Monday, June 02, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, June 2, 2014

A brushfire fueled by strong tradewinds scorched over 1,000 acres at South Point yesterday. Photo by Tissy Kaniho
A BRUSHFIRE ORIGINATING NEAR KA`ALU`ALU BAY scorched more than 1,000 acres in the South Point area yesterday before being brought under control at 10 p.m. Fire suppression equipment included four-wheel-drive vehicles and two helicopters dropping water from buckets. Fire crews also protected structures along South Point Road from potential fire exposure.
Wally Andrade and his team cut firebreaks during yesterday's
brushfire at South Point. Photo by Tissy Kaniho
      Working with South Point-area ranchers and county and volunteer fire crews, Wally Andrade, his son Les and Kaniala Young used bulldozers to cut firebreaks to help keep flames from spreading further.
      Captain Curt Yamashita, of Pahala Fire Station, reported that crews stayed at the scene overnight to monitor the fire and that suppression by helicopter water drops continues this morning.
      No injuries occurred, and the cause is under investigation.
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MAC NUTS FROM KA`U ARE IN THE MIX of products produced by Hamakua Macadamia Nut Co., a finalist in the new Taste Awards, sponsored by the Hawai`i Food Manufacturers Association. Hamakua is nominated for Innovative Hawai`i Manufacturer of the Year-Small Company. Its majority owner is Edmund C. Olson. Hamakua uses mac nuts grown on Olson Trust lands in Ka`u and also buys from other Ka`u farmers.
      Winners will be announced June 14 at Dole Cannery on O`ahu. Other Big Island finalists are Big Island Abalone, of Keahole-Kona, for Product of the Year; Big Island Bees, of Captain Cook, for Innovate Hawai`i Manufacturer of the Year-Small Company; Derek Kurisu, of KTA Superstores, for Innovative Marketing and Governor’s Lifetime Achievement awards; Glow Hawai`i, Inc., of Waikoloa, for Community Service; Nina Tanabe, of Hilo, for Advocate of the Year; University of Hawai`i College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources for Supplier of the Year and Zippy’s for Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
      The organization is open to all food producers. Local board members and directors include Kona Chips, Tropical Dreams Ice Cream and Big Island Abalone Corp.
      See more at www.foodsofhawaii.com.
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Residents hoped that rain mauka of Wai`ohinu would reach South Point to help extinguish yesterday's fire. Photo by Shalan Crysdale
THE 2008 HAWAI`I CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVE Memorandum of Understanding between former Gov. Linda Lingle and Hawaiian Electric Co. is a contractual agreement, not a non-binding MOU as claimed by Hawaiian Electric and the state, ruled Hawai`i Circuit Court Judge Karl Sakamoto. The ruling is to a class action lawsuit filed by attorney John Carroll, a former state legislator, and Honolulu energy advocate Edward Wagner, seeking relief from implementation of the agreement which they say “created an ironclad control over the production and sale of electricity in the state.”
      According to Wagner, Sakamoto ruled that because electricity can be produced by using several natural, renewable resources such as solar, wind and geothermal sources, electricity and its production are constitutionally protected as natural resources. “In other words, the state of Hawai`i is in violation of our Public Trust Doctrine in the state Constitution because electricity is natural, not a commodity created by HECO,” Wagner said.
      “This ruling sets a precedent for our country in regard to electricity being a constitutionally protected natural resource,” Wagner said.
      Sakamoto ruled that the lawsuit be heard under the Public Utilities Commission’s jurisdiction because it is both a regulatory body and a quasi-judicial body.
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DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF HAWAI`I has filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals following a U.S. district judge’s ruling against the party. At issue is Hawai`i`s open primary, which the party says is an unconstitutional violation of its First Amendment right to free association.
      Derrick DePledge, of Honolulu Star-Advertiser, reports that “Democrats want voters to declare their affiliation before the primary, either by becoming party members or by publicly declaring their support for the party.”
      In a brief to the appeals court, Deirdre Marie-Iha, a deputy attorney general representing Scott Nago, the state’s chief election officer, wrote, “If voters must formally register with the Democratic Party in order to vote in the election that will effectively decide their representation, the continued viability of the other parties may be threatened.”
      Regarding the court’s ruling that the party failed to present evidence of the impact of open primaries, DePledge reports that “the party said it should not have to show evidence of the influence of an open primary on voter behavior. The party told the appeals court that it would be expensive to compile such voter data and that the party’s rights should not rely ‘on the fluctuating and irrelevant behavior of others.’”
      See staradvertiser.com.
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Evan Enriques has been inducted into HHSAA's
Hall of Honor. Photo from Julie Enriques
KA`U NATIVE AND 2014 KAMEHAMEHA-HAWAI`I graduate Evan Enriques has been inducted into Hawai`i High School Athletic Association’s Hall of Honor. Enriques is the sole Hawai`i Island athlete to receive the honor this year. He and 11 other athletes were inducted yesterday during a dinner at the Ala Moana Hotel on O`ahu. Each honoree received a $2,000 scholarship. 
      Evans will attend Stanford University on a 50-percent scholarship to play volleyball as a libero, a back-row defensive specialist, at Stanford University, where he plans to study business. He was also offered scholarships from University of Hawai`i-Manoa, UCLA and USC. His high school career includes helping Kamehameha win the Big Island Interscholastic Championships this year and in 2012. The Warriors took second place this year at the state tournament. As a sophomore, Enriques was named Player of the Year for the Hawai`i High School Athletic Association and also Most Valuable Player for BIIF in 2012 and 2013. He was also named MVP in the state tournament. Enriques made the all-state high school volleyball team for three years. His grade-point average at Kamehameha is 4.0+. 
      Enriques played for an O`ahu volleyball team called Ka Ulukoa, which won the USA Volleyball National Championship for six consecutive years. The playoffs included taking on international teams. He also played on a Junior National Team and traveled to Mexico.
      The Hall of Honor program has been recognizing the top 12 Hawai`i senior student-athletes each year since 1983.
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KEIKI AGES EIGHT AND UP ARE INVITED to Hardware Science at Na`alehu Public Library tomorrow at 3 p.m. The program uses simple equipment and tools available at hardware and craft stores to teach Science, Technology, Math, Art and Engineering concepts by providing hands-on experiences that can be replicated at home.
      Call 939-2442 for more information.


