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Thursday, November 02, 2023

Kaʻū News Briefs Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023

Back Stage with Hālau Hula O Leionālani
Hālau Hula O Leionālani and Kumu Debbie Ryder hosted Bali Hai dancers from Mexico at Aunty Sally's Lu‘au Hale in Hilo to perform for kupuna on Thursday. Dancers from Hawai‘i, Mexico, Japan and the U.S. mainland will perform this Saturday in Nāʻālehu at Ke Ola Pu‘uhonua Cultural Grounds, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Photos by Brenda Iokepa Moses


HAWAI‘I EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY released the 2023 update to the State Hazard Mitigation Plan this week. It is a document that provides a framework for future efforts to reduce the risk
of hazards across Hawai‘i.
   The statement from the agency says, "The plan will be used to guide work in the years ahead to reduce or eliminate the harm caused to Hawai‘i and its communities by wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, and other hazards. The state fully updates the plan every five years, and it must be approved by the Governor and the Federal Emergency Management Agency; additional amendments may be made annually to reflect plan changes by HI-EMA, the counties and other partners.
    HI-EMA began collecting public comments on the new plan in December 2022, including a series of public meetings across the state and virtual meetings via teleconference. Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green, M.D., formally adopted the plan on September 27, 2023. FEMA requires that states must have an approved hazard mitigation plan to qualify for numerous federal assistance and mitigation grants.
    “This plan is a cornerstone of the work that emergency managers do to reduce the risk and harm from known hazards,” said James Barros, HI-EMA administrator. “The state works with the counties and the counties work with their communities to turn this plan into projects that protect life and property.”
    The 2023 State Hazard Mitigation Plan identifies the major natural hazards that affect our state, assesses the risk that each hazard poses, analyzes the vulnerability of our people, property and infrastructure to the specific hazard, and recommends actions that can be taken to reduce the risk and vulnerability to the hazard.
    The updated plan can be found on the HI-EMA website at https://dod.hawaii.gov/hiema/final-2023-hazard-mitigation-plan/.


A KONA JUDGE, ON THURSDAY, RELEASED AN OCEAN VIEW MAN ACCUSED OF ATTEMPTED MURDER AND ROBBERY, who was being held in lieu of $350,000 bail. County Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen issued a statement noting that the defendant is Ocean View man, 44-year-old Dorson Buddy Behrendt. He was arrested and charged in relation to a robbery and firearm shooting incident that occurred on Oct. 15 in the Hawaiian Ocean View subdivision.
    During his initial appearance on Thursday morning in Kona District Court, Behrendt was granted release on his own recognizance by District Court Judge Kimberly Taniyama and ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 29. He is charged with:
    Attempted murder in the Second Degree - shooting another person with a firearm, which carries a penalty of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole; and
Dorson Buddy Behrendt has been charged
with Attempted Murder and Attempted
Robbery. Photo from Prosecuting Attorney
 
   Attempted Robbery in the First Degree and Carrying or Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Separate Felony, are both class A felony offenses, which carry a penalty of a 20-year prison term.
    Waltjen stated, "The charges are merely allegations and the Defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty."
    The case was initiated by Kaʻū Patrol. The felony investigation was led by Detective Donovan Kohara, Area II Criminal Investigation Section, Hawai‘i Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chase Murray.
     "The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney remains dedicated to the pursuit of justice with integrity and commitment," said Waltjen.
    According to the report from Hawai‘i Police Department, at 8:50 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15, Ka‘ū patrol officers were dispatched to the area of Aloha Boulevard and Paradise Parkway in the Hawai‘i Ocean View Estates subdivision for a report of a male in need of medical assistance after possibly being assaulted.     
    Arriving on the scene, officers found the victim, believed to be a 53-year-old Ocean View man, with severe facial injuries lying on the ground near a gold Toyota van. Due to the severity of his injuries, police were unable to ask the victim how he had been injured. 
    The victim was transported to the Kona Community Hospital with life-threatening injuries where it was determined that he had sustained a gunshot wound to his facial area. He was subsequently transferred to the Queens Medical Center on O'ahu where he remains hospitalized in stable condition. During the course of the investigation, police identified Behrendt as the suspect and possible responsible person who shot the victim.
    After conferring with the County Prosecutor’s Office, Area II CIS detectives charged Behrendt with: Second-degree attempted murder; First-degree robbery; and Carrying/Use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony.
    Police ask anyone who may have information regarding this incident to contact Detective Donovan Kohara of the Area II Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 960-3118, via email at Donovan.kohara@hawaiicounty.gov, or the police department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311. Anyone having information to assist local law enforcement can also call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.


TROJAN LADIES VOLLEYBALL TEAM WILL TRAVEL TO HONOLULU for the state finals. Coach Kamalani Fujikawa reports that "Kaʻū High will join Big Island Interscholastic Federation title holder Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy and Konawaena to represent the BIIF DII on O‘ahu from November 7- 10. Schedules haven't been finalized as O‘ahu teams are still competing. We will be playing our first game at either 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. at Kalani or Kaimuki High school."

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Wednesday, November 01, 2023

Kaʻū News Briefs Wednesday, Nov.1, 2023

Preparations to begin for Cultural Fest
Greeting the sunrise at Punalu‘u is a tradition of Ho‘okupu Hula No Kaʻū Cultural Festival. Hālau Hula O
 Leionālani and Kumu Debbie Ryder present a free day of music, hula and culture from Hawai‘i, Mexico,
Japan and the mainland this Saturday at Ke Ola Po‘ohonua Cultural Grounds in Nāʻālehu from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Photo by Julia Neal

RAMONA OKUMURA, WHO WAS TRAPPED IN GAZA, IS FREE after processing through the Israel-Egyptian border and going by road on Wednesday to Cairo. Okumura, with family ties Kaʻū, was one of five Americans allowed through the Rafah Crossing on Wednesday in order to leave the war between Hamas and Israel. She was listed by Hamas among the workers for international NGOs approved for travel on Wednesday, including those expected to be replaced by other aid workers going back into Gaza. More of the 1,500 Americans trapped in Gaza were expected to leave on Thursday and going forward.
    Okumura has visited Kaʻū many times to stay with her brother Glenn Okumura in Pāhala. After the war broke out, the Okumura family worked for three weeks going to Washington D.C. to meet with members of Congress and the Department of State in their effort to secure safe passage for Auntie Ramona.
    Ramona Okumura volunteers with the Gaza Amputee Project of the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund.

The Kaʻū Calendar print edition: Five thousand mailed
 free to postal addresses from Volcano through Kaʻū to
Miloli'i, 2,500 go on stands.

She is a specialist in making prosthetics for young amputees and is retired from University of Washington where she researched and taught the craft. She grew up in Hawai‘i.
    Her story has been carried in national media and she said she remains very concerned about the number of people being killed by the war in Gaza, where about half of the population is comprised of children.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

A DEAD PERSON WAS FOUND ON A VACANT LOT IN OCEAN VIEW, according to detectives with Hawai‘i Police Department’s Area II Criminal Investigation Section. They have initiated an unattended death investigation after a decomposed body was discovered on a vacant property in the Hawai‘i Ocean View Estates subdivision Monday evening, Oct. 30. According to the HPD statement, shortly before 6 p.m. on Monday, Ka‘ū patrol officers and Area II CIS detectives responded to a property on the 92-2500 block of ‘Ohia Drive after receiving a report of a lifeless body on an empty lot. Responding officers discovered the body of a partially decomposed man on the vacant property.

    The man’s identity is unknown at this time, and police are requesting the public’s assistance in identifying the victim.
   He is described as possibly being Caucasian, 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, 180 pounds, with brown or blonde hair, and unknown eye color.
    The circumstances surrounding the death are undetermined at this time. Anyone with information relative to this investigation is encouraged to call the police department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311 or contact Detective Joshua Pa at (808) 785-7197; or via email at joshua.pa@hawaiicounty.gov. Citizens who wish to remain anonymous can submit a tip through Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300 and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers does not record any calls or subscribe to caller ID.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

WALKING TRUNK TO TRUNK on Tuesday evening at Kahuku County Park in Ocean View, more than
Kris Cunningham, authentically dressed as a witch, stands
 behind a table of human skulls, handing out candy to
 costumed keiki. Photo by Annie Bosted
100 keiki garnered candies and other treats from generous adults standing beside the trunks and truck beds of their Halloween-themed vehicles.
    With most homes in Ocean View on one-acre or three-acre lots, with many house sites undeveloped, trick-or-treating door-to-door is generally deemed to be unsafe for keiki. On Tuesday evening a large group of families parked their Halloween-decorated cars with open trunks in an Ocean View parking lot, attracting trick-or-treaters. These events, which are gaining popularity country-wide, are also known as Trunk or Treat or Halloween Tailgating, and have been popular in the past at Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary School. A small Trunk or Treat was held last year at Ocean View Community Center.
    On Tuesday, about 20 decorated cars were arranged around the perimeter of Kahuku County Park's upper parking lot, all parked with their open trunks facing the center of the lot. The event began as the sun was setting at 6 p.m. and lasted an hour.
    Excitement and anticipation were in the air as boisterous costumed keiki discovered a seemingly endless source of treats
Sporting bright red hair, a costumed Ocean View resident, Anne Gunderson sits
 on the edge of her Halloween-decorated trunk, offering candies to Princess
Iris Gregory and her brother, Spiderman Cole Gregory. Photo by Annie Bosted
– starting with removable arm tattoos and glow-stick bracelets. The Halloween-themed decorations adorning the vehicles expressed a variety of styles, drawing on the time-honored icons of the holiday. There were spiders, skulls, cobwebs, red lights, animated skeletons, witches, pumpkins and more. Costumes were worn by most Keiki, and some adults, as they meandered among the decorated cars, socializing, taking photos and, of course, receiving candy.
    Jessica Mahley and her friend, Kristin Davis, organized the event. Mahley, who owns the Pueo Puppy Sanctuary, told The Kaʻū Calender that since she was a child, Halloween has been her favorite holiday.
    She said the Trunk or Treat "had an excellent turnout. A lot of parents were super happy to have a safe place to take their kids trick-or-treating. Unfortunately, the kids in Ocean View are under-served, so they need events like this one."
    "I think we will need a larger parking lot next year. I'm hoping that this event will be adopted by the community, and that it will continue and evolve on its own," added Mahley.















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Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Kaʻū News Briefs Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023

KMLAC members Kaikea Nakachi and his father Mike Nakachi plant coral pieces for the Kahuwai Bay Coral Restoration 
 Project, assisted by The Nature Conservancy. See more below. Photo from Liquid Cosmos Divers 2

RAMONA OKUMURA IS ON THE MOVE and texted to her brother in Pāhala on Tuesday that she was being processed at the Egyptian border as one of 500 people attempting to leave Gaza during the Israel-
Ramona Okumura reported herself on the move to cross into
 Egypt after being trapped in the Gaza war for three weeks.
 Photo from Okumua family
Hamas war. The prosthetics expert, who helps to make and fit prosthetics for youth amputees, was serving in Gaza when the war broke out and was trapped there for three weeks. The U.S. Department of State said earlier on Tuesday that there were about 400 Americans seeking to leave Gaza and that it could happen very soon.
     Okumura is known to visit her family in Pāhala. Her brother Glenn, who lives here, and brother Miles of Honoka'a marched in the Honoka'a Peace Parade in October with a signing saying, "Bring Auntie Ramona Home." 
    She has gone to Gaza during the last five years to help young amputees, after retiring from University of Washington, working and teaching in that field, and specializing in making prosthetics from materials available wherever she goes.


THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, with its Hawai'i Island program headquarters in Ka'u, on Monday, launched the first Community-Led Coral Reef Restoration Project on this island. TNC Hawai'i & Palmyra is working with Kaʻūpūlehu Marine Life Advisory Committee on a project called Kanu Ko'a - Planting Corals - to integrate Hawaiian culture, local community, and the science of coral restoration to accelerate coral reef growth and recovery. A ceremony held on Monday was rooted in Hawaiian cultural practice and protocol, emphasizing 'ohana relationships with ko'a," the corals, says the TNC statement.

