Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 31, 2012

Rotary International came to Ka`u yesterday to donate computers to the high school. Photo by Tui Masaniai

FORTY-TWO NEW LAPTOP COMPUTERS and 27 printers, along with a slew of digital cameras, were donated by Rotary Club International yesterday at Ka`u High School. Rotary Clubs of Hilo and Pahoa participated along with two Rotary Clubs from Taiwan. Principal Sharon Beck said that she worked for a year and a half with English teacher Kim Williamson and social studies teacher Wilma Roddy and Rotary to receive the computers. 

Students went right to work in Kim Williamson's English class
on their computers donated by Rotary. Photo by Tui Masaniai

      Hilo Rotarians visited the classroom yesterday, including former mayor Lorraine Inouye, Jon McElvaney, co-chair for the project, and Steve Yoshida, who recently chaired the Rotary Global Peace Forum in Honolulu.
      Yoshida said that “this is just the beginning of help for Ka`u High School. The teachers and students were great. This is a special school.”
      A group from the Taiwan Rotary Club plans to visit Ka`u High School on Feb. 15.

TENURE would no longer be the way that teachers and principals keep their jobs in Hawai`i schools if a bill passes the 2012 Hawai`i Legislature. Florida, Idaho and Rhode Island have done away with tenure. Hawai`i is one of five states in the country that provide tenure to teachers with only two years on the job. 

      The Hawai`i State Teachers Association, the union for public school teachers, opposes the measure. HSTA president Wil Okabe called the measure a “direct attack on our membership, our profession and a lack of recognition and respect for the valuable service that our veteran teachers provide.” He told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser yesterday: “We feel that teachers are going to be stripped away from due-process rights, to be hired and fired at will by politicians or by administrators.”
    The union has asked teachers to write in testimony against bills that would eliminate the tenure. State Rep. Roy Takumi, chair of the House Education Committee, introduced one of the bills and said that term tenure needs discussion to determine what it really means. The bill goes to hearing at the House of Representatives in Honolulu tomorrow. The public can submit testimony online by going to www.capitol.hawaii.gov and searching for House Bill 1668. The Senate Bill goes to hearing on Friday.

THE POST OFFICE IN PAHALA has new hours. They are 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The post office was open shorter hours over the last few years.

THE NEW ROOF AT PAHALA COMMUNITY CENTER is going up to replace a roof well rusted and damaged from years of exposure to vog. The county project is expected to be finished by the end of February. In the meantime, martial arts classes and some community events are being held at the Old Pahala Clubhouse at the south end of Maile street, which was restored by the Edmund C. Olson Trust.

A THIRD CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR has announced, according to a report by Nancy Cook Lauer in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. Anne Marsh, 52, told the Tribune-Herald that the county should fix old infrastructure and handle social ills and crime before luring more tourists to the island. She told Cook Lauer that she is an environmental advocate, experienced in nonprofit organizations and could “bring the island back from the brink of extinction,” the story says. She moved to the Big Island from Alaska seven years ago, and this is her first time running for public office. Also running are incumbent Mayor Billy Kenoi, County Council chair Dominic Yagong and possibly former Mayor Harry Kim.

Markings on humpback whale flukes are used to identify individuals.

WHALE FLUKES are the subjects of a new Hawai`i Marine Mammal Consortium poster being sold to raise money for the organization. Scientists use the whales’ tails – the flukes – much like humans use fingerprints to identify them. The shape, color and markings are unique to each humpback whale. The poster shows 56 photographs of 53 different whales with a built-in “fluke matching” quiz to identify three whales that appear twice in the photos. The answers can be found at the HMMC website: www.hmmc.org. 

      Sightings and whale counts, like the ones last weekend at Punalu`u, South Point and on the coast within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, help scientists to describe their social behavior, migrations, and life histories.
      The website shows information about the sighting history of each whale and links to pages about whale biology and behavior.
      Copies of the poster are available through the HMMC website. The purchase of the poster is tax deductible, and proceeds support HMMC’s whale and dolphin research in Hawai`i.
      The HMMC is a Big Island 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2003 by four biologists who first met while conducting whale research for the University of Hawai`i on the Big Island in the early 1990’s. The organization has assisted with whale disentanglement efforts led by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. It focuses on marine mammal conservation, research and education and has a science advisory group from top universities around the U.S. and abroad. The HMMC hosts education programs for classes of high school and college students from Hawai`i and the mainland, including an annual week-long class on whale bioacoustics for Cornell University students and a collaboration with faculty at the University of Alaska Southeast in Sitka and the University of Hawai`i Hilo to connect students from Hawai`i and Alaska. For more information about HMMC scientists, research, education programs and scientific papers, visit www.hmmc.org or email info@hmmc.org.

Volcanic gases are on tap at After Dark in the Park's gas tasting party tonight.
Photo from USGS

GEOCHEMISTS JEFF SUTTON AND TAMAR ELIAS give an update about volcanic gases, especially those related to the 2008 - 2011 activity at Halema`uma`u Crater, at After Dark in the Park tonight at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. At the “gas tasting” party, participants learn to identify volcanic gases by smell. $2 donation supports park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

KA`U `OHANA BAND HOLDS rehearsals tomorrow and every Wednesday and Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Everyone is welcome to join, and instruments are supplied. Call 929-7544 for more information.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 30, 2012

New teacher performance evaluations tied to the progress of students are being implemented at Ka`u High and
Pahala Elementary School. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U HIGH & PAHALA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of the campuses where the state Department of Education is implementing new teacher performance evaluations that are tied to the progress of students. Ka`u is among 18 campuses where evaluations are being conducted as a test before establishing the program in all schools across the state. The first reports are expected soon and will tie student test scores and learning to teacher practices. 

      The state is implementing a number of programs in its effort to ensure it will receive some $75 million in the Race to the Top federal program. The federal Department of Education has threatened to pull the funding if progress isn’t made.
      One stumbling block has been negotiations with the Hawai`i State Teachers Association, which recently rejected a bargaining agreement that was pounded out between the union and state school administration. The union has been going from school to school to listen to the teachers before going back to the bargaining table. Teachers met with the union at Ka`u High last Friday. A team from the Department of Education is on campus this week to work with teachers and the school administration.

Rep. Bob Herkes at the recent blessing
of Ka`u Coffee Mill. Photo by
Geneveve Fyvie

KA`U’S REPRESENTATIVE in the state House of Representatives has measures on the move. Rep. Bob Herkes submitted a bill that gives small farmers an income tax break. It would allow farmers to deduct up to $500,000 in income from selling farm products and hosting tours of their agricultural operations. The Department of Agriculture asked that aquaculture also be included. Some testimony asked that the measure be limited to farms growing food that is sold in Hawai`i and warned against giving the tax breaks to “fake farms” owned by land speculators. Another measure would exempt farm products from excise taxes.

