Ka'u News Briefs Feb. 8, 2012

Participants at Na`alehu Elementary's Math & Science Night viewed projects such as anemometers. Photo by Nalani Parlin

A PUBLIC HEARING ON INVEST IN HAWAI`I ACT 2012 will be held this Friday at the state Capitol at 9 a.m., and anyone can submit testimony online. A statement from the Senate describes the bill as “garnering bipartisan support” and describes it as “an aggressive $500 million general obligation bond-funded Capital Improvement Program package aimed at creating jobs by investing and stimulating our local economy from all corners of the state.”
      Among the investments would be development of sustainable and renewable energy resources, such as photovoltaic technology. “Investing in renewable energy and upgrades to information technology initiatives throughout schools, hospitals, and office buildings will ultimately lead to cost savings and a reduction of the State’s carbon footprint,” says a statement from the Senate. Public state facilities in Ka`u that could possibly receive such funding include Ka`u Hospital and the new Ka`u High School Gym and regional disaster shelter, both funded by the state. 

Photovoltaics could save the state money and reduce the carbon footprint
of public buildings, the state Senate says. Photo from solar-green-wind.com

      The Senate statement says that, “with Hawai`i experiencing the lowest interest rates on record and significant savings made from the State’s most recent bond authorization and issuance, now is the time to invest in our State. The program will appropriate funds for shovel-ready jobs projects that will create jobs for all trades in the construction industry – from carpenters to consultants.”
      The Senate statement points to estimates by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s job multiplier, calling them “conservative” and contending the projects could “create or sustain more than 5,000 jobs.”
      Projects would focus on repair and maintenance needs to address aging infrastructure concerns and to extend the useful life of existing state-owned assets and facilities. Projects would include those that address health and safety code concerns. Infrastructure funding would go to the Department of Education, including the State Public Library System; the University of Hawai`i, including athletic facilities; the Department of Accounting and General Services; the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Defense; the Department of Health and health care facilities of the Hawai`i Health Systems; the Department of Human Services; the Department of Land and Natural Resources; the Department of Public Safety and the Judiciary.
      In order to expedite the backlogged repair and maintenance projects, Senate Bill 2012 makes revisions to the State’s permitting, approval and procurement process. “The accelerated process will expedite the creation of jobs and facilitate the return to work for many of our residents,” said the Senate statement.
      Testimony can be submitted online at http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/submittestimony.aspx.

Scientists at Keck Observatory were involved in discovering a potentially habitable planet 22 light-years from Earth.
 Photo from www.keckobservatory.org

A POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANET, orbiting a star about 22 light-years from Earth, was discovered by an international team including scientists living here on the Big Island and working for the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea. The “super-Earth” has a minimum mass 4.5 times that of the Earth. The planet has a similar orbital period to Earth of about 28 days and is within the star’s “habitable zone,” where temperatures are neither too cold nor too hot for liquid water. 

      “This planet is the new best candidate to support liquid water and, perhaps, life as we know it,” said a discovery team leader, Guillem Anglada-Escudé, of the Carnegie Institution for Science.
      Evidence suggests at least one additional planet, possibly more, orbits the star, which is said to be a member of a triple-star system. Scientists say the host star, an M-class dwarf star called GJ 667C, has a different composition than Earth’s sun, indicating that potentially habitable planets can exist in a greater array of environments than believed in the past. “This was expected to be a rather unlikely star to host planets. Yet there they are, around a very nearby, metal-poor example of the most common type of star in our galaxy,” said Steven Vogt, a member of the discovery team and a professor of astrophysics and astronomy at UC Santa Cruz. “The detection of this planet, this nearby and this soon, implies that our galaxy must be teeming with billions of potentially habitable rocky planets.”
      Published by Astrophysical Journal Letters, the teams’ manuscript will be posted online at http://arxiv.org/archive/astro-ph.

Gardening was a topic at Na`alehu School's Math
& Science Night. Photo by Nalani Parlin

AT NA`ALEHU ELEMENTARY’S Math & Science Night yesterday, participants dove into learning with fun, educational hands-on activities for the whole family. Gardeners planted beanstalk to take home, and others learned about kites and wind socks and viewed student projects such as creating anemometers. 

FISHERMEN SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS of heavy vog that sometimes covers the nearshore waters off of Kilauea Volcano, warns Pahala and Milloli`i fisherman Guy Sesson. Sesson said he recently headed out from Punalu`u to fish near Halape but had to return after he ran into heavy volcanic fumes. “I couldn’t breath,” he said. Another fisherman who left out of Punalu`u on Monday passed away on his boat, and medical personnel are attempting to determine what happened to him. Two experienced hikers passed away after being overcome with sulfuric steam about eight years ago.

STARBUCKS wants more Ka`u Coffee, according to Chris Manfredi, who has helped to seal the deal between Ka`u Coffee farmers and the chain of gourmet coffee cafés. Starbucks is selling Ka`u Coffee in more than 250 stores worldwide, Manfredi told farmers at the Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative meeting last night. The packaging describes Ka`u Coffee as an exciting find for Starbucks buyers who visit coffee growing areas around the world and recently visited Ka`u to see the farms on the slopes of Mauna Loa. Ka`u is sold as one of the elite Starbucks Reserve coffees, and the company may look for a long-term arrangement with the local farmers if supply and good quality are consistent, he said.

