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| Three storms are circulatiing in south and east of Hawai`i Island, with the furthest one expected to soon become a cyclone that could impact Hawai`i. Map from The Weather Channel |
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| Classic car drivers tour and snack at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Photo by Lisa Wright |
HAWAI`I’S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today the release of another $1 million to fight the coffee berry borer, which has been ravaging coffee farms on Hawai`i Island and recently, O`ahu. This Areawide Mitigation and Management for Coffee Berry Borer Control funding, which will be allocated to Hawai`i and Puerto Rico, is in addition to $1.8 million previously allocated to Hawai`i for the 2015 fiscal year.
“As a longtime advocate for Hawai`i’s coffee farmers, I understand the unique challenges they face growing their crops in the only state in the country that produces coffee commercially,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono. “Island farmers have shared how the coffee berry borer has already destroyed millions of dollars worth of coffee, concerns we’ve effectively conveyed to top U.S. Department of Agriculture administrators in Washington, D.C. This funding will now allow Hawai`i researchers to continue to develop effective techniques and provide the necessary tools to help our farmers fight off and contain this invasive species.”
Sen. Brian Schatz said, “In the past few years, we have seen the devastating impact the coffee berry borer has had on Hawai`i coffee and the farmers that grow it. This federal investment will go a long way in helping local farmers protect their farms and limit the spread of this invasive species.”
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| A classic Ka`u Volunteer Fire Department truck rolls through Na`alehu on July 4.. Photo by Peter Anderson |
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said, “Hawai`i’s $40 million coffee industry is vital to our economy. It sustains jobs across the state and contributes significant annual revenues each year for family farms. I continue to be fully engaged with Hawai`i’s coffee farmers as we work to fend off this invasive species, which is why I passed an amendment in the 2014 Farm Bill to establish an area-wide pest management plan and authorize research and funding to combat the Coffee Berry Borer. I am pleased to see the USDA’s continued support in eradicating this noxious species.” In May of this year, the Hawai`i Delegation and Rep. Pedro Pierluisi, of Puerto Rico, wrote to Secretary Vilsack to urge USDA to continue funding the Areawide Mitigation and Management for Coffee Berry Borer Control. To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
A CYCLONE FORMING IN THE PACIFIC could impact Hawai`i by this weekend. At noon the National Hurricane Center reported that showers and thunderstorms associated with a large area of low pressure about 1,050 miles east-southeast of the Big Island have continued to become better organized. Satellite wind data indicate that surface circulation are better defined. Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for further development, and a tropical cyclone will likely form later today or tonight while the system moves west-northwest at 14 miles per hour. If it forms in the Eastern Pacific, it will be called Dolores. If the cyclone forms in the Central Pacific, it will be called Ele. According to Central Pacific Hurricane Center, formation chance is 90 percent.
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STATE AND HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS are being considered for geothermal sites, and the Board of Land & Natural Resources takes up permitting for research this Friday. The new study sites are all on Hualalai Volcano. South Point and the Great Crack area have also been identified as geothermal-rich but are not up for discussion.
ACCESS TO MAUNA KEA SUMMIT is the subject of an emergency rule proposed by Hawai`i's Department of Land & Natural Resources. DLNR said in a statement issued today that the purpose of the rule is to promote safe access to the summit. The proposed rule schedules nighttime hours during which individuals may not remain within a designated restricted area and also prohibits the presence of camping-related supplies within restricted areas at all hours. The Board of Land & Natural Resources will consider the rule at at its regularly scheduled meeting this Friday.
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I AT HILO will begin the process of decommissioning Hoku Ke`a, the UH-Hilo Educational Telescope on Mauna Kea, in early 2016. According to a statement from the university, it will follow the decommissioning process outlined in the Office of Mauna Kea Management’s Comprehensive Management Plan.
The process is expected to be completed in 2018 after Caltech Submillimeter Observatory’s scheduled decommissioning. Once the area is restored to its natural state, no new observatory will be built on the Hoku Ke`a site, the university stated.
Caltech Observatory announced in May that it is ending operations and will also begin the decommissioning process in 2016. As with the UH-Hilo telescope, no new observatory will be built on the site.
“It’s the only telescope that UH-Hilo manages, and it’s not currently operational,” UH-Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney told Tom Callis, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. Straney said he considers the move to be one step toward resolving the conflict over construction the Thirty Meter Telescope, which is currently on hold after crews were twice blocked from gaining access to the site.
“It’s a complex set of issues and will take a complex set of steps from all of us moving forward,” Straney told Callis.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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AN NEW ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM used on a Big Island ranch for about two years will be available to consumers next month, reported Duane Shimogawa, of Pacific Business News. Henk Rogers, founder of Blue Planet Foundation, and his partners have developed Blue Ion, a self-contained energy storage package that combines Sony Electronic, Inc.’s lithium ion battery technology with Blue Planet Energy’s proprietary architecture and software. The system is designed to be quickly and easily installed and have a low, simple payback, according to Shimogawa.
