Ka'u News Briefs Dec. 27, 2011

A 130-foot-tall cellular phone tower would be built across the street from the Old Pahala Clubhouse, one of the recently
restored historic buildings on Maile Street in Pahala. The Clubhouse hosts music and hula classes, band practices
and other community events. Deadline for comments is this Friday. Photo by Julia Neal

A 130-FOOT-TALL CELLULAR TOWER proposal is open for comments from the public through this Friday, Dec. 30. The tower proposed by Crown Castle USA would be a single pole constructed just off Maile Street near the intersection with Lower Moa`ula Road. The site would be across from the Old Pahala Clubhouse and near the KAHU radio building. It would help improve cell phone reception for some residents in the town. It would also impede the ocean view of some houses in the village.
     Whether the cell tower could be placed above the village so it wouldn’t be in the ocean view is one of the questions being asked of Crown. Others include whether the tower could be disguised to look like a tree and whether there are any health risks to people living nearby. The monopole would be 120 feet tall and 130 feet tall with appurtenances. According to Crown, it would be painted dark green “as coordinated with the county Planning Department.”

     Crown issued a legal notice in The Ka`u Calendar newspaper saying it “invites comments from any interested party on the impact of the proposed tower on any districts, sites, buildings, structures or objects significant in American history, archaeology, engineering or culture that are listed or determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.”

     Comments should be addressed to Monica Gambino, 2000 Corporate Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317 or by phone at 724-416-2516.

Mark Glick

STATE ENERGY CZAR MARK GLICK said the future looks bright for 2012 development of alternative energy. He told Hawai`i News Now this morning that photovoltaics, geothermal, wind and algae-based biofuel initiatives are spawning new businesses in Hawai`i. They are so promising that the entrepreneurs are taking their technology worldwide.
     Glick mentioned Sopogy, founded in Hawai`i in 2002, with its curved solar voltaic panels that concentrate solar energy to make electricity. Sopogy also invented a solar-driven air conditioning system. Sopogy just signed a large contract with investors from China and is expanding both to Asia and the mainland U.S.
     Glick said that Cellana, located in Kona at the National Energy Laboratory of Hawai`i Authority campus, recently attracted $100 million of investment. The company is partnering with Alexander & Baldwin on Maui to build a commercial algae-to-energy facility next to the Maui Electric Co. power plant.
     Pacific Biodiesel, which began with taking waste oil from restaurants to make transportation fuel, is now working in Japan, the mainland and Hawai`i. Pacific Biodiesel has teamed up with Steve Case and Kamehameha Schools to establish algae-to-oil energy farms.
     Glick pointed to geothermal from the Big Island as one of the most firm energies that could power up this county and be exported to other islands. He said geothermal is power available in abundance and said it would lower prices of electricity on the Neighbor Islands.
     One of Glick’s projects for 2012 is to help secure the ability to run a cable between the Big Island and other islands for geothermal, Glick said.

WHETHER SEARS AND KMART will close their stores on the Big Island is in question. The company announced yesterday that after less-than-expected holiday sales, the company that owns both store chains will shut down up to 120 stores nationwide. The list of stores is yet to be posted. Sears operates in Hilo, and Kmart in Kona.

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is supported by the new Hawai`i Pacific Parks Association. Photo from HPPA

HAWAI`I NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION, which runs the bookstore, supports interpretation, education, research, publications and cultural activities at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, is getting a new name. The Hawai`i Pacific Parks Association is the new identity and works with the National Park Service on the Big Island, Maui and American Samoa.

     “Our mission is to inspire, connect and preserve with a spirit of aloha,” said a statement from the organization. Its new identity reflects the increased scope of an organization that has “been supporting the National Park Service in the Pacific since 1933, with a lifetime of aid recently topping $13 million,” said the statement.
     On this island the organization supports Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park and Pu`ukohola Heiau National Historic Site. See www.hawaiipacificparks.org for more.

