Ka`u News Briefs May 5, 2012

Ka`u High School celebrated May Day yesterday. Photo by Julia Neal

THE SUPERMOON rises over Ka`u at 6:46 p.m. tonight. It marks the Earth and the full moon in their closest orbit of the year. The Supermoon is expected to appear 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the full moon at its farthest distance. 

      The scientific name for Supermoon is the perigee moon, which refers to perigee, the point in the moon’s orbit closest to Earth. The forecast is for clear or partly cloudy skies.

Perigee is the moon closest to the Earth. Apogee is the
moon farthest from the Earth.

      Supermoon will be followed by the Eta Aquarid meteor shower from Halley’s Comet that is peaking tonight and tomorrow. These tiny pieces of comet create shooting stars that are better seen in the southern states, including Hawai`i. They can best be seen in the southern hemisphere. Best viewing time here is just before dawn.

      While the Supermoon looks larger, its appearance is an optical illusion that can be confirmed by holding up a ruler to the moon seen above the horizon, when it looks large. Measure again later when the moon is high up in the sky - when it looks smaller but is actually the same size.

BONDS FOR KA`U HOSPITAL are earmarked by the state budget passed this week by the 2012 Legislature. Hospital renovations will receive $201,000 in funding. Plumbing upgrades will cost $199,000, and an energy audit will cost $75,000. Ka`u Hospital & Rural Health Clinic runs on federal and state money, as well as health insurance payments and a lot of fundraising and volunteerism in the community.

Parking and building height variances for the construction of Ka`u Shelter & Gym have been requested.
Illustration from Mitsunaga & Associates

PARKING AND BUILDING HEIGHT VARIANCES have been requested by the county Department of Parks & Recreation for the construction of the new disaster shelter and gym on property adjacent to Ka`u High & Pahala Elementary School. The parking variance proposal is to allow an undetermined amount of grassy area to remain unpaved for parking around the gym. The height variation allows for a more plantation style roof while providing the height inside the gym for volleyball, basketball and other sports that need high ceilings. PBR Hawai`i, a consulting firm working for the county, recently sent out letters to area residents asking for comments on the proposed variances.

RACE TO THE TOP FUNDING, totaling $75 million for the statewide Department of Education, has been saved, for now, the U.S. Department of Education announced Friday. Spokesmen said however, that Hawai`i will retain a “high risk” status until it comes through with promised reforms in the educational system. Those reforms include a new system to tie teacher evaluations to student improvement and tie compensation to teacher performance. The state and teachers have yet to settle on performance standards acceptable to the federal government. Gov. Neil Abercrombie said the state is ready to go back to the negotiating table with the Hawai`i State Teachers Association. The head of that union said he would like the teachers to take a second vote on an agreement with the state that the teachers voted down. 

      In a letter to the governor, deputy U.S. education secretary Ann Whalen noted preliminary actions heading in the right direction in Hawai`i’s school system. She said the state’s application for the $75 million “set a high bar for success, and their work still falls short of the accomplishments that the state set out to achieve at this stage of the grant.” She also described the stakeholders here as “very passionate” and said they “have demonstrated a strong commitment to this work despite the challenges.” Representatives of the federal DOE visited Hawai`i, including the Ka`u district, in March and plan another assessment within six months.

May Day Queen Courtney Louis performs a solo hula with May Day King
Shai Lopez Castaneda and the court looking on. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS are headed to Waikoloa Resort this afternoon to perform with Keoki Kahumoku at the celebration of hula and Hawaiian Culture. The event features an `ukulele jam. Halau from Japan, Switzerland and Hawai`i will perform, along with Aunty Diana Aki, Waipuna, Ladies of Waiku`i, Lula and more.