Rogers told Shimogawa that about one dozen Hawai`i residents, mostly on Hawai`i Island, currently have the system.
“These are for people who are not near the grid and need to be off the grid,” Rogers told Shimogawa. “It’s completely flexible. We can tailor each system to a homeowner’s needs. We send people out to measure your electricity usage. People have crazy ways of using electricity. Maybe before you go off the grid, have someone check out the efficiency of your home.”
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| A red Dodge Viper precedes pa`u riders at the Fourth of July parade in Na`alehu. Photo by Crystal McIntosh |
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| Classic in its own right, the barrel train carries keiki through Na`alehu. Photo by Peter Anderson |
University of Hawai`i researchers will use antennae and electrodes to measure electromagnetic waves on one million square meters of land at depths up to 20,000 feet below the surface.
According to Chris D’Angelo, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, researcher Nicole Lautze, with the Hawai`i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, said in her original application, “The vast majority of developed geothermal systems in the world are located in regions where water can flow naturally through the heated rock formations. Being able to identify the subsurface heat source and fractured zones allows us to begin to address some of the problems of geothermal exploration and development.”
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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According to Chris D’Angelo, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, researcher Nicole Lautze, with the Hawai`i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, said in her original application, “The vast majority of developed geothermal systems in the world are located in regions where water can flow naturally through the heated rock formations. Being able to identify the subsurface heat source and fractured zones allows us to begin to address some of the problems of geothermal exploration and development.”
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
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| This classic Jeep puts the Thirty Meter Telescope issue on parade in Na`alehu. Photo by Crystal McIntosh |
Attorney General Doug Chin explained, “In recent weeks dozens of people have camped on the grounds or remained parked in cars for prolonged periods, either on or near the access road to Mauna Kea. Boulders and rock walls have been placed on the road. Invasive species have been introduced. Unauthorized toilets have been placed on the grounds. Individuals remaining in the area have reportedly caused visitors and workers to feel harassed. Consumption of water, which must be trucked up the mountain, is at record high usage. All of this has occurred in a partially graveled, steeply graded area without markings or guardrails.”
DLNR chair Suzanne Case said, “The Department of Land and Natural Resources has been delegated the power and duty to manage and regulate all lands which may be set apart as game management areas, public hunting areas and wildlife sanctuaries. The Department is authorized to promulgate rules to carry out these duties. These rules concern the preservation, protection, regulation, extension and utilization of, and conditions for entry into wildlife sanctuaries, game management areas and public hunting areas.”
DLNR chair Suzanne Case said, “The Department of Land and Natural Resources has been delegated the power and duty to manage and regulate all lands which may be set apart as game management areas, public hunting areas and wildlife sanctuaries. The Department is authorized to promulgate rules to carry out these duties. These rules concern the preservation, protection, regulation, extension and utilization of, and conditions for entry into wildlife sanctuaries, game management areas and public hunting areas.”
The proposed rule can be reviewed online at: http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dofaw/files/2015/07/13-123-21.2-draft.pdf.
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| UH-Hilo is decomissioning its Hoku Ke`a telescope on Mauna Kea. Photo from University of Hawai`i |
The process is expected to be completed in 2018 after Caltech Submillimeter Observatory’s scheduled decommissioning. Once the area is restored to its natural state, no new observatory will be built on the Hoku Ke`a site, the university stated.
Caltech Observatory announced in May that it is ending operations and will also begin the decommissioning process in 2016. As with the UH-Hilo telescope, no new observatory will be built on the site.
“It’s the only telescope that UH-Hilo manages, and it’s not currently operational,” UH-Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney told Tom Callis, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. Straney said he considers the move to be one step toward resolving the conflict over construction the Thirty Meter Telescope, which is currently on hold after crews were twice blocked from gaining access to the site.
“It’s a complex set of issues and will take a complex set of steps from all of us moving forward,” Straney told Callis.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
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| American flag to the sky on this blue Corvette convertible. Photo by Crystal McIntosh |
Rogers told Shimogawa that about one dozen Hawai`i residents, mostly on Hawai`i Island, currently have the system.
“These are for people who are not near the grid and need to be off the grid,” Rogers told Shimogawa. “It’s completely flexible. We can tailor each system to a homeowner’s needs. We send people out to measure your electricity usage. People have crazy ways of using electricity. Maybe before you go off the grid, have someone check out the efficiency of your home.”
See bizjournals.com/pacific.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
HAWAI`I PACIFIC PARKS ASSOCIATION staff share the traditional art of bamboo stamping Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center lanai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
HAWAI`I PACIFIC PARKS ASSOCIATION staff share the traditional art of bamboo stamping Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center lanai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
