Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 19, 2010

Coffee berry borer

TWO QUARANTINE AREAS for the Coffee Berry Borer are proposed by the Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals, which helps with the prevention of pests and invasive species throughout the islands. Ka'u coffee farmers Bull Kailiawa and Lorie Obra testified to the committee in Honolulu to separate Ka`u and Kona in the quarantines. One quarantine zone would extend from Kaloko in Kona to the Ka`u border at Manuka State Park. It is this region of South Kona where the destructive coffee borer has been found on many farms. With the two-tier quarantine, there would be tough restrictions on bringing green coffee, coffee plants and coffee bags from Kona to Ka`u. The state Board of Agriculture will take up the issue next Tuesday, November 23rd in Honolulu. In the meantime, the Department of Agriculture is assessing treatment and mitigation methods that would allow for the transport of green coffee beans from the quarantine zones.
     Volunteer coffee farmers are asking for anyone with wild or planted coffee trees with borers to call for help with stumping the trees and burning the branches to get rid of the coffee borers. Call Bull Kailiawa at 895-6099.

Marla and Peter Hunter

MARLA HUNTER, of Ka`u, has been elected to the board of the Hawai`i Fruit Growers Association. She and her husband Peter grow and graft 25 varieties of mango trees on their 15-acre Eke Nui Farm mauka of Highway 11 near the old Na`alehu Dairy site. Among the mangos they sell at Volcano Farmers Market are: Golden Glow, Gouveia, Manzanillo and Mapulehu. Marla said she is interested in drawing more Ka`u and Volcano members to the Hawai'i Fruit Growers. Call 929-8127 or email ekenuifarm@aol.com. See hawaiitropicalfruitgrowers.org. 

THE NEW TEMPORARY RUBBISH transfer station in Ocean View will be open for household trash beginning tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the county Kahuku Park. The location for the bin is on Paradise Circle Makai, and the hours are every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The county will have an attendant on duty to accept only household rubbish in plastic bags. Commercial rubbish, metals or white goods such as washers, dryers, and refrigerators will be turned away. Recyclables are accepted at Wai`ohinu. Any questions? Call Environmental Management at 961-8083, or see http://www.hawaiizerowaste.org.
     The sudden appearance of the rubbish bin on land set aside for recreation and education at Kahuku Park will be one of the topics at the next Ka`u Chamber of Commerce meeting on Monday, Dec. 12 at Ocean View Community Center at 6 p.m. County staff will explain.

Tahnee-Lee Kakatin, Dayse Andrade, Dacy Davis-Andrade,
Malie Ibarra, Junially Manantan and Junialla Manantan are
Ka`u fifth-graders who attended the GEMs program
in Kona yesterday.

Madalyn McWhite-Lamson,
of Ocean View, supports the
GEMS program for
fifth-grade girls.

KA`U FIFTH GRADE GIRLS traveled to Keauhou Beach Hotel yesterday for the GEMS program, which stands for Girls Exploring Math and Science. They met women whose careers involve an education with math and science and were given time to talk to them about their careers. Among the professions explored were astronomy, medicine, alternative energy, pharmacy and marine biology. The event is sponsored by the American Association of University Women. One of its Ocean View members, Madalyn McWhite-Lamson, assisted with a workshop on Coral Reef Critters. 

HELCO IS WARNING the public of a scam. Individuals impersonating Hawai`i Electric Light Company employees have been contacting residents and businesses by telephone and asking for personal information. Impersonators are telling customers their electric bill is overdue and must be paid, or electric service will be disconnected. HELCO is aware of these calls, which were made on the Big Island. The company reminded all customers Wednesday to not provide personal, confidential or financial information to any unidentified individual. It urged customers to be cautious when responding to phone calls and to report any suspicious activity to HELCO at 969-6999 or police at 935-3311.

Hog the Bounty Hunter

A PIG looks out of  the window of a car parked alongside Hwy 11 near South Point Road. Tourists are stopping by to take photos and see the pig is stuffed. To find out more about this project by Roger Downing, see the website hogthebountyhunter.com.

PRINTMAKER AND ILLUSTRATOR Dietrich Varez and author David Kawika Eyre are among dozens of Hawaii artists and artisans who will help the Volcano Art Center kick off the holiday season at its annual Christmas in the Country celebration Saturday and Sunday, and then over the Thanksgiving weekend from Friday through Sunday, Nov. 26-28. 

