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Friday, May 12, 2023

Kaʻū News Briefs, Friday, May 12, 2023

Jane Ueda, a Mizuno family member who worked at Mizuno Superette when Pāhala Shopping Center first opened, 
 is 97 years of age. At Friday's blessing, she cheered on the transition that keeps Pāhala's only grocery store open.
Photo by Julia Neal
MIZUNO SUPERETTE CHANGED HANDS ON FRIDAY, with a blessing and many maile lei. The Pāhala grocer transferred operations to 'Ohana Foods which also operates in Hilo and Nā'ālehu with its Wikiwiki 76 gas station and store. Members of the Mizuno family, including 97-year old Jane Ueda, who worked at the store when the shopping center first opened, gave a thumbs up for the transition. Speakers also thanked Rochelle Hara, who came to Pāhala over 33 years ago with her late husband Derek Hara, Rochelle operating Mizuno's for many years on her own until making the sale to Olson and turning over operations to 'Ohana Foods.

Olson Trust CEO Jeff Clark and Ed Olson, who purchased Mizuno Store to keep it open under the stewardship of
Carl Okuyama who also operates his Nā'ālehu food store and gas station as part of 'Ohana Foods. Photo by Julia Neal
    Longtime Mizuno workers with new responsibilities and titles in the 'Ohana Foods company received lei and congratulations from chief of 'Ohana Foods, Carl Okuyama. He talked about the history of providing food in the village, with Mizuno's starting in the sugar cane camp in 1925. He said he plans to keep the name Mizuno and honor the history of the town, including production of a pictorial history at the entrance to the store and online.
Assistant manager Carla Andrade accepts a poi pounder
on behalf of retiring Mizuno owner Rochelle Hara. The poi
pounder was handmade by retired  Kaʻū High teacher
Adrian Akau. It is a gift from Pāhala Food Hub
to honor Hara's 33 years of dedication in providing
food for the village. Photo by Julia Neal
       Pastor Troy Gacayan, who also blessed the opening of Longs at Pāhala Shopping Center in 2013, gave the blessing for the Mizuno transition on Friday. He talked about the Mizuno family being steeped in the history of food in Pāhala. The store was important to his own childhood in Pāhala. He would go there often for snacks. It was the place where he could often find his grandfather sitting on the bench talking story with his friends. 
    Oldtimers who these days sit outside Mizuno in the early mornings came to the blessing and enjoyed free refreshments. 
    The blessing included rubbing a special oil on the main entry door of the store while attendees held up their hands for the blessing.
    On hand on Friday were leaders of the Edmund C. Olson Trust, including Ed Olson himself who green-lighted the purchase of the store to keep it from closing down. CEO Jeff Clark, OK Farms head Troy Keolanui, Real Estate manager Dan Aldrich, and Kaʻū Coffee Mill manager Lou Daniele joined in. Frank Lorenzo, Sr., who was born and raised in Pāhala and serves as manager of Kaʻū Farms Management for Olson, also joined in the blessing.
    Olson Trust bought the main part of the shopping center in April of 2021, with its bank, post office, Longs and the addition of a hair salon and coffee shop.
    Also at the blessing was Kona Moran, the real estate broker who praised all parties involved and the community for seeing that Pāhala kept its food store. 
    From the 'Ohana Foods family, were Carly Okuyama, Amy Okuyama and daughter in law Sherry Okuyama. 
    As a mahalo for caring about food for the community, Pāhala Food Hub gifted to Rochelle Hara, Ed Olson, Carl Okuyama and Kona Moran, poi pounders carved from stone by retired Kaʻū High School teacher Adrian Akau.
     For now the hours remain the same, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m to noon on Sundays. 
     With the change in ownership, EBT and WIC registrations must be transferred and the ability to use these cards at Mizuno will be activated within a couple of weeks. 
     With the store depleted of much of its stock during the last weeks of sales, it will be restocked with familiar and new items this coming week, said Okuyama. He also said he is interested in hearing suggested services and items to carry. Suggestions can be dropped off at the store. 

