Ka`u News Briefs August 30, 2011

Kilauea Volcano is the Big Island's trump card, according to U.S. News and World Report.  Photo by Stephen O'Meara

MUFI HANNEMANN, founder of Punalu`u Bake Shop, which is famous for its sweetbread and as a visitor stop, announced today that he will run for Congress. If the Democrat wins, he would represent District 2, taking the place of Rep. Mazie Hirono, who has decided to run for U.S. Senate. 

Mufi Hannemann with Denise Peralta and Big D last
August at Pahala Plantation House.  Photo by Julia Neal

     Hannemann came through Ka`u several times last year when he was running for governor and plans to come back during his new campaign. A former mayor of Honolulu, he is now president and CEO of the Hawai`i Hotel & Lodging Association. He pointed to his experience as mayor and chair of the County Council on O`ahu, as director of the Hawai`i Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, and as a C. Brewer executive.
     Hannemann said his support is strong on the Neighbor Islands, “where I have built and maintained many cherished friendships over the years. As someone who’s traveled from Ka`u to Kapa`a, from Kaunakakai to Kane`ohe, from La`ie to Lana`i, and from Wailuku to Wai`anae, and listened to the counsel and concerns of friends and strangers alike, I’ve decided that I can best contribute to the future of our islands and make a difference in the lives of our people and nation by seeking to serve in Congress,” said Hannemann.

KILAUEA VOLCANO is this island’s “trump card,” according to U.S. News and World Report, which placed the Big Island on the list of best “adventure vacation” destinations this year. The Big Island ranked seventh out of 16 locations, ahead of San Francisco and Miami Beach. The list cited Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park as one the “best things to do,” and noted Kilauea’s spectacular lava flows. The park attracts 1.6 million tourists a year – almost all of the 1.7 million tourists that visit the Big Island.

THE KA`U YOUTH INTERN PROGRAM, which trains for work in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and for other resource management organizations, has received a commitment for funding for 2012 from the Omidyar `Ohana Fund at the Hawai`i Community Foundation.
     The effort is a partnership between Ka`u High School, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, Hawai`i Natural History Association and the National Park Service.
     The Ka`u Youth Intern Program targets underserved youth in rural Ka`u for training and employment in the field of environmental conservation. The 2011 program trained 22 Ka`u High School students over a five-week period during the spring semester. Training provided students with natural and cultural resources interpretation and environmental education knowledge and skills.
     Thirteen of these Ka`u youth and six additional local students were hired to work at the national park over the summer. They worked in a number of park divisions, including interpretation and cultural resources management.
     Supervisory Park Ranger Kupono McDaniel said: “This program helps me meet both my personal and professional goals to help local kids understand how special and amazing Hawai`i is. When they see how interested the rest of the world is in our home, they are proud. When I see how much they have learned and grown, I am proud as well. These are amazing kids doing good work for Hawai`i.”
     For more information, contact McDaniel at 985-6015 or kupono_mcdaniel@nps.gov.

Axis deer are considered highly invasive.

AXIS DEER COULD BE HUNTED on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands following approval of a permit for the Division of Forestry and Wildlife to survey the land around South Point. Reports of axis deer have been made in Ka`u. The deer are considered highly invasive and could destroy plant life and agriculture. There is rumor that deer may have been brought in by helicopter by people who want to develop more game hunting opportunities. 

AVERAGE GAS PRICES DROPPED OVER 10 CENTS during August to an average of $4.03 statewide, according to price-tracker website GasBuddy.com. Gas prices were at their highest this year when they topped over $4.50 per gallon in May. However, Hawai`i residents still pay about 40 cents more per gallon on gas than the average American. Gas prices in Ka`u remain higher than the state average.
     Yesterday, Ka`u Gas in Pahala sold gas for $4.25, the 76 station in Na`alehu for $4.24, Kahala Gas in Ocean View for $4.17, Kahuku Country Market in Ocean View for $4.17, and Ocean View Market sold gas for $4.13.
     What will happen next? Oil on the international market topped $89 a barrel this morning.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT awarded a $13 million grant for Native Hawaiian Housing last week, according to Civil Beat. Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the award at the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement convention in Honolulu, saying that affordable housing is key to reducing poverty among the native population. “For too long,” he said, “you have lacked a federal partner who is committed to Hawaiians.”
     In the same convention, the U.S. Department of Treasury awarded $1.5 million to “help community-based financial institutions provide affordable loans and financial services to Native Hawaiians.”

