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Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Kaʻū News Briefs May 29, 2024

Kaukau 4 Keiki is first come first served for free summer food, with signups online starting Thursday.
Photo from Kaukau 4 Keiki

SIGNING UP FOR KAUKAU 4 KEIKI BEGINS THURSDAY AT 8:30 A.M. for Kaʻū, exclusively online through Vibrant Hawai'i. It is first come, first served and usually fills up quickly, serving those families most savvy with the internet who have access to filling out the form online. 
Shelf stable foods are provided weekly through Kaukau 4 Keiki
 with help last year from Pahala Food Hub Captain Marlene Freitas.
. Photo by Julia Neal
    The free food program runs in Kaʻū and Volcano from June 19 through July 25.
    There is no selection of individual families by need. All of Kaʻū is considered low income with free school meals for all students.                  According to USDA guidelines, any family getting free meals when school is in session can apply to sign up for Kaukau 4 Keiki unless getting free USDA meals elsewhere during the summer break.
    The online registration form notes that "Space is limited and filled on a first come, first served basis, using the timestamp of when my registration was submitted" online. 
    Kaukau 4 Keiki is a U.S. Department of Agriculture free summer food program that seeks to provide nutrition that many children need and routinely receive during school through free school breakfast and lunch programs. Keiki can be up to 18 years of age, up to 22 for the disabled. 
    Vibrant Hawai'i administers the program across the island for 5,000 recipients at 32 locations. 
    For Kaʻū, the Vibrant Hawai'i website lists the pick up days and sites as Wednesdays at Volcano School of the Arts & Sciences from noon to 3:30 p.m., at Pahala Hongwanji from noon to 12:30 p.m., and at Na'alehu Resilience Hub from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.  The free food pick up at Ocean View is at St. Jude's Church on Thursdays from 11 a.m to 1 p.m.      
     Families who miss any two pick up days during the summer program will have their names removed and their food given to families on the waitlist. Those who don't arrive during the pickup time will also have their food given to families on the waitlist.
    The online application requires families to agree to "not receive summer meals from another USDA Summer Meal program, such as Summer Fun or DOE meal sites; this is considered 'double dipping' and is against USDA rules and regulations."
     The food baskets include shelf stable and fresh foods with menus. 
    
Fresh vegetables come with the free food that aims to replace free meals at schools during the summer break through
Kaukau 4 Keiki, last year with youth volunteers.  Sign up starting Thursday. Photo by Julia Neal
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.

STEWARDSHIP AT THE SUMMIT RAINFOREST RESTORATION program resumes in June at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Protect native ecosystem by removing non-native plants like invasive Himalyan ginger from rainforest. Wear sturdy hiking shoes and long pants. Bring a hat, raingear, day pack, snacks and water. Gloves and tools are provided. Parental or guardian accompaniment or written consent is required for people under the age of 18. Visit the park website for additional planning details: https://www.nps.gov/.../planyourvisit/summit_stewardship.htm.
   The next opportunities are June 22 and 28, 7:45 a.m. to noon. Meet Jane and Paul Field outside at Kīlauea Visitor Center.

Two volunteer visitors hold clippers above a thicket of invasive Himalayan ginger.
NPS photo by Janice Wei
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.
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Kaʻū News Briefs May 28, 2024

This illustration is posted on Pualu'u Village facebook along with Eva Liu's response 
to a political cartoon, showing a construction crane holding up a turtle on Black Sand Beach.

EVA LIU, PRINCIPAL OF BLACK SAND BEACH, LLC, responded to a political cartoon published in May in Hawai‘i Tribune Herald. It showed a construction crane with her company's name on it holding up a turtle on Black Sand Beach. 
    She wrote: “Responsible journalism is a phrase that most of us want to believe in. Unfortunately, Gary Hoff's cartoon last Sunday was both irresponsible and beneath the quality of journalism at the Hawai‘i Tribune Herald. The cartoon was blatantly wrong and quite simply unfair. The Trib needs to do better. 
    “Our partners at Black Sand Beach, LLC are committed to community, culture and conservation. We are committed to do what’s pono. Punalu‘u Village was originally developed by C. Brewer in the 1970’s, and the entire complex is zoned around a resort concept. That said, we are not building a resort. We are focused on creating a community centered around health and wellness that will serve residents and visitors
Punalu'u Black Sand Beach photo from Punalu'u Village facebook.

alike. 
    “We spent the last three years listening to the community and downsized the project from the previous owners’ plan of building 2,900 units to a much smaller concept of 225 units located about ¼ mile from the shoreline. We’ve already spent over a million dollars to upgrade the area’s infrastructure including the water and wastewater systems that serves the existing condominiums, golf estates and the public beach park facilities. 
    “We recognize that some in the community don’t want anything to happen in Punalu‘u Village. Leave it as it is. We don’t think that it’s pono. Past decades of neglect and 'leaving things as is' have proven otherwise. 
    “We’re trying to do the right thing. 
    “We’ve committed to move all commercial activities off the shoreline, protect Native Hawaiian gathering and fishing rights, restore Kawaihuokauila Pond, work to limit or eliminate tour buses at the beach, establish a Shoreline Conservation Management Area, and to create a community-led and community-driven foundation to manage an steward the conservation area and wahi pana (sacred sites).          “Unfortunately, Hoff’s cartoon contributes to the spread of misinformation by inaccurately suggesting that we’re displacing the honu and harming the environment when in fact, we’re actively protecting the honu.” 
    After the May public hearing on the Punalu‘u project, Black Sand Beach, LLC posted on its facebook page Punalu‘u Community: “After a day of testimony, we have entered into a contested case process. We will continue working closely with the community to address concerns and ensure a sustainable, respectful development process. Mahalo to all!”

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.

THE PUNALU'U CONTESTED CASE, regarding a Special Management Area Permit proposal for Black Sand Beach, LLC’s proposed development. is set for July. The parties, Black Sand Beach, LLC, County of Hawai‘i, and the intervenors, the Center for Biological Diversity and a community group, ‘Iewe Hanau o Ka ‘Āina, have agreed to a mediator for the settlement conference. County rules require this mandatory
settlement conference between the parties before any contested case can proceed. The conference could be short or take some time.
    If a settlement between the parties on the Punalu‘u issue can’t be reached during the conference in July, then a contested case will go forth. Should the contested case proceed, it could be a lengthy process. A hearings officer who operates as a judge, must be chosen, briefing deadlines set, and the quasi-judicial trial held. At the end, the hearings officer makes a final determination, which will be sent to the Windward Planning Commission, which can choose whether to accept the recommendation. Windward Planning Commission would also have for its consideration, the two days of testimony and written comments from the public.
    The Windward Planning Commission voted to accept the Contested Case interventions at the
May 6 public hearing.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.

Malama Kai Foundation's Reef Talk on Friday, May 30 will be live streamed on
YouTube channel@malamakai. This is a free event, but donations are always welcome.
 Contact Kater Hiney, Malama Kai Foundation, Reef Talks Coordinator, for more information
 at kateralisha@gmail.com,








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