Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013

Keiki of all ages are invited to sign up for Kahuku Junior Ranger Day, set for this Saturday. Photo by David Boyle

THE MONSANTO PROTECTION ACT, which was folded last week into the U.S. House of Representatives continuing resolution for funding the federal government, is the subject of a mass email this morning by Ka`u’s congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. She called the inclusion of the measure to protect Monsanto’s GMO practices “sneaking,” but called it “a setback, but it isn’t a defeat. We still have a chance to stop it. In the coming days, the Senate will vote on this critical fiscal bill with its unwanted tag-along. If they act, they’ll be able to stop big agricultural and biotech corporations from putting untested and potentially unsafe engineered foods on our plates,” stated Gabbard. She also sent a mass email to a petition, writing: “Will you join me and call on the Senate to remove the Monsanto Protection Act? Click here to sign.” 

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GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS were the topic of another long County Council meeting yesterday, with experts on both sides of the issue putting forth their arguments. Ka`u’s County Council member Brenda Ford earlier submitted a bill that would ban all GMO crops on the island, giving farmers 30 months to switch over. She said, however, her bill is dead, leaving Council member Margaret Wille’s bill in play to exempt GMO papayas. Yesterday’s meeting lasted eight hours.
     Supporters of GMO papayas from Calavo Growers claimed that Ford has a conflict of interest in voting on the issue since she and her husband farm a quarter-acre of non-GMO papayas in South Kona. According to a story in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, “Ford, who had made note of her papaya trees during a previous Council meeting, disagreed. ‘I don’t see it as a conflict of interest,” she said.

Kaua`i Councilman Gary Hooser drafted
anti-GMO legislation for his county.

     “While acknowledging she has a personal stake in keeping her papaya from being cross-pollinated with modified types, Ford said that wasn’t the only reason for introducing it. ‘Nobody else wants their crops to be contaminated either,’ she said.”
      Famed Hawaiian activist Walter Ritte, from Moloka`i, and Kaua`i County Councilman Gary Hooser, who drafted anti-GMO legislation for Kaua`i, claimed that GMO seed farms and their use of chemicals on their islands lead to health problems. Hooser, who was formerly a state senator and formerly the head of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control, told the Hawai`i County Council that GMO “is out of control, quite frankly,” Tom Callis reported in the Hawai`i Tribune-Herald.
      The Tribune-Herald also reported on testimony from Dennis Gonsalves, who developed the transgenic papaya after fungus and a virus repeatedly destroyed papaya farms. Gonsalves told the Council that no one was worried about the virus, which infected papaya at a higher level than found in today’s GMO papaya.
      Anti-GMO testifier Jeffrey Smith talked via Skype from Arizona. Author of Seeds of Deception and working with the Institute for Responsible Technology, he told the Council that the federal government is failing to limit GMO impacts on food, the Tribune-Herald story reported. He called scientific claims by the GMO industry “tobacco science.”
     The topic comes up again at the County Council on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
      See more at hawaiitribune-herald.com.
      To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie

THE STATE OF HAWAI`I PLANS TO PUT FORTH standards and guidelines for seed/diversified agriculture companies to voluntarily comply with certain health and safety requests of the community, according to Gov. Neil Abercrombie. He said the guidelines will include disclosure of aggregated usage of restricted use pesticides and implementation of a setback from schools and hospitals. 

      “In January, (when the state Legislature reconvenes), we can look into codifying law regarding disclosure and setback requirements in the context of protection of public health and safety,” Abercrombie said. Until then, compliance by farmers to temporary standards will be on a voluntary basis.
      The governor also stated that he would work with the Legislature to restore positions within and seek additional funding for the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health’s Environmental Health Administration, particularly for the neighbor islands, to address pesticide compliance and conduct inspections regarding pesticide contamination, and ensure that inspections are conducted in a timely manner.

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PHONE AND SOME INTERNET OUTAGES in Ka`u yesterday were caused by a tree damaging a fiber optic line in a remote place off Hwy 190 in North Kohala, where a crew hiked to make repairs. The problem led to approximately 20 hours of outage for land phone lines, as well as Hawaiian Telcom Internet services. Bank of Hawai`i in Pahala was unable to connect with main computers most of Monday morning. Police officers were stationed at schools in case of emergencies. Stores needing phone lines for credit cards found them unusable. 911 was out of service, leading to people going directly to the police station and emergency room and even to police officers’ homes in Ka`u.

