Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I. See more below. Photo from the Royal Order

A NEW ONLINE PORTAL LETS CONSUMERS see how Hawai`i restaurants and other food service organizations fare in food safety inspections, starting with O`ahu inspection data. Past neighbor island inspections will be uploaded by the end of the year. Going forward, all inspection reports from all islands will be posted in near real-time, depending upon availability of secure, wireless access.

      Access to data from food safety inspection reports, complete with descriptions of violations, gives consumers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at food safety and sanitation practices at food outlets they frequent.

      “We’re taking transparency to an entirely new level,” said Peter Oshiro, who manages Hawai`i Department of Health’s food safety inspection program. “Information from the inspection reports empowers consumers and informs their choices.”

      The online portal, which has taken nearly a year to develop and refine, is a companion component to the DOH’s placard program, which it began as part of the state’s Food Safety Code adopted in 2014. Under the placard program, food outlets are given a green, yellow or red placards and are required to post them in visible locations at their entrances. The color-coded placards indicate whether a food establishment has passed its health inspection, received a conditional pass or has been closed due to permit suspension. Restaurants are fined for not posting them.

Peter Oshiro

      “Data from the inspection reports give consumers the details behind the green, yellow or red placards, which many have become accustomed to seeing near the entrances of restaurants or other places that serve food,” Oshiro said. “Our observant inspectors are capturing every detail for their reports using established science-based criteria. With this degree of disclosure, we believe the online reports will make restaurants and other food service organizations pay closer attention to their food safety and sanitation practices.”

      Just as the publicly posted placards provide an incentive for restaurants and other food service organizations to rectify any food-handling or other safety issues, the publicly available data from the inspection reports are expected to motivate restaurants to take a closer look at their own practices since these reports become a permanent, historical record accessible to the public.

      “About 25 percent of the locations we inspect receive a yellow card. We hope to see this rate steadily decline with this new website,” Oshiro said. “We can now show what a bad inspection looks like on a public site. This should be a great catalyst for the industry to improve their food safety practices and make internal quality control a priority before our inspections.”
      More than 10,000 food establishments statewide prepare or serve food and require a Department of Health permit to operate their business, with roughly 1,800 on Hawai`i Island. This includes restaurants, hotels, caterers, food warehouses, markets, convenience stores, lunch wagons, push carts and institutional kitchens for healthcare facilities, schools, adult and child day care centers and prisons.
      The Hawai`i restaurant inspection website is at http://hi.healthinspections.us/hawaii.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HO`OMALU KA`U, THE NONPROFIT that is planning Ka`u Heritage Center, applied for $16,000 in county funding for its Saving Ka`u Kupuna Life Histories program, under the direction of the organization's president and contact person Lehua Lopez-Mau. Hawai`i County Council’s Human Services & Social Services Committee recommended $3,500 for the project. The committee will discuss these and other recommendations at its meeting on Tuesday, April 19.
 

Ho`omalu Ka`u plans a Ka`u Heritage Center near Ocean View and a
program to record storytelling sessions by Ka`u kupuna.
Photo by Shalan Crysdale

  The budget includes professional fees, operations, supplies, advertising and liability insurance to conduct 12 interviews, capturing life histories in digital video, according to the application. Complete interviews would be archived at Ka`u Heritage Center, with a copy given to each family. Ho`omalu Ka`u’s grant application also includes plans to record “for archival purposes” six storytelling sessions at county parks in Ka`u where “kupuna living and working in Ka`u over the last 70-plus years” could bring their "photos, household things, and artifacts from their old plantation, ranching and farming days."

      “Kupuna (elders), born and raised in Ka`u, or living here for more than 30 years, are rapidly passing away,” the grant application states. “Their memories of a unique, bygone Hawaiian era, encompassing almost all of the 20th century, need to be preserved for future generations.”
      Last year the organization received $3,000 in county funding.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Sen. Mazie Hirono spoke on the Senate floor
to mark Equal Pay Day.
Image from Office of Sen. Hirono

SEN MAZIE HIRONO MARKED Equal Pay Day today by introducing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Opportunities Act, legislation that would improve inclusion of women, minorities and people with disabilities in STEM careers. Equal Pay Day marks the day in 2016 when, on average, women’s wages catch up to what men earned in 2015.

