Ka`u News Briefs Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Ka`u's food growers can find out what crops grow well on their property through an online tool developed by The Kohala Center.
Photo from Earth Matters Farm

A NEW ONLINE TOOL MATCHES CROP varieties to Hawai`i’s microclimates. The Kohala Center recently launched the online tool to help Hawai`i gardeners and small-scale farmers select crop varieties most likely to succeed in their specific geographic areas. The new tool, developed through The Center’s Hawai`i Public Seed Initiative, also offers a detailed representation of local plant hardiness zones based on Hawai`i’s diverse microclimates.

Knowing the climate zone their property is in can
help Ka`u growers choose proper plants.
Map from Hawai`i Seed Initiative

       The Seed Variety Selection Tool for the Hawaiian Islands, accessible online at HawaiiSeedInitiative.org/svst, was created to help seed savers, gardeners and small-scale farmers share information about which crops perform well in their locations. Gardeners and small-scale farmers with at least two years of successful experience growing specific varieties are encouraged to submit their crop-performance data at HawaiiSeedInitiative.org/svst/seed-input. Names, physical addresses and contact information of contributors are kept confidential and are not published on the website.
      “What’s unique about the Hawaiian Islands is how abruptly our microclimates change,” said Lyn Howe, coordinator of The Center’s Hawai`i Public Seed Initiative. “A difference of just a mile or two, or a slight increase in elevation, can mean very different soil and growing conditions. This tool is meant to help anyone in Hawai`i determine their specific climate zone and learn from the success of other growers who garden or farm in similar conditions.”
      Users are encouraged to submit their feedback and ideas to seedproject@kohalacenter.org.
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SEVEN PEOPLE IN OCEAN VIEW ESCAPED without injury before fire destroyed a structure they were occupying yesterday. Fire and rescue units responded to a 10:17 a.m. alarm at 92-8841 Coral Parkway.
      When crews arrived, the single-story structure was engulfed in flames. The structure was a total loss estimated at $10,000.
      The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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KA`U SENIOR EVAN MANOHA, teaming up with Kea`au senior Lexis Andrade, took first place in double mugging at Hawai`i High School Rodeo Association finals Saturday at Parker Ranch. Manoha also participates in rodeos in Na`alehu. Last year, he and his partner took first place in Junior Dally Team Roping. He also played on Ka`u High’s eight-man football team.
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HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL YESTERDAY passed Mayor Billy Kenoi’s request for a $99.75 million bond issue. Funds go toward projects in all nine council districts.

Gov. David Ige and Japan Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe

      Nancy Cook Lauer, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, reported that departments receiving funding include Parks & Recreation, with $50 million for 18 projects. Public Works has $20 million for projects, including improvements to Mamalahoa Highway. Department of Environmental Management projects costing $10 million include wastewater and recycling project improvements. Funding of $5,000 for Mass Transit goes toward building bus shelters and creating a master plan for islandwide bus routes.
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.

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GOV. DAVID IGE MET WITH JAPAN Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday, his first day of meetings in Tokyo, Japan. 

      Ige and Chief of Staff Mike McCartney also met with executives at Hitachi Ltd., IBM Japan and Amuse, Inc., a Japanese management, production and publication company.
      Yesterday, Ige is met with various airlines and travel agencies before attending an evening reception. Ige is in Japan to boost business and economic development in Hawai`i and promote and expand travel to the Hawaiian Islands.
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THE OFFICE OF MAUNAKEA MANAGEMENT has scheduled public meetings regarding its work on content for Administrative Rules for public and commercial activities within University of Hawai`i-managed lands on Maunakea.
      The purpose of rules is to provide proper protection of natural, cultural and scientific resources and maintain public safety and welfare.

      Meetings are from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at West Hawai`i Civic Center County Council Chambers, Bldg A in Kona on Tuesday, June 23; ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo on Wednesday, June 24; and Kuhio Hale, DHHL West Hawai`i District Office, 64-756 Mamalahoa Highway at Mile Marker 55 in Waimea on Thursday, June 25.
      For more information, call 933-0734 or email omkm@hawaii.edu.
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TRANS FATS ARE NOW BANNED FROM U.S. FOODS. The Food and Drug Administration finalized its determination that partially hydrogenated oils, the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are not “generally recognized as safe” for use in human food and calls for food manufacturers to remove PHOs from products within three years.

      “The FDA’s action on this major source of artificial trans fat demonstrates the agency’s commitment to the heart health of all Americans,” said FDA’s Acting Commissioner Stephen Ostroff, M.D. “This action is expected to reduce coronary heart disease and prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks every year.”

      This determination will significantly reduce the use of PHOs in the food supply.

U.S. FDA has banned trans fats from food.

      Since 2006, manufacturers have been required to include trans fat content information on the Nutrition Facts label of foods. Between 2003 and 2012, the FDA estimates that consumer trans fat consumption decreased about 78 percent and that the labeling rule and industry reformulation of foods were key factors in informing healthier consumer choices and reducing trans fat in foods. While trans fat intake has significantly decreased, the current intake remains a public health concern. The Institute of Medicine recommends that consumption of trans fat be as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet.
      “Studies show that diet and nutrition play a key role in preventing chronic health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, and today’s action goes hand in hand with other FDA initiatives to improve the health of Americans, including updating the nutrition facts label,” said Susan Mayne, Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “This determination is based on extensive research into the effects of PHOs, as well as input from all stakeholders received during the public comment period.”
      The FDA has set a compliance period of three years. This will allow companies to either reformulate products without PHOs and/or petition the FDA to permit specific uses of PHOs. Following the compliance period, no PHOs can be added to human food unless they are approved by the FDA.
      The FDA encourages consumers seeking to reduce trans fat intake to check a food’s ingredient list for partially hydrogenated oils to determine whether or not a product contains PHOs. Currently, foods are allowed to be labeled as having “0” grams trans fat if they contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, including PHOs.
      Many companies have already been working to remove PHOs from processed foods, and the FDA anticipates that many may eliminate them ahead of the three-year compliance date.
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Last year's forest stewards on one of several field trips. Photo from UH-CTAHR

KA`U RESIDENTS INTERESTED in forest stewardship can apply for a program that educates community leaders in good forest land management and empowers them to reach out to their communities to improve forest conservation.
      Now in its fourth year, the program consists of an intensive, three-day workshop on forest land management in Hawai`i, including Hawaiian natural history, wildlife habitat, tree farming, invasive species, forest protection, koa forestry, agroforestry, working with professionals, taxes, estate planning, financial matters and Hawaiian culture. Half-day classroom sessions are balanced with afternoon field trips to managed private forests.

      The program is held at Kilauea Military Camp, with field trips to surrounding forests in East Hawai`i. Lodging is covered by the program. Participants are responsible for transportation to Volcano and their own meals at KMC’s Crater Rim Café or in Volcano Village.

John Keawe, here during a past performance at Punalu`u,
returns to Ka`u tomorrow.

      For more information, see http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/for-estry/workshops/ForestStewards_2015.html.
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LITO ARKANGEL SHARES HIS ORIGINAL compositions and other Hawaiian favorites this evening at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      Free; park entrance fees apply.

JOHN KEAWE PRESENTS A FREE tribute to slack key tomorrow at 3 p.m. Na`alehu Public Library.

DANCING ON EARTH: CREATIVE FLOW and Dance Meditation workshop takes place Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Shizuno Nasu’s workshop is rooted in deep listening and improvisation.
      Register at volcanoartcenter.org or 967-8222.

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

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf and
kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_June2015.pdf.

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The Nature Conservancy and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service manage Palmyra Atoll, which TNC calls "a treasure chest of biological riches and a natural marine laboratory." Photo from TNC

KA`U RURAL HEALTH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC. is one of the organizations likely to lose funding to help Ka`u residents sign up for health care as Hawai`i Health Connector starts to shut down. KRHCAI has promoted and helped people sign up for government sponsored health insurance at many community gatherings and at its offices next to Pahala Library.

      The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services last month informed the Connector that federal funds were no longer available to support its long-term operations. The Connector, a private nonprofit entity, has been unable to generate sufficient revenues to sustain operations. 

      Based on ongoing discussions with the state and the Connector, CMS agreed to provide limited funds for the transition so that Hawai`i can maintain a Supported State-based Marketplace. “We are anticipating being able to continue to some degree, but we haven’t got word back from the federal government how much of that expense they’re willing to fund,” Jeffrey Kissel, executive director of the Connector, told Colin M. Stewart, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. “As a result, because the grants are effectively expiring June 30, and we’re not able to renew them, until we get approval from the federal government, several of the market assister organizations are having to give notices to their employees.”
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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Conservation and scientific research are The Nature
Conservancy's roles on Palmyra Atoll.
Map from TNC

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, with its Big Island headquarters in Ka`u, has reached out to Palmyra Atoll, almost 1,000 miles south-southwest of here, to install wind and solar energy to power the island, which TNC manages with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 

