Ka`u News Briefs Monday, Nov. 4, 2013

American Honey Queen Caroline Adams met with enthusiasts at Pahala Senior Center this morning. Photo by Julia Neal

RECENTLY RELEASED KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN draft documents offer an analysis of Ka`u’s local economy, which the documents refer to as Na `Ohana Economy. 

      “Ka`u exemplifies the truly place-based understanding at the root of the word ‘economics’ – the Greek term oikonomia, which means ‘management of the household,’  states Appendix V4C. “Management of the household is not only about money. It’s about everything that makes for a healthy family, community and environment.

      “The people of Ka`u do not want to sacrifice their other values and priorities for the sake of economic development. In fact, their three core value areas – `aina, `ohana and rural lifestyle – only reference the economy in the context of agriculture’s role in the local lifestyle.
      “The concept of oikonomia mirrors that of `ohana in traditional Hawaiian culture,” the document states. “Mary Kawena Puku`i emphasizes this holistic ‘management of the household’ in The Polynesian Family System in Ka`u with her focus on the institution of `ohana. According to Puku`i, features of `ohana include:

Caroline Adams, American Honey Queen, met Pahala
residents and promoted the importance of bees.
Photo by Julia Neal

• a cohesive force tied by ancestry, birth, and sentiment to a particular locality or `aina; 
• a mutual benefit association that ‘manifests genuine community spirit;’ 
• an economic community where relationships regulate personal, social and economic intercourse; 
• an internal system that includes voluntary giving of food, utilitarian articles, and services as well as communal labor for large-scale projects. 

      According to the draft CDP document, a prime example of oikonomia and `ohana in Ka`u is the vibrant informal economy. “In the informal economy, money doesn’t change hands,” it says. “Instead, people live off the land, and the medium of exchange is reciprocity. … The people of Ka`u share what they have. Bounty from the garden or hunt is shared with `ohana, which includes far more people than those connected by blood. As one resident put it, ‘Only in Ka`u. We share, that’s the Ka`u style – with our family, our neighbors, everyone.’”

      The documents are available for review online at kaucdp.info and at area libraries and community centers. The Planning Department invites comments through Dec. 16, and a feedback form is available on the website.
      The documents will also be discussed at the Ka`u CDP Steering Committee meeting Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.
      To comment on of “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

AMERICAN HONEY QUEEN Caroline Adams met with Pahala Senior Center enthusiasts this morning and talked about the importance of local gardens, like the very successful one at the center, to provide a variety of flowers, each with different nutrients, to keep honeybees healthy.

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Kathleen Kam was artist-in-residence at Na`alehu Elementary School in 2011.

MURALIST KATHLEEN KAM is spotlighted in the November issue of Hawai`i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts Enews. Kam has painted 18 public murals, with more on the way, she said. Her 75-foot by nine-foot mural at Ka`u Coffee Mill took two years to complete. Some other locations where her murals can be seen on Hawai`i Island are Punalu`u Bake Shop in Na`alehu, Keauhou Bird Sanctuary and Kilauea General Store in Volcano Village, KTA Superstores in Hilo and Hawai`i Plantation Museum in Papa`ikou. 

      As an artistic teaching partner with the Artists-in-the-Schools program, Kam has taught art at several Hawai`i Island schools, including Na`alehu Elementary and Ka`u High & Pahala Elementary, where another mural complete by Kam and students is located.
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HAWAI`I COUNTY IS JOINING THE JAPANESE Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Hawai`i, Japanese Community Association and Kona Japanese Civic Association in the Aloha Oshima relief drive.

      Oshima Island, a sister city of Hawai`i County, was the place hardest hit when Typhoon Wipha ravaged coastal towns along Japan’s east coast on Oct. 16. Wipha brought torrential rains – a record-breaking 33 inches in 24 hours – that caused flooding and mudslides that destroyed nearly 300 homes. According to the most recent update, 32 deaths have been reported, and nine people remain missing.

Oshima Island has a sister-city relationship with Hawai`i Island.
Photo from wikimedia commons

      Through the end of December, donations to “Aloha Oshima” will be accepted at Bank of Hawai`i branches statewide. “I offer our aloha and deepest condolences to Mayor Masafumi Kawashima and the residents of Ohshima Island,” Mayor Billy Kenoi said. “Although the destruction caused by Typhoon Wipha is unprecedented, we know that the strength and resolve of the people of Ohshima will carry them through.”
      In Japanese, Oshima means big island. It is about 35 square miles with a population of 8,200 and is home to waterfalls, valleys, and Mt. Mihara, an active volcano 2,507 feet tall. Located 75 miles south of Tokyo, Oshima is the largest island in the Izu group, over a dozen islands extending south from the Izu Peninsula.