Cleaning up the Ka`u Coast.  Photo from wildhawaii.org

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND will host its next beach cleanup at Kamilo Point and Ka`alu`alu Bay Saturday, Sept. 17. It is co-sponsored by NOAA’s Marine Debris Program and supported by the Surfrider Hilo Chapter and the University of Hawai`i in Hilo. All volunteers will meet at Wai`ohinu Park on Hwy 11 near mile marker 65 at 7:45 a.m. and are asked to bring sturdy shoes, bag lunch, sun and wind protection, plenty of drinks and four-wheel-drive vehicles if possible. Volunteers will set out to the sites at 8 a.m. and finish cleaning at around 2 p.m. HWF will supply cleanup materials. A second beach cleanup for Nov. 17 will gather debris along an undetermined part of the Ka`u coastline. 

     Those interested can contact Megan Lamson at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

SEN. GIL KAHELE’S first in a series of community forums will be held tomorrow at Cooper Center in Volcano from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. He will provide a re-cap of the 26th legislative session as well as address specific issues pertaining to the community. Participants may email questions or concerns prior to the meeting to senkahele@capitol.hawaii.gov. More sessions in Ka`u are scheduled for October.

THE KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN could be in draft form for the public to review by early next year, according to county planners. The 11-member steering committee will meet for the first time in a long time on Sept. 13 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Pahala Community Center, and the public is invited. In the meantime, members of the steering committee have been hosting booths to meet with the public at farmers markets and other events.
     Jason Armstrong, of Stephens Media, has a story today restating elements of the Ka`u CDP values and vision statement. It says, “While other communities may talk about the importance of community character and a lifestyle inspired by a sense of place, Ka`u lives it. Honoring that connection between people and place will be essential.” For more, see www.kaucdp.info.

Recycle Hawai`i, Keep America Beautiful and Coca Cola
sponsor Adopt A Bin.

AN ADOPT A BIN PROGRAM invites community groups to apply for bins for recyclable beverage containers and place them in high traffic areas to raise money for their organizations. The bins come from a grant from Coca Cola and Keep America Beautiful given to Recycle Hawai`i, one of 70 recipients of the 800 applicants nationwide. To sign up, call 969-2012. 

THE OCEAN VIEW FOOD BASKET is today from noon to 2:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Call 939-7000 for more information.

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE can be dropped off at Wai`ohinu Transfer Station this Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Automotive fluids, batteries, fluorescent lights, pesticides and latex paints are some of the items being accepted. For more information, call 961-8554 or visit hawaiizerowaste.org.

Ka`u News Briefs August 29, 2011

More Ka`u students are graduating and receiving scholarships for higher education.  Photo by Julia Neal

MORE KA`U STUDENTS graduated from school this year, according to a report by the federal Department of Education’s No Child Left Behind program. According to the report, 92 percent of Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary students graduated this year, up from 84 percent last year and well over the school’s goal of 80 percent. Principal Sharon Beck said more students are also going on to college and other secondary education. More students are also being recognized for academic achievement, receiving scholarships for higher education. 

     The same report records a rise in math proficiency levels, which rose this year from 33 percent to 39 percent, inching closer to the school’s goal of 64 percent. However, there was a drop in reading proficiency levels from 60 percent to 53 percent, well below the goal of 72 percent. The school is currently under a restructuring No Child Left Behind status to help the school meet its goals.
     Na`alehu Elementary school saw improvement in both reading and math proficiency levels this year. Math proficiency jumped up from 24 percent to 32 percent, and reading from 38 percent to 42 percent. Also under restructuring, the school is working to increase its scores to meet standards.
     This year’s and past No Child Left Behind reports on Hawai`i schools can be viewed at http://arch.k12.hi.us/school/nclb/nclb.html.

