Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015

After leading the Ka`u Plantation Days parade, the cane truck parked on the side of Maile Street so that field workers riding on front could view pa`u riders and marching community organizations. Photos by Ron Johnson

THE SKIES CLEARED as the cane truck traveled down Maile Street to begin Ka`u Plantation Days this morning. Eli Vierra drove an ATV for Ka`u Multicultural Society, which organizes the event.

Ka`u Pa`u Queen Lorilee Lorenzo led pa`u riders through Pahala
to begin Ka`u Plantation Days.

      Pa`u riders representing the Hawaiian Islands followed, with Pa`u Queen Lorilee Lorenzo and her mother Mahina, father Frank and brothers Frank, Jr. and Jesse leading others.
      Ua and Gavin Galimba represented Ni`ihau; Kehau and Mana Ke, Kaua`i; Merle Becker and John Wacker, Oa`hu; Keana Kuluwaimaka and La`a Ke, Moloka`i; Mikela and Donnell Akana, Lana`i; Teani Souza, Kaho`olawe; Alexa Wacker and Kailee Kahalua-Stacy, Maui; and Samantha Wacker and Kealia Galimba, Hawai`i.
      Others joining the parade were Friends of the Ka`u Libraries, Boys & Girls Club, Miss Ka`u Coffee Maria Miranda, Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative, and Hunny Ke cleaning up after the horses.
      Ka`u Coffee growers also set up displays about the history of the industry that is flourishing almost 20 years after the sugar plantation closed down.
      Residents also are shared stories about camps where they lived and played.
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The Lorenzo family joined Queen Lorilee as her court.

TROPICAL STORM OLAF will be a major hurricane when it crosses into the Central Pacific Tuesday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Once Olaf gains enough northern latitude, a drier environment with an increase in southerly or south-southwesterly shear should result in weakening.
      Olaf follows thunderstorms from remnants of Tropical Depression Nora that battered Ka`u last night. Many residents reported lightning and thunder that appeared to be directly overhead. Lightning struck a transformer in Pahala, causing power outages to several residents.
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GOV. DAVID IGE SIGNED an emergency proclamation that enables the state to quickly funnel money toward the facilitation of rapid construction of a temporary shelter for homeless families, the immediate extension of existing contracts for homeless services and an immediate increase in funding for programs that promote immediate housing.

Friends of the Ka`u Libraries marched in the parade before manning
their booth to raise funds to support their cause.

      State funds of more than $1.3 million were identified this month, paving the way for the emergency proclamation. The monies will serve an additional 1,000 homeless individuals between now and July 31, 2016, providing increased funding for homeless services and programs that promote permanent housing for families and the chronically homeless.
      The emergency proclamation will also facilitate construction of a transitional housing facility for homeless families. The facility will be temporary and have a clear sunset date.
      State, city, federal governments and various service providers have worked together to place 158 individuals and 25 families from Kaka`ako on O`ahu into shelters since the effort began in early August. That’s 54 percent of homeless individuals surveyed in Kaka`ako in early August and more than 80 percent of the families surveyed.
      “The lesson learned is that great things can be accomplished when we all work together,” Ige said. “Despite the recent success of enforcement efforts in the Kaka`ako Makai area, homelessness remains a serious issue in every county throughout the state. We plan to replicate the Kaka`ako model as we work to address homelessness in communities across the state.”

Pa`u riders honored their ancestors.

