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| Participants in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park's Digital Mountain: It's My Trail film festival trekked through the park to document features that inspired them. Photo courtesy NPS/HAVO |
JAPANESE-AMERICAN World War II veterans from Ka`u are joining a group of 21 from around the state to receive the Congressional Gold Medal this week. Tokuichi Nakano and Iwao Yonemitsu are Ka`u recipients who flew to Washington, D.C. to receive the honors. They are accompanied by their wives, Fusae Nakano and Alice Yonemitsu.
PACIFIC ISLANDERS AND ASIAN AMERICANS are often thrown into a single statistical category that fails to illuminate their challenges and their accomplishments, according to a story in Civil Beat. A meeting on Friday at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. brought up “ways to combat a ‘glaring invisibility’ of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the federal policy area,” writes Civil Beat reporter Adrienne LaFrance.
Pres. Barack Obama’s cabinet secretary Christopher Lu said Obama has “appointed more Asian Americans in more significant positions than any other president in history.” However, few Asians and Pacific Islanders have reached top-level federal jobs in administration. Concerning the general population, participants talked about a “model-minority myth perpetuated by presenting statistics about combined groups of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. For example, statistics collected in California show that Samoan children have the largest body-mass index, Koreans tend to go without health insurance, and Hmongs have a low rate of high school graduation.
Congresswoman Judy Chu said the Asian American/Pacific Islander community has 48 different ethnicities speaking over 300 languages. “We all took different paths to get to different places, and we are facing different sets of challenges.” See more at civilbeat.com. The story is called Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling.
SEN. DAN AKAKA told the statewide meeting of Hawaiian Civic Clubs on Friday that he will work hard for federal recognition of Native Hawaiians until his retirement in January of 2013. He has been working on the Akaka bill for many years to give Hawaiians the same right to govern as American Indians and Native Alaskans, according to a story in this morning’s Honolulu Star Advertiser. Akaka said his mission has been to “upgrade the quality of life for the indigenous peoples. And I see it coming.”
GRAND PRIZE went to Kukui Keli`iho`omalu for the second straight year. In his film called It’s My Trail, he interviews his grandfather Robert Keli`iho`omalu about the family tradition of fishing, collecting limu and `opihi, and hunting wild goat and fishing along the Kalapana coast and taking the Apua Point Trail which ended at Queens Bath. The film includes historic photos and current day film of the area.
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| Tokuichi Nakano (l) and Iwao Yonemitsu receive a send-off cake from volunteers who join them to put together The Ka`u Calendar each month. Photo by Julia Neal |
When World War II broke out, the young working men were determined to show their loyalty to the United States while this country was at war with Japan. The medals will go to those who served in the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence. The ceremony this coming Wednesday will be led by Speaker of the House John Boehner.
PACIFIC ISLANDERS AND ASIAN AMERICANS are often thrown into a single statistical category that fails to illuminate their challenges and their accomplishments, according to a story in Civil Beat. A meeting on Friday at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. brought up “ways to combat a ‘glaring invisibility’ of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the federal policy area,” writes Civil Beat reporter Adrienne LaFrance.
Pres. Barack Obama’s cabinet secretary Christopher Lu said Obama has “appointed more Asian Americans in more significant positions than any other president in history.” However, few Asians and Pacific Islanders have reached top-level federal jobs in administration. Concerning the general population, participants talked about a “model-minority myth perpetuated by presenting statistics about combined groups of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. For example, statistics collected in California show that Samoan children have the largest body-mass index, Koreans tend to go without health insurance, and Hmongs have a low rate of high school graduation.
Congresswoman Judy Chu said the Asian American/Pacific Islander community has 48 different ethnicities speaking over 300 languages. “We all took different paths to get to different places, and we are facing different sets of challenges.” See more at civilbeat.com. The story is called Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling.
SEN. DAN AKAKA told the statewide meeting of Hawaiian Civic Clubs on Friday that he will work hard for federal recognition of Native Hawaiians until his retirement in January of 2013. He has been working on the Akaka bill for many years to give Hawaiians the same right to govern as American Indians and Native Alaskans, according to a story in this morning’s Honolulu Star Advertiser. Akaka said his mission has been to “upgrade the quality of life for the indigenous peoples. And I see it coming.”
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| Digital Mountain: It's My Trail film festival winners put their creations on the big screen at Kilauea Visitor Center last night. Photo by David Boyle |
DIGITAL MOUNTAIN: IT’S MY TRAIL winners were named last night at the finale of the annual student film festival at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The grand-prize winner received a high-definition digital camera. Other top winners received Mac Book Pros. The films show appreciation for the park and particular trails where students find passion for the outdoors and inspiration from culture and wildlife preserved there.
GRAND PRIZE went to Kukui Keli`iho`omalu for the second straight year. In his film called It’s My Trail, he interviews his grandfather Robert Keli`iho`omalu about the family tradition of fishing, collecting limu and `opihi, and hunting wild goat and fishing along the Kalapana coast and taking the Apua Point Trail which ended at Queens Bath. The film includes historic photos and current day film of the area.
See the film at http://www.youtube.com/user/ItsMyTrail#p/u/4/1rO--hE3YF0
FIRST PLACE went to Aiyana Wessels, whose film is called It’s My Trail and Now It’s Yours. “It is important that we have these trails to let everybody else see the beauty too,” she begins. She sayw Thurston Lava Tube is one of her favorite trails. In the park, “I can walk through trails surrounded by plants and craters that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.”
See the film at http://www.youtube.com/user/ItsMyTrail#p/u/12/sxYJdSmkC-A.