LIMITING THE SIZE OF FARM DWELLINGS on prime agricultural land is also a bill being championed by Herkes. The legislative narrative says "the Legislature finds that there has been a proliferation of residential dwellings within agricultural districts that may not be occupied in connection with an actual farm." This act “should reduce the attractiveness of agricultural land for subdivision and development into ‘fake farms’ or ‘gentlemen’s estates’ on which agricultural activity is nonexistent, negligible, or inauthentic,” the bill says. It would limit farm dwellings to 2,000 square feet in size. It would encourage farm activities such as agricultural tourism and biofuel processing facilities, provided that “they do not adversely impact agricultural land and other agricultural uses in the vicinity.”

Houses on prime ag land would have to be reasonable for small farms,
under 2,000 square feet. Photo by Julia Neal

AGRICULTURAL SUBDIVISIONS AND AG CONDOMINIUMS would only be allowed through approval by the County Council by ordinance, if  another ag preservation bill introduced by Herkes passes. 

TO BOLSTER AG EXPORTS, another Herkes bill would help establish a refrigerator storage facility at Hilo Airport.

EXEMPTING THE STATE AND COUNTIES from being forced to improve roads and highways turned over to them by private land ownes is another Herkes measure. Roads in limbo could be included.

LIMITED GAMBLING IN HAWAI`I has been supported by Rep. Bob Herkes. He co-introduced a measure in January that would allow one stand-alone casino in Waikiki, with a 15 percent wagering tax going to the state from gross receipts. The casino would not be inside a hotel.

The Herkes bill would cut taxes on bonafide agricultural business.
Photo by Julia Neal

AN OFFICE OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS would be established by the state, under a proposal by Rep. Bob Herkes. His bill at the Legislature would establish a director of Disaster Preparedness who would oversee creation of a Natural Disaster Plan that would look at scientific data to assess risks to different communities for various disasters, including vog, and building codes would be addressed to adapt to the risks, including vog. 

THE KA`U COMMUNITY CHORUS rehearses at Discovery Harbour Community Hall tonight and every Monday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Call 929-7544 for more information about this and other programs sponsored by Ka`u School of the Arts.

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER hosts duplicate bridge games tomorrow and every Tuesday at 1 p.m. Beginners are welcome; help is available, and partners can be arranged. To sign up, call Pat at 375-6271 or Susan at 375-6821.

KILAUEA’S VOLCANIC GASES and their environmental impact is the topic at After Dark in the Park tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Geochemists Jeff Sutton and Tamar Elias give an update about volcanic gases, especially those related to the 2008-2011 activity at Halema`uma`u Crater. Participants are invited to the “gas tasting” party, where they learn to identify volcanic gases by smell. $2 donation supports park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 29, 2012

A Hawaiian Volcano Observatory chemist measures Pu`u `O`o gas emissions, detecting the gases' compositions based
on absorbed infrared light. Volcanic air pollution is the topic at Tuesday's After Dark in the Park.  Photo from USGS

FINAL FIGURES ON UNEMPLOYMENT are in for last year, showing Hawai`i with much lower unemployment than the mainland. The Hawai`i state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations puts 2011 at 6.3 percent statewide, down from 6.6 percent in 2010. The number of jobs in Hawai`i grew by 7,100, or 1.2 percent. The state estimates 594,000 jobs in Hawai`i, with notable gains - 3,000 jobs in Professional & Business Services, 2,900 in Educational and Health Services and 2,500 in Leisure & Hospitality.
      The labor force rose to 633,600, but 41,900 remained unemployed in December. Nationally, the unemployment rate in December declined to 8.5 percent from the revised rate of 8.7 percent in November.
      The 6.6 rates used by the state for Hawai`i’s unemployment is seasonally adjusted. Without the seasonally adjusted calculation, the unemployment rate in Hawai`i declined to 6.2 percent in December from 6.6 percent in November. 

     Where are the numbers of jobs increasing? According to the state, construction came up with 800 new jobs, leisure and hospitality 100 and other services 100. Job losses at the end of the year, however, took place in education, financial activities, trade, transportation and utilities and professional and business services. Government employment declined by 200 jobs in December.

HOTEL OCCUPANY RATES have been soaring recently, reaching 82.4 percent during the second week of January. This is nearly four percent higher than the same week last year. Not only did the occupancy go up, but hotels charged more per room, with the average daily room rate at $202.08. The Big Island’s 67.5 percent occupancy, as usual, was lower than the statewide rate, but improved over last year. Big Island room rates averaged $189.28. The Big Island had a higher occupancy rate than Kaua`i. The rates come from Hospitality Advisors LLC and Smith Travel Research.

Rep. Bob Herkes

REP. BOB HERKES said last night that his housing bill should get some traction this week at the 2012 Hawai`i Legislature. Herkes said he wants to “blow up” the building code that puts a damper on self-built housing and affordable homes. Herkes said he doesn’t want people in such a mild environment as Hawai`i living in their cars, vans and tents when they could be building houses. He said the building code should be adapted for the islands and for people to construct their own homes. 

GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE has released $15.6 million to fix dilapidated infrastructure and bolster the construction industry. He said, “Each of these projects represents a long-term investment in our state and its people in the form of maintaining core services, facilities and resources, and generating jobs within our state.” The funding includes $3.5 million for more staffing in the state Division of Public Works and $3.15 million for construction of wastewater treatment projects.

Humpback whales have their babies in Hawaiian waters each year.
Image from the Attenborough Collection

HUMPBACK WHALE COUNTING and observation was the effort of Ka`u volunteers yesterday at Punalu`u, South Point, and at the end of Ka`ena Point in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The count also took place at selected points on Hawai`i Island and other islands around the state. The task was sponsored by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Sanctuary. According to preliminary reports statewide, during every 15-minute time period, an average of two whales were spotted off O`ahu, eight off Kaua`i, and three off the Big Island. Volunteers not only counted the whales but documented their behavior. Another count will take place on Feb. 25 and again on March 31. To volunteer, call 1-888-55-WHALE or see hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov. 

THE CIRCULO FOR SPEAKING SPANISH takes place tomorrow and every Monday. Sponsored by Ka`u School of the Arts, the class is held at Discovery Harbour Community Hall from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

ALSO SPONSORED BY KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, the Ka`u Community Chorus rehearses at Discovery Harbour Community Hall every Monday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Call 929-7544 for more information about KSA. 

