Ka`u News Briefs April 5, 2011

ML Macadamia husking plant between Pahala Village and Highway 11.  Photo by Julia Neal

A MEASURE THAT WOULD ALLOW THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION to approve automatic rate increases to help cover the costs of such projects as the `Aina Koa Pono refinery planned for Pahala is making its way through the state Legislature. Senate Bill 1347 would also allow the electric company to raise rates for all of its customers to cover costs of alternative energy in particular places. Last month, the PUC turned down a proposal to raise rates in Hawai`i, O`ahu and Maui Counties to cover the cost of the proposed Ka`u refinery. The electric company and `Aina Koa Pono went to the Legislature to change the law, testifying that cost sharing around the state is needed to help pay for alternative energy. 

`Aina Koa Pono's depiction of their
proposed Ka`u Energy Farm.

     The $320 million mill would be located up Wood Valley Road on Meyer Camp Road. `Aina Koa Pono is promising 300 union construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs with minimum union pay of $22 an hour. The refinery would use giant microwaves to vaporize wood, grasses and other biomass to make diesel. More than a million gallons of fuel plus catalysts and other additives for the processing plant would be stored on site. The synthetic fuel would be shipped by tanker trucks up Hwy 11 to the Keahole power plant near Kona Airport.

ML MACADAMIA ORCHARDS reported a net loss of $1.5 million and a negative net cash flow of $526,000 for last year. The 2010 loss was primarily the result of a severe drought in the Ka`u region where production declined by approximately four million pounds or 31 percent over 2009 levels, cutting annual revenue by approximately $2.4 million, ML reported. The drought also resulted in lower kernel recovery and the expenditure of approximately $1.2 million in additional irrigation costs. ML acquired 880 acres of macadamia orchards and related assets from IASCO, its largest farming client, for $12.5 million last August.

Tsunami-smashed car next to empty lot where a house
washed away at Manini Beach.  Photo by Julia Neal

A FUNDRAISER FOR HAWAI`I VICTIMS of last month’s tsunami will be hosted by Rep. Bob Herkes. It will be held at the prestigious Pacific Club in Honolulu. Some of the victims with houses washed off their foundations are old kama`aina families in Honolulu with beach homes at Kapua, Honomolino and Okoe Bay near Miloli`i. The funds raised, however, will go to the Hawai`i Red Cross to help those hardest hit, with damages to their businesses, homes and employment in Kona, and to prepare for the future. More than 200 employees of Kona Village risk losing their jobs permanently. The Four Seasons at Hualalai is also still closed, with many employees working fewer hours. 

     “It’s wonderful how Hawai`i’s community has banded together to support Japan and other communities around the world in recent and past years natural disasters. That should continue, but at the same time we also must remember and support our neighbors here in Hawai`i. Even now as the recovery continues, we need to be prepared for the future to ensure a quick response,” said Herkes. The Breakfast with Bob event costs $100 a person and will be held next Wednesday, April 13. Call 808-539-3482.

THE EXPLOSIVE 1790 ERUPTION OF KILAUEA is the topic at After Dark in the Park tonight at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. Geologist Don Swanson, along with Bruce Houghton and Samantha Weaver of UH-Manoa, present the results of their most recent research into what happened and if it could happen again.

Cooper Center

Mongolian Barbecue

THE MONGOLIAN BARBECUE is on for this Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Cooper  Center in Volcano Village. Wok masters will cook up stir-fried vegetables, tofu, chicken, beef and pork and charge 60 cents an ounce for each personalized creation. The event has been held twice a year for more than two decades. Funds raised go to the Cooper Center. Entertainment includes Komakakino from the Paul Neves Halau. See thecoopercenter.org or call 985-9508. 

THE LINEUP FOR THIS YEAR'S KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL is building quickly. Headliners include Cyril Pahinui, Moses and Keoki Kahumoku, Lorna and Maryann Lim, Henry Dulan, Halau Hula O Leionalani, Lorie Lei Hula Studio and the Ka`u `Ukulele Kids. Ka`u residents and visitors can get ready to enter the annual Ka`u Recipe Contest. Booths are available for the all day Ho`olaule`a on Saturday, May 14. See kaucoffeefestival.com for more.

Cyril Pahinui, who teaches at Ka`u High, will perform at the Ka`u Coffee Festival on May 14.  Photo by Julia Neal