Pastor Troy Gacayan practices the tradition of oiling the entry to Mizuno as guests hold up their
hands during the blessing for the opening. Photo by Julia Neal


PROMISE AND PERIL ARE IN THE LATEST UHERO FORECAST FOR HAWAI'I'S ECONOMY. University of Hawai'i Economic Research Organization released its report on Friday saying:
     Recent developments bring both promise and peril for Hawai'i. Tourism prospects are positive, despite the delayed Japanese market recovery. Construction activity will remain high, and inflation is receding rapidly, setting the stage for real income gains. 
    On the flip side, the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes and liquidity problems sparked by recent bank failures threaten the US and global economies. A national recession will weigh on Hawaii later this year, but local sources of strength should keep our heads above water. 
  • The external environment facing Hawai'i is dicey. The Federal Reserve appears likely to maintain its high interest rate policy for some time, and tighter lending conditions associated with recent bank failures will also weigh on US growth. A recession beginning late this year will hold US GDP growth to 1.5% this year and 0.3% in 2024. 
    • Tighter credit conditions will also contribute to a weaker global economy. Canada will fare only a bit better than the US. In Japan, lagging exports and high inflation will offset government support. Australia’s economy will expand only modestly, as inflation and higher interest rates limit consumer spending. While China’s economic recovery is underway, there is no indication of a pending upturn in their travel to the US. 
    • Despite weakening external conditions, the visitor industry has continued to perform well, with activity only slightly below 2019 levels. The US market still dominates, but it will soften as the year progresses. Further international market recovery will sustain visitor numbers. Lagging Japanese travel will continue to be a problem. 
    • Solid visitor demand continues to benefit hotels, causing room rates to soar on the Neighbor Islands. Statewide, real revenue per available room is now 6% higher than in 2019. Visitor spending has been strong despite the incomplete recovery of international markets. Both the number of visitor days and real visitor spending will fall slightly next year, before returning to moderate growth. Over the long run, climate change may become a substantial tourism challenge. 
    • The Hawai'i labor market is healthy, with about 3.5% unemployment. Labor force recovery and softening labor demand have largely eliminated the overall worker shortage, although businesses still report hiring challenges. Labor force recovery differs by county, mostly because of differences in inward and outward migration. Net out-migration at the statewide level may be due in part to heightened cost of
The team at U.H. Economic Research Organization. Photo from UHERO
living concerns in the face of challenging pandemic-era economic conditions. 
    • Weakening US tourism, tight credit, and high interest rates will weigh on the Hawaii economy this year and next. The unemployment rate will rise above 4% by the beginning of next year, and moderate job gains will not resume until 2025. 
    • Hawai'i inflation has receded more quickly than in the US overall. This will support income gains. Real income nearly recovered to the pre-pandemic level last year and will grow at a 2.5% average annual pace over the next three years. 
    • Because of surging home prices and mortgage interest rates, affording a single-family home now takes twice the income it did a decade ago. The culprit is a lack of new supply, due in part to regulatory hurdles. Major public sector projects will support a high level of construction activity. The construction job count will top 41,000 by 2026. 
    • Despite heightened downside risks, Hawaii is still likely to avoid an outright recession. Like the US overall, how much our economy weakens will depend importantly on the Federal Reserve, in particular whether the Fed eases policy now that inflation is declining and the US economy is beginning to slow. Higher rates for longer would impose a significant burden.

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PRODUCERS OF KAʻŪ COFFEE AND OTHER LOCAL PRODUCTS are invited by state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism to the Autumn 2023 Tokyo International Gift Show, or TIGS. DBEDT sets up the Hawa'i Pavilion at TIGS, Sept. 6-8 at Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight). Deadline to apply is May 26. Cost of a booth is $1,500. TGS is the largest trade show in Japan with more than 4,500 booths and 200,000 attendees.n According to DBED Director James Kunane Tokioko, demand for authentic Hawai'i made products is growing.