TUTU & ME FREE TRANSPORTATION DEADLINE is coming up Jan. 9. The pilot program requires enough families to sign up for the free rides to Tutu & Me programs in Ka`u in order for the transportation to continue. Transportation will be offered from Ocean View to Na`alehu Community Center, where Tutu & Me meets on Mondays and Wednesdays and within Pahala, where Tutu & Me meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call 929-8571. Tutu & Me is an early education program for toddlers and their families.

Wet 'n' Wild water theme park on O`ahu is the destination
for grad night at Ka`u High School.

FUNDRAISING FOR PROJECT GRAD NIGHT has already begun at Ka`u High School. The event sends students to O`ahu right after graduation to the Wet ‘n’ Wild water theme park where the graduates camp overnight at the park. The next day, they have the entire park to themselves with other students from the other high schools. Also raising money for this grad night adventure from the Big Island are students from Laupahoehoe and Kea`au High Schools. Ka`u High athletic director Kalei Namohala, who is organizing the event, said that fundraisers to collect $405 per student to pay for the adventure include recycling cans and bottles and an after-school concession. “Our hope is to have our graduates pay little or nothing for all this experience,” she said. Anyone wanting to help out can call her at 928-2012.

Moses Espaniola III

FREE `UKULELE LESSONS resume on New Year’s Day from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Old Pahala Clubhouse. The teacher is Moses Espaniola III, who has been mentored by Cyril Pahinui and other master `ukulele and guitar teachers. Classes are free and sponsored by the Na`alehu Theatre organization. Call Espaniola at 345-6917.

KEIKI FISHING TOURNAMENT VOLUNTEERS can sign up to donate or help out by calling Wayne Kawachi at 937-4773. The annual event sponsored by `O Ka`u Kakou takes place Saturday, Jan. 14 at Punalu`u Beach. It is a catch and release, with many prizes for many categories for the fishing keiki. Some bamboo poles will be available. Last year some 250 children participated, and about 500 people enjoyed a free lunch.

KUMU MAILE YAMANAKA shares the Arts and Traditions of Hula at Kilauea today at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Hula lessons begin at 10:30 a.m., lei making at noon and ‘ukulele playing at 1:30 p.m. Bring your `ukulele if you have one. Sign up on a first-come, first-served basis. Open to all ages and levels.

ALSO AT HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Oral Abihai shares his passion for creating `ukulele from discarded or naturally fallen pieces of wood tomorrow from 10 a.m. to noon on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center.

Ka'u News Briefs Dec. 26, 2011

Mochi making, starting with a fire to prepare the rice, is a tradition at the Sakata home in Pahala. Photos by Julia Neal

MORE THAN 4,500 JOBS were added to the economy statewide during the past year, according to the state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations. The agency credited the increase to expansions in the tourism, professional and business, and health care sectors.
     Employment in Hawai`i increased by 500 jobs from October to November. The seasonally adjusted labor force totaled 634,700 in November, with 593,150 employed and 41,550 unemployed.
     Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 3.7 percent from October to November, while the over-the-year change in weeks claimed was down 12.7 percent. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November was 6.5 percent, the same as in October. Unemployment in this state remains lower than the national average, where the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate also declined - to 8.6 percent from 9.0 percent in October. 

Mitch Roth

MITCH ROTH, A DEPUTY COUNTY PROSECUTOR, came to Ka`u over the weekend and told residents on KAHU radio station that we must do something to make our highways and roads safer. Hawai`i has the highest rate of traffic deaths related to drugs and alcohol in the entire country. Roth, who says he is a community-oriented prosecutor, talked about looking for the root cause of crimes to stop them before they happen, through counseling, education and fair warnings to people. He has worked on a number of initiatives in Ka`u to help train families with domestic violence, to develop neighborhood watch programs and empower community associations. 

     Regarding the alcohol and driving, however, the Hawai`i Police Department will step up DUI checkpoints all across the island through New Year’s Day. 