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village hosts a Poetry Slam tonight at 7 p.m. In this competition, poets read their own works, and the winners receive prizes. Call 967-8222 for more information. Admission is eight dollars.

ST. JUDE EPISCOPAL CHURCH in Ocean View hosts its second annual Plant, Craft and Ye Olde Bake Sale tomorrow, Nov. 20 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 18, 2010

Dr. C. Dexter Hayes

A NEW DOCTOR will be coming to Ka`u Hospital and Ka`u Rural Health Clinic in January. Dr. C. Dexter Hayes is a board-certified family physician and comes from a rural community in Arizona. She said she is interested in diabetes and high blood pressure and preventive care. She will replace Dr. Sheareen Gedayloo, who leaves December 10. 

Nona Wilson

KA`U HOSPITAL NURSING DIRECTOR Nona Wilson is being honored by University of Hawai`i School of Nursing for her dedication to quality patient care, teaching and community outreach. Her accomplishments were acknowledged at a recent Faces of Nursing celebration on O`ahu.

KA`U COFFEE FARMERS were on O`ahu yesterday to oppose putting Ka`u in a quarantine area with Kona. Ka`u Coffee Co-op president Lorie Obra reports that the board recommended that the primary quarantine are start north of Na`alehu, extending into Kona. Other areas of Ka`u would be in a secondary quarantine area that includes the rest of the island and may face quarantine in the future.

BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK, an investors’ resource website, lists Aina Koa Pono, the company that plans to establish a large plantation of biofuel crops in Ka`u and build a biofuel refinery in or near Pahala. The site says that Aina Koa Pono, LLC develops non-fossil fuel energy technology. It specializes in the gasification of biomass and the manufacture of electricity and liquid fuels from synthetic gas. The company designs and builds integrated bio-refineries to generate a variety of products, including fuels, ethanol, bio-diesel, and electricity in Hawai`i. Aina Koa Pono, LLC also offers various biofeedstock products, including sweet sorghum, saccharum species hybrids, refuse-derived fuel, pennisetum purpureum and hybrid species of grasses; eucalyptus grandis, other eucalyptus species and hybrids; other tree genera, such as Leuanena and Albizia; and supporting research and design for gasification and electricity, states the Businessweek site. Company spokesmen also said they are seeking leases on large parcels of land and a site to build their refinery in Ka`u. The business address is listed as Fort Street in Honolulu. Also see ainakoapono.com.

INTERESTED IN JOINING A COMMITTEE TO establish scenic byways program along Highway 11 in Ka`u? Ka`u Main Street is helping to set up a committee to work with the state and federal Departments of Transportation. The program emphasizes partnership, promotion of preservation, and pride, as a community effort can reap national recognition and funding for educational signage to honor cultural and historic sites and vistas. In other locales, an average of one new job has been created for each 1.37 miles of scenic byway. Ecotourism also increases in areas with scenic byways. Call 929-7236.

THE STATE COMMISSION ON WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT is accepting applications for members through this Saturday. Names will be reviewed by a committee, who will propose three or more nominees for selection by Governor-elect Neil Abercrombie. The committee members will serve for four years and help set stream flow standards to determine how much water can be taken for agriculture and development. They will also help set regulations for surface water use. Members serve without pay except for reimbursement for expenses, including travel, necessary to do the job. Applications are available at http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/cwrm.

THE HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUB will have its regular third Thursday of the month meeting at Na`alehu Methodist Church tonight at 6:30 p.m. Native Hawaiians and non-natives are invited to join. Call President Blossom DeSilva 929-9731 or 936-7262.

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village hosts a Poetry Slam tomorrow night at 7 p.m. In this competition, poets read their own works, and the winners receive prizes. Call 967-8222 for more information.

ST. JUDE EPISCOPAL CHURCH in Ocean View hosts its second annual Plant, Craft and Ye Olde Bake Sale this Saturday, Nov. 20 from from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

HAWAIIAN SLACK KEY GUITARIST Makana performs on Sunday, Nov. 21 at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The concert starts at 5 p.m. Call 967-8222 or visit www.volcanoartcenter.org for tickets.

Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 17, 2010

Ground golf employs wooden
mallets and wooden balls.

Ka`u and Puna seniors play
ground golf at Na`alehu Ballpark.

A HOT COMPETITION was held between seniors from Puna and Ka`u yesterday at Na`alehu Ballpark when they played Ground Golf. Teams came up with such names as the Turkeys, the Corn and the Sweet Potatoes. They took home such prizes as turkeys for Thanksgiving. Scorekeepers included 87-year-old Iwao Yonemitsu and 88-year-old Takumi Shirakawa.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY producers can sign up on the Internet to sell power to the electric company starting November 24. Hawaiian Electric Light Company will accept applications from Hawai`i Island residents and businesses who want to sell electricity from windmills, photovoltaics and small hydroelectric plants. HELCO will pay 21.8 cents per kilowatt-hour for photovoltaics, 26.9 cents for concentrated solar power, 16.1 cents for wind-generated power, and 21.3 cents for hydropower. Applications are available on the Hawai`i Electric Company website. 

THE HAWAI`I CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVE AND 2050 SUSTAINABILITY PLAN are the subject of a meeting next Tuesday, November 23rd at the Hemmeter Building in Honolulu. The purpose is to facilitate renewable-energy projects, energy-efficiency programs, agricultural infrastructure and development, and other measures for food and energy security. The Hawaii Economic Development Task Force hosts the discussion to balance energy and agricultural development with economic, social, community, and environmental priorities. Ka`u Senator Russell Kokubun chaired the committee that produced the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan, which can be read at www.hawaii2050.org.

MELE ASSOCIATES is one of the companies proposing alternative energy for Ka`u. According to a report from the Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative to the Task Force, it would grow crops to make biofuel to sell to the electric company. It could lead to hundreds of jobs and a new mill in Pahala to manufacture biofuels. Invasive plants like Christmas berry, haole koa, eucalyptus and such crops as sorghum or other grasses would be processed. The biofuel crops would be planted on thousands of acres between Pahala and Na`alehu. Read more at hawaiicleanenergyinitiative.org, at meleassociates.com and at ainakoapono.com.

REAPPORTIONMENT COMMISSIONS to redraw voting maps will go to work next year after the 2010 census numbers are counted and released. Census results are expected to show that Hawai`i Island’s population has grown by nearly 30 percent in the last decade, and that Puna and Kona have grown most. Ka`u Senator Russell Kokubun said that he hopes that reapportionment will not create “canoe districts” in which legislators would represent sections of more than one island. Hawai‘i Island formerly shared a canoe district that included North Hawaii and East Maui. The district lines for elected officials for county council, the House and Senate could all change as they are related to population.

KA`U COFFEE FARMERS are on O`ahu today to oppose putting Ka`u in a quarantine area with Kona. Ka`u Coffee Co-op president Lorie Obra and Bull Kailiawa, both farmers of award-winning coffee above Pahala, said they hope that Ka`u will stay clean of the coffee berry borer pest that has infested Kona farms. It is suspected that the coffee berry borer was brought to Kona by importing cheap green coffee beans from Latin America to blend with Kona coffee. 

Hezekiah Keohuloa makes a tree
of Thanksgiving for his mom.

Rubberband Turkey Shoot Target
 for next Tuesday's celebration in Pahala.

CREATING THANKSGIVING TREES was a project of Parks and Recreation and the Boys & Girls Club of Pahala yesterday. Children wrote on the leaves of each tree - the people and things for which they are thankful - like parents, the family dog and the beach. Also leading toward Thanksgiving is the annual Rubber Band Turkey Shoot, which will be held on next Tuesday November 23 at Pahala Community Center from 3 p.m to 5 p.m. Everyone of any age is invited to compete. Call Nona Makuakane at 928-3102.

JOIN KENNETH MAKUAKANE, a 12-time Na Hoku Hanohano award-winning singer, songwriter and producer, tonight in Volcano as he shares original songs from his latest albums, The Dash and White Bath Tub, his first solo album, Makuakane, and other award-winning compositions.
     He will be on stage from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Kilauea Visitor Center auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The concert is free; park entrance fees may apply.
     Makuakane is a member of the multi-talented and award-winning group, The Pandanus Club.

THE HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUB will have its regular third Thursday of the month meeting at Na`alehu Methodist Church tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. Native Hawaiians and non-natives are invited to join. Call President Blossom DeSilva 929-9731 or 936-7262.