Ka`u News Briefs April 7, 2011

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK has issued a request for public comments on its Air Tour Management Plan being crafted by the National Park Service and the Federal Aviation Administration. The purpose of the plan is to "develop acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or prevent the significant adverse impacts, if any, of commercial air tour operations upon the natural and cultural resources, visitor experiences, and tribal lands." The public can read updates on the national park website and attend a meeting on Monday, April 18 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center and Wednesday, April 20 at Na`alehu Community Center from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

HAWAI`I COUNTY WORKERS may face a five percent pay decrease for the next two years if their Hawai`i Government Employees Association union members vote to approve the agreement between their leadership, the state and county. Governor Neil Abercrombie said the pay cut could save the state $88 million a year if it is accepted by all the state worker unions. The deal includes HGEA state and county workers throughout the islands. 

Hawai`i Government Employees Association
agrees to end of furloughs and
 a five percent pay decrease.

The agreement would end Furlough Fridays and would require members of the union to pay 50 percent of the cost of their health insurance. Right now government is paying 60 percent. The agreement does not cover United Public Workers, the State of Hawai`i Organization of Police Officers, the Hawai`i Firefighters Association and the Hawai`i State Teachers Association, for which negotiations are ongoing. The county of Hawai`i has also been involved in the negotiations. The county council is not necessarily going along with the deal. Councilwoman Brittany Smart voted yesterday to continue the furloughs, along with Council Chair Dominic Yagong. 

A ONE PERCENT HIKE IN THE GENERAL EXCISE TAX would generate $500 to $600 million a year to help balance a state budget with a two-year deficit of $1.3 billion. The proposal in the state Senate also calls for giving back $100 million to lower-income taxpayers. Some legislators are also calling for eliminating tax exemptions for subcontractors for such businesses as Hawaiian Airlines and high tech, shipbuilding and repair enterprises. Having them pay four percent would bring in about $200 million a year. A&B Electric Co., which works on ship repairs, testified that the exemption from the excise tax has helped create a healthy shipbuilding industry here in Hawai`i. The American Piping and Boiler Co., the Hawai`i Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Realtors testified against the GET hike. The Hawai`i Government Employees Association testified for the tax hike. The Democratic Party testified for the tax hike as did a number of social service agencies. The Republican Party testified against the tax hike yesterday. 

THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD INNOVATIVE READINESS TRAINING PROGRAM is looking to provide free labor for Ka`u nonprofit organizations, according to County Council member Brittany Smart. Call Deann Canuteson, Project Coordinator of the Ka`u Opportunities and Abilities Project at 936-4925 or 929-9611. 

ROAD TO THE SEA will have public access, according to councilmember Brittany Smart, who said yesterday that she will amend the bill to acquire 3,000 acres of coastline there for preservation to make sure that the access road is included. The bill to acquire the land goes to the full County Council on April 20th.

Road to the Sea.  From www.iFishHawaii.com

MAYOR BILLY KENOI will join councilwoman Brittany Smart tonight at Yano Hall in South Kona for a District 6 Matters meeting at 6:30 p.m. All the public is invited. 

THE OCEAN VIEW TRANSFER STATION has a $3 million appropriation in a $56 million bond float proposed by Mayor Billy Kenoi to the County Council. The $8.8 million Wai`ohinu transfer station has been put on the back burner, since it is Ocean View that has no permanent transfer station, and the Wai`ohinu proposal was an upgrade to be planned for the future.

DISNEY WILL SEND its first cruise ship to Hawai`i, stopping in Hilo on April 12, 2012. The 2,700-passenger ship will also call at Kahului, Honolulu, Nawiliwili and Ensenada, Mexico before heading back to Los Angeles. Shore excursions from cruise ships often include travel as far south as Punalu`u Black Sand Beach here in Ka`u. The name of the ship is the Disney Wonder. 

THE MONGOLIAN BARBECUE is on for this Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Cooper Center in Volcano Village. Wok masters will cook up stir-fried vegetables, tofu, chicken, beef and pork and charge 60 cents an ounce for each personalized creation. Funds raised go to the Cooper Center. Entertainment includes Komakakino from the Paul Neves Halau. See thecoopercenter.org or call 985-9508.