      Hawai`i County’s sister city relationship with Oshima Island was initiated in 1962 by the Board of Supervisors, the predecessor to today’s County Council. The chairman and executive officer of the Board of Supervisors, the predecessor to the office of the Mayor, was Thomas K. ‘Lofty’ Cook. Members of the Board of Supervisors at the time were Wing Kong ‘Winkie’ Chong, Elroy Osorio, Helene Hale, Sherwood Greenwell, Ikuo Hisaoka, and Elias Yadao.       

      A monument commemorating the sister city relationship was erected in 1992, the 30th anniversary of the relationship, in Lili`uokalani Gardens, by Oshima Mayor Nagaharu Shimizu.       The most recent visit to Hawai`i Island by friends from Oshima Island was in October 2012. Mayumi Jinguh and Zen Tanaka of Oshima visited on behalf of Mayor Masafumi Kawashima, delivering a letter and a 50th anniversary gift – a copper relief depicting a rainbow bridge between Hawaii Island and Oshima Island. Tanaka, and the people of Oshima Island, including Mayor Masafumi Kawashima, participated in crafting the piece.

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TROY KEOLANUI, CO-OWNER OF OK FARMS HAWAI`I in the Amau`ulu area of Hilo, told Colin M. Stewart, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, that he is committed to slowing the spread of coffee berry borers to other farms in East Hawai`i. Announcement of the pest’s presence in Hilo was made last week by the state Department of Agriculture.

OK Farms co-owner Troy Keolanui, seen here with visitors to the diversified ag farm, vows to
combat spread of the coffee berry borer recently found there. Photo by Andrew Hara

      “The insect has been found in less than .1 percent of our harvested cherry, and we are now 75 percent complete with the 2013 crop,” Keolanui said. “All cherry is processed and mechanically dried within 24 hours to prevent any insects from surviving. Any damaged beans are mechanically sorted out, leaving only high quality beans. No pathogens or contamination is carried by the beans or passed on to the consumer.
      “As a farmer, this is just something you have to deal with. Like you would if you had a dog that got fleas. You don’t kill the dog, you give it a flea bath, and you clean the area to remove the fleas … and you move on with life.”
      According to the story, Keolanui contacted the Tribune-Herald on Tuesday, saying that he felt transparency was the best way for Big Island coffee farmers to combat the destructive pest.
      “We’re not embarrassed. This was something that was inevitable. … Now, we just want to do our part to slow the spread. To protect other farms from having to deal with it,” he said.
      Keolanui told Stewart that workers first knew they had a problem about eight weeks ago, when they noticed damage to some beans after they had been processed.
      Keolanui said plans to control the beetle by managing pickers, spraying orchards with a natural fungus that kills the beetles, spraying neem oil, which he said impedes the insect’s growth and then using insectides.
      OK Farms Hawai`i is also planning to add five more acres of coffee orchards. “We think Hilo has a great future in coffee,” Keolanui told Stewart. “We don’t see this as the end of the world. It can be controlled.”
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.

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THE FOLLOWING KA`U HIGH SCHOOL & Pahala Elementary School middle school students have earned a place on the first quarter honor roll: 

Grade 8
      Summa Cum laude (3.75-4.00): Rowlie John Flores, Revis Petitt and Sierra Yeager.
      Magna Cum laude (3.5-3.74): Malie Ibarra, Junel Candaroma, Scandy Echeilam, Junially Manantan and Ezra James Ramones.
      Cum laude (3.0-3.49): Junialla Manantan, Jim Esquida, Sheena Marie Flores, Daryl Moreira, Jr, Analei Emmsley, Shailei-Marie Penera, Zachary Ishii and Rodel Pascua.
Grade 7 
      Summa Cum laude: Aaron Delos Santos and Brennen Nishimura.
      Magna Cum laude: Jennifer Abalos, Keala Liu, Malia Nicole Corpuz and Zyrae-Jawn Kailiawa.
      Cum laude: Monique Hughes, Daedrie Kai, Therese Pascua, Justine Rosario, Karlee Fukunaga, Lei Chun Galban Kin In, Randall Patton, Jr, Naython Perry, Kanani Petrill-Abrojin, Chaunalisa Velez, Kalena Yeager, Ryan Ah Yee, Josiah Barrios, Mei Lin Galban Kin In, Taenna Holeso, Helena Nihipali-Sesson, Seazon Gouveia-Makuakane, Kayla Kainoa-Aukai and Terree Oyama.

