Ka'u News Briefs Dec. 24, 2011

Mantracker crew films prey hiding from Mantracker during a recent shoot in Ka`u. Photo from Mantracker

KA`U HOSPITAL AND THE REST OF EAST HAWAI`I may benefit from Hawai`i Medical Center shutting down two facilities, including a major hospital on O`ahu. East Hawai`i hospitals, including Ka`u, often import traveling nurses, medical technicians and physicians to keep positions filled. Some 1,000 employees have lost their jobs on O`ahu with the closing of Hawai`i Medical Center. State Department of Labor & Industrial Relations director Dwight Takamine, himself a Big Islander, said that East Hawai`i vacant positions have been posted on the state website. Perhaps some of the people let go on O`ahu would be willing to move to Hilo, Hamakua or Ka`u. Takamine, who witnessed mass job losses when sugar shut down in his hometown on the Big Island, also said, “Our hearts go out to the nearly thousand employees and their families who received this news during the holiday season.” 

Kapapala paniolo Leon Chow is Mantracker's local guide
and sidekick. Photo from Mantracker.

Prey from Kona runs from Mantracker at Kapapala Ranch.
Photo from Mantracker

MANTRACKER, the television program that shows two men on horseback hunting down two people on foot, chose Ka`u again, and filming wrapped up this week. The location was entirely on Kapapala Ranch between Pahala and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Kapapala paniolo Leon Chow was once again cast as Mantracker’s local guide and sidekick. Two of the human prey came from Kona, and the other two were a father and daughter team from Miloli`i. The prey and Mantracker called the landscape they crossed, hiding and running from Mantracker, “very thick.” They crossed open forest and took refuge in lava tubes. Whether the prey made it to their destination is a secret until the two shows air in 2012. Mantracker first filmed in Hawai`i two years ago, also in Ka`u. 

ELECTRIC BILLS HAVE GONE up by more than 50 percent in the last year, and Hawaiian Electric Co. is trying to explain with television advertising. Since the Japan tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan, nuclear energy has been replaced by oil in many places from Europe to Japan, sending prices for oil used by HECO into a skyrocketing trajectory. HECO vice president Robbie Alm said Hawai`i should get off fossil fuel as fast as possible with sun, wind, biomass, geothermal and biofuel. People can help out with conservation. “Small, everyday things add up,” said Alm. He mentioned natural lighting and air ventilation during a KITV interview.

DEATH BY 1,000 CUTS is what Small Business Hawai`i executive director Sam Slom is calling the recent surge in costs for health insurance, electricity and transportation fuel. Slom, who is also a state senator, said that “it’s not one thing necessarily that puts small business over the edge. It is all the costs adding up over time, like recent increases in water and motor vehicle and sewer fees, that can make it difficult to operate any business, he said. The latest big increase is in Kaiser Permanente Health Insurance, which only recently reached out to cover Ka`u residents and businesses. Around the state, about 162,000 Kaiser members will see premiums rise 8.8 percent on Jan. 1. 

Harming a monk seal is a felony, reminds DLNR chief
William Aila, Jr. Photo by Julia Neal

WATCH OUT FOR ENDANGERED ANIMALS, including monk seals and nene, warns the National Park Service and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. During this holiday season two monk seals were either killed by boats running into them or on purpose by people. DLNR chief William Aila, Jr. said his staff is investigating the death of the seals, which both happened on Moloka`i. It is a felony to intentionally harm a monk seal, Aila reminds the community. 

     A nene was run over on the road to Haleakala on Maui. The most dangerous location for nene on the Big Island is on Hwy 11 in the Ka`u Desert near Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and Kapapala Ranch.