Ka`u News Briefs April 6, 2011

Kawa during a surf meet.  Photo by Julia Neal

THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I is starting to make its plan for the stewardship of its Kawa shoreline park. County representatives visited the beach yesterday. Surfers went to court in the 1970s to open up right of ways to the shoreline and won their case. Over the last decade, the community appealed to the state, county and federal government for funding to purchase and preserve the area, which was threatened by development. 

Camping at Kawa, a popular place for surfers and fishermen
from around the island.  Photo by Julia Neal

     With money in place, the county agreed to purchase the land to keep the area open for everyone in perpetuity and to protect its estuaries, springs, wildlife and access to surfers, fishermen and the public. Abel Simiona Lui claims the land belongs to him and was handed down through his family. However, the county says it has clear title and that ownership now rests with the public. The county has gone to court to settle the matter. 

     The preservation of Kawa is part of an effort to save the Ka`u coast, including nearby Honu`apo, which has already been preserved and is being managed by a community group and Hawai`i County.

Black Sand Beach at the end of Road to the Sea may be
preserved through acquisition by the county.

PURCHASE OF 3,000 ACRES in Kahuku was approved by the Hawai`i County Finance Committee yesterday. The parcel, reached by the Road to the Sea, includes one mile of coastline along with many cultural and historical sites. The measure now goes to the full County Council. 

RAISING THE EXCISE TAX FROM FOUR TO FIVE PERCENT is alive at the Senate Ways and Means Committee over at the Legislature. Also on the table is the possibility of ending holidays for Hawaiian Airlines and some other businesses that receive this tax benefit. The proposal is up for a hearing today in Honolulu.

FRIENDS OF VOLCANO SCHOOL OF THE ARTS & SCIENCES has launched a $97,000 ‘Phase One’ Building Fund drive to refurbish, update and bring the almost century-old historic school building at the old Keakealani site up to present day standards. This will allow three grades of the school to relocate to the facility and will lay the foundation for the school to end its commitment to the almost $32,000 per year present lease rent and tax costs at the present temporary tent-centered site. The ‘Phase One’ drive will last throughout the spring and summer, involving pleas for cash donations, bake sales, a ‘Food for Thought’ business owner discount program to encourage healthy eating for students and contributors alike, a golf tournament, farm fair, a wine and food event, and a walkathon.

ACE HARDWARE IN NA`ALEHU is supporting relief to Japan tsunami victims this Saturday at its Kokua Sale-abration. ACE is offering 20 percent off many items, and a portion of that day's sales will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society. You can also donate with a check to the Japanese Red Cross Society. The fundraiser and sale will also take place in Hilo and Kona Ace and Ben Franklin Craft stores. These Ace Hardware Hawai`i and Ben Franklin Craft stores are locally owned and nationally recognized since 1951.

BREADFRUIT WAS COMMON IN YARDS, on farms and in the wild from Ka`u to Kona many years ago, and a new program called Ho`oulu ka Ulu is bent on restoring the breadfuit belt. The effort encourages people to grow, cook and eat ulu, which is a traditional food brought here by early Polynesian voyagers. See more at hawaiihomegrown.net.

TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY to sign up for the free Kahuku Junior Ranger Day this Saturday, April 9. The program is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and lunch will be provided. Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and the Queen Lili`uokalani Children’s Center invite keiki to bring their families to explore Kahuku and learn about ancient traditions of navigation and modern-day global positioning systems. To register, call 985-6019.
     The Kahuku Unit is now open to the public on most weekends.

Brandy Eder

Jaeneise Cuison

Alina Jerilong

Brandy Shibuya

Kayla Nishimura

Kathline Pataray

TICKETS ARE NEARLY SOLD OUT for the third annual Miss Ka`u Coffee Pageant which is scheduled for Saturday, April 23 at 5:30 p.m. at Ka`u High School gym. Miss Ka`u Coffee, Ulu Makuakane, will hand over her crown to the winner. Will the new Miss Ka`u Coffee be Jaeneise Cuison, Brandy Eder, Alina Jerilong, Kayla Nishimura, Kathline Pataray or Brandy Shibuya? Tickets are available from contestants and their families.

