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| At center of table, Crystal McIntosh serves her Strawberry Mocha Trifle, which won Best Taste of Ka`u at last year's Ka`u Coffee Recipe Contest. The deadline to enter this year's contest, which takes place Sunday, May 6, has been extended to Thursday, May 3. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie |
THE STATE LEGISLATURE’S stalemate over the budget has ended. Rep. Marcus Oshiro and Sen. David Ige have agreed on an $11.2 billion budget and a capital improvement project outlay.
The budget includes $428 million in new bond-financed state construction, including $250 million for repair and maintenance projects, more money than the House and Gov. Neil Abercrombie had proposed but less than the Senate had wanted to spur economic recovery, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
The cutoff time for other finance-related bills is now Monday morning, and the 2012 Hawai`i Legislature adjourns Thursday. Check progress of bills at www.capitol.hawaii.gov.
A MULTI-IMAGE SLIDESHOW, set to music, takes place tonight at 6 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The slideshow and finalists ceremony features photos submitted during Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s first annual photo contest called Images from the Edge. The event is free, and in honor of National Park Week, park entrance fees are waived. For more information, call 985-7373 or visit www.fhvnp.org.
TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY that entrance fees are waived at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS’ Spring Fling Arts & Crafts Fair happens a week from today, next Saturday, May 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Punalu`u Bakeshop Pavilion & Gardens. The event features all local art and entertainment, with Ka`u `Ohana Band starting the festivities at 9 a.m. See kauarts.org.
VISIT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.
The budget includes $428 million in new bond-financed state construction, including $250 million for repair and maintenance projects, more money than the House and Gov. Neil Abercrombie had proposed but less than the Senate had wanted to spur economic recovery, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
The cutoff time for other finance-related bills is now Monday morning, and the 2012 Hawai`i Legislature adjourns Thursday. Check progress of bills at www.capitol.hawaii.gov.
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| Manele, or Soapberry Wingleaf, is accessible off Mauna Loa Road in Hawai`i Volcanoes N.P. |
A NATIVE TREE FOUND IN KA`U and another in South Kona are two of three trees named National Champions this year on the National Register of Big Trees, a program championed in Hawai`i by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources. The manele – soapberry wingleaf – is accessible to the public on the Bird Park/Kipuka Puaulu Trail, off Mauna Loa Road inside Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. It is 73 feet tall, and its crown spreads outward 57.2 feet. It was nominated by the DLNR.
The koa is inaccessible and located in the Kona Hema Preserve. It is 115 feet high, and its circumference is 343.3 inches. Its crown spreads 93.3 feet. It was nominated by The Nature Conservancy.
The third tree on the Big Island is the hau at Hulihe`e Palace in Kona. An ancient tree, its circumference is 110 inches. It was nominated by Sally Inkster.
The National Register of Big Trees is kept by American Forests, a nonprofit for protection and expansion of forests in the U.S. that advocates the iconic stature of trees. The organization teaches the key role trees and forests play in sustaining a healthy environment.
The third tree on the Big Island is the hau at Hulihe`e Palace in Kona. An ancient tree, its circumference is 110 inches. It was nominated by Sally Inkster.
The National Register of Big Trees is kept by American Forests, a nonprofit for protection and expansion of forests in the U.S. that advocates the iconic stature of trees. The organization teaches the key role trees and forests play in sustaining a healthy environment.
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| Koa tree in South Kona makes it onto National Tree Registry with its huge circumference. |
Each tree is described and shown in the annual publication National Register of Big Trees. To make a nomination, provide measurements of the trunk circumference in inches, height in feet and average crown spread in feet. Send the information, along with GPS coordinates or specific directions to a candidate big tree, to Sheri Mann, CRMF, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 325, Honolulu, HI 96813, or by email to Sheri.S.Mann@hawaii.gov. Visit www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw/forestry/big-trees.
BRITTNI PAIVA, who has taught and performed numerous times in Ka`u, is among the `ukulele masters trying to break the world `ukulele record today on O`ahu, hoping for more than 1,600 players to show up and strum. The current world record was broken in Sweden last year when 1,547 showed up in one place to play their tunes. The event is sponsored by Music for Life Foundation. See www.goforarecord.org. It takes place from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Blaisdell Auditorium in Honolulu.
THE TRIPLE C RECIPE CONTEST with a $500 grand prize has extended its entry deadline to this Thursday, May 3. Recipes for cookies, candies and crackers made with Ka`u Coffee can be turned in to Pahala Plantation Cottages at the Olson Trust Building in Pahala, Ka`u Coffee Mill on Wood Valley Road, or R&G Store in Pahala. Entries can also be mailed. Download at www.kaucoffeemill.com or www.kaucoffeefest.com. The contest takes place Sunday, May 6 at Ka`u Coffee Mill.
BRITTNI PAIVA, who has taught and performed numerous times in Ka`u, is among the `ukulele masters trying to break the world `ukulele record today on O`ahu, hoping for more than 1,600 players to show up and strum. The current world record was broken in Sweden last year when 1,547 showed up in one place to play their tunes. The event is sponsored by Music for Life Foundation. See www.goforarecord.org. It takes place from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Blaisdell Auditorium in Honolulu.
THE TRIPLE C RECIPE CONTEST with a $500 grand prize has extended its entry deadline to this Thursday, May 3. Recipes for cookies, candies and crackers made with Ka`u Coffee can be turned in to Pahala Plantation Cottages at the Olson Trust Building in Pahala, Ka`u Coffee Mill on Wood Valley Road, or R&G Store in Pahala. Entries can also be mailed. Download at www.kaucoffeemill.com or www.kaucoffeefest.com. The contest takes place Sunday, May 6 at Ka`u Coffee Mill.
KA`U HIGH GRADUATE Carlotta Leina`ala Kailiawa returns to Ka`u with her band, Lava Moon, offering a free concert tonight at 6 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. Kailiawa plays four- and six-string tenor `ukulele. Other band members are Jonathan Siebrandt on guitars, Ed Sisino on upright and electric bass, Dave Thomas on drums and Josh Mann on lapsteel and guitar. The band has played at venues from California to the Carolinas, and their schedule this summer includes performances in San Francisco, Mammoth Lakes and Mariposa, CA. Keoki Kahumoku also performs tonight.
A MULTI-IMAGE SLIDESHOW, set to music, takes place tonight at 6 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The slideshow and finalists ceremony features photos submitted during Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s first annual photo contest called Images from the Edge. The event is free, and in honor of National Park Week, park entrance fees are waived. For more information, call 985-7373 or visit www.fhvnp.org.
TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY that entrance fees are waived at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS’ Spring Fling Arts & Crafts Fair happens a week from today, next Saturday, May 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Punalu`u Bakeshop Pavilion & Gardens. The event features all local art and entertainment, with Ka`u `Ohana Band starting the festivities at 9 a.m. See kauarts.org.
VISIT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.