FIREWORK PERMITS go on sale today. Hawai`i County regulations permit fireworks for only four hours, between 9 p.m. New Year’s Eve and 1 a.m. New Year’s Day. The permits, each good for purchasing up to 5,000 firecrackers, cost $25 and are available for people 18 years of age and older. Individuals can buy multiple permits. They are available at the Hilo Fire Administration Office, Pacific Fireworks, the Golden Dragon tent and Kadota Liquors in Hilo; Pinky’s Five/Eight at Papaikou; and Parker Ranch Center Food Court in Waimea. In Kona, firework permits are available at the Kona Fire Prevention Office and West Hawai`i Civic Center.
     Fireworks are illegal within 1,000 feet of hospitals, schools, churches, community centers public parks and senior housing. It is illegal to give fireworks to children and for children to use them without supervision by parents and guardians.

TREECYCLING is being encouraged by the County of Hawai`i’s Departments of Environmental Management and Public Works. They are teaming up to support on-site tree chipping at locations around the island. 

     “Please help keep our island green and recycle your holiday tree and greenery,” says a statement from the county. “After Christmas, drop your trees at any of eight county recycle and transfer stations: Hilo, Puako, Kailua-Kona, Honoka`a, Kea`au, Keauhou, Waimea and Wai`ohinu.
     This program runs from today through Jan. 15. Trees and greenery should be free of all decorations, lights, tinsel and ornaments. Artificial and flocked trees are rejected.
     “Chipping the trees and making the material available for use in gardens will allow the county to divert thousands of trees from our landfills and add valuable mulch to island soils. In addition, chipping will help reduce the illegal dumping of holiday trees,” the county statement says.
     The county also encourages residents to recycle Kadomatsu decorations, which are normally a combination of bamboo, pine and flowers. Kadomatsu is a tradition that began 600 years ago in Japan as a way of offering luck in the New Year.
     Information about the county’s Treecycling Program and additional recycling and solid waste programs is available on the website at www.HawaiiZeroWaste.org. For further information, please contact the county Solid Waste Division at 961-8270.

Men and boys grind the rice into the paste to make mochi.

THE NEW YEAR CAME EARLY for families in Ka`u making mochi over the weekend. In the backyard of the Carol Sakata house in Pahala, two fires were going for the rice. The men ground the mochi into a smooth paste, and the sweets were formed and sugared by the women. Families brought their own rice for the ritual to make these New Year’s treats to distribute. 

REGISTRATION IS OPEN for the annual humpback whale count around the state. Volunteers go to selected sites along the Ka`u Coast to help out on Saturdays, Jan. 28, Feb. 25 and March 31. The count takes place over a four-hour period when volunteers record the behavior of the whales, which come to Hawaiian waters to spend the winter each year. The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, which is recruiting the volunteers, has announced that it is seeking a limited number of site leaders, who must be able to
 participate in all three counts and must attend training. For more information, call
 1-888-55-WHALE ext 253, or see hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov.

Women form and sugar the mochi treats.

KUMU MAILE YAMANAKA shares the Arts and Traditions of Hula at Kilauea tomorrow at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Hula lessons begin at 10:30 a.m., lei making at noon and `ukulele playing at 1:30 p.m. Bring your `ukulele if you have one. Sign up on a first-come, first-served basis tomorrow. Open to all ages and levels. 

ALSO AT HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to noon on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center, Oral Abihai shares his passion for creating `ukulele from discarded or naturally fallen pieces of wood. He has used pieces of `ohi`a lehua and native myrtle from a firewood stack. Scraps from a cabinetmaker friend commonly end up as necks or saddles. His favorite `ukulele is the first instrument he made from scraps of koa wood given to him by his teacher.

     This `Ike Hana No`eau Hawaiian cultural program is one in a series sponsored in part by Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

Ka'u News Briefs Dec. 25, 2011

Thy Word Ministry-Ka`u says Aloha Ke Akua during the recent Pahala Christmas Parade. Photo by Julia Neal

WHAT MAKES CHRISTMAS SPECIAL? Gov. Neil Abercrombie released his Christmas message, saying, “We feel we need to remind ourselves about values that represent the holiday season. The value of giving, of sharing joy, of spreading the meaning of Aloha near and far – to family, friends, and even those we meet or scarcely know. 

