The Kaʻū Calendar News Briefs, Hawaiʻi Island

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Kaʻū News Briefs Aug. 13, 2024

Mililiani Trask got her wish. Her OHA trustee seat will go to the candidate she endorsed, Kai Kahale.
Photo from Kahele for Hawai'i

KAI KAHELE IS THE NEW HAWAI'I ISLAND TRUSTEE FOR OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS, with the blessing of Mililani Trask who holds the seat and endorsed him to take over. He won the position outright in Saturday's Primary Election. The voting was open to all registered voters in Hawai'i of all ethnicities.

Kahele is a former State Senator and former member of the U.S. Congress for Kaʻū and the rest of rural Hawai'i. The son of the late state Sen. Gil Kahele, he is a longtime member of Hawai'i Air National Guard and a Hawaiian Airlines pilot. His family roots go back to the Hawaiian village of Miloli'i.
He ran on a campaign of economic development for Native Hawaiians, pointing out that 53 percent live on the mainland. He told Civil Beat that Hawaiian living away from here "weakens the efforts to advocate for community rights." He promised to focus on affordable housing "to help families stay in their ancestral land. He said he supports "sustainable job creation, especially in sectors aligning with cultural heritage

like local agriculture and renewable energy. He said it is important to invest in vocational programs for "skills necessary in high-demand local jobs, reducing the need to seek work elsewhere."
Kahele said he wants to strengthen Native Hawaiian identity and community unity by enhancing initiatives that protect and promote Hawaiian culture and language. An idea from Kahele is "to build networks for Hawaiians outside Hawai'i with virtual programs and language classes to stay connected."
Kahele said the ethics commission for oversight of OHA should be comprised of Native Hawaiians to "provide the necessary oversight to ensure accountability and transparency within OHA." He said the commission would be better equipped if it "genuinely involves Native Hawaiian voices in decision-making processes."
Kahele said that homelessness can be reduced with Department of Hawaiian Home Lands through increasing the number of lots awarded to Native Hawaiians, with priority fo those facing housing instability. OHA could partner with developers and nonprofits to build affordable housing on DHHL lands. It could provide more support services, finance counseling, job training and social services to promote housing stability. His other ideas: Build transitional housing on DHHL lands. Provide more community engagement with Native Hawaiians in planning an decision-making for culturally appropriate solutions.
See more on Kahele's plans and ideas for his role at OHA in upcoming Ka'u News Briefs.

To read comments, add y o ur own, and l ike thi s story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.co m. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.

PROPERTY TAX LAWS THAT COULD FORCE SOME FARMERS AND RANCHERS TO SELL what they grow on their lands rather than to use it solely for their families and community is the subject of a meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 21 at Yano Hall in Captain Cook from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. New laws with the intention of encouraging farming with tax breaks require showing a minimum income from what is produced or proof that it was donated it to a registered nonprofit. Some small farmers and ranchers who feed their own family and friends rather than selling it or giving it to a nonprofit say they will be left out of the tax break making it harder to feed their family and community.

The meeting is designed to explain changes to the agricultural dedication tax programs and a new community food sustainability program, with requirements, tax benefits and deadlines.

KAʻŪ COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE MEETING ON WEDNESDAY IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC for testimony and listening. The agenda at 5 p.m. at Na'alehu Community Center includes:
Letter to the Windward Planning Commission regarding the Black Sands Beach, LLC SMA application (PL-SMA-2023-000046) – Discussion and decision making on submitting the letter to the Windward Planning Commission.

Egress and Ingress at Green Sands Subdivision Regarding Kaʻū CDP Policy 118, Section 5.7.2. – Discussion and decision-making on prioritizing Policy 118 regarding hazard mitigation and evacuation routes.

Pāhala Water Bottling Facility – Discussion and potential decision making on findings regarding the Pāhala Water Bottling Facility.

Ka Lae Coastline Access & Resources – Review and amend draft letter regarding protecting cultural sites and natural resources in the greater Ka Lae area, particularly Mahana Bay.

Discussion of Action Committee Meeting Cadence – Discussion and decisionmaking regarding the scheduling, logistics, and format of future meetings.

KAʻŪ TROJANS GIRLS VOLLEYBALL hosts the first game of the season at home this Thursday, Aug. 15 at the Herkes Kaʻū District Gym. Kaʻū travels to Kea'au next Tuesday.

POLICE ARRESTED 16 FOR DUI during the week of Aug. 5 through 11. Hawai`i Island police arrested the motorists for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Seven of the drivers were involved in a traffic accident. Two were under the age of 21.

So far this year, there have been 594 DUI arrests compared with 589 during the same period last year, an increase of 0.85 percent.
Hawai‘i Police Department’s Traffic Services Section reviewed all updated crashes and found 605 major crashes so far this year, compared with 523 during the same time last year, an increase of 15.7 percent.
To date, there were 19 fatal crashes, resulting in 21 fatalities compared with 9 fatal crashes, resulting in 10 fatalities for the same time last year. This represents an increase of 111.1 percent for fatal crashes and 110 percent for fatalities.
In 2024, the non-traffic fatality count (not on a public roadway) is zero compared to zero non-traffic fatalities for the same time last year.
DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue island wide.