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Hawai`i Island had an 85 percent increase in its Mexican population from
2000 to 2011. Map from migrationpolicy.org

MEXICANS, WHO ARE PROMINENT in the local coffee industry, picking coffee from Kona into Ka`u and taking over some farms abandoned on Kamehameha Schools lands, may receive a new line of help. Juan Manuel Calderon, Mexico’s deputy director general for Counselor Affairs, said his government would like to see a consulate established for the country of Mexico in Hawai`i. 

      The suggestion comes in tandem with a new report by the Migration Policy Institute and University of Hawa`i, called Newcomers to the Aloha State: Challenges and Prospects for Mexicans in Hawai`i. It estimates 40,000 Mexicans living in Hawai`i. The report finds that Mexicans are “unfairly targeted by local police and federal agents in Hawai`i,” according to a story in Civil Beat yesterday.
      The story by Nathan Eagle reports supporters of the consulate saying: The office would help increase the visibility of Mexicans in Hawai`i, improve access to services and foster entrepreneurial ties.”
      According to the report, “The state government of Hawai`i needs to recognize that Mexicans form a steadily growing and stable community. To address the community’s sense of marginalization, the state needs to restore the trust that has been negatively impacted by the local-federal cooperation in enforcing immigration law.” 

      See more at civilbeat.com.
      To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR ROSA FONSECA, a missing 17-year-old girl from Volcano. Fonseca was last seen July 21 in Volcano. She is Caucasian, four-foot-eleven-inches tall, 110 pounds with brown eyes and long, brown hair. 

      Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the police non-emergency line at 935-3311. Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.

PARTICIPANTS CAN LEARN LAUHALA WEAVING tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Amy Ka`awaloa and Malia Macabio teach the art, from gathering the material to preparation and the final product. Free; park entrance fees apply.

DEVELOPMENT OF A WATER USER AGREEMENT is on the agenda when Ha`ao Springs and Mountain House Ag Water Co-op meets tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park.
      For more information, email katywhite@hawaiiantel.net.

Pahala Public & School Library's final Computer Basics class takes
place Friday at 11 a.m.

PAHALA PUBLIC & SCHOOL LIBRARY presents an overview of available resources Friday at 11 a.m. Participants learn about searching the library’s catalog, checking their library accounts, requesting books and about some of the many other free electronic resources Hawai`i State Public Library System has to offer. Computer basics or prior knowledge of mouse and keyboard use is required. To sign up, call 939-2442 at least 48 hours before class. 

KAHUKU JUNIOR RANGER DAY IS SATURDAY from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and today is the deadline to register. Keiki of all ages join park rangers for a day of activities to take a closer look at the Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free lunch is provided. Call 985-6019.

UPCOMING KA`U HIGH SPORTS this week: tomorrow, Sept. 25, Ka`u bowling team meets the Hilo Vikings at Hilo Lanes at 1 p.m. and girls volleyball hosts Kamehameha at 6 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 28, Ka`u bowling attends the BIIF Individual Bowl at Hilo lanes at 8 a.m., Cross Country races at HPA at 12 p.m., Air Riflery shoots at Kamehameha at 10 a.m., and Ka`u girls volleyball hosts Kohala at 10 a.m. Ka`u eight-man football plays Kamehameha junior varsity in Kea`au at 2 p.m. this Saturday.

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.

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Ka`u News Briefs Monday, Sept. 23, 2013

Pahala Pool was shut down this morning since phone service was out and the lifeguard was unable to call 911,
if needed. Photo by Tanya Ibarra

TELEPHONE LAND LINES AND MUCH OF THE CELL SERVICE for Ka`u into South Kona was absent from around 6:30 p.m. last night into this morning. A fiber optic line, according to Hawai`i Civil Defense spokesmen, broke in North Kohala. The line was specific to South Kona and Ka`u and left other phone services around the island intact. AT&T service is attached to the land line in Kohala. The land line and cell phone service are not totally independent from one another, Civil Defense explained. Why the line became broken is still a question. There was no accidental breaking by earth machines disturbing an underground cable, nor any vehicle accident running into a communications pole.