Close up of Porites lobata coral planted in Kahuwai Bay.
Photo by Liquid Cosmos Divers 2
    Kaʻūpūlehu Marine Life Advisory Committee member Ku'ulei Keakealani said, "In Kumulipo, our creation chant, ko'a is the first life that came from the dark, from pō. Everything else was born after that and we are all related. Whether we know it or not, we are dependent on ko'a: like trees, ko'a provides literally the breath of life. This project is a model of our interdependency with ko'a: I ola 'oe, i ola mākou nei — when you live, we live. It is a manifestation of our kuleana, of our reciprocal relationship with that which gives us life."
    At the event, project partners planted ko'a in Kahuwai Bay, within the ahupuaʻa of Kaʻūpūlehu. TNC divers and Native Hawaiian lineal descendants of Kaʻūpūlehu collected pieces of ko'a within the Bay that had broken off during recent high swells and would have otherwise died. Ko'a pieces were brought to shore on waʻa Kinikini, a double-hulled canoe. Together, the team used specialized saws to cut the collected pieces into 1-inch fragments. Scuba divers transported the pieces back into the Bay and affixed them to the reef with epoxy, while snorkelers watched from above. Ko'a pieces were planted in clusters, enabling them to grow together into a colony more quickly. All work with ko'a is being conducted under a Special Activities Permit with the State Division of Aquatic Resources.
    "We are honored to support and work with the KMLAC and other communities who embrace their
ancestral relationships to these places and perpetuate their cultural heritage along this coastline," says Rebecca Most, TNC Marine Program Director on the Island of Hawaiʻi. "Together, we are building coral reefs' ability to withstand the growing effects of the climate crisis."
    Coral reef health across the islands continues to decline, but reef restoration can build their resilience and help them recover. Scientists estimate that live coral cover on some Hawai'i reefs has declined by 60% over the past 40 years, due in part to overfishing and pollutants washing in from land. The climate crisis exacerbates this decline, with three
KMLAC members and other team members on the wa'a Kinikini in Kahuwai
 Bay Coral Restoration project. Photo by Liquid Cosmos Divers - 2

coral bleaching events in the last decade resulting in a 30% loss of live coral cover statewide. Effective local stewardship has helped some areas build resilience: human impacts have been reduced and fish populations, including grazing fish, have increased. But warming oceans, more frequent severe storms, and continuing land-based impacts will lead to future losses. Combined with community-led management, restoration can help mitigate these losses and catalyze recovery.
    Kaʻūpūlehu was prioritized for restoration through a statewide planning process because it is a healthy, well-managed area where restoration is likely to succeed. Kahuwai Bay has few land-based pollution sources and is in a sheltered location that is less likely to experience severe storm damage. The Bay is also within the Kaʻūpūlehu Marine Reserve, a 10-year rest area established in 2016 along 3.6 miles of coastline to give fish populations an opportunity to replenish. TNC surveys within the rest area showed a 612% increase in prime spawners (fish that lay the most eggs) in just four years.
    "Impacts on coral over the past decade have been devastating," says TNC Trustee and KMLAC member Vern Yamanaka. "As stewards of Kaʻūpūlehu, it is our kuleana and obligation to do what we can to protect coral, the basis of life in our nearshore waters. We need healthy coral reefs to maintain the marine life we are working to preserve, protect and sustainably manage, and this project will help us do that."
A piece of Porites lobata coral being fragmented. Photo from Ryzone Media




This event is the first step in determining the best restoration method for ko'a species that surround the Island of Hawaiʻi. Next steps include planting whole pieces of broken corals and installing an in-water nursery table to grow corals from fragments, which will then be out planted. During the next year, the KMLAC-TNC team will monitor the growth rates and health of the planted ko'a to evaluate which method of planting—whole pieces, fragments or nursery-grown fragments—helps ko'a grow best.

