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| Sandalwood flowers create the lehua-iliahi lei. Lei by Brian Choy. Photo by Nathan Yuen at hawaiianforest.com |
The bill says, “All commercial harvesting of native forest resources deemed in need of conservation on all lands shall be done in accordance with a harvest permit approved by the board, and in accordance with the provisions regarding conservation of aquatic life, wildlife, and land plants and the provisions regarding environmental compliance.” It would be “unlawful to harm, destroy, or harvest any material of a forest resource, living or dead, deemed in need of conservation for commercial purposes without a harvest permit.”
The owner of Vogelvik Furniture in Ocean View opposes the bill, saying it is “overreaching” and that current law “provides an adequate mechanism for protecting forest species which may be in decline.” Mats Vogelvik said the proposed permit system would “endanger the jobs of local craftsmen, manufacturers and retailers in every facet of the koa industry.” Land managers from Parker Ranch and other big landholders also opposed the bill.
Conservation biologist Rick Warshauer, of Volcano, supported the bill. “The sad history of sandalwood in Hawai`i is one of repeated foreign exploitation, export and complicity by local facilitators, a history that continues to this day,” he wrote. He called testimony opposing the bill “self-serving and full of shibai,” and said, “Those and their carpetbagging cohorts are just as shameless.” See more at www.capitol.hawaii.gov. Search for sandalwood.
A NEW NATIONAL PARK SERVICE report shows that more than 1.3 million visitors in 2010 spent $88,258,000 in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and in communities near the park. That spending supported 1,162 local jobs.
“Communities near national parks have always understood their positive fiscal impact,” said park superintendent Cindy Orlando. “Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, the most popular destination on the island of Hawai`i and one of the most visited attractions statewide, is vital to the economic well-being both of our island and state economies,” she said.
Conservation biologist Rick Warshauer, of Volcano, supported the bill. “The sad history of sandalwood in Hawai`i is one of repeated foreign exploitation, export and complicity by local facilitators, a history that continues to this day,” he wrote. He called testimony opposing the bill “self-serving and full of shibai,” and said, “Those and their carpetbagging cohorts are just as shameless.” See more at www.capitol.hawaii.gov. Search for sandalwood.
A NEW NATIONAL PARK SERVICE report shows that more than 1.3 million visitors in 2010 spent $88,258,000 in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and in communities near the park. That spending supported 1,162 local jobs.
“Communities near national parks have always understood their positive fiscal impact,” said park superintendent Cindy Orlando. “Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, the most popular destination on the island of Hawai`i and one of the most visited attractions statewide, is vital to the economic well-being both of our island and state economies,” she said.
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| One of Ka`u's largest employers is Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, says superintendent Cindy Orlando. Photo by Julia Neal |
Fifty-two percent of the 2010 spending/jobs are related to lodging and food and beverage service, followed by 29 percent on other retail, 10 percent entertainment and amusements, seven percent on gas and local transportation and two percent on groceries. In 2011, an estimated 1.35 million people visited the park, an increase of 3.6 percent from 2010.
KA`U HIGH, ELEMENTARY & NA`ALEHU SCHOOLS will have longer instructional days next school year, and teachers will have 12 extra training days. The teachers have approved the change to help accommodate the Race to the Top requirements to preserve some $25 million in federal funding. The extra hours not only mean more education for children but more pay for teachers. Teachers who don’t want the longer days are eligible to apply to transfer to other schools, and teachers wanting more hours can also apply to teach in the Ka`u-Pahoa area and in Wai`anae on O`ahu, the two places where the program is being established. Eighty percent of teachers in the schools where hours will be extended voted to approve the agreement, according to the union, the Hawai`i State Teachers Association.
THE KA`U DISTRICT GYM & SHELTER Draft Environmental Assessment refers to Hawai`i County’s General Plan as saying that a district recreational facility should include a gymnasium with office, storage, restrooms and showers. Neither the Na`alehu nor Pahala school campus gyms “meet this standard,” the report states.
It says the new gym and disaster shelter will provide “beneficial recreational impacts.” The facility could accommodate simultaneous activities. It could host NCAA basketball games, HHSAA and Parks & Recreation basketball and volleyball tournaments using cross-court configurations. The plan calls for expanded space for a weight room for use by students and community, saying that the existing weight room is “deficient in space and quality.”
REP. BOB HERKES invites the public to a meeting of the Vog Task Force today at 5 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Herkes said he wants people to come to the meeting to share their experiences with vog so that the state government and Legislature will understand its effects on Ka`u residents and the environment.
PROCEEDS FROM A RUMMAGE SALE on Saturday go to the Ka`u Hospital Foundation Scholarship Fund, which helps Ka`u students enrolled in any medical training program. The sale takes place at Na`alehu Community Center from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
A RUMMAGE SALE on Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Volcano Garden Arts in Volcano Village benefits Volcano School of the Arts & Sciences. To donate or volunteer, call 985-9800.
SEE OUR SPONSORS AT KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM AND PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM.
