Monday, April 18, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Monday, April 18, 2022

The young ladies of Pāhala's Hālau Hula ‘O Leionālani performed at Hilo Hawaiian Hotel on Monday. See more below.
Photo by Brenda Iokepa-Moses
HAWAI'I SUSTAINABILITY WAS ADDRESSED IN PALAU BY MAYOR MITCH ROTH during the Our Ocean Conference. Roth returned from the event over the weekend, after joining Celeste Connors of Hawai'i Green Grown in providing updates on the Aloha+ Challenge and on the county''s efforts to further sustainable actions. Roth attended as the personal guest of President Surangel Whipps, Jr. of Palau.
     Other presenters included United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry who is also former Secretary of State. Also speaking was Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero of Guam.
     Roth said, “It was an honor to be personally invited to the Our Ocean Conference by President Whipps to showcase all of the amazing things we are doing in Hawaiʻi to combat climate change and build a sustainable island chain where our keiki can thrive and succeed for generations to come. We truly believe that we can be a classroom for the world when it comes to the vision and practice of sustainable actions,
Mayor Mitch Roth, John Kerry and Celeste Connors
at the Our Ocean Conference in Palau.
Photo from County of Hawai'i
and creating global partnerships to ensure that happens will be paramount to our success. Fortunately, through the work of organizations like Hawaiʻi Green Growth, we were able to synthesize our approach and gain the attention of global leaders on the forefront of climate action.”
     Our Ocean Conference was held on April 13-14 in Koror, with pre-event receptions and meetings beginning April 12. The Republic of Palau is the first small island developing state to host the Our Ocean Conference. The theme was “Our Ocean, Our People, Our Prosperity,” drawing on Palau’s rich tradition as an ocean society and focused on islander perspectives and approaches to ensuring the health of the ocean.      The U.S. Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs supports Our Ocean Conferences. The statement from the mayor's office said they "have catalyzed unprecedented action by the global community to fight marine pollution, acidification, and unsustainable and illegal fishing and promote the blue economy and maritime security. The Our Ocean conferences focus on the key ocean issues of our time – marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, marine pollution, and climate-related impacts on the ocean. In addition, the conferences emphasize commitments for action by participants and other stakeholders around the globe." 
     Hawaiʻi Green Growth is a United Nations Local 2030 hub that brings together diverse stakeholders committed to economic, social, and environmental priorities. Their work seeks to connect generations of indigenous knowledge and systems-thinking with modern science, technology, and policy to support scalable solutions that can be applied globally. 

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar/.See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/03/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano
Hālau Hula ‘O Leionālani, of Pāhala, traveled to Hilo Monday to help launch the Merrie Monarch Festival with
a performance at Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. Photo by Brenda Iokepa-Moses

The young ladies of Hālau Hula ‘O Leionālani, with the ladies
 of the halau looking on during outdoor performances Easter
 Sunday at Pāhala Hongwanji. Photo by Julia Neal
HULA SISTERS FROM PĀHALA AND JAPAN graced Pāhala Hongwanji on Easter Sunday. They performed again on Monday at Hilo Hawaiian Hotel on Monday in the premiere hula performance for the opening of the Merrie Monarch Festival.  
    Hālau Hula ‘O Leionālani, under the direction of Kumu Debbie Ryder, kicked off Merrie Monarch in Pahala by inviting halau members and their families to an outdoor Easter celebration of dance and food. Pop up tents Halau families popped up tents that surrounded the edge of the grounds of the Hongwanji. Hula, music by the band Ke'aiwa and a luncheon rounded out the afternoon.
      The halau traveled to Hilo on Monday to become the first performers in the opening of Merrie Monarch events by dancing at Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. 
      The schedule for Merrie Monarch includes the Arts and Crafts Fair this Wednesday through Friday, which often features many Kaʻū and Volcano artists and craftsmen. This Wednesday is the  Ho'oike Performances at 6 p.m. at Edith Kanaka'ole Stadium. 

The old Japanese Schoolhouse in Pāhala serves as the learning place for Hālau Hula ‘O Leionālani,
with an Easter and Merrie Monarch Celebration this past Sunday. Photo By Brenda Iokepa-Moses
At the same venue, Miss Aloha Hula is on Thursday and the Hula Kahiko competition is Friday, followed by the Hula 'Auana & Awards on Saturday. All of the competitive events at the stadium begin at 6 p.m. and are live streamed Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Go to HawaiiNewsNow.com/MerrieMonarch or by click on the Merrie Monarch icon on the Hawaii News Now app each night.

Pop up tents sheltered families on the grounds of Pāhala Hongwanji, below monster mango trees, as Hālau Hula ‘O Leionālani celebrated Easter and the beginning of Merrie Monarch. Photo by Julia Neal

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar/.See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/03/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano

FIFTEEN MOTORISTS WERE ARRESTED during the week of April 11, through April 17. Hawai‘i Island police arrested 15 driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Four of the drivers were involved in a traffic accident. Two of the drivers were under the age of 21.
    So far this year, there have been 323 DUI arrests compared with 377 during the same period last year, a decrease of 14.3 percent.
There have been 217 major accidents so far this year compared with 237 during the same period last year, a decrease of 8.4 percent.
    To date, there were 10 fatal crashes, resulting in 12 fatalities (one of which had multiple deaths), compared with 8 fatal crashes, resulting in eight fatalities for the same time last year. This represents is an increase of 25 percent for fatal crashes, and 50 percent for fatalities.
    
Hawai'i Island Police promise that DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue island wide.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar/.See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/03/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano


See The Ka'u Calendar April edition at 
www.kaucalendar.com,
on newsstands and in the mail.