Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 21, 2012

The County Council and administration are haggling over whether to allow private industry to bid on recycling and
sorting trash to keep the island and the ocean clean. Photo from Campaign for Recycling

THE STATE SUPREME COURT yesterday turned down an appeal to keep state House and Senate voting districts as they are and told the Reapportionment Commission to move forward in redrawing the lines. The Big Island is expected to gain an additional Senate seat and could gain a House seat, as this island had the largest population growth during the last ten years, according to the recent census. The ruling, however, could lead to a delay in candidates filing to run for the Legislature, and the commission says it needs more precise population statistics to do its job. Those numbers are not yet available, and the commission said it could not draw the lines by Feb. 1, the day when candidates can start filing for the election. 

The state Supreme Court has told the Reapportionment
Commission to redraw district lines.

     Primary election day has already been moved from September to August, making the length of time candidates will have to campaign much shorter. The delay in settling on district boundary lines would make that time even shorter, unless the election day is put back to September. There are 25 Senate seats and 51 House seats at stake. 

     The existing maps leave Sen. Gil Kahele representing Ka`u and beyond, but Rep. Bob Herkes would lose representation of Na`alehu, Kalae and Ocean View.
     If the commission can confirm that there are 120,000 nonresident military, university students and other people counted in the Hawai`i census who claim permanent residency elsewhere, the Big Island will have an additional House member. If the number is in the area of 78,000, only the new Senate seat will be gained.
     The Supreme Court ruled that the voting district maps were unfair after Sen. Malama Solomon, the Hawai`i County Democrats and an attorney from Kona filed suit.

BROAD REFORMS IN THE STATE SCHOOL SYSTEM will go forward, Gov. Neil Abercrombie said yesterday, responding to the teachers union voting down an agreement for a new contract. Teachers apparently feared provisions in the contract that would have tied teacher salaries to student performance, saying the manner in which the teachers would be judged remained unclear. The teachers voted down the union contract two to one, putting $75 million at risk in federal Race to the Top funding. 

Kathryn Matayoshi

     According to a story in this morning’s Star-Advertiser, the superintendent of the state school system, Kathryn Matayoshi, urged teachers to accept the proposed evaluation system as a way to improve their teaching practices. Union leaders, who negotiated and agreed to the new contract said they would go back to the members to address their concerns. 

     In the meantime, the governor said that practices will be put in place to save the $75 million in federal funding.

PRIVATIZATION OF RECYCLING AND SORTING GARBAGE on the island could become a campaign issue this year. Likely mayoral candidate Dominic Yagong and County Council candidate Brenda Ford are pushing the administration to put recycling and sorting of trash out to bid, a measure that is also supported by current County Council members Brittany Smart, Pete Hoffmann and Angel Pilago. They said that private industry may be able to do a better job and generate income to the county. They asked the county to put the sorting process in Hilo out to bid, but the county has divided its budget for trash into increments so it doesn’t have to go through the County Council for approval, according to a story in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. 

     The county would contract for some of the services but operate the sorting station in Hilo itself, with the addition of county employees. According to the story, Ford said, “If you don’t have a right to award a contract, you’re bargaining in bad faith.” Council chair Yagong said he will propose new legislation to require the county to involve the Council in the process.

Humpback whales in Hawai`i. Photo from Benjamin L. Richards/NOAA

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK encourages volunteers to help count humpback whales during the annual Sanctuary Ocean Count held the last Saturdays of January, February and March from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. 

     Ka`ena Point, at the end of Chain of Craters Road, is one of 22 Sanctuary Ocean Count sites islandwide where volunteers onshore monitor humpbacks in nearshore waters for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. Residents and visitors enjoy this yearly event that provides important population and distribution information about humpback whales around the Hawaiian Islands.
     “This is an ideal opportunity for the community and for Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park to work together as stewards of our ocean,” said ranger Adrian Boone, site leader for the Sanctuary Ocean Count. “These magnificent creatures swim more than 2,000 miles to Hawai`i from Arctic waters every winter, and the annual count is one way we can help observe and record their behavior and ensure their future,” he said.
     Volunteers can sign up on the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary website:
http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/involved/ocvolunteer.html or call 1-888-55-WHALE ext. 253.

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY holds its open house today until 4 p.m. The observatory, which is not usually open to the public, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. A schedule of activities for the open house is online at hvo.wr.usgs.gov.

