Kaʻū News Briefs, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022

Small cottage, big fireworks under the New Years Eve midnight moon in Pāhala, with 2023 coming on. Photo by Julia Neal

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I GREETS THE NEW YEAR WITH NEW FUNDING that involves many community partnerships. UH is a major research institution and economic generator for the state, said Congressman Ed Case. The funds that he initiated and supported are included in the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations measure recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden. “This funding measure continues to showcase a very productive partnership between our Hawai’i congressional delegation and UH, our flagship institution of higher education and engine of our economy, with its excellent record of attracting hundreds of millions in research funding,” said Case.
    In the funding package includes $38 million for the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program, which provides continuing support to the UH Hilo Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes. There is $83 million for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Climate Adaptation Science Centers, which includes the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center based out of UH Mānoa. These Centers provide regionally relevant scientific information, tools and techniques to resource managers and communities in Hawai‘i in response to our changing climate.

Triple works of fire above Pāhala New Years Eve.
Photo by Julia Neal

    There is $1 million for UH’s Office of Indigenous Innovation to establish an indigenous data science hub to engage students in experiential learning opportunities and foster collaboration between indigenous researchers and cultural practitioners in developing community-derived, culturally grounded and globally relevant climate resilience strategies. The hub will be in North Kohala.
    A $24 million allocation supports the Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions program, a $3 million increase from last year. This program provides funding support to institutions of higher education in the States of Alaska and Hawai‘i including UH to improve and expand their capacity to serve Native Hawaiian students. An $18 million allocation is for the Strengthening Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions program, an $8 million increase from last year. These funds help undergraduate institutions like UH expand their capacity to serve Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander students.
    Funds totaling $28 million for the Centers of Excellence program, a $4 million increase from last year, supports health professions schools across the country, including the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence at the University of Hawai‘i John A. Burns School of Medicine, that seek to recruit, train and retain underrepresented minority students and faculty.
    Another $4 million supports work of the Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity at UH in advancing indigenous research and policy solutions to achieve health equity.

A fireball on the street in Pāhala New Years Eve. Photo by Julia Neal

    Funding includes $6.5 million for the UH Center to complete construction of the Early Phase Clinical Research Center on its Kaka‘ako campus. The 17,000 square foot outpatient early phase clinical trial clinic—the first of its kind in State of Hawai‘i—will provide Hawai‘i cancer patients who have exhausted traditional treatments with greater access to novel clinical trials across multiple disciplines. The funds include $1.8 million for the Hawai‘i Public Health Institute to develop and train navigators to support kūpuna and family caregivers. It is a joint initiative between UH-Mānoa and HawaiʻiPublic Health Institute.
    The funding includes $101 million for the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, which includes the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at UH Mānoa. NDPC, a seven-member professional alliance, is the principal means through which the Federal Emergency Management Agency identifies, develops, tests and delivers training to state and local emergency responders. NDPC has trained over 2.5 million people throughout the United States and its territories.
    “In my work on the House Appropriations Committee, I know that if I support these programs at the national level then UH and other Hawai‘i institutions and communities will benefit locally,” said Case. Such programs of benefit to UH include:
   An allocation for $470 million for Advanced Research Projects – Energy and High Energy Physics, which directly supports groundbreaking research at UH aimed at rapidly developing energy technologies that can address the nation’s critical economic, environmental and energy security challenges; $144 million for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Engagement, an increase of $7 million above the FY 2022 enacted level, to inspire young people to pursue future careers in science and engineering. This includes $45 million for NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project, which funds Hawai‘i STEM programs.

Aerials big and all over the sky in Pāhala New Years Eve. Photo by Julia Neal

    There is $80 million for the Sea Grant Program, which supports coastal and Great Lakes communities through research, extension and education. These funds help support the Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Program at UH that concentrates on promoting healthy coastal ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, resilient communities and economies and environmental literacy and workforce development. Funds totaling $25 million will support facilities like the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on the Island of Maui, the world’s most advanced solar observatory. 

    Fifteen million goes to Energy Transitions Initiatives, a $5 million increase from FY 2022. This program, which aims to advance self-reliant island and remote communities through the development of resilient energy systems, helps recipients who face unique energy challenges due to their remote location, fossil fuel dependency and limited access to affordable infrastructure improvements. Nine million is for the Resilient Innovative Sustainable Economies via University Partnership (RISE-UP) Initiative, a $1.5 million increase from FY 2022. This program seeks to leverage the technical expertise of public universities located in isolated states that play an important role in our national security. 

    "The universities are working to create incubators, develop and commercialize scalable technologies and build a workforce to meet future national security needs in areas such as clean energy and marine technology and economy," said Case.

    In Direct Support for College Students funding includes $24.6 billion for federal student aid programs, which includes increasing the maximum Pell Grant award by $500 to $7,395 for the 2023–24 academic

A smokey night from fireworks in Pāhala. Photo by Julia Neal

year. It further includes $1.2 billion for the Federal Work Study Program, an increase of $20 million above the FY 2022 enacted level, and $910 million for the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program, an increase of $15 million above the Fiscal Year 2022 enacted level. 

    Case also secured an instruction to the U.S. Department of State to consider increasing the number of scholarships available for Pacific Islanders to study in the United States, many of whom study at UH. This is a key component of Case’s efforts to re-engage with the nations of the Pacific across multiple areas including education. Case’s Appropriations Committee is responsible for allocating some $1.7 trillion in funding to federal government agencies, departments and organizations on an annual basis.

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Lumen Zheng on a 260 mile run
around Hawai'i Island New Years
Eve makes his way through Ka'u.
Photo by Julia Neal

THE GO BIG 260 MILE RUNNING FOOT RACE came through Kaʻū after starting in Hilo on New Years Eve and is expected to wrap up in four days after encircling the island. Both men and women are running the event.            

    Volunteering for race support from Volcano and Kaʻū are Janice Wei and Elizabeth Fien, supporting 24 year old Lumin Zheng, of Shenchen, China. Zheng flew to Hawai'i Island for the race. He and other competitors nap and taken in nourishment all along the route, without staying in homes or visitor accommodations. One of the organizers is Alyx Barnett of Volcano. The runners experienced rain squalls and fireworks as night approached on New Years Eve.

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UPDATING ZONING AND SUBDIVISION CODES for Hawai'i County is the subject of another round of public outreach in Ka'u and beyond by the Planning Department.  The events are scheduled for Jan. 17 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Hilo Aupuni Conference Room and at Waimea Community Center, and Jan. 18 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  at Pāhala Community Center and West Hawaiʻi Civic Center Bldg. G.  

    The County of Hawai'i is updating zoning and subdivision codes in Chapters 25 and 23 of the 1983 Hawai'i County Code, which were last reviewed in 1996. "The code updates intend to increase consistency and predictability, incorporate best practices in land use and zoning, promote desirable and equitable development, and meet the needs of the Hawai'i Island community," says the statement from the Planning Department.
    The process is expected to last approximately 18 months and include several rounds of community engagement with virtual and in-person public meetings, focus groups, and online open houses. The first round of community engagement was completed in October 2022 with two in-person open houses and an online virtual open house.
    Summaries and more information can be found on the project website http://COHcodeupdate.com.

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