Pacific Quest students grow fruits and vegetables and
sell them at Ka`u Farmers Market in Na`alehu.

PACIFIC QUEST STUDENTS are selling organic fruits and vegetables at Ka`u  Farmers Market in Na`alehu. They grow themselves and donate the proceeds to the Ka`u community. Family Support Hawai`i’s Ka`u Family Center recently received diapers and infant formula bought with the produce funds. “The donation will support the center’s programs which work with infants and children,” said Ka`u Family Center coordinator Teresa Alderdyce. Pacific Quest is an outdoor therapeutic program that helps struggling teenagers and young adults make better choices and live healthy, productive lives by teaching sustainable life skills through their sustainable growth model. “Pacific Quest provides individual, sustainable, personal development within a safe, structured, experiential and natural environment in a culture of unconditional support and personal responsibility,” said Outing supervisor Amy Higgins.

KILAUEA’S VOLCANIC GASES and Their Environmental Impact is the topic at After Dark in the Park this Tuesday, Jan 31 at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Geochemists Jeff Sutton and Tamar Elias offer an update about volcanic gases, especially those related to the 2008-2011 activity at Halema`uma`u Crater. Participants are invited to the “gas tasting” party, where they learn to identify volcanic gases by smell. $2 donation supports park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 28, 2012

Mother pigs enjoy off-grade papayas as part of a healthy diet, but a new experiment would turn the fruit into biofuel.
Photo by Julia Neal

COFFEE BERRY BORERS have affected 90 percent of farms in some growing areas on the island, particularly Kona, but only one active farm has been damaged in Ka`u, according to University of Hawai`i College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Services extension agent Andrea Kawabata. 

      A story in this morning’s West Hawai`i Today by Chelsea Jensen reports Kawabata telling Kona coffee farmers at their meeting yesterday that research has determined that the borers can live at most elevations and have been found in orchards between 600- to 2,200-foot altitudes.
      “As of today, there are no places in Kona that are not infested with the coffee berry borer beetle. However, through regulation and help of the community, North and East Hawai`i are not infested yet, that I know of,” Kawabata said.
      U.H. extension agents were in Ka`u recently and encouraged farmers to keep their fields clean. At yesterday’s meeting, Kona coffee farmer Suzanne Shriner presented a three-pronged approach to reduce infestation: pick all the beans, clean the ground of all fallen fruit, spray the approved fungicide regularly and use coffee berry borer traps to find the locations of the pests. The West Hawai`i Today story quoted Shriner saying, “The most important thing that you can do is clear the coffee off your trees.” On her Honaunau farm, infestation dropped from 60 percent to three percent in a year. “I believe it was because I cleared every single bean off the trees. For more on the borers visit the website on the problem at ctahr.hawaii.edu/site/CBB.aspx.

Papayas could be used for biofuel.

THE NAVY WANTS PAPAYAS, if research to turn them into biofuels pans out, according to a story in Pacific Business News. Most overripe or scarred papayas are provided at a deep discount to pig farmers and cattlemen on this island who depend on it for a healthy food supplement for their livestock. Another use for the off-grade papayas is making juice, which is being done by KTA’s Mountain Apple Brand. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, however, is teaming up with a Florida company called BioTork to experiment with papayas to make biofuel and sell it to the Navy. The biofuel would be made and refined in Hawai`i, according to PBN. 

      PBN quoted Delan Perry, vice president of the Hawai`i Papaya Industry Association, as saying the biofuel experiment is “is probably a good idea; there is certainly product available.”

A SECOND BAG BILL that would charge ten cents for the use of paper and plastic bags at the checkout stand was introduced this week by Big Island lawmakers, this one allowing the fee to be waived for people using food stamps and Women, Infants and Children nutrition programs. The latest - introduced by Reps. Jerry Chang, Cindy Evans and Clift Tsuji - could go to hearing next week before the state House Committee on Environmental Protection. Denny Coffman, who chairs the committee, has tabled his own bill to make way for this new one. With plastic bags already banned on Maui and Kaua`i, and next January on the Big Island, either bill will go after reducing use of the more expensive paper bags, encouraging people to bring reusable bags for shopping. On O`ahu, where plastic bags are still legal, charges would be levied for both plastic and paper. 

Plastic bags will be banned at all Neighbor Island checkout counters, and
paper bags could bring a fee. Photo from Sea.thos Foundation

      The 10-cent tax is described in the bill as an “offset fee.” Chang’s bill calls for six cents going to the state's Natural Area Reserves Fund to be spent on watershed protection and two cents to the state Department of Health for environmental protection and clean water programs. Two to three cents would go back to the businesses to offset the cost of collecting the bag fee. As the use of these bags is reduced, the percentage of funding going to the watershed fund would increase. 

      Businesses would be banned from paying the bag fee for customers or face a minimum fine of $1,000 to be levied by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

THE COST OF GOODS coming into Hawai`i will go up again as Matson initiated another fuel surcharge to raise the fee by $120 to $200 per container. This will make the surcharge the second highest on record, and other shippers Pasha and Horizon are expected to follow suit. The prices will go up for Matson containers on Feb. 4.

Skateboarders may be required to wear helments.

HELMETS FOR SKATEBOARDERS may become law if a bill before the Health Committee of the state House of Representatives becomes law. The committee has been discussing statistics showing traumatic brain injury among many of those admitted to Queens Hospital after skateboard accidents. 

THE OWNER OF PUNALU`U BAKESHOP, Duane Kurisu, has been named to the board of Central Pacific Financial Corp., parent of Central Pacific Bank. Kurisu not only owns Punalu`u Bakeshop in Na`alehu, but also land in Wood Valley. He has invested in media, including Honolulu and Hawai`i business magazines; in restaurants, including the Hukilau chain in Honolulu and California; in nutraceuticals; and in sports, including sports radio stations, Hawai`i Winter Baseball and the San Francisco Giants.

FREE SQUARE DANCING LESSONS take place this evening and every Saturday at Ocean View Community Center. Lessons are open to all ages. Call Joe at 808-646-0479 for more information.

PARTICIPANTS EXPLORE AND PROTECT an isolated refuge of rare plants in a remnant old-growth forest at Kipuka`akihi in the Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park between miles 70 and 71 on Hwy 11. The five-hour expedition happens tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pre-registration is required. Call 985-6011.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 27, 2012

A measure in the House would put a fee on all paper and plastic bags. Photo from projectgreenbag.com

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, SIERRA CLUB and Surfrider Foundation are supporting a 10-cent fee on single-use paper and plastic shopping bags. The program could raise more than $20 million year and reduce use of those bags that wind up blowing down the highway and floating in the ocean. Income would go the state Department of Land and Natural Resources for its watershed program. The ultimate goal is to encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable shopping bags.

