Ka`u News Briefs July 20, 2011

Moon Brown performs along with Reggie Griffin at Volcano Art Center's Niaulani Campus this Saturday.

KA`U REP. BOB HERKES said he is happy that the state attorney general’s office has concluded that the military, students and other temporary residents should not be used in determining the population for the basis of reapportionment, which determines the number of elected officials to represent the citizens. 

Rep. Bob Herkes

The opinion was presented by Herkes yesterday to the state Reapportionment Commission, which had voted to use the population taken by the recent census as its base for redistricting. Sen. Malama Solomon had asked people to write to the commission to encourage its members to change their minds. Counting the big military and out of state student population on O`ahu could have led to the Big Island having fewer representatives per citizen, she noted. Excluding the temporary residents from the count could lead to the Big Island gaining an additional Senate seat, meaning four senators for Hawai`i Island. Herkes wrote to Attorney General David Louie earlier this month, asking for his opinion.

HOW DO YOU GET MORE INFORMATION on the commission that is responsible for drawing the boundaries for the districts? Council member Brittany Smart said the subject will be up for discussion at her District 6 Matters community meetings tonight at Yano Hall in South Kona and next Wednesday at Na`alehu Community Center. Both are at 7 p.m. She also encourages residents to come to the meetings and check out the County of Hawai`i Redistricting website at http://co.hawaii.hi.us/council/reapp/index.htm. Testimony can be given in person at the commission meetings, by video conference, by emailing Karen Eoff at 
keoff@co.hawaii.hi.us or calling 323-4264. Testimony should be addressed to Chairperson Siracusa and Commission Members.

BANK OF HAWAI`I in Pahala is helping Habitat for Humanity by selling teri beef plate tickets for $7 each that can be picked up on Saturday, July 30 at either the KTA at Puainako Center in Hilo or the KTA in Kailua-Kona. The funds go to help make home ownership more possible. A Hawaiian family just moved into one of the Habitat for Humanity Homes with an interest-free mortgage in Ocean View.

THERE ARE NOW TWO TARGET STORES, one northwest of Ka`u and the other northeast of Ka`u as the Hilo Target had a soft opening for about 100 guests yesterday with hula and speeches. It is located on Hawaiian Home Lands and will generate millions of dollars in lease rent. Target also employs 350 people to run the Hilo store.

SCHOOL BUS FARES are going up. The state Board of Education raised the fares at its meeting this week. The quarterly pass goes from $60 to $72. The annual pass goes up from $225 to $270. One-way fares rise from 75 cents to $1.25. 

SCHOOL MEAL PRICES are going up for the older children and down for the younger children. Elementary school lunches drop from $2.35 to $2.25. Junior high and high school students will pay $2.50 instead of $2.35. Many Ka`u students, however, have reduced lunch prices because they come from low-income families.

PU`U `O`O CRATER’S NEW CAMERA revealed a slow uplift of the crater floor and perched lake yesterday. A lava lake, fed continuously from below, remained perched in the center of the doming crater floor. According to the USGS report, the crater floor and perched lake rims form a nearly continuous ramp sloping away from the lake. The crater floor was about 62 feet below the east rim of Pu`u `O`o Crater, with the lava lake surface about 20 feet above the floor. From June 29 to July 16, the crater floor was uplifted about a yard per day. The most recent preliminary sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 700 tons a day on July 15, from all east rift zone sources, which has meant much clearer skies for all of Ka`u. The video from the new camera, webcams and still photography can be seen at hvo.wr.usgs.gov.

Dr. Patricia Mullen

DR. PATRICIA MULLEN, a Board Certified Family Practitioner, has joined the Emergency Department team at Ka`u Hospital. The new ER physician is very experienced, spending more than 25 years in medicine taking care of patients in urgent care and emergency room settings in Santa Rosa, CA. She has the added credential of being Board Certified in Addiction Medicine. Mullen moved to the Big Island last year and says she is thrilled to be living and working in such a beautiful place with people of many cultures. She is enchanted with Hawaiian music, hula, plants, ocean life, as well as the friendly people here.

KUA O KA LA VIRTUAL ACADEMY, a New Century Public Charter School, hosts a question-and-answer meeting tonight at 5 p.m. at Cooper Center in Volcano. The school’s hybrid program offers place-based, Hawaiian culture-focused electives coupled with an online academic program. For more information, call 808-342-0611.

MOON BROWN AND REGGIE GRIFFIN perform at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Center’s Live Jazz Concert Series. Coordinator David Wallerstein encourages early purchase of tickets, as the previous concerts sold out. Tickets are $15. Call 967-8222 or purchase online at volcanoartcenter.org.

Ka`u News Briefs July 19, 2011

The Southside Junior Boys Volleyball teams traveled to Minneapolis to compete in the Nationals earlier this month.