THE KA`U RED HATTERS host their annual bake and craft sale to benefit Ka`u Hospital this Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Punalu`u Beach Park. For more information, call Barbara Beatty at 929-9072.

VOLCANO ART CENTER hosts their eighth annual Love the Arts benefit gala this Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Participants will be transported to Venice, Italy, through food, artwork and installations by some of Hawai`i’s most gifted artisans. Tickets are available at VAC Gallery, the Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village, and online at www.volcanolovethearts.org. Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the door.

Ka'u News Briefs Feb. 7, 2012

This kind of  container home could meet building code requirements. However, some families are now living in
containers without the amenities. Photo from weburbanist.com

BLOWING UP THE BUILDING CODE is the way Bob Herkes has described his bill in the 2012 Hawai`i Legislature to make it easier to construct houses. The measure passed the House Committee on Water, Land & Ocean Resources last Friday and now goes before more committees and public hearings.
      Herkes told The Ka`u Calendar that it pains him to see people forced to live in lava tubes, vans, and shipping containers. He said that people should be able to build four walls and a roof and live in the structure. The measure, House Bill 2358, would allow counties to apply for changes in the state building code by going to a revised building code council. 

This lava tube is protected in Hawai`i Volcanoes
National Park, but some lava tubes in Ka`u
have residents. Photo from USGS

      Honolulu Fire Chief Kenneth Silva, who also chairs the State Fire Council, testified that he is concerned about easing requirements that would protect residents from faulty building practices that could lead to fire hazards. He said the Hawai`i Fire Council should be represented on the Building Code Council.
      The planning department on O`ahu also aired concerns, pointing out that Herkes wants the basic building code to revert to standards of the 1929 Honolulu Building Code. “The City and County of Honolulu has not used this building code for over 60 years,” testified David Tanoe, director of Planning and Permitting for the City & County of Honolulu. “If adopted, this building code would be the most backward building code of all states in this nation,” he said. He said the “outdated code goes against logic and would have serious detrimental affects on the life-safety and the economy.” Numerous testimonies have been submitted, acknowledging a need for change in the building code but also expressing concerns for safety.

A NATURAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS COMMISSION is another Herkes measure within House Bill 2358. The volunteer commission would serve under the state Civil Defense Agency. The commission would consist of nine members appointed by the governor with expertise in climate, geology and other scientific disciplines to advise the Hawai`i state building code council on matters relating to natural disasters. It would conduct annual scientific evaluations to determine frequency, location and intensity of natural disasters here, determine the necessity and effectiveness of proposed amendments to the building code relating to natural disasters and would recommend changes to the state building code.

      Much has been made of building designs that that ignore vog and earthquakes on the Big Island but are designed to withstand hurricanes that rarely come here and have caused no major damage.
      The Structural Engineers Association of Hawai`i opposed the Herkes bill, noting that it would eliminate standards such as shower control valves to prevent scalding and energy conserving features of the building code.
      The state Farm Bureau and an aquaculture alliance sent in testimony saying they want a representative from agriculture on the building code council and that it hopes for permit relief for ag buildings.
      To keep up with testimony and proposed legislation, see www.capitol.hawaii.gov.

Japanese wedding at Pahala Plantation House. Photo by Julia Neal

JAPANESE TOURISM to Hawai`i has been constant and growing, even after the tsunami and earthquake. Hawai`i Pacific University professor Jerry Agrusa has come up with a reason, following interviews of visitors from Japan. The reason is that life can be taken away so quickly that one must enjoy beauty while one can. Hawai`i is a place of beauty to most Japanese people. According to representatives of Pahala Plantation Cottages here in Ka`u, the visitor count from Japan is up, including weddings and plans for a halau to stay in Ka`u during the upcoming Merrie Monarch festival.

DISCOVER YOUR INNER SCIENTIST or mathematician at Na`alehu Elementary’s Math & Science Night tonight from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Na`alehu School Gym. Dive into learning with fun, educational hands-on activities for the whole family. Plant and take home your very own beanstalk, check out the world of kites and wind socks and peruse student projects. Free chili and rice dinner will be served, and free books given to attending Na`alehu Elementary students.

NATIVE HAWAIIAN PRACTITIONER Momi Subiono teaches la`au lapa`au, the traditional uses of Hawaiian plants, tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The event is free, and park entrance fees apply.

THE KA`U RED HATTERS’ annual bake and craft sale to benefit Ka`u Hospital takes place this Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Punalu`u Beach Park. For more information, call Barbara Beatty at 929-9072.

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S eighth annual Love the Arts benefit gala is this Saturday, Feb. 11 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Participants will be transported to Venice, Italy, through food, artwork and installations by some of Hawai`i’s most gifted artisans. Tickets are available at VAC Gallery, the Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village, and online at www.volcanolovethearts.org. Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the door.

Ka'u News Briefs Feb. 6, 2012

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary in the South Hawaiian Islands. Map from NOAA

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO. will raise rates on homes that don’t have solar panels in order to make up for lost revenue for those who have installed solar, according to stories in today’s Pacific Business News and Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Big Island rates could go up an average of $10 a month, or 1.7 cents per kilowatt-hour. According to the stories, customers statewide installed so many photovoltaic panels connecting to HECO’s grids that they provided up to 30 megawatts of electricity, the same capacity as a big wind farm on O`ahu. This led to savings for those owning photovoltaic systems but a loss to HECO of $7.4 million. HECO claims it needs to raise rates so it can pay for meter readers, distribution lines and other costs. The Star-Advertiser reports Public Utilities Commission chair Mina Morita saying that raising rates with this argument is “not equitable. It’s something the Commission will have to look at closely.” 

HECO plans to raise rates to make up for losses caused by
solar panels. Photo from airbnb.com

      To remove HECO from its obligation to move into alternative energy while still providing profits to shareholders, a bill in the state Legislature would take the utility out of the energy production business and leave it with its power distribution network, for which electric users would pay. 

THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HUMPBACK WHALE SANCTUARY could be expanded to include not only protection of humpback whales but the entire ecosystem. The recommendation comes from the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council.

      The recommendation is part of the sanctuary’s proposed management plan and comes out of reports presented to the council from working groups that have been considering new strategies to better inform sanctuary management. The sanctuary is engaged in a process to review, evaluate, and update its management plan and will release a draft management plan for public comment in 2013. The sanctuary is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Hawai`i state Department of Land & Natural Resources.
      Recommendations for management include consideration of special management areas and vessel speed limits, as well as increased collaboration with communities and state and federal agencies. The proposed management approach would consider the whole ecosystem, including humans and the environment, rather than managing one resource or issue in isolation. “These management recommendations are a monumental achievement and a first for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council,” said Dr. Adam Pack, council chair and an associate professor at University of Hawai`i-Hilo.

Humpback whales migrate to Hawaiian waters each winter to breed.
Photo from fish-journal.com

      Gov. Neil Abercrombie said he supports “a management plan review process that takes into account our need to assess the biocultural resources of Hawai`i so that we can ensure use and enjoyment by residents and visitors now and into the future. As co-manager of the sanctuary, the State of Hawai`i is committed to an open, public process that fully considers the uniqueness of Hawai`i’s people, culture and environment, including the needs and perspectives of different islands and communities,” said the governor. 

      Dr. Malia Chow, sanctuary superintendent, said, “We encourage the public to stay involved and continue to participate in shaping the future direction of the sanctuary.”
      “An ecosystem-based approach would allow the sanctuary to better support community efforts to protect and sustainably use their natural, cultural, and historic resources, and would also complement the current efforts of the DLNR that are aimed at the holistic management of our watersheds,” said Elia Herman, state co-manager of the sanctuary.

A STUDY GROUP THAT IS TOUGH ON most schools around the country has given the Hawai`i public school system poor marks in teaching science. The Fordham Institute is a conservative think tank that graded Hawai`i and 16 other states with a D for “content, rigor, clarity and specificity in their science standards,” according to a story in this morning’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser by Mary Vorsino. The report was particularly negative about high school science classes, saying the study found “only rare islands of content floating in a sea of omission, confusion and plain inaccuracy.”
      Fordham gave ten other states an F in science, while 11 states scored C’s. Thirteen states, along with the District of Columbia, earned A’s or B’s in teaching science.
      The Star-Advertiser story quotes Derrick Tsuruda, science educational specialist at the Hawai`i state Department of Education, as saying, “Anybody getting a D on a report card for anything would be disappointed.” He told the Star-Advertiser, “I think we’re going to have to look at, based on this report, a review of the (science) standards.”
      The report gave better marks for elementary school science classes than high school science classes in Hawai`i. See www.edexcellence.net for the complete State of the State Science Standards report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, with it mission of “Advancing Educational Science.”

THE COAST GUARD AND HAWAI`I COUNTY, along with Maui County, will coordinate more closely during search and rescue missions. The mayors of the counties and Rear Adm. Charles W. Ray signed an agreement last week. The agreement sets up coordination between local fire departments, Ocean Safety, the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu, and the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu for civil and military search and rescue missions. 

      A statement from the Coast Guard said it helps responders to “fully leverage each organization’s unique assets, capabilities, and local knowledge while conducting SAR missions.”
      “This agreement offers benefits to both local and federal responders,” said Lt. Cmdr. Matt Derrenbacher of Sector Honolulu. “But the real benefits go to the citizens who live in and visit the Hawaiian Islands. We’re here to serve the public by providing them the best rescue, response capabilities and coordination possible to save lives.”

MOMI SUBIONO, a native Hawaiian practitioner of lomilomi, Hawaiian massage, kapa making and la`au lapa`au, teaches traditional uses of Hawaiian plants on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The event is free, and park entrance fees apply.

THE KA`U RED HATTERS’ annual bake and craft sale to benefit Ka`u Hospital takes place this Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Punalu`u Beach Park. For more information, call Barbara Beatty at 929-9072.