Robert Harris, Sierra Club
Hawai`i Photo by OHA

            According to Sierra Club executive director Robert Harris, who took the case to the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection yesterday, the law will not change the recently approved plastic bag ban that goes into effect in Hawai`i County next January. Some funds could initially go to merchants, who will shoulder the cost of switching from plastic to more expensive paper bags.
            Big Island Rep. Denny Coffman sponsored the House bill to charge for bags, claiming it will cause a drastic reduction of single-use bags within three years. If the incentive doesn’t reduce single-bag use by 75 percent by July 2016, the fee would rise to 25 cents a bag. The Sierra Club calculates that 10 cents a bag will reduce bag use by 50 percent. Harris said that Washington, D.C. launched such a program with a five-cent bag fee, causing a 75 to 90 percent reduction.
            Volcano resident Guy Kaulukukui, who is deputy director of the Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources, was wary about the incentives. “It’s hard to imagine that a 10-cent fee would reduce use by half,” he told the Sophie Cocke, a reporter with Civil Beat. “I think it’s much more difficult to change consumer behavior,” Kaulukukui told Civil Beat. 

Guy Kaulukukui, a Volcano resident. Photo from
The Kohala Center

            Some people weighing in at www.civilbeat.com suggested higher charges at the counter, with several calling for a fee of $1 per bag. In addition to funding the DLNR, the bill would provide 20 percent of the revenue to grocery stores to offset higher costs from implementing the program. The second year, the fee would go down to 10 percent. See more at civilbeat.com.

TESTING PUBLIC HOUSING APPLICANTS for drugs was shelved at the Legislature yesterday. Rep. John Mizuno noted it would cost about $43 per test and said it is unnecessary since there is already law in place allowing testing, should there be suspicion of drug use.
     According to a story in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser this morning, he said, “I don’t want to cut someone off and have them end up homeless.” Also shelved was a bill that would have screened participants in Temporary Aid for Needy Families. A similar law was declared unconstitutional by Florida courts. 

Kawa was placed in the public domain, in part, with money from the
Two-Percent land Fund. Photo by Julia Neal

MAYOR BILLY KENOI has signed the bill to place the Two-Percent Land Fund on the election ballot this November. The charter amendment would tighten up the process, requiring that deeds for land purchased ensure preservation of the property in perpetuity. The wording says the land shall be for “the use and enjoyment of the people of Hawai`i County and may not be sold, mortgaged, traded or transferred in any way.”
            West Hawai`i Today reported this morning that Kenoi said he supports the bill that puts two percent of property tax income into the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Fund. County Council member Brenda Ford sponsored the charter amendment to prevent the Council and mayor from changing the two-percent requirement.
            Funds were recently used to purchase lands around Kawa Bay to place them in the public domain.

KUMU LEILEHUA YUEN and Manu Josiah present 50-minute narrated demonstrations of the preparation, protocol and offering of traditional hula and chant at the hula platform in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Hands-on cultural demonstrations are offered from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the porch at Volcano Art Center Gallery. Donations are welcome, and park entrance fees apply.

A MURDER MYSTERY PLAY sponsored by Na`alehu Main Street will be performed tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Tickets for The Hurricane are $10 in advance and $15 at the door, including refreshments and heavy pupus. Call 929-7236 for tickets.

Jason Scott Lee promotes preservation of Hawai`i's
watersheds. Photo from DLNR

JASON SCOTT LEE’S documentary about preservation of Hawai`i’s watersheds airs on KHNL television tomorrow from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. In The Rain Follows the Forest, Lee describes his simple lifestyle in Volcano where he farms kalo. The Rain Follows the Forest is sponsored by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources. 

IN SPORTS, Ka`u High School Girls Basketball played at home last night. In JV play, Ka`u scored 37, while Waiakea won with 56. High scorers for Ka`u were Denisha Navarro with 18 and Shyann Flores-Carvalho with 11. In varsity play, Ka`u scored 37, while Waiakea came up with 56. Ka`u varsity high scorer was Joyce Ibason with 10, as reported by Ka`u High athletic director Kalei Namohala.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 26, 2012

Ocean View houses can be protected by Neighborhood Watch and simple security practices. Photo by Julia Neal

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP and Ka`u Chamber of Commerce hosted a crime prevention presentation by Neighborhood Watch, community policing officer Blaine Morishita and deputy prosecutor Mitch Roth last night. Morishita said people can protect their homes by following such practices as installing security lights, gating or putting a chain across driveways and other measures or simply locking doors, sheds and garages. Roth talked about looking at crimes from a fresh point of view. He said there is a crime triangle with three elements: a victim, an offender and a location. Too often, the community expects police to solve the problem by itself. “If your only tool is a hammer, all your problems are nails.” He said the most effective law agencies in the country are “people who care.” He commended the Ocean View Neighborhood Watch program and those that started it several years ago, saying that they have helped prevent many crimes. “Community is more than just eyes and ears; community is part of the problem-solving process,” Roth said. 

Deputy prosecutor Mitch Roth, Neighborhood Watch founder Bob Barry,
Neighborhood Watch volunteers Joe McDaniel and Ocean View
Community Development Corp. treasurer Robin Lamson.
Photo by Nalani Parlin

     Ten percent of the offenders commit 55 to 60 percent of crimes, Roth said. Ten percent of victims represent 42 percent of victimization. Ten percent of locations represent 60 percent of police calls for service. Police go to the same places over and over, helping the same victims and going after the same offenders. The three E's to solve the crime problems are education for the victim, enforcement of the offender and engineering for the location, Roth said. He also quoted Robert Peal, the father of modern day policing, for whom the London police called the Bobbies are named. Peal said that “police are the public, and the public are the police, with police being the only members of society who are paid to do what is incumbent upon every citizen.” Roth said, “We are all in this together.”
     Roth offered to come back to meet with the community and Morishita to work on coming up with solutions. Speaking of working together to problem-solve crimes, Roth said that they could "get a group together, go through what is going on and look at the situation. Where are these guys selling this stuff? What are the times crime is happening? What are the patterns?”

