Ka`u News Briefs July 25, 2012

Fishermen like Guy Sesson, of Pahala, and other operators of boats with engines over 10HP may have to take
classes and pass tests if the Board of Land & Natural Resources approves new rules on Friday. Photo by Julia Neal

POWER BOAT OPERATORS would be required to pass a safety course if new rules are adopted by the state Board of Land & Natural Resources on Friday. The proposal would go into effect two years after being signed off by the governor. Rules would require operators to successfully complete a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and state-approved boating safety course to legally operate a motor vessel. The rules would set a minimum age for operating a vessel unsupervised. They would establish a fine between $50 and $1,000 for violators.
        New rules would exempt those possessing a valid license to operate a vessel issued for maritime personnel by the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as operators of vessels in Hawai`i’s waters who voyage here from outside the state and remain in state waters less than 60 calendar days. It would also exempt those vessel renters for the contract period who receive a safety briefing from the boat livery operator that is approved by the state.
       Rules could also exempt vessels with motors under 10 horsepower.
       Board of Land & Natural Resources chair William Aila, Jr. posted on the BLNR website, saying new rules are necessary because “our oceans are no longer the wide open spaces we remember. It is increasingly more crowded as people are diving and paddling farther from shore. We are experiencing more and more fatal accidents in our waters.”
      The BLNR chief said, “It’s the right time to raise awareness about the growth of the number of people using our waters to recreate and make sure everyone operating a vessel understands the rules of the road. The department is working diligently to create an education requirement that improves safety for the entire ocean-user community yet is simple and reasonable for all boaters to comply with.”
      Testimony can be sent to the BLNR board by tomorrow by emailing dlnr@hawaii.gov or adaline.f.cummings@hawaii.gov; by faxing 808-587-0390 or by mailing DLNR at 115 Punchbowl St., Room 130, Honolulu, HI 96813.

Ka`u Coffee took half the top ten commercial spots at
HCA's cupping event. Photo from kaucoffeefest.com

KA`U TOOK HALF OF THE TOP TEN SPOTS in the statewide Commercial Division of the Hawai`i Coffee Association’s fourth annual cupping event last Saturday. Rusty’s Hawaiian placed in the top ten in all three divisions of competition. More details released Tuesday noted that 62 percent of the 51 Commercial Division entries and 68 percent of the 66 Creative Division entries achieved a cupping score of 80.0 or higher. 

      In the Commercial Division, Wood Valley Coffee Co. took first and second with its Wet Process Peaberry and its Wet Process #18 Screen. R&A Coffee Co., from the Javar family, took seventh. Rusty’s Hawaiian took eighth with its Wet Process Typica, and Ka`u Coffee Mill took tenth with its Natural Process Typica.
      In the Ka`u District Division, Wood Valley Coffee Farm took first and second, followed by Rusty’s Hawaiian.

Ka`u Coffee Bag from kaucoffeemill.com.

      In the statewide Creative Division, Rusty’s Hawaiian took third with its Guatemalan Typica/Bourbon Wet Process. JN Coffee Farm, owned by the Leo Norberte family, took fifth with its Guatemalan Washed. Will and Grace Tabios took tenth with their Rising Sun coffee.

      Lead judges for this year’s cupping panel were Shawn Hamilton of Java City Roasters, Warren Muller of Inter American Coffee, and Paul Thornton of Coffee Bean International. “This event seems to be creating more interest in learning and improving,” said Thornton, who also serves as president of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. “There are more, better coffees than ever.”
      The new Hawai`i Coffee Association president Greg Stille said, “New farms and the improvement and expansion of existing farms are combining to raise the bar on innovation and quality for the benefit of the entire Hawai`i coffee industry and the drinking enjoyment of the specialty coffee consumer.”
      Stille and his wife Suzie operate the small Piliani Coffee farm on Maui where their motto is “Sustainable Farming Practices, from Seed to Cup.” To grow its coffee, Piliani employs worm propagation; organic compost; cinnamon/clove oil weed control; mazi injected compost tea; good bug blend plants and nitrogen fixing ground cover.