SENIORS AGED 60 AND UP ARE WELCOME to join informal, hands-on classes to practice Origami Basics, the art of paper folding. The free classes are held every Thursday this month from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. at Pahala Senior Center, 96-1169 Holei Street.
      For more information, call Julie Pasquale at 928-3101.

KILAUEA DRAMA & ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK celebrates its 12th birthday on Saturday, June 14 at the Hilo Town Tavern from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The celebration will include Pedjioke with KDEN’s music director Pedro Ka`awaloa, a performance by local band Roach in the Amp, aka R.I.T.A., and a raffle. Tickets are $10 at the door. The money raised will help with production of this summer’s musical, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore.
      The raffle will feature a Body Glove Cruise for two, photographs from Britten Traughber, a beaded clutch from the 1940s and a few other fun items. Roach In The Amp consists of 10 members including board member Karen Blue on bass. Pedjioke features Ka`awaloa on the piano as members of the KDEN `ohana sing favorite Broadway tunes karaoke-style. “This will be Ka`awaloa’s last hurrah with KDEN as he is moving to New York the next week,” said KDEN’s Suzi Bond.
      KDEN is a nonprofit community theater organization whose goal it is to foster quality Community Theater. The group seeks to enrich and unite our community through involvement in the performing arts. KDEN produces two shows per year, a winter production and a summer musical at Kilauea Military Camp’s Kilauea Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. It also sponsors the Volcano Festival Chorus and presents a living history program A Walk Into the Past in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, featuring Ka`u resident Dick Hershberger bringing Hawaiian Volcano Observatory founder Thomas Jaggar to life. 
      Some of the musicals KDEN has produced are Once Upon A MattressBeauty and the Beast, Nunsense, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Man of La Mancha and four other Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.
      For more information, call 982-7344, email kden73@aol.com or visit KDEN’s facebook page.

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



See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.
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