Community policing officer Blaine
Morishita. Photo by Nalani Parlin

     Morishita also urged the community to report crimes as much as possible. If more crimes are reported, the statistics could warrant getting more officers for Ka`u, he said.
     Bob Berry, one of the founders of Neighborhood Watch, reviewed the history of the organization. Mike Dubois, who organized the meeting, said that driving around the neighborhood is still a great way to solve problems but that residents need to move into a quicker response mode and higher-tech security. He said once a crime happens, the Neighborhood Watch network could be warned through phone calls and over the Internet, not only to find the culprits but to advise residents to take care. A website could keep people up to date on recent crimes, descriptions of culprits and gathering information.
     Neighborhood Watch has groups throughout Ka`u. To get involved, call Arlene Araki at 989-5141 in Ocean View, Jeff Purser at 929-9576 in Discovery Harbour, or Carla Andrade at 928-6268 in Pahala.

DRUG TESTING FOR PUBLIC HOUSING could become a requirement if the state House of Representatives proposal passes the state Legislature. With the exception of the elderly and anyone under 15 years of age, applicants could be subjected to the testing. The argument for the legislation says that drug dealers and users are living and going to public housing and should be removed. Sponsors of the bill also tie drugs to the inability or unwillingness to pay rent. The state is absorbing more than $800,000 in unpaid rent. 

Rep. Denny Coffman

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO. could become a distributor and stop manufacturing electricity if Big Island Rep. Denny Coffman’s bill passes the state Legislature. Coffman is one of the policymakers studying high electric rates in Hawai`i who wants to create more competition in the business of making power. Hawai`i has some of the highest rates in the country, four times more expensive than some places on the mainland.
     According to a Stephens Media story by Erin Miller, the bill to be introduced by Coffman would require the state Public Utilities Commission to make developing geothermal to replace fossil fuel a top priority. It also tells the PUC to seek utility producers in order “to acquire the lowest cost, electrical grid-safe electricity generated from non-fossil fuel sources” ahead of buying any fossil fuel. The bill can be read at the newly revised Legislature website, where testimony can easily be given and anyone can search for subjects of their interest and see what their legislators propose. See www.capitol.hawaii.gov.

POWER WAS KNOCKED OUT to about 1,700 customers for about an hour yesterday when a tree fell across Hwy 11 near Manuka State Park near Ocean View. Hawaiian Electric Light Co. switched the lines to a different power source to restore electricity. One lane was able to keep traffic flowing until the tree could be cleared. 

Hawai`i Island is promoted as separate, with its own personality, with its
longtime slogan, "The Big Island." Image from gohawaii.com

THE NEW YORK TIMES carried a story yesterday concerning the new visitor industry campaign that seeks to brand each one of the Hawaiian Islands as a separate place to go with its own personality. It talks about the film The Descendants — with its five Oscar nominations bringing more attention to Hawai`i. The story says the new approach is used in all media from television to print, the gohawaii.co website and social media. The campaign is costing about $7 million and is organized by the Hawai`i Tourism & Convention Bureau. The most targeted market is the West Coast because it is more affordable to fly here from California. In the ads, this island is still called “the Big Island,” Kaua`i is “Hawai`i’s island of discovery,” Maui is “the magic isle” and O`ahu is “the heart of Hawai`i.” The commercials are airing on HGTV, Travel Channel and other cable outlets. Print ads are in Real Simple, Travel & Leisure and other- magazines. 

THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is still looking for volunteers in Ka`u to help count the humpbacks on this Saturday, Jan. 28, Feb. 25 and March 31. The annual 2012 Sanctuary Ocean Count is from 8 a.m. to noon, when volunteers record the behavior of whales over a four-hour period. More than 60 sites along the shores of the Big Island, O`ahu and Kaua`i have been selected for the count. To learn more, see http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov. Register online or call 1-888-55-WHALE, ext. 253.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory offers images and movies of the eruption
at hvo.wr.usgs.gov

LAVA IS MORE ACTIVE in the two Kilauea Craters. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports lava rising in Halema`uma`u Crater with spattering on the south side of the lava lake, 250 feet below the edge of the crater. Pu`u `O`o is experiencing lava filling a depression on the crater floor. About two miles southeast of the crater a surface flow is apparent, but nothing yet is going into the ocean. 

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS sponsors a Western Line Dance class tonight and every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Discovery Harbour Community Clubhouse. Call 929-7544 for more information. 

JASON SCOTT LEE’S documentary about preservation of Hawai`i’s watersheds airs on KHNL television tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. In The Rain Follows the Forest, Lee describes his simple lifestyle in Volcano where he farms kalo. Lee, who often fishes with friends along the Ka`u Coast, is famous for his acting roles on the London stage and in films such as the Bruce Lee Story, The Jungle Book and Rapanui. The Rain Follows the Forest is sponsored by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources.

KUMU LEILEHUA YUEN and Manu Josiah present 50-minute narrated demonstrations of the preparation, protocol and offering of traditional hula and chant at the hula platform in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park this Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Hands-on cultural demonstrations are offered from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the porch at Volcano Art Center Gallery. Donations are welcome, and park entrance fees apply.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 25, 2012

Keiki play while a monk seal basks at Honu'apo. Photo by Julia Neal

ALL OF THE KA`U COASTLINE and the shores of all the inhabited Hawaian Islands are proposed for federal designation as critical Hawaiian monk seal habitat, but the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is objecting, according to a story in Civil Beat by Sophie Cocke. The story reports the DLNR contending the designation “would create an unnecessary layer of bureaucratic red tape and do little if anything to promote the species’ survival.”
      However, environmental groups object, “arguing it’s a critical step for a seal population that is heading toward extinction,” the Civil Beat story says. Only 1,100 Hawaiian monk seals are believed to remain, and the population could be declining about four percent a year.
      “If the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration bows to state pressure to significantly amend or discard the designation, it could be sued by environmental groups who have not hesitated to use the courts elsewhere to win protection under the Endangered Species Act,” reports Civil Beat. It was a band of groups in Hawai`i - the Center for Biological Diversity, Honolulu-based KAHEA and Ocean Conservancy that first petitioned NOAA in 2008 to extend critical habitat designation to the shores of all the inhabited Hawaiian Islands, since the uninhabited northwest Hawaiian Islands were already protected, notes Civil Beat.

Sophie Cocke, Civil Beat journalist.  
Photo from Civil Beat

      Marti Townsend, director of KAHEA, told Civil Beat that the federal government wasn’t “fulfilling its mandate to protect the species from extinction.” Under the critical habitat protection, NOAA would review activities that require federal permits or action or use federal funds to make sure monk seals would be safe. The designated protected zone would run from a depth of 1,650 feet offshore and extend onto the beaches and about 16 feet inland. It would cover the coasts of all the islands, except for harbors and military bases.
      The DLNR called the proposal “overly broad,” and said it is “inconsistent with the actual physical and biological needs of the endangered monk seal, and is an extraordinary regulatory burden on government officials unrelated to the management activities that would actually promote recovery of the seal population.” Fishermen have testified that seals can be aggressive and go after their catch.
      Jean Higgins, who works for NOAA on the monk seal issue, told Civil Beat that leaving out any coastal areas would require proof that the designation would create significant economic impact or a national security risk. Omitting strands of coast could invite a lawsuit, she said.
      Miyoko Sakashita, an attorney and oceans director for the Center for Biological Diversity, told Civil Beat that “beaches and marinas proposed for critical habitat are what the science tells us are essential areas for the endangered monk seal.”
      NOAA could either decide on a habitat map in June or ask for a six-month extension, reports Civil Beat. See more at civilbeat.com.