Watch out for nene between Pahala and Hawai`i
Volcanoes National Park. Photo by Julia Neal

A NEW MANAGER is taking over the administration of public housing in Pahala and other communities around the state. Hakim Ouansafi was hired recently by the Hawai`i Public Housing Administration to manage more than 6,000 public housing units on more than 80 sites statewide. His background is in hotel management and public service.
     The major source of funding is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The mission is to provide Hawai`i residents with affordable housing and shelter without discrimination. Efforts focus on operating and maintaining low-income public housing, administering a large Housing Choice Voucher program, and striving for the efficient and fair delivery of housing services to the people of Hawai`i. 

THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH will be the subject of a presentation by the man who discovered it. Capt. Charles Moore will give a talk and present his book Plastic Ocean on Jan. 6 at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Hawai`i Wildlife Fund. Moore has visited Kamilo and other Ka`u Coast locations to bring attention to the plastics that are growing in volume as one of the main ingredients of the soup of the ocean on which many sea life species depend. He is the founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. 

     Megan Lamson, of Hawai`i Wildlife Fund, will also give a presentation at the Jan. 6 event in Volcano. Moore will make a separate presentation on Jan. 4 at West Hawai`i Civic Center at 5 p.m.

CHRISTMAS DINNER IS BEING SERVED at restaurants in Ka`u. Hana Hou has a special menu beginning at 4 p.m. today and noon tomorrow. The menu includes prime rib, crab-stuffed lobster, scallop and shrimp fettuccine, salad bar and dessert.
     South Side Shaka’s, also in Na`alehu, closes at 4 p.m. today, Christmas Eve, and 9 p.m. tomorrow.
     Crater Rim Café at Kilauea Military Camp in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park offers Christmas Day brunch tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Park entrance fees apply.

Ka'u News Briefs Dec. 23, 2011

Planners showed the public the plan to raise Hwy 11 at Kawa. Photo by Julia Neal

TODAY IS THE DEADLINE for comments on the plan to raise Hwy 11 along some 3,000 feet of road at Kawa to alleviate flooding risks. When Kawa floods, access is cut off to the hospital in Pahala from Na`alehu. Emergency vehicles, school buses and around-the-island traffic are blocked along the coastal road and must take the old sugar cane haul road in the mountains. For travel during construction of the raised road, a bypass would be built makai of Hwy 11, starting about 100 yards south of the main entrance into the Kawa surfing beach.
     The Kawa Drainage Project Environmental Assessment explains that Hwy 11 would be raised some 10 feet above grade to 46 feet above sea level. An 84-foot-wide culvert, eight feet high, would be placed beneath the highway.
     Whether the elevated highway, something like an overpass, would be visible from Kawa Beach, where the largely unfettered and panoramic views are of table top mountains, ranches, forests and Mauna Loa, is one of the questions.
     During a public meeting earlier this month, planners said that the wetlands, springs and other features would not be disturbed at Kawa by the new flood project.
     Comments can be sent to the state Department of Transportation’s Hawai`i District Office, 50 Maka`ala Street, Hilo, HI 96720.
     The draft EA is available at Pahala and Na`alehu public libraries, and online at http://hawaii.gov/ health/environmental/oeqc/index.html.

COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICTS are finalized, with the county Redistricting Commission signing off on the report yesterday after assessing populations and redrawing voting maps based on the latest federal census, which is taken every decade. Candidates can start signing up to run for County Council on Feb. 1, when nomination papers will become available at the county Office of Elections. The new District 6 will extend farther north and will include the home of South Kona Council member Brenda Ford, who could be facing incumbent Ka`u Council member Brittany Smart, should both decide to run. While the obligation of the Commission is to create voting districts with about the same number of people in each one of them, the Commission is suggesting for next time that population differences between districts be allowed by as much as 5.99 percent to help keep communities together.

Jeju volcanic island in Korea and Hawai`i Volcanoes
National Park build their sister relationship as more
flights between Korea and Hawai`i are planned.

DAILY FLIGHTS TO HAWAI`I from Seoul, South Korea will begin July 16 on Hawaiian Airlines. More Koreans are expected to visit Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The Korean volcanic island of Jeju has been building a sister park relationship with Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, with cooperation between park officials, as Jeju is a World Heritage Site. 

