Kaʻū News Briefs, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023

An example of the kind of satellite dishes planned for land off Wood Valley Road by Academia Sinica Institute of
 Astronomy & Astrophysics. Photo from ASIAA

TEN PASSIVE RESEARCH SATELLITE DISHES, EACH 20 FEET WIDE, on six-foot posts, would be installed on two acres near the intersection of Wood Valley Road and Makakupu Road, according to a plan before the county Windward Planning Commission. The facility would include a catchment tank, portable toilet and 10-kilowatt solar array. 

    The satellite dishes are the project of Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics, based on the National Taiwan University campus, with a field office in Hilo. ASIAA operates two observational facilities on Hawai'i Island - the Submillimeter Array on the summit of Mauna Kea and the Y.T. Lee Array on Mauna Loa.
    The project up Wood Valley Road requires a Special Use Permit for being placed on agriculturally zoned land. According to the proposal, the satellite dishes would be passive. They would not emit any radio waves or noise and would be exclusively

or noise and would be exclusively focused on detecting Fast Radio Bursts from deep space. Fast Radio Bursts, though faint, help scientists to learn the history and more details about the universe. 

    The reason for choosing the Wood Valley area is that there is very little transmission from cell towers and other communications devices, making it "radio quiet," and desirable for detecting Fast Radio Bursts.
   The satellite dishes would remain in a fixed position aiming at the northeastern sky.

   The county Planning Commission met on whether to approve the Use Permit on Thursday. Planning commissioners Lou Daniele and John Cross recused themselves from voting. Daniele is manager of Kaʻū Coffee Mill owned by Olson Trust, which also owns the 10.78 acres where the two-acre project site would be located. Cross does contract work with the Trust. Without Cross and Daniele voting, there would have been no quorum. The Planning Commission decision on the satellite dishes was deferred to the Planning Commission's next meeting on Feb. 2.

Acadamia Sinica, which proposes a two acre satellite campus
 up Wood Valley Road, also operates the Submillimeter Array
shown here on Mauna Kea, in partnership with the Smithsonian
 Astrophysical Observatory. Photo by J. Weintoub

    The Planning Department gave a positive recommendation for the project, saying it would not crated a major disruption of agriculture on the currently propose site. When the project was proposed last year for a site further up in Wood Valley, on agricultural land owned by the Mizuno family, there were petitions and  letters from community members against the project, saying it would take land out of ag, be an eye sore and could set a precedent for more satellite dish farms in the area. The Planning Department gave a negative recommendation for the first project site based on the agricultural value of the land, the poor conditions of the undeveloped roads used to reach it, and the fact that such satellite arrays are not recommended for ag land in the Kaʻū Community Development Plan. The proposal for the Mizuno site was withdrawn.

    Supporters  of the project said the research institute could become an ally in keeping cell towers and other projects that would emit radio signals away from Wood Valley. Geoffrey Bower, Chief Scientist for Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics' Hawai'i Operations, said the new site makes it possible to see parts of the sky that are unobservable from other parts of the globe, creating an opportunity to make unique discoveries and to be the connector between other Fast Radio Burst observatories in North America and Asia.

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FREE FOOD

St. Jude's Hot Meals are free to those in need on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until food runs out, no later than noon. Volunteers from the community are welcome to help and can contact Karen at pooch53@gmail.com. Location is 96-8606 Paradise Circle Drive in Ocean View.  Those in need can also take hot showers from 9 a.m. to noon and use the computer lab from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Masks and social distancing required.

Free Meals Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are served from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Nā'ālehu Hongwanji. Volunteers prepare the food provided by 'O Ka'ū Kākou with fresh produce from its gardens on the farm of Eva Liu, who supports the project. Other community members also make donations and approximately 150 meals are served each day, according to OKK President Wayne Kawachi.

OUTDOOR MARKETS

Volcano Evening Market, Cooper Center, Volcano Village, Thursdays, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., with live music, artisan crafts, ono grinds, and fresh produce. See facebook.com.

Volcano Swap Meet, fourth Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to noon. Large variety of vendors with numerous products. Tools, clothes, books, toys, local made healing extract and creams, antiques, jewelry, gemstones, crystals, food, music, plants, fruits, and vegetables. Also offered are cakes, coffee, and shave ice. Live music.

Volcano Farmers Market, Cooper Center, Volcano Village on Sundays, 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., with local produce, baked goods, food to go, island beef and Ka'ū Coffee. EBT is used for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly Food Stamps. Call 808-967-7800.

'O Ka'ū Kākou Market, Nā'ālehu, Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Contact Nadine Ebert at 808-938-5124 or June Domondon 808-938-4875. See facebook.com/OKauKakouMarket.

Ocean View Community Market, Saturdays and Wednesdays, 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., corner of Kona Drive and Highway 11, where Thai Grindz is located. Masks mandatory. 100-person limit, social distancing required. Gate unlocked for vendors at 5:30 a.m., $15 dollars, no reservations needed. Parking in the upper lot only. Vendors must provide their own sanitizer. Food vendor permits required. Carpooling is encouraged.

Ocean View Swap Meet at Ocean View makai shopping center, near Mālama Market. Hours for patrons are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Vendor set-up time is 5 a.m. Masks required.

The Book Shack is open every Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Kauaha'ao Congregational Church grounds at 95-1642 Pinao St. in Wai'ōhinu.