THE TEACHERS UNION will come to the Ka'u campus for a listening session concerning union negotiations with the state. The meeting is set for this Friday, Jan. 27 at the Ka'u High School Band Room from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The meeting follows the rejection of a new employment contract by members of the Hawai`i State Teachers Association. Union leaders are touring the state to get input. Teachers say they want to know how they will be judged, as the proposed contract ties teacher pay to student performance. According to a statement from the union, “HSTA leaders want to hear from teachers. This listening tour is just one of many opportunities being provided to teachers to give feedback and input about the contract, ratification process and the options for negotiations going forward. Teachers are reminded to bring their school IDs with them.
THE STATE SUNSHINE LAW could be eased to allow public commission, committee and board members to attend events, conferences and other meetings without violating the open meetings law. The current law has restricted such volunteers as members of the Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee from going to some community meetings, as they could be seen as convening outside of their CDP steering meetings.

TAX CREDITS FOR LARGE CAPACITY BIOFUEL REFINERIES are proposed at the 2012 state Legislature. The bill, carried over from last year, would allow up to $12 million a year in tax credits toward capital investment of building a biofuel farm and refinery, if at least 75 percent of the feedstock is grown in Hawai`i. The cap on the tax credit would be $12 million a year in capital investment, and the law would require the refinery to be operational before the tax credits are taken. Tax credits would cover “capital expenditures in agricultural infrastructure, including irrigation and drainage systems, land clearing and leveling, establishment of crops, planting and cultivation. It would also include purchase of processing equipment, boilers, turbines, generators, waste treatment systems, pipelines and liquid storage tanks at the facility,” the bill says.
     “The local production of these biofuels could contribute to Hawai`i’s renewable energy objectives, reduce the impact of world oil price volatility, provide a measure of energy security, provide economic diversification, encourage increased agricultural production and circulate Hawai`i’s energy expenditures within Hawai`i’s economy,” the proposed legislation says. Biofuel farms and a refinery has been proposed for Ka`u.

Jason Scott Lee practices sustainable farming,
planting Kalo in Volcano. Photo from DLNR

THE RAIN FOLLOWS THE FOREST airs on KHNL television tomorrow from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Jason Scott Lee documentary talks about preservation of Hawai`i’s watershed as Lee describes his simple lifesyle in Volcano where he farms kalo. Lee, who often fishes with friends along the Ka`u Coast, is famous for his acting roles on the London stage and in films such as the Bruce Lee Story, The Jungle Book and Rapanui. The Rain Follows the Forest is sponsored by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources.

Ka`u High's Girls Basketball won at home last night in both the JV and Varsity games. Ka`u racked up 45 points to Kea`au's 25 in the JV game. Denisha Navarro was the high point scorer with 27. In Varsity, Ka`u scored 42 points and Kea`au 39. Taylor Pocock scored 9, with Joyce Ibasan, Janessa Jara and Shaylin Navarro each scoring 8, reports Athletic Director Kalei Namohala.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 24, 2012

“Did you feel it?” is a program produced by Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. HVO recently upgraded its seismic monitoring network. Here, HVO staff, assisted by an HVO volunteer, installs the solar panel and antenna for one of the upgraded seismic stations on Kilauea. The website for the program is http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi.
Photo by Janet Babb/USGS

THE STATE REAPPORTIONMENT COMMISSION meets again next Monday and is expected to use whatever data it can round up to redraw state House of Representatives and Senate district lines. The Supreme Court ruled last week that it must exclude non-permanent resident military and non-permanent resident student populations in counting the population in order to adhere to the one-man, one-vote promise of the U.S. Constitution. The military and the University of Hawai`i are expected to provide their numbers regarding how many of their people are not Hawai`i residents. The Supreme Court in its ruling last week said that theRreapportionment Commission does not have to have exact numbers to make the changes. The Big Island is expected to have an additional Senate seat and possibly a House seat. 

     Rep. Bob Herkes said he is hoping that the redrawing of the lines will leave him in a district he has long held, which includes all of Ka`u. The redistricting thrown out the by Supreme Court cut off the Na`alehu through South Kona side of his district.

Gov. Abercrombie gives 2012 State of the State.

Photo by Ricky Li

GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE delivered his second State of the State address before the state Legislature on Monday, promising investments to build upon the economic progress during the last year.
     “There was no way for us to have balanced our budget and achieved today’s fiscally favorable outlook without the commitment of everyone,” said Abercrombie, who thanked state employees and recognized the Legislature for its support.
     Abercrombie proposed numerous initiatives, including:
     Work with the Legislature to identify and approve Capital Improvement Projects which, the governor promised, will result in construction jobs and address critical infrastructure needs.
     Invest $5 million toward the preservation and protection of the state’s watersheds.
     Make the TV and Film Tax Credit permanent.
     Invest $1 million into early childhood education and health initiatives.
     Invest $1.4 million to establish Aging and Disabilities Resource Centers to assist kupuna who face the challenges of aging and restricted mobility.

     An emergency appropriation for a grant of $1.8 million to support the National Kidney Foundation of Hawai`i in light of the closure of two Hawai`i Medical Center hospitals. A new kidney transplant center is likely to be established.

Gov. Abercrombie celebrated Chinese New Year yesterday
at the Hawai'i State Capitol with a Lion Dance blessing
of the executive offices. Photo by Ricky Li  

     Improve the criminal justice system as proposed by the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.
     Support an undersea cable that can connect our island grids to provide stable, reliable electricity between islands.
     The governor stated that it is hard for many “to see beyond today’s needs when today’s needs loom so large and immediate, but unless dealt with now, today’s challenges can only multiply in difficulty. This is not acceptable.
     “We have an obligation to make a better future for our children. We live in paradise and taking care of each other is a value that is fundamental to the aloha spirit.”
      In addition to the measures covered in his speech, Abercrombie said he would submit additional legislation, including a bill to make appropriations for fiscal years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 to recapitalize the Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund and the Hawai`i Hurricane Relief Fund.
      The governor’s office also plans to introduce a resolution to study the efficacy of combining state government health policy, planning and purchasing into a single agency in order to advance transformation of Hawai`i’s Healthcare System and universal access.
      The governor’s slate totals about 15 pieces of legislation out of the approximately 3,000 submitted each year. To view the Governor’s State of the State address and photos from the ceremony, visit: hawaii.gov/gov.