An optical fiber junction box.
Photo from wikipedia

      The outage led to such unusual circumstances as 911 being unavailable from phones and people needing assistance going directly to a police officer’s house.
      Pahala Pool was shut down this morning for safety reasons since the lifeguard was unable to call 911 if needed.
      This morning, cell service for AT&T was restored by 10 a.m., but land line service was still out “due to telephone company facility troubles,” said the Hawaiian Telcom message when dialing. Hawaiian Telcom Internet service was also down. Oceanic Cable Internet and phone service remained in operation throughout the outage time.
      Land line service was restored as of approximately 10:30 a.m.
      To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSURANCE RATES approved for the Hawai`i Health Connector are so far among the lowest in cost in the nation, according to an analysis by the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Insurance Division.
      Compared to the results of a study published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Hawai`i’s rates before tax credits and reimbursement estimates for a 40-year-old resident at $217 would be the third lowest.

1. Portland, Ore. $201 
2. Albuquerque, NM $212 
3. Honolulu $217 
4. Burlington, VT $413

      “The state of Hawai`i continues to be a leader in our nation’s healthcare transformation,” said Gov. Neil Abercrombie. “Hawai`i residents are seeing the benefit of collaboration between state government agencies, insurers and nonprofit stakeholders in the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act. We are working together toward our shared goal of universal healthcare and ensuring access to quality health care for everyone in our state.”

      Starting Oct. 1, the Hawai`i Health Connector will begin offering plans approved by the Insurance Division. Those plans will be ranked by “metal” levels:

• platinum with a 90/10 cost share; 
• gold at 80/20; 
• silver at 70/30; and 
• bronze at 60/40. 

      Beyond that, the individual’s coverage will be adjusted for age, family size and tobacco use.
      In a comparison of analysis done by Avalere Health, the Insurance Division’s actuaries found that Hawai`i has the lowest average monthly plan rate in each of the four metal levels before tax credits and reimbursement estimates.
      On Oct. 1, individuals and small business owners can check with Hawai`i Health Connector to compare plans and see what benefits, tax credits and rates they will be eligible for. They can sign up for a plan, with insurance coverage starting Jan. 1.
      Individuals under 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($52,920 for an individual and $108,360 for a family of four) can have their net out-of-pocket cost to purchase health insurance reduced.
      These costs are averages, and individuals should go to HawaiiHealthConnector.com or contact HHC’s marketplace assisters to get the best idea on what they can expect to pay.
      A key provision under the Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is that everyone must have health insurance starting on Jan. 1, 2014. To accomplish this, ACA prohibits health insurers from denying the purchase of health insurance if a person had a pre-existing medical condition. Everyone can purchase a policy regardless of health status.
      Small businesses with 25 employees or fewer could qualify for a tax credit of up to 50 percent of the cost of health insurance to help offset the cost of providing health insurance to their employees. Presently, the tax credit is up to 35 percent. The amount of the credit depends on the size of the business and the average wage of its employees.

      To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Pu`u Wa`awa`a is open for hunting during weekend in September and October. Photo from puuwaawaa.org

KA`U HUNTERS CAN USE THEIR SKILLS to control feral goats and sheep at Pu`u Wa`awa`a Forest Reserve. The Department of Land and Natural Resources is issuing permits for the program, which will be conducted on weekends starting Sept. 28 and ending Oct. 20.

      The program will be limited to archery for the first three weekends followed by one weekend of muzzleloader for feral goats and feral sheep. There is no bag limit on feral goats and non-typical rams.
      For safety purposes, a maximum of 50 permittees will be allowed per day.
      For permit assignments, call the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife in Waimea at 808-887-6063. Permits will be assigned on Wednesday, Sept. 25 from 8 a.m. until slots are filled for only one day of the first weekend.
      A valid hunting license is required to apply for a permit. A maximum of five permittees will be allowed per call, and only one slot per hunter is allowed.
      Participation for the remainder portion of the program will be on a first-come, first-served basis at the hunter check station on the day of program.