      “There’s still much work to do,” said Scott Morishige, Governor’s Coordinator on Homelessness. “Hawai`i has the highest rate of homelessness per capita among the 50 states, with an estimated 465 homeless individuals per 100,000. The alarming increase in unsheltered individuals and families over the past two years is particularly significant on O`ahu. This proclamation will expedite the state’s plans to help these individuals and families to more quickly transition to permanent housing.”
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PAUL GIBSON, OF OCEAN VIEW, is spending five years in prison, John Burnett reported in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. Gibson was charged with second-degree assault and first-degree terroristic threatening as the result of an altercation on May 10, 2014. David Coombes was stabbed 12 times, and Hilo Circuit Court Judge Greg Nakamura yesterday ordered Gibson to also reimburse Coombes for his medical expenses.
      “We’re looking at a mutual affray gone wrong … and Mr. Gibson has responsibility in his role in that,” Gibson’s attorney Michael Zola told the judge. “And what happened after that is that Mr. Coombes, who is a trained fighter at BJ Penn’s gym and is a much heavier guy, got the better of him and he got him on the ground. … The underlying premise here is that Mr. Gibson was being choked out and decided, whether rightly or wrongly, that he needed to pull out his pocketknife and stop (Coombes) from killing him.”
      Burnett said Gibson’s lawyer asked the judge to consider probation and intermittent jail stays or to delay Gibson’s imprisonment so he could finish contracted work “and provide for his family,” but Nakamura ordered immediate incarceration, noting “the seriousness of the offenses.”

Keiki rode in the cane truck with driver Derrick Andrade.

      “You do have a prior criminal history,” Nakamura said. “The court believes that prison terms are appropriate for the purpose of punishment and the deterrence of others. And I think these considerations would override any concerns that one would have for provision for your family.”
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KA`U RURAL HEALTH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION continues pre-registration for its fifth annual Floating Lantern Celebration. The deadline is Sunday, Nov. 15 for the event on Saturday, Nov. 28. The celebration at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach Park’s Medicine Pond from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. honors and remembers love ones, friends, families and caregivers.
      For more information, call 928-0101 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. See krhcai.com for photos of past celebrations.

PEOPLE AND LANDS OF KAHUKU, tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., is a moderate two-mile, three-hour guided hike that loops through varied landscapes to explore the human history of Kahuku. Emerging native forest, pastures, lava fields and other sites hold clues about ways people have lived and worked on the vast Kahuku lands – from the earliest Hawaiians, through generations of ranching families, to the current staff and volunteers of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Participants learn about the powerful natural forces at work here and how people have adapted to, shaped and restored this land.
      Call 985-6011 for more information.

Pa`u riders and their lei-bedecked horses ride down Maile Street in Pahala. 

SOCIAL SECURITY WORKSHOPS COME to Ka`u and Volcano next week: Wednesday, Oct. 21 at Na`alehu Community Center; Thursday, Oct. 22 at Cooper Center in Volcano Village; and Friday, Oct. 23 at Ocean View Community Center. Times for all workshops are 6:30 p.m. 8 p.m.

      Topics include what baby boomers need to know, how divorce affects benefits, how spousal benefits are calculated, how benefits are taxed, effects of employment income, how disability benefits work, how retirement benefits are calculated and more.
      See ad below for more topics. Reserve at 327-5410.

THE ART EXPRESS is scheduled for a week from today on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Discovery Harbour Community Hall. At the painting workshop, participants can learn something new or work on forgotten projects. Instructions will be on oil, acrylic or watercolor.
      Sign up with and receive instructions from Meliha at himeliha@yahoo.com.

Ka`u Multicultural Society organizes the annual
Ka`u Plantation Days.

HAWAI`I ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY’S Arbor Day Tree Giveaway will be held on Saturday, Nov. 7 at its office at 1200 Kilauea Ave. in Hilo. Trees will be distributed from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or while supplies last.
      Trees to be given away this year include ko`oko`olau, kokio keokeo, kou, kukui, mamaki, milo and niu.
      The annual event is a partnership with Kua O Ka La Public Charter School, Ho`oulu Lahui, Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program and HELCO. To help perpetuate native species, a variety of organizations across the state routinely organize educational events to distribute native trees and shrubs to the community.
      Information on how to properly plant, site and care for the tree also is distributed. Students and instructors will be available to educate the public on how to care for their trees and explain the cultural significance of the native plants.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

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

 

Ka`u News Briefs Friday, Oct. 16, 2015

Honu `ea hatchlings head to the ocean yesterday as Ka`u residents and visitors watch them leave the nest at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach. See story below. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY will partner with a family and community to build at least one home in Ocean View, probably breaking ground next June, according to West Hawai`i Executive Director Patrick Hurney. The house lot is secure and family, who will contribute their own sweat equity in order to own the home, has been chosen, he said.

