Ka`u News Briefs June 20, 2011

Brad Wood, of Roast, Inc. in Nashville, TN purchased Bull Kailiawa's coffee during the Grounds for Health auction.
Photo by Julia Neal

`AINA KOA PONO, LLC was seventh among lobbyists spending money to influence government officials in Hawai`i during the first four months of this year, according to Civil Beat, a Hawai`i news organization created by E-Bay founder Pierre Omidyar. `Aina Koa Pono and its lobbyists shepherded legislation through the state House of Representatives and Senate this spring to change Public Utilities law and garner tax breaks for its proposed $350 million refinery between Pahala and Wood Valley and a fuel farm between Pahala and Na`alehu.

     According to online postings by the State Ethics Commission, `Aina Koa Pono spent $58,049 on lobbying from January through April. The other top ten lobbying organizations in Hawai`i included the American Beverage Association, Kamehameha Schools and the teachers union. `Aina Koa Pono, as seventh in spending among Hawai`i organizations lobbying the Legislature, outspent the Hawai`i Chamber of Commerce. Ethics Commission filings by `Aina Koa Pono President Mel Chiogioji reported that almost all of the money spent on lobbying went to the law firm Alston, Hunt, Floyd & Ing. Registered lobbyists for `Aina Koa Pono are William Kaneko and Zachery McNish, who both work for the law firm.

     According to the filing, the purpose of the lobbying was to support or oppose legislative and/or administrative action in the area of ecology, energy and environmental protection. 

     Representatives of `Aina Koa Pono said the legislation and tax incentives will help to raise money in financial markets to support its venture. The company promises 300 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs in Ka`u. The refinery would process trees, brush and crops it would grow or arrange to harvest in Ka`u. Its microwave processors would vaporize feedstock to create biofuel that would be tanker-trucked to Kona for the Hawaiian Electric Light Co. power plant near the Keahole Airport. The company also promises to make fuel for transportation to help relieve Hawai`i from purchasing fossil fuel.

GROUNDS FOR HEALTH, which raised money for health care in underserved coffee regions, has announced that its online auction that featured many Ka`u Coffees generated a record sum for the nonprofit. Justin Mool, of Grounds for Health, said more than 200 coffee companies from around the world participated, “despite high green coffee prices and a tight market.” Coffee producers, importers, roasters, and retailers came together, and 52 coffee importers and producers donated over 25,000 pounds of green coffee, which was then bid upon by roasters and retailers during the online auction held by the Stoneworks auction house in Vermont.
     Some notable donations, said Mool, included a gourmet El Salvador package from Aida Batlle that fetched $24.60/lb (earning $7,380.00 total), an Ethiopia Bench Maji Gesha from Royal Coffee, Inc. that was purchased for $12.04/lb (earning $6,370.60), and SCAA Coffees of the Year Winners Hawai`i Kailiawa Coffee from Ka`u Coffee Mill and Colombia Valle del Cauca that closed at $40.20/lb and $53/lb respectively.
     Grounds for Health Chair of the Board and Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company CEO Frank Dennis expressed appreciation that during “a very volatile coffee market the coffee industry continued to show great support and commitment to the Grounds For Health initiative, with a 30 percent increase over 2010 in total auction value.” See groundsforhealth.org. Grounds for Health is also on twitter and facebook.

THE PARENTS OF PRESCHOOL YOUNGSTERS program is no more this week. The program, run by Parents and Children Together and Family Support Hawai`i, suffered funding cuts by Congress. The program helped three- to five-year-olds by training their parents for tools, skills and confidence to help their children succeed in school and beyond. The program offered weekly activities that included home and group meetings. More than 3,000 children have been served since the program started in 1996.

Modeling of lava coming up in the hot spot that forms the
Hawaiian islands chain may have to be revised to show the
hot spot west of the islands. Image courtesy of USGS

THE PLUME OF LAVA coming out of the Earth to create the Hawaiian Islands and the ongoing volcanic activity may be farther west than originally believed, according to the latest Volcano Watch report from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. New ways of measuring seismic activity have shown activity that could locate the hot spot west of the islands, which could mean that the plume travels laterally before rising into Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes. A debate will continue, and modeling of the ongoing creation process of the islands could be revised, the report says. 

RAINS THAT EASED THE DROUGHT in Ka`u have helped grow a lot of plant life on wild lands, creating fuel for wildfires, particularly if we have a dry summer. That is what Fire Chief Darryl Oliveira is predicting, noting that rains overall are still below normal across the island. He said there could be “more intense, active burning. Oliveira sees every day as a possible brush fire day and encourages people to haul green waste to the dump and plant more succulents around the house. He suggested making sure smoke detectors work with new batteries.