    "Restoration is an important tool in the fight against reef decline, but its adoption in Hawai'i and the Pacific is relatively novel," says Joe Pollock, Ph.D., TNC Senior Coral Reef Resilience Scientist. "By anchoring this project in science and culture while prioritizing learning and knowledge sharing, we can enhance local reef benefits while disseminating the insights needed to successfully scale up reef restoration throughout Hawai'i and beyond."

    The Kaʻūpūlehu Marine Life Advisory Committee (KMLAC) is a collaborative effort between the Native Hawaiian lineal descendants of Ka'ūpūlehu, representatives from Kamehameha Schools, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, lessees within the ahupuaʻa, resource managers, local non-governmental organizations, and state agency staff. The KMLAC is devoted to "perpetuating the legacy of our forebearers to protect, tend, and restore the biocultural resources of Ka'ūpūlehu."
    See https://www.facebook.com/KMLAC/ https://www.instagram.com/kaupulehu.mlac/

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

HAWAI'I ISLAND POLICE HAVE LOCATED 40-year old Shawna Tidwell of Ocean View, who was wanted for questioning regarding an ongoing criminal investigation. The Hawaii Police Department would like to thank the public’s assistance in locating Tidwell who was located in the Hawaii Ocean View Estates subdivision at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

Uēkahuna summit tiltmeter shows infaltion and defation. USGS photo M. Cappos

HERE ARE THE LATEST SUMMIT OBSERVATIONS from USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory:
   Unrest to the south and southwest of the summit area of Kīlauea continued over the past day with a slight increase in seismicity. Waxing and waning of unrest may continue.
    Elevated seismicity (a seismic swarm) associated with an intrusion beneath the south-southwest region of Kīlauea’s summit began in early October. Since then, swarm activity has varied, with the greatest number of earthquakes occurring on October 4-6, 16-18, 21-23, and 26-29. Over the past 24 hours, swarm activity continued to slightly increase, with approximately 127 earthquakes recorded in Kīlauea’s summit region, an increase from 74 over the previous 24 hours. Most of the earthquakes related to this unrest have been smaller than magnitude-2 and have occurred at depths of around 1–3 km (0.6–2 mi) below the Uēkahuna summit tiltmet hours, with minor deflation that transitioned to minor inflation last night. The Sand Hill tiltmeter, located southwest of the caldera, has been mostly stable over the past 24 hours, and
continues to record gradual yet sustained uplift. Overall, inflation at the summit of Kīlauea remains high and has surpassed the level seen just before the most recent eruption on September 10. However, the current rate of inflation in the region has diminished significantly since October 4-6.
    Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rates remain low and were measured at a rate of about 100 tonnes per day on October 19.
    It is unclear if unrest in Kīlauea summit region will continue and it is not possible to say with certainty if activity will lead to an eruption; activity may remain below the ground surface. However, an eruption remains possible, most likely in Kīlauea’s summit region inside of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and away from infrastructure. Similar patterns of earthquake activity and ground deformation occurred to the south of the caldera prior to the September and June 2023 eruptions in Kīlauea summit caldera (in Halemaʻumaʻu crater and on the downdropped block). Volcanic gas emissions pose the greatest hazard to areas downwind of Kīlauea’s summit.
    There is currently no sign of an imminent eruption and increasing inflation and earthquake activity (heightened unrest) are expected to precede an eruption. During periods of heightened unrest prior to recent eruptions at Kīlauea summit, signs of imminent eruption did not appear until 1-2 hours before lava reached the surface. The summit of Kīlauea remains at a high level of inflation and eruptive activity is possible in the coming weeks or months. HVO scientists will continue to monitor Kīlauea volcano closely and will issue additional messages as warranted by changing activity.

NATIVE AND NON- NATIVE TREES WILL BE GIVEN AWAY IN OCEAN VIEW THIS SATURDAY, Nov. 4 from 8:30 a.m. to noon, as long as trees last. The location is
next to Malama Market. West Hawaii Master Gardeners is hosting its third Hawaii Arbor Day event. Quantities will be limited on a per-family basis depending on species. Tree planting guides will be available. Master Gardeners will be present to answer gardening questions.
Also, free seeds are available from the WHMG Free Seed Library.

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