Proceeds from Habitat for Humanity's ReStore support the organization's
efforts to eliminate poverty housing.

      Donations of money and supplies are being taken. Habitat, founded by Pres. Jimmy Carter, is a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating, and preserving homes. It advocates for fair and just housing policies and provides training and access to resources in order to improve lives of families and help them get back on their feet. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety.
      Habitat operates a ReStore in Kona at 73-4161 Ulu Wini Place. Residents can support Habitat by donating gently used home improvement products or purchasing items previously donated.
      For more information and photos and to donate, see habitatwesthawaii.org.

HAWAI`I BIGEYE TUNA FISHERY has reopened. National Marine Fisheries Service had closed the fishery two months ago because fishermen had caught the annual quota. According to an Associated Press story in Honolulu Star-Advertiser, NMFS instituted a rule that allows fishermen to report some of their catch as from the Northern Mariana Islands. 

      “Arbitrary quotas not linked to conservation objectives kept our boats tied at the docks,” said Kitty Simonds, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council executive director. “The struggling vessels and small businesses they support accumulated millions of dollars in debt each month, causing untold anxiety for our local fishing community and consumers.”
      David Henkin, an attorney for Earthjustice, said, “What the fisheries service has been doing in response to industry pressure is absolutely the wrong thing for consumers who want to have sustainable food and food to put on the table for their children and their children’s children. And really, ultimately it’s not the right thing to do for longliners themselves if they want to continue that tradition in their families.”

      See staradvertiser.com.
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Keiki got a close encounter with honu `ea before Hawksbill
Turtle Recovery Project personnel released the hatchlings.
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie 

HAWAI`I ISLAND HAWKSBILL Turtle Recovery Project successfully opened a nest at Punalu`u yesterday. Keiki from local schools, other Ka`u residents and visitors looked on as project manager Lauren Kurpita and others helped the honu `ea escape their shells and deep nest. Students examined the hatchlings up close in containers before setting them off on their journey to the Pacific, where they will live out the rest of their lives munching on sponges and other treats.

      Honu `ea come ashore only to nest, with confirmed sites from Ka`u into Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park at Awili Point, Pohue Bay, Kawa, Punalu`u, Kamehame, Halape and `Apua Point. More than 90 percent of the nests statewide are found on this island.
      Volunteers who would like to help monitor and protect nests can contact Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park at 985-6090 or email HAVO_Turtle_Project@nps.gov. Report people harming sea turtles to 974-6208 and dead, sick or injured sea turtles to 327-7780.

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“MAUNA LOA IS NOT ERUPTING,” Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported in its current update on the status of the world’s largest active volcano. HVO is providing weekly updates following its elevation of Mauna Loa’s Volcano Alert Level from Normal to Advisory on Thursday, Sept. 17. Scientists based the level on long-term trends in both earthquake and deformation monitoring data.

HVO is keeping a close watch on Mauna Loa after raising
its alert level one month ago. Photo from USGS

      The seismicity rate is elevated above background but at a lower weekly rate than reported in mid- to late-summer. Earthquakes occurred beneath Mauna Loa’s upper Southwest Rift Zone at depths less than eight miles. Deformation data are still consistent with inflation of magma reservoirs beneath Mauna Loa’s summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone.
      Mauna Loa rises gradually to 13,681 feet above sea level. Its long submarine flanks descend an additional three miles below sea level to the ocean floor. The ocean floor directly beneath Mauna Loa is, in turn, depressed by the volcano’s great mass another five miles. This places Mauna Loa’s summit about 56,000 feet above its base.
      Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since its first well documented historical eruption in 1843. Its most recent eruption was in 1984.
      For more information on Mauna Loa and its hazards, see the USGS Fact sheet available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3104/fs2012-3104.pdf.

      See hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
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Gov. and Mrs. Ige celebrated Hawai`i's thirty-year sister-city relationship
with Quangdong Province, China. Photo from Office of the Governor

GOV. DAVID IGE and First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige returned from a trip to Japan and China on Wednesday, Oct. 14. They traveled with a delegation from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism to promote economic development, renewable energy cooperation and international student exchange. 