THE HAWAI`I STATE TEACHERS UNION filed for a court injunction to stop the state from reducing teacher pay, increasing health insurance payments, and other measures the state took to balance its budget without a vote by the union members. The new fiscal year began July 1, and the state implemented its changes after making what it called a “last, best and final offer” to the union. The state implemented a 1.5 percent pay cut plus furlough days on non-teaching days and the teachers taking responsibility for paying a higher amount of their health insurance payments. Gov. Neil Abercrombie said earlier that other government worker unions had accepted the cutbacks in order to keep the state budget intact and that the union leaders should have allowed the members to vote on the matter. The state has a week to respond to the request for the court injunction.

ALASKA AIRLINES plans another route to Hawai`i, this new one from San Diego. Alaska is already flying from West Coast cities to Hawai`i, and there is hope they will someday fly to Hilo as Alaskans find Hawai`i, the Big Island a favorite winter destination since this island has the large landscapes and plenty of room to move around, as well as hunting, fishing and other outdoor sports, just like Alaska.

Members of the 79th Recruit Class of the Hawai`i County
Police Department will do on-the-job training in Ka`u.

THE NEW CLASS OF POLICE OFFICER RECRUITS will be here in Ka`u and around the island on their four months of on-the-job field training with veteran police officers before they take on their own beats. 

     The 79th Recruit Class of the Hawai`i County Police Department is led by its president, Peter P. Tourigny, who addressed the graduating class last Friday. He said most of the recruits were born and raised on the Big Island, but some members traveled from O`ahu, Maui and as far as New Hampshire to be here. Prior to entering the Police Department, recruits worked as school teachers, retail sales associates, farmers, armored truck drivers, college students, personal trainers, loss prevention agent, police dispatcher, corrections officer, former police officer and amateur dancer.
     “I challenge each of you to wear your uniform with pride and remember that we are now held to a higher standard of living,” Tourigny said. “We must serve the community in a way that will never disgrace the honor of our badges.”
     During the ceremony, three of the recruits received special recognition for their excellence in training. They were Branden K. Watanabe, who excelled in academic training; Vaughn S. Kelii, who excelled in physical fitness training; and vice president Amy C. Masuyama, who excelled in firearms training. Mayor Bill Kenoi, County Council Chair Dominic Yagong and former Mayor Harry Kim also addressed the troops.

BANK OF HAWAI`I CUSTOMERS who were charged overdraft fees during the last five years have a good chance of getting them back, as Bank of Hawai`i is setting aside $9 million for such refunds. The settlement involves a change in policy in which the bank was listing debit card transactions from highest to lowest in dollar transactions, which maximized the fees it could charge. The bank already changed the policy and will make the refunds. Other banks are being asked to do the same. 

KANU HAWAI`I, a nonprofit environmental group, is asking people and businesses across the state to cut their electric and gas bills by 25 percent. It asks people to take up a challenge each week to focus on reducing energy use and energy bills. This week’s challenge is transportation, and the slogan is “Get out of the car and explore alternative transportation,” which is easy on this island since bus rides are $1 for the public and free for students, seniors and the disabled. Next week’s challenge: Participants can make pledges and enter contests to win free solar hot water heaters, lighting retrofits and gift certificates. Sponsors include Hawai`i Energy, Helping Hands Hawai`i, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, RevoluSun, EAH Housing and Hawaiian Electric. See kanuhawaii.org to make a pledge and enter a contest. 

THE SOUTHSIDE JUNIOR BOYS VOLLEYBALL teams are reporting that their summer competition in Minneapolis gave them lots of experience against tough competition. The 12-and-Under team won six out of twelve games and took fourth nationwide. They beat teams from Puerto Rico and O`ahu with Ka`u team members Kameron Moses, Nai`a Makuakane, Addison Enriques and Avery Enriques. The 13-and-Under team placed fourth and won nine out of the 12 games they played. The newly formed 13-and-Under team did not place but gained experience to get ready for next year’s Nationals being held in Dallas, Texas.

One Journey performs tonight at Kilauea Visitor Center
Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

ONE JOURNEY, THE KA`U HIGH SCHOOL ensemble with lead singer and composer Eunice Longakit, will perform tonight at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium tonight at 7 p.m. Their CDs will be available for purchase and autographs. A $2 donation supports park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

KAREN HAGEN SHARES THE ART OF CERAMICS at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 967-7565 for more information.

KUA O KA LA VIRTUAL ACADEMY, a New Century Public Charter School, hosts a question-and-answer meeting tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Cooper Center in Volcano. The school’s hybrid program offers place-based, Hawaiian culture-focused electives coupled with an online academic program. For more information, call 808-342-0611. 

REDISTRICTING OF HAWAI‘I COUNTY is the topic at a District 6 Matters meeting tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Yano Hall in Captain Cook. County Council member Brittany Smart and attorney Michael Udovic, from the office of Corporation Counsel, will be on hand to answer questions.

