Ka`u News Briefs May 3, 2012

PMK Capital Partners, LLC, wrote to the legislature that it is developing a macadamia processing plant on the old mill property in Pahala and will be putting the Pahala Water Shaft back in service. Photo by Julia Neal

OLD PAHALA MILL SITE OWNERS went to the 2012 state legislature asking for loan guarantees and tax credits. Albert Kam, Jr. submitted testimony as chair of PMK Capital Partners, LLC, which owns the 60-acre mill site between Maile Street and Hwy 11. He wrote that the group is developing a macadamia processing plant on the old mill property “in order to provide local farmers with a better price for their macadamia crop.” In addition, the testimony says, the group “will be putting the Pahala Water Shaft that we own, with a capacity of 6.78 million gallons a day, back in service to lower the cost of irrigation for macadamia farmers.” The water shaft and its defunct pumping station that lies underground were developed for the sugar mill to process cane and as back up water for the village.
      Kam’s testimony says that the “New Market Tax Credits program provides an added incentive to PMK to undertake this major effort of creating a stimulus for the economically deprived community of Pahala.”  Kam’s testimony refers to the 2010 U.S. Census, saying Pahala is categorized as “Severely Distressed with the Percent of People in Poverty at 23.92 percent and tract Income at only 60.4 percent of the Average Mean Income for the State of Hawai`i. With a total population of 1,356 people and a labor force of 592 people, Pahala will be the beneficiary of the 25 –fulltime jobs that PMK operations will create,” the testimony contends.
      Bill 2895 called for loan guarantees to increase the maximum levels of Community-Based Economic Development Revolving Fund loans from $250,000 to $5 million. It would have allowed flexibility to participate in attracting funds through federal programs to community development projects. However, the bill failed to pass the legislature, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.

Jared Blumenfeld. Photo from epa.gov

ILLEGAL CESSPOOLS are the target of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which announced yesterday that it fined an apartment complex, a coffee visitor center and a commercial office complex on this island for failing to shut down gang cesspools. 

      Jared Blumenfeld, regional administrator for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest said that more than 2,800 large cesspools “have been closed, but an alarming 1,200 are still in use. We are working to shut these illegal cesspools down.” Among them are the gang cesspools in Pahala and Na`alehu, left over from the sugar plantation camps. The county has taken over their maintenance, charging everyone along the sewer lines that go to the cesspools and planning a new sewage system for both villages. The county is also subject to fines if the new sewage systems are not completed soon.
      No large capacity cesspools have been allowed since April 2000. Old gang cesspools were supposed to have been shut down by April 2005. According to the EPA, Hawai`i uses more cesspools than any other state. 

PAHALA LIBRARY will not be transferred to the state Department of Education and used for other purposes. The measure was deferred and unlikely to come up again as the state legislature is scheduled to close today. Friends of Ka`u Libraries lobbied legislature to prevent shutting down the library adjacent to Ka`u High School. The organization urges the public to ask for the library to be open more hours for the use of students and community members. 

Brown tree snakes have devastated bird populations
 on Guam and could the same in Hawai`i if left unchecked.
Photo from fort.usgs.gov

BROWN TREE SNAKES, native to the Solomon Islands and common on Guam, could hitch rides on air and sea craft coming into Hawai`i, particularly with the expected growth in military presence in these Islands. This prompted a bill that comes up for a vote at the state legislature today.

      Supported by the Hawai`i Farm Bureau, it was initiated by Big Island Rep. Clift Tsuji and would restore a program to employ dogs to sniff out the invasive snakes in air and sea cargo. State Department of Agriculture Chair Russell Kokubun supports the measure, as do conservationists who remind legislators that the bird population of Guam was severely reduced by the brown tree snakes.

      The budget is $162,540 a year for dogs, handlers and a trainer and could help prevent Hawai`i from spending the millions that Guam spends to control the snakes. When Hawai`i operated the dog patrol in the past, the dogs also found other invasive species that could have damaged agriculture in Hawai`i, the Farm Bureau pointed out. The federal government will also help with funding.