      While there, the governor and Mrs. Ige participated in celebrations of the 30th anniversary of sister-relations with Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Guangdong Province, China and expressed Hawai`i’s commitment to further strengthen these relationships through educational, cultural and economic exchanges in the years ahead.
      “Hawai`i and Okinawa share many similar characteristics, and I was able to observe how Okinawa’s energy companies and educational institutions are developing programs and initiatives that have global impact,” Gov. Ige said. “The Prefectural Government is also committed to developing a workforce skilled in international relations. Our similarities will continue to unite us as we strive to achieve new models of economic development priorities.”

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Hawai`i's Larger Game Birds. Illustration
by H. Douglas Pratt

THE 2015-2016 GAME BIRD HUNTING season opens on Saturday, Nov. 7. With lingering drought impacts in many parts of the state, Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife biologists are predicting a below average season of bird hunting.
      The fall game bird hunting season will run through Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016. A valid hunting license and a game bird stamp are required for all game bird hunting on public and private lands.
      Kapapala Ranch Cooperative Game Management Area and Kapapala Forest Reserve will be open on Saturdays, Sundays and state holidays for the entire game bird season.
      Kipuka ‘Ainahou will be open on weekends and state holidays throughout the game bird hunting season. Special permits are required and available from the DOFAW offices in Hilo. Hunters are to avoid nene geese that are in the area. Mammal hunting in this area is closed from Nov. 1 through February.
      Pohakuloa Training Area will be at the direction of the Department of Defense, subject to training schedule. Hunters can call the Pohakuloa hunter’s hotline at 969-3474 for information on hunting days, open areas and access routes.
      Further information may be obtained by contacting DOFAW’s Hilo office at 974-4221.
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TOMORROW IS KA`U PLANTATION DAYS. The fifth annual event takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. The 2015 theme is For the Good Times. 

      The events begins with the arrival of the sugar cane truck and pa`u parade of horses and riders bedecked in lei, colors and costumes representing each island.

A cane haul truck opens festivities tomorrow at Ka`u Plantation Days.
Photo by Julia Neal

     The parade starts at 9 a.m. at Pahala Community Center and travels down Maile Street to Old Pahala Clubhouse, with emcee Clyde Silva. Derrick Andrade will drive a decorated sugar cane truck that hauled sugar from the fields to the mill in Pahala until the plantation closing in 1996.
      A mounted pa`u court with Queen Lorilee Lorenzo will follow. Walkers and riders will include representatives of the many ethnic groups who built the agricultural community of Ka`u, which has evolved from sugar plantations to ranching, macadamia and coffee orchards and food and tea farms. Educational groups such as Friends of Ka`u Libraries and Ka`u Rural Health Community Association will participate.

KAHUKU UNIT OF HAWAI`I Volcanoes National Park offers free programs this weekend.
      Participants explore Kahuku’s rich geologic history, traverse the vast 1868 lava flow and see different volcano features and formations tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on a guided, easy-to-moderate hike. They will also learn to identify many parts of Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone.
      People and Lands of Kahuku, Sunday at 9:30 a.m., is a moderate two-mile, three-hour guided hike that loops through varied landscapes to explore the human history of Kahuku. Emerging native forest, pastures, lava fields and other sites hold clues about ways people have lived and worked on the vast Kahuku lands – from the earliest Hawaiians, through generations of ranching families, to the current staff and volunteers of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Participants learn about the powerful natural forces at work here and how people have adapted to, shaped and restored this land.

      Call 985-6011 for more information.

Information for homeowners with septic systems is available
later this month. Image from HDOH

HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Wastewater Branch and Safe Drinking Water Branch’s Groundwater Protection Program are joining together to provide free onsite disposal system information. Homeowners with septic systems are invited to attend. Participants learn how to determine if they have a septic system, how to locate the system and provide proper operation and maintenance. 

