Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Thursday's Hiki No on PBS features segments from students at Ka`u High School, Volcano School of Arts & Sciences
and Miloli`i's Kua O Ka La.

KA`U’S FORMER STATE REP. BOB HERKES is on the Board of Directors at Hawai`i Tourism Authority after the state Senate unanimously approved his nomination.
Bob Herkes
      Herkes envisions a program, perhaps called Aloha `Oe, where hotels in the state “go back to the old days,” work with Hawaiian communities and embrace Hawaiian values and hospitality.
      Herkes was in the visitor industry for more than 40 years. He said such a program helped make the 550-room Kona Surf Hotel successful during his tenure in management there.
      During his political career, Herkes’ support of preservation of the Ka`u Coast preceded preservation of Honu`apo, Kawa and other locations including South Kona Wilderness Area.
      Other tourism-related efforts by Herkes include support of risk evaluation along the coast and improved health services in Ka`u. He also championed the new Ka`u Gym & Disaster Shelter, which is expected to be the site of tournaments that would draw visiting athletic teams to stay overnight in Ka`u and boost the local economy.
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SEVERAL ITEMS ON LAST WEEK’S County Council meeting pertaining to Ka`u gained approval. 
      Two resolutions provide grants for events sponsored by `O Ka`u Kakou. The community organization receives $7,000 for the annual Punalu`u fishing tournament and $15,000 for a Coffee Trail Run and Fun Day scheduled for Sept. 20.
      Other resolutions appropriate $2,000 each for the purchase of refrigerator-freezers for Na`alehu and Pahala Community Centers.
Hawai`i County Council has approved installation of a yield sign on Ka`alaiki Road
above Na`alehu. Photo from County of Hawai
    A bill calling for posting of a yield sign on Ka`alaiki Road makai of Na`alehu Cemetery at the northeast approach adjacent to parcels 9-5-008:001 and 9-5-008:010 passed its second reading.
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HAWAI`I’S SHARWIL AVOCADO GROWERS are hoping to begin exporting their product to the mainland this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in Sept. 2013 that Hawaiian-grown Sharwil avocados can be shipped to 32 states and Washington, D.C., after being banned since 1992. The ban was established to prevent the spread of fruit flies, especially to California farms and orchards where tomato and citrus crops could be devastated. Most of the Sharwils are grown on 280 farms, mainly on Hawai`i Island, followed by Maui.
      According to a story in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, farmers hoped to start exporting fruit last year, but rule-making and the implementation plan process took too long, said Tom Benton, president of Hawai`i Avocado Association. “There will be a lot of things to work out,” Benton told reporter Erin Miller. “The big bottleneck will be shipping.”
Export of Hawaiian Sharwil avocados may begin in November.
Photo from epicenteravocados.com
      Farmers and packers will have to follow many protocols, including getting farms certified by the federal Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, following orchard sanitation rules and monitoring for certain fruit flies.
       Processing facilities and shipping boxes will have to be fruit fly-proof.
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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A STREAM FLOW SETTLEMENT ON MAUI could have implications on Hawai`i Island. The state Commission on Water Resource Management approved a settlement that calls for stream flows to be restored while allowing for diversion of some water.
      The decision reaffirms that flowing streams are a public trust, according to a story in Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
      Users of diverted water from the streams include Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. and Wailuku Water. HC&S irrigates its sugar cane fields, and Wailuku Water sells the water to HC&S as well as housing subdivisions, Maui County, cattle ranches and golf courses.
      Earthjustice represented community groups Hui o Na Wai Eha and Maui Tomorrow Foundation during the 10-year legal battle.
      As stated in the agreement, it “represents a reasonable and equitable resolution … and balance between the need to protect instream uses and the accommodation of reasonable beneficial noninstream uses.
      “It was the parties themselves who chose to reach this agreement,” Department of Land & Natural Resources Chair William Aila, Jr. said. “Without their collective will to work out a solution, this would not have happened.”
      See staradvertiser.com.
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BOYS & GIRLS CLUB IS OFFERING A SALE of fundraising dinners next month to help kids who want to attend Pahala and Ocean View Boys and Girls Club Summer Fun. The Boys and Girls Club Summer Fun program is after the County of Hawai`i Summer Fun program, so keiki involved in both will have a full and enriching day of activities in a safe environment during the summer break. The program is eight weeks long and runs from June 2 to July 25 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. 
      The dinner will raise funds for families who are not able to pay the $100 program registration fee. Dinner tickets are $7, with the menu consisting of oriental chicken, rice, mixed vegetables and sweet bread. Dinner pick-up is Friday, May 16 at Pahala Community Center from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
      Interested parents or anyone who would like to assist with the fundraiser by making a donation, selling tickets or helping to prep and serve on the day are urged to call Boys and Girls Club Director Dolly Kailiawa at 756-5282 or Lei at 929-8641. The amount awarded to families will depend on the total profit received from the fundraiser.
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HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK CELEBRATES Merrie Monarch with programs at Kilauea Visitor Center. All programs are part of Hawai`i Volcanoes’ ongoing `Ike Hana No`eau: Experience the Skillful Work workshops and take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
      The following programs take place tomorrow:
  •  Edna and Sam Baldado share the cultural uses of kalo, or taro. 
  •  Helene Hayselden demonstrates the art of making a feather kahili, a symbol of royalty. 
  •  Singer, songwriter, praise and worship leader Rupert Tripp, Jr. performs. 
  •  Ka`ohu Monfort teaches how the island’s native plants are used to heal and nourish.
Participants learn `ohe kapala, or bamboo stamping, Thursday at Kilauea Visitor Center.
NPS Photo by Jay Robinson
      The following programs take place on Thursday:
  • Vi Makuakane demonstrates the art of feather work. Thousands of feathers are sorted, graded, trimmed and sewn to a base. The result is a lei hulu, or feather lei. 
  • Kenneth Makuakane plays original songs from his solo albums and compositions. 
  • Keiko Mercado demonstrates how `ohe (bamboo) are carved into beautiful designs and how they are used. There will be samples and a hands-on opportunity to learn this Hawaiian art form. 
  • Patricia Ka`ula demonstrates different styles of lei making: hilo, haku, hili and Ku`i. Lei is used for everything from blessing crops, adornments for hula dancers, healing and sacred rituals, to show royal status or rank, honor guests, as peace offerings and to celebrating a birth. 
  • From 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Robert Cazimero signs the latest edition of Men of Hula, which will be available for sale. This 2011 edition by award-winning author Benton Sen chronicles how the hula teacher and Na Halau Kamalei shattered the stereotypical image of hula (girls in grass skirts and coconut bras) by revitalizing the masculine aspects of the ancient dance. 
      See tomorrow’s Ka`u News Briefs for programs on Friday. All programs are free; park entrance fees apply.

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL, VOLCANO SCHOOL of Arts & Sciences and Kua O Ka La’s Miloli`i school are three of four schools on Hiki No, a PBS show that airs Thursday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 10. It will be the first time these schools have participated in the statewide filmmaking program. Students from each of these Hawai`i Island schools present short vignettes on what makes their school and community unique. They also offer a behind-the-scenes look at the on-site Hiki No training workshops held at each of the schools.

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS HOLDS ITS SPRING FLING Saturday, May 3 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Punalu`u Bake Shop. To become a vendor, entertainer or for more information, call 808-854-1540 or see kauarts.org.

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










See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.