      “Installing solar and wind energy at Palmyra will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by 95 percent,” said Mark Fox, acting executive director of the Conservancy’s Hawai`i and Palmyra programs. “It will eliminate an annual 21,000-gallon shipment of diesel fuel previously used to run the atoll’s generators.”
      “We have basically locked in 20 years of low-cost energy and made the station economically and environmentally sustainable,” added David Sellers, the Conservancy’s acting Palmyra director. “Our carbon footprint has been reduced dramatically, and we have mitigated the environmental risk of having to transport and store all that fuel.”
      Buying and shipping diesel fuel needed to run the research station took up more than half of the Conservancy’s operating budget for Palmyra and produced 349 metric tons of CO2 annually. Including shipping, fuel costs were between $11 and $13 a gallon. “That’s about 93 cents per kilowatt hour for our energy needs. The average cost on the U.S. mainland is 12 cents,” Sellers said.
      In 2012, the Conservancy substituted biodiesel for regular diesel to power the atoll. While it proved to be a clean and effective alternative, it wasn’t any cheaper to purchase and ship than regular diesel. That’s when the Conservancy decided to take Palmyra renewable.
       The six-week project saw Conservancy staff and a crew of 30 volunteers install 385 solar panels, a solar hot water system, a deep-cycle battery system to store sunlight for use at night and a prototype bird-friendly wind turbine — all of it creating a custom 100-kilowatt solar micro-grid.
      “The wind turbine gives us a diversity of power sources, which is really important in a remote location,” Sellers said. “We cannot rely on just one system.”
      For extra backup, the Conservancy maintains a three-year supply of biodiesel made from 100 percent recycled vegetable oil to run existing generators.
      “The commitment to making the station sustainable reflects the long-term dedication that the USFWS and the Conservancy share in protecting the rich natural resources and biodiversity found at Palmyra,” said Stefan Kropidlowski, Palmyra Atoll Refuge Manager for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
      “With the renewable energy system in place, we can now focus on what we do best – conservation and scientific research to inform that conservation,” said Fox. “Going forward, we will work with the USFWS to ensure that the renewable energy systems have little to no negative impact on the atoll’s wildlife and habitat.”

      See nature.org.

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Diagram of cesspool from Hawai`i Department of Health

A TEMPORARY INCOME TAX CREDIT for the cost of upgrading or converting a qualified cesspool to a septic system or an aerobic treatment unit system or connecting to a sewer system is provided following Gov. David Ige signing HB1140.
      Ka`u’s Rep. Richard Onishi voted against the bill because he wanted the program to have a sliding scale based on income, according to a story in West Hawai`i Today. “I think it’s a great idea in terms of getting people to connect,” Onishi told reporter Nancy Cook Lauer, “(but) I felt that there are people who have the ability to pay for it.”
      Onishi said he also opposed mandatory rules originally proposed by the Health Department. One proposed rule would have not only prohibited use of new cesspools but also required an upgrade to a septic system or connection to a sewer system within 180 days of the sale of any property with a cesspool.
      “I think, in general, the concern over cesspools was warranted, but the question is how to go about it,” Onishi told Cook Lauer.
      The credits apply to tax years 2016 through 2020. Priority is given to owners whose cesspools affect public drinking water wells and are within 200 feet of the shoreline, streams or wetlands.
      See westhawaiitoday.com.
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LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE Program applications are available in Ka`u this month. LIHEAP helps keep families safe and healthy through initiatives that assist families with energy costs. The program provides federally funded assistance in managing costs associated with home energy bills, energy crises, weatherization and energy-related minor home repairs. Households may apply for help with either their shut-off or regular bill, from either the electric or gas company. 

      Applicants must have a utility bill from their utility company dated not more than 30 days prior to the date of the application. They must report all members of the household, have a utility cost for the residence they are applying for, be income-qualified and have an active utility account to receive credit.
      Ka`u residents can apply Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center and the Hawai`i County Economic Opportunity Council office behind Na`alehu Community Center. A staff member is also in Pahala at the Olson Trust II office building on the corner of Maile and Pikake Streets on Tuesdays, including today, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

      For more information, call 961-2681, ext. 415.
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Lito Arkangel Photo from NPS

LITO ARKANGEL SHARES HIS ORIGINAL compositions and other Hawaiian favorites tomorrow from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. 

      Free; park entrance fees apply.