     Hawaiian currently flies from Korea four times a week. The new daily flight is expected to leave Seoul at 10:20 p.m. and arrive in Honolulu just after noon, in time for travelers to hop a plane to Hilo. The new flight will increase Hawaiian Airlines lift from Seoul and Hawai`i to 96,000 total air seats a year. Hawaiian also plans to add a third daily flight between Los Angeles and Honolulu in 2012.

GORDON KIMO LOPES has been identified as the likely victim of drowning while SCUBA diving at South Point. The 49-year-old Ocean View resident was reported as calling for help during a night dive after 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Rough waters kept rescue divers out of the water. A boat from Keauhou arrived before midnight, and firefighters found Lopes, who had passed away. The location was near the lighthouse, according to the police report.

A MATERIAL RECYCLING FACILITY with conveyor belts would be a “finely tuned and efficient process” to upgrade the county’s sort center, according to County Council member Brittany Smart. Mayor Bill Kenoi said he is open to the idea and all other proposals that would put less garbage into the landfills, according to a Jason Armstrong story in the Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. The County Council voted this week to approve a resolution urging the mayor to consider soliciting bids to convert the county sort station into a material recycling facility. The resolution asks the county to advertise for proposals by Feb. 29. According to the Tribune-Herald story, the mayor called the proposal an “11th-hour” suggestion, with the Council having already approved the sort station to cut back on rubbish shipped to the Pu`uanahulu landfill once the Hilo dump becomes full. Kenoi said additional county employees will run the sort center after receiving the state Department of Health permit. Equipment has already been purchased, including an excavator and loader with a grapple. 

     The resolution states that privatizing the recycling with a more sophisticated method would save millions of dollars in avoided cost for the county and keep the organics and recyclables out of the Hilo landfill. It says that cross-island shipping of waste would be avoided and that up to 30 green jobs would be created. Methane could be a byproduct. 

     This example of a materials recycling center in San Jose, CA shows the handling of trash along the conveyor belt.

     1) As incoming material moves along a conveyer belt, workers pull out large items, cardboard and plastic bags and toss them into bins. Unusable trash is thrown away.
     2) The recyclables move into a double-deck screening machine that separates newspapers, mixed paper and containers into separate streams. Material bounces over rows of square wheels spinning 1,000 times per minute. Blasts of air dislodge cans and bottles from newspapers. Gaps between rollers allow smaller items to fall onto conveyer belts.
     3) Workers again pull out any trash and discard it.
     4) Next is the trommel-mag - a large, rotating tube with small holes in the sides and an electromagnet at one end. Small items such as bottle caps fall through holes. The electromagnet snags tin cans. Then it's on to the air classifier, where a powerful fan blows lightweight aluminum and plastic onto one conveyer, and heavier glass falls onto another. Workers sort glass and plastics.
     5) An electromagnetic device diverts aluminum cans into a storage bin.

Stealth towers can take the place of
classic metal cell towers.

NEXT FRIDAY IS THE DEADLINE for comments on a 120-foot-tall cellular communications tower planned off Maile Street for land makai of the Old Pahala Community Clubhouse, according to the county Planning Department. The proposal filed with planners shows the cell tower about 200 feet from Maile Street near the intersection of Maile, which goes to Hwy 11 and Lower Moa`ula Road, which goes to the county transfer station. The company planning the cell tower is Crown Castle USA. A notice from the company states that “Crown invites comments from any interested party on the impact of the proposed tower on any districts, sites, buildings, structures or objects significant in American history, archaeology, engineering or culture that are listed or determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.”
     Comments should be addressed to Monica Gambino, 2000 Corporate Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317 or by phone at 724-416-2516. 

THE GREEN MARKET at Ocean View Community Center is open today from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Items available include fresh produce, fruits, herbs, flowers and plants.

