Ka`u News Briefs, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014

A snoozing sow at a Korean Natural Farming pig operation on the Big Island at Hubbles Hog Heaven.
Photo from Hubbles Hog Heaven

LEGISLATION FOR LABELS on GMO foods and cell phones passed out of the state Senate Health Committee this week, according to its chair, west Ka`u senator and physician Josh Green. SB 2571 SD1 would require all new and used cellular telephones sold or leased by a retailer in Hawai`i to bear this label:
     "To reduce exposure to radiation that may be hazardous to your health, please follow the enclosed product safety guidelines.....” The bill would require the warning label be "conspicuous, legible, non-removable and printed in bold lettering, and affixed to the front and back of all cellular telephone packaging."

A poster about cell phones in San Francisco,
where there is also debate about warnings.

     The senator stated: “We need to make sure cell phones are as safe as possible to use and that consumers are clearly informed that over-exposure to radiation from cell phones can be harmful to your health. Cell phones are an almost universally used tool and are here to stay, which makes it even more important that they are used safely and that consumers are aware of the potential hazards. The cell phone manufacturers themselves include legal disclaimers and health warnings buried deep in the packaging and instructional materials of their products, and in the phone software menus themselves. This measure is intended to clearly inform consumers of the health warnings that are buried in cell phone product safety guidelines.”
     The cell phone bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Consumer Protection, which has not yet scheduled it for a hearing. See http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=2571&year=2014 

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LABELING FOOD FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS would be required by SB 2521. Also championed by Sen. Josh Green, it would mandate the labeling for raw agricultural commodities, processed food, and seed or seed stock, that have been genetically engineered.
     “The people of Hawai`i have a right to know what is in the food they eat,” Green said. “If the people want a label informing them that there are GMOs in foods, then the legislature should follow their will and pass a simple but effective labeling system.” The bill was passed on Feb. 13 in a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health. It was referred to the Senate Committees on Consumer Protection and Ways and Means, which are yet to schedule hearings. See
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=2521 

    Chris Manfredi, of Na`alehu, a coffee broker and land manager, who recently became President of the Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation, testified that the Hawai`i Farm Bureau "strongly opposes SB 2521." He said, "We strongly believe that food labeling should be regulated at a federal level." Manfredi also stated: "There are no credible studies, much less a consensus among researchers and the medical community, that crops produced with GMO technology are unsafe. In fact the opposite is true. Independent reviews of thousands of studies have to come to the consensus conclusion that GMO crops are safe."

    Green disagrees with Manfredi's opposition to labeling and is joined by another physician, Dr. Richard Creagan, who represents west Ka`u in the state House of Representatives, owns a farm in Ka`u, and is a member of Hawai`i Farmers Union United. Creagan said this morning that "People will not agree on safety of GMOs because there is a range of GMOs and many studies to be done. However, the right to know is important. If you are worried about what's in your food it is going to have a negative effect on your health. The only way to allay suspicions it to label what is in the food. The Europeans have done this," noted Creagan.

     However, the state Department of Health does not want to be involved in regulating GMO labeling. Gary Gill, Deputy Director of Evironmental Health for the State of Hawai`i, testified that the department "does not object in principle to a labeling policy to enhance public awareness of the absence or presence of genetiacally engineered food or food ingredients in Hawai`i markets. However, the Department is not in a position to enforce such legislation because practical and legally defensable anyalytical methods to detect any and all genetic modifications do not exist."  The testimony from the state Department of Health also states that "Currently, there is no conclusive scientific evidence of negative health effects associatied with the consumption of genetically engineered food or food products as determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As such we do not believe such labeling is a health issue and thus do not support any such program being assigned to the Department to administer."

     Hawai`i Farmers Union United wrote to the legislature "in strong support of SB 2521" requiring GMO food labeling. The Farmers Union testimony noted that many of its thousands of farmers across the country grow GMO foods but the organization supports labeling. "The public has come out in record numbers for local GMO bills on both Kaua`i and Big Island. This is just another sign that the public wants the lawmakers of our state to give us, at the very least, this tool so that we can make informed decisions as consumers," states Hawai`i Farmers Union testimony.

