Kaʻū News Briefs June 12, 2024

Community volunteers, including OKK and Men of PA'A, worked the grounds at Pāhala Community
Center on Saturday to make Kaʻū Coffee Festival a great success. Photo from Men of PA'A

OKK AND MEN OF PA'A TEAMED UP FOR KAʻŪ COFFEE FESTIVAL last weekend, helping put up and take down stages, tents, booths, seating, security, parking and munch more. Logistics and Operations Director for the event, Brenda Iokepa Moses, has worked with O Kaʻū Kakou for many years at Pāhala Community Center to manage logistics, traffic and compliance with county rules and regs for Kaʻū Coffee Festival.

Men of PA'A leadership team returned to Kaʻū on Tuesday to explore other service
opportunities in the community, meeting with Matt Baker and Vance Bjorn (in blue
shirts) who also volunteered for Kaʻū Coffee Festival, providing lighting.
Men of PA'A leader Iopa Maunakea is at right. Photo from Men of PA'A

   This year, the volunteer group Men of PA'A, fresh from helping with the Ironman Triathlon, joined in on the grounds of Pāhala Community Center to help OKK and other volunteers. The 15 men live in a group home in Puna designed for recovery from alcohol and drug addiction and to integrate men back into the community with purposeful work and interaction with people after spending time in prison. Their leader is Iopa Maunakea who has accomplished this work for some 20 years.
    Maunakea said, "Many people see Men of PA'A as a community-based organization known for our extensive service work. But it's important to understand the critical foundation of our mission: recovery from alcohol and drug addiction.  Without recovery, there is no service. Our core belief is that a man must first get good with himself. Only then can he positively impact his family, leading to a stronger, healthier community."
    Iokepa Moses and Kaʻū Coffee Growers Cooperative President Gloria Camba said they are very grateful to OKK, Men of PA'A and many other volunteers for helping to make the event a great success.        In addition to Chief of Men of PA'A being Maunakea, Board President is Kaʻū resident James Akau. Housing for Men of Pa'a for their three days of assistance at Kaʻū Coffee Festival was provided by Pāhala Plantation Cottages.

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COVID IS SPREADING AT A HIGH RATE THROUGHOUT THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, with about 14 new cases a day on Hawai'i Island, according to the state Department of Health. Up to 50 cases are reported as active in Kaʻū with up to 200 in Hilo, the place with the most COVID cases on this island. The entire state has about 2,263 cases. DOH sent out a reminder on Wednesday to ask the public "to be vigilant due to high levels of COVID-19 activity in Hawai'i. The DOH Respiratory Disease Dashboard
(https://health.hawaii.gov/docd/disease-types/respiratory-viruses/) shows COVID-19 disease
activity level is in the red, or high activity level, indicating the virus is circulating at high levels compared
with historic trends. This high level means that recommended precautions are more important for reducing risk."
    DOH recommended the following: "Get your COVID-19 shot if you have not yet received the 2023-24

COVID-19 vaccine, or if you are eligible for an additional dose (adults 65 and over and those with immune compromise). Keeping up to date lowers your risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
    "If you are feeling sick, stay home and away from others. Return to usual activities only if fever-free for at least 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medicines, and symptoms are improving. After returning to usual activities, wear a mask when around people indoors for five additional days to avoid spreading germs to others. Consider testing when you will be around people at higher risk of severe disease.
    "Wearing a well-fitting mask indoors with other people can help protect yourself and those around you, especially if you are recovering from COVID-19 symptoms.
    "Staying outdoors or in well-ventilated areas is a simple action that can help reduce COVID transmission.
    "Practice good hygiene. Cover your coughs and sneezes, clean frequently touched surfaces, and wash your hands often.Take a COVID-19 test if you have symptoms and might need treatment. Antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and influenza can prevent hospitalization and death. Treatments work best when taken as soon as possible after symptoms begin."

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SACHIKO MEYERS OF OCEAN VIEW WAS BEEN FOUND DEAD IN A CAR IN KONA. Hawai’i Island police have initiated an unattended death investigation after her partially decomposed body was discovered within a parked vehicle located in a neighborhood in Kailua-Kona. She was 21 years of age.
    On Thursday June 6, shortly before 7:30 a.m. patrol officers and detectives responded to Kealakaa Street just north of Manawalea Street for a report of a lifeless body within a parked vehicle. Upon their arrival, they discovered the deceased female within a white Volkswagen sedan.The victim has been positively identified as Sachiko Myers of Ocean View.
    On Wednesday, June 12, an autopsy was performed, and the pathologist ruled that Myer’s death was undetermined but did not rule out foul play. The cause and manner of death is pending standard toxicology testing.
    Anyone who may have witnessed any suspicious activity in the area of Kealakaa Street north of Manawalea Street between June 3 and June 6, 2024, is encouraged to contact Detective Donovan Kohara at (808) 960-3118; or via email at donovan.kohara@hawaiicounty.gov
    Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the island-wide Crime Stoppers number at 808=961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.00. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers does not record calls or subscribe to any Caller ID service. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.

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HAWAI'I ISLAND POLICE ARRESTED 21 MOTORISTS FOR DUI the week of June 3 through June 9. They were arrested for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Five drivers were involved in a traffic

accident. None of the drivers were under the age of 21. So far this year, there have been 426 DUI arrests compared with 447 during the same period last year, a decrease of 4.7 percent.
    Hawai'i Police Department’s Traffic Services Section reviewed all updated crashes and found 442 major crashes so far this year, compared with 383 during the same time last year, an increase of 15.4 percent.To date, there have been 17 fatal crashes, resulting in 19 fatalities (two of which had multiple deaths), compared with eight fatal crashes, resulting in nine fatalities (one of which had multiple deaths, and one died at a later date) for the same time last year. This represents an increase of 112.5 percent for fatal crashes and 111.1 percent for fatalities.
    In 2024, the non-traffic fatality count (not on a public roadway) is zero compared to zero non-traffic fatalities for the same time last year. HPD promises that DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue island wide.

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Kaʻū News Briefs June 11, 2024

Big Island Coffee Roasters managed the  Kaʻū Coffee Sensory Experience at the Kaʻū Coffee
Festival's Ho'olaulea last Saturday. Photo by Alla Kostenko

Eleven Ka'u Coffees were featured at the
Sensory Experience at  Kaʻū Coffee Festival.
Photo by Ophir Danenberg

A DOZEN KAʻŪ COFFEE FARMS PROVIDED COFFEE FOR THE SENSORY EXPERIENCE at Kaʻū Coffee Festival's Ho'olaulea on Saturday, which was visited by a large number of Kaʻū Coffee enthusiasts. Here are the participating farms:

    R&G Farms' Kaʻū Royal Coffee, owned by Gloria Camba and Rogelio Aquino, grows Typica, Red and Yesllow Caturra, and Red and Yellow Catuai. 

    A Coffee Farm, owned by James McCully and operated by Ruslan Kuznetsof and Alla Kostenko, grows Catuai, Parainema, Castillo and Lempira.

    MH Coffee, owned by Sergio Lopez and Leslie Reyes, grows Catuai, Caturra and Typica.

    Kealaka'ikoa Coffee Co., owned the Dacalio 'Ohana, grows Guatemala Typica and Arabica from Ethiopia.

    Silver Cloud Coffee Farm, owned by Miles Mayne, grows several varieties of coffee.  

    Navarro Farms Monarch Coffee, owned by Delvin and Shawnette Navarro, grows Typica, Red Caturra, Red and Yellow Catuai and Pacamara.

    Rusty's Hawaiian, owned by Lorie and Joan Obra and Ralph Gaston, grows a variety of coffees.

    Will & Grace Farm's Rising Sun Coffee, owned by Will and Grace Tabios, grows several varieties of coffee.