TO KEEP THE KA`U REEFER in Na`alehu open, Kaohi Mokuhali`i is selling pipikaula, the old Hawaiian-style, marinated sun-dried beef, in one- and two-pound packages for $10 a pound. Contact her at 938-9040 or kmokuhalii@yahoo.com, or Carol Massey at 929-9001or masseys2@hawaii.rr.com.

Varsity player Royden Esperon looks
to score amid three Kea`au defenders.
Photos by Nalani Parlin

JV player Larry Navarro led
his team with 22 points.

KA`U HIGH BEAT KEA`AU 61-52 last night. Played at home, it was the second game in Varsity Boys Basketball this season. Junior Nathaniel Kauhi was on fire, racking up Trojan points in the first half. The Cougars chased the Trojans the entire game, but could never gain the lead. Kauhi was top scorer with 20 points. Junior Greg Javar was right behind with 16 points, putting away three three-pointers. 

     In JV, the Trojans were first to score, enjoying a slight lead until the end of the first quarter. Ka`u turned up the juice in the second half, but it was not enough to win. Final score was 59-52. Sophomore Larry Navarro put away a game-high of 22 points.
     In soccer, the Trojan boys Varsity team tied with HAAS, 1-1. Senior Patrick Garcia scored for Ka`u, making the first Trojan goal of the season.

Ka'u News Briefs Dec. 22, 2011

Commercial beekeepers working hives yesterday in macadamia orchards up Wood Valley Road. Photo by Julia Neal

AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT is under way for the new Ka`u $16.9 million regional disaster shelter and gym. PBR Hawai`i has been given the contract and is expected to put the EA out to the public for a 30-day review sometime in February, around the same time that the final architectural plan will be completed. Some Pahala residents have received letters from PBR asking how the project might affect them.
     Nearby community members have talked about drainage, should the grass field next to their houses be paved for parking. Water could flow onto the their residential properties instead of sinking into the soil during floods, they contended. However, engineers working on the project said they will be responsible to contain any water and that a variance may be sought to keep much of the grass field unpaved, allowing the water to drain into the soil.
     Surveyors can be seen on the property, just makai of the Ka`u High office building, studying the land for is slope and other measurements needed to design the project.
     Whether parking lot lighting that could shine into the windows of adjacent residents and whether lighting for the parking would disturb the dark Ka`u skies famous for stargazing are other questions.
     Rep. Bob Herkes said funding was raised for the purpose of building a regional disaster shelter and secondarily for athletics for the school and community. Whether the main room – the gym –which could accommodate about 1,000 people – will have the equipment to clean air from vog during athletics and for disaster shelter purposes is still undecided, according to county Public Works director Warren Lee.
     The facility will have a certified kitchen, room for Red Cross supplies and equipment storage, and an emergency communications center, he said. Whether there will be solar photovoltaic electricity and solar hot water to serve the disaster shelter and gym is still on the table, said Lee.
     The roof design, as shown, will be plantation style, and the building will be painted to blend in with the historic campus structures on the Hawai`i Register of Historic Places.

KA`U INTERMEDIATE students will be able to join the After School All Stars program in 2012 to encourage higher academic performance and physical activity. The initiative will create after-school sports leagues for basketball, volleyball and soccer, according to a Dan Nakaso story in this morning’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser. There will be no try-outs or cuts, as the program is aimed at participation rather than winning. It focuses on encouraging all children to be physically and academically active. The only limitation is that students will have to maintain a 2.0 grade average to participate in the sports league. When they are not playing sports they will concentrate on studies after school. 

     Some 3,700 students around the state will have the program on their campuses. On this island, other schools are Kea`au and Pahoa. On O`ahu they are Waianae and Nanakuli.

     Keith Amemiya, former executive director of the Hawai`i High School Athletic Association, said he has dreamed of after-school sports for middle school students for years. Now a member of the state school board, he said the program is a three-year pilot and will cost more than $800,000 funded by donations. 