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL celebrated May Day yesterday. Queen Courtney Louis and King Shai Lopez Castaneda presided over the festivities. Representing the islands were: Casey Koi and Riley Del Rosario - Kaua`i; Aysha Kaupu and Shayden Cayaban - Moloka`i; Jennifer Tabios and Tyren Fukunaga Camba - Kaho`olawe; Meghann Chow and Dimitri Castaneda - Hawai`i; Janessa Jara and Kimo Tyson - Mau`i; Cierra Kaopua and Alika Kaopua - Lana`i; Julia Espaniola and Hercules Soder - O`ahu; Mariah Chingee and Wayne Tayamen - Ni`ihau. Spearsmen were Mark Cuison and Anthony Emmsley; Kahili Bearers were Derrick Velez and Shylo Saragosa; Ladies in Waiting were Samantha Madsen and Kehau Ke; and Conch Shell Blowers were Kelii Ka-Ne and Keoki Pavao.

Honu & Triggerfish by Monty Carew is on display at
Spring Fling today. Photo by Bradley Groh

SPRING FLING Arts & Crafts Fair happens today to 4 p.m. at Punalu`u Bake Shop Pavilion & Gardens. The event features local art and entertainment. See kauarts.org.

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park celebrates Cinco de Mayo today, with a soft taco and chicken fajita buffet from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Lava Lounge and Chef’s Special house nachos along with the regular ala carte menu starting at 5 p.m. at Crater Rim Café. KMC is open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. For more, call 967-8371.

KA`U COFFEE MILL VISITOR CENTER opens to the public tomorrow. Gates open at 1 p.m. The event features the Triple C Recipe Contest along with entertainment by Ka`u `Ohana Band, Ka`u Community Chorus and Keoki and Moses Kahumoku. The recipe contest is an official event of the annual Ka`u Coffee Festival, which begins this weekend and continues with the ho`olaule`a next Saturday at Pahala Community Center.

VISIT OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.

Ka`u News Briefs May 4, 2012

Police encourage people to label and keep records of their property so it can be returned if stolen.
Photo from leadsonline.com

LABELING PRIVATE PROPERTY can help police solve theft cases and return stolen goods to rightful owners, Community Policing Officer Dane Shibuya told the Ocean View community at a Neighborhood Watch meeting last night. He said the execution of a search warrant in Ocean View recovered about 30 items that could be traced to about ten burglary and theft cases. More than 100 other items at the scene, however, were unmarked, and police are having difficulty tracing them back to owners, he said. 

      Property can be better protected by labeling items with identifying marks that are not only visible but also hidden IDs. Each item and identifiable mark should be recorded and photographed by the property owners, Shibuya recommended.

Community Policing
Officer Dane Shibuya

      Keep this record separate and in a safe location for access in case of theft, he said. The ID marks are part of the police report and can be accessed when stolen properties are found. He noted that an engraver is available at the Ka`u Police Station in Na`alehu for marking personal property. Police suggest that property owners spray paint large items for easy, far away visibility. Mark or engrave an ID, using such codes as a drivers license number, but not a Social Security number, in one or more hard-to-see locations on the item. Police note that some thieves will try to remove or cover those ID marks that they discover.
      Shibuya reported that community members in Na`alehu alerted police to the possible location of stolen items a very short time after thieves left. The items were marked with ID, recovered, and persons were arrested. “This is a wonderful example of the community helping police to help the community,” said retired police officer Bill Doar, who attended the meeting. For more information, call Dane Shibuya at 939-2520.

AGRITOURISM SITES that welcome no more than 15,000 visitors a year would receive approvals without site inspections and with fewer county requirements under a measure approved by the Windward Planning Commission yesterday. The commission set up a new “minor” category of business on ag lands that supports marketing only the crops and livestock grown on the land where visitors could see the operation. The measure goes to the Leeward Planning Commission and then to the County Council for final approval. The minor agritourism designation allows a maximum of 350 visitors a week in order to become exempt from a plan approval by the county planning department. The measure has support of Planning director Bobby Jean Leithead Todd, who said, “This will allow farmers to help supplement their agricultural business, especially on a monthly basis so they don’t have to wait for the crop to come in,” according to a Nancy Cook Lauer story in West Hawai`i Today this morning.

