Ka`u News Briefs August 2, 2012

`Aina Koa Pono is working with SBS which says it has good results from it Micro Dee test facility in North Carolina for
a biofuel refinery it plans along Wood Valley Road. Image from sbsbiofuels.com

BIOFUEL REFINERY TECHNOLOGY planned for a site along Wood Valley Road has passed a 24-hour certification test, according to the website of MELE Associates, Inc. MELE, led by retired Admiral, Dr. Melvin Chiojioji, is working with Sustainable Biofuels Solutions, a partnership between  MELE and TekGar, LLC. TekGar created the proposed microwave biofuel technology, now known as Micro Dee, which has been selected by `Aina Koa Pono for Ka`u.
      The Sustainable Biofuels Solutions partnership, was established to “bring together MELE’s engineering and project development expertise with TekGar’s advanced renewable energy technologies,” the website says. MELE reports that on April 6, 2012, the test “was successfully performed and completed, on the Micro Dee technology at our demonstration facility in North Wilkesboro, NC.” The demonstration plant is located within a facility called Industrial Process Solutions, a 225,000 square foot building inside an industrial park.
      According to MELE, “the test produces Oil and BioChar, and samples are now en-route to be tested by third party laboratories. AECOM, an engineering procurement and construction company, was present throughout the duration, taking data during the entire testing period. "AECOM’s representatives were pleased with the results…We are currently engaging in discussions with several interested parties to begin the next processes: Project Financing, Risk Insurance, and Project Development.” The MELE site refers to biofuels-solutions.com for the latest news and more information on the technology.

SBS, in conjunction with AECOM, reports successfully
completed certification testing Micro Dee at a
demonstration facility in North Wilkesboro, NC.
Photo from biofuels-solutions.com

      The Sustainable Biofuels Solutions website describes the technology. “SBS’s Micro Dee technology creates renewable drop-in diesel fuel from various forms of biomass and MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) using a technique called Continuous Microwave Thermo Catalytic Depolymerization.”
      The website also says, “SBS’s production processes are closed loop systems that are energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Total feedstock utilization with minimum waste creation is one of the goals of our process solution.”

      An update today on the website says that third party validation of the Micro Dee system confirms the “ability to produce 120 gallons of oil per ton of wood based feedstock.”
      Feedstock proposed for Ka`u is expected to come from grasses, trees and other locally grown input.
      The SBS website states that the “SBS has demonstrated that the Micro Dee process generates a minimum of 80 gallons of renewable diesel fuel and roughly 800 pounds of high quality biochar from one ton of biomass or MSW. The process is so efficient that roughly 85% of the BTU value of most feedstocks is converted into revenue-generating commodities.”
      According to SBS, “In the case of higher-yield feedstocks, the output is even greater: one ton of tire shred generates roughly 120 gallons of fuel.”
      During public meetings in Ka`u, `Aina Koa Pono promised that it would not use tires or municipal garbage to feed the refinery. The Sustainable Biofuels Solutions website offers a film on the refinery process at http://www.Biofuels-solutions.com/technologies.php.

1921 Dedication Ceremony of Hawai'i National Park, five years after the establishment of the park in 1916. The original caption published in the August 1921 edition of Paradise of the Pacific describes the scene as the "Dedication of the Hawai`i National Park. Part of the On-lookers at the Ceremony on the Rim of the Fire-pit of the Volcano." Photo from the library collection at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK was 96 years old yesterday and the park’s Centennial Anniversary is four years away. Hawai`i Volcanoes was the fifteenth park to join the National Park Service, which has 397 national parks – including eight in Hawai`i. Established on Aug. 1, 1916, the same year as the National Park Service itself was founded. Hawai`i National Park, as it was called then, is also comprised of Haleakala National Park on Maui. In 1961, Haleakala became its own separate national park.
      “There have been many positive changes and landmark events over the last 96 years at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park,” said Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando. “And this year, there are many special events to celebrate.”

Image from hawaiivolcanoes.areaparks.com

      On Aug. 27, the United States Mint will officially release the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter, as part of its America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The first day anyone can get the quarter will be at a public ceremony and coin exchange Aug. 29, at the park from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The evening before, on Aug. 28, the park will host a coin forum as an After Dark in the Park program, for coin enthusiasts and other interested members of the public. The event starts at 7 p.m. in the Kilauea Visitor Center auditorium. Both event are free, but park entrance fees may apply.
      This year also marks the 40th anniversary of UNESCO’s World Heritage Program, and the 25th anniversary of the 1987 inscription of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park as a World Heritage Site. “UNESCO designated the park as a World Heritage Site for its superlative attributes of universal value important to the common heritage of humanity – in particular, the biological, cultural and geologic resources of the park,” says a statement from HVNP. Special commemorative events and presentations will soon be announced.

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

John D. Dawson paintings displayed in
Volcano this weekend.
Image from Volcano Art Center Gallery

THE COAST GUARD’S 222ND BIRTHDAY will be celebrated at Kilauea Military Camp on Saturday. The event is open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. For more, call 967-8371.

PAINTINGS BY JOHN D. DAWSON will be displayed daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park starting Saturday and continuing through Sunday, Sept. 16. A Part Of His Nature, MMXII, exhibits paintings by Dawson that feature natural history studies of the park. An opening reception will be held this Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Entrance to the exhibit and reception are free, but park entrance fees may apply. For more, call 967-7565 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

DANCING ON THE EARTH, led by Shizuno Nasu will be held at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nasu teaches creative flow and dance to all levels. Warm-up and expressive dance movements based on Hara Tanden chi energy. Advanced registration advised; $45/$40 VAC members. For more call, 967-8222 or email julie@volcanoartcenter.org.

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

Ka`u News Briefs August 1, 2012

Supporting alternative energies, such as hydroelectric for the Ka`u Coffee Mill (above), and biofