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| Moon Brown performs along with Reggie Griffin at Volcano Art Center's Niaulani Campus this Saturday. |
KA`U REP. BOB HERKES said he is happy that the state attorney general’s office has concluded that the military, students and other temporary residents should not be used in determining the population for the basis of reapportionment, which determines the number of elected officials to represent the citizens.
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| Rep. Bob Herkes |
The opinion was presented by Herkes yesterday to the state Reapportionment Commission, which had voted to use the population taken by the recent census as its base for redistricting. Sen. Malama Solomon had asked people to write to the commission to encourage its members to change their minds. Counting the big military and out of state student population on O`ahu could have led to the Big Island having fewer representatives per citizen, she noted. Excluding the temporary residents from the count could lead to the Big Island gaining an additional Senate seat, meaning four senators for Hawai`i Island. Herkes wrote to Attorney General David Louie earlier this month, asking for his opinion.
HOW DO YOU GET MORE INFORMATION on the commission that is responsible for drawing the boundaries for the districts? Council member Brittany Smart said the subject will be up for discussion at her District 6 Matters community meetings tonight at Yano Hall in South Kona and next Wednesday at Na`alehu Community Center. Both are at 7 p.m. She also encourages residents to come to the meetings and check out the County of Hawai`i Redistricting website at http://co.hawaii.hi.us/council/reapp/index.htm. Testimony can be given in person at the commission meetings, by video conference, by emailing Karen Eoff at keoff@co.hawaii.hi.us or calling 323-4264. Testimony should be addressed to Chairperson Siracusa and Commission Members.
BANK OF HAWAI`I in Pahala is helping Habitat for Humanity by selling teri beef plate tickets for $7 each that can be picked up on Saturday, July 30 at either the KTA at Puainako Center in Hilo or the KTA in Kailua-Kona. The funds go to help make home ownership more possible. A Hawaiian family just moved into one of the Habitat for Humanity Homes with an interest-free mortgage in Ocean View.
THERE ARE NOW TWO TARGET STORES, one northwest of Ka`u and the other northeast of Ka`u as the Hilo Target had a soft opening for about 100 guests yesterday with hula and speeches. It is located on Hawaiian Home Lands and will generate millions of dollars in lease rent. Target also employs 350 people to run the Hilo store.
SCHOOL BUS FARES are going up. The state Board of Education raised the fares at its meeting this week. The quarterly pass goes from $60 to $72. The annual pass goes up from $225 to $270. One-way fares rise from 75 cents to $1.25.
SCHOOL MEAL PRICES are going up for the older children and down for the younger children. Elementary school lunches drop from $2.35 to $2.25. Junior high and high school students will pay $2.50 instead of $2.35. Many Ka`u students, however, have reduced lunch prices because they come from low-income families.
PU`U `O`O CRATER’S NEW CAMERA revealed a slow uplift of the crater floor and perched lake yesterday. A lava lake, fed continuously from below, remained perched in the center of the doming crater floor. According to the USGS report, the crater floor and perched lake rims form a nearly continuous ramp sloping away from the lake. The crater floor was about 62 feet below the east rim of Pu`u `O`o Crater, with the lava lake surface about 20 feet above the floor. From June 29 to July 16, the crater floor was uplifted about a yard per day. The most recent preliminary sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 700 tons a day on July 15, from all east rift zone sources, which has meant much clearer skies for all of Ka`u. The video from the new camera, webcams and still photography can be seen at hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
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| Dr. Patricia Mullen |
DR. PATRICIA MULLEN, a Board Certified Family Practitioner, has joined the Emergency Department team at Ka`u Hospital. The new ER physician is very experienced, spending more than 25 years in medicine taking care of patients in urgent care and emergency room settings in Santa Rosa, CA. She has the added credential of being Board Certified in Addiction Medicine. Mullen moved to the Big Island last year and says she is thrilled to be living and working in such a beautiful place with people of many cultures. She is enchanted with Hawaiian music, hula, plants, ocean life, as well as the friendly people here.
KUA O KA LA VIRTUAL ACADEMY, a New Century Public Charter School, hosts a question-and-answer meeting tonight at 5 p.m. at Cooper Center in Volcano. The school’s hybrid program offers place-based, Hawaiian culture-focused electives coupled with an online academic program. For more information, call 808-342-0611.
MOON BROWN AND REGGIE GRIFFIN perform at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Center’s Live Jazz Concert Series. Coordinator David Wallerstein encourages early purchase of tickets, as the previous concerts sold out. Tickets are $15. Call 967-8222 or purchase online at volcanoartcenter.org.