The University of Hawai`i plans to search for more
geothermal sites on the island.

MAPPING THE GEOTHERMAL POTENTIAL of the Big Island could go a long way toward helping the state plan for its energy future, according to University of Hawai`i’s Don Thomas, who spoke at the energy meeting in Hilo over the weekend. He said U.H. has applied for funding for more sophisticated mapping than was conducted in the past. He said it would take a year and a half to two years to complete the geophysics and another year for test drilling. Thomas said it would cost $1 million to $1.5 million for the survey and $3 million to drill each test hole. A full-size exploration hole costs about $3 million, he said. Hawaiian Electric Co. president Jay Ignacio and other energy experts said that one reason to explore geothermal on various parts of the island is to help with distribution of power - putting it closer to where most of it will be used - the west side of the Big Island and also to spread the risk of a major seismic event on one side of the island taking production of geothermal electricity offline.

Richard Ha wants to buy HECO through Ku`oko`a.

KU`OKO`A, the start-up venture that hopes to purchase Hawaiian Electric, was represented by Richard Ha at the energy meeting. He said he recently returned from Iceland, which he claimed is recovering from its financial troubles through the use of its geothermal power, particularly in processing aluminum. He said that Hawai`i should waste no time in developing its geothermal potential to make the islands not only independent from fossil fuel, but also prosperous, as the energy could be used to make transportation fuel and for manufacturing. 

APPROVAL OF NEW COUNTY BUILDING CODE will be the subject of public workshops next month. Bill 270 was approved in a four-to-five vote last month, but its approval was postponed in a six-to-three vote earlier this month for reconsideration. The first workshop will be on Sept. 6 between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the West Hawai`i Civic Center in Kealakehe and on Sept. 7 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Aupuni Center conference room in Hilo. Bill 270, Draft 3 can be viewed at http://records.co.hawaii.hi.us/weblink/0/doc/756796/Page1.aspx.

VIETNAM ERA VETERANS have until tomorrow, Aug. 30 to qualify to receive benefits for conditions connected with exposure to Agent Orange. Congresswoman Mazie Hirono said that three new presumptive diseases have been added to cancer and other conditions qualifying for benefits. They are Ischemic heart disease, hairy cell and other B-cell leukemia and Parkinson’s disease. Widows and widowers whose spouses have died from Agent Orange conditions may also qualify by applying to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Online filing is available at the Agent Orange Fast Track Claims Processing System. Veterans must have served in the Republic of Vietnam or inland waterways between Jan. 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975 to qualify. 

ALTERNATING LANES ON HIGHWAY 11 are closed near the intersection with South Point Road between mile markers 69 and 72 in the vicinity of South Point Road today, through Friday. The lane closures are scheduled from daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to repair, pave and install guardrails. Lane closure may change at any time without further notice. All projects are weather permitting.

THE OCEAN VIEW FOOD BASKET is tomorrow, from noon to 2:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Call 939-7000 for more information.

SEN. GIL KAHELE’S first in a series of community forums will be held on Wednesday at Cooper Center in Volcano from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. He will provide a re-cap of the 26th legislative session as well as address specific issues pertaining to the community. Participants may email questions or concerns prior to the meeting to senkahele@capitol.hawaii.gov. More sessions in Ka`u are scheduled for October.

Ka`u News Briefs August 28, 2011

The Marshallese community shares its dance at Ka`u High School functions over the years.  Photo by Julia Neal

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY EXPERTS and promoters met in Hilo yesterday to go over plans for the future. Panelists represented geothermal, Hawaiian Electric companies and the University of Hawai`i as well as a company attempting to purchase Hawaiian Electric to move it more toward geothermal and other alternatives.
     Concerning the biofuel refinery and farm planned for Ka`u, energy expert Robert Rapier said that he would object to the `Aina Koa Pono project using taxpayer money to build it. He said the microwave processor is unproven in its ability to scale up from the size that has been tested and used commercially to the size required for the refinery. He said that he does not object to private money being use for risky business, but the public should not have to pay for it.