OFFICER OWNED TRUCKS WILL BE USED FOR POLICE DUTY, according to Hawai'i Police Department, which announced Friday the addition of trucks to the fleet of traditionally looking police cars and officer owned police cars. Police officers are now authorized to use pickup trucks with open beds as subsidized police vehicles. In the coming weeks, Hawai‘i Island residents may see more subsidized police pickup trucks on the road and more officers driving pick-up trucks with blue lights and sirens while on patrol.
    Officers are authorized to use “crew cab” configurations with four full sized doors, including the following models:
• 2021-2023 Ford F150 Crew Cab, short bed
Pickups were recently approved for use by HPD. Back
in 1978, HPD approved the use of four-wheel drive cars.
Photo from HPD 1978-1979 report
• 2021-2023 Toyota Tundra Crew Cab
• 2019-2023 Chevrolet Silverado, 1500 Crew Cab, short bed
• 2019-2023 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab, short bed
• 2019-2023 Ram 1500 (5th Generation/non-classic) Crew Cab short bed
    “Given that Hawai‘i Island encompasses vast swaths of rural—and very rugged—terrain, we anticipate our police officers will be able to serve the community better, faster, and most importantly, safer,” said Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz.
      His statement echoes the past, when in 1978 police officers in Hawi'i County were first allowed to use four wheel drive vehicles, with HPD pointing to rugged roads and safety concerns.  
    As the public gets used to police pickup trucks, if motorists see one of these police vehicles in their rear-view mirror with blue emergency lights illuminated, please slow down, and pull over. Officers operating pickup trucks with blue lights atop the vehicle should be in uniform.
    Those unsure about a police vehicle, slow down, pull over, and call the police non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311 to verify the officer’s license plate.
    A video describing the new initiative can be seen on the department's Youtube channel by clicking on this link: https://youtu.be/4JUMJvnUD-0.


LINE DANCING RESUMES art Kauaha'ao Congregational Church onWednesday, May 24th from 4 p.m, until 5:30 p.m. For Beginner Level Dances with instruction by Delana Phillips, suggested donation are $6 per class or $25 for six classes. No prior attendance or experience is required
On May 31 there will be a two-hour dance party from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Bring a dish to share. Bottled water and sodas and snacks will be provided. Suggested donation is $10 per person for dancers, watchers, judges, photographers and eaters. 

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Thursday, May 11, 2023

Kaʻū News Briefs, Thursday, May 11, 2023

Iwao and Alice Yonemitsu, of Nā'ālehu, during a celebration of Iwao's 100th birthday on Tuesday. Photo by Julia Neal

IWAO YONEMITSU IS 100 YEARS OF AGE. Nā'ālehu Hongwanji held a service and celebration on Tuesday. Yonemitsu was born on May 4, 1923 to Japanese parents who immigrated from Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu Island in southern Japan to work as laborers in sugar on the plantation at Pa'auilo, north of Hilo. He was the youngest of eight children. When Yonemitsu was an infant his parents moved to Kaʻū to work for Hutchinson Sugar Co. He has lived in Nā'ālehu ever since, except for a short stint at Honoka'a and consulting abroad, as well as time away in the military and for college.