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DR. LINDA ROSEN is the new chief of the state Department of Health, appointed yesterday by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, following the death of Director Loretta Fuddy in December. Fuddy died of a cardiac arrhythmia while awaiting an ocean rescue after an airplane accident in waters off Moloka`i. She was was well known for her advocacy for health care for the poor and her support for the Ka`u Local Consortium, which helps childbearing teens and women, under the guidance of Donna Kekoa and other volunteers. 

Dr. Linda Rosen was named Director of Health yesterday by Gov. Neil Abercrombie
Photo from governor.hawaii.gov

     Fuddy’s replacement is a pediatrician and medical school professor, and serves as chief of the state Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention System Branch. Rosen is expected to be confirmed by the state Senate soon, according to Senate Health Committee chair and west Ka`u’s Sen. Josh Green. Green spoke to the Honolulu Star Advertiser on Friday about  Rosen. "We have a close working relationship, and I have a lot of respect for Dr. Rosen. Linda's done an exceptional job developing our trauma system and is a strong physician leader."
   In Abercrombie’s statement, the governor noted that Rosen has more than 30 years in medicine, including administrative positions for more than a decade. “I have full confidence that Linda will continue the significant progress realized under late Director Loretta Fuddy for the remainder of her term." 

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PIGS GROWN WITH THE NATURAL KOREAN method of managing waste with IMOs – indigenous micorganisms, and a deep waste litter system, “are less susceptible to disease and personal injury” and show higher daily average weight gain, according to a University of Hawai`i report covered in a recent Megan Moseley story in Hawai`i Tribune Herald. The story says that the “Korean-based method of managing animal waste is improving hog farming conditions and garnering support on Hawaii Island.” The story quotes Hawai`i County research and development deputy director Donn Mende saying, “There seems to be a growing interest in natural farming.”
     There are more than 40 Korean Natural Farming piggeries in Hawai`i and some of them allow farm tours, such as Hubbles Hog Heaven in east Hawai`i. See http://hubbleshogheaven.blogspot.com

Lack of odor is a benefit of raising pigs with IMOs. Photo from Hubbles Hog Heaven

    The Tribune Herald story quotes U.H. East Hawai`i agricultural extension agent Michael Duponte. After visiting Sim Mook Kang’s farm in Mountain View, Dupont told the reporter, “When I walked in – I couldn’t believe what I saw – no smell, no flies.” The reporter notes that Kang put IMOs into use for the first time in the U.S. in 2009.
     The writer explains that the “lack of smell that’s typically associated with pig waste can be attributed to the use of the indigenous microorganisms or IMOs. Farmers who follow the Korean Natural Farming method incorporate IMOs into the soil that end up breaking down the animal waste naturally.”
     In his report, DuPonte, explains that through the Korean Natural Farming method, the deep green waste litter system also uses “strategic solar positioning and natural ventilation for drying and cooling.”
     The Moseley story also covers a U.S. Department of Agriculture document’s explanation of four types of IMOs. “IMO 1 are organisms that have been gathered by exposing sterile, fresh-cooked rice substrate to good fertile soil from the local garden, farm field and humus from under trees and bushes. Mature IMO 1 is bound together with fungal mycelia and also contains a variety of bacteria and other microorganisms. IMO 2 involves IMO 1 organisms along with the rice substrate, which has been mixed with an equal weight of brown sugar, mashed to a paste and allowed to ferment under a porous cover for at least a week. IMO 3 involves completed IMO 2 that has been diluted with water and optional nutrients and used to moisten rice or wheat bran, followed by fermentation to multiply the IMO 2 organisms. The fermentation lasts a week or more depending on conditions. IMO 4 is IMO 3 that has been mixed with an equal weight of good rock-free native topsoil and allowed to continue fermentation until activity subsides.”
     The Tribune Herald story reports DuPonte saying that the Kang farm “has had no need to add additional IMO’s since it started that practice and that there is no runoff or need to clean the piggery.”
     See more at hawaiitribune-herald.com and at hubbelshogheaven.blogspot.com. Also see https://www.facebook.com/CGNFHawaii.

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PEOPLE & LANDS OF KAHUKU is a a guided, 2.5 -mile hike at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park's Kahuku Unit tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.. Call 985-6011. 