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SUSAN CORDELL, SENIOR SCIENTIST and research ecologist for the USDA Forest Service’s Institute of Pacific Island Forestry, discusses forest management tomorrow at After Dark in the Park. The program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $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 Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013

Kahumoku `Ohana presented a concert at Hilo's Palace Theater last night in advance of today's beginning of the eight annual Hawaiian Music & Lifestyles Workshop at Pahala Plantation House. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U MUSICIANS JOINED MASTERS of Hawaiian music last night at the Palace Theatre in Hilo. Called Huina Alanui, International Music from the Masters, it featured Dennis Kamakahi, John Keawe, Keoki Kahumoku, James Hill, Anne Davidson, Brittni Paiva and the Kaneohe Good Guys from Japan, as well as Bolo, KC Groves, Konabob Stoffer, Andy Andrews and more. Many will be teaching and learning at the eighth annual Hawaiian Music and Lifestyle Workshop sponsored by the Kahumoku `Ohana at Pahala Plantation House starting today. On stage were Trevor Taylor and Jamal Buyuon, both students at Ka`u High, playing with `ukulele superstar Brittni Paiva, who recalled her teacher Keoki Kahumoku putting her in front of large audiences when she was younger, calling it “OTJ, on the job training.” Other students from Ka`u were Jade Tredenick and Nicholas Lubke, from Volcano School of Arts & Sciences.
      The workshop brings Hawaiian music and dance enthusiasts from across the U.S. and from foreign countries. Local students receive scholarships. It ends with a free concert, this Saturday, Nov. 9 on the grounds of Pahala Plantation House from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

KA`U DISTRICT GYM AND SHELTER IS ON SCHEDULE for completion next year. According to Hawai`i County Department of Public Works website, completion is scheduled for fall 2014. After delays at the beginning of construction, including discovery of a burial site inside a lava tube, Public Works deputy director Brandon Gonzalez said he is hoping for a May 2014 completion date for the $16.9 million project. “The good thing is we discovered it in the beginning,” he told Chelsea Jensen, of West Hawai`i Today.
      Construction began in November 2012 and remains on budget according to Gonzalez. The facility will meet requirements for Big Island Interscholastic Federation basketball and volleyball games, with three NCAA regulation-size courts.
      Also an emergency shelter, the facility will be able to accommodate 1,928 people in almost 29,000 square feet during natural disasters. It is being built to withstand category three hurricanes, which have winds between 111 and 130 miles per hour.
      Two rooms are being designated as a vog shelter, where a maximum of 317 people could find shelter from sulfur dioxide emissions. The rooms will have air filtration systems, and one will be air-conditioned.

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

The Kaneohe Good Guys, from Japan, play Hawaiian and Okinawan music at the
Palace concert. Photo by Julia Neal

HAWAI`I COUNTY COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL meetings are scheduled this week, with all meetings taking place at Council Chambers in Hilo. On Tuesday, Governmental Relations & Economic Development Committee meets at 9 a.m., Public Works & Parks & Recreation at 9:45 a.m., Human Services & Social Services at 10 a.m. and Finance at 10:15 a.m.
      The full Council meets Wednesday at 9 a.m.
      Ka`u residents can participate in the meetings via videoconferencing at Ocean View Community Center. Agendas for all meetings are available at hawaiicounty.gov.

HAWAI`I COUNTY’S NONPROFIT GRANT PROGRAM for fiscal year 2012-2013 will be reviewed at the Human Services & Social Services Committee meeting Tuesday at 10 a.m. According to the program’s year-end report, it reviewed 98 requests and granted a total of $1.5 million to 90 programs represented by 62 nonprofits.
      The total of the FY2012-2013 funding distributed was $1,434.973. This left unexpended allocated funds of $65,027.
      Awards are broken down into the following categories:

• Youth: 27 percent;
• Victims of Health or Social Crisis: 19 percent;
• Poor: 19 percent;
• Victims of Crime: 10 percent;
• Culture & Arts: five percent;
• Victims of Health or Social Crisis: five percent;
• Education: five percent;
• Physical or Emotional Disability: four percent; and
• Other: six percent.