      The measure also addresses larger agritourism operations, eliminating limits on square footage of the operations but setting maximum annual visitor counts of 30,000. The larger agritourism operators will be able to receive plan approval within 30 instead of 60 days. However, a grace period of one year will be eliminated and subject to the new rules as soon as the County Council adopts them, the story said. 

THE TEACHERS UNION is asking its members to vote again on the recent contract they rejected. The revote would be taken in order to attempt to save $75 million in federal Race to the Top funding. Hawai`i State Teachers Association president Will Okabe told union members that they would unlikely achieve any bargaining gains if he goes back to the negotiating table. Gov. Neil Abercrombie wrote to the union, saying he wants the contract rewritten to be “clear, current and correct.” He said the contract rejected by the union no longer has legal standing.

Rep. Calvin Say

THE HAWAI`I LEGISLATURE WRAPPED yesterday by approving a supplemental state budget with new funding for human services, education and agriculture. House Speaker Calvin Say declared: “As we come out of the Great Recession, the House focused on economic recovery, assisting new industry and job creation.” The budget “supports programs and services vital to serving Hawai`i’s people, as well as other legislation that supports long-term planning and accountability to improve government services,” said the speaker. 

      House Finance chair Marcus Oshiro said the state budget moves to “reprioritize, rehabilitate, and renew” the character and delivery of government services. Here are some of the items funded:
      $250,000 to develop an Early Childhood Obesity and Diabetes Prevention Program for the state, one of the governor’s initiatives;

Rep. Marcus Oshiro

      $1.4 million and 19 positions for staffing shortages – electricians, carpenters, plumbers, and housing specialists – who will repair uninhabitable rental units for waitlisted applicants without a roof over their heads;
      $2.5 million to launch the Watershed Initiative, a program to protect priority watersheds throughout the state;
      $3.3 million for Hawai`i’s adult education program to provide GED, English as a second language, and competency-based programs necessary to attain a degree;
      $3.4 million for the Justice Reinvestment Initiative to bring prisoners home from out of state, provide rehabilitation services, and strengthen victims assistance programs at both the state and county levels;
      $22.9 million for Medicaid capitation payments to maintain critical access to health care for those in need of a safety net;

      $700,000 for the statewide institutionalization of the Na Pua No`eau Program, a successful program that provides educational opportunities for Native Hawaiian children and emphasizes a college education within the University’s system, and
      $14.0 million for the weighted student formula will ensure student support in the classroom.

ST. JUDE’S CHURCH on Paradise Cove Circle in Ocean View celebrates Cinco de Mayo tonight. Doors open at 6 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Tables may be reserved for parties of six and more. Tickets are $12 each or two for $20. Call Elaine at 808-561-6900 or Cordelia at 939-7555.

SPRING FLING Arts & Crafts Fair takes place tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Punalu`u Bakeshop Pavilion & Gardens. The event features local art and entertainment, with Ka`u `Ohana Band starting the festivities at 9 a.m. See kauarts.org.

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo.
Photo from Wikipedia

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP’S Lava Lounge And Crater Rim Café in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park celebrate Cinco de Mayo tomorrow. The Lava Lounge features a soft taco and chicken fajita buffet from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Crater Rim Café offers Chef’s Special house nachos along with the regular ala carte menu starting at 5 p.m. These events are open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. For more, call 967-8371. 

KA`U COFFEE MILL VISITOR CENTER opens to the public on Sunday. Gates open at 1 p.m. The event features the Triple C Recipe Contest along with entertainment by Ka`u `Ohana Band, Ka`u Community Chorus and Keoki and Moses Kahumoku. The recipe contest is an official event of the annual Ka`u Coffee Festival, which begins this weekend and continues with the ho`olaule`a next Saturday at Pahala Community Center.

SEE OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.