VOLCANO ART CENTER hosts a Poetry Slam at its Niaulani Campus tonight. Participants bring two poems of their own creation that are no longer than three minutes each. Prizes are awarded to the top three finishers as chosen by the judges. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the event begins at 7 p.m. Admission is $6.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 20, 2012

HSTA members have turned down a contract previously approved by union leadership. Photo by Julia Neal

FEDERAL RACE TO THE TOP FUNDING is threatened by the teachers union voting to turn down a proposed six-year contract with the state. The fed warned the state that $75 million could be cancelled if significant changes are not made in the school system. 

     The proposed contract has competency requirements for teachers that include tying their status to the success of students. Some teachers said this could be unfair to teachers in schools and classrooms where students have many challenges. It also called for pay increases after keeping pay cuts in place for several years. The Hawai`i State Teachers Association leadership had approved the contract and sent it to a vote, but teachers rejected it in a two-to-one vote.

EASING OF VISAS from China, India and Brazil could bring more visitors here, according to the Hawai`i Tourism Authority, commenting on Pres. Barack Obama’s tourism speech yesterday. The Chinese opportunity is particularly important to Hawai`i, and tourism authority chief Mike McCartney said it could lead to an additional 150,000 jobs statewide. Obama promised to fast-track changes to the visa process for people coming from these countries to make it easier for them to go on vacation in the U.S.

Solar panels convert sunlight to energy to charge
electric vehicles. Photo from Honda

ELECTRIC CARS FOR THE COUNTY is a new pilot program, and the County Council Finance Committee approved $41,863 in funding, which came from a rebate from the Hawai`i Energy Efficiency Program. This follows another $70,000 in funding, according to a Nancy Cook Lauer story in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune Herald. The story says the first pilot project will be set up at West Hawai`i Civic Center, where carports already have solar panels where county vehicles can plug into charging stations. The county currently uses about $1.5 million in gasoline and diesel each year, at an expense nearing $10 million, with increasing fuel costs. The Cook Lauer story quotes Laverne Omori, who is deputy director of the county Department of Research and Development, saying, “Utilization of power from the sun to charge electric vehicles will stabilize county fuel cost, promote new transportation industry in the community and allow county government to lead by example.” 

REP. BOB HERKES’ LAW against unfair foreclosures has forced lenders to choose between mediation or court proceedings before homes are taken away and has helped keep people in their houses, according to the Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force member Jeff Gilbreath. He told members of both the state House and Senate Consumer protection Committees yesterday said that the latest Realty Trac report shows a 53 percent drop in foreclosures in Hawai`i. Before the legislation was passed, Hawai`i was 11th in foreclosures nationwide. Herkes accused mortgage holders, including Bank of America, of unfair practices that led to people being thrown out of their houses without even knowing a foreclosure was pending. He said that lenders refused to negotiate with homeowners, even those who had good jobs and the ability to pay toward the debt, but their houses were underwater because of the crash in the real estate market. This came after the same lenders gave loans for overpriced houses to people who could not really afford them. Legislators said they will study this session whether additional legislation could help prevent predatory lending to people desperate to save their homes. Educating prospective homebuyers and people looking to refinance was suggested as part of the solution. 

Kamanaopono Crabbe

THE NEW OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS CEO is Dr. Kamanaopono Crabbe, who succeeds Clyde W. Namuo, who retired after a decade on the job. Crabbe, 48, “steps in at a time when OHA is strengthening its focus on a number of initiatives aimed at improving conditions for Native Hawaiians,” says an OHA statement. Chairwoman Colette Machado said the appointment “enables a smooth leadership transition at OHA. Kamanao has an outstanding reputation for organization and managing by consensus.”
     Crabbe joined OHA’s executive team in November 2009 as research director. He came to OHA from the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where he served as a licensed psychologist and director of training.
     He has long-served the Native Hawaiian community and the residents of Hawai`i in the area of clinical psychology, family therapy and Native Hawaiian health research. He is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Hawai`i at Manoa.
     “OHA is guided by a vision and mission to ensure the perpetuation of the culture, to protect the entitlements of Native Hawaiians, and to build a strong and healthy Hawaiian people and nation,” the statement says.

ISLAND RESIDENTS AND VISITORS are invited to tour Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and interact with HVO scientists at an open house on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The observatory, which is not usually open to the public, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. A schedule of activities for the open house is online at hvo.wr.usgs.gov.

KA`U HIGH BOYS BASKETBALL TEAMS hosted Kamehameha yesterday. The junior varsity team won 47-40, with Larry Al-Navarro scoring 17 points.
     Kamehameha’s varsity team won with a score of 72 to Ka`u’s 30. Holden Galigo was high point scorer with seven.

Ka'u News Briefs Jan. 19, 2012

Spearfishing with SCUBA would be illegal under a new law proposed by Sen. Gil Kahele.

OUTLAWING SPEARFISHING WITH SCUBA TANKS and other underwater breathing devices like hukah rigs is an initiative by Sen. Gil Kahele at the 2012 State Legislature, which opened yesterday. His proposed law would make free diving the only way to collect virtually all aquatic life when using a spear. The proposed law would cover not only fish but limu and any other aquatic life where a spear could be used with underwater breathing devices. Anyone taking marine life using air and spear could be fined, and boats, trucks and other equipment involved in this kind of fishing could be seized and forfeited. Discovering marine life on a boat or truck along with a spear and SCUBA gear would be considered evidence that the law was broken. Kahele’s proposed law covers fresh water and the ocean and gets very specific in defining aquatic life as any type of or species of mammal, fish, amphibian, reptile, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, invertebrate, coral or other animal or plant.

Ka`u's state Sen. Gilbert Kahele proudly displayed and
served Ka`u Coffee yesterday in his office at the Capitol.
Kahele, who is vice chairman of the Senate Agricultural
Committee, is a staunch supporter of Ka`u Coffee and
Hawai`i Island's local farmers.

     The bill also gets specific in defining the word spear but excludes dive knives. Spears can be either hand-held, released completely by the user, or attached by line to another device which is used to impale aquatic life by means of a pointed or sharpened tip.
     The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands banned scuba-spear fishing in 2002. Its Division of Fish & Wildlife researcher Michael Trianni said that that scuba spear fishing “has probably been the single most important cause of the decline of the Napoleon wrasse worldwide.” The Mariana fishery has come back, and it is a famous place for scuba to see underwater marine life, without spearguns. A similar ban has been proposed for Guam.

PREVENTING AXIS DEER from spreading throughout the island is another Kahele initiative. His proposed legislation prohibits transporting live game animals from island to island without a permit, and the permits would be given only for scientific and educational purposes. The law established mandatory fines, some of them as high as $15,000 and possible imprisonment.
     Kahele said that axis deer, with its fast growing population, has damaged many farms on Maui, hurt the cattle industry and devastated native habitat. Axis deer sightings have been reported in Ka`u.

TO SAVE PAHALA LIBRARY from further demise, Sen. Gil Kahele is planning to introduce a bill into the 2012 State Legislature calling for transferring the library from the Hawai`i State Library system to the Department of Education. The bill also asks that employees be retained during the transfer. The bill also asks for an undetermined amount of funding to keep the library open during normal school library days.
     Friends of Pahala Library has been speaking with lawmakers in an attempt to secure regular staffing, slow the selling off of its inventory of books and keep the library doors open to students and the general public. The library has been evaluated by the number of books checked out, but getting a library card for young people is deemed difficult, and hours are such that there is little time for students to go there.

KA`U HIGH’S GIRLS BASKETBALL team triumphed over Pahoa last night on their home court, 67 – 35. Joyce Ibasan scored 15 points, Shaylin Navarro 13, and Janessa Jara 12.

Traditional method of pounding kalo into poi. Photo from canoeplants.com

SAM AND EDNA BALDADO share the cultural uses of kalo, explaining how it was used for food, medicine, glue, dyes and much more at Ka`u `Ohana Day this Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Call 985-6019 today to be included in the free lunch count.

A RISK MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP on the coffee berry borer begins at 5:30 today at the Old Pahala Clubhouse on Maile Street. Farmers and scientists will focus on keeping the coffee berry borer out of Ka`u. Didi Diaz-Lyke will provide an update on CBB management strategies and experiments taking place in Ka`u and explain risk mitigation practices to minimize crop loss. She will also introduce a visiting intern, Karla Casco, from Honduras, who will be living here and working on the problem in Ka`u for 15 weeks. Andrea Kawabata, the new coffee and fruit orchard extension agent for the Big Island, will also be introduced.

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY celebrates its 100th anniversary with an Open House on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Island residents and visitors are invited to tour the observatory, which is not usually open to the public, and interact with HVO scientists. Scheduled activities include displays and demonstrations on Hawaiian volcanoes and HVO’s work. A schedule of activities is available online at hvo.wr.usgs.gov. Park entrance fee is waived on Saturday.