Ka`u News Briefs June 3, 2011

Meyer Camp Road, where the `Aina Koa Pono refinery is planned, looking toward Wood Valley Road.
Photo by Julia Neal

`AINA KOA PONO is in a better position to fund its refinery near Wood Valley Road and napier grass farms between Pahala and Na`alehu, now that Gov. Neil Abercrombie has signed a bill allowing the Public Utilities Commission to approve rate hikes in Hawai`i, Maui and O`ahu Counties to help pay for it. The PUC turned down the rate hike proposal earlier this year, ruling that O`ahu and Maui county residents wouldn’t be allowed to pay for fuel produced only for Big Island power. `Aina Koa Pono and the electric company went to the Legislature and lobbied for a change in the law, and they won.
     Both the electric company and `Aina Koa Pono contend that charging customers electric rates higher than the cost of using fossil fuel will be short-term, as they expect oil prices to rise above the cost of the biofuel. The rate hikes would be under $2 per month per average household. The PUC still needs to approve the contract and has asked the electric company to show more proof that their process, which involves large microwave vaporizers to turn trees, grasses and other feedstock into liquid fuel, will work on a commercial scale.
     `Aina Koa Pono is promising 300 construction jobs to build their $350 million biofuels plant on Meyer Camp Road, off Wood Valley Road. They also promise one hundred permanent jobs to run the plant and the farm. The biofuel would be carried in tanker trucks up Hwy 11 to the power plant near Kona Airport.

The monk seal critical habitat may be extended to waters
off the uninhabited coast of Ka`u.  Photo by Julia Neal

CRITICAL HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL HABITAT could be a new designation for the waters off the Ka`u Coast and around all the Hawaiian Islands if a proposal under the federal Endangered Species Act is approved. Scientists are already talking about moving some of the seal pups from the northern Hawaiian Islands preserve where they are finding it hard to find enough food. The new designation around the inhabited Hawaiian Islands would encourage developers and beachgoers to leave room for seals to reproduce, rear offspring, forage and rest, free from disturbance. The endangered Hawaiian monk seal has a population of only about 1,160. The proposal was published yesterday in the Federal Register and can be seen under Federal Register Notices at www.fpir.noaa.gov. Public comments are welcomed. 

Plastic bag ban image
from keetsa.com

BANNING PLASTIC BAGS on Hawai`i Island will be taken up by the County Council under a proposal by council member Pete Hoffmann. The Ka`u hearing will be on Tuesday, July 26 at Na`alehu Community Center at 5 p.m. The ban would take effect one year after approval to give stores and customers time to make the changeover. Maui and Kaua`i counties have already banned plastic bags, with the law going into effect this past January. On Maui, stores that don’t comply face a $500 a day fine for the first violation and $1,000 a day, if they don’t comply within a month. On Kaua`i the fine begins at $250 a day, $500 a day for the second, and $1,000 a day for the third notice. A similar measure failed at the 2011 state Legislature. 

THE FIRST WEEKLY GREEN MARKET at Ocean View Community Center is being held today from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Some of the items for sale include fresh produce, herbs, flowers, plants and honey. Call 939-7033 for more information.

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND sponsors a Ka`u Coast Cleanup at Kamilo Beach near South Point tomorrow. Volunteers meet at Wai`ohinu Park at 7:45 a.m. to carpool to the site. Sign up with Megan at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

The Nature Conservancy calls Kamehame Beach the most important
nesting site in the U.S. for the endangered hawsbill turtle.
Photo courtesy of The Nature Conservancy

ANOTHER WAY TO ENJOY THE KA`U COAST tomorrow is to join the Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park on a hike from Punalu`u to Kamehame. The five-mile round-trip interpretive program, led by park ranger Jay Robinson, follows the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail. Call 985-7373 or visit fhvnp.org to register. 

A DINNER AT KAHUKU PARK on Paradise Circle in Ocean View tomorrow will raise funds to support the Summer Fun program there. Dinner is served at 5 p.m. and includes Chef John Repogle’s BBQ pork along with rice, corn and watermelon all for just $5. Beverages are $1, with desserts and other baked goods also on sale. Activities before dinner include a slip and slide, face painting and games. Karaoke is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Pre-sale dinner tickets are available. Call Robin at 939-8491 or Genny at 217-5593.

Ka`u News Briefs June 2, 2011

Ala Kahakai Trail in Ka`u.  Photo by Julia Neal

THE COUNTY COUNCIL passed the 2011-2012 budget this week, which left Mayor Billy Kenoi saying he is “baffled and outraged.” Kenoi said he submitted a $367 million balanced budget and asked all of his department heads to open up the books and cooperate with all Council members during the budget-making period. He also took the budget islandwide to community meetings. He said his administration cut $35 million, or nine percent, off the budget that was in place when he took office. He said the council is increasing the budget without offering specific ideas of how to reduce the cost of government. The mayor’s budget cut 97 positions this year, 78 last year and 55 positions the year before. He said the council has changed the government by creating a “negative” account and put $5.6 million in it. He said no county government nor the state has ever done that. He called it an “accounting gimmick to avoid making tough decisions to reduce the cost of government. He did not say whether he would veto a budget he called “unbalanced” and “confusing.” He has ten calendar days to veto, let it pass without his signature or sign it into law. The mayor’s budget would have deferred $20 million in payments to the next fiscal year, and the Council objects. The mayor said if they want the $20 million to be paid this year, then where are they cutting government to come up with the $20 million? 

U.H. Extension provides help for farmers from growing feed
for cattle to food for people.  Photo by Julia Neal

GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE has released $2 million to renovate U.H. Manoa’s Komohana Research and Extension Center in Hilo. The extension center is well known to farmers in Ka`u. It provides county agents for individual consultations and can provide educational workshops and short-courses. It helps with 4-H and other youth activities, nutrition, and health. Educational materials such as brochures, publications, and videos are available at county extension offices. Services provided by county agents are generally free of charge. An Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center provides insect identification, nematode counts, and disease diagnosis; soil, plant, water, and feed analysis; and sales of seeds of vegetable and papaya cultivars developed by the college. 

     The governor also released more than $4.1 million for construction of a system-wide information technology center at UH-Hilo. 

HELE-ON BUS FARES go up to $1 beginning July 1 except for anyone 55 or older, students, children under five, and the disabled. A 25 percent discount will be available to everyone else through a $7.50 purchase of a book of 10 tickets or a $30 monthly pass for unlimited rides. The County Council voted this week to increase the fare to raise some money to pay for it and to avoid even steeper fares that would have resumed at the end of this month. Council member Brittany Smart originally voted against the $1 fare hike without realizing that fares would have soared otherwise. She moved to change her vote, which put the issue back on the table. Council member Pete Hoffmann said he was clear on what the original vote meant and voted against the rate hike. He introduced a measure to continue free bus service, but withdrew it after the one dollar fares were approved. Council members Brenda Ford and Dennis Ikeda also voted against raising the bus fares. The buses have been free for more than six years. Ikeda said that it could cost the county more than it takes in, since there are so many discounts and so many people will still ride for free. 

David Fujimoto (l) will be the new minister for the Honpa
Hongwanji congregations in Pahala and Na`alehu
beginning in mid-August.

MEMBERS OF THE HONGWANJIS in Pahala and Na`alehu expect their new bishop, Eric Matsumoto, to visit soon. Matsumoto grew up on the Big Island and is the 16th Bishop of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai`i. 

     The two hongwanjis in Ka`u also will have a new reverend, David Fujimoto, who takes Rev. Earl Ikeda’s place in mid-August. Rev. Ikeda’s whose station is on O`ahu.

MORE THAN 40 PEOPLE filled the Ka`u Hospital day room for the third annual May Day Celebration last Friday. King Cesar Duldulao and Queen Brenda Mendoza presided over the event. 

     Activities coordinator Jessica Camba-Penera introduced a full line-up of entertainers. Rebecca Escobar, who was crowned Miss Ka`u Peaberry in April, danced hip-hop. Young Miss Ka`u Coffee Dayse Andrade danced to the song Nobody, and Miss Ka`u Coffee Brandy Shibuya danced hula to Poliahu. Mark Galacio followed up with a dance to the song My Girl. 

     Hospital employees Esmenia Hernandez and Emily Bolaoen offered a Filipino folk dance. 

Ka`u Hospital May Day King
Cesar Duldulao with his
 sister, Marie Flores.

Ka`u Hospital May Day Queen
Brenda Mendoza with hospital
employees. Photos by Elena Cabatu

     Next on the program were the kupuna of Hula Halau O Mahealani, dancing to Papalina Lahilahi and Nani O Manoa. Hospital resident Al Tehero, on the bongos, followed in a duet performance of Drop Baby Drop with Ti Chun. Chun then accompanied Maggie Martinez in a rendition of God Bless My Daddy.
     Kailee Kuhaulua-Stacy offered a poi ball performance and also played `ukulele. She participated in the Miss Ka`u Peaberry Pageant last year and will be competing in the Pacific International Pageant this month.
     For the final performance, Jennifer Oliveira danced hula to Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai.
     The band Keaiwa was on hand to perform while attendees enjoyed pupus.
     Camba-Penera thanked everyone involved for their efforts in putting on the successful event.

THE FIRST WEEKLY GREEN MARKET at Ocean View Community Center is tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Some of the items for sale include fresh produce, herbs, flowers, plants and honey. Call 939-7033 for more information.

VOLUNTEERS WILL CLEAN UP Kamilo Beach near South Point on Saturday at an event sponsored by Hawai`i Wildlife Fund. To date, HWF and hundreds of volunteers have removed 130 tons of marine debris from the Ka`u Coast. Sign up with Megan at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

THE FRIENDS OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK sponsor a hike along the Ka`u Coast this Saturday. The five-mile round-trip interpretive program, led by park ranger Jay Robinson, follows the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail from Punalu`u to Kamehame. Call 985-7373 or visit fhvnp.org to register.

Ka`u News Briefs June 1, 2011

Kamehame Bay is the destination of a Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park hike this weekend.
Photo by Steve Rayner

HAWAI`I’S VISITOR INDUSTRY is rebounding, with spending up more than 20 percent across the state this April over spending during the same month last year. The Hawai`i Tourism Authority reported that total visitor spending increased to $920.7 million by 581,324 visitors. The visitor count was up 5.3 percent.

GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE signed Senate Bill 883 into law yesterday, designating a gold star for license plates on the vehicles of children, parents, grandparents and siblings of fallen military service members. The star will be imprinted on the left side of license plates in a manner similar to congressional and honorary consul license plates. Family members would be able to purchase the Gold Star Family license plates for a fee. Families of fallen military service members, along with Tammy Duckworth, assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, attended the bill signing. Hawai`i is the 49th state to adopt a Gold Star Family license plate. Maine is the remaining state without one. The license plates will be available by October.

THE 2011 HURRICANE SEASON begins today in the Atlantic and started two weeks ago in the Pacific. While the outlook for the Atlantic is very active, the Pacific outlook is milder. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the following for the Eastern Pacific: a 70 percent chance of a below-normal season, a 25 percent chance of a near-normal season, and only a 5 percent chance of an above normal season. NOAA expects 9-15 named storms, five to eight hurricanes and one to three major hurricanes in the Eastern Pacific. The names chosen for storms this year include Adrian, Beatriz, Calvin, Dora, Eugene, Fernanda, Greg, Hilary, Irwin, Jova and Kenneth.

Ormoc City is run largely by this geothermal plant.

THE SISTER CITY RELATIONSHIP between Ormoc City in the Philippines and Hawai`i County was approved on first reading yesterday. The proposal, put forth by Council member Brittany Smart, will go before the full Council on June 15. The island is almost entirely powered by geothermal energy, with the rest of the electricity coming from hydroelectric plants. “There is a lot to learn from our Filipino friends,” Smart said. 

THE HAWAI`I COUNTY FINANCE COMMITTEE has approved the eminent domain process regarding land to be used to build the Ocean View Transfer Station, giving the county clear title to the land. The last reading is June 15 before the full Council. 

THE HAWAI`I VOLCANOES INSTITUTE, part of Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, sponsors a hike along the Ka`u Coast this Saturday. The five-mile round-trip interpretive program, led by park ranger Jay Robinson, follows the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail from Punalu`u to Kamehame. Call 985-7373 or visit fhvnp.org to register. 

Hawai`i Wildlife Fund organizes beach clean-ups
regularly in Ka`u.

VOLUNTEERS WILL CLEAN UP Kamilo Beach near South Point on Saturday at an event sponsored by Hawai`i Wildlife Fund. Sign up with Megan at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com. 

A DINNER AT KAHUKU PARK on Paradise Circle in Ocean View on Saturday will raise funds to support the Summer Fun program there. Dinner is served at 5 p.m. and includes Chef John Repogle’s BBQ pork along with rice, corn and watermelon all for just $5. Beverages are $1, with desserts and other baked goods also on sale. Activities before dinner include a slip and slide, face painting and games. Karaoke is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Pre-sale dinner tickets are available. Call Robin at 939-8491 or Genny at 217-5593.