Ka`u News Briefs May 3, 2012

PMK Capital Partners, LLC, wrote to the legislature that it is developing a macadamia processing plant on the old mill property in Pahala and will be putting the Pahala Water Shaft back in service. Photo by Julia Neal

OLD PAHALA MILL SITE OWNERS went to the 2012 state legislature asking for loan guarantees and tax credits. Albert Kam, Jr. submitted testimony as chair of PMK Capital Partners, LLC, which owns the 60-acre mill site between Maile Street and Hwy 11. He wrote that the group is developing a macadamia processing plant on the old mill property “in order to provide local farmers with a better price for their macadamia crop.” In addition, the testimony says, the group “will be putting the Pahala Water Shaft that we own, with a capacity of 6.78 million gallons a day, back in service to lower the cost of irrigation for macadamia farmers.” The water shaft and its defunct pumping station that lies underground were developed for the sugar mill to process cane and as back up water for the village.
      Kam’s testimony says that the “New Market Tax Credits program provides an added incentive to PMK to undertake this major effort of creating a stimulus for the economically deprived community of Pahala.”  Kam’s testimony refers to the 2010 U.S. Census, saying Pahala is categorized as “Severely Distressed with the Percent of People in Poverty at 23.92 percent and tract Income at only 60.4 percent of the Average Mean Income for the State of Hawai`i. With a total population of 1,356 people and a labor force of 592 people, Pahala will be the beneficiary of the 25 –fulltime jobs that PMK operations will create,” the testimony contends.
      Bill 2895 called for loan guarantees to increase the maximum levels of Community-Based Economic Development Revolving Fund loans from $250,000 to $5 million. It would have allowed flexibility to participate in attracting funds through federal programs to community development projects. However, the bill failed to pass the legislature, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.

Jared Blumenfeld. Photo from epa.gov

ILLEGAL CESSPOOLS are the target of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which announced yesterday that it fined an apartment complex, a coffee visitor center and a commercial office complex on this island for failing to shut down gang cesspools. 

      Jared Blumenfeld, regional administrator for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest said that more than 2,800 large cesspools “have been closed, but an alarming 1,200 are still in use. We are working to shut these illegal cesspools down.” Among them are the gang cesspools in Pahala and Na`alehu, left over from the sugar plantation camps. The county has taken over their maintenance, charging everyone along the sewer lines that go to the cesspools and planning a new sewage system for both villages. The county is also subject to fines if the new sewage systems are not completed soon.
      No large capacity cesspools have been allowed since April 2000. Old gang cesspools were supposed to have been shut down by April 2005. According to the EPA, Hawai`i uses more cesspools than any other state. 

PAHALA LIBRARY will not be transferred to the state Department of Education and used for other purposes. The measure was deferred and unlikely to come up again as the state legislature is scheduled to close today. Friends of Ka`u Libraries lobbied legislature to prevent shutting down the library adjacent to Ka`u High School. The organization urges the public to ask for the library to be open more hours for the use of students and community members. 

Brown tree snakes have devastated bird populations
 on Guam and could the same in Hawai`i if left unchecked.
Photo from fort.usgs.gov

BROWN TREE SNAKES, native to the Solomon Islands and common on Guam, could hitch rides on air and sea craft coming into Hawai`i, particularly with the expected growth in military presence in these Islands. This prompted a bill that comes up for a vote at the state legislature today.

      Supported by the Hawai`i Farm Bureau, it was initiated by Big Island Rep. Clift Tsuji and would restore a program to employ dogs to sniff out the invasive snakes in air and sea cargo. State Department of Agriculture Chair Russell Kokubun supports the measure, as do conservationists who remind legislators that the bird population of Guam was severely reduced by the brown tree snakes.

      The budget is $162,540 a year for dogs, handlers and a trainer and could help prevent Hawai`i from spending the millions that Guam spends to control the snakes. When Hawai`i operated the dog patrol in the past, the dogs also found other invasive species that could have damaged agriculture in Hawai`i, the Farm Bureau pointed out. The federal government will also help with funding.

GEOTHERMAL EXPANSION on the Big Island is the subject of a docket opened this week by the state Public Utilities Commission. The proposal by Hawai`i Electric Light Co. asks for permission to add on up to 50 megawatts from geothermal sources. HELCO plans to seek proposals for the project, which it hopes to have online sometime between 2018 and 2023. The request for the docket by HELCO Pres. Jay Ignacio says HELCO wants to “encourage the identification, evaluation of geothermal resources on the Island of Hawai`i in reducing its reliance on fossil fuels while allowing for the integration and management of intermittent renewable resources such as wind and solar power.”

OCEAN VIEW NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH meets tonight at 7 p.m. in the Ocean View Community Center. Call 939-7033 for more.

Precious Ka`awa won the student dessert category last
 year with her "Ka`u Coffee Espresso Brownies."
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

RECIPE CONTEST ENTRIES for cookies, candies and crackers using Ka`u Coffee are due by the end of today. Students, amateurs and professionals are encouraged to enter this free contest. The competition, an official event of the 2012 Ka`u Coffee Festival, is hosted by the Ka`u Coffee Mill at their facility on Wood Valley Road this Sunday starting at 1 p.m. The contest is sponsored by Ka`u Chamber of Commerce and Pahala Plantation Cottages. 

      Doubling as the Grand Opening of the mill’s Visitor Center, the event is open to all. The organization encourages the public to attend and celebrate Ka`u Coffee while enjoying free music, original artwork and murals by Kathleen Kam, farm and mill tours and coffee tastings. Several cash prizes, including $500 to the top winner, will be distributed at the event. For more see kaucoffeefest.com or kaucoffeemill.com.

KA`U HIGH & PAHALA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL hosts a Scholastic Book Fair today from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and tomorrow from 7:30 a.m. to noon. The fair is located in the high school conference room, on the first floor behind a pink door. A variety of books and educational gifts will be available for purchase. All proceeds will benefit high school clubs: Akamai Finance Academy, National Honors Society and the Interact Club. For more, call Sheilah Okimoto or Julia Williams 928-2088.

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORES host fundraisers this month. Tomorrow, the sophomore class sells Krispy Kreme doughnuts at Na`alehu and Pahala Shopping Centers from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The class will sell loco moco at the Ka`u Coffee Festival on Saturday, May 12, at Pahala Community Center.

CINCO DE MAYO FIESTA will be held tomorrow at St. Jude’s Church on Paradise Cove Circle in Ocean View. The menu includes: enchiladas, Spanish rice, refried beans, green salad, flan, and virgin margaritas. Enjoy lively Latin music, and a special guest artist. Doors open at 6 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Tables may be reserved for parties of six and more. Tickets are $12 each or two for $20. For tickets contact Elaine at 808-561-6900 or Cordelia at 939-7555.

Ka`u `Ohana Band will open the Spring Fling on Saturday.
Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS’ Spring Fling Arts & Crafts Fair happens this Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Punalu`u Bakeshop Pavilion & Gardens. The event features local art and entertainment, with Ka`u `Ohana Band starting the festivities at 9 a.m. See kauarts.org.

LAVA LOUNGE AND CRATER RIM CAFÉ celebrate Cinco De Mayo on Saturday with themed specials. The café and lounge are located within Kilauea Military Camp in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. In the Lava Lounge guests are invited to enjoy a soft taco and chicken fajita buffet from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. At Crater Rim Café, diners are offered Chef’s special house nachos along with the regular ala carte menu starting at 5 p.m. These events are open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. For more, call 967-8371.

A HAM RADIO OPERATORS POTLUCK PICNIC is offered by All America Radio Emergency Service members at Manuka Park on Sunday. Anyone interested in learning how to operate a ham radio along with their families are invited to attend. For more, call Dennis Smith at 989-3028.