      Expense categories broke down as follows:

• Salaries: $592,510 or 39 percent;
• Operations: $173,532 or 12 percent;
• Equipment: $149,001 or 10 percent;
• Supplies: $148,920 or 10 percent;
• Professional Fees: $101,554 or seven percent;
• Other: $265,455 or 18 percent; and
• Unused: $ 65,027 or four percent.

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Brittni Paiva, who grew up taking lessons from Keoki Kahumoku, plays with current students Trevor Taylor and Jamal Buyuan.
Photo by Julia Neal

HAWAI`I COUNTY FINANCE COMMITTEE, at its meeting Tuesday at 10:15 a.m., considers a bill introduced by Ka`u’s Council member Brenda Ford that would reduce the number of years required to foreclose on a property for delinquent real property taxes from three to two years. The change, Ford said, would allow the county to sell the foreclosed property at public auction to recoup unpaid taxes, penalties and various administrative costs “in a timelier manner.”

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HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL AGAIN CONSIDERS a bill banning genetically modified organisms at a special meeting Tuesday at 2 p.m.
      Bill 113 would ban open-air use of GMO crops with some exemptions, including papaya crops.

Dennis Kamakahi plays his original song Wahine `Ilikea, danced by Erin Cole,
of Ocean View. Cole is a fitness trainer and cross country coach at Ka`u High.
Photo by Julia Neal

      Scientists are concerned about limiting GMO research to greenhouses, saying crops must be tested in an open-air environment to be federally approved. Michael Shintaku, a plant pathologist at UH-Hilo who is conducting GMO research, told Tom Callis, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, that he isn’t confident that a crop only tested in a greenhouse could be released for commercialization. “It kind of puts a stop to all of this technology,” Shintaku said.
      Russell Nagata, Hawai`i County administrator for the University of Hawai`i at Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, told Callis, “If there’s no end product, the need for GMO (research) is very limited.”
      Council member Margaret Wille, who introduced the bill, considers it a protection against cross-pollination on non-GMO crops. Whether cross-pollination poses any problems is one of the issues dividing supporters and opponents.
      David Case, president of the Kona chapter of Hawai`i Farmers Union United, told Callis, “Other forms of agriculture, farming — not just organic, anything that is not a GMO crop — carries the risk of losing its market if it’s cross-pollinated. So we should be careful about losing the world’s markets for Hawai`i’s products.”
      Blake Watson, a Volcano resident and member of GMO Free Hawai`i Island, told Callis he thinks the bill could have economic benefits because consumers prefer non-GMO products.
      Wille told Callis she is “very confident” that, if the county adopts the bill, it will look back years from now and believe it still made the right decision. “That’s really what it’s about,” she said. “What is the vision for what we want our island to be in five, 10, 20 years?”

      See hawaiitribuneherald.com.

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KA`U’S COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER BRENDA FORD is seeking funding to purchase new tables for Pahala Community Center. In her resolution on the agenda of Wednesday’s County Council meeting, Ford states that the 12-foot wooden tables currently in use have “deteriorated to the point of becoming dangerous.” She calls for “plastic tables that are safe and easier to handle.” An appropriation of $1,800 would come from District 6 Contingency Relief Fund.

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Susan Cordell Photo from USDA

THE TOPIC AT AFTER DARK IN THE PARK Tuesday is how ecologists pick a winning team in forest management. Natural ecosystems today are forever changed by the introduction and establishment of non-native species like never before. According to Susan Cordell, senior scientist and research ecologist for the USDA Forest Service’s Institute of Pacific Island Forestry, some non-native species, however, may be playing important roles in the community in terms of providing ecosystem goods and services. She explains the objective of the agency’s lowland tropical wet forest restoration project. The program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $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 Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013

Humpbacks come to Ka`u and the longest uninhabited coast in Hawai`i each winter to calve and mate. Photo from NOAA

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA HAS APPOINTED GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE to serve on the President’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, the White House announced today. Co-chaired by Office of Intergovernmental Affairs director David Agnew and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, the task force consists of a group of governors, mayors and other leaders who will develop recommendations on how the federal government can better support local preparedness and resilience-building efforts.

     
      “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve on this task force, which will allow the state of Hawai`i to have a strong voice in the national discussion on addressing the impacts of climate change,” Abercrombie said. “As the only island state in nation, Hawai`i is unquestionably vulnerable to changes in climate such as rising temperatures, droughts, flooding, sea level rise, coastal erosion and ocean acidification.”