Cartoon from Hawai`i State
Ethics Commission

      HCA promises complete rankings and scores for the cupping event will soon be published on its website at www.hawaiicoffeeassoc.org.

FINES FOR FAILING TO FILE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS will be levied on 22 state House and Senate candidates, according to the state Ethics Commission. The fines which will be collected from several incumbents and other candidates will be $25 each. The paperwork filed by candidates discloses sources of income, property and business ownership and other financial interests. The commission is yet to release the names of those who failed to make the filing deadline.

County Council candidate Maile David visits Pahala
Community Center this Thursday. Photo by David Howard Donald

FRIENDS OF MAILE DAVID host a talk story session this Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Supporters Bobby and Phoebe Gomes are organizing the event for David, who is running to take the District 6 County Council seat of Brittany Smart, who is running for state House of Representative rather than for re-election.

HOSPICE, WHICH SERVES KA`U, is providing training for volunteers willing to be a part of its team, providing compassionate end-of-life care and support. Volunteer training sessions are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18 and Saturday, Aug. 25 through Hospice of Hilo. Volunteer manager Pearl Lyman said Hospice volunteers perform supportive services, including patient care and feeding, respite care, bereavement care, transportation, companionship, shopping, errands, active listening and reading, as well as office administrative support, community education and public relations.

Training for Hospice will be given at the new Hospice of Hilo center,
which serves Ka`u. Photo from Hospice of Hilo

      Volunteers can serve locally or travel to Hilo to the new Pohai Malama Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Care Center “where there will be a need for cooking, gardening and even playing the piano,” Lyman said. “Our volunteers give so much, and ask for so little. They meet the families where they’re at, and they journey with them through the unknown. I am so lucky to work among these wonderful people.”
      Volunteer Nancy Molitor said it’s all about, “caring for all humanity.”
      Hospice periodically offers retreats for bereaved teens at Pahala Plantation House.
      To find out more about becoming a Hospice volunteer, contact Lyman at 969-1733 or email pearl@hospiceofhilo.org.

Ka`u Scenic Byway extends from
Manuka State Park to Hawai`i
Volcanoes National Park.

KA`U `OHANA BAND rehearses today and every Wednesday and Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. The band is looking for flute and clarinet players. Instruments are provided, and no experience is necessary. Call 929-7544.

KA`U SCENIC BYWAY committee invites the public to meet today at 4:30 p.m. at Punalu`u Bake Shop’s upper pavilion. Agenda items include a GIS training proposal, federal funding and project status.

HA`AO SPRINGS/MOUNTAIN HOUSE AGRICULTURAL WATER COOPERATIVE meets tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park. Everyone interested in seeing an ag water system for the area is invited to attend.

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

Ka`u News Briefs July 24, 2012

The remaining trees along the property line between Pahala Community Center and River of Life
Assembly of God Church are being cut down by county crews today. Photo by Julia Neal

A SHADE TREE CRASHED TO THE GROUND early this morning at Pahala Community Center as the county cut the last in a row of trees that adorned the park and provided shade for generations. A county tree cutter said they were told that the community approved of cutting the giant trees. The plan stemmed from the adjacent River of Life Assembly of God Church complaining to the county that leaves were falling on the building the church built next to the county park line and that the church feared branches could fall and hurt someone. At least eight large shade trees were cut down in spring of 2010.
      One Pahala-born man said he grew up playing under the trees and that he saw it as a tragedy as the trees were heavily pruned at great expense last year and did not seem to pose any danger.
      In December 2010, Jen Knippling, of County Council member Brittany Smart’s office, said the Department of Parks and Recreation has determined that the remaining shade trees were well trimmed and in good health. Brittany Smart said that she was told today that the county safety officer had determined that the branches high in the tree constituted a safety risk.

The latest Hawai`i drought monitor shows areas of drought.

HAWAI`I COUNTY IS A DISASTER AREA FOR DROUGHT, and Ka`u has suffered some of the driest conditions on the island. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated the Big Island and Honolulu County as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by ongoing drought. The designation makes all qualified farm operators eligible for low-interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. 

