The Kaʻū Calendar News Briefs, Hawaiʻi Island: Sep 9, 2022

Friday, September 09, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022

Trojan girls volleyball remains undefeated in Division 2 play and stood up to Division 1 team Hilo
High on Friday evening at home, but Hilo won in the end. See more below. Photo by Julia Neal

THE COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN TEAM sent out a reminder Friday regarding an online survey of the public due on Sunday Sept. 18. The message says, "As you may know, and in connection to the General Plan Comprehensive Review, our team is exploring improvements to our community engagement program. It is our hope to continue learning from our past experiences as we move forward by clarifying the role and guidelines for both staff and Action Committees. Our goal is to better align our process to create a meaningful and engaging way for community to partner with the County and implement the CDPs."

The Kaʻū Community Development Pan is available to read at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzs8IWvzRasSPfTh0yonvFZ3IiHdOIB3FaLWyzIPK8kgWSYw/viewform

The Kaʻū Community Development Plan Action Committee is comprised of Ka'u citizens tasked with helping move forward the Kaʻū CDP, in partnership with the Hawai'i County Planing Department and other community stakeholders. However, all public meetings sponsored by the county with the Action Committee were recently canceled by the county, siting staff changes and an effort to better plan community engagement.

Kaʻū's Action Committee members are: Leina'ala Enos, Babette Morrow, Catherine Williams, Kaohinani Mokuali'i, Pernell Hanoa, Jason Masters, Kaweni Ibarra and Jessie Ke. See story at http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022_08_22_archive.html

According to the county Planning Department's CDP team, "results of this survey will directly inform our direction moving forward; therefore, your participation is extremely important. It should only take about 10 minutes of your time." It asks that Kaʻū citizens "Please share this link with your network. Please be on the lookout for more information and opportunities for you to contribute to this effort as we seek to improve our community engagement practices. Mahalo for your participation!" With questions, contact cdp@hawaiicounty.gov.

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.

A HAWAI'I COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY report was recently published, and the state and county are looking for public input by the end of September.

Access the documents on the website https://planning.hawaii.gov/spb/ceds/. Send comments via email to hi.ceds2022@gmail.com.

Hawai'i Island Economic Development Board, Inc. is under contract with the state Office of Planning & Sustainable Development and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration to develop the plan.

The Vision section of the plan states: "Building upon Hawai'i County's healthy pre-pandemic economy, we strive to develop a more vibrant, sustainable economy; improve resilience to systemic shocks; identify and foster opportunities of shared prosperity for Hawai'i Countys diverse Communities."

The study identifies common themes and trends: Affordability, Cost of Living, Poverty; Diversification; Education & Workforce Development; Housing, Infrastructure; Innovation & Technology; Labor Force Shortages; and Water.

The study says the authors recognize "Hawai'i's geographic isolation supports an economy based on 'local' industry sectors and human capital." It identified ten key sectors and industry clusters: Agriculture & Food Systems; Astronomy & Technology; Creative Arts & Industries; Education, Knowledge Creation & Workforce Development; Energy & Resiliency; Environment & Climate Change; Government; Health & Wellness; and Hospitality & Tourism.

The 110-page report has numerous charts regarding affordability in Hawai'i County, as well as a list of the types of jobs and average earnings.

Its also discusses the future of such industries as agriculture, saying its threats include: farmers and ranchers aging out of the industry; cost of living and doing business; housing; invasive species and pests; ideology and misinformation and disinformation regarding science data; over regulation; labor shortages; shipping and transportation challenges; climate change; cost of land and more.

There is also a section on economic impact of the telescopes on Maunakea.

See the entire document at https://planning.hawaii.gov/spb/ceds/. Send comments via email to hi.ceds2022@gmail.com.

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.

HELPING HAWAI'I SMALL BUSINESSES EXPAND INTO OVERSEAS MARKETS is the aim of $500 K approved by congress. According to Sen. Mazie Hirono, a member of the Senate Small Business Committee, over the past decade, the funding has provided more than $5 million for Hawai'i, supporting creation of more than 900 jobs. The half million dollars will go to the state Department of Business & Economic Development through the U.S. Small Business Administration's State Trade Expansion Program.

Hirono recently hosted national SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman to visit small businesses in Hawai'i and organizations that support them. She said over the last decade the program enabled Hawai'i small businesses generate over $80 million in new exports and hundreds of jobs.

She noted that only 1 percent of America's more than 30 million small businesses export their products and services because they often lack the relationships and expertise necessary to secure business in the global marketplace.
Congress created STEP in 2010 to increase opportunities for small businesses to engage in international trade. The program awards grants to state economic development agencies so they can help small businesses attend international trade shows and connect with customers in foreign markets. The grants also allow economic development agencies to provide counseling and training to help small businesses understand the rules of international trade.