Iwao Yonemitsu, left, and the late Toku Nakano, both members
 of the famed Japanese American 442nd that fought in Europe
in World War II. Photo by Julia Neal
    Yonemitsu graduated from Nā'ālehu School and Hilo High School and and attended University of
Hawai'i in Honolulu.
      After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Yonemitsu signed up for the U.S. military to show his allegiance to the U.S, while many other Japanese across the country were pulled from their homes and jobs to detainment camps in a climate of fear.
    Yonemitsu and other volunteers gathered at what is now the big garage for the macadamia company in Pāhala and shipped out from Hilo Harbor to Honolulu and Schofield Baracks. Next was Camp Shelby, Mississippi and on to Italy, landing in Naples as a member of the all-Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which would become famous for its warriors in WWII. Its slogan was Go for Broke. Among its heroes was the late Hawai'i U.S. Senator, Dan Inouye.
    Yonemitsu served in a 60-meter mortar squadron that fought first in Italy, helping to liberate Tuscany, and sailed to Marseilles, moving overland for the liberation of Bruyères and to rescue The Lost Battalion from Texas in one of the hardest fought battles in World War II.
    See the March 2023 cover story in the Hawai'i Herald at: https://www.thehawaiiherald.com/2023/03/03/cover-story-aloha-france/, which  documents people of Bruyères and surrounding villages still commemorating the efforts of the Japanese American soldiers from Hawai'i who liberated them in WWII. There are talks at the schools and other venues and a new song of Aloha, written in the honor of the American Japanese soldiers from Hawai'i.
    After the war, Yonemitsu was shipped to Charleston, South Carolina and Camp Carson, Colorado. He

was discharged and returned to Kaʻū to work in sugar where he began as a garage clerk and rose to Crop Control Superintendent. He married school teacher Alice Yonemitsu and raised a family in Nā'ālehu.
    In 1962, C. Brewer, owner of Kaʻū Sugar, sent him to Puerto Rico to advise on sugar, the company also providing its sugar consulting services to Iran and Iraq.
    Following his retirement, Yonemitsu continued volunteering with Nā'ālehu Hongwanji, helped with The Ka'u Calendar newspaper and gave talks on the history of the sugar plantations and about World War II and citizenship in classrooms at Kaʻū High School and at public events.        For the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, he and Alice sponsored the creation of a new lectern at Nā'ālehu School crafted from koa and other local woods by Thomas King. The Yonemitsu's remain active, including handling the banking for Nā'ālehu Hongwanji. They live in their own home with their daughter Hope.
     Yonemitsu's long time friend, the late Toku Nakano, also of Nā'ālehu, was also a 442nd member. The two traveled to Washington, D.C. in 2011 to receive the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor.

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A BLESSING FOR MIZUNO SUPERETTE as it transitions ownership at Pāhala Center is set for 10 a.m.
on Friday, May 12, with the public invited and light refreshments. Rochelle Hara is retiring and ownership of the store property is transferred to Edmund C. Olson Trust. The new tenant is Carl Okuyama and his 'Ohana Foods, which also operates its store and gas station in Nā'ālehu. Mizuno has remained open during the transition and most of its employees will stay on with 'Ohana Foods, with Cheryl Baldonado new manager. See story at http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2023/04/kau-news-briefs-sunday-april-30-2023.html

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ASIAN AMERICAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN, PACIFIC ISLANDER MENTAL HEALTH DAY was May 10, marked by a resolution from Sen. Mazie Hirono during AANHPI Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. She said, “Cultural, economic, language, and societal barriers prevent too many members of the AANHPI community in Hawai'i and across the country from accessing mental health care. This inequity is particularly devastating for marginalized members of our communities
—such as youth and veterans. As we recognize AANHPI Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, I am glad to introduce this resolution and reaffirm my commitment to invest in mental health resources, combat the stigma surrounding mental health, and break down barriers that prevent people from receiving the care they need and deserve.”
    Hirono’s resolution encourages health agencies to adopt policies to improve utilization of mental health services for the AANHPI community, as well as other marginalized communities. Suicide is the top cause of death for AANHPI youth, ages 10 to 24-years old, and in Hawai'i, the rate of suicide for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders is three times the national average. 
    The month of May marks both AANHPI Heritage Month and National Mental Health Awareness Month.
    Hirono advocates for AANHPI communities in Hawai'i, the U.S., and Pacific Island nations and territories. Last May, she introduced a bill to promote the teaching of Asian Pacific American history for high school students and teachers who enroll in the U.S. Department of Education’s American History and Civics Academies programs. Senator Hirono also brought legislation to the Senator floor, that was signed into law by President Biden, establishing a commission to study the creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture.

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GRASSROOT INSTITUTE OF HAWAI'I is calling on State of Hawai'i to reduce its spending, claiming that the 2023 Hawai'i Legislature's proposed spending plan for fiscal 2024 "could result in a state budget deficit of $45 million by fiscal 2028, if OK'd by the governor." In an opinion piece released this week,
Grassroot leaders Keli'i Akina and Mark Colman wrote that "Hawai'i's projected state budget surplus of $10 billion by fiscal year 2028 seems to have completely vanished, thanks to state spending that is set to far exceed the state's constitutionally mandated spending limit."
    In March, the state Council on Revenues knocked the state's long-term fiscal 2028 surplus down from $10 billion to $7 billion, but spending increases recently approved by the Legislature are set to result instead in a $45 million deficit, according to the  analysis by Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i.
    "If approved by Gov. Josh Green, the fiscal 2024 budget passed by the Legislature will increase state general fund spending by nearly 23% over the current year, which was 20% greater than the year before that. Historically, Hawaii's budget has tended to increase by about 5% annually."
 
   Grassroot Institute contends that "Hawai'i's Constitution and state law mandate that state general fund spending grow no faster than the three-year average of personal income growth. Lawmakers can override the cap by a two-thirds vote of each chamber, which is a pretty low bar considering Hawaii is a virtual one-party state. The Legislature's proposed fiscal 2024 budget exceeds the state's spending cap by more than $1 billion, or 10%.  To his credit, Green's final budget request was $668 million less than the budget passed by the Legislature, but it would have still broken the state spending limit by more than 6%."
    Nearly all state departments are set to receive more general fund dollars than last year. Departments with large increases include Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, 2,659%; Department of Land & Natural Resources, 208%; Department of Defense, 38%; Department of Budget & Finance, 36%; Department of Health and University of Hawai'i, both 24%; Department of Agriculture, 20%; and Department of Education, 10%.
Keli'i Akina of Grassroot
Institute of Hawai'i
     
    DBEDT in particular had numerous big-ticket items added to its budget, such as $64 million to repair the Hawai'i Convention Center; $106 million for agribusiness development and research; $60 million for the Hawai'i Technology Development Corp.; $150 million for the Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corp.; and $201 million for the Hawai'i Community Development Center.    
    Big-ticket items for the Department of Budget and Finance included a $500 million infusion into the Emergency Budget and Reserve Fund, and $200 million to spend at the governor's discretion, provided he gives prior notice to the Legislature.
    That $200 million is about equal to an amount Green had proposed in his Green Affordability Plan to cut taxes through broad-based changes to the state income tax.
     Green's tax-cut plan also called for about $125 million in tax credits aimed mainly at lower-income residents. In the end, the Legislature went with just the tax credits.
     Akina, Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i president and CEO, said, "Lawmakers had a golden opportunity to enact a $320 million tax-reduction package proposed by the governor. Instead, they passed only a modest $125 million tax reform package and significantly increased state spending. Lawmakers shouldn't even be spending one dollar over the spending limit, let alone a billion dollars.
    "Lawmakers were overly cautious about passing a $200 million package of tax cuts, but they certainly weren't shy to pass a $200 million pot of discretionary money for the governor."
    Akina recommended that the governor use his line-item veto authority to slim down this year's budget before signing it into law. He also urged the Legislature to be more frugal in how it spends tax dollars next year.
    "Hawai'i's bloated budget needs to go on a diet, or taxpayers won't be able to fund the level of government spending that state lawmakers have set into motion," he said.
      See more from Grassroot Institute, including a plan for cutting property taxes through county government at https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/.