Firemen put out the flames in a fire believed to have been
set near the first gulch up Wood Valley Road.
Photo by Julia Neal

A PILLAR OF SMOKE rose above Pahala on Sunday, and residents rushed to the first gulch on Wood Valley Road to find an abandoned vehicle that apparently was set on fire. The fire department quickly put out the blaze and is looking for clues to who would set old cars on fire, creating the danger of burning forests, orchards, farmland and homes. Clues can be provided by calling 932-2913.

THE KOHALA CENTER invites high school students to apply for scholarships to residential engineering and environmental science summer programs. These opportunities are offered in partnership with Cornell University, Brown University, and the University of California, San Diego.
     At the Brown Environmental Leadership Lab at Brown University, students learn how human demands on the environment often compromise long-term ecosystem health and about the policies, practices, and emerging technologies that can help reduce humankind’s ecological impact. Mentored by Brown faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students, participants will also develop leadership skills to tackle pressing environmental problems in their home communities.

     The CURIE Engineering Academy at Cornell University is a one-week residential engineering program for high school girls who excel in math and science and want to learn more about opportunities in engineering in an interactive atmosphere.
     The CATALYST Academy for rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors is a one-week summer residential engineering program
     In UCSD Academic Connections, students experience courses taught by UCSD graduate students or work side-by-side with UCSD researchers in their labs on specific projects.
     Another UCSD Academic Connections program is a one-week pre-college summer academic experience for college-bound high school students in grades 9 - 12 that examines the diverse ecosystem and climate zones of Hawai`i Island. Students will travel around the island studying geology, volcanology, marine science, and Hawaiian history.
     More information and application forms for all programs can be found at www.kohalacenter.org, by calling 887-6411 or emailing Erica Perez, eperez@kohalacenter.org.

Ab and Pua Valencia

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW the volcano in your backyard? Volcanologist Frank Trusdell discusses Mauna Loa’s eruptive history and current status tonight at 7 p.m. during After Dark in the Park at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National. $2 donation supports park programs, and park entrance fees apply. 

KUMU HULA Ab Kawainohoikala`i Valencia and his wife, Puamae`ole O’Mahoney, share the traditions of lei making for hula tomorrow from 10 a.m. to noon on the Kilauea Visitor Center lanai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The event is free, and park entrance fees apply.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 23, 2012

Mauna Loa's eruptive activity is the topic at After Dark in the Park tomorrow evening. Vents on the northeast rift zone
near Pu`u`ula`ula (Red Hill) sent massive `a`a flows down the rift toward Kulani in 1984. Photo from USGS

PAHALA RECEIVED TWO and a half hours of Red Alert Unhealthy air from Madame Pele this morning, with the rest of the time between midnight and 8 a.m. deemed Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups. During a Red Alert, everyone may begin to experience health effects. Members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects and are urged to avoid outdoor activities and remain indoors. People experiencing health effects are urged to consider leaving the area. Everyone is encouraged to avoid outdoor activities that cause heavy breathing or breathing through the mouth. Some Pahala residents have air cleaning machines or air conditioners that help rid the air of S02. Ka`u Hospital will be renovated this year to seal its doors and windows and provide air cleaning. Rep. Bob Herkes said yesterday that the new community disaster shelter and gymnasium to be built in Pahala should be equipped with air cleaning for the gym and adjoining rooms to provide safe rooms for the community during vog alerts. Keep track of air quality throughout Ka`u at www.hiso2index.info. 

A 4.7 EARTHQUAKE RATTLED KA`U yesterday, with its epicenter on the south flank of Kilauea Volcano. There were no reported injuries, but wall hangings shifted and houses danced in Ka`u when the temblor struck at 4:36 p.m. The depth was five miles, and around 20 aftershocks followed, with a 3.1 shake about ten minutes later.
     The epicenter was at Holei Pali, which has experienced 16 quakes measuring 4.5 or stronger over the last half century, according to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory spokesperson Janet Babb.
     The earthquakes caused two small collapses of the West Ka`ili`ili lava delta that has been inactive since late Dec. 2011. There were no other effects apparent on Kilauea’s ongoing eruptions or on Mauna Loa. HVO monitoring networks have not detected any significant changes in activity at the summits or rift zones of the volcanoes.
     For eruption updates and information on recent earthquakes in Hawai‘i, visit the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov.

NEW MEDICAL PLANS for Medicaid are slated to improve access statewide, support new models to manage care for people with chronic diseases and provide incentives for leveraging information technology to improve the health and well being of Hawai`i residents, according to an announcement from the state. Five federal health care contracts have been awarded to the state’s Medicaid programs for low-income residents. They go to AlohaCare, HMSA QUEST, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Ohana Health Plan, and United HealthCare Community Plan.
     Ohana Health Plan and United HealthCare Community Plan are new providers for the QUEST program. Open enrollment in those programs begins this spring. Medicaid beneficiaries will receive information to help them choose a health plan.
     Beginning July 1 all the health plans, with the exception of Kaiser, will provide QUEST services to members statewide. Kaiser has chosen to focus its efforts on O`ahu and Maui.
     Gov. Neil Abercrombie said, “These new contracts will improve upon an important safety net for Hawai`i. Facilitating access, expanding and tailoring options, and incentivizing providers’ use of record and management technology for better efficiency are all important steps toward the healthcare transformation we need in Hawai`i.”

JET BLUE is the newest partner with Hawaiian Airlines. The companies signed a deal for passengers on both carriers to use single tickets. This will tie in with the direct flight on Hawaiian from Honolulu to New York, which will begin in June. Hawaiian also has a direct flight from Los Angeles to New York. Jet Blue’s hub is in New York’s JFK Airport. 

PAHALA PUBLIC & SCHOOL LIBRARY will be temporarily closed until a staffing shortage is resolved, said Debra Wong Yuen, the temporary assistant branch librarian for Na`alehu. She said that due to low circulation, Pahala is a part-time library. With Na`alehu Public Library technician Lisa Cabudol retired, there are “two positions vacant (a librarian and technician) between both libraries, and only one permanent staff person on board,” she said. “When no staff from other libraries are available to operate Pahala Library, the Pahala branch will need to close temporarily until the staffing shortage is resolved. Future plans are to make Pahala Library an Internet hub, said Wong Yuen. Both Rep. Bob Herkes and Sen. Gil Kahele are promising to make saving Pahala Library an initiative in the 2012 state Legislature. Friends of Pahala Library are also lobbying to keep a school and community library on the regional high school and Pahala school campus. Pahala library hours, when there is staffing, have been cut back to Monday, Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

TODAY IS CHINESE NEW YEAR’S DAY and the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. In Chinese culture, Chunjie is a family-oriented holiday with people going back to their birthplace and reuniting with family members. 