HAWAI'I COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY KELDEN WALTJEN DISAGREES WITH A STATE SUPRME COURT DECISION issued this week and is taking his concerns to the governor and to the Hawai'i Legislature. Waltjen issued this statement on Thursday:

“Today, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court released its opinion in State v. Richard Obrero, which determined

Prosecuting Attorney Kelden
Waltjen disagrees with a Hawai'i
Supreme Court decision.

that Hawai'i Revised Statutes Section 801-1 precludes the State from initiating felony prosecutions by way of complaint and preliminary hearing. Our Office is extremely disappointed in the Court’s decision in Obrero.

"This decision contradicts established criminal law practices and procedures which have been in place in Hawai‘i for the past forty years. It also disregards the intent of voters, interferes with law enforcement, and jeopardizes public safety. The decision impedes the commencement of criminal proceedings in arrest and charge situations for serious cases, including but not limited to murder, kidnapping, robbery, domestic violence, drug trafficking, and sexual assault.

"As a result, offenders may be released until prosecutors are able to proceed via information charging or schedule a grand jury presentation. To make matters worse, not all criminal charges are eligible to be initiated via information charging and opportunities for grand jury presentation are limited.

"Here on Hawai‘i Island, we are only afforded grand jury opportunities three times a month—twice per

month in Hilo and once per month in Kona. Our Office agrees with the dissenting opinion of Chief Justice Rectenwald, which provides in relevant part that the ‘fact remains that the Majority today reaches a result that neither the legislature nor the electorate ever intended.’ I have reached out to our Hawai‘i State lawmakers and the Governor for their assistance to expedite the amendment of Section 801-1 to limit the adverse effects of Obrero. This decision will not deter our Office from seeking justice for victims and working toward making Hawai‘i Island a safer place.”

Trojan girls stood up to Division 2 team Hilo
High on Friday. Photo by Julia Neal

KA'Ū TROJANS STOOD UP TO HILO HIGH IN GIRLS
VOLLEYBALL Friday in home games. Coach Josh Ortega noted that Kaʻū was responsible for recovering the ball in a series of "incredible digs." Principal Sharon Beck said she was impressed that the JV and Varsity teams never gave up and noted that Hilo, a Division 1 team, probably didn't expect the Ka'u Division 2 team to play so amazingly well. In the end, Trojans JV's lost. Varsity lost to Hilo 16-25, 17-25 and 19 25, but Trojans remain undefeated in Division 1 play.

The games were well attended at Kaʻū District gym, with families driving the Hilo players out to Pahala for the event.

For Football, Kaʻū travels to Kohala this Saturday, with start time at 1 p.m.

In Cross Country, Kaʻū goes to Kamehameha on Saturday for an islandwide track event that begins at 9 a.m.

For Bowling, Kaʻū travels to Kona bowl this Saturday for an all schools event at 9:05 a.m.

Riflery competition this Saturday sees Kaʻū traveling to Kamehameha School in Kea'au for an all island event beginning at 10 a.m.

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

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022

The Perched Pond At Fissure 22 is one of the 30 artworks by Dominic Tidmarsh to be shown at
Volcano Art Gallery from Sept. 24 through Nov 6. The show is called From Pele to Poli'ahu:
the Kuleana of Change. See more below.

THE DEATH OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II, BRITAIN'S LONGEST REIGNING MONARCH, on Thursday drew an order from Gov. David Ige and Pres. Joe Biden to fly state and U.S. flags at half staff.

Ige said, "The State of Hawaiʻi joins the nation and the rest of the world in mourning the loss of Queen Elizabeth II. Many years ago, Hawaiʻi hosted the Queen at Washington Place. Her graciousness and her leadership will always be remembered." The governor pointed to the Pres. Joe Biden's proclamation, which is posted here.

Queen Elizabeth visited Hawai'i twice during her 96 years, once in 1963 on her way home from Fiji,
when she met with Gov John Burns. The second trip was in 1975 when she met with Gov. George Ariyoshi.
Hawaiian royalty also visited Britain over the centuries, including King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamamalu in 1824. In 1887, Queen Kapiolani and Queen-to-be Lili'uokalani attended the Golden Jubilee hosted by Queen Victoria in London. This year in Britain, Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee honored her 70 years on the throne. A companion, free public Jubilee event was held in Honolulu at Iolani Palace on June 3 to "remember the close relationships that were formed in the 19th century between the Hawaiian monarchs and the British royals," said the message from Iolani Palace.

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, her son Prince Charles ascended to the throne. His reign, as King Charles III, though largely ceremonial, includes oversight of Great Britain and the United Kingdom Overseas Territories across the planet. They are: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Monserrat, Pitcairn, British Indian Ocean Territory, St. Helena, Ascension & Tristan da Cunha, Turks & Caicos Islands, as well as the uninhabited British Antarctic Territories South George & the South Sandwich Islands.