FREE ENTRANCE TO HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK continues today through Monday in celebration of President's Day weekend.

PRESIDENTS DAY BUFFET will be offered Monday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp's Crater Rim Cafe. 967-8371.

SEE THE DIRECTORY 2014 ONLINE. For a page-turning version, seekaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf. For a pdf version, see kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.pdf.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.           

      

Ka`u News Briefs, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014

Ka`u High School students ready for science fair competitions on O`ahu. Photo courtesy of Marcus Douglas

KA`U HIGH SCIENCE STUDENTS are headed to O`ahu for statewide competition following success at the East Hawai`i District Science & Engineering Fair held at Imiloa last weekend. Ka`u High School science teacher Marcus Douglas said he is very proud of the Ka`u team members who won awards at the event in Hilo and have put on a science fair at their Pahala campus. Jennifer Tabios, a senior who lives in Na`alehu, took first place in Chemistry while Deisha Gascon, a sophmore at Ka`u High School took the top prize for Environmental Management.
     The statewide Hawai`i State Science & Engineering Fair will be held at the Hawai`i Convention Center, March 31- April 2 in Waikiki and Ka`u High is planning to enter.

Young Ka`u students interact with the older students at a
recent science fair on the Pahala campus.
Photo courtesy of Marcus Douglas

     The competition is sponsored by the Hawai`i Academy of Science, a private, non-profit organization founded in 1925. The Academy promotes scientific research and education in Hawai`i and the Pacific Rim and executes programs and experiences for the science and learning communities. In addition to the Hawai`i Science & Engineering Fair, it hosts The Pacific Symposium for Science & Sustainability, a program called Science Date, as well as STEM Week in Hawai`i. See www.hawaiiacademyofscience.org.

SCIENCE CAMPS OF AMERICA has announced two sessions based in Pahala this summer. The first will be Land & Sea Camp, from June 29 – July 8. According to founder Michael Richards, the focus will be on volcanoes – geology – and the ocean – oceanography. Students will visit Kilauea, the world’s most active and easily studied volcano. Students will visit the footprints trail and see one of the world’s greatest mineral collections, as well as visit beaches made entirely of minerals. Students will learn “not just about the events that take place in the natural world but experience first hand how they affect plants, animals and humans. The Big Island of Hawai`i is the world’s greatest laboratory for Earth Science,” says Richards.
     Through the outdoors, students learn about such topics as plate tectonics, volcanics, erosion, ocean structure, marine life and Hawaiian history and culture. 

Science Camps of America rolls out programs for this summer, based in Ka`u, with scholarship opportunities.
Photo from Science Camps of America

    The second session is Air & Space Camp, July 8 – 17. It teaches students about Earth’s atmosphere, climate and space. Students visit observatories and centers where astronomers work. They learn how scientists study concentrations of substances in the atmosphere. They see alternate energy development in action. Richards says that students “will gain a better understanding of climate change and be better prepared to participate in the solutions to the challenges you will face. The Big Island of Hawai`i is the ideal location for experiencing the air and space sciences.” Students learn about solar system formation, the moon, planets and  space exploration.
    Students come from around the state and mainland and stay at Pahala Plantation House & Cottages with instructors, counselors and program specialists. Some scholarships are available to Ka`u students. To sign up for a scholarship or contribute to a scholarship fund, see http:/sciencecampsamerica.com. Call 678-619-0974.

STAKEHOLDERS IN COFFEE plan to “design the future of Hawai`i’s coffee industry,” during a two-day, $100 a person, planning event at Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa, according to a statement from Hawai`i Coffee Association president Greg Stille.  Processors, roasters, wholesalers, retailers and other stakeholders are invited to the meetings Feb. 28 - March 1.
     Stille said the sessions “will explore the industry’s potentials and address its challenges.”
    Dr. Donna R. Ching, of University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, will facilitate the planning sessions. Times are 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday. The $100 fee includes daily continental breakfast, lunch and all supplies.
    Event sponsors include Hawaii Coffee Association, Kona Coffee Council, Maui Coffee Association and Hawai`i Coffee Growers Association. Register at www.hawaiicoffeeassociation.com.  

