Ka`u News Briefs June 6, 2012

Alicia Tsukamoto and Beth Pallota welcome vendors and customers to the new Shaka location
for Ka`u Farmers Market. Photo by Jolene Koi

KA`U FARMERS MARKET reopened this morning in Na`alehu on the makai side of Hwy 11 on the grounds of Shaka Restaurant. The market shut down without notice last Saturday at around 9 a.m. in front of ACE Hardware, where a woman apparently fell several weeks ago and threatened a lawsuit.

Donna Masaniai buys fresh vegetables from Hester's Farm.
Photo by Tanya Ibarra

     At Shaka, vendors set up throughout the front parking lot, grassy yard and lanai. Rory Koi, general manager of Shaka Bar & Restaurant, said, “I am from the community and know most of these people, and know that for many of them their livelihood depends on the farmers market. Everyone was so mad and so sad that day, I just said, 'Come on over here.'”
     Among shoppers at the new location today was Donna Masaniai, of Pahala Quilting, who said, “I depend on the fresh vegetables.” She said she is relieved to find the market still intact.

Shaka welcomed Ka`u Farmers Market vendors this morning, 

after they were evicted from ACE Hardware, after being 

there for more than a decade.  Photo by Jolene Koi

     Farmers Market manager Shari Quensel said, “Everyone is giving a big mahalo to Shaka. This really helps the community. There are usually about 36 vendors and 24 showed up this morning.” She said she expects the rest to come to the new location Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, with the opportunity to stay until 4 p.m.
     For more information about the Ka`u Farmers Market or to become a vendor call Na`alehu Main Street at 339-1032.

VOLUNTEERS TO HELP RECORD news stories from images of Hawaiian language newspaper pages dating back into the 1800s are needed. The project aims to use a body of knowledge in Hawaiian language newspapers to update the history of Hawai`i, since most history books were written without using this resource. Hawaiians were a very literate culture in the 1800s, with newspapers sprouting up across the islands, written in the native language. Hawaiian language papers were published from 1834 to 1949.

Studying Hawaiian language newspapers is changing the
way history of the Islands is understood and written.

     Some 60,000 pages from newspapers have been scanned and put online where volunteers look at each scan and type the stories, notices and ads into text files that can be used by search engines to study Hawaiian history. Schools, halau, civic clubs and almost 6,000 individuals have signed up to help out. Each page typed can be dedicated to a person or community group and the website acknowledges each person who volunteers.
     The host of the project is Awaialu: Perpetuating Past to Present. The project is `Ike Ku`oko`a, Liberating Knowledge. It was presented by Hawaiian language expert, Dr. Puakea Nogelmeier, and project outreach manager Kau`i Sai-Dudoit last night in Volcano at After Dark in the Park. To help out, see www.awaiaulu.org.

NASA captured Venus crossing the edge of the disk of the sun.
Live internet viewing of the Venus Transit was available direct from
Mauna Kea telescopes through NASA's website.

THE TRANSIT OF VENUS ACROSS THE SUN was easily seen by the telescopes on Mauna Kea yesterday afternoon and sent to computer screens with live reporting by scientists. The movement of Venus, a planet closer to the sun than Earth, was seen through protective lenses and by telescope as a small dot marching across the sun for six hours and 40 minutes. The next time Venus will transit the sun for Earth viewers will be 105 years from now. Hawai`i was one of the best places on the planet for yesterday’s viewing.

MORE CANDIDATES filed yesterday on the last day to sign up to run for public office in the Aug. 11 primary. Last minute candidates to file included Lee McIntosh for District 6 County Council, who was the first to announce last December; Harry Kim and Share Christie for Mayor and Jeff LaFrance for state Senate District 3. The latest list of candidates for Ka`u and Volcano areas:
     Mayor of Hawai`i County: Share Christie, Daniel Cunningham, Billy Kenoi, Harry Kim, Anne Marsh, Rand Walls and Dominic Yagong.
     U.S. House: David Crowley, Rafael del Castillo, Matthew DeGeronimo, Tulsi Gabbard, Mufi Hannemann, Esther Kia`aina, Bob Marx and Miles Shiratori.
     State Senate District 2: Bob Herkes, Wendell Ka`ehu`ae`a, Russell Ruderman, Gary Safarik and Daryl Smith.
     State Senate District 3: Josh Green, Jeff LaFrance, Michael Last and John Totten.
     State Representative District 3: Fred Fogel, Marlene Hapai, Richard Onishi and Brittany Smart.
     State Representative District 5: David Bateman, Denny Coffman and Leolani Oyama.
     Hawai`i County Council District 6: Maile David, Brenda Ford, Lee McIntosh and Bradley Westervelt.
     Prosecuting Attorney: Lincoln Ashida, Paul Dolan and Mitch Roth.
     Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee for Island of Hawai`i: Bob Lindsey, William Meyers and Edwin Miranda.
     OHA Trustee – No Island Residency Requirement: Suzanne Apoliona, Kealii Makekau and Walter Ritte.

Fishing is popular among Ka`u families, but sometimes dangerous to
even the most experienced fishermen. Photo by Julia Neal

LIVES LOST ON THE KA`U COAST DURING THE LAST SIX YEARS WERE THOSE OF SKILLED FISHERMEN. While opihi picking is often considered the most dangerous job in Hawai`i as fishermen scrape limpets from rocks in the wave zone, it was free diving, shore fishing, and setting and throwing net that some of Ka`u’s more experienced fishermen were enjoying when they passed away. Among them are: famous opihi picker, fisherman and hiker of the Ka`u Coast John Gali, while retrieving a net set at South Point; experienced free diver Derek Hara while diving on the south shore; Leo Norberte, Jr. while night diving at Honu`apo; Bill Evangelista while shore fishing at South Point; Len Nakano while shore fishing at Pohinapale near Honu`apo; Boyd Yoshida while free diving along Ka`u’s southern coast; and last weekend Chaz Moses while throwing net at South Point. All of these fishermen provided food for family and friends in Ka`u.

OCEAN VIEW NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH meets tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Community Center. For more, call 939-7033.

VOLCANO ART CENTER POETRY SLAM is held at the Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village Friday, starting at 8 p.m. Up to 15 poets, chosen at random, compete for prizes awarded to the top three finishers chosen by judges. $6 per person; drinks and snacks available for purchase. For more, contact Dave Wallerstein at 967-8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

RECYCLABLES ARE ACCEPTED Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Atlas Recycling at South Point U-Cart.

ENTRANCE FEES ARE WAIVED to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park this Saturday in celebration of Get Outdoors Day.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.