TO MARK THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is waiving entrance fees tomorrow. Also, Kilauea Military Camp, inside the park, is making all of its facilities and services available to the general public for the day. For more information call 967-7315.

THE MISS KA`U COFFEE PAGEANT airs on Na Leo O Hawai`i Community Television channel 54 this Wednesday at 6 p.m.

THE HAWAI`I WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION holds a workshop about wildfire preparedness on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. The workshop covers strategies to protect homes and families against wildfires. To register, call Carolyn at 885-6354.

Ka`u News Briefs June 19, 2011

One Journey and friends at the recent Ka`u Family Fun Fest to raise money for Bay Clinic's new building. The group won top high school music video at last night's ceremonies in Honolulu. Photo by Julia Neal

ONE JOURNEY WON BEST MUSIC VIDEO in Honolulu last night for the statewide Brown Bags to Stardom contest. One Journey also won best musical arrangement and best song. 

Eunice Longakit won Best Female Vocalist
 in the Brown Bags to Stardom music video
competition last light in Honolulu.

Lead singer Eunice Longakit won best music vocalist. One Journey took runner-up trophy in the best musical group category. Their music video came in third place in the online popularity voting, more than 600 votes ahead of the fourth-place winner. Producer Johnny Kai said the win was incredible given the small school size of Pahala and the big school populations at the O`ahu schools that competed. 

THE AXIS DEER INVASION CHALLENGE was discussed at a small gathering of Hawaiian Homes Commissioners and Native Hawaiians yesterday at Na`alehu Community Center. According to community organizer Anna Cariaga, who attended the event, Hawaiians asked the commissioners to help organize local hunters to get rid of the invasive deer, which were previously found only on Lana`i, Moloka`i and Maui and have been seen now in Ka`u. She said the local hunters would make use of the meat for their families. She said organized eradication through local hunting groups would be much better for the community than helicopter hunts that sometimes leave the game to decompose in the wild. She said she strongly disagrees with anyone who might think it is OK to import axis deer to build herds for hunting. “This is illegal, and anyone doing this can be arrested and fined,” she said. The commissioners on hand were Lei Mana DaMate and Ian Lee Loy. 

HAWAIIAN HOMES’ PURCHASE OF 40 houselots in Discovery Harbour has not gone well, and only one house has been built. Anna Cariaga, who met with commissioners yesterday, said construction is too expensive and Hawaiians who live a rural life of ranching, farming, hunting and fishing are hesitant to move into a subdivision with restrictions on what can be in the yards, hanging out clothes to dry and other attempts to upscale the community.

GEOTHERMAL FOR KA`U was also discussed at the Hawaiian Homes meeting, with emphasis on Native Hawaiians being the beneficiaries of such alternative energy projects. Thousands of Hawaiian Home acres in Ka`u are in the South Point, Kalae, area.

Abel Simeona Lui says he is appealing last week's ruling
that would turn over Kawa to the county.

ABEL SIMEONA LUI traveled around Ka`u yesterday and told the press and community members that he is appealing a decision by Judge Joseph P. Florendo that could clear the way for the county to make more than 800 acres between Punalu`u and Honu`apo into a coastal preserve and park. Lui and his followers, who oppose the park, said they are working on federal court cases and also claimed that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is helping them to avoid eviction. Florendo ruled last week that former owner Thomas Okuna owned the property and legally sold one section at Kawa to realtor Marcia Johnson who sold it to the county for a park. He also ruled that Okuna legally sold two other sections to the Edmund C. Olson Trust, which purchased them for the purpose of providing them to the county for coastal preservation. The area has estuaries and many Hawaiian historic sites. Lui claims that it was unfairly taken from his family and that he is the heir tasked with stewarding Kawa. 

THE DEADLINE TO ENTER the Na`alehu Fourth of July Parade has been extended to July 1. `O Ka`u Kakou is sponsoring the parade on Saturday, July 2 at 11 a.m. Patriotic citizens, businesses and organizations interested in participating or donating can call Debra McIntosh at 929-9872.

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP CELEBRATES Father’s Day with a brunch until 1 p.m. and a Surf ‘n’ Turf special from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Crater Rim Café in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Call 967-8371 for more information. 

TO MARK THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is waiving entrance fees on Tuesday, June 21. Also, Kilauea Military Camp, inside the park, is making all its facilities and services available to the general public for the day. For more information call 967-7315. 

Ka`u News Briefs June 18, 2011

Classic cars are a popular entry in the Independence Day parades this July 2 in Na`alehu and July 4 in Volcano.

COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER PETE HOFFMANN said he is disappointed with Mayor Billy Kenoi’s veto of the Council version of the county budget this week. Hoffmann said he hoped the mayor would be satisfied with the council approving 97 percent of the mayor's $367 million budget. Hoffmann said the budget “presented itself for establishing a cooperative relationship,” but instead wound up with "political theater once again to resolve relatively minor budget changes." 

Pete Hoffmann

     Hoffmann also responded to the county Corporation Counsel’s and mayor’s contention that the council's new version of the budget has illegalities: “At no time during the budget discussion did I or other Council members believe what we were doing was illegal, nor did we ever hear from the Corporation Counsel that such actions might be in violation of the charter.” He pointed out that Corporation Counsel is the lawyer for the mayor, administration and the County Council.
     “I have always wondered how you can serve the proverbial two masters at the same time, and this is an instance where this might lead to real/imagined difficulties,” said Hoffmann.
     “Whether the Council votes to override the mayor’s veto or not, county residents are being treated to another in a series of political dramas that tend to reflect badly on all participants,” said Hoffmann.

THE DEADLY ACCIDENT at mile marker 35 on Hwy 11 between Volcano and Pahala is still a mystery to investigators, who are suspecting that car racing was involved in the tragedy. The accident took place on a strip of Hwy 11 that is apparently used by young people who commandeer the straightaway on the public highway for a drag strip, particularly on Saturday nights after midnight. The accident, which left one young man dead and his companion with reportedly serious brain and spine injuries, apparently took place at about 1:30 a.m. last Sunday along the illegal raceway. Investigators are asking any witnesses to come forward to confirm or debunk the story that this was a racing accident. The car apparently flew off the highway, and the two occupants were ejected into the lava. An ambulance transporting a patient from Ka`u Hospital to Hilo happened onto the accident, and paramedics called for help.
     Sometime this week, someone sprayed paint across Hwy 11 near the accident site that says R.I.P. – standing for Rest In Peace.
     Hawai`i Police Chief Harry Kubojiri has asked the community to help stop the car racing, as it is deadly not only to participants but could involve innocent people driving home from work and visitors driving back to accommodations after seeing the volcano late at night.

More seniors will have to make
their own co-payments.

SENIORS DEPENDING ON STATE CO-PAYMENTS at the pharmacy will have to look elsewhere. The state Department of Human Services will discontinue its Pharmacy Assistance Program for 43,000 low-income Medicare recipients on July 1, since the Legislature repealed the program. This will not affect eligibility for Medicare Part D. It will make the seniors responsible for their own co-payments. 

THE HAWAIIAN FOOD STAPLE, THE BREADFRUIT, will be depicted in works of art to promote its qualities. Artists from Ka`u and abroad are invited to submit their breadfruit creations by July 25 in advance of the Breadfruit Festival at the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in South Kona on Saturday, Sept. 24. The competition is also supported by the Hawai`i Homegrown Food Network, Breadfruit Institute of the National Tropical Botanical Garden, and Donkey Mill Art Center. 

Breadfruit photo courtesy of Hawai`i
Tropical Botanical Gardens

     Breadfruit regions were an important source of food on the island, including a band of `ulu trees one-half mile wide and 18 miles long called kale `ulu that produced as much as 36,000 tons of `ulu fruit per year. Today, few of these trees remain. 

     Ho`oulu ka `Ulu is a project to revitalize `ulu as an attractive, delicious, nutritious, abundant, affordable, and culturally appropriate food which addresses Hawai`i’s food security issues.
     All Hawai`i Island artists are invited to submit original 2D media artwork to the art contest. Semi-finalists will bring original work to the Donkey Mill Art Center on Thursday, Aug. 11 for an artist’s reception and final judging. One winning piece will be selected to be reproduced into a collectable poster commemorating the Ho`oulu ka `Ulu project, which will be sold at the Breadfruit Festival and beyond as a fundraiser for the festival and project. See www.breadfruit.info.

THE DEADLINE TO ENTER the Na`alehu Fourth of July Parade had been extended to July 1. `O Ka`u Kakou is sponsoring the parade on Saturday, July 2 at 11 a.m. Patriotic citizens, businesses and organizations interested in participating or donating can call Debra McIntosh at 929-9872. Residents are also invited to join the Fourth of July Parade in Volcano Village on July 4 at 9 a.m. Call 967-7800.

THE MISS KA`U COFFEE PAGEANT airs on Na Leo O Hawai`i Community Television tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. and on Wednesday, June 22 at 6 p.m.

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP CELEBRATES Father’s Day with a brunch tomorrow from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a Surf ‘n’ Turf special from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Crater Rim Café in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Call 967-8371 for more information.