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| Sweet sorghum requires less fertilizer, water and labor than many other energy crops and is being considered for Ka`u. |
THE NEW ENERGY FEEDSTOCK PROGRAM established by the state legislature is mandated to “promote and support worthwhile energy feedstock production activities in the state.” Energy feedstock is comprised of crops from algae to sorghum to trees that can be processed to produce energy. Russell Kokubun, Ka`u’s senator who recently stepped down to become head of the state Department of Agriculture, is tasked with working with the University of Hawai`i to help with energy feedstock production. The legislature also cautions that the use of lands for energy feedstock must be in balance with the use of lands for growing food. Hawai`i imports both 90 percent of its fuel for energy and 90 percent of its food.
Plans are being made to use thousands of acres between Na`alehu and Pahala to grow energy crops and to establish a refinery to produce fuel from harvesting trees and plants. The refinery could be in Na`alehu or Pahala.
THE ECONOMY IS EXPECTED TO GROW by 10 percent in 2012 and may have grown by three percent in this fiscal year, according to the state Council on Revenues, which released its report yesterday. The expected growth could reduce the state budget shortfall by $99 million, helping Governor Neil Abercrombie and the legislature in its effort to balance the budget. The projected growth is due to the recovery in the tourism industry. Abercrombie said that the estimates “do not lessen the financial hardships that our families and businesses face right now.” He said his administration will focus on creating jobs and restoring government services.
CHEF ALAN WONG, a big supporter of Ka`u Coffee and a judge in the annual Ka`u Coffee Festival recipe contest, cooked for President Barack Obama and his family yesterday on O`ahu at his own restaurant. Ka`u Coffee was the official coffee at one of President Obama’s inauguration galas in Washington, D.C. in 2009 and was also served to members of Congress when it was taken again this month to D.C. – this time by the Ka`u Farm Bureau.
HAWAIIAN AIRLINES has put a $10 fuel surcharge on each ticket sold for flights going across the Pacific. Interisland airline ticket prices remain the same. Fuel costs have reached the highest prices in two years, according to a report in Pacific Business News.
HAWAI`I PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS are fighting a change in their life and health insurance plans that will lead to a 20 to 25 percent increase in their premiums. A judge has ruled that the plans can be changed, but the teachers must receive the same benefits. The new plan, called the Employee’s Beneficiary Association Trust, was set up by the state Legislature in 2010.
OCEAN VIEW, NA`ALEHU, AND PAHALA POST OFFICES will close at noon on New Year’s Eve. Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park post office will be closed for the entire day, and Volcano Village Post office will be open regular hours. All locations will be closed Saturday, January 1.
THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I’S RUBBISH drop-off site at Kahuku Park in Ocean View will be closed for New Year’s Day on Saturday, January 1. The site will be locked, and everyone is warned to refrain from illegally dumping or littering around the closed facility. The site will open the day after the holiday, Sunday, January 2 and will resume the normal Saturday operation beginning January 8.
THE ECONOMY IS EXPECTED TO GROW by 10 percent in 2012 and may have grown by three percent in this fiscal year, according to the state Council on Revenues, which released its report yesterday. The expected growth could reduce the state budget shortfall by $99 million, helping Governor Neil Abercrombie and the legislature in its effort to balance the budget. The projected growth is due to the recovery in the tourism industry. Abercrombie said that the estimates “do not lessen the financial hardships that our families and businesses face right now.” He said his administration will focus on creating jobs and restoring government services.
CHEF ALAN WONG, a big supporter of Ka`u Coffee and a judge in the annual Ka`u Coffee Festival recipe contest, cooked for President Barack Obama and his family yesterday on O`ahu at his own restaurant. Ka`u Coffee was the official coffee at one of President Obama’s inauguration galas in Washington, D.C. in 2009 and was also served to members of Congress when it was taken again this month to D.C. – this time by the Ka`u Farm Bureau.
HAWAIIAN AIRLINES has put a $10 fuel surcharge on each ticket sold for flights going across the Pacific. Interisland airline ticket prices remain the same. Fuel costs have reached the highest prices in two years, according to a report in Pacific Business News.
HAWAI`I PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS are fighting a change in their life and health insurance plans that will lead to a 20 to 25 percent increase in their premiums. A judge has ruled that the plans can be changed, but the teachers must receive the same benefits. The new plan, called the Employee’s Beneficiary Association Trust, was set up by the state Legislature in 2010.
OCEAN VIEW, NA`ALEHU, AND PAHALA POST OFFICES will close at noon on New Year’s Eve. Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park post office will be closed for the entire day, and Volcano Village Post office will be open regular hours. All locations will be closed Saturday, January 1.
THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I’S RUBBISH drop-off site at Kahuku Park in Ocean View will be closed for New Year’s Day on Saturday, January 1. The site will be locked, and everyone is warned to refrain from illegally dumping or littering around the closed facility. The site will open the day after the holiday, Sunday, January 2 and will resume the normal Saturday operation beginning January 8.
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| Aerial fireworks are allowed by permit only. Consumer fireworks can be used between 9 p.m. New Year's Eve and 2 a.m. New Year's Day. |
NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATIONS are planned throughout Ka`u and Volcano. Kilauea Military Camp has a New Year’s Eve fish luncheon from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., a New Year's Eve party, and a New Year's Day dinner buffet. Hana Hou in Na`alehu will feature Ernie Kalani and his Back to the 50s trio and a special meal on New Year's Eve. Shaka's in Na`alehu plans food and dance music to ring in the New Year.
THE HAWAI`I FIRE DEPARTMENT is reminding everyone that fireworks are legal only between 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve and 1 a.m. on New Year's Day. Stay 1,000 feet away from the hospital, senior housing and school grounds, as the law protects these places. Most fireworks are being banned on O`ahu, and the same could happen here if the rules are disregarded.
CHRISTMAS TREES without ornaments and flocking are being accepted for recycling daily at Wai`ohinu transfer station.