      Permittees are to check in at the Pu`u Wa`awa`a check station between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. and must be checked-out by 6 p.m. Vehicle passes will be given at the hunter check station.
      Stand-bys will be allowed after noon for the first weekend and as slots become open for the rest of the program.
      For further information, call the Division of Forestry and Wildlife Offices in Hilo at 808-974-4221 or in Waimea at 808- 887-6063.

KA`U CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S art show and cover contest for The Directory 2014 begins a week from today at CU Hawai`i credit union in Na`alehu. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday. Announcement of winners takes place at a reception Saturday, Oct. 5 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
      Entries for the art show are accepted this Friday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

      To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

THE DIRECTORY 2014, KA`U CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S annual publication with listings of community organizations and businesses, is accepting memberships, advertising and scholarship donations through Tuesday, Oct. 1.
      Contact Elijah Navarro at 430-9461 or e38navarro@gmail.com.

Weaving with leaves of the pandanus tree is the topic of a workshop
Wednesday. Photo from hawcc.hawaii.edu

AMY KA`AWALOA AND MALIA MACABIO teach the art of weaving with leaves of the pandanus tree, from gathering the material to preparation and the final product, Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      The free program is part of Hawai`i Volcanoes’ ongoing `Ike Hana No`eau: Experience the Skillful Work workshops. Park entrance fees apply.

HA`AO SPRINGS AND MOUNTAIN HOUSE Agricultural Water Co-op meets Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park. The focus of the meeting is to develop a Water User Agreement. Melanie Bondera, of the Kohala Center, will provide guidance in the process.

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.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES

Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013

A NOAA tool mapping effects of sea-level rise also displays other hazards and shows parts of Ka`u in red with high
social vulnerability, taking into consideration economic data, buildings and potential for natural disasters.
Map from NOAA

EFFECTS OF SEA LEVEL RISE can be studied with a new tool developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in partnership with University of Hawai`i Sea Grant. The web-mapping tool is aimed at visualizing potential impacts from sea-level rise in Hawai`i, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. The new Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer is a simple and easy to use but powerful resource for planners, public officials, coastal managers, and communities engaged in climate adaptation planning and coastal inundation preparedness. “With the amount of detail and options it provides, the Sea Level Rise Viewer is at the cutting edge of planning tools,” said map development partner Chip Fletcher, School of Ocean and Earth Science Technology’s associate dean for academic affairs. 

      NOAA predicts that average increase of sea level should be about a meter by the year 2100.
      The viewer overlays high-resolution aerial images on top of elevation data. This allows users to see what higher sea levels would do to landmarks and critical infrastructure. It also shows what populations would be vulnerable to rising sea levels.
      The viewer is available at csc.noaa.gov/slr.
      To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Image from accord3.com shows methods of extracting geothermal energy.

“WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT THE PUBLIC SAFETY and public health is paramount,” Mayor Billy Kenoi told Tom Callis, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald regarding plans for a study on health effects of geothermal production. “We need to determine with accuracy and specify exactly what harm if any is being caused.” 

      The study was called for by a group who put together a report called the Geothermal Public Health Assessment.
      According to Callis, the group recommended that a health study address four hypotheses: central nervous system degradation will be higher in a sample population as a result of peak exposure to hydrogen sulfide; central nervous system degradation and other health effects from hydrogen sulfide will be greater in areas of highest exposures; contamination of heavy metals and chemicals from geothermal development may have impacted drinking water supplies; and residents who live closest to Puna Geothermal Venture may be more likely to show anxiety disorder symptoms.
      The group also recommended increasing monitoring, evaluating effects on drinking water and ocean environment, ensuring there is no contamination from the closed HGP-A well, strengthening public communication and alerts and requiring that geothermal developers should conduct a health and water resource baseline study before any more drilling occurs.
      See more at hawaiitribuneherald.com.
      To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Sen. Brian Schatz 

“RIGHT-WING RADICALS IN THE HOUSE are going to the mat to throw millions of people off their health insurance – and we need to stop them,” said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz. He was referring to the the Republican-led U.S. House passing a budget last week "that would defund Obamacare. They are threatening to shut down the federal government unless we enact their radical agenda before the Sept‌. 30 budget deadline – setting up a showdown that threatens our economy, our communities and our lives. 