     According to the press release, the Hawai`i Coffee Association’s mission is to represent all sectors of the Hawai‘i coffee industry, including growers, millers, wholesalers, roasters and retailers. “HCA’s primary objective is to increase awareness and consumption of Hawaiian coffees. A major component of HCA’s work is the continuing education of members and consumers.” For more info, visit www.hawaiicoffeeassociation.com. 

FREE ADMISSION TO HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK is tomorrow, Sunday and Monday to celebrate Presidents Day weekend,

VALENTINE’S DAY DINNER SPECIALS are available at Hana Hou and South Side Shaka’s in Na`alehu and at Kilauea Military Camp’s Crater Rim Cafe in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park

SEE FEBRUARY’S ISSUE of The Ka`u Calendar newspaper online at kaucalendar.com.

SEE THE DIRECTORY 2014 ONLINE. For a page-turning version, seekaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf. For a pdf version, see kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.pdf.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.           

       

Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, February 13, 2014

Young `Io, Hawaiian hawk, with road kill, along Hwy 11 in Ka`u. `Io could be removed from the endangered species list.
 Photo by Julia Neal

`IO, THE HAWAIIAN HAWK, could be taken off the federal endangered species list where the bird has been protected since 1967 when the population was estimated at a few hundred. With the count now estimated at around 3,000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a request on the Federal Register yesterday to reopen pubic comment for its proposal to remove `Io from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife under the Endangered Species Act.
      The `Io is seen frequently in Ka`u, from the grounds of Ka`u Hospital to yards, pastures, forests and nearshore parks. Ironically, the `Io prey on the young of another endangered species, the `Alala, Hawaiian crow.
       `Io are also protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Comments on delisting the `Io were previously accepted in 2008 and 2009, but additional comments will be received. To read more on the proposal for delisting, see http://federalregister.gov/a/2014-02982. Testimony can be submitted through http://www.regulations.gov for 60 days, beginning Feb. 14. To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar

MINIMUM WAGES IN HAWAI`I, which have remained at $7.12 an hour since 2007, are the subject of intense debate at the state legislature this session. Hawai`i has one of the highest costs of living in the U.S. and 21 states have higher minimum wages. Minimum wages by state range from no minimum wage in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee to Washington state where the minimum wage is $9.32. During his recent State of the State Address, Washington governor Jay Inslee said the wants to again raise the minimum wage, this time to $11.82 or higher to help remedy “50 years of income inequality.”

   While Hawai`i legislators themselves have enjoyed a 12 percent increase in their pay over the last seven years, they have been unable to come to an agreement on how to handle the push to increase minimum pay in Hawai`i.
A bill in the state House of Representatives, HB 2580, would raise the minimum wage over time, reaching $9.50 an hour by January of 2017. Thereafter it would adjust through using the consumer price index. The tip credit would be dropped. State Senate Bill 2609 would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by January 2017 and would also use the consumer price index as the regulator of future minimum wage increases. The tip credit would be cancelled.
     During the 2013 legislature, the minimum wage increase failed over debates about the tip credit. The tip credit gives restaurant owners tax credits for accurate reporting of tips by their employees.
     A coalition called Hawai`i Needs a Raise held a rally yesterday afternoon at the state Capitol, asking for a $10.10 minimum wage and elimination of the tip credit. Members of the group, which represent Hawai`i Appleseed, Hawai`i Commission on the Status of Women, Local 5 and other anti-poverty groups, gathered at the Capitol and their representatives marched to the office of the Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and also the office of House Finance Committee chair. Honolulu Star Advertiser reporter Derrick Depledge wrote this morning that "Skirmishes over process are often early warning signs that legislation is in trouble. At the start of session in January, there was broad consensus among Abercrombie and majority House and Senate Democrats for a minimum wage increase and some reasonable accommodation on a tip credit. Opponents had largely been pushed into the margins." See more at www.staradvertiser.com.
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RADIATION MONITORING is closer to reality as SB 3049 proposed by Pahala resident Sara Witt has passed the state Senate health committee and was sent to the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection. If it passes that committee, it would go to the Senate’s Ways & Means Committee, which takes care of funding. The bill would fund monitoring around the state of Hawai`i to determine radiation levels in the wake of the Japan Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant disaster on March 11, 2011. The nuclear power plant at Fukushima continues to leak radiation into the ocean where it can be lifted into the air and re-depostited here. Senate Bill 3049 was introduced by east Ka`u Sen. Russell Ruderman and west Ka`u Sen. Josh Green, a physician who heads the Senate health committee. West Ka`u Rep. Richard Creagan, also a physician, and Rep. Fay Hanohano introduced the House version.
     The monitoring would be in food, dairy products, rainwater, aquifers and drainage ditches. The state Department of Health would report radiation levels on a website. The program would start July 1 and run through June 30, 2019.
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As shown in orange, Ka`u and Volcano have hot spots
for prospective geothermal development.

