Wednesday, April 08, 2020

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Long line on the Pāhala School campus this morning for free breakfasts, from 7:30 a.m to 8 a.m., and lunches from
11:30 a.m. to noon, prepared by the school cafeteria. About 100 packages are handed out for each meal in the drive
thru, Mondays through Fridays, for anyone under 18 years of age, present in the vehicle, and old enough to
chew food. Nāʻālehu Elementary is providing food on the same schedule. Photo by Julia Neal
MEAL DELIVERY FOR SENIORS IN THE COUNTY NUTRITION PROGRAM in Pāhala and Nāʻālehu will begin this week. The home delivery supplants the late morning lunches Mondays through Fridays that seniors enjoyed at the Senior Centers in Pāhala and Nāʻālehu. Those gatherings were shut down due to social distancing protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.
     The County of Hawai‘i Department of Parks & Recreation's Elderly Activities Division announced today its "comprehensive meal delivery program for eligible seniors enrolled in Hawai‘i County's Nutrition Program.
     "In compliance with Governor Ige's Third Emergency Proclamation on COVID-19, which restricted gatherings and instituted social distancing requirements beginning March 25, 2020, EAD undertook a herculean effort to convert its two standard meals programs for seniors, Meals on Wheels and Congregate [Meals] Sites, into a meticulously organized meal delivery network that services all enrolled seniors at their respective places of residence."
     In this initial week of the emergency meal delivery program, the Elderly Activities Division will deliver 3,440 frozen prepared meals to 688 seniors that opted into the program islandwide. Each senior will receive five nutritious meals per week delivered by EAD employees in marked County of Hawai‘i vehicles.
     In addition to the delivery of meals, EAD staff members are reaching out by phone weekly to the seniors in its highest risk category, to ensure they are doing okay and to inquire with them what their plans are over the next month and if there is any way that EAD can assist them further in this period of emergency.
     During this time, EAD continues to service seniors through its Coordinated Services for the Elderly program, which provides transportation for doctor's appointments, pharmaceutical pickups, two-week essentials shopping, as well as emergency services, such as dialysis and cancer treatments.
     A statement from Department of Parks & Recreation thanks the Hawai‘i County Office of Aging for its continued support of this emergency meals programs.
     Meal vendors are: Nani Mau, Hawaiʻi County Economic Opportunity Council, Café 100, Big Island Grill, and L&L Drive Inn.
     For questions about the program, call Roann S. Okamura, EAD Operations Director, at 961-8708.

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STOP ALL NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL INTO THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI THROUGH APRIL 30, urges Hawaiʻi County Council in a letter to Pres. Donald Trump. Resolution 572-20, approved unanimously by the council on Wednesday, urges the president to issue the ban, "to help reduce the COVID-19 infection rate and ease the burden on our already strained healthcare, housing, food, medicine, and dry goods resources."
     Mayor Harry Kim and Gov. David Ige declined to sign a letter to Trump requesting a similar ban, already sent by Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino, Kauaʻi County Mayor Derek Kawakami, and City and County of Honolulu Mayor Kirk W. Caldwell.
     Kim said the 14-day quarantine has "been very effective in deterring travelers coming to Hawaiʻi," citing less than 600 travelers statewide coming in on April 3, when the normal daily arrivals usually number 30,000.
Essential workers discuss surveying for improvements at the Kaʻū High & Elementary School campus, and
the ongoing surveying for new sewer lines in Pāhala. Photo by Julia Neal
     The Honolulu mayor said that "dramatically reduced round-trip airfares to Hawaiʻi" will continue to "encourage people to risk traveling to Hawaiʻi – especially those who otherwise may not have been able to afford to come." Caldwell said the ban should not extend to "employees of critical infrastructure industries, including, but not limited to, public health professionals, financial services, and food supply."

Sen Bernie Sanders ended his
campaign for President today but
not his campaign to unseat Pres.
Donald Trump.
State Senator and candidate
for Congress Kai Kahele
praised Bernie Sanders.
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BERNIE SANDERS ENDED HIS CAMPAIGN FOR U.S. PRESIDENT today and state Sen. Kai Kahale applauded him for his movement: "Bernie Sanders ran a historic campaign for president, and today we say mahalo. Mahalo, Bernie, for your passion and tenacity in bringing voice to so many working class Americans and for creating a movement focused on people, not profit. You are a heroic inspiration and our fight is not over.
     "Now we must unite to focus on defeating Donald Trump. I am proud to unite with my fellow Democrats in supporting former Vice President, Joe Biden. We know the Democrats are the party of the people — we fight for the vulnerable, the marginalized, and the voiceless. When we lift each other up, we lift our communities up. Nothing can stop us — especially not Donald Trump.
     "Join me today in coming together so we can defeat Donald Trump. It is going to take all of us to do this. We are stronger together."

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THE ANNUAL HAWAIʻI CONSERVATION CONFERENCE WILL BE VIRTUAL. Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance and Foundation made the announcement today, noting that the reduction of travel to the Oʻahu venue will allow the conservation community to apply lower-carbon technology to its event. The conference is scheduled for Sept. 1-3, entitled Ola Ka ʻĀina Momona: Managing for Abundance. Last year's was called He ʻAʻaliʻi Kū Makani Au – Resilience in the Face of Change.
     The Conservation Conference usually draws many groups from Hawaiʻi Island, from The Nature Conservancy to Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund, Kamehameha Schools, University of Hawaiʻi-Hilo, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and representatives of the state Department of Land & Natural Resources, U.S. Geological Survey, and National Resource Conservation Service.
     The statement says the decision to go virtual was "made primarily to exercise an abundance of caution in consideration of the uncertainty around the impacts and threats of the COVID-19 virus. While we certainly hope that by late summer we will not be working under strict physical separation policies, we also recognize that the number and geographic distribution of our conference attendees make an in-person event particularly high-risk. Importantly, we see this shift as an opportunity to innovate and grow our tool kit. The conservation community has long recognized the need to apply lower-carbon technology to our efforts and we hope that our experience this year will help us learn new approaches to professional development, knowledge sharing and building, networking, and communication within our field.
     "Finally, with many of us anticipating budget contraction, we hope that cost savings through reduced conference expenses and eliminated travel costs will mean that more of you will be able to participate in this virtual gathering. All that being said, we do recognize the great value of connecting face to face in real life, and hope to add some sort of in-person gatherings to this virtual conference, should it be safe to do so."
     The organizers of the Conservation Convention said that over the next several weeks, they will be focused on scoping. "We have never hosted this kind of event and we need to better understand the tools available to us for a virtual conference. We hope to release a revised registration fee schedule along with virtual platform details in early May. For authors, your abstracts will still be evaluated against the original call for proposals and we will share information about the software platform when we send acceptance notifications."
     For more on Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance, see hawaiiconservation.org. To help out with the conference and for more information contact conference@hawaiiconservation.org. Also see
Joint Statement Regarding Society for Conservation Biology Oceania (SCBO) and Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance Partnership Due to COVID-19 Pandemic Here.

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The late Irene Hirano Inouye, with Sen. Mazie Hirono, left, at the christening of the USS Daniel K. Inouye, named after
her late husband. Irene Inouye passed away yesterday. Photo from Hinoro 
IRENE HIRANO INOUYE PASSED AWAY Tuesday, April 7 at age 71, after a long illness. Widow of former Sen. Daniel Inouye, she served as President and founding CEO of the Japanese American National Museum, chair of the Ford and Kresge Foundations, President of the U.S. Japan Council, and more.
     Sen. Mazie Hirono issued the following statement on the passing of Inouye: "My thoughts go out to the Yasutake and Inouye ʻohana today as we mourn the passing of Irene Hirano Inouye. Irene's passion for serving her community on the local, national, and international levels was profoundly
The late Sen. Daniel Inouye at a Hilo Bandstand rally. His widow Irene
died on Tuesday. Photo by Julia Neal
evident in her life's work… Irene was dedicated to the organizations and causes she believed in.
     "In the years following the passing of Senator Inouye, Irene worked to establish the Daniel K. Inouye Institute to carry on and preserve the Senator's legacy and continue the work that he started. Last June, I joined Irene at the christening of the USS Daniel K. Inouye in Bath, Maine, and we both looked forward to welcoming the destroyer to Pearl Harbor. Like so many others, I will miss her friendship, determination and spirit, but I and others will continue to build upon the strong foundations that she laid."
     Gov. David Ige said, "Irene was a respected, central figure in U.S.-Japanese relations. She worked tirelessly to develop leaders in the Japanese-American community in Hawai‘i and beyond, and to strengthen ties between our two countries. Her wisdom and grace will be missed. Dawn and I send our deepest condolences to the Inouye ‘ohana."

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THE HAWAIʻI COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE COVID-19 report today shows one more case on Hawaiʻi Island and the number of confirmed cases at 27. Twenty-one are cleared by state Department of Health. The remaining six are quarantined at home and are being monitored by DOH. To date, no one has been hospitalized on-island for infection from the virus and no one has died. According to state maps, no Hawaiʻi Island cases are from Volcano or Kaʻū.
     Civil Defense Director Talmadge Magno said, "Keeping within the policies of prevention, please do maintain the best physical and emotional health that you can be. Your overall health is so important to your resiliency. In addition we need to assure that our kūpuna are taken care of and that they have opportunities to socialize within the policy guidelines of social distancing and grouping.
     "Let's all protect each other; wear a mask. Thank you for listening and know how lucky we are to be here on Hawaiʻi. This is your Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense."
     The state Department of Health reports 435 cases statewide, with 25 new cases reported today. There have been six deaths; four on Oʻahu, two on Maui.
     According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. has recorded more than 432,132 cases. The death toll is more than 14,750. More than 23,900 people have recovered.
     Johns Hopkins counts more than 1.48 million people worldwide as victims of COVID-19. The death toll is nearly 88,600. The recovery total is more than 329,000. There are cases reported in over 200 countries.

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The Kaʻū Calendar hard copy is printed monthly, with 7,500 copies distributed
throughout Kaʻū and Volcano, from Miloliʻi through Volcano, to all postal
addresses and in stands. To support The Kaʻū Calendar, purchase an ad 
for a non-profit or a business, a service, or something for sale.
FUNDING FOR LOCAL JOURNALISM AND MEDIA DURING THE PANDEMIC is the call from Senators Mazie Hirono, Amy Klobuchar, Corey Booker, and colleagues. Eighteen U.S Senators asked for the support for journalism in future COVID-19 relief packages.
     Their letter, sent to Senate leadership, cautions of the already widespread devastation of the coronavirus pandemic on local and regional news outlets, who are experiencing sinking advertising revenue while public demand and reliance on local reporting are increasing during the pandemic. Across the country, local and regional news outlets have furloughed or laid off staff. Some newspapers have also made cuts or stopped print editions.
     "Local news is in a state of crisis that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. For over a decade, there has been a steady succession of local outlets closing down, reporters being laid off, production schedules cut, and resources tightened as the growth of social media and technology platforms has concentrated critical advertising revenue in the hands of a few," the Senators wrote.
     "The current public health crisis has made the already vital role of local news even more critical," the Senators continued. "Some of the most important guidance for families and businesses during this crisis has been highly localized. Local journalism has been providing communities answers to critical questions, including information on where to get locally tested, hospital capacity, road closures, essential business hours of operation, and shelter-in-place orders. During this unprecedented public health crisis, people need to have access to their trusted local news outlets for this reliable and sometimes life-saving information."
     The letter can be found here.

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HIGHWAY 11 WAS CLOSED LAST NIGHT at around 10 p.m., reported Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense. The road was closed in both directions between mile markers 56 and 62, at Kāwā Flats in Kaʻū, due to water on the roadway. Civil Defense recommended Saddle Road as an alternate route. The road reopened around 6 a.m. today.

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Daily, weekly, and monthly recurring Kaʻū and Volcano Events, Meetings, Entertainment, Exercise, Meditation, and more are listed at kaucalendar.com. However, all non-essential activities are canceled through the end of April.

MOST EVENTS ARE CANCELLED for the month of April, to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. The state is under a stay-at-home order, with l4 days of quarantine required for anyone coming into the state. Interisland travel is restricted. Those in Hawaiʻi should stay at home unless needing to obtain food or medical care.

ONGOING
Free Breakfast and Lunch for Anyone Eighteen and Under is available at Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary and at Nāʻālehu Elementary weekdays through at least the end of April. Each youth must be present to receive a meal. Service is drive-up or walk-up, and social distancing rules (at least six feet away) are observed. Breakfast is served 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to noon. Students of Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary in Ocean View are receiving food weekly.

St. Jude's Episcopal Church Soup Kitchen is open, with a modified menu and increased health & safety standards, every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hot showers, the computer lab, and in-person services and bible studies are suspended. Services are posted online on Sundays at stjudeshawaii.org.

The Food Basket Food Pantries Distribution, where families can receive 14 days of food per family:
     The Ocean View location for Tuesday, April 14 will be Ocean View Community Center parking lot, 92-8924 Leilani Circle, instead of at St. Jude's Episcopal Church, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
     The Nāʻālehu location is Sacred Hearts Church at 95-558 Mamālahoa Hwy, under their Loaves and Fishes program, on Thursdays, April 9 and 23, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Call 928-8208.
     The Pāhala location is Kaʻū District Gym at 96-1149 Kamani Street, distributed by the ʻO Kaʻū Kākou Pantry, on Thursday, April 30 at 11:30 a.m. Call 933-6030.

     The Volcano location is Cooper Center at 19-4030 Wright Road Thursday, April 30 at 3:30 p.m. Call Kehau at 443-4130.

A Free Dinner for Those in Need is served at Volcano Cooper Center at 19-4030 Wright Road every Thursday, by Friends Feeding Friends, between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

On Call Emergency Food Pantry is open at Cooper Center Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is operated by The Food Basket. Call 808-933-6030.

The Next Learning Packet and Student Resource Distribution for Nāʻālehu Elementary School Students will be Monday, April 13. The packets are designed for learning at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and can be picked up every two weeks. One family member may pick up for several students in the same family. Students need not be present for the learning resources to be retrieved. Please note the grade of each child. Distribution times are organized by the first letter of the student's last name at the site closest to their home. Supplies will be given out simultaneously.
     Everyone is asked to observe social distancing rules, staying 6 feet away from others during pick-up. See the school website, naalehuel.hidoe.us, for more information and updates.
     Distribution in the Nāʻālehu area is at Nāʻālehu Elementary, Waiʻōhinu, and Discovery Harbour Community Center. Distribution in Ocean View is at the county's Kahuku Park, the area in front of Malama Market, and Ocean ViewCommunity Center.
     At Nāʻālehu Elementary, campus pick-up will be from 9 a.m - 9:20 a.m. for A-H; 9:20 a.m. - 9:40 a.m. for I-P, and 9:40 a.m. - 10 a.m. for Q-Z.
     The Waiʻōhinu pick-up: 8 a.m. - 8:20 a.m. for A-H, 8:20 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. for I-P, and 8:40 a.m. - 9 a.m. for Q-Z.
     The Discovery Harbour Community Center pick-up: 9:30 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. for A-H, 9:50 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. for I-P, and 10:10 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. for Q-Z.
     Morning distribution at Kahuku Park8 a.m. - 8:20 a.m. for A-H, 8:20 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. for I-P, and 8:40 a.m. - 9 a.m. for Q-Z.
     Evening distribution at Kahuku Park5 p.m. - 5:20 p.m. for A-H, 5:20 p.m. - 5:40 p.m. for I-P, and 5:40 p.m. - 6 p.m. for Q-Z.
     Times for distribution in front of Malama Market are: 9:30 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. for A-H, 9:50 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. for I-P, and 10:10 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. for Q-Z.
     Times for distribution at Ocean View Community Center are 5 p.m. - 5:20 p.m. for A-H, 5:20 p.m. - 5:40 p.m. for I-P, and 5:40 p.m. - 6 p.m. for Q-Z.

Kaʻū Art Gallery is looking for local artists. Call 808-937-1840.

Register for Volcano's ʻŌhiʻa Lehua Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, and Keiki Dash by Wednesday, July 22. The second annual event will be held on Saturday, July 25. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to University of Hawaiʻi for furthering research of Rapid ‘Ōhiʻa Death and The Volcano School of Arts & Sciences. See webscorer.com to register.
     Half Marathon registration is $70 through May 24, $80 May 25 through July 22, and $90 for late registration. Registration for the 10K is $50 through May 24, $55 May 25 through Jul 22, and $60 for late registration. Registration for the 5K is $35 through May 24, $40 May 25 through July 22, and $45 for late registration. Keiki Dash registration is $10. All registrations are non-transferable and non-refundable.
     Late registration is only available at packet pickup or race day morning. Shirts are not guaranteed for late registration.  Race Shirts will be included for Half Marathon and 10K participants only. For all other participants, shirts are available to purchase online.
     Packet pick-up is scheduled for Thursday, July 23 in Hilo; Friday, July 26 in Volcano; and Saturday, July 27, 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. at the race start.
     Half Marathon will start at 7 a.m. Other distances follow shortly after. Keiki Dash will begin at 10 a.m. on VSAS grounds, with the option of one or two laps – about 300 meters or 600 meters. Race cut-off time for the Half Marathon is four hours. The races will begin and end in Volcano Village at VSAS.
     See ohialehuahalf.com.

Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium Closed for Renovation through June 30. The Park is closed until further notice due to COVID-19 spread mitigation. A popular seven-and-a-half minute 2018 eruption video will be shown on a television in the exhibits area, once the Park and center reopen, and is available online for free download.

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