Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 27, 2012

Beach at Road to the Sea is part of more than 3,000 acres approved for preservation by Hawai`i County Council.
Photo courtesy of Megan Lamson

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO. has scheduled a meeting in Pahala next week for its Aloha Advisory Group, according to Lisa K. K. Giang, director of the Corporate Energy Planning Division for Hawaiian Electric Co.
      In her Transmittal of Scheduled Public meetings, the gathering is listed for Thursday, Dec. 6 at Pahala Community Center from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Meetings of the group are being held around the state. A public notice was printed in Sunday’s Hilo and Kona newspapers for meetings at Waikoloa and Hilo. The Pahala meeting has since been added.
      Advisory group members from the Big Island, include County Planning director Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd, Hawai`i County Housing Office representative Niniau Simmons, current County Council chair Dominic Yagong, current state House of Representatives member Robert Herkes, businessman Barry Mizuno, Rep. Denny Coffman, Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Robert Lindsey, Jr., Hawai`i Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai`i Authority representative Gregory P. Barbour, energy expert Robert Rapier and Matthew Hamabata of The Kohala Center.

Matthew Hamabata Photo from
The Kohala Center

      Aloha Advisory Group members were selected by the Public Utilities Commission to advise HECO with its integrated resource planning to develop an Action Plan to govern how HECO will meet energy objectives and customer energy needs consistent with state energy policies and goals. According to the PUC’s order establishing the advisory group, its purpose is to “provide the Hawaiian Electric Companies with the benefit of community perspectives by participating in the utility’s integrated resource planning process and representing diverse community, environmental, social, political, or cultural interest consistent with the Revised Framework’s goal.” The document says that the “Advisory Group represents interests that are affected by the Hawaiian Electric Companies’ resource plans and possesses the ability to provide significant perspective or useful expertise in the development of the resource plans.”
      To review the advisory group documents, see www.irp.ie.com.

COUNTY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS to repeal the Public Land Development Corp, which passed all three neighbor island County Councils, may not be included in the Hawai`i State Association of Counties’ 2013 legislative package. According to a Peter Sur story in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, the proposal may be nixed by the Honolulu City Council. Sur reports that last Wednesday, “minutes before the Thanksgiving weekend, five Honolulu Council members introduced a resolution for the HSAC that omits requests to introduce both a GMO labeling bill and a proposed repeal of the Public Lands Development Corp.”
      According to the Tribune-Herald story, “The passage of the resolution without a floor amendment would mean that the Hawai`i County Council’s votes requesting HSCA to introduce legislation abolishing the PLDC and mandating GMO labeling would be nullified.”
      Those supporting abolishing the PLDC and establishing GMO labeling are planning to take up the matters with the Honolulu council today, the story says.
      See more at www.hawaii-tribuneherald.com.

Hawai`i County Council approved the purchase of 3,128 acres along
the Ka`u Coast.

HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL LAST WEEK authorized Mayor Billy Kenoi to enter into an agreement with the state of Hawai`i, Board of Land and Natural Resources, Legacy Land Conservation Commission, and to accept funds for the acquisition of Kahuku Coastal Property accessed by Road to the Sea. The resolution passed unanimously, with Council members Fred Blas and Angel Pilago absent.

A BILL ADDING $10,640,000 TO THE COUNTY BUDGET for Ka`u Water Source and Storage Expansion Project passed its second and final reading at County Council unanimously, with Council member Fred Blas absent. Funds will be provided from general obligation bonds, capital projects funds and/or other sources such as grants. Funds will be used for water infrastructure improvements, which will add a new well source, expand water storage and replace buried water lines where appropriate.

Two bills passed by County Council expand water storage in Ka`u.
Photo from Department of Water Supply

ANOTHER BILL ADDING $9,900,000 TO THE COUNTY BUDGET FOR South Point Road Water Infrastructure Expansion Project also passed its second and final reading unanimously, with Council member Fred Blas absent. Funds will be provided from general obligation bonds, capital projects funds and/or other sources such as grants. Funds will be used for water infrastructure improvements to replace and realign an existing water line above Hwy 11, add a new well source, expand water storage and bring a new six-inch, buried, ductile pipe water line and fire hydrants to the area below Hwy 11.

THE NEXT COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 19. Ka`u residents can now participate at Ocean View Community Center, 92-8924 Leilani Circle, with a new system that allows testimony to be given live from the site. Committee meeting agendas are available at http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/lb-council-committee, and Council agendas, along with information on how to submit testimony, can be viewed at http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/lb-council-meeting. For more information, call 961-8536 or edistrict6@co.hawaii.hi.us.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A SENIOR CENTER in Ocean View has been approved by the Windward Planning Commission. The application calls for the center to also be used as a community center and emergency shelter with a capacity of 100 people. The two-acre parcel of land, situated within the state Land Use Agricultural District on Lotus Blossom Lane mauka of Ace Hardware, would also have a certified kitchen. The decision states that, “since this recommendation is made without the benefit of public testimony, the director reserves the right to modify and/or alter this recommendation based upon additional information presented at the public hearing.”

OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS has identified a priority list for $8.9 million in grant money that community organizations across the state can now apply for. At the top of the priority list are grant proposals aimed at improving nutrition and physical activity within the Hawaiian community, where OHA has stepped up efforts to combat obesity. Other prime targets for OHA grants include programs that perpetuate Hawaiian culture and preserve natural resources in a manner that would benefit future generations.
      The deadline to apply for a grant is Jan. 16. The grants fund a two-year period between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2015.
      For more information, call 808-594-1986, email grantsinfo@oha.org or visit www.oha.org.

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I is reaching out to Native Hawaiians across on the Big Island who want to pursue a college education. The effort is part of a statewide initiative to bring Native Hawaiian scholarship opportunities to underserved communities in Hawai`i.

      UH has partnered with Office of Hawaiian Affairs and GEAR UP Hawai`i to present the 2012-2013 Native Hawaiian Scholarship Aha, a series of free presentations for high school students, parents, teachers, current college students, adult students, counselors and anyone interested in learning about the resources and financial aid available to Native Hawaiian students.
      There will also be a brief workshop on filling out financial aid applications and strategies on earning scholarships.
      Other community partners supporting the workshops include Native Hawaiian Education Association, Kamehameha Schools and Pacific Financial Aid Association.
      The workshops are from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow at Kealakehe High School Cafeteria in Kona and Thursday at UH-Hilo’s Campus Center. Information about the workshops is available online at www.hawaii.edu/aha.

TONIGHT’S AFTER DARK IN THE PARK about fossilized human footprints in the Ka`u Desert has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.

Fall Turkey, by Lanaya Deily, is on display at
Volcano Art Center Gallery. Photo from VAC

SEN. JOSH GREEN APPEARS ON INSIGHTS, the PBS Hawai`i program hosted by Dan Boylan, Thursday at 8 p.m. in a roundtable discussion on the state of health care in Hawai`i. Green started his career as a physician at Ka`u Hospital and was elected to represent Ka`u from Honu`apo through Na`alehu, South Point, Ocean View and up the coast through Kona when the 2013 Hawai`i State Legislature convenes. He is chair of the Senate’s Committee on Health.

HOLIDAY WREATHS are on display at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Wreaths are made from many materials, from turkey feathers to cloth fabric. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

VISIT OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN FOR THE HOLIDAYS, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

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