A SHORTAGE OF FIRE DISPATCH EMPLOYEES has led the County of Hawai'i to post job openings. The annual pay starts at $47,988 plus a $3,000 recruitment incentive. Seven trainees are already on their way to help solve the shortage, and the county is looking to hire two more. See the many job openings at County of Hawai'i at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/countyhawaii.



 







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Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Kaʻū News Briefs, Wednesday, May 10, 2023

New plans for Punalu`u may be presented by its owners in June, according to a report at
the Kaʻū Community Development Plan Action Committee meeting on Monday. Photo from KCDP

KAʻŪ COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE focused on a variety of community issues on Monday evening at Ocean View Community Center. Subcommittees gave reports.
Kaʻū Community Development Plan Action Committee meeting in Ocean
View on Monday. Photo by Peter Bosted
    Punalu'u Coastline Access & Resources Investigatory Committee said that Eva Liu's group, which owns the old resort property, was contacted and that representatives said there will be a community meeting to explain the state of current plans sometime in June. Plans for expanding accommodations and restoring and adding onto old facilities that were abandoned, including the Golf Clubhouse, tennis court and Aspen Center area, could require application for a Special Management Area for lands below Hwy 11 in the Punalu'u area.          
    Ideas entertained over the last few years are adding on condominiums, restoring the old restaurant by the pond at Black Sand beach, building a small hotel and other housing and commercial enterprises.  Some coastal land may also be sold to the county for preservation.
    Subcommittee on Kupuna Housing reported on renewed interest to establish senior citizen housing on the current location of O Kaʻū Kakou's weekly outdoor market.
    Subcommittee on Nā'ālehu Theatre reported on the building being torn down and there was suggestion of dissolving the committee but the committee was retained to look into the future use of the building site.      
    Word in the community is that a grocery store will soon come to the shopping center adjacent to the old theater site and that the theater site could also be included in the planning.
    Subcommittee on Mahana Bay - Green Sands Beach reported on outreach to Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, asking for better stewardship of the trail and 4WD track, parking and Green Sands Beach itself.
    Subcommittee on Pohue Bay reported on efforts to work with Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on its plan for public access to the coast. The Park recently acquired thousands of acres along the coast there.
    Several people from Wood Valley approached the Committee on the satellite dishes recently approved
by the Planning Commission for land along Wood Valley Road. The scientific project by a Taiwanese University deep space research group involves efforts to detect signals from deep space.      The scientists claim the dishes will be passive, without emitting any radio or other signals from the satellite dishes. Opponents have said they feared it would usher in a campus of satellite dishes that would be incompatible with the farm community. Some questioned whether there would be no emissions from the dishes and whether it would be used to spy. With the project approved by the planning commission, the opponents would have to file for a contested case, a legal proceeding to have their point of view reconsidered.
    Subcommittee on Solar Farms, Large & Small mall reported on projects planned in Kaʻū. Arion Energy and Pivot Energy, the developers of South Point Shared Solar, Ka Lae 1 and Ka Lae 2 were contacted. The two solar farms planned near Nā'ālehu are designed to provide power for more than 200 households, plus businesses and nonprofits, which would receive discounts on their electric bills if they sign up. 
      Included among many questions was the future of the orange trees presently growing on one of the sites that will be destroyed to make way for the solar panels. The committee also asked for guarantees that the sites would be cleaned up when the 20-year contract is over. It was noted that these solar projects are not designed to provide backup power to residents during a power outage.
    A community meeting sponsored by South Point Shared Solar developers will be held on Wednesday, May 31 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Nā'ālehu Community Center.
     Concerning solar in Ocean View, resident Annie Bosted asked the committee to support efforts to end a project that would result in 26 solar installations being built among homes makai of the highway. She circulated a map showing the proposed locations of the solar installations, and the locations of homes. She also passed around a petition signed by nearly 700 residents who are opposed to the project. She stated detrimental results of this proposed project on the community, and said it would negatively impact the local economy.
    Bosted said that after the meeting, Kaʻū Community Development Plan Action Committee member Ka'ohi Mokuhali'i emailed, saying, "Be Assured your voice and concern was clearly heard. We will be forwarding this information to the CDP office to place on file. I truly hope, even though we are only an advisory council, that we as a group can help to find solutions, and or pathways to assist your concerns and move forward with a positive outcome. We must always strive to protect our precious environment!"
    Read about Kaʻū Community Development Plan and comment at https://www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/general-plan-community-planning/cdp/kau