FAMED, AWARD-WINNING GUITARIST John Keawe returns to Ka`u with a performance Thursday at 3 p.m. at Na`alehu Public Library. Keawe is a regular instructor at annual music workshops in Pahala, where he teaches slack key guitar to visitors and local students who receive scholarships.
      Keawe offers A Tribute to Slack Key during his visit to Ka`u. He performed at Pahala Public Library in 2012 and also offers annual Christmas programs at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

Shizuno Nasu

RENOWNED AND CLASSICALLY TRAINED dance artist Shizuno Nasu presents her latest workshop rooted in deep listening and improvisation Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Students walk through Niaulani’s native rainforest to gather inspiration for movement passages, explore Fu-Sui-Ka movements based on the elements of water, wind and fire and enjoy seated movement meditation inspired by the female goddess Miroku. 

      Nasu began her classical ballet training at age three. She was chosen as an exchange student with the Bolshoi Ballet at age seven and made her debut as a professional dancer at age 19. Shizuno’s quest for her own stylistic voice led her to study old Japanese mythological dances. She undertook a multi-year pilgrimage, deepening within her the skill and spirit of mai, the dance. Beyond the influence of both the West and the East, Shizuno continues to refine her unique mai, a dance attuned to the rhythms of Mother Nature. She currently resides in Volcano, where she generates new Spiral Visions, teaches dance and aspires to bring cultures together through international cultural exchange.
      Shizuno says of her work, “I am dancing with Life itself, expressing the magnificent drama, fleeting and precious!” She emphasizes that in her workshop, all hearts are welcome.
      Joining Shizuno during her workshop are crystal bowl musician Izumi Hashimoto and workshop dance assistants Rieko Inoue from Kyoto and Jenn Eng, from Hilo.
      Fee is $50 for VAC members and $55 for non-members. For more information or to register call VAC at 967-8222 or register at volcanoartcenter.org. No dance experience is necessary.

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

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf and
kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_June2015.pdf.

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, June 15, 2015

Ka`u livestock producers next year could have an option to hauling their animals to distant processing plants. Photo by Julia Neal

LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS FROM KA`U gathered at Pahala Community Center yesterday to discuss and learn more about a mobile slaughterhouse proposed to handle small numbers of cattle, sheep and pigs. Like their counterparts on the mainland, many meat producers on Hawai`i Island face significant barriers to starting and maintaining their businesses. The island currently imports a significant amount of its beef and more than 95 percent of its pork, lamb and goat products due to competition from imported meat products, high operational costs and insufficient access to U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected slaughterhouses.

Rep. Richard Onishi

      Hawai`i Island Meat is a producer-owned and operated cooperative. Its 36-foot trailer, made possible with funding from the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture, will meet USDA sanitation standards and be capable of processing eight to 10 head of cattle,15 pigs and 30 lamb or goats per day.
      State Rep. Richard Onishi lent support to the group that includes Carol Zimmerman, who owns a 360-acre ranch at South Point and Kama`oa Roads where she raises cattle alongside Earth Matters vegetable farm. Barney Frazier, with his lambs that serve as lawnmowers in his orchards, said he acquired sheep and lamb to clean his orchards, leading to people wanting the meat from his farm west of Wai`ohinu. Mick Sharp said he will need slaughterhouse services for his lambs on Ka`alu`alu Road. Former state senator and state Department of Agriculture chief Russell Kokubun, of Volcano, said he is preparing paddocks to raise sheep, goats and pigs.
      Mike Amando, who has a 200-acre ranch in Pa`auilo, said he is looking forward to a mobile service that is humane and provides the best services for home, store and restaurant consumption. He said Hawai`i has the disadvantage of being 2,500 miles away from many services for processing livestock. Several producers talked about existing services on the island requiring long drives and long waits for Ka`u ranchers.
       Melanie Bondera, of the Kohala Center, said the mobile slaughter facility is designed for small and diversified producers. She said the mayor’s advisory committee on agriculture is very supportive, as is the state Department of Agriculture.
      The mobile slaughterhouse would come to Ka`u, perhaps to one or two places, when there are enough animals scheduled. The locations, yet to be determined, would have to have accessibility, a restroom and a few other amenities. They could be on private or public land.
      Several farmers and ranchers from outside Ka`u also attended, including Phil Bath, of Puna Pigs.
      More information about the program is available at HawaiiIslandMeat.com or via email at HawaiiIslandMeat@gmail.com.
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Puna CDP map of zoning in Kea`au.

AN EXAMPLE OF HOW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLANS guide planning is occurring in Puna, where a proposal coming before the Planning Commission on July 2 recommends bringing the county General Plan, another guide to land use recommendations, into concert with that district’s CDP. While the General Plan recommends and does not force zoning changes, it guides them when landowners make requests. 

