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Thursday, May 26, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Thursday, May 26, 2022

May Day Goes Live for Junior High in Pāhala
A May Day program for middle school students, with families invited, recently graced the grounds of Kaʻū High
& Pāhala Elementary School, under the direction of Kumu Hula Debbie Ryder. May Day has been an annual tradition for
the historic school campus where the school year ends on Friday.  Photo by Otis Salmo

Members of the May Day Court at the junior high at Kaʻū High
 & Pāhala Elementary. Photo by Otis Salmo
LOUIS DANIELE IS THE NEW COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSIONER covering Kaʻū, a post formerly held by John Replogle. The other Planning Commissioner from Kaʻū is Michelle Galimba, its Vice-Chair who serves at large.
    Daniele, who lives in Ocean View, is General Manager of Olson Trust's Kaʻū Coffee Mill, having begun with the company picking coffee, working his way up through sales. He has also represented Ka'u Coffee at Specialty Coffee Association conventions around the country and has served on the board of Hawai'i Coffee Association.
    He was appointed to the Windward Planning Commission and confirmed by the County Council in April.
    Daniele was raised in New England, attending St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont, class of 1984, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford Connecticut, class of 1988. He worked in Hartford for an advertising firm until 1991 when he moved to Maui. For the first year on Maui, Daniele spent his time doing pastel landscapes of his new home with famed Maui artist Richard Letney. During his early years in the Islands, Daniele worked with Maui sculptor Tom Faugh.

New Planning Commissioner Louis Daniele,
representing Kaʻū Coffee at the Hawai' Coffee
Association booth in Boston this Year.

    While on Maui, Daniele became involved with Campaign Recycle Maui. He recalls its mission was twofold: "Educating the public and businesses on diverting green waste from the county land fill waste stream and to grind up the green waste and wind row the material until it became rich soil for sale back to the community." Daniele worked as the nursery manager for Haiku Farms Nursery and Landscape Co., on Maui, learning of the flora of Hawai'i. In 2004 he moved to the Big Island, settling in Ocean View two years later where he lives with his wife Kalikoweo Keolanui, Assistant Manager of Kaʻū Coffee Mill.
    He said that Kaʻū Coast preservation is very important to him, along with policies that encourage economic development of the area and create more employment, particularly in the agricultural sector.

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/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.htmltml

THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HAVE  THE HIGHEST NEW CASE RATE FOR COVID IN THE  COUNTRY, according to The New York Times Covid tracker, which shows 86 new cases a day per 100,000 people in its May 27 report, a 56 percent increase in the last two weeks. The Hawai' County rate reported is 78 new cases per 100,000 people, a 53 percent increase.

    The state reports about 1,260 new cases a day throughout the islands, not including unreported home tests, which are widely used in this state. It also reports the presence of new strains from South Africa, including one case on this island. The strains are reported to be more transmissible than previous strains.
   Dr. Josh Green, the Lieutenant Governor, said in his update on Wednesday that lots of people are contracting Covid but the illness is less severe than in previous surges. He called it more "like a subacute illness like a cold or a flu." He recommended masking "if you are vulnerable" and noted that very few people are hospitalized with Covid, with nine statewide in the ICU. "Not many people are in the hospital. You have been fighting this off very well."
    CDC recommends staying home for five days after the onset of symptoms, or if testing positive but asymptomatic. Dr. Scott Miscovich, who is known for running Covid tests on Hawai'i Island and throughout the state, said five days is not long enough, and recommended a negative antigen test before interacting with people after testing positive.
    The CDC and state Department of Health recently recommended COVID-19 boosters for keiki five to 11 years of age and second boosters for those 50 and older, as well as younger folks who are immunocompromised. State Department of Health Director Elizabeth Char, MD said, “It’s exciting that children 5 to 11 years of age can now get added protection from a booster shot. This is especially important at a time when COVID-19 case counts are increasing across the state.”
    COVID shots and boosters are available at the Longs/CVS pharmacy in Pāhala and through Bay Clinic in Nāʻālehu and Ka'u Hospital & Rural Health Clinic in Pāhala.

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/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.htmltml

THE LIFT THE BAR ACT IS NEW LEGISLATION aiming to reinstate access to federal benefits for immigrants, who must wait five years after entering the country before becoming eligible. Sen. Mazie Hirono, who introduced the legislation this week, said the delay in federal benefits to immigrants is "due to unjust policy enacted nearly 30 years ago. In 1996, Congress passed restrictive welfare and immigration legislation that created unnecessary barriers, including an arbitrary five-year waiting period, that delay access to crucial benefits and services for millions of immigrants."
    The Lifting Immigrant Families Through Benefits Access Restoration Act would remove these barriers and restore access to public programs including Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program,

and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for lawfully present immigrants, enabling them "to access the benefits they need and deserve," said Hirono. Rep. Pramilla Jayapal (D-WA)  introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
    Hirono noted that "Immigrants have kept us healthy, safe, and fed on the frontlines of this pandemic—highlighting just how critical they are to our communities, while also bearing the brunt of this crisis. Despite the vital role they play, unjust policy enacted nearly 30 years ago prevents tax-paying immigrants, including women and their children, from accessing critical services and programs, including health care, food and housing assistance, and more. As we work to build a more equitable society, the LIFT the BAR Act will help end decades of injustice and strengthen our entire economy by removing these arbitrary barriers and allowing millions of immigrants to live healthier, safer and more economically secure lives," said Hirono.

       "The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep inequities and made clear that our communities are stronger and healthier when all of us have access to services that meet our basic needs," said Marielena Hincapie, Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center. "For 25 years, millions of people in the United States have been denied access to care and economic supports because of their immigration status. We are proud to support the LIFT the BAR Act, which would rectify a decades-old injustice and take a major step forward in addressing racial, wealth, and health disparities in this country." 

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/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.htmltml

A FREE KANAKAPILA CONCERT on Sunday, May 29 at 11 a.m. at the Outdoor Pavilion behind United Methodist Church in Nāʻālehu. Students from Keoki Sereno's free ukulele classes will be performing. Refreshments to follow.
Become a Vendor at the 3rd Annual Experience Volcano Festival
The festival will be on Saturday, July 30th and Sunday, July 31st from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Last year, over 2,500 visitors attended and over 40 events were featuring during the EVH festival. All vendor spaces are $50 for both days of the festival. Sign up as a vendor or sponsor at experiencevolcano.com. With questions, contact experiencevolcano@gmail.com.