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| Stars over the crater on Kilauea. Photographer Eric Einwiller captured the fire of the volcano and the starry night skies. |
PROTECTING MEDICARE AND MEDICAID is a top priority for Sen. Mazie Hirono in Washington, D.C. This week, Hirono and Sen. Joe Donnelly, who represents the state of Indiana where Vice-president-elect Mike Pence has served as governor, introduced an amendment to protect Medicare and Medicaid from the budget reconciliation process.
Said Hirono: “For the past 50 years, seniors and working families have enjoyed the peace of mind of knowing that Medicare and Medicaid will be there for them. This budget resolution would dismantle these critical programs and our social safety net, resulting in too many families losing their health insurance. I will do everything in my power to protect these benefits for families in Hawai`i and across the country. Said Donnelly: “Every day, Hoosier (Indiana) families and seniors rely on Medicare and HIP 2.0, which Governor Mike Pence established and was made possible thanks to the health care law. I have opposed and will continue to oppose privatization of Medicare or turning it into a voucher system. If my colleagues, Republican or Democratic, have constructive ideas that would strengthen Medicare or Medicaid, count me in, but if they want to break promises to our seniors or take away coverage and increase premiums for families, count me out.”
Hirono explained that the Hirono-Donnelly amendment would create a budget point of order to prevent changes to Medicare that raise the eligibility age, change eligibility requirements, or privatize and voucherize the program. The amendment would also prevent changes to Medicaid that reduce state funding from current levels. Any changes to either program would require a supermajority in Congress. Hirono pointed out that nearly one in three American families depend on Medicare and Medicaid for their health care needs.
Said Hirono: “For the past 50 years, seniors and working families have enjoyed the peace of mind of knowing that Medicare and Medicaid will be there for them. This budget resolution would dismantle these critical programs and our social safety net, resulting in too many families losing their health insurance. I will do everything in my power to protect these benefits for families in Hawai`i and across the country. Said Donnelly: “Every day, Hoosier (Indiana) families and seniors rely on Medicare and HIP 2.0, which Governor Mike Pence established and was made possible thanks to the health care law. I have opposed and will continue to oppose privatization of Medicare or turning it into a voucher system. If my colleagues, Republican or Democratic, have constructive ideas that would strengthen Medicare or Medicaid, count me in, but if they want to break promises to our seniors or take away coverage and increase premiums for families, count me out.”
Hirono explained that the Hirono-Donnelly amendment would create a budget point of order to prevent changes to Medicare that raise the eligibility age, change eligibility requirements, or privatize and voucherize the program. The amendment would also prevent changes to Medicaid that reduce state funding from current levels. Any changes to either program would require a supermajority in Congress. Hirono pointed out that nearly one in three American families depend on Medicare and Medicaid for their health care needs.
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| Native Hawaiians interested in participating in films about Ala Kahakai Trail and other National Parks can respond to a casting call through Feb. 15. Photo from NPS |
A CASTING CALL FOR NATIVE HAWAIIANS has gone out from the National Park Service on the Island of Hawaiʻi. Through Feb. 15, Native Hawaiians are invited try out for a variety of roles in four new Visitor Center films, produced in both the Hawaiian and English languages. Participating is the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail which runs through Ka`u. The other parks are Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park and Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park.
The films are scheduled for release in 2018. From the Native Hawaiian perspective, they are designed to tell rich stories of Hawaiʻi’s past, from 300 A.D to modern times. No acting experience is necessary.
All parks involved "are dedicated to the preservation, protection, and interpretation of traditional Native Hawaiian culture and natural resources," says a statement from NPS.
The films are scheduled for release in 2018. From the Native Hawaiian perspective, they are designed to tell rich stories of Hawaiʻi’s past, from 300 A.D to modern times. No acting experience is necessary.
All parks involved "are dedicated to the preservation, protection, and interpretation of traditional Native Hawaiian culture and natural resources," says a statement from NPS.
All four NPS sites are located on the western side of the island. Each 15-minute film is being produced, not just for domestic and international visitors, but also for the Hawaiian people themselves. Each will be available for viewing in English and Native Hawaiian languages. The films will include Audio Description in both languages for visitors who are blind or have low vision, and on-screen Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in both languages for visitors who have hearing impairment.
"The stories of these sacred places are told through on-camera interviews with Hawaiian kūpuna, spiritual leaders and cultural practitioners," says the NPS statement.
"The stories of these sacred places are told through on-camera interviews with Hawaiian kūpuna, spiritual leaders and cultural practitioners," says the NPS statement.
Also interviewed for the films are Native Hawaiians who work at each park as interpreters, cultural experts, natural resource managers, and historians. "All voices are woven into a 'living' tapestry, revealing each park’s distinct story from a Native Hawaiian perspective. A common thread throughout is the spiritual relationship native Hawaiians have with their gods, their land, and one another. The films honor and celebrate the beauty and deep history of the Hawaiian people – past, present, and future – and the National Park Service sites that help preserve the legacy and spirit of sacred places."
Great Divide Pictures of Denver, CO, award-winning producers of over 30 films for the National Park Service, is producing the films for the Hawaiʻi parks. To complement the interviews, Great Divide will capture the visual splendor of each park from the ground and air, and will produce cinematic historical recreations that bring Hawaiʻi’s important past alive.
Great Divide Pictures of Denver, CO, award-winning producers of over 30 films for the National Park Service, is producing the films for the Hawaiʻi parks. To complement the interviews, Great Divide will capture the visual splendor of each park from the ground and air, and will produce cinematic historical recreations that bring Hawaiʻi’s important past alive.
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| Ala Kahakai Trail in Ka`u. Photo by Julia Neal |
The historical recreations will be filmed on-site at each park in May 2017. Great Divide and the National Park Service are looking to cast people who will portray Kamehameha the Great and Keōua Kūʻahuʻula. In addition, the producers are looking to cast warriors, kahuna, aliʻi (Hawaiian royalty), and makaʻāinana (commoners).
Among the historical scenes planned for production are: the intense personal journey of an escaped warrior who undergoes a spiritual transformation at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau during the 1600s; the 1791 confrontation of rivals, Kamehameha and Keōua Kūʻahuʻula, at Puʻukoholā Heiau; the ingenious methods Hawaiians used to create life-sustaining fishponds at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park; and how ancestral Hawaiians created an extensive network of trails – lifelines – throughout the island, commemorated now by Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail.
The casting deadline is Feb. 15, 2017. Send email to: gdpcasting@gmail.com.
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ALLOWING FISH FARMING AS CLOSE AS THREE MILES OFFSHORE is the plan by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Farms in federal waters are seen as an answer to depletion of wild fish stock. An Associated Press story by Caleb Jones describes it like this: "As traditional commercial fishing is threatening fish populations worldwide, U.S. officials are working on a plan to expand fish farming into federal waters around the Pacific Ocean. The government sees the move toward aquaculture as a promising solution to feeding a hungry planet."
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Sylvia Earle, former chief scientist for NOAA, questions the federal plan to
allow and manage open ocean aquaculture. Photo by Kip Evans/Mission Blue
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Federally managed fish farms already exist in the Gulf of Mexico. The AP story notes: "Fish farming has been practiced for centuries in Hawai`i and around the world. But modern aquaculture, some environmentalists say, carries pollution risks and the potential for non-native farmed fish to escape and enter the natural ecosystem. Most shellfish consumed in America comes from farms, and their methods are widely considered sustainable. However, some farms that grow carnivorous fish such as salmon have raised concerns about sustainability because they use wild-caught fish to feed the captive species."
The AP story also quotes Sylvia Earle, a supporter of President Barack Obama's recent expansion of the marine monument area in Hawaiian waters. Earle is NOAA's former chief scientist, a renowned deep ocean explorer, educator, and head of Mission Blue, an international group to protect the world's oceans.
According to the AP story, Earle said, that "there are more environmentally sustainable and economically viable options than open-ocean aquaculture, which uses floating net-pens or submerged cages. 'We have to make a choice with aquaculture,' she said. 'Is our goal to feed a large number of people? Or is our goal to create or to serve a luxury market?'”
The story reports Earle saying that no dollar figure can be attached to keeping the ocean, and, in turn humans, healthy. “We now have recognition of other values of the ocean beyond what we can extract either for food or for products,” she told AP.
The AP also reports NOAA saying researchers in waters off the Big Island "are studying ways to make open ocean farming safe and efficient. They are studying different techniques and species to better understand problems the industry could face."
See more on NOAA's aquaculture programs at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture and more on Sylvia Earle at www.mission-blue.org
EDDIE KAMAE, A FAVORITE HAWAIIAN MUSICIAN AND LEADER in the 20th century Hawaiian Renaissance, died on Saturday morning at the age of 89. Through the years he distinguished himself as a singer, musician, composer, a documentary film director, and author.
Kamae helped compose classics like E Ku’u Morning Dew and formed the Sons of Hawai`i with the late Gabby Pahinui. Over the years, the Sons of Hawai`i included musicians with Ka`u connections such as the late Dennis Kamakahi and the recording of his award winning song Wahine `Ilekea. Kamae also performed with Pahala native Ledward Ka`apana and his late brother Nedward. Kamae's recordings of songs about Hawai`i Island include Mary Kawena Pukui`'s Mauna Kea, Kamae's Waipi`o Valley Song and Hualalai.
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| Eddie Kamae with his palaka shirt and album cover. |
Kamae’s professional career began in 1948 as part of The `Ukulele Rascals duo with Shoi Ikemi. He would later play Spanish music, show tunes, and the classics as a soloist at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
In 1959, Kamae met Gabby Pahinui and formed The Sons of Hawai`i. Their 1971 album The Folk Music of Hawai`i was a crucial part of the overall rediscovery of the Native Hawaiian culture, also reviving interest in the elegant music of the monarchy era.
Together with Joe Marshall and David “Feets” Rogers, Kamae and Pahinui brought to life an amazing repertoire of authentic Hawaiian music that might otherwise have been lost to the ages, including songs that were written by Queen Lili‘uokalani during her incarceration in Iolani Palace after the U.S. Marines overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893. Kamae found them in the Bishop Museum archives, arranged the scores and began playing them.
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| Led Ka`apana, who grew up in Pahala, played with Eddie Kamae at numerous performances. Photo by John Berger |
A statement from the Kamaes’ Hawaiian Legacy Foundation on Kamae's death read: “Eddie Kamae passed peacefully this morning with his wife Myrna by his side, a smile on his face and ‘E Ku’u Morning Dew playing in the background. His legacy will continue through the Hawaiian Legacy Foundation.”
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INFRASOUND, THE ATMOSPHERIC SOUND and vibration below the threshold of human hearing, is the After Dark in the Park presentation on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. at Kīlauea Visitor Center auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Milton Garces explains how infrasound can provide early warning of manmade and natural disasters, through “listening” to Kīlauea, Mauna Loa, and Hualālai volcanoes through one of the most advanced infrasound networks in the world. Entry is free; $2 donation helps with park programs. Park Fees apply.