Australia, Canada and New Zealand are independent countries but Queen Elizabeth and now King Charles are recognized as their royal leaders. Other independent countries that recognize the King of England are: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Solomon Islands, St Kitts & Nevis, and St Vincent & the Grenadines.

Closer to his home, Charles is recognized as King of the independent Channel Islands.

Artist Dominic Tidmarsh pictured with original watercolor
and gouache titled End Of The Road.
Image from Volcano Art Center

FROM PELE TO POLI'AHU: THE KULEANA OF CHANGE is the new exhibition at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, from Sept. 24 to Nov. 6. The exhibit presents approximately 30 new original artworks by Waimea-based artist Dominic Tidmarsh. While the exhibit is free, park entrance fees apply.
The works of art are inspired by the life-changing experiences of living through the eruption of Kilauea in 2018, and the artist's subsequent relocation to Waimea. Tidmarsh compares and contrasts the lands of Pele and Poli'ahu and presents the work as an "expression of the responsibility we all bear to embrace the inevitability of change in our lives," says a VAC statement. As an expression of this Kuleana, Tidmarsh chose to work extensively in media that he had never used before and to explore and develop new methods of working.
The main body of work consists of a series of landscape paintings intricately rendered in soft pastels, a medium not traditionally associated with either precision or detail. In addition, a series of miniatures of Mauna Kea executed in colored pencil stand in vivid contrast to dramatic large-scale watercolor paintings inspired by the eruption of 2018.
Tidmarsh was born in 1964 in Trinidad, West Indies. He was educated in the United Kingdom and also lived in Indonesia before moving to the United States in 1981. In 1982 he attended the Maine Photographic Workshops followed by the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC where he earned a BFA in Photography in 1988. Tidmarsh moved to Hawai'i Island in 1996. A self-taught painter, he has participated in numerous solo and group shows in Hawai'i. Recent awards include two Purchase Recognition Awards from the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and back-to-back Juror's Choice Awards in the Hawai'i Nei 2015 and 2016 art contests. His 3D topographic work can also be seen at the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park visitor center.
Known for its rich sense of color and meticulous attention to detail, Tidmarsh's work reflects an interdisciplinary approach to creating art. Inspired above all by the natural landscapes of Hawai'i, he also draws inspiration from a variety of other fields such as Volcanology, Astronomy, Archaeo-Astronomy and Ornithology. "Through the incredible amount of detail characteristic of Tidmarsh's work paired with the splendid luminosity of his new medium, Dominic alludes to the the richness of texture and light which only the vast landscapes of Hawai'i Island offer. This collection of works is not to be missed," states Gallery Director Emily C. Weiss.
Volcano Art Center is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization created in 1974 whose mission is to promote, develop and perpetuate the artistic, cultural and environmental heritage of Hawaiʻi through arts and education. The exhibit is sponsored by the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Visit www.volcanoartcenter.org for more information, or contact Weiss at gallery@volcanoartcenter.org.

AN M4.2 QUAKE rocked Pāhala like a boat in the ocean Thursday morning at 2:04 a.m. USGS reported the location as six miles (9 km) ENE of Pāhala at a depth of 21 mi (33 km) below sea level. The earthquake had no apparent impact on either Mauna Loa or Kīlauea volcanoes.

"This earthquake is part of the seismic swarm under the Pāhala area, which has been going on since 2019. Earthquakes in this region have been observed at least as far back as the 1960s," said the USGS statement. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to monitor Hawaiian volcanoes for any changes.

KA'Ū TROJANS GIRLS VOLLEYBALL JV beat St Joseph's Thursday night at home, in five sets. Trojans lost the first set 18-25 but came back to take the second and third, 25-13 and 25-18. St Joe's returned with a 16-25 win in the fourth. The Trojans put away their opponents with a fifth set at 15-9. Volleyball returns at home again Friday at 5 p.m. in Kaʻū District Gym with JV first, Varsity play to follow against Hilo High Vikings.

POLICE ARRESTED TWENTY-SIX MOTORISTS during the week of Aug. 29 through Sept. 4 for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Six of the drivers were involved in a traffic accident. Four of the drivers were under the age of 21.
So far this year, there have been 685 DUI arrests compared with 738 during the same period last year.

This is a decrease of 7.2 percent.
There have been 557 major accidents so far this year compared with 543 during the same period last year. This is an increase of 2.6 percent.
To date, there were 24 fatal crashes (one fatal crash reclassified on 05/30/22 due to a medical condition) resulting in 26 fatalities (one of which had multiple deaths, and one reclassified due to a medical condition), compared with 16 fatal crashes, resulting in 16 fatalities for the same time last year. This represents an increase of 50 percent for fatal crashes, and 62.5 percent for fatalities.
Police promise that DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue island wide.

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