian, for the world championships in Bogota, Colombia. Licata has also led the Ka`u Coffee Experience at the annual Ka`u Coffee Festival.

THE BOSTON BOMB TRAGEDY yesterday spared all of the 48 Hawai`i participants who reached at least the halfway mark in the Boston Marathon. Among those from the Big Island running the Boston Marathon were Jon Jokie, a Kaloko Honokohau National Historic Park ranger, and Lyman Perry, of Volcano. Perry told the Hawai`i Tribune-Herald that, after the explosion, he headed across Harvard bridge. “I was just thinking I wanted to get out of there, get away from the crowds,” he told reporter Tom Callis. See more at www.hawaiitribune-heraldcom.
      Near the finish line of the marathon, two bombs killed a child and two adults and maimed many spectators and runners. Public officials say it is unclear whether this is a domestic or international act of terrorism and are looking at many videos taken by spectators and runners to see if there is footage showing someone placing the bombs in the area.

Protesters at the Democratic Party's rally in November 2012 carried letters
spelling out "ABOLISH PLDC." Photo by Julia Neal

THE STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES yesterday unanimously passed HB1133, SD2 that repeals the Public Land Development Corporation. The bill now heads to Gov. Neil Abercrombie for his consideration. Abercrombie has said he is willing to consider repeal of legislation that created the agency in 2011.
      The PLDC was created to develop state lands through public-private partnerships and generate revenues for the Department of Land and Natural Resources. However, growing public concern over the corporation’s broad exemptions from land use laws, county zoning laws and construction standards erupted into strong, statewide opposition and calls to repeal the PLDC.
      “In the wake of PLDC, I am only willing to trust new public-private partnerships only when they are limited in scope, cautious in implementation, clearly defined and controlled, and for the highest public purposes,” said East Ka`u Sen. Russell Ruderman. “Also, they should be legislated in a transparent, fair process with the opportunity for public input on the actual subject of the bill.”

OCEAN VIEW WELL COULD BE BACK in service by early to mid-next week, reports Kanani Aton, of the Department of Water Supply. The contractor handling emergency repairs has located a pump and motor that suit specifications of the well.
      “Great news,” said Ocean View resident Rell Woodward. “I’m impressed how well and rapidly DWS has handled the problem. Good work.”
      The well broke down April 1, and fill stations closed April 7 after the storage tank was depleted.
      Until repairs are complete, alternate water spigots are available at Ho`okena and Wai`ohinu.
      For more information, call Daryl Ikeda at 961-8790.

LIFE OF THE LAND HAS SUBMITTED questions to the state Consumer Advocate regarding the proposed contract being considered by the Public Utilities Commission for `Aina Koa Pono to grow feedstock and refine biofuel in Ka`u and sell it to Hawaiian Electric Co. and Hawai`i Electric Light Co. 

       Life of the Land asks for more information about the Consumer Advocate’s testimony that “the entire cost premium differential should be borne by Hawaiian Electric Co. ratepayers” on O`ahu and that “Hawai`i Island has had the slowest economic recovery:”
      “Are there sectors of the County of Hawai`i (Big Island) which are in economic recovery and/or are earning above the average Honolulu income?
      “Are there sectors of the City and County of O`ahu (Honolulu) which are in economic recession and/or are earning below the average Big Island income?
      “Why should financially better off sectors of the County of Hawai`i be subsidized by economically challenged communities on O`ahu?
      “What is the spread (variation, standard deviation) among economic incomes on the Big Island?
      “Should O`ahu ratepayers pay part of the cost of the Auwahi wind farm, the Hu Honua biomass project, and the PGV Geothermal expansion, etc.? Even if some of these projects are below avoided cost, shouldn’t HELCO ratepayers (Hawai`i Island residents) get some kind of financial relief or support from O`ahu ratepayers?”
      Life of the Land’s and other parties’ information requests are available at puc.hawaii.gov. Responses to the questions are due Friday, May 10.

The current Pahala Public & School opened its doors on March 2, 1963.

PAHALA PUBLIC & SCHOOL LIBRARY celebrates its 50th year of service this Friday during National Library Week. The theme for this year’s National Library Week is “Communities Matter at Your Library.” 

      Beginning at 10:30 a.m. and continuing throughout the day are performances by local hula halau and students of Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary School. Hawaiian Civic Club of Ka`u offers craft demonstrations.
      As a special treat, at 1 p.m., there will be an airbrush artist doing tattoos.
      At 2 p.m., students of Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary who entered and won the Haiku Poetry writing contest read their poems and receive prizes. Winners of contests running this week will also be announced.
      Throughout the week, the Friends of the Ka`u Library are having a Book Sale. Donations of good used books are welcomed. Funds raised help support both Pahala Public & School Library and Na`alehu Public Library with programs and materials. Donations can be dropped off at both libraries.
      Pahala P&S Library is currently open three days a week on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Plans are in the works to open the library five days a week and longer hours.
      “Continue to support Pahala Public & School Library by using it often,” said Debbie Wong Yuen. For more information, call 928-2015.

IN KA`U HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS, Ka`u plays Waiakea today, 3 p.m. at Pahala Ball Park. Trojan tennis team heads for Kamehameha School in Kea`au for the BIIF Championships starting Thursday. Also for the Big Island championships - all on Saturday, track starts at 9 a.m. at HPA in Waimea, boys volleyball against Christian Liberty starts at 10 a.m. at home and judo begins at 9 a.m. at Waiakea.

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.