Gov. Neil Abercrombie introduced state sustainability coordinator Jacqueline
Kozak Thiel. Photo from Office of the Governor

      In conjunction with the announcement, Abercrombie introduced state sustainability coordinator Jacqueline Kozak Thiel, recently appointed by the governor to the newly created position. Thiel is charged with coordinating across departments and with counties, federal agencies and community partners to support progress on Hawai`i’s sustainability goals. 



      “The task force established by President Obama gives Hawai`i a direct line to provide recommendations on removing barriers to federal resources, identifying opportunities for collaboration and developing tools to better support our unique needs and local efforts,” Thiel said. “Gov. Abercrombie’s congressional experience, particularly on the Armed Forces Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces, as well as a senior member on the Natural Resources Committee, was cited as a factor in his selection, along with his ability to provide insight into the needs of the Asia-Pacific region.”

      President Obama’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience will convene for the first time as early as next month in Washington, D.C., with its recommendations to the President expected within one year.       

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

      “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve on this task force, which will allow the state of Hawai`i to have a strong voice in the national discussion on addressing the impacts of climate change,” Abercrombie said. “As the only island state in nation, Hawai`i is unquestionably vulnerable to changes in climate such as rising temperatures, droughts, flooding, sea level rise, coastal erosion and ocean acidification.”

      In conjunction with the announcement, Abercrombie introduced state sustainability coordinator Jacqueline Kozak Thiel, recently appointed by the governor to the newly created position. Thiel is charged with coordinating across departments and with counties, federal agencies and community partners to support progress on Hawai`i’s sustainability goals. 


      “The task force established by President Obama gives Hawai`i a direct line to provide recommendations on removing barriers to federal resources, identifying opportunities for collaboration and developing tools to better support our unique needs and local efforts,” Thiel said. “Gov. Abercrombie’s congressional experience, particularly on the Armed Forces Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces, as well as a senior member on the Natural Resources Committee, was cited as a factor in his selection, along with his ability to provide insight into the needs of the Asia-Pacific region.”

      President Obama’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience will convene for the first time as early as next month in Washington, D.C., with its recommendations to the President expected within one year.       

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

“WHILE THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT SEEKS to help millions of uninsured Americans get quality, affordable coverage, the glitch-ridden launch of the online exchanges and other coverage-related problems have raised serious concerns,” Ka`u’s U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said regarding the troubled implementation of Obamacare. “People in Hawai`i and across the country deserve leaders who have integrity, are accountable to the people and who are ready to work together toward workable solutions. Now is the time for us to come together, identify what needs to be fixed and work to bring about those changes, such as ensuring people have a fair window of time to sign up once the website is fully functional and guaranteeing the security and privacy of personal information that is submitted online. A major piece of legislation like the ACA certainly will not be perfect from day one. Congress must work together to immediately pass targeted improvements that ensure the American people have access to good healthcare.”

      According to a statement from her office, Gabbard has repeatedly voted against repeal and defunding of the Affordable Care Act and focused on targeted improvements to the law to strengthen it and ensure its affordability for all Americans. To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HAWAI`I ISLAND LED THE STATE IN GROWTH for visitor expenditures (+17.1 percent to $1.4 billion) and per person per day spending (+12.5 percent to $179) for the first nine months of 2013. A solid increase in visitors from the U.S. East (+3.5 percent to 303,706) and Japan (5.4 percent to 157,413) offset minimal growth from the U.S. West (0.8 percent to 428,575) and a decrease in Canadian visitors (-1.4 percent to 69,451) year-to-date. 

      Total visitor expenditures across the state reached $11 billion (+4 percent), and total visitor arrivals surpassed six million (+4.5 percent) during the first three quarters of the year and continue to pace ahead of 2012, despite a dip in arrivals and spending in the month of September. 