Keith Amemiya

     Amemiya told the Star-Advertiser that ‘the middle school years are just as critical, if not even more important, than the high school years in making sure our students are appropriately engaged and involved in after-school activities…. Students change physically and emotionally. If you lose some of those kids, they may go down the wrong path. By the time they reach high school, it’s difficult to get them back on the right track.” 

     Amemiya also told the Star-Advertiser that the academic side would include classroom-style instruction, rather than monitoring completion of assignments. Social service workers, psychologists and medical professionals will be involved to help out. “A lot of these kids don’t go to the doctor regularly, so we’ll bring healthcare professionals and counselors to them and offer everything from birth certificates to Social Security cards,” Amemiya said. “We firmly believe that sports and other after-school activities teach teamwork, discipline, perseverance, hard work and accountability. But we’re using athletics as a tool to help students academically as well as in other areas to help their development.
     “The ultimate goal is to roll out this program to every middle school across the state. Already some other complex areas have expressed interest in starting their own middle school athletic programs,” he told the Star-Advertiser.

HAWAI`I SCHOOLS MUST SHOW IMPROVEMENT during a comprehensive federal review in January or risk losing the $75 million Race to the Top grant. A letter from the U.S. Department of Education yesterday said, “We are placing Hawai`i’s Race to the Top grant on high-risk status. The letter, addressed to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, noted “Hawai`i’s unsatisfactory performance during the first 14 months of the grant.”
     The federal DOE also put the state on cost-reimbursement status, meaning that the state must carry out programs and pay for them before receiving the grant funds.
     State school board members and DOE officials said they would work hard on meeting the federal demands to keep the Race to the Top grant.

A BAN ON PLASTIC BAGS provided at retail check-out counters, with the exception of use for meat and produce, passed the County Council yesterday. Plastic bags would still be for sale in stores. The measure, authored by Council member Pete Hoffmann, passed with a five to three vote. Ka`u Council member Brittany Smart voted for the measure, as did South Kona Council member Brenda Ford. Council chair Dominic Yagong, who works for Foodland, abstained. Voting against the measure were J Yoshimoto, Dennis Onishi and Donald Ikeda. The measure goes to Mayor Billy Kenoi for his signature.

Alison Yahna teaches the art of beekeeping.
Photo from www.artemissmiles.com

DROUGHT, SMALL HIVE BEETLES AND VARROA MITES have hit bee colonies hard in Ka`u, according to beekeeper Alison Yahna, who has stopped selling honey to rebuild the bee colonies. She said that after the long drought and invasions by pests, the bees need their honey for energy to survive. Yahna said more than 50 percent of her colonies have survived. Islandwide, more than 70 percent of feral and managed hives have been lost. First the varroa mite came in with viruses that weakened colonies, then came the small hive beetle that preyed on weak colonies already infested by the varroa mite. Hilo and Puna were hardest hit, she said. 

     Yahna said that while her hives were affected, she predicts that they will hold their own without being treated. Once the nectar flow starts from the rains, “I will be working to rebuild colonies from my survivor queens which will hopefully have more resistance to these pests.”
     She asks that people who see bees swarming call her at 929-8117. She said that people are reporting fewer bees in their gardens. See more on her honeybee sanctuary at www.artemissmiles.com.

Reefer keeper
Kaohi Mokuhali`i

PIPIKAULA IS BEING SOLD to help raise funds to keep the Ka`u Reefer in Na`alehu open. Kaohi Mokuhali`i is selling the old Hawaiian-style, marinated sun-dried beef in one- and two-pound packages for $10 a pound. Contact her at 938-9040 or kmokuhalii@yahoo.com, or Carol Massey at 929-9001 or masseys2@hawaii.rr.com.

THE PAHALA AND WAI`OHINU transfer stations, along with all others on the island, will be closed this Sunday, Christmas Day.