      Farmers have until March 12, 2013 to apply for loans to help cover part of actual losses. Farm Service Agency will take into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.
      The USDA also has other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.
      Interested farmers may contact USDA Service Center in Hilo at 933-8381. Find out more at 
fsa.usda.gov/hi and disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

Deep-sea coral is collected through NOAA's Pisces IV three-person, battery-powered submersible with a
maximum operating depth of 6,280 feet. Scientists observe the deep sea through multiple view ports,
 video records, instrument placement, sample collecting and environmental monitoring. Photo from NOAA

THE FEDERAL ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST may include more corals found in Hawaiian waters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration invites public review through July 31 of reports on corals that could be nominated for the list this December. In the Status Review Report, NOAA examines biology, threat and extinction risk of 82 coral species. In the Management Report, NOAA describes regulatory mechanisms and conservation efforts to manage corals.

Bamboo coral in Hawaiian waters.

      The proposal to add the corals began in 2009 when the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to list 83 corals as threatened or endangered, predicting decline in habitat with anthropogenic climate change and ocean acidification as lead stressors on corals. Research was conducted on 82 of the coral species and found a strong likelihood that most of them would fall below critical risk threshold by 2100 without additional conservation measures. The public can view the studies and weigh in on the proposal at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stor-ies/2012/04/4_13_12corals_petition.html.

NOAA HAS GATHERED GARBAGE in Hawaiian waters over the last month, concentrating on the Northern Hawaiian Islands at the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. The crew of the NOAA ship Oscar Elton Sette collected nearly 50 metric tons of marine debris, which threatens monk seals, sea turtles and other marine life in the coral reef ecosystem.

NOAA ship Oscar Elton Sette Photo from NOAA

      NOAA has conducted annual removal missions of marine debris in the NWHI since 1996 as part of a coral restoration effort. “What surprises us is that after many years of marine debris removal in Papahanaumokuakea and more than 700 metric tons of debris later, we are still collecting a significant amount of derelict fishing gear from the shallow coral reefs and shorelines,” said Kyle Koyanagi, marine debris operations manager at NOAA Fisheries’ Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and chief scientist for the mission. “The ship was at maximum capacity, and we did not have any space for more debris.”
      As part of this year’s mission, the NOAA team checked but didn’t find debris from the 2011 tsunami in Japan. Scientists monitored marine debris for radiation in partnership with the Hawai`i Department of Health and gathered baseline data from the NWHI.
      Marine debris removed will be used to create electricity through Hawai`i’s Nets to Energy Program, a public-private partnership also used for disposal of debris found along the Ka`u Coast. Since 2002, more than 730 metric tons of derelict nets have been used to create electricity— enough to power nearly 350 Hawai`i homes for a year.

County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi

THE ELECTIONS OFFICE in Hilo went through an audit yesterday, overseen by County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi. According to a Nancy Cook Lauer story in this morning’s West Hawai`i Today, Kawauchi, who shut down the office during the audit, said “she wanted to give the list a good review before sending the poll books out to the printer. ‘We’re looking at the list to make sure it’s clean and accurate,’ Kawauchi said. ‘We’re trying to be as thorough as possible to run a fair and well-run election.… This is part of us making sure we’re doing everything we can to make that happen.’” 

      Among changes, according to the story, is the number of people registered to vote by mail, increasing by 167 percent, from 6,400 to 17,085, since the last election.
      The West Hawai`i Today article also reports that “Hilo Councilman Dennis Onishi, who has taken his concerns about the readiness of the office to conduct an election all the way to the state Elections Commission, questioned why Kawauchi would conduct an audit so close to an election. He also questioned whether 10,000 new voters have been added to the list since Kawauchi became clerk in late 2010.” The story quotes Onishi: “The clerk is appointed by the (County Council) chairman. The staff is also appointed,” Onishi said. “It just sounds fishy to me.” See more at westhawaiitoday.com.

Pahala Public & School Library will be open one day per week beginning
in August. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U’S LIBRARIES WILL HAVE CHANGES in schedules beginning next month due to staff shortages. Pahala Public & School Library will be open only on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. until further notice, and Na`alehu Public Library will have intermittent closures. Announcements of closed days will be posted on the library bulletin board and on recorded messages to be left on the library answering machine. 

      The book drop will remain open at both libraries for returns. Patrons may call any library for help with renewals or call the telephone renewal number at 1-800-820-7368.
      “With only one permanent staff member managing both libraries in Ka`u, when that staff needs to take time off, and with no other permanent staff to cover the libraries, both libraries will be affected until permanent staff are hired to fill the positions,” states the press release from Debbie Wong Yuen, temporary branch manager of both libraries.
      For more information, contact Wong Yuen at 939-2442.

Hawaiian quilting is the topic at After Dark in the Park.

ROBERTA MULLER DISCUSSES the art of Hawaiian quilting at After Dark in the Park tonight at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Two-dollar donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED to a meeting of the Ka`u Scenic Byway Committee tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. at Punalu`u Bake Shop’s upper pavilion. Agenda items include a GIS training proposal, federal funding and project status.

HA`AO/SOUTH POINT AG WATER CO-OP meets Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park. Everyone interested in seeing an ag water system for the area is invited to attend.

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

Ka`u News Briefs July 23, 2012

Senate Bill 3399 proposes to study the Ka`u Coast and other locations in the nation to see if they would
 be suitable additions  for National Parks. Photo from apacificview.blogspot.com

ADDING MORE OF THE KA`U COAST to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park will be studied if a bill introduced recently into the U.S. Senate passes. The bill proposes to study nine areas across the country including the Ka`u Coast to see if they would be suitable locations for national parks.
      There are only two national parks in Hawai`i, one being Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, and the other at Haleakala on Maui. The United States has 58 national parks.
      The list of places to be studied also includes sites in such diverse locations as villages of Makushin, Kashega and Attu on Attu in Alaska where Aleuts were forced to abandon their homes during World War II;  Japanese American Relocation Centers from WWII; the Hudson River Valley; Galveston Bay in Texas; and the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands.
      New Mexico Democrat Jeff Bingaman proposed Senate Bill 3399, on July 18. It was assigned to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

VOTING FOR A NEW COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER, mayor, state Senator and Rep., and U.S. Senator and Rep. begins next Monday, July 30.  Early absentee ballot walk-in voting will be at Building T in West Hawai`i Civic Center,  and county annex in Waimea, and the county building in Hilo. Absentee voting can also be done by mail.
      The Pahala Community Center walk-in early voting program has been cancelled. The Hilo, Kona and Waimea walk-in voting will run from July 30 through Thursday, Aug. 9 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include Saturday, Aug. 4. Yellow cards have been sent from the county elections division to registered voters throughout the district. Absentee ballot applications are available at the County Clerk’s office in Hilo, West Hawai`i Civic Center, all U.S. Post Offices, police stations, fire departments, public libraries and state agencies.

Ka'u Coffee cherries. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

WOOD VALLEY COFFEE Co. manager Brian Riggs, whose coffee entries took first in the state Commercial Division and first and second in the Ka`u District competition at the Hawai`i Coffee Association over the weekend, gave credit to the land of Ka`u for the success of coffee. “The ‘terroir’ of Ka`u is so amazing. A lot of sweat and tears go into coffee. I personally would like to congratulate everyone in the Ka`u coffee industry," said Riggs. A trained winemaker, Riggs said, "Growing coffee is like growing grapes for fine wine.” On the farm, 28 sheep kept down the grass and desmodium weed between the rows and also fertilized the coffee. Riggs said he also mulched around the coffee trees. For the processing, Riggs said he used some traditional small tub fermentation practices learned from winemakers and later found the process was already employed by Ka`u Coffee farmers. “The Ka`u Coffee farmers are all professionals,” he said. Riggs said he also wanted to thank his partner in processing, Kimberly Granger.

Parchment full of coffee berry borer holes.
Photo from jimseven.com

HAWAI`I COFFEE GROWERS EXPECT SMALLER PRODUCTION this year, according to presentations at the annual meeting of the Hawai`i Coffee Growers Association, held over the weekend on Maui. Howard Dicus, who covered the meeting for Hawai`i News Now, said that the coffee berry borer infestation is up 20 percent over last year. It is largely limited to Kona and has spread to Ka`u. Tom Greenwell, a Kona coffee grower and miller, urged farmers to keep the ground clean in addition to spraying to try to keep the borer under control. Dicus reported that drought is also holding back coffee production and that some farmers have resorted to catchment. While production is smaller, quality is good, Dicus reported, making it hard to meet the demands of the market, which continues to grow for Hawaiian coffee.

H-Power plant on O`ahu.
Photo from heco.com

H-POWER IS THE WAY TO HANDLE GARBAGE that is expected to fill up Hilo landfill within five to eight years, according to Mayor Billy Kenoi. A story over the weekend by Tom Callis in Hawai`i Tribune Herald says the mayor favors a waste-to-energy project, following a test run earlier this year with the county hauling east side garbage to the west side landfill. The story quoted Kenoi saying: “My solution is that I believe we have to move to waste reduction, and I believe H-Power is our model.” Callis reports that H-Power on O`ahu can “consume 2,160 tons of garbage per day and can generate 46 megawatts of electricity. It also reduces landfill input by 90 percent, according to the utility’s website.” The story points out that a $125.5 million waste-to-energy project under former mayor and current candidate for mayor Harry Kim was turned down by the County Council in 2008. County Council Chair Dominic Yagong who is also running for mayor, said he too would consider the H-Power model to reduce waste and make energy.

THE HI-5 BEVERAGE CONTAINER FEE WILL INCREASE by half a cent to 1.5 cents per container on Sept. 1. This means the deposit plus container fee will increase to 6.5 cents – a 5 cent deposit to be returned to the consumer when the container is recycled and a non-refundable 1.5 cent container fee to cover administrative costs.

      The increase is expected to result in an additional $4.5 million in annual program revenues for the state Department of Health. It charges the fee to manufacturers, distributors and importers of beverages in Hawai`i. The fee was last raised four years ago. After consideration of the fiscal year 2012 redemption rate of 77 percent and evaluation of current deposit beverage special fund balance, DOH Director Loretta Fuddy increased the fee and notified distributors.

      “The half-cent fee increase was written into the bottle law from its inception to ensure the recycling program could sustain itself and continue to pay back deposits to consumers,” Fuddy said. “We were able to hold off a fee increase for four years by using existing funds. However, the special fund is now too low to continue the program through 2014, and the current fee is not enough to build critical program reserves necessary to conduct essential operations.” State law requires the container fee to increase from 1 cent to 1.5 cents per container if the redemption rate exceeds 70 percent, unless DOH’s director, in consultation with the state auditor, determines a fee increase is not needed.
      A decision to postpone the fee increase was made in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 based on the program’s ability to continue operations by drawing from existing reserve funds.
      Because the law only requires beverage distributors pay the container fee to DOH, there is no guidance on how retailers may decide to pass on the fee to customers. Retailers may choose to round-up or round-down the additional half-cent charge.

Roberta Muller teaches the art of Hawaiian
Quilting, at After Dark in the Park tomorrow.
Photo from the Hawaiian Quilt Research Project

ROBERTA MULLER PRESENTS STITCHING A LEGACY at After Dark in the Park tomorrow night, 7 p.m., at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Muller teaches the art of Hawaiian quilting. Two-dollar donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

SOUTHSIDE ALATEEN MEETS today and every Monday at St. Jude’s Episcopal Church in Ocean View. Call Sandy at 557-9847 for more information.

KA`U SCENIC BYWAY COMMITTEE invites the public to its meeting Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at Punalu`u Bake Shop’s upper pavilion. Agenda items include a GIS training proposal, federal funding and project status.

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