      The proposal from Hawai`i County Council focuses on Kea`au, where 587 acres makai of Hwy 11 would be classified as medium density urban, which currently applies to 52 acres in the commercial area of town. The proposal includes 112 acres currently designated as important agricultural lands that would be recommended for urban zoning in the General Plan.
      According to a story in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald by Tom Callis, Hawai`i County Council requested the change to make the General Plan consistent with the Puna CDP and help the county plan for public services needed in the area of expected growth.
      County planning program manager Daryn Arai told Callis the medium density classification does not allow for industrial development, which would have been permitted if the previously proposed urban expansion designation had been adopted.
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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Sen. Josh Green

KA`U’S STATE SEN. JOSH GREEN discusses past accomplishments and future efforts in the state Legislature on his Facebook page. “Working together over the last 11 years, we have achieved extraordinary results for our community with over $1 billion committed to improve roads, schools and hospitals in West Hawai`i,” Green said. Of that funding, over $75 million annually comes from the Hospital Sustainability Act to strengthen Hawai`i’s hospitals, including Ka`u Hospital.
      “At your urging I have sponsored important new laws to care for Hawai`i’s children,” Green said, “such as the 2015 mandates for insurance to cover autism and surgery for children with cleft palate. No state is more compassionate in its commitment to children’s health needs now, and in 2014 we were named the healthiest state in the nation. As health chairman, all of these many years, this particular designation made me very proud of the work we have done together.”
      Green also list fighting against special interests to protect the environment and supporting renewable energy as additional accomplishments.
      “In the coming years, I plan to work to improve opportunities for all of the people in Hawai`i,” Green said. “We need better employment options to help keep our children in Hawai`i. Housing must become more affordable, and we have to finally address the crises of homelessness and drug addiction, problems that have plagued our nation for generations.

      “Thank you for all of your personal notes, letters and words of encouragement over these years. As ever, I hope to continue to hear your best ideas on how to make our state a more extraordinary place to live. It's only paradise if we make it so.”

A reward is offered on this stolen truck. Photo from Ka`u Coffee Mill

      Contact Green at 808-586-9385 or sengreen@capitol.hawaii.gov.
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A REWARD IS OFFERED FOR INFORMATION leading to the return of a truck stolen from Ka`u Coffee Mill late Saturday night. The 1985 Toyota Pickup was stolen and driven through a barbed wire fence to escape. Notify police and call Randy Stevens with any information at 368-3996. 

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KILAUEA DRAMA AND ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK’S summer musical production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I opens soon. Performances are July 10 - 26 at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      The musical, the fifth by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II, is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon, which is derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s.

The King and I cast members rehearse Getting to Know You. Photo from KDEN

      The musical’s plot tells of the experiences of Anna, a British schoolteacher, hired as part of the king’s drive to modernize his country. The king is largely considered to be a barbarian by those in the West, and he seeks Anna’s assistance in changing his image, if not his ways. The relationship between the king and Anna is marked by conflict, as well as by a love that neither can admit. Along with the score, which includes Shall We Dance, Getting to Know You and Hello Young Lovers, is the Jerome Robbins ballet, The Small House of Uncle Thomas.
      Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $14 general admission, $12 for seniors and students and $10 for children 12 and under. Pre-sale tickets are available at Kilauea General Store, Kea`au Natural Foods and The Most Irresistible Shop in Hilo. Tickets are also available at the door.
      For more information, call 982-7344 or email kden73@aol.com.
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Hawai`i Island native Lito Arkangel performs at Kilauea
Visitor Center Auditorium Wednesday. Photo from NPS

KA`U VOLUNTEERS WHO WANT TO HELP Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park in their next Forest Restoration Project should register today. At the event on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., participants clear invasive, non-native faya plants in the Kilauea section. 

      Register at forest@fhvnp.org or 352-1402.

HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL MEETS tomorrow at West Hawai`i Civic Center in Kona. Ka`u residents can participate via videoconferencing at Na`alehu State Office Building. The meeting is also streamed live. See hawaiicounty.gov and click on Council Meetings.

ENTERTAINER AND SONGWRITER Lito Arkangel shares his original compositions and other Hawaiian favorites Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. A native of the former plantation town of Ola`a (now known as Kea`au), Arkangel learned music by turning pages for his grandmother as she played piano for the local church. After decades of backyard jam sessions, he is now a full-time entertainer and musician and just released his debut album, Lito Arkangel … Me ke Aloha, produced by Grammy Award-winner Charles Michael Brotman. Arkangel was a finalist for Most Promising Artist at the 2015 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.
      Free; park entrance fees apply.

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

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf and
kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_June2015.pdf.