Ka`u News Briefs July 18, 2011

Richard Ha has been a banana and tomato farmer and now chairs
a group wanting to take over Hawaiian Electric to go geothermal.

THE EFFORT TO BUY HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES and make geothermal the main provider of energy for the Islands has attracted new board members, according to a story in the Honolulu Star Advertiser. Chaired by Big Island farmer Richard Ha, the board of Ku`oko`a now includes former deputy director of the U.S. Department of Energy T.J. Glauthier and former C.I.A. director James Woolsey. Also on board are Rob Robinson, a venture capitalist and professor of entrepreneurship and e-business at the University of Hawai`i, and Rick Blangiardi, general manager of Hawai`i News Now. The chief strategy marketer is Alan Tang, who owns Olomana Marketing. The organizer of the hui is entrepreneur Roald Marth. Its president is Ted Peck, the state’s former energy administrator, who directed Hawai`i’s Clean Energy Initiative. 

     The goal of the group is to derive most of the electricity in Hawai`i from geothermal produced on this island and Maui. Undersea cables would transmit energy to the other islands. The geothermal could also help produce hydrogen fuel to run transportation. Wind, waves, hydro and solar could also be part of the mix. There could be some biofuel, but the goal would be to retire the oil burning power plants now operated by Hawaiian Electric over the next ten years. 

     Marth claims that electric rates could be cut to 20 cents per kilowatt-hour statewide. Presently the rate is about 30 cents on O`ahu and around 40 cents on neighbor islands. Marth said the cost of purchasing Hawaiian Electric and retooling it to 100 percent renewable energy could cost $35 billion over 10 years. 

     According to the Advertiser story, Marth said Ku`oko`a has been belittled as a plan by a motivational speaker, a tomato farmer and a bureaucrat. “We’re not just the tomato farmer and the bureaucrat and the motivational speaker trying to buy an electric utility,” Marth said. “That’s not what we’re about. We’re a bunch of really, really smart, determined people with a little bit of money who are trying to build a new industry in Hawai`i.”

IN KA`U, `AINA KOA PONO is proposing a biofuel plant between Pahala and Wood Valley, and its contract with Hawaiian Electric is coming up for public hearings on Tuesday, Aug. 2 in Hilo at 9 a.m. at the State Building and in Kona at 4 p.m. at West Hawai`i Civic Center. See the proposal and comments from the public and state officials by googling Hawai`i PUC docket and clicking on the documents in the `Aina Koa Pono file.

KA`U STUDENTS can go to class online through an accredited public charter school operated by Kua O Ka La. The school made presentations in Na`alehu and Pahala last week. The school is considered a hybrid as classes will be online, but teachers will meet with students in their communities and also at a central location where students can study. The school is much more affordable than many other online schools, and the education earns Hawai`i Department of Education credits toward completing a high school education. Pua Mendonca, who visited Ka`u on behalf of the new online school, said that the school could be particularly beneficial for students “who want to soar” beyond what is offered in the public school classroom and students who have special challenges and need individualized programs to improve their skills. 

     To sign up, students must have access to high speed Internet, though the school will provide the computers. There will be daily opportunities for academic mentoring and support for classes, cultural and community electives, dual credit for college and high school available for juniors and seniors and the opportunity to earn high school credits through test mastery. For more information call 965-5098.

THE NEW STATEWIDE CHARTER SCHOOL TASK FORCE meets for the first time this Wednesday in Honolulu at the Capitol. A bill signed into law by Gov. Neil Abercrombie last week requires the task force to develop the framework of accountability between the charter school system and the state Department of Education. The group also will create oversight, recommend funding levels and work on connecting the governing of charter schools with the DOE. The task force will provide its recommendations to the 2012 Hawai`i Legislature. 

Brittany Smart

COUNCIL MEMBER BRITTANY SMART met with the Big Island Press Club last week requesting help to draft language addressing social media and the Sunshine Law. She said she is a strong supporter of the Sunshine Law and firmly believes that transparency is essential to well run governments. At the same time, she said, the laws were written before social media became a strong communication vehicle. Since members of the press “are an important government watchdog,” Smart said she is seeking their help. “Incorporation of social media tools within the Sunshine Law environment is the goal, not circumvention. Transparency must be retained.” 

     Under the Sunshine Law, one council person could write views on a proposed bill online, but if other council persons joined in an online discussion, the Sunshine Law possibly could be broken. The Sunshine Law prohibits more than three council persons from discussing how they would vote on a measure before the council.

ONE JOURNEY, THE LOCAL WINNERS of the statewide Brown Bags to Stardom competition, perform live at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium tomorrow at 7 p.m. Their CDs will be available for purchase and autographs. This After Dark in the Park program is free. A $2 donation is requested, and park entrance fees apply.

KAREN HAGEN SHARES THE ART OF CERAMICS at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 967-7565 for more information.