Robert Rapier

    Rapier said that scaling up takes time and is done in increments, which is very costly. He said it is like cooking one turkey or 1,000 turkeys. If the scaling up is not done through testing and in increments and you try to cook 1,000 turkeys at once, you can end up with perfectly cooked turkeys in the middle, burnt turkeys on one end and frozen turkeys on the other end of the assembly line.
     Rapier said, “I think they are making representations if you look at the history of the technology, it is not where they said it is.”
     `Aina Koa Pono says it will use all private funding, but Hawaiian Electric has asked for rate hikes to pay for the fuel once it is produced. `Aina Koa Pono also claims that scaling up is not a problem according to their own engineers.
     Rapier said yesterday, “When somebody is skipping from a lab scale to a commercial scale, most things die.” He pointed to a number of alternative energy projects that are scaling up, for which millions of dollars are being spent on the larger test projects.

Joshua Strickler, of the PUC (l) and
Henry Curtis, of Life of the Land

THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION does not have the authority to order an Environmental Impact Statement for the refinery that would be built between Pahala and Wood Valley, nor the biofuel farm that could occupy thousands of acres, much of it now in ranching between Pahala and Na`alehu, according to PUC attorney and researcher Joshua Strickler, who spoke at the energy meeting yesterday. 

     The county and state have also said they have no authority to order an EIS. Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz wrote in June to a Pahala resident that “no environmental assessment is required. I urge you to write to the Public Utilities Commission and call `Aina Koa Pono directly,” he said.
     Henry Curtis, of Life of the Land, wrote that the state could ask for an EIS, contending that the processing plant fits the definition of a refinery.
     `Aina Koa Pono will meet with the public on Monday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. at Pahala Community Center, its first public meeting here since February.

Kekuhi Kanahele

KEKUHI KANAHELE, a Hawai`i Community College staff member and cultural practitioner who frequently visits Pahala, urged those at the energy conference to ask the deeper question of “what is the impact of anything we do now for 100 to 400 years? What is the impact on the resource? What is the exchange - life for life?” She said that from the Hawaiian perspective, “we must measure and observe lifetimes of the particular action on the `aina, the heaven, the substrate and the ocean.” 

ADDING SIDEWALKS ON THE MAUKA SIDE of Hwy 11 from Na`alehu Methodist Church to Ohai Road, across from Na`alehu School, is the highest priority on the Big Island, according to the draft statewide Pedestrian Master Plan released last week. “Although the makai side has a sidewalk in good condition, the shoulders beyond the serviced area can be narrow for pedestrian circulation,” the report states.
     The plan can be read and comments can be made at hawaiipedplan.com or 808-587-6395. Comments are being accepted through Sept. 30.

THE MARSHALLESE COMMUNITY of Ocean View invites the public to a community forum and health resource fair being held next Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Kahuku Park in Ocean View. The results of a community needs assessment consisting of 200 questionnaires will be presented along with current and future projects finalizing with a roundtable discussion on the next steps in transforming Ocean View and surrounding communities into healthy and thriving communities to live, work and play. Please RSVP to manitimejmouralliance@ymail.com.

THE OCEAN VIEW FOOD BASKET is this Tuesday, August 30, from noon to 2:30 p.m. at the Ocean View Community Center. Call 939-7000 for more information.

SEN. GIL KAHELE’S first in a series of community forums will be held next Wednesday, Aug. 31 at Cooper Center in Volcano from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. He said the series of community forums will allow local residents to voice concerns and to prepare him for the 2012 state Legislature. Participants may email questions or concerns prior to the meeting to senkahele@capitol.hawaii.gov.

KUMU HULA MAILE YAMANAKA is considering new classes in hula, song, Hawaiian language, culture, mythology, history and place names in Ka`u. Those interested can all her at 937-4249.