      “It’s unacceptable that we are more than 100 days into 2016, but women’s salaries are only now catching up with what men made last year,” Hirono said. “While the gender pay gap affects women across all fields, women in STEM careers continue to face barriers that can limit their opportunities for employment and equal pay. The STEM Opportunities Act takes a comprehensive approach to combatting factors that limit the advancement of women and other underrepresented groups in STEM. For America to remain competitive in a 21st century economy, we must break down barriers for working women through passing the Paycheck Fairness Act and the STEM Opportunities Act.”
      Hirono also took to the Senate floor to mark Equal Pay Day and highlight disparities in STEM fields. For example, at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa in school year 2014-2015, men earned more than five times the number of computer science bachelor’s degrees and three times as many bachelor’s degrees in the College of Engineering as women.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD INTRODUCED a House resolution yesterday celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, Hawai`i’s oldest royal order organization. King Kamehameha V established the Royal Order on April 11, 1865 to honor the legacy of his grandfather, King Kamehameha I, to defend the Kingdom of Hawai`i’s sovereignty and to preserve the culture and traditions of the Native Hawaiian people.

      “For 150 years, the Royal Order of Kamehameha has honored the legacy of Hawai`i’s King Kamehameha I, as well as helped to cultivate and perpetuate the culture, traditions and practices of Native Hawaiians,” Gabbard said. “Today, the Royal Order continues to honor its namesake and fulfill its mission of uplifting our communities by supporting and empowering the Native Hawaiian people. I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating The Royal Order of Kamehameha I on 150 years of service and celebrating the legacy of this unique cultural and historical treasure.”

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Jeff Peterson returns to Ka`u today.

JEFF PETERSON HELPS PAHALA Public & School Library celebrate National Library Week today at 5:30 p.m. The 45-minute program is suitable for all ages. Young children must be accompanied by a parent or adult caregiver.

      For more information, call 928-2015.

RECOVERY AND RELEASE OF `ALALA, the Hawaiian crow, is the topic this evening at After Dark in the Park. The program begins a 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $2 donations support park programs; park entrance fees apply.

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED to Ka`u Scenic Byway Committee’s meeting Thursday at 5 p.m. at Na`alehu Methodist Church. Chair Rich Morrow said he hopes to have an update on lava flow date signs to be placed along Hwy 11.

KEN GOODRICH PRESENTS an exploration of light, sound and spirit during Into the Light on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. $5 donations are appreciated.

      Call 967-8222 for more information.

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

See kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.html.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_April_2016.pdf.

Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Monday, April 11, 2016

The public is invited to Storybook Theater of Hawai`i's presentation today from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Pahala Community Center in conjunction with Boys & Girls Club. See more below. Photo from Mark Jeffers

HUNDREDS GATHERED AT THE 442ND Veterans Club’s 73rd Anniversary Banquet, where U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard delivered remarks to honor veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team for their service and sacrifice on the battlefields of World War II. The team includes, from Ka`u, Iwao Yonemitsu and the late Tokuichi Nakano.

The 442nd team includes, from Ka`u, Iwao
Yonemitsu and the late Tokuichi Nakano.
Photo by Julia Neal

      “This is such an incredible celebration of our living treasures – our nation’s living treasures, and our local Hawai`i treasures,” said Gabbard, a twice-deployed Major with Hawai`i Army National Guard, about the gathering. “Every day that we get the chance to say thank you for your incredible bravery, for the example that you’ve set, and for the service and sacrifice that you and your family members have given to all of us – that is a very special day.”

      Gabbard spoke about the significance of the event’s theme, 442nd: The Legacy Begins. “Your legacy of service will continue on through your stories, through your lives, the things you’ve shared with us. It will continue on through your sons and daughters and this great organization, the 442nd Veterans Club, that makes sure that you are always remembered, and it lives on through the soldiers that continue to serve proudly in the 100th/442, who proudly wear that ‘Go for Broke’ patch on their uniforms, knowing that it not only represents this country, but it represents the great heroes who have come before us.”
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

MORE THAN 200 MEMBERS of the Hawai`i Air National Guard and the active duty Air Force returned with their F-22 Raptors to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam following a six-month-long deployment to the Central Command Area of Responsibility.

A pilot reunites with his son after landing.
Images from U.S. Department of Defense

      The F-22 fighter aircraft and most of the Airmen departed from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in late September 2015. The Airmen and F-22 aircraft returned home in several groups over the past several days.
      The Hawaiian Raptors are flown by pilots from HIANG’s 199th Fighter Squadron and the active duty’s 19th Fighter Squadron. Maintenance and support personnel are from HIANG’s 154th Wing and the active duty’s 15th Wing. This was the first operational deployment for the Hawaiian Raptors.

      While in the CENTCOM AOR, the F-22 Raptors successfully struck a number of high-value ISIS (also known as Daesh or ISIL) targets. The Hawaiian Raptors were an integral part of Operation Inherent Resolve – an 18-nation air coalition that is driving Daesh back considerably in Iraq and Syria. Daesh has lost more than 40 percent of the populated areas it once controlled in northern Iraq and recently retreated from several key populations centers in Syria.

      “Our people performed extremely well, and they did it with the Aloha spirit,” said one of HIANG’s pilots. “Maintenance did an outstanding job and made all their taskings. We integrated well with the other coalition forces and conducted our operations flawlessly.”

An airman embraces his family upon returning from his
six-month deployment.

      Because of security considerations and host nation sensitivities, HIANG will not release names of its personnel who deployed and the country or base where the Raptors operated. HIANG will also not release the number of F-22 fighters that deployed. The CENTCOM AOR encompasses the area of Southwest Asia and most of the Middle East.

      In 2010, the 199th Fighter Squadron converted to the F-22 from the F-15 Eagle and began flying the Raptors in partnership with the 19th Fighter Squadron.
      All of the HIANG Airmen who deployed are part of the 154th Wing, the largest Air National Guard wing in the nation. Hawai`i Air National Guard is comprised of nearly 2,500 Airmen whose federal mission is to be trained and available for active duty operational missions.
      A video of the Hawaiian Raptors team return can be accessed at http://dvidshub.net/r/yas7te.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Four of 27 new correctional officers are assigned to Hawai`i Island.
Photo from Hawai`i Department of Public Safety

HAWAI`I COUNTY WILL HAVE FOUR NEW correctional officers following a graduation ceremony on O`ahu. Twenty-seven recruits from Basic Corrections Recruit Class 16-01 graduated from training and will begin their careers as correctional officers in facilities across the state. Three are assigned to Hawai`i Community Correctional Center, and one to Kulani Correctional Facility.

      The state Department of Public Safety described BCRC as a nine-week training that includes 360 hours of classroom time and physical training. Recruits learn standard of conduct, professionalism and ethics, report writing, interpersonal communications, maintaining security, crisis intervention, security threat groups (gangs), firearms, self-defense tactics and physical exercise.
      “These individuals chose a unique and challenging career path,” said Sergeant Dzuong Le, BCRC Sergeant-in-Charge. “The job of a corrections officer in a prison or jail is one of the toughest jobs anyone can do, but it can also be rewarding, too. As corrections officers, we are held to a higher standard. I know these men and women have what it takes to hold up that standard with professionalism, integrity and fairness.”
      All incoming classes receive recruit field training along with basic corrections training. During the final weeks of training, they go into the facility and begin their job with guidance from their training sergeants.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Lauren Holiday and Doug Chin encourage parents and youth
to say yes to healthy lifestyles and no to underage drinking.
Image from Office of the Attorney General

APRIL IS ALCOHOL RESPONSIBILITY MONTH. Hawai`i Attorney General Doug Chin and Olympic Medalist and U.S. Women’s World Cup Soccer Team member Lauren Holiday encouraged parents and youth in Ka`u and throughout the state to say yes to a healthy lifestyle and no to underage drinking. In a message from the Attorney General's office, they suggested that parents and caregivers start a conversation about the dangers of underage drinking. “Conversations about positive, healthy choices need to start at an early age and continue through their teen years,” Holiday said. Chin urged parents to help their children learn why underage drinking is “unhealthy, dangerous and illegal.”

      Chin and Holiday suggested that parents see responsibility.org for information about the topic.
      “There is no better time than Alcohol Responsibility Month to talk to your kids and teens about making smart choices, especially the choice to say ‘no’ to underage drinking,” said Lisa Graham Keegan, chair of Responsibility.org’s national advisory board. “The Responsibility Starts with Me message is extremely applicable to parents and teachers, as they are role models to their kids and students, and parents are the leading influence over their teens’ decision to drink — or not to drink — alcohol. We hope the campaign’s message of personal responsibility will empower parents and teachers to continue having conversations with their kids and students about responsibility, in all aspects of life, throughout the year and for years to come.”
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

STORYBOOK THEATER OF HAWAI`I and its founder Mark Jeffers present a program about endangered species at Pahala Community Center during Boys & Girls Club today from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The public is invited. Other community groups wishing to participate may call Jeffers at 808-335-0712.
      For more information about the theater, see storybook.org.

DURING INVERTEBRATE INVESTIGATIONS with Robert Peck, of USGS, participants get in-depth information about Hawai`i’s endemic invertebrates. Tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village, Peck presents his photographs of various species and possibly specimen samples to inspire imaginations and present accurate representation in art pieces. Time will be allowed for sketching if desired. If registrants are interested in a certain species such as the Blackburn’s blue or any others, please let VAC know. If a specimen is available, Peck will be sure to bring it along.

      Register for the free program by calling 967-8222. Donations are gladly accepted.

JEFF PETERSON celebrates National Library Week tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at Pahala Public & School Library. The 45-minute program is suitable for all ages. Young children must be accompanied by a parent or adult caregiver.

      For more information, call 928-2015.

LEA KA`AHA`AINA, OF KEAUHOU Bird Conservation Center, and USGS Research Wildlife Biologist Paul Banko discuss the recovery and release of `alala, the Hawaiian crow, tomorrow at After Dark in the Park. The program begins a 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $2 donations support park programs; 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/TheDirectory2016.html.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_April_2016.pdf.

Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Sunday, April 10, 2016

The Return of the `Alala is the topic at After Dark in the Park Tuesday evening. See more below. Photo from NPS

KA`U SCHOOLS HAVE AIR QUALITY challenges from volcanic emissions as well as heat challenges from high temperatures in classrooms. However, air-conditioning is apparently available in Ka`u schools at only the same low level as in other public schools that have lesser vog challenges. According to a story in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary School, with 48 classrooms, has five with air conditioning – 10 percent. Na`alehu School has 30 classrooms, and two of them are air-conditioned – seven percent.

Five classrooms at Ka`u High & Pahala Elementary School
are air-conditioned. Photo by Julia Neal

      In her Tribune-Herald story, Kirsten Johnson presents Chiefess Kapiolani Elementary School in Hilo as an example of the need for AC in public schools. She quotes longtime teacher Jacqueline Kubo Luna saying, “Definitely the windows have to always be open. If they’re not, it’s just scorching in here.” The story says that second-grade instructor Luna “is well-prepared. She’s got a roll of paper towels on hand to stop frequent, heat-triggered nosebleeds. She’s contrived tricks to grab students’ attention — such as clapping loudly or chiming, ‘Wake up and smell the cocoa!’ when they slump over in a mid-afternoon humidity daze. And when inside temperatures climb into the 90s or even triple digits, she’ll lead her 19 students outside. ‘We’ll just go sit out in the shade, where there’s a pocket of breeze,’ she said. ‘Just to get out of the classroom. Because it’s just too hot.’ Luna’s Kapiolani classroom is among thousands in Hawai`i that lack schoolwide air-conditioning.”

      According to the Tribune-Herald story, “Estimates show installing AC in every school in the state would run up a $1.7 billion price tag. The cost per classroom can run as high as $30,000. Meanwhile, the department’s yearly electric bill runs around $48 million, which increases each time new systems are added.” In addition to costs of air-conditioning itself, rewiring becomes another expense for some of the older schools, like those in Ka`u.

      See more on the quest to air-condition public schools at hawaiitribune-herald.com.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

A DRY OPELU PROJECT CONDUCTED by Pahala-based Uhane Pohaku Na Moku O Hawai`i is one for which the nonprofit is seeking county funding. The hui began the project last year and has applied for county funding to continue it. “We are focusing on identifying fishermen in the South Kona district that are wanting to pass the tradition on,” the grant application states. “We will continue the dry opelu process, but will now teach the youth how to catch the fish with the use of the upena (net) to catch opelu and eventually boat fishing. The youth will learn the food bait process (palu). They will cultivate the taro and pumpkin that is used for fish food.”

      According to county records, Uhane requested $35,900 for the project, and County Council’s Human Services & Social Services Committee recommended $8,250. Last year, the project received a county grant of $5,000.
      Another grant application from Uhane requested $56,349 for its Palehua Farm Project, which will work with at-risk youth on a farm in Pahala, according to the application. The project “is a pu`uhonua compass, with our kupuna as the foundation, that enlightens our youth service projects with a working farm in progress,” the application states. The grant would be used to expand traditional Hawaiian food production at the farm. “Cultural food sustainability is what we want to teach each of our youth and their families,” Uhane says.
      The county committee recommended $9,500 in grant funding for this project. Last year, it also received $5,000.
      These and other grant applications will be considered at the committee’s meeting on Tuesday, April 19.
      See future Ka`u Calendar News Briefs for more on grant applications from other Ka`u nonprofits.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

KA`U HOMEOWNERS CAN APPLY for USDA Rural Development funding to preserve rural homes in need of repair. Housing Preservation Grant zero-percent interest loans through Hale Aloha `O Hilo Habitat for Humanity are available to repair homes in need of health and safety repairs or accessibility improvements.

      Those applying must have clear title to the property in fee simple, have income and assets not exceeding HPG Program guidelines, have owned and occupied the home for at least a year before applying, have sufficient equity to cover needed repairs and be able to repay the no-interest loan over 20 years.

      The dwelling must be a legal structure located in a rural area (anywhere on island except Hilo) and have defects that pose health and safety hazards to occupants or be in need of improvements to make the dwelling accessible for a handicapped occupant.

      Repairs are performed by a licensed general contractor hired by the homeowner.
      Loan is secured by a mortgage and promissory note with 20 years to repay.
      Program is funded by federal USDA Rural Development and HAO Hilo Habitat and is being carried out by Habitat as part of its affordable housing mission.
      HPG is an equal opportunity program. Discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry/national origin, sex, physical or mental disability, marital status, age or HIV infection is prohibited by federal law and Habitat for Humanity policy.
      Funding is limited and must be spent as soon as possible.
      Call Mary Finley at 967-7230 to apply or for further information.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

OCEAN VIEW RESIDENT Jose Guadalupe-Rodriguez has been arrested and charged with negligent homicide in the first degree, manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and tampering with physical evidence, John Burnett reported in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald.

      Responding to a 7:15 p.m. call on Jan. 19, police determined that an unknown sedan-type vehicle had been traveling north on Paradise Parkway when it failed to yield the right of way at the intersection with Kona Drive and collided with Ling Oniel, who had been traveling west on Kona Drive on a black moped. Following the collision, the sedan and its operator fled from the scene prior to police arrival. Through investigation, police were able to determine that the vehicle may have been a white 1992-1995 Honda Civic.
      Oniel was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:30 p.m.
      Burnett reported that Guadalupe-Rodriguez was already in custody on separate charges when arrested. He remains at Hawai`I Community Correctional Center, with bail set at $75,000.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Jeff Peterson returns to Ka`u on Tuesday.

JEFF PETERSON celebrates National Library Week Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Pahala Public & School Library. The 45-minute program is suitable for all ages. Young children must be accompanied by a parent or adult caregiver.

      For more information, call 928-2015.

THE RETURN OF THE `ALALA is the topic Tuesday at After Dark in the Park. `Alala, the native Hawaiian crow, once lived across Hawai`i Island. Now, due to a variety of threats in the wild, these birds are found only in captivity. Successful captive breeding and conservation efforts have helped rescue this native Hawaiian species from the brink of extinction. This fall, `alala will be returned home to the wild, and these very intelligent birds will take their place once again in Hawaiian forests. Lea Ka`aha`aina, of Keauhou Bird Conservation Center, and special guest USGS Research Wildlife Biologist Paul Banko discuss the release and recovery of the `alala, a beloved and unique bird found nowhere else on earth.

      The program begins a 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $2 donations support park programs; 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/TheDirectory2016.html.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_April_2016.pdf.