      Hawai`i Island sessions are in Kona on Wednesday, Oct. 28 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Kealakehe School Library and in Hilo on Thursday, Oct. 29 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Aupuni Center.
      Maximum enrollment is 50 per session. Registration information is provided at health.hawaii.gov/wastewater/home/training.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

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

Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015

Pa`u riders return to Pahala Saturday to participate in the Ka`u Plantation Days parade. See more below. Photo by Julia Neal

HAWAI`I ISLAND HAWKSBILL Turtle Recovery Project will be conducting a nest excavation at Punalu`u, next to the lifeguard stand, today at 4:30 p.m. Nine volunteers are joining project manager Lauren Kurpita and the project’s field technician. Students from local schools have also been invited to attend.

Hawsbill hatchlings head for the ocean at Punalu`u this afternoon.

Photo by Dave Berry

      The Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project is a partnership of National Park Service, Hawai`i Natural History Association, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Wildlife Service.

      According to the Turtle Recovery Project, some 80 honu `ea lay multiple nests each season, which can run from spring to early winter. After emerging from eggs, hawksbills spend their lives at sea dining on sponges, unlike the green sea turtles that bask on the shore at Punalu`u. Threats to the hawksbill include lights that disorient their journey to and from the ocean, fishing nets and other floating debris which can entangle and drown them, plastic bags and other choking litter, driving on the beach where vehicles can destroy nests, and development close to nesting sites. Mongooses, rats, cats, dogs and pigs can dig into turtle nests to eat hawksbill eggs and hatchlings.

      For more information about the Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project, call 985-6090 or email HAVO_Turtle_Project@nps.gov. Report people harming sea turtles to 974-6208 and dead, sick or injured sea turtles to 327-7780.

      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

NOAA RAIN GAUGES at Pahala, Kapapala Ranch and Volcano, inside Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, will soon be upgraded, according to Stephen Butler, who maintains them. Butler, who retired from NOAA, came back to work again. He said that the three gauges in Ka`u that communicate by telephone will be swapped out with instruments that send data over satellite. The Pahala, Kapapala and HVNP gauges only collect rain data, reporting in every six hours. Whenever rain exceeds a quarter-inch in 15 minutes, however, an alert goes out to warn of flooding. Another NOAA weather station at South Point already communicates through satellite and collects temperature, rain, wind and other data.

Sen. Brian Schatz

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SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ’S gun control stance was sent this morning to Volcano gun control advocate Ross Rammelmeyer. In a letter to Rammelmeyer, Schatz stated, “I have supported recent gun control efforts because I believe that we can protect the Second Amendment rights of Americans while preventing the kind of senseless gun violence that has torn apart communities across the United States. I believe it is important to bring national gun control standards in line with the high standards in place in Hawai`i, where we have the lowest number of gun deaths per capita in the nation. 

      “My heart goes out to the victims of gun violence and their families who have worked tirelessly to get their elected leaders to support common sense reform. I want to assure you that there is nothing more important to me than the security of our communities.”
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

Dr. Carey Gear with his wife, Kim.
Photo from Ka`u Hospital

DR. CAREY GEAR WILL BE JOINING the medical staff of Ka`u Hospital Rural Health Clinic. Gear is a board-certified family physician. He has practiced both Family Medicine and Emergency medicine in small towns and big cities and has done volunteer medical work in China, Zambia, Nicaragua and Cambodia. 

      Over the years, Gear has enjoyed many family trips to the Hawaiian Islands, drawn to the ocean and warmth of the people and culture.
      He and Kim, his wife of 35 years, will be moving to Ka`u along will their entire family, so their intention is to make Ka`u their new home. They are going to be joined by their two married daughters, two sons-in-law and six grandchildren.
      “The Gears were really looking for a community, not just a job, and I think they have found it in Ka`u,” Ka`u Hospital Administrator Merilyn Harris said. “It was important to us to find someone who would want to stay here and call Ka`u home, so we’re very happy that Dr. Gear is looking forward to both serving and joining the Ka`u community. He says he is anxious to get to know his new patients and that he will give his best efforts toward helping them stay healthy.”
      In his new permanent position, Gear will be working in the clinic, caring for patients in the hospital and providing occasional coverage in the emergency department.

USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT has funding available for grants and guaranteed loans to Ka`u small businesses and for-profit agricultural producers for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Grants will cover up to 25 percent of the total project cost of renewable energy or energy efficiency improvements. 

      Examples of energy efficiency improvements include high efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; insulation; lighting; cooling or refrigeration units; doors and windows; electric, solar or gravity pumps for sprinkler pivots; switching from a diesel to electric irrigation motor; and replacement of energy-inefficient equipment.
      Applicants must meet U.S. Small Business Administration Small Business Size Standards. See https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/files/Size_Standards_Table.pdf.
      Deadlines are Nov. 2, 2015 for grant requests under $20,000 and May 2, 2016 for grant requests over $20,000.
      Information, forms and resources are available at http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-program-renewable-energy-systems-energy-efficiency/hi.

A Volcano Village author's new book
will be available next month.

      Contact John Antonio, Rural Development Business Programs Specialist at 933-8318 john.antonio@hi.usda.gov for more information. 

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A VOLCANO VILLAGE AUTHOR’S book about living in the rainforest will be available in November. Rainforest Pu`uhonua is Kahikahealani Wight’s memoir of her awakening in the 1980s when she bought a cottage near the erupting summit of Kilauea and lived there for five years. She found pu`uhonua – sanctuary, refuge – in the endangered Hawaiian rainforest ecosystem, and she shares the feeling of being in a landscape alive with ancestral voices singing through mist and fire, native birds and insects, plants and ferns. 

      “Discovering the fullness of herself in these sacred uplands,” a press release states, “Wight inspires us to find our own healing places, to connect more fully with the intuitive knowing that springs out of ancient awareness embedded in our land, and continues to be chanted on the wind.”
      Wight grew up in a time when society did not value Hawaiian language, culture or landscape. Her Hawaiian father always emphasized learning Western ways and would not directly teach his daughter about their genealogical roots, although he couldn’t help but transmit to her his indigenous sensibilities and wisdom. Her New England mother, like most parents at that time, discouraged her daughter’s interest in her Hawaiian heritage.
      Wight grew up conflicted. She loved Hawaiian stories and songs and wanted to learn Hawaiian language and connection to the natural world, but she was discouraged from doing so.
      Wight’s rhythmic prose along with 62 paintings and photos by local artists convey the depth and magic of the Hawaiian rainforest and bring the ancestral songs to life.
      The author will be reading from her book and signing copies on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village.
      See rainforestpuuhonua.com.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

The Hawaiian Room screens this evening. Hula Preservation
Society photo from VAC

THE HAWAIIAN ROOM IS THE SUBJECT of a film to be shown today at 7 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Ann Marie Kirk’s film documents the hundreds of Hawaiian dancers, singers and musicians from the Hawaiian isles who became part of the legacy of the New York City venue from 1937 to 1966. 

      After the film, several original Hawaiian Room talents appear in person. Sammi Fo, who lives in Ocean View and teaches hula there, is a former Lexi Girl.
      VAC appreciates $5 donations.
      For more information, see volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222.

NOE NOE KEKAUALUA shares Hula Arts tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. during Aloha Friday at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

HAPA HAOLE HULA WORKSHOP takes place tomorrow from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Participants learn how to hula with TeMoana Makolo, one of the Lexi Girls who performed at the Hawaiian Room in New York City’s Hotel Lexington. $15 members; $18 non-members. Register at 967-8222.

Orchid cultivation is the topic of a workshop Saturday. Image from VAC

KA`U RESIDENTS CAN LEARN Orchid Cultivation Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Participants take home knowledge and a plant. Fees are $20 for VAC members and $25 non-members. Register at 967-8222. 

SATURDAY IS KA`U PLANTATION DAYS. The fifth annual event takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. The 2015 theme is For the Good Times. A parade begins at 9 a.m. at Pahala Community Center and travels down Maile Street.
      At one of many booths, local residents will display books containing photographs of camp housing and documenting stories related to them. Everyone who experienced the camps is encouraged to stop by and share their stories.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.

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

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.