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| Hawai`i Island Senators Russell Kokubun and Dwight Takamine joined Gov. Neil Abercrombie and Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz at Pahala Plantation House on Sunday, Dec. 12. |
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| Attendees enjoyed A Taste of Hawai`i. |
had just held his first successful agriculture event as the new Chairman of the Department of Agriculture, since the food served and flowers displayed all came from local farms and ranches. It included Kuahiwi Beef, Simon Wooley Taro Chips, Kailiawa steamed taro, OK Farms Coffee, rambutan, longon and hearts of palm, Marla and Peter Hunter mangos, Shalan Crysdale banana and citrus, Danny Molino King Papaya Cooperative papayas, Mountain Apple payaya, guava juice and eggs grown on the island. There were Loren Hecht proteas, Green Point Nurseries anthuriums and other tropical flowers all grown here.
THE FESTIVITIES INCLUDED Hawaiian protocol, with the opening Pule by Pele Hanoa, of Wai`ohinu; an Oli by Kilohana Domingo, of Kalae; a chant by Rory Kahakuloa Kailiawa Akau and a chant by Piilani Ka`ahaloa, the Aha Kiole for the Puwalu Aha Moku of the Island of Hawai`i. Ka`ahaloa is a teacher at Kamehameha School in Kea`au. MISS KA`U COFFEE, Ulu Makuakane, danced hula for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and the Boys and Girls club members from all three Ka`u Clubs sang a Christmas song with them. Music was provided by Demetrius Oliveira and Hulali Ku`ilipuli. Emcee was Miloli`i community leader Gil Kahele.
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| Pies made of local fruit were offered at A Taste of Hawai`i, along with other Ka`u treats. |
ALSO ATTENDING the gathering of some 300 people were County Council chair Dominic Yagong, state representative Bob Herkes, new director of Labor and Industrial Relations Dwight Takamine, state senator Faye Hanohano, new County Council member Brittany Smart and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park superintendent Cindy Orlando.
AN ORGANIC COFFEE GROWER with a Masters degree in agriculture believes that the drought has a lot to do with the coffee borer drilling into coffee cherries, particularly in Kona. Kanalani Farms proprietor Melanie Bondera said that coffee trees might have their own defense – a fungus that lives harmlessly on the coffee but kills the borers. She said that the fungus may have died back during the recent drought so the borers were able to destroy coffee and expand their population. She is awaiting confirmation from the Department of Agriculture.
KA`U COFFEE, which is largely free of the borers, is being showcased again this week at the national American Farm Bureau Federation meeting in Washington, D.C., where the Farm Bureau works on federal legislation and hosts members of Congress for a reception.
VOTING CONTINUES THIS WEEK inside Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park for the competition for Kilauea Military Camp Cottages Christmas decorations and lighting. You can vote for your top three favorite cottages by picking up an entry blank at the KMC Front Desk, Café, General Store or Recreation Center. Each person who votes will receive a Holiday Dollar that can be used at KMC – including the bowling lanes. The judging for the lights takes place through December 20.
THE 33RD annual Pahala Christmas parade was held yesterday and included a float with a live donkey. Organizer Eddie Andrade was Santa Claus. County Council member Brittany Smart also rode in the parade, which involved many community and church groups.
THE KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE is meeting for the first time in many months tomorrow, December 14 at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. Steering Committee Chair Leina`ala Enos, Vice Chair Eldridge Naboa, Community Planning Assistant Nalani Parlin, and County Planner Ron Whitmore will present proposed outreach strategies for future CDP activities.