VOLCANOLOGIST FRANK TRUSDELL discusses Mauna Loa’s eruptive history and current status at After Dark in the Park tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. $2 donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 22, 2012

Father Joel blessed Ka`u Coffee Mill, with owner Edmund C. Olson following. Photos by Geneveve Fyvie

Visitor center at Ka`u Coffee Mill
will be open within a month.

THE BLESSING OF THE KA`U COFFEE MILL brought some 300 people to Keaiwa along Wood Valley Road above Pahala yesterday to celebrate the new mill, agricultural park and hydroelectric project. John Cross, who manages both the Edmund C. Olson Trust lands and the Ka`u Coffee Mill, said the visitor center and mill was built for all the Ka`u Coffee farmers. Not only the Ka`u Coffee Mill coffee will be sold at the visitor center, but boutique and award-winning coffee from individual farmers will be sold there, with the first brands displayed being those of Bull and Jamie Kailiawa, Leo Norberte and the Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative. Cross pointed to the Ka`u Coffee Mill staff, mill supervisor Lee Segawa, administrative assistant Brenda Iokepa-Moses, coffee consultant Richard Loero, contractor Bob Taylor and others who helped put the operation together. Demetrius Oliveira gave the opening prayer. Father Joel, the Rev. Bruno C. Barut, sprinkled holy water around the facility. The band Keaiwa and Keoki Kahumoku provided music. Miss Ka`u Coffee Brandy Shibuya performed hula. Attendees enjoyed Hawaiian food by the Kailiawa family and fresh vegetables all grown on Olson Trust and Hester lands in Ka`u. 

Miss Ka`u Coffee Brandy Shibuya performed hula,
accompanied by Keoki Kahumoku.

“NOT TOO OFTEN DO YOU FIND ME SPEECHLESS, but this finds me close to that,” said state Rep. Bob Herkes during the ceremonies. He praised the Olson Trust for building the mill for local coffee farmers to process their beans and save the time and cost of driving them to Kona and Hilo mills. Herkes descends from a great-grandfather who came to Hawai`i from Scotland in 1898 and built the first water pipe in Ka`u. “Not a flume, a water pipe, and it was made of wood,” he said. Herkes applauded Edmund C. Olson for “taking abandoned sugar cane lands and putting the people back on the ground, working in agriculture.”

County Council member Brittany Smart and state Senator
Gil Kahele promote Ka`u Coffee.

SEN. GIL KAHELE told the people attending the event that he promotes Ka`u Coffee every chance he can, serving it at his office in the state Legislature and displaying a Ka`u Coffee Mill bag on the wall for everyone to see when they enter his office. He said he has followed the plight of displaced sugar workers from the closing of the sugar company to their journey starting their small coffee farms. 

     He said Ka`u is a special place to him, that his uncle was a fisherman and his grandmother was from Hilea and Honu`apo and that he spent summers here as a child and became good friends with Thomas Kailiawa. He said he is so proud to see the success of Kailiawa’s son Bull and noted that Ka`u has the top-rated coffee in the United States. Kahele described Olson as a “good guy” for investing capital in the economic development of Ka`u.

COUNTY COUNTY MEMBER BRITTANY SMART praised Ed Olson and the coffee farmers for all their hard work the last 15 years since the sugar plantation shut down.

Kathleen Kam autographed cards bearing her artwork.

KA`U COFFEE MILL is also a place of art, and Kathleen Kam was noted for her original murals of the land, the wildlife and the people of Ka`u. Two murals are completed in the visitor center, and another one is in progress. Four paintings of native birds are on display. A giclee print of Ka`u Coffee with nene, the Hawaiian state bird, was presented to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park supervisor Cindy Orlando to be placed in the regional headquarters of the National Park Service in San Francisco. Graphic Artist Tanya Ibarra was recognized for developing the Ka`u Coffee Mill logo. The Pahala Plantation House crew, under the direction of artist Kathleen Kam, created a sculpture of locally grown vegetables for display. Local woodworker Michael Worthington created koa cabinetry for the visitor center, and the crew from sister company Hamakua Macadamia Nuts designed the retail space. The coffee mill visitor center will be open to the public within a month.

Ed Olson presented a giclee print of
Nene & Ka`u Coffee to Cindy Orlando.

A HYDROELECTRIC PLANT using water at the old Keaiwa reservoir was described at the opening of the Ka`u Coffee Mill yesterday. The water would drop down the mountain, and its energy would power an electric turbine to make electricity for the coffee mill and macadamia nut husking mill. It could also power up about 400 homes, according to manager John Cross, who said he also hopes to sell the power to Hawaiian Electric Light Company, particularly since Pahala is so isolated from the utility’s other electric generating plants.

A RED CODE FOR sulfur dioxide coming from Kilauea volcano was issued this morning for at least an hour. The red advisory states that “everyone may begin to experience health effects. Members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects. It recommends that sensitive people avoid outdoor activities and remain indoors, that people feeling effects consider leaving the area and that everyone else avoid outdoor activities that cause heavy breathing or breathing through the mouth. There was a less serious orange alert for five hours this morning. The wind came up just before 9 a.m., and the air quality went back to good.

Keiki visit with donkeys packing Ka`u Coffee.

VOLCANO AWARENESS MONTH continues with guided hikes most days. Today’s hike into Kilauea Iki Crater begins at 1 p.m. at Kilauea Iki Overlook parking lot on Crater Rim Drive. Hikers hear the story of Kilauea’s dramatic 1959 eruption in this four‐mile, three-hour hike across the still‐steaming crater floor. For more information about Volcano Awareness month events, visit hvo.wr.usgs.gov. 

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S group exhibit celebrating Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s centennial continues through Feb. 19. Entitled Observation/Inspiration, this multimedia exhibit features artists who gather inspiration from the volcanic activity at Kilauea and highlight the ever-changing appearance of the volcano.

ALSO FOR HVO’S CENTENNIAL, volcanologist Frank Trusdell discusses Mauna Loa’s eruptive history and current status at After Dark in the Park on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. $2 donations support park programs. Park entrance fees apply for events in the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.