GEOTHERMAL EXPANSION on the Big Island is the subject of a docket opened this week by the state Public Utilities Commission. The proposal by Hawai`i Electric Light Co. asks for permission to add on up to 50 megawatts from geothermal sources. HELCO plans to seek proposals for the project, which it hopes to have online sometime between 2018 and 2023. The request for the docket by HELCO Pres. Jay Ignacio says HELCO wants to “encourage the identification, evaluation of geothermal resources on the Island of Hawai`i in reducing its reliance on fossil fuels while allowing for the integration and management of intermittent renewable resources such as wind and solar power.”

OCEAN VIEW NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH meets tonight at 7 p.m. in the Ocean View Community Center. Call 939-7033 for more.

Precious Ka`awa won the student dessert category last
 year with her "Ka`u Coffee Espresso Brownies."
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

RECIPE CONTEST ENTRIES for cookies, candies and crackers using Ka`u Coffee are due by the end of today. Students, amateurs and professionals are encouraged to enter this free contest. The competition, an official event of the 2012 Ka`u Coffee Festival, is hosted by the Ka`u Coffee Mill at their facility on Wood Valley Road this Sunday starting at 1 p.m. The contest is sponsored by Ka`u Chamber of Commerce and Pahala Plantation Cottages. 

      Doubling as the Grand Opening of the mill’s Visitor Center, the event is open to all. The organization encourages the public to attend and celebrate Ka`u Coffee while enjoying free music, original artwork and murals by Kathleen Kam, farm and mill tours and coffee tastings. Several cash prizes, including $500 to the top winner, will be distributed at the event. For more see kaucoffeefest.com or kaucoffeemill.com.

KA`U HIGH & PAHALA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL hosts a Scholastic Book Fair today from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and tomorrow from 7:30 a.m. to noon. The fair is located in the high school conference room, on the first floor behind a pink door. A variety of books and educational gifts will be available for purchase. All proceeds will benefit high school clubs: Akamai Finance Academy, National Honors Society and the Interact Club. For more, call Sheilah Okimoto or Julia Williams 928-2088.

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORES host fundraisers this month. Tomorrow, the sophomore class sells Krispy Kreme doughnuts at Na`alehu and Pahala Shopping Centers from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The class will sell loco moco at the Ka`u Coffee Festival on Saturday, May 12, at Pahala Community Center.

CINCO DE MAYO FIESTA will be held tomorrow at St. Jude’s Church on Paradise Cove Circle in Ocean View. The menu includes: enchiladas, Spanish rice, refried beans, green salad, flan, and virgin margaritas. Enjoy lively Latin music, and a special guest artist. Doors open at 6 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Tables may be reserved for parties of six and more. Tickets are $12 each or two for $20. For tickets contact Elaine at 808-561-6900 or Cordelia at 939-7555.

Ka`u `Ohana Band will open the Spring Fling on Saturday.
Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS’ Spring Fling Arts & Crafts Fair happens this Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Punalu`u Bakeshop Pavilion & Gardens. The event features local art and entertainment, with Ka`u `Ohana Band starting the festivities at 9 a.m. See kauarts.org.

LAVA LOUNGE AND CRATER RIM CAFÉ celebrate Cinco De Mayo on Saturday with themed specials. The café and lounge are located within Kilauea Military Camp in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. In the Lava Lounge guests are invited to enjoy a soft taco and chicken fajita buffet from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. At Crater Rim Café, diners are offered Chef’s special house nachos along with the regular ala carte menu starting at 5 p.m. These events are open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. For more, call 967-8371.

A HAM RADIO OPERATORS POTLUCK PICNIC is offered by All America Radio Emergency Service members at Manuka Park on Sunday. Anyone interested in learning how to operate a ham radio along with their families are invited to attend. For more, call Dennis Smith at 989-3028.