    Miranda Farms, owned by Berta, Jose and Maria Miranda, grows Typica, Yellow Caturra, Red Catuai, Geisha and more.

     Kaʻū Coffee Mill, founded by Edmund C. Olson, grows a variety of coffees.                    

    Elepoki Enterprises Coffee, owned by Cory and Connie Koi, grows Ka'u Maragogype and Kaʻū Caturra.

    Ka'ile Mali'e Farms, owned by Rodney and Marlene Freitas, grows Guatemala Typica.

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The Mauna Kea cover is by artist Catherine Robbins,

MAUNA KEA, A NOVEL OF HAWAI'I, BY VOLCANO'S TOM PEEK, recently won a 2024 Nautilus Gold Award for fiction. The Nautilus Awards are given to "better books for a better world . . . that support conscious living & green values, wellness, social change & social justice, and spiritual growth." Previous Nautilus winners include Barbara Kingsolver, Louise Erdrich, Amy Goodman, Deepak Chopra, and the 14th Dalai Lama, among others.

    Mauna Kea also recently received three honors from the Eric Hoffer Book Awards, including being shortlisted as a Finalist for their 2024 Grand Prize, the highest honor in their panoply of annual awards. It also received an Honorable Mention in the Hoffer General Fiction category and was a da Vinci Eye Finalist for the book's cover art and design.

    Mauna Kea, the first novel about the cultural clash over Mauna Kea telescopes, is written from Peek's perspective as an insider involved in the movement to protect the mountain for three decades. He said that seven years of research, writing, and multiple pre-publication reviews by islanders and other readers went into its creation.

    The book includes a dozen pen-and-ink illustrations by renowned nature artist John D. Dawson and cover art—Lilinoe—by longtime Hawaiʻi Island oil painter Catherine Robbins.

    The novel’s backstory includes chapters set on the backwaters of the Mississippi in the author’s home state of Minnesota and historical and contemporary references to Upper Midwest culture and politics.

One of the illustrations in Mauna Kea
by nature artist John D. Dawson

    It is published by All Night Books, a new fiction imprint of Easton Studio Press, publisher of more than 150 titles of all kinds since 2003. Mauna Kea is available as a trade paperback and in all e-book formats.

    The Amazon description of the book describes Mauna Kea this way: "Mauna Kea: A Novel of Hawai'i is a gripping tale of clashing passions—science and spirituality, vengeance and compassion, fear and courage—set atop Hawaiʻi’s 14,000-foot Mauna Kea, realm of revered goddesses and star-wise explorers. A young vagabond running from America’s turmoil is forced to confront his own grief and rage on an embattled holy mountain in the Pacific. There he encounters a mysterious domain of ancient mountain deities and the Native Hawaiians who revere them, including two wise elders who take him under their wings and a young woman with a world-weary heart akin to his own. Through his startling experiences with them—and a motley cadre of other islanders—he learns the power of aloha and discovers an untapped reservoir of faith and courage that rekindles his hope in himself and in the world we share."

    Peek is also author of Daughters of Fire, which is described by Amazon as "a gripping adventure of romance, intrigue, myth and murder set amid the cultural tensions of contemporary Hawai'i.

    "A visiting astronomer falls in love with a Hawaiian anthropologist who guides him into a Polynesian world of volcanoes, gods and revered ancestors. The lovers get caught up in murder and intrigue as developers and politicians try to conceal that a long-dormant volcano is rumbling back to life above the hotel-laden Kona coast. The anthropologist joins forces with an aging seer and a young activist, and these three Hawaiian women summon their deepest traditions to confront the latest, most extravagant resort as the eruption and the murder expose deep rifts in paradise.

    "More than a decade in its research and writing, Tom Peek's mystical and provocative debut novel picks up Hawai'i's story where James Michener left off. Daughters of Fire illuminates how the island's transformation into a tourist mecca and developers gold mine sparked a Native Hawaiian movement to reclaim their culture, protect sacred land, and step into the future with wisdom and aloha."

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.