GEOTHERMAL PROJECTS would be come under more county control if either state House of Representatives measure, up for consideration today, passes through committees and earn legislature approval. House Bill 1766, introduced by Faye Hanohano, of Puna, would would revise Hawai`i law on regulating mineral resources to limit geothermal plants to geothermal subzones which were eliminated by the legislature in 2012 through Act 97.
    The state Board of Land & Natural Resources would establish the geothermal zones and issue permits for geothermal development on lands classified Conservation. The county would handle permitting on other lands. The bill would establish permit requirements requiring assessments of geologic hazards; environmental, cultural and social impacts; compatibility with allowed uses in the
surrounding area; and determining whether potential benefits are in the interests of the resident population, county and state. The geothermal developer would be required to state potential for health, safety and nuisance impacts and would set up buffer zones between geothermal development and adjoining lands.
     A different bill, HB 2639, would return authority to the counties for issuing permits on all land but Conservation district property. State Board of Land & Natural Resources chair William Aila, Jr. testified that his deparment "does not oppose restoring home rule authority throught the issuance of geothermal resource permits, as we believe each individual county should maintain its authority to regulate use that occurs within its appropriate land use districts."
     There would be no geothermal subzones. However, there would be standards for approval of projects when they are without unreasonable health, environmental or socioeconomic impacts on nearby residents; when they don’t burden government with new infrastructure costs; and when the geothermal developers are able to prove reasonable measures to mitigate impacts. This bill would require some of the revenues from geothermal to be placed in a fund for land, administered by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources. Both bills were up for public hearings today in committees.
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Halema`uma`u at dawn. Photo by Park Ranger Stephan Geiger

FREE ADMISSION TO HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK celebrates, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the connections between national leaders and all 401 National Park Service sites during Presidents Day weekend, Feb 15-17.  The National Park Service will also waive admission fees on five additional days in 2014 – the first weekend of National Park Week (April 19
and 20), the National Park Service’s 98th birthday Aug. 25, National Public Lands Day on Sept. 27, and Veterans Day Nov. 11.
     Hawai‘i Volcanoes is one of five national park units on the Island of Hawai‘i. Pu‘uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park is also free of charge on the NPS fee-free 2014 dates. Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, and the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail do not charge entrance fees. National park passes that provide free or discounted admission year round are available for active duty military members and their dependents, senior citizens, and people with permanent disabilities. To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HANA HOU RESTAURANT in Na`alehu offers Valentine’s Day dinners Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Special menu items include prime rib, crab lasagna and garlic shrimp, baby back ribs with guava BBQ glaze and baked mahi mahi stuffed with crab and scallops. Meals include starter and dessert for $30 per person. Earnest Kalani provides entertainment on Friday.
Call 929-9717 for reservations.

VALENTINE’S DAY DINNER SPECIALS are available Friday at South Side Shaka’s in Na`alehu. Prime rib is $21.95, snow crab is $26.95, and a combination is $29.95. Music by Kaleo Peters.
For reservations, call 929-7404.

VALENTINE’S DAY BUFFET is available at Kilauea Military Camp’s Crater Rim Cafe in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The buffet features prime rib, chicken piccata, shrimp and mushroom alfredo and more for $24.95 for adults and $14.50 for children ages 6 to 11. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. Call 967-8356 for more information.

SEE FEBRUARY’S ISSUE of The Ka`u Calendar newspaper online at kaucalendar.com.

SEE THE DIRECTORY 2014 ONLINE. For a page-turning version, seekaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf. For a pdf version, see kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.pdf.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.