KA`U HIGH, ELEMENTARY & NA`ALEHU SCHOOLS will have longer instructional days next school year, and teachers will have 12 extra training days. The teachers have approved the change to help accommodate the Race to the Top requirements to preserve some $25 million in federal funding. The extra hours not only mean more education for children but more pay for teachers. Teachers who don’t want the longer days are eligible to apply to transfer to other schools, and teachers wanting more hours can also apply to teach in the Ka`u-Pahoa area and in Wai`anae on O`ahu, the two places where the program is being established. Eighty percent of teachers in the schools where hours will be extended voted to approve the agreement, according to the union, the Hawai`i State Teachers Association.
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| Kulani could be reactivated as a prison to bring inmates home from the mainland, where the state pays for their keep. Photo from www.bigislandvideonews.com |
A NEW PRISON could be established at Kulani between Volcano and Hilo or seven miles from Kulani on state land as part of an initiative to bring all inmates home from prisons on the mainland, where the state pays for their care. State Public Safety director Jodie Maesaka-Hirata testified to a Senate committee yesterday saying the state could save $19.5 million the first year and more than $26 million the second. Her department also wants to shorten prison terms and, instead, have more community programs to help offenders to stay out of trouble.
THE KA`U DISTRICT GYM & SHELTER Draft Environmental Assessment refers to Hawai`i County’s General Plan as saying that a district recreational facility should include a gymnasium with office, storage, restrooms and showers. Neither the Na`alehu nor Pahala school campus gyms “meet this standard,” the report states.
It says the new gym and disaster shelter will provide “beneficial recreational impacts.” The facility could accommodate simultaneous activities. It could host NCAA basketball games, HHSAA and Parks & Recreation basketball and volleyball tournaments using cross-court configurations. The plan calls for expanded space for a weight room for use by students and community, saying that the existing weight room is “deficient in space and quality.”
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| The Ka`u shelter and gym is to be built on grassy area between the football field and tennis and basketball courts. |
There would be athletic offices, lockers, showers, training room and storage. Bleachers would have a maximum capacity of 1,050 persons. It says this is “more than adequate to accommodate the entire school enrollment of 590 students for assemblies.” The bleachers could be retracted fully or partially, depending on full-court or cross-court configurations. A portable stage would allow performances and other events such as graduation. A removable covering would protect the hardwood gym floor.
Space would provide opportunities for participation in more diverse athletic and physical education activities such as wrestling and martial arts, using the recreation and multi-purpose rooms.
The EA states that the facility would provide “indoor recreation or physical education opportunity when vog conditions are not conducive to outdoor activity.”
The EA is available at public libraries in Pahala and Na`alehu and online at hawaii.gov/health/environmental/oeqc/index.html. Comments are being accepted through March 23. Send to Tammy Kapali, Planner, PBR Hawai`i & Associates, Inc., 1001 Bishop Street, Suite 650 Honolulu, HI 96813 or fax 808-523-1402. Comments can also be sent to County of Hawai`i Department of Public Works, Attn: David Yamamoto, Aupuni Center, 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 7, Hilo, HI 96720 or faxed to 808-961-8630.
Space would provide opportunities for participation in more diverse athletic and physical education activities such as wrestling and martial arts, using the recreation and multi-purpose rooms.
The EA states that the facility would provide “indoor recreation or physical education opportunity when vog conditions are not conducive to outdoor activity.”
The EA is available at public libraries in Pahala and Na`alehu and online at hawaii.gov/health/environmental/oeqc/index.html. Comments are being accepted through March 23. Send to Tammy Kapali, Planner, PBR Hawai`i & Associates, Inc., 1001 Bishop Street, Suite 650 Honolulu, HI 96813 or fax 808-523-1402. Comments can also be sent to County of Hawai`i Department of Public Works, Attn: David Yamamoto, Aupuni Center, 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 7, Hilo, HI 96720 or faxed to 808-961-8630.
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| Debris from the Japan tsunami could end up in the North Pacific Gyre, aka the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and be spit out by currents headed to Hawai`i. Image from Fangz |
DEBRIS FROM THE JAPAN TSUNAMI last year could reach the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands within a few months and the main Hawaiian Islands within a year. Wildlife biologists worry about fishing gear from Japanese boating fleets that washed away, creating a threat to wildlife. Much of the debris sank into the ocean near Japan, and some of the remaining debris could hook up with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, between here and California, before being spit out and riding currents to Hawai`i.
REP. BOB HERKES invites the public to a meeting of the Vog Task Force today at 5 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Herkes said he wants people to come to the meeting to share their experiences with vog so that the state government and Legislature will understand its effects on Ka`u residents and the environment.
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| `Alala hatchlings Photos from San Diego Zoo |
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| Young `Alala Kinohi |
KA`U FOREST RESERVE management will be the subject of a community meeting on Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center, sponsored by the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce. An Environmental Assessment has been published on plans to manage hunting, preservation of endangered species, the re-introduction of the `Alala, or endangered Hawaiian crow, and possible opportunities for hiking and camping in this pristine forest.
PROCEEDS FROM A RUMMAGE SALE on Saturday go to the Ka`u Hospital Foundation Scholarship Fund, which helps Ka`u students enrolled in any medical training program. The sale takes place at Na`alehu Community Center from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
A RUMMAGE SALE on Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Volcano Garden Arts in Volcano Village benefits Volcano School of the Arts & Sciences. To donate or volunteer, call 985-9800.
SEE OUR SPONSORS AT KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM AND PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM.