Ka‘ū News Briefs, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022

Friends of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is working with descendants of the Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau  
area to build a Friends group there. Photo from Hawai'i Public Radio

FRIENDS OF HAWAI'I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK is working with Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park to create its own Friends group, according to a story from Hawai'i Public Radio reporter Ku'uwehi Hirashi this week. A private donation of $70,000 will help to establish the Friends group, according to the Friends President & CEO Elizabeth Fien. 

     According to the HPR story, Fien noted that "Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau in South Kona was brought into the national park system in 1955. But its history as a place of refuge for ancient Hawaiian lawbreakers goes back centuries.

    “So certain people and places and things and times were sacred. They were kapu or forbidden, and any breaking of a kapu would disturb the stability of the society and the punishment was often death. Any fugitive who broke the kapu could seek refuge within the walls of puʻuhonua. So in some senses, this is probably one of the very first sanctuary cities,” Fien told HPR.

Friends of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is helping to create a Friends group
 at Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau. Photo from Hawai'i Public Radio

   Friends of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park has been operating for 25 years, sponsoring the Youth Ranger Program, which is well attended by Kaʻū High School students. It also offers Guardians of the Trails, Forest Restoration, Institute on Demand Private Tours, Wild Cave Exploration and more. Activities include removal of endangered species, improvement of trails and cultural programs and events.
    Fien told HPR that "About four years ago I was visiting Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau and I was struck — There was a real spiritual connection — I was struck by the park, but I was also struck by the fact that so many things needed help there. Repairs need to be done and more cultural programs need to happen. So when this grant came along, I thought it would be perfect."

Elizabeth Fien, President & CEO of Friends of
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, is working
to establish a Friends organization at 
Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau National Historic Park.

    Friends of Hawai'i Volcanoes applied and received $70,000 through the National Park Foundation’s Strong Parks, Strong Communities program to work with a group of community stakeholders, including descendants of the area, to form the Friends of Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park.
    “This grant enables us to do things like the marketing materials, website, membership,” Fien told HPR. “And our first major project that we want to tackle is we want to create an environmental cultural learning center. That’s a big project, but it’s what the descendants and stakeholders would love to see happen.”
    Fien said a web site for the Pu'uhonua O Hōnaunau Friends should be online soon. See more at Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park website at fhvnp.org.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at wwwkaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.

THE TREND OF MIGRATING TO HAWAI'I ISLAND from O'ahu was featured in a Pacific Business News story on Saturday. It also noted that the state of Hawai'i’s "declining population due to net out-migration" is something policymakers and economists "have been worriedly watching." The story also noted that data on intra-state migrants from 2019 to 2020 adds IRS figures on the money attached to these movers. "They ranged from somewhat wealthier than the people we lost, to significantly so, depending on which island. Of Hawai'i’s four counties, Honolulu is the net loser, shedding nearly 4,000 more people than it gained, whose combined adjusted gross income was just over $162 million. With the data emphasizing tax filers, PBN reached out to Tom Yamachika, President of Tax Foundation of Hawai'i. Yamachika told PBN, “We have been warning lawmakers for several years now that our state has been losing people. News media and some local nonprofits have been trying to find out why this is so, and have been told by many that they are unable to make ends meet here between the high cost of living and taxes. We have told

lawmakers that the tax environment here in Hawai'i already has reached a point where people are ‘voting with their feet’ and getting on a plane with a one-way ticket out of here. The more that happens, the more pressure there will be for lawmakers to either force the rest of us who remain to make up for the lost revenue, or to right-size government services to match the dwindling population. Historically, lawmakers have been severely reluctant to downsize government services and programs, so the rest of us who call Hawai'i home are in trouble."
    The PBN story noted that "people don’t just move between states, they also move between counties in Hawai'i. From 2019 to 2020, the single largest intra-island migration was the 724 people who moved from Honolulu to Hawai'i Island. The second largest migration? The 542 people who moved from Hawai'i Island to O'ahu. PBN also reported that "It’s noteworthy that for every Hawai'i county, this analysis finds that the new arrivals out-earn the Hawai'i residents they replaced. Connecting the dots that young families are leaving, and that tax filers with annual incomes at $60,000 are leaving, the data support longstanding perceptions that the cost of living drives our exodus."

    Joe Kent, Executive Vice President of Grassroot Institute Hawai'i, told PBN that "Hawai'i may be becoming an attractive place for high earners to move to, and that could help diversify our economy. But the numbers also seem to show that the Hawai'i residents with lower incomes are fleeing for the Mainland in search of a lower cost of living. Lawmakers should focus on lowering costs and allowing more opportunities, such as by reducing taxation and regulations, which could help families across the board afford to stay in the Islands.”
    PBN also reported on the population change from 2019 to 2020. "Right in the middle of that time period, in January 2020, PBN reported on findings by CBRE and University of Hawai'i Economic Research Organization that Hawai'i had already become a net population loser due to stagnant wages and high costs. The labor force had shrunk by 25,000 people since 2017. As a result, Hawai'i’s GDP growth, UHERO projected, would be half that of the Mainland’s by 2040.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at wwwkaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.

KAʻŪ TROJANS RACKED UP 14 POINTS AGAINST HPA ON SATURDAY at home. The loss to the Ka Makani of Hawai'i Preparatory Academy, was six points as Kaʻū continues to score and narrow losses as the season progresses, under coach Greg Rush. The Trojans, comprised of talent from Kaʻū High and Volcano School of the Arts & Sciences, next plays Honoka'a on Saturday, Oct. 1 at the ball field in Pāhala.

KAʻŪ TROJAN GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TAKES ON PAHOA with a home game on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at the Robert E Herkes Kaʻū District Gym. Start time is 5 p.m. for JV, followed by Varsity. 

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at wwwkaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.

 

See September issue of The Kaʻū Calendar
at www.kaucalendar.com, and in the
mail - Volcano, Kaʻū to South Kona.