The Reunion features the screening of a PBS film Ka'u Sugar,
A Town Remembers on the history of the sugar plantation
and the closing of the mill in 1996. It will also feature a film
on history of the local coffee industry.

Monday, August 12, 2024

Kaʻū News Briefs Aug. 12, 2024

New approaches to fighting ROD and a reminder that it remains a critical threat to ʻŌhiʻa forests were
front and center at a recent ROD Science Symposium. Photo from DLNR

IT'S BEEN TEN YEARS SINCE THE FIGHT AGAINST ROD BEGAN TO SAVE 'ŌHI'A FORESTS.
For more than a decade, land managers, scientists, and pathologists have been fighting and looking for ways to protect trees from the fungal disease Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death or ROD, that has killed over a million lehua ʻōhiʻa in Kaʻū, Puna and beyond. ʻŌhiʻa is considered the most ecologically and cultural significant native tree in Hawai‘i and is abundant in Kaʻū, which has the largest native forest in all of Hawai'i.
Last month, 10 years since the fungus was first found in the Puna District, many of the same people who have been on the frontlines and behind-the-scenes met for a ROD Science Symposium.
J.B. Friday, the extension forester with the University of Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, opened the symposium by tracing the history of ROD beginning with the first suspect tree in 2012.
“The Puna landowner who reported the tree thought it was VOG (volcanic fog) or impacts of geothermal springs. When we saw the crowns (tops) of the trees dying back we thought it must be a root pathogen, because water was not getting to the tree. At that time, we isolated several fungi, but we couldn’t find anything that should be killing ʻōhiʻa trees,” Friday told dozens of experts gathered for the symposium.

The ohia lehua at left and the decimated blossom at right. Photo from UH-CTHAR

In 2014, another Puna landowner brought some logs in for diagnosis and UH Agriculture Diagnostic lab isolated a well-known worldwide pathogen called Ceratocystis. “That rang alarm bells,” Friday says. “Just because the fungus is in a tree doesn’t mean that the pathogen is killing it. Dr. Lisa Keith with the USDA Agriculture Research Service conducted inoculation studies and found that indeed the pathogen that had been isolated was able to kill ʻōhiʻa,” Friday explained.
The state Department of Land & Natural Resources Division of Forestry & Wildlife, and other organizations, soon joined the hui trying to find out more about ROD and ultimately ways to manage this disease and keep Hawaii’s watersheds healthy.
DOFAW State Protection Forester Rob Hauff said, “We now find ROD across Hawai‘i Island, in

ROD damaged Ōhiʻa in the native forest. UH-CTHAR photo

pockets on Kaua‘i, and in a small number of trees on O‘ahu. So far it has not reached Maui. Since the first discovery scientists have identified two distinct forms of the disease: one more deadly than the other.
Friday credits the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture for instituting a quarantine on moving ʻōhiʻa plants and wood from Hawai‘i Island to anywhere else in the state. “They listened to us. They said, this is bad. It was only on Hawai‘i Island at that time and they put in the quarantine.”
Initially, researchers felt bark beetles were spreading the fungus, so one of the mysteries is how did ROD reach O‘ahu and Kaua‘i and apparently skip over Maui? “Our current model is most of the time the disease spreads by frass, the debris produced by beetles, but sometimes beetles may directly transmit the disease as they seek out new trees,” Friday added. He said that more research is needed to determine how often beetles are directly spreading the disease and to better understand the role of feral animals like pigs which have been found to increase disease occurrence.
Research into better determining how ROD is spread continues in earnest, Friday reported, encouraging symposium participants to focus on protecting Hawai‘i’s vital ʻōhiʻa forests, which protect critical watersheds across the state.
Hauff said some of the new science discussed at the symposium includes new tools, such as a beetle repellent known as verbenone. “It’s a goo you put on trees that keeps beetles away. So, the hope is that where we detect the disease in new areas, it can prevent beetles from boring into trees and further spreading the disease. It’s experimental now, but we hope it will be a tool we can use in the future, particularly in places like Kauaʻi, which still has a chance to contain the disease.”

Healthy (green), diseased (red), and dead (grey) ʻōhiʻa. Photo from UH-CTHAR

Scientists are also looking at the natural genetic resistance some ʻōhiʻa populations have to ROD. “If we can propagate those trees and interbreed them with other resistant trees, maybe we will have something that we can restore damaged forests with,” Hauff said.
A statement from DLNR says, "While the community’s attention to preventing the spread of ROD in forests has waned somewhat with other crises taking front stage, ROD still remains an urgent issue. All the people working to stop the spread of the disease encourage forest users to know protocols such as not moving wood around, treating tools and boots before entering forested areas, and reporting any suspected infections to the experts for immediate attention."
“Many really smart people are working diligently on this disease, and there is hope that in time we will stop its spread,” Hauff concluded.

Hand holding a stone poi pounder, pōhaku kuʻi ʻai,
smashes a cooked taro corm on a wooden
board, called a papa kuʻi ʻai. NPS photo

LEARN TO MAKE POI at a Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park Hawaiian cultural program Kuʻi Kalo this Wednesday, Aug. 14 from 10 a.m. to noon at ʻŌhiʻa Wing across Crater Rim Drive from Kīlauea Visitor Center.

Learn about the staple food in the Hawaiian diet and make poi the traditional way. The root of the kalo plant is cooked and kaʻu (pounded) to create this class Hawaiian dish.

Ranger Keoni will share his knowledge of kalo as part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes’ ongoing ‘Ike Hana Noʻeau, Experience the Skillful Work series. It is co-sponsored by Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association and Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Free, but park entrance fees apply.

U.S. SENATOR MAZIE HIRONO, who won the Democratic Primary last Saturday, will be on the General Election ballot on Nov. 5. She was elected to the Hawai'i Legislature in 1980, served as Hawai'i’s

Sen. Mazie Hirono

lieutenant governor starting in 1994 and a became a member of the U.S. House in 2007. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012.

In this year's Primary Election, she beat Ron Curtis who lost to her when he ran as a Republican six years ago. She also beat Clyde McClain Lewman who ran for Governor as a Democrat in 2022.

In the General Election, Hirono will face Republican Bob McDermott, a former member of the Hawai'i state House of Representatives and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Sunday, August 11, 2024

Kaʻū News Briefs Aug. 11, 2024

Mayor Mitch Roth took in the most votes in Saturday's mayoral primary and is headed
to the General Election against Dr. Kimo Alameda. Photo from Roth campaign

HAWAI'I COUNTY HAD THE HIGHEST VOTER TURNOUT in the state for the Primary Election on Saturday, according to state elections officials who published the numbers of votes cast for each candidate. Citizens can still sign up for the General Election on Nov. 5 when there will be a runoff between Mayor Mitch Roth and Dr. Kimo Alameda in the nonpartisan race, in addition to other county, state and federal elections. See https://elections.hawaii.gov/register-to-vote/registration/.

MAYOR MITCH ROTH TOOK IN THE MOST VOTES in Saturday's mayoral primary, with 37 percent, followed by Dr. Kimo Alameda's 27 percent. The two will face off in the General Election on Nov. 5. His celebration was at the ILWU hall in Hilo. Roth said, "Leadership isn’t about popularity; it’s about results. We’re grateful to our team for helping to continue making Hawai‘i Island better than we found it!" He pointed to the accomplishments of his administration, including streamlining the building permit process, achieving a high county bond rating, improving infrastructure including roads and parks, and helping to reduce homelessness. "We're much better off from where we took over four years ago and I think in another four years, we;re gonna be much better off than where we are not. We've go a lot of big projects we're working on, and we really want to get those projects done."

Kimo Alameda has campaigned for two years. Photo from Friends
of Kimo Alameda.

DR. KIMO ALAMEDA CELEBRATED HIS ADVANCEMENT TO THE GENERAL ELECTION at Nanimau Gardens on Saturday, after garnering 27 percent of the vote. He said that the results giving thousands of votes to candidates other than the incumbent show that over 60 percent of the people want change. He praised all the candidates who entered the race for their positive campaigns, saying it takes the courage of the candidates and their families. He noted that he has been running for mayor for almost two years. "I want to be the mayor for everybody because our island is big." He said he seeks to represent all areas of the island in his administration and that the county administration has been Hilo centric for far too long "and our neighbors need change."

He said that now that his kids are older, "I want to turn my attention to the community, because that's the place that they are going to be living..... I want them to live in a place that they can call their home. I want our kupuna to enjoy their golden years And I want our kids to have hope. Right now it doesn't feel like like there's hope.... We are the hope campaign."

To read comments, add y o ur own, and l ike thi s story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.co m. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.

KAʻŪ'S REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS ISSUED THIS STATEMENT after winning the Democratic

Rep. Jill Tokuda won the primary.

primary on Saturday. "I am deeply humbled and grateful for your incredible support in the Primary Election. As we move forward, our mission is clear: we must stand united and work tirelessly to ensure that Democrats retake the U.S. House majority in the upcoming general election. The stakes have never been higher, and our collective efforts are crucial in shaping a future that reflects our shared values and aspirations.
"This is probably one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. It is essential that we rally behind Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz, doing everything in our power to get them to the White House. Their leadership is vital for the progress and prosperity of our nation, and we must be all in to make this happen.
"Your support has been the backbone of our campaign, and I am counting on you to continue this journey with us. Together, we can create the change we want to see and build a brighter future for Hawaiʻi. Let's keep the momentum going!"

To read comments, add y o ur own, and l ike thi s story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.co m. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.