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| Taro growing in front of the Kailiawa farm cottage in upper Moa`ula. |
PA`I AI, THE HAND-POUNDED taro prepared in a traditional manner, would be exempt from state Department of Health regulations if a new measure passes the state House of Representatives after already passing the Senate. The taro produced would be labeled with a warning. Pa`i ai is already sold from family to family without the health department’s blessing. Many organizations, such as Papa Ola Lokahi, Ho`okipa Network, the Kokua Hawai`i and Living Life Foundations, the Sierra Club and the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party support the exemption. The Sierra Club testified that it is important for the state to find ways to protect and encourage traditional and cultural practices so as to ensure the unique elements that form the basis for modern Hawai`i are preserved. “This measure follows other states in allowing small cottage industries to be exempt from the strict construction of health regulations,” the testimony said.
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| The corm of the taro is pounded by hand. |
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| Bull Kailiawa harvesting taro above Pahala. |
One taro farmer testified that pounding pa`i ai and poi has been a means of making and preserving taro for at least 1,200 years and fed a nation of hundreds of thousands of people and kept them well in the past.
Taro, also called kalo, is the state plant, and the state seal includes eight taro leaves. Another proposal at the legislature would require schools to put taro on the lunch line at least once a week. Another calls for incentivizing farmers to grow more taro.
Dryland taro was grown traditionally in Ka`u and traded for fish from Miloli`i.
THE PRICE OF SCHOOL BREAKFASTS AND LUNCHES rises tomorrow, with breakfasts going up from 90 cents to $1 and lunches from $2.20 to $2.35 for the students. More than half the students are eligible for free or reduced prices for breakfasts and lunches at the Na`alehu, Pahala and Ka`u High School campuses.
THERE COULD BE A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN UNLESS the budget passes by March 4. Pres. Barack Obama says it would stall the economic recovery. House Republicans are trying to cut government spending and are at a standstill with the Democrats.
GASOLINE MAY SOON COST OVER $4 a gallon. Unrest in the Middle East is blamed on the quick rise in prices. The average cost throughout the state is $3.77 a gallon, according to AAA. On the mainland, the average price at the pump is over $3. In Ka`u this morning the cost for regular gas was $3.89 in Pahala, $3.93 in Na`alehu, $3.81 at Kahuku Country Market in Ocean View, $3.91 at Kahala Gas in Ocean View and $3.86 at the Ocean View Market gas station.
MEETINGS ON proposed projects for Ka`u are coming up on this Wednesday, March 2. A county council committee will hear a presentation by `Aina Koa Pono, which plans to build a biofuels refinery and establish an energy farm in Ka`u. That takes place in Council chambers at the County Building in Hilo at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Public testimony is welcomed.
Also, the owners of 16,000 acres between South Point and Ocean View present their plans to the community at Na`alehu Community Center on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Their plan is for an oceanfront resort with golf course, estates, hotel rooms, condominiums and single-family homes. The area would be near Pohue Bay, which would be protected.
Taro, also called kalo, is the state plant, and the state seal includes eight taro leaves. Another proposal at the legislature would require schools to put taro on the lunch line at least once a week. Another calls for incentivizing farmers to grow more taro.
Dryland taro was grown traditionally in Ka`u and traded for fish from Miloli`i.
THE PRICE OF SCHOOL BREAKFASTS AND LUNCHES rises tomorrow, with breakfasts going up from 90 cents to $1 and lunches from $2.20 to $2.35 for the students. More than half the students are eligible for free or reduced prices for breakfasts and lunches at the Na`alehu, Pahala and Ka`u High School campuses.
THERE COULD BE A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN UNLESS the budget passes by March 4. Pres. Barack Obama says it would stall the economic recovery. House Republicans are trying to cut government spending and are at a standstill with the Democrats.
GASOLINE MAY SOON COST OVER $4 a gallon. Unrest in the Middle East is blamed on the quick rise in prices. The average cost throughout the state is $3.77 a gallon, according to AAA. On the mainland, the average price at the pump is over $3. In Ka`u this morning the cost for regular gas was $3.89 in Pahala, $3.93 in Na`alehu, $3.81 at Kahuku Country Market in Ocean View, $3.91 at Kahala Gas in Ocean View and $3.86 at the Ocean View Market gas station.
MEETINGS ON proposed projects for Ka`u are coming up on this Wednesday, March 2. A county council committee will hear a presentation by `Aina Koa Pono, which plans to build a biofuels refinery and establish an energy farm in Ka`u. That takes place in Council chambers at the County Building in Hilo at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Public testimony is welcomed.
Also, the owners of 16,000 acres between South Point and Ocean View present their plans to the community at Na`alehu Community Center on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Their plan is for an oceanfront resort with golf course, estates, hotel rooms, condominiums and single-family homes. The area would be near Pohue Bay, which would be protected.
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| Miss Peaberry contestant Bernadette Ladia. |
BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS have an opportunity to participate in the Miss Ka`u Coffee, Miss Peaberry and Young Miss Ka`u Coffee pageants this year by supporting publication of the four-color printed program. The winners of the pageants will be selected on April 23 at Ka`u High School Gym, before the Ka`u Coffee Festival on May 14 and 15 at Pahala Community Center.
THE BAY CLINIC DENTAL VAN will be in Na`alehu tomorrow through Friday. Call 965-3073 for an appointment.
FAT TUESDAY MALASADA day and St. Patrick’s Day crafts registration starts tomorrow at Pahala Community Center for keiki in kindergarten through eighth grade. Call Nona Makuakane at 938-3102.