Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 24, 2010

A new post office for Ocean View
is under construction.

A NEW POST OFFICE FOR OCEAN VIEW is well under construction by the Kamagaki family who operate the new Ocean View Market. The Kamagakis have contracted to operate the new station for the U.S. Postal Service at their shopping center mauka of Hwy 11 and will hire all the employees. The U.S. government workers now operating the old post office next to Malama Market will go back to jobs in Captain Cook. The new post office will offer the same services, with over fifteen hundred postal boxes to serve the Ocean View area.

The new building at Na`alehu School
is nearing completion.

MUCH OF THE WORK ON THE NEW building on the Na`alehu School grounds is expected to be completed in December. The new building is being built by GW Construction.

A quarantine will prevent Kona Coffee
beans from being shipped
through Ka`u.

GREEN COFFEE BEANS out of farms from Manuka Park north to Koloko will soon be banned from shipments into Ka`u and the rest of the island unaffected by the coffee berry borer. The quarantine also includes coffee plants and used coffee bags in order to prevent the spread of the pest that has already been found on more than 20 Kona farms. The state Board of Agriculture passed the emergency regulations yesterday, and the rules should go into effect in a few days. As part of the overall quarantine, green coffee beans from the entire island will have to be treated before being shipped to other Hawaiian islands. 

Duke Aiona talks to Kapapala
ranchers about the drought that
devastated the cattle industry.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR DUKE AIONA, who leaves office soon without moving into the Governor’s Mansion, held his first press interviews yesterday and said he would consider running for governor again in four years. He said the Republican Party needs to grow its base and that his campaign was hurt, perhaps, by being linked to school furloughs and other cutbacks to balance the state budget. He said he has no interest in running for congress. He plans to take a job in the private sector and keep his eye on the governor’s race for 2014. Aiona is particularly noted in Ka`u for helping start the Uplink afterschool program for youth. 

THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR Hawai’i Island remains just below the national rate. According to state statistics just released, Hawai’i County posted a rate of 9.3 percent while the national rate is 9.6 percent for September. The other island rates were 5.5 percent for O’ahu, 7.8 percent for Maui and 8.5 percent for Kaua`i. 

THE VISITOR COUNT ON THIS ISLAND increased during the third quarter of this year, the largest number since early 2008. Visitors totaled 341,058, continuing a trend of growing tourism over the last three quarters. New flights expected to increase tourism include those operated by Alaska Air to Kona, which adds 25,000 seats during the next six months.


THANKSGIVING DINNER will be served at Ocean View Community Center tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 25 at noon.

THE DISCOVERY HARBOUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION hosts its third annual Thanksgiving feast tomorrow at 3 p.m. $10 includes turkey, trimmings, dessert and beverage. Children under 12 are free. All proceeds go to the Family Support Services of West Hawai`i Emergency Food Pantry in Na`alehu. The seating is limited to 70 diners. Please RSVP today at 929-9576.

THE COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT, prosecutor, liquor department and office of the mayor are hosting a conference today to launch programs to reduce drunken driving. One program offers shared-ride coupons for taxi service and distributes them to bars and restaurants to give drunken customers an alternative to driving themselves home. “The holidays are a critical time for thinking about and implementing drunk-driving prevention programs,” said Mayor Billy Kenoi. “Everyone should have a joyous holiday season, so let’s celebrate safely and make this the best holiday season ever.”

Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 23, 2010

Coffee beans damaged by coffee berry borers.

THE COFFEE BORER problem is scheduled for decision-making at the state Board of Agriculture meeting in Honolulu today. Testimony from the Ka`u Farm Bureau asks that farmers in unaffected areas be able to ship their green coffee in non-porous sealed bags. Ka`u farmers, whose fields are clean, are hoping to be excluded from a quarantine area. Rancher and Ka`u coffee enthusiast Michelle Galimba is a new member of the Board of Agriculture. Other testimony asks that the importation of green beans that brought the coffee borer to Hawai‘i be banned. 

Lee Segawa welcomes Ka`u Coffee to the new mill
on Wood Valley Road.

THE NEW KA `U COFFEE MILL on Olson Trust land along Wood Valley Road is pulping coffee cherry and starting to husk parchment. Anyone desiring to sell or use the services of the new mill can call Brenda Iokepa-Moses at 928-0500. 

Sen. Russell Kokubun

Rep. Bob Herkes

THE STATE SENATE has organized, and the state House is still organizing its committees. Senator Russell Kokubun will chair the Water and Land Committee. Representative Bob Herkes said he hopes to chair the Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee. Herkes said this morning that he hopes to convince new Governor Neil Abercrombie to release $1.5 million in disaster funds being held by Governor Linda Lingle, to help Ka`u farmers and ranches damaged by vog and drought. He also hopes to work on preserving 11,000 acres of wilderness south of Miloli‘i. 

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES to rural areas like Ka`u should be restored, according to testimony at a public hearing in Honolulu yesterday. Many mental health services were cut around the state as the administration attempted to balance the budget in 2009. People who testified said those needing care were left with no alternatives, leading to increased suicides and violence which are also costly to the community. Ka`u residents can send written testimony until next Monday, Nov. 29 to the Adult Mental Health Division, HAR 11-175, 1250 Punchbowl St., Room 256, Honolulu, HI 96813. 

BIG ISLAND POLICE are searching for 23-year-old Isaiah Santiago, who escaped from Hawai`i Community Correctional Center on Nov. 10.
Information on Santiago's location can be called into Detective Reed Mahuna at 961-2384 or the non-emergency line for police at 935-3311.Those wanting to give anonymous tips can call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 or 329-8181.




THANKSGIVING CELEBRATIONS are planned for the public around Ka`u. The Rubber Band Turkey shoot takes place at Pahala Community Center today from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. On Thanksgiving Day, feasts are planned at Ocean View Community Center at noon and Discovery Harbour Community Center at 3 p.m. The $10 fee for the Discovery Harbour meal will go to Emergency Food Pantry in Na`alehu.

Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 22, 2010

Food Security is part of the Abercrombie Plan.
All of this food was grown in Ka`u.

GOVERNOR-ELECT NEIL ABERCROMBIE is planning a trip through Ka‘u after he takes office on December 6th. The date is set for Sunday, December 12th and he is expected to meet with Ka‘u residents concerning education, small business, natural resources and agriculture. In his New Day for Hawa‘i Plan, Abercrombie is a big supporter of preserving agricultural land, saying that “our dependency on imported food is a problem. We ignore it at our peril.” Any disruptions in our food supply – international crisis, natural disasters or labor disputes – would leave us with less than a week of food.” He vowed to help preserve open land for agriculture with federal and state programs. See www.newdayhawaii.org.

Award-winning coffee grows on land slated
for subdivision into agricultural lots.

CHRIS MANFREDI, WHO SERVES as president of the Ka‘u Farm Bureau, has been elected by the board of the statewide Hawai‘i Farm Bureau Federation to be its vice president. He has also been named Chair of its Government Affairs Committee and will serve as Hawai‘i’s delegate to the national American Farm Bureau Federation. Manfredi is the manager of Ka‘u Farm and Ranch Co., LLC, a company that oversees thousands of acres in Ka’u that were purchased by investors after Ka‘u Sugar company closed. Some two thousand of those acres have been proposed for subdivision into lots zoned Agriculture, including land where Ka‘u’s award-winning coffee grows. 

     Manfredi founded Ka`u Local Products, LLC to market and distribute agricultural products. He helped introduce Ka‘u Coffee into the Specialty Coffee Association of America, where it has been winning many international awards. Manfredi serves on boards of the Ka‘u Chamber of Commerce, Hawai‘i Coffee Association, Ka ‘Ohana O Honu`apo, and the Ka‘u Soil and Water Conservation District.

Dr. Cliff Field, new medical director at Ka`u Hospital,
also leads a dojo at Pahala Community Center.

DR. CLIFF FIELD has been named medical director for both Ka‘u Hospital and its medical clinic. Field, a resident of Punalu‘u mauka, has served as director of the emergency room. “He is extremely well liked and respected by patients and staff alike,” said Ka`u Hospital Administrator Merilyn Harris. “His leadership will be a key component in our ongoing efforts to enhance our services to meet the expectations of the community,” she said. 

THE KA`U DIRECTORY IS NEARLY PAU. Tuesday, Dec. 7 is the last day to submit information for community groups, churches, membership listings and ads for The Directory 2011. Sponsored by the Ka‘u Chamber of Commerce, The Directory, printed annually, publishes important Civil Defense and community information and promotes local enterprise. The Directory is Ka‘u’s very own phone book. This year’s cover features an image of the state bird, the Nene, by Ka‘u photographer Peter Anderson. To be included in The Directory, call 928-6471.

THANKSGIVING CELEBRATIONS are planned for the public around Ka`u. The Rubber Band Turkey shoot takes place at Pahala Community Center tomorrow from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. On Thanksgiving Day, feasts are planned at Ocean View Community Center at noon and Discovery Harbour Community Center at 3 p.m. The $10 fee for the Discovery Harbour meal will go to Emergency Food Pantry in Na`alehu.