      Year-to-date through September, Hawai`i’s tourism economy has contributed $1.15 billion in state tax revenue, $45 million more than same time last year.
      In attracting visitors from new markets, the ratio of first-timers, who tend to spend more, also increased in September (+38.5 percent), in comparison to the year-to-date average of 35 percent.
      “Year-to-date results reflect our ongoing efforts to create a more sustainable tourism economy through diversification,” said Hawai`i Tourism Authority president and CEO Mike McCartney. “With an additional $2 million in legislative funding for international marketing, HTA has been able to nurture developing global markets, which are collectively up nearly 10 percent in visitor arrivals and spending.
      “Furthermore, despite a decline in total Japanese outbound travel, arrivals to Hawai`i out of this market have remained stable due to an increase in seat inventory and new routes from Japan to the Hawaiian Islands.
      “HTA also continues to focus on marketing unique visitor experiences on each of the Hawaiian Islands to enhance distribution across the state. As a result, visitor arrivals and expenditures on all neighbor islands have continued to increase through September 2013.
      “We will continue to monitor the effects of the federal government shutdown and delicate global economy to ensure the sustainability and success of our tourism industry,” McCartney said.
      For more information, see hawaiitourismauthority.org.
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IT' IS WHALE WATCHING SEASON, AND WHILE NO WHALES have been reported seen in Ka`u so far, The Ka`u Calendar encourages reports of humpback whale sightings in Ka`u, along with photos, to be sent to mahalo@aloha.net and urges anyone coming across injured or entangled marine mammals to call NOAA's Marine Mammal Hotline, 1-888-256-9840 or the U.S. Coast Guard on channel 16. To report those approaching or harassing whales and other marine mammals, call NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Hotline, 1-800-853-1964.
      Sighting of humpback whales off other areas of Hawai`i Island have been reported. Justin Viezbicke, Hawai`i Islands Humpback

Whales are often seen jumping at Ka Lae.
Photo from NOAA

Whale National Marine Sanctuary marine conservation coordinator for Hawai`i Island, said friends reported whale sightings near Waikoloa, according to Erin Miller, of West Hawai`i Today.
      Miller also reported that an anonymous boater left a message with Stephens Media on Thursday that he saw two humpback whales near Honokohau Harbor.
      In the story, Viezbicke gave guidelines on interaction with whales, saying vessels and people are asked to maintain a 100-yard distance from whales and that if a whale approaches a motorized vessel, the operator should put the engine in neutral so the propeller won’t injure the whale.
      If a whale surfaces closer than 100 yards to a non-motorized vehicle, the operator should try to move away from the whale, Viezbicke told Miller.
      “Watch your speed, keep somebody on the helm at all times, and have a lookout,” he said.
      See westhawaiitoday.com.
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THE FOLLOWING KA`U HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORES AND FRESHMAN have earned a place on the first quarter honor roll: 

Grade 10:
      Summa Cum laude (3.75-4.0): Khairalyn Denny, Deisha Gascon, Janet Parlin, Jay-R Abalos, Ashley Amaral, Sheilla Mae Felipe, Kristy Kahookaulana-Kuanoni, Maricar Jane Manantan, Shawn Mooney, Elaina Neece and Yuting Quan.
      Magna Cum laude (3.5-3.74): Tiani Castaneda-Naboa, April Joy Miguel, Monica Lynn Covarrubio and Keana Kuluwaimaka.
      Cum laude (3.0-3.49) Leiani Camba-Penera, Gissele Corpuz, Charlotte Esquida, Trieson Pascubillo, Leanalupualii Aipia Dolan, Jami Beck, Joy Escobar, Rowland Aldwin Flores, Marciana Henry and Evan Manoha.
Grade 9:
      Summa Cum laude: Sheanale Agpaoa, Mariah Chavez, Chloe Gan, Travis Taylor, Trevor Taylor, Julia Chavez, Chadwick Pajimola, Jr, Augustina Sanchez, Magna Cum laude: Cedrick Felipe, Malika Maynard, Jamal Buyuan and Jacob Flores, Jr.

      Cum laude: Tristan Davis, Charisma Felipe, Alysha Gustafson-Savella, Jenny Mauricio Henriquez, Richard Souza III, Benjamin Gouveia, Jacob Maygra, Zaylee Pascubillo, Titan Ault, Benly Bolaoen, Pete Dacalio, Sheri Lynn Freitas, Yokko Nagel, Lomon Silk, Destiny Beck, Le Ann Galope, Nanea Medeiros and Joven Padrigo.
      More honor roll recipients from other grades will be announced in future Ka`u News Briefs.
      To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Keoki Kahumoku

BETTER CHOICES, BETTER HEALTH: A FAMILY AFFAIR is the name of the health fair taking place next Saturday, Nov. 9 at Pahala Community Center. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the fair offers health, education and prevention booths, nutrition and healthy food demonstrations, Hawai‘i Health Connector enrollment, games and door prizes.

HAWAIIAN MASTERS HEADLINE A FREE CONCERT next Saturday, NOV. 9  from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. The concert is the finale of the annual, week-long music workshop held by Keoki Kahumoku and where youth win scholarships to study with the masters. 

      Bring folding chairs or mats for seating on the lawn.

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.