Community input on the County's Integrated Climate Action Plan is due June 1. Photo from County of Hawai'i

COUNTY OF HAWAI'I SEEKS FEEDBACK ON ITS INTEGRATED CLIMATE ACTION PLAN through June 1. A statement from the County says, "The ICAP is a cross-departmental effort that charts the County's responsibility to reduce its contribution to global climate change and make its services and facilities resilient to the effects of a changing climate. The ICAP identifies actions the County can take and will be used as a tool to hold the County accountable for climate action. The County of Hawaiʻi encourages all residents to review the ICAP and provide feedback through Konveio, an interactive online platform." The link to the Konveio site is cohplanning.konveio.com.

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MANU MINUTE WITH SOUNDS OF HAWAI'I'S NATIVE BIRDS has been launched on Hawai'i Public Radio's HPR 1 and 2, available in Kaʻū. HPR's FM stations here are HPR 1 KANO at 89.1 and HPR 2 KAHU at 91.3. 
    A statement from HPR says, "Manu Minute brings you the rich sounds from Hawai'i's native forests and shorelines. Each Wednesday, Patrick Hart, principal investigator at the University of Hawaiʻi-Hilo LOHE Bioacoustics Lab, features a different Hawai'i bird and its unique song, and talks about its environment and conservation.
    Learn about endemic species such as the critically endangered kiwikiu — one of the rarest birds in the world — and native honeycreeper ʻākohekohe. A statement from HPR says, "Manu Minute and LOHE lab's research bring to light recent efforts to help the plight of our feathered friends." Their conservation work helped push forward the recent Board of Land and Natural Resources-approved landscape-scale mosquito control program to save native birds.
Patrick Hart holds a juvenile ʻiʻiwipolena bird
Patrick Hart holds a juvenile 'i'iwi. Archival photo from LOHE Lab
    Hart, who is Principal Investigator, LOHE Bioacoutics Lab, said, "Landscape-scale mosquito control to save our Hawaiian forest birds has long been a dream for bird ecologists and all of those who live our manu. We are very excited about the upcoming release of sterile male mosquitoes." The first release will be on Maui later this year to help reverse decline of ʻĀkohekohe, Kiwikiu, and ʻIʻiwi. Hart and his team are also exploring cultural connections to native birds through chants on Hawaiʻi Island in an effort to spread awareness of mo'olelo (stories) about Hawaiʻi's native birds. He recently shared their work on HPR's The Conversation.
    The LOHE Lab also shares what to expect in the bird world for the next month or two:
     Most kōlea have made it safely to their nesting grounds in Alaska and have started building nests. Seabirds, including ʻuaʻu (Hawaiian Petrel), ʻaʻo (Newell Shearwater), and ʻakēʻakē (Band-rumped Storm petrel) have mostly returned to their high elevation nest sites on most of the main Hawaiian islands and are likely sitting on eggs.
    Most of manu nahele (forest birds), including ʻiʻiwi, ʻapapane, and ʻamakihi have fledged their keiki from the nest. Most manu that feed on insects (insectivores), including ʻākepa, ʻalawi, and ʻelepaio are still incubating eggs or feeding hatchlings.
    Catch Manu Minute Wednesdays during The Conversation 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. on HPR-1 and during Classical Pacific 3 - 6 p.m. on HPR-2. Subscribe to Manu Minute as a podcast on Apple, Spotify, and Google.







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