Ka`u News Briefs April 5, 2011

ML Macadamia husking plant between Pahala Village and Highway 11.  Photo by Julia Neal

A MEASURE THAT WOULD ALLOW THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION to approve automatic rate increases to help cover the costs of such projects as the `Aina Koa Pono refinery planned for Pahala is making its way through the state Legislature. Senate Bill 1347 would also allow the electric company to raise rates for all of its customers to cover costs of alternative energy in particular places. Last month, the PUC turned down a proposal to raise rates in Hawai`i, O`ahu and Maui Counties to cover the cost of the proposed Ka`u refinery. The electric company and `Aina Koa Pono went to the Legislature to change the law, testifying that cost sharing around the state is needed to help pay for alternative energy. 

`Aina Koa Pono's depiction of their
proposed Ka`u Energy Farm.

     The $320 million mill would be located up Wood Valley Road on Meyer Camp Road. `Aina Koa Pono is promising 300 union construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs with minimum union pay of $22 an hour. The refinery would use giant microwaves to vaporize wood, grasses and other biomass to make diesel. More than a million gallons of fuel plus catalysts and other additives for the processing plant would be stored on site. The synthetic fuel would be shipped by tanker trucks up Hwy 11 to the Keahole power plant near Kona Airport.

ML MACADAMIA ORCHARDS reported a net loss of $1.5 million and a negative net cash flow of $526,000 for last year. The 2010 loss was primarily the result of a severe drought in the Ka`u region where production declined by approximately four million pounds or 31 percent over 2009 levels, cutting annual revenue by approximately $2.4 million, ML reported. The drought also resulted in lower kernel recovery and the expenditure of approximately $1.2 million in additional irrigation costs. ML acquired 880 acres of macadamia orchards and related assets from IASCO, its largest farming client, for $12.5 million last August.

Tsunami-smashed car next to empty lot where a house
washed away at Manini Beach.  Photo by Julia Neal

A FUNDRAISER FOR HAWAI`I VICTIMS of last month’s tsunami will be hosted by Rep. Bob Herkes. It will be held at the prestigious Pacific Club in Honolulu. Some of the victims with houses washed off their foundations are old kama`aina families in Honolulu with beach homes at Kapua, Honomolino and Okoe Bay near Miloli`i. The funds raised, however, will go to the Hawai`i Red Cross to help those hardest hit, with damages to their businesses, homes and employment in Kona, and to prepare for the future. More than 200 employees of Kona Village risk losing their jobs permanently. The Four Seasons at Hualalai is also still closed, with many employees working fewer hours. 

     “It’s wonderful how Hawai`i’s community has banded together to support Japan and other communities around the world in recent and past years natural disasters. That should continue, but at the same time we also must remember and support our neighbors here in Hawai`i. Even now as the recovery continues, we need to be prepared for the future to ensure a quick response,” said Herkes. The Breakfast with Bob event costs $100 a person and will be held next Wednesday, April 13. Call 808-539-3482.

THE EXPLOSIVE 1790 ERUPTION OF KILAUEA is the topic at After Dark in the Park tonight at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. Geologist Don Swanson, along with Bruce Houghton and Samantha Weaver of UH-Manoa, present the results of their most recent research into what happened and if it could happen again.

Cooper Center

Mongolian Barbecue

THE MONGOLIAN BARBECUE is on for this Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Cooper  Center in Volcano Village. Wok masters will cook up stir-fried vegetables, tofu, chicken, beef and pork and charge 60 cents an ounce for each personalized creation. The event has been held twice a year for more than two decades. Funds raised go to the Cooper Center. Entertainment includes Komakakino from the Paul Neves Halau. See thecoopercenter.org or call 985-9508. 

THE LINEUP FOR THIS YEAR'S KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL is building quickly. Headliners include Cyril Pahinui, Moses and Keoki Kahumoku, Lorna and Maryann Lim, Henry Dulan, Halau Hula O Leionalani, Lorie Lei Hula Studio and the Ka`u `Ukulele Kids. Ka`u residents and visitors can get ready to enter the annual Ka`u Recipe Contest. Booths are available for the all day Ho`olaule`a on Saturday, May 14. See kaucoffeefestival.com for more.

Cyril Pahinui, who teaches at Ka`u High, will perform at the Ka`u Coffee Festival on May 14.  Photo by Julia Neal