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, Dr. Nancie Caraway and
Hawai`i's First Dog Kanoa. Photo from the
Office of the Governor

     “We emphasize these things during the holidays because we fear we may have forgotten them more than a little bit since last Christmas. The idea of the greetings – Mele Kalikimaka, Hauoli Makahiki Hou – is to remind ourselves that perhaps this year we can keep their meaning fresh in our hearts and minds all through the year to come.”

HAWAI`I ISLAND YOUTH have started the Sustainable Hawai`i Youth Leadership Initiative and invite young people from all the schools on the island to join. The group recently premiered a film in which they describe dreams from the island becoming self-sustaining to ending racism, sexism and promoting the aloha spirit. Some of the activities include 17-year-old Wainani Traub, founder of the organization, becoming Hawai`i’s first youth delegate to the Youth Leadership Summit for Sustainable Development on Martha’s Vineyard with island youth from around the world. She also spoke at the recent APEC Summit in Honolulu.
     Founding member Skyla Graig-Murray wrote in Civil Beat recently: “I’m afraid we are throwing away our world. We are destroying our land and habitats to lay down concrete roads. This should be our top priority! SHYLI is important because our young people pledge to move forward to improve; to use what we can; and do so without hurting the environment around us. SHYLI is not just to teach people how to live with the world, but to show us how. We have an important vision for the future – a sustainable Hawai`i, and a sustainable world.”
     Ka`u youth can join. See. www.shyli.org.

THEFT OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS will be the subject of new and tougher laws against agricultural theft, according to a Colin M. Stewart story in the Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. The story quotes Big Islander and state House of Representatives ag committee chair Clift Tsuji saying, “One of my priorities in my legislation this year will be agricultural theft and vandalism, and what it does to the agriculture industry.” Tsuji called for more public support for ag theft laws. “My concern is that when we introduce the legislation we include the agricultural community as a whole. Sometimes we don’t have enough public comment during the public hearings, and we would like more participation from the public,” Tsuji told the reporter. 

Moa`ula Coffee farmers are on the lookout for thieves after one reported
incident in which a farmer claimed a large loss of coffee cherry. 

     The story also covers the reported theft of thousands of pounds of coffee cherry at Manuel Marques’ farm at Moa`ula. The Hawai`i Tribune-Herald quotes Marques saying he hopes the thieves return so he can catch them. He is claiming some $10,000 in losses and damage to the coffee fields by thieves breaking branches and shredding the coffee from the trees. 

     Nearby farmers said they have not seen any suspicious coffee pickers or noticed unusual activity in the area.
     Chris Manfredi, who represents the development company that owns the Moa`ula land where the farms of Marques and most of the other Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative members are located, also weighed in. The Tribune-Herald story quotes him as saying: “We understand that the value of coffee this year is especially very high. There appears to be a higher threat of agricultural theft. It’s something we have to watch out for. We’re being increasingly wary.” The story also reports Manfredi saying that lower yields in Kona from coffee berry borer invasions and other issues lowered supply and increased demand. He also pointed to the increase in popularity of Ka`u Coffee. Manfredi recently brokered a deal with Starbucks to sell Ka`u Coffee and is ordering a second container load from the Ka`u farmers. Competition has recently grown, with good markets established by the cooperative itself, the new Ka`u Coffee Mill and individual Ka`u Coffee farmers.

CHRISTMAS DINNER IS BEING SERVED at restaurants in Ka`u today. Hana Hou’s special menu begins at noon and includes prime rib, crab-stuffed lobster, scallop and shrimp fettuccine, salad bar and dessert.
     South Side Shaka’s closes at 9 p.m. today.

     Crater Rim Café at Kilauea Military Camp in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park offers brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Park entrance fees apply.