SECOND PLACE went to Pua Swift, who chose Devastation Trail. She says that when she looks at the cinder cone she imagines what lies beyond it and wonders if there is a whole world just on the other side. She said she is inspired by the “tranquility of this trail” and finds “beauty in the simplicity of it.”
Swift said Devastation Trail reminds her that “we are the next generation and we have the job of making sure that this trail is here for the generations to come.”
See the film at http://www.youtube.com/user/ItsMyTrail#p/u/12/sxYJdSmkC-A.
THIRD PLACE went to Briana Tucker-Archie with a film on Kilauea Iki Trail called Just for A While. “She goes to get away, to see something special…She goes to escape, even if it’s just for a little while. The sky is her company…. The wonders of Pele and Mother Nature have never failed to astonish her. She realized the beautiful caldera is the only think that didn’t shrink over the years, just as mind-blowing as the first time she saw it.
See the film at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Digital-Mountain-Its-My-Trail-Film-Festival/192624127465196.
FIRST PLACE went to Aiyana Wessels, whose film is called It’s My Trail and Now It’s Yours. “It is important that we have these trails to let everybody else see the beauty too,” she begins. She sayw Thurston Lava Tube is one of her favorite trails. In the park, “I can walk through trails surrounded by plants and craters that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.”
See the film at http://www.youtube.com/user/ItsMyTrail#p/u/12/sxYJdSmkC-A.
SECOND PLACE went to Pua Swift, who chose Devastation Trail. She says that when she looks at the cinder cone she imagines what lies beyond it and wonders if there is a whole world just on the other side. She said she is inspired by the “tranquility of this trail” and finds “beauty in the simplicity of it.”
Swift said Devastation Trail reminds her that “we are the next generation and we have the job of making sure that this trail is here for the generations to come.”
See the film at http://www.youtube.com/user/ItsMyTrail#p/u/12/sxYJdSmkC-A.
THIRD PLACE went to Briana Tucker-Archie with a film on Kilauea Iki Trail called Just for A While. “She goes to get away, to see something special…She goes to escape, even if it’s just for a little while. The sky is her company…. The wonders of Pele and Mother Nature have never failed to astonish her. She realized the beautiful caldera is the only think that didn’t shrink over the years, just as mind-blowing as the first time she saw it.
See the film at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Digital-Mountain-Its-My-Trail-Film-Festival/192624127465196.
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| Kathleen Kam's Akebono Ka`u will grace the cover of The Directory 2012. |
THE KA`U DIRECTORY DEADLINE for listings and ads for the 2012 edition is tomorrow, Oct. 31. Published by the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, The Directory provides information on businesses, community organizations, important phone numbers, an events calendar, maps of Ka`u, and many photographs as well as art from winners of the latest cover art contest. For an application, visit kauchamber.org or call Ron at 928-6471.
HALLOWEEN FESTIVITIES mean that the Hawai`i Police Department is setting up DUI checkpoints and promoting the slogan Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. Police also issued tips for trick-or-treat walks around neighborhoods: supervise children crossing streets; exit cars curbside instead of traffic side; drive slower than the speed limit during trick-or-treat time; watch more closely for children on streets and medians; and be extra careful at driveways and alleyways.
CHICKEN SKIN GALORE will permeate Na`ohulelua Historical Garden’s Spook Night from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. today. The garden is on Kama`oa Road, 1.7 miles from Hwy 11. Parents are invited to bring children. Participants are asked to bring pupus for six, sweaters and flashlights. Prizes for best story, best costume and for showing up alive! For more information, call 929-7236 and ask for Igor or Loke.
CHICKEN SKIN GALORE will permeate Na`ohulelua Historical Garden’s Spook Night from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. today. The garden is on Kama`oa Road, 1.7 miles from Hwy 11. Parents are invited to bring children. Participants are asked to bring pupus for six, sweaters and flashlights. Prizes for best story, best costume and for showing up alive! For more information, call 929-7236 and ask for Igor or Loke.
NEXT SUNDAY, NOV. 6, is the deadline for public comments on Nani Kahuku `Aina’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement for its Kahuku Village resort development. The Draft EIS can be seen on the state Department of Health website under the Office of Environmental Quality Control. It is titled Kahuku Village DEIS. It is also available at the Na`alehu Public Library.
The plan calls for state Land Use Commission reclassification of Conservation land near the ocean to Urban for hotel, condominium, estate, housing, golf course and commercial development. The resort would be set on the coastal section of 16,000 acres between the Kalae South Point bluff and Ocean View Ranchos, makai of the Kahuku section of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. It would be constructed on the coastal plain below Kahuku Ranch. The developers have promised Hawaiian and wildlife educational centers and protection of the turtle nesting grounds at Pohue Bay. They have offered land for community buildings, including a veterans center.
At his recent forum in Pahala, Sen. Gil Kahele urged everyone to submit their comments, pro or con. The developers are required to respond to all comments received by the deadline.
The plan calls for state Land Use Commission reclassification of Conservation land near the ocean to Urban for hotel, condominium, estate, housing, golf course and commercial development. The resort would be set on the coastal section of 16,000 acres between the Kalae South Point bluff and Ocean View Ranchos, makai of the Kahuku section of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. It would be constructed on the coastal plain below Kahuku Ranch. The developers have promised Hawaiian and wildlife educational centers and protection of the turtle nesting grounds at Pohue Bay. They have offered land for community buildings, including a veterans center.
At his recent forum in Pahala, Sen. Gil Kahele urged everyone to submit their comments, pro or con. The developers are required to respond to all comments received by the deadline.
