Ka`u News Briefs Sept. 23, 2012

Clyde Silva, of ML Macadamia, repaints the old sugar mill wheel outside of the offices of
 ML Macadamia Orchards, which will change its name. Photo by Julia Neal

THE OLD KA`U AGRIBUSINESS sign, from sugar company days, is getting a new paint job and a new logo as ML Macadamia Orchards, LP rolls out its new Royal Hawaiian Orchards name and produces its own commercial line of macadamia products. The wheel in front of the historic Ka`u sugar company business office at the corner of Maile and Pikake Streets is being painted by ML employee Clyde Silva, and a new logo will be placed in the center of the wheel with the Royal Hawaiian Orchards new name.
      The company name changeover from ML Macadamia to Royal Hawaiian Orchards is expected Oct. 1.
      A website at royalhawaiianorchards.com says, “The world’s best Macadamia nuts coming soon.”

The Ka`u Agribusiness Co., Inc. sign will be changed to Royal Hawaiian
Orchards at the corner of Maile and Pikake in Pahala. Photo by Julia Neal

      Silva said that he is excited that the company is expanding into retail, which could mean more jobs for Pahala residents should it open a store and macadamia product manufacturing plant in Pahala. The company already operates a large macadamia husking plant between Hwy 11 and Pahala and harvests macadamias from orchards it owns and leases around Pahala and elsewhere.
      According to mlmacadamia.com, the company is one of the world’s largest growers of macadamias. After completing the acquisition of 880 acres of macadamia orchards in August 2010, ML owns or leases approximately 5,075 tree-acres of macadamia nut orchards in three regions within a 50 mile radius on the island of Hawai`i. ML also performs farming services on approximately 1,100 tree-acres for other orchard owners.
      ML orchards produce approximately 25 million pounds of in-shell macadamia annually, states the ML website. The nuts were all sold to Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp. until the end of 2006. In recent years the nuts have been sold on short-term agreements, giving ML time to plan the rollout of its own brand.
      In August, the company brought on board a new chief financial officer, Bruce Clark, who had served as chief financial officer for a privately held food manufacturing company and controller for a biopharmaceutical company.
      President and CEO of the company is Dennis J. Simonis. Offices are in Hilo and Pahala.

Sen. Malama Solomon
supports PLDC.

THE PUBLIC LAND USE DEVELOPMENT CORP. will come up with a strategic plan to clarify vision, mission, goals and values and will exclude from development lands eligible to be designated as Important Agricultural Lands under state law, according to a Sophie Cocke story in Civil Beat on Friday. On Thursday, the PLDC board met and said it aimed to come up with a plan that will appease concerns about protecting environmental and cultural resources, as the state allows developers to use public lands for economic development under new law passed by the 2012 state Legislature.
       The board stressed that “the PLDC must comply with the Chapter 343 environmental review process, the Historic Preservation law and Sunshine law,” the reporter writes. “The plan also says that the PLDC must comply with a landmark 2009 law that protects lands held in trust for Native Hawaiians. According to the law, ceded lands can’t be sold without a two-thirds vote by both Hawai`i’s House and Senate,” the Civil Beat story says. “Any parcel of land that the PLDC is seeking to develop must also be approved by the Board of Land and Natural Resources or the agency holding the title to the land.”
      The PLDC met with widespread opposition during public hearings this summer and a call for the law allowing the PLDC to be repealed in the 2013 legislature, but Gov. Neil Abercrombie and co-author of the legislation, Hawai`i Island Sen. Malama Solomon, continue to support it.
      The Civil Beat story reports a proposed PLDC mission statement:
      “The mission of the Public Land Development Corporation is to create and facilitate partnerships between state and county agencies, departments, businesses, non-profits and community groups to improve our communities, create jobs and expand public benefit.”
      See more at www.civilbeat.com.

KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOL’S WARRIOR football team came to the Ka`u High School campus this weekend and brought the school’s band to play during half time. The Warriors beat the Trojans 43-0.

The Ka`u Lions Pee Wee team and coaches wind down after practice. Photo by Nalani Parlin

KA`U LIONS POP WARNER teams host Waiakea Na Koa today at Pahala football field. The Mighty Might division, Pop Warner’s youngest team, played at 8 a.m., with the Pee Wee game beginning at 10 a.m. The Midgets take the field at noon. Ka`u Pop Warner is selling stew plates, chili bowls, musubi and hot dogs, and Ka`u High is selling Pahala Pops. The concession serves as a fundraiser for both groups. 

A U.S. SENATE FORUM takes place today at 2 p.m. at Kealakehe High School. Candidates are former Gov. Linda Lingle and Rep. Mazie Hirono. Lingle will attend, but Hirono had not replied to the invitation as of this morning. If only one candidate attends, the moderator will present questions to that candidate. Attendees are invited to submit questions at the meeting.

Meagan teaches ZUMBA on Mondays.
 Photo from Volcano Art Center

VOLCANO ART CENTER OFFERS ZUMBA classes tomorrow and every Monday from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at its Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. Drop-in fee is $5, with no previous experience or registration needed. For more information, visit volcanoartcenter.org or contact program coordinator Julie Callahan at 967-8222 or julie@volcanoartcenter.org. 

ENTRIES FOR KA`U CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S art show and Directory 2013 art contest will be accepted this Friday, Sept. 28, from noon until 5 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 29, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at CU Hawai`i credit union in Na`alehu.
      The show will be open to the public beginning Oct. 1, Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
      Categories are Graphic, Sculpture, Wood, Photography and Craft, and all pieces must have been completed in the last 12 months. The fee is $5 for each artwork.

Artwork for The Directory 2013 will be on the
cover and inside, as well.

      A Keiki Division is for children in grades one through six, one entry per keiki. Keiki categories are graphics and photos, no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, including frames, if any. The entry fee is $1, and these entries are not eligible for the cover of The Directory 2013. Only the first 60 Keiki exhibits will be accepted.
      Each day during the show, the public may sign in and receive a ballot to vote for their favorite exhibit. The adult winner of the popular vote will be featured on the cover of The Directory 2013, and all first-prize winners will appear inside with appropriate credit given. Each category will be rewarded with first, second, and third prize ribbons, and, if appropriate, as many as two honorable mentions.
      Entry forms are available at local schools and merchants and will be available at CU Hawai`i credit union on Friday and Saturday for those bringing in art.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS NOW OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.