      “This latest attempt to defund Obamacare will never pass the Senate or be signed by the President. House Republicans again voted against the interests of the American people, risking our economic stability just to prove a point. There have been times in history when both parties are equally to blame for gridlock, but this is not one of them. If Speaker Boehner would stand up to Tea Party extremism and put forward a clean Continuing Resolution, then we can avoid this self-inflicted crisis,” stated Schatz in one of his campaign press releases.
      To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Alan Takemoto

INDIVIDUALS WITH CONNECTIONS TO MONSANTO are defending the Farmers Assurance Provision attached to a budget bill in the U.S. Congress. Critics of the provision, including Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, call it the Monsanto Protection Act. Gabbard said the provision allows biotechnology companies ignore regulations and sell genetically engineered foods even after a court orders them to stop, or when there isn’t yet evidence the foods are healthy or environmentally safe. 

      Alan Takemoto, Monsanto’s community affairs manager in Hawai`i, told Civil Beat, “Basically, it provides farmers assurance that what they planted, they can harvest. I know (GMO critics) have co-opted the name, but there are a lot of other organizations that have supported the provisions, like American Farm Bureau, the American Soybean Association and the National Corn Growers Association.
      Alicia Maluafiti, executive director of the Hawai`i Crop Improvement Association, a trade organization for biotech companies, said the provision “allows farmers who invested thousands of dollars into growing crops — biotech crops — to continue to harvest those crops despite the onslaught of frivolous lawsuits by environmental activists, which can take years for the courts to decide.”

Alicia Maluafiti

      She disagreed with the argument that the provision circumvents courts: “The U.S. Department of Agriculture currently has the authority as part of their regulatory powers, but the problem is that the lawsuits tie the hands of the regulatory agencies, and the only people getting hurt are the farmers — not Monsanto,” she said.
      “The bottom line is that farmers have a choice of crops they want to grow, and they have a choice of seeds to purchase. Sometimes they are Monsanto seeds, and sometimes they are not. So the (provision) would protect farmers across the board regardless of what they grow.”
      See more at civilbeat.com.
      To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

GMOS ARE ON THE AGENDA TOMORROW when Hawai`i County’s Committee on Public Safety & Mass Transit continues its meeting from Sept. 4.
      The agenda says the committee will consider two bills at 9 a.m. at Council Chambers in Hilo. Ka`u’s Council member Brenda Ford introduced Bill 109 calling for a total ban on GMOs except for research located in a biosafety level three containment facility, and Kohala Council member Margaret Wille drafted Bill 113 after withdrawing her original one. Wille’s bill would allow GMO papaya to be grown.

      Both bills call for a $100 GMO crop registration fee and penalties of up to $1,000 per day per violation. Ford’s bill includes an option of up to 30 days in jail.

Leah Cariaga was one of the many scholarship recipients in 2013 from
Ka`u Chamber of Commerce Pres. Dallas Decker, VP Lee McIntosh
and Miss Ka`u Coffee Tiare-Lee Shibuya. Photo by Julia Neal 

      Ka`u residents can view the meeting via videoconferencing from Ocean View Community Association Center. The agenda says statements from the public were concluded at the previous meeting and are closed for this committee meeting.
      Agenda is available at hawaiicounty.gov.
      To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE KA`U CHAMBER of Commerce Scholarship Fund are being taken through Oct. 1 in connection with the publication of The Directory 2014. Donors receive a listing in the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce annual Directory and can advertise their businesses.

ULANA LAUHALA IS THE TOPIC Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Amy Ka`awaloa and Malia Macabio teach the art of weaving with leaves of the pandanus tree, from gathering the material to preparation and the final product.

Lauhala weaving workshop takes place Wednesday.
Photo by Jay Robinson

      The free program is part of Hawai`i Volcanoes’ ongoing `Ike Hana No`eau: Experience the Skillful Work workshops. Park entrance fees apply. 

IN SPORTS, KA`U HIGH girls volleyball teams play at home this week, hosting Kamehameha Wednesday and Kohala Saturday.
      Other Trojan teams travel for events this week. The bowling team goes to Hilo Lanes to meet Hilo High Wednesday and to participate in BIIF Individual Bowl Saturday. Also on Saturday, Cross Country goes to HPA, Air Riflery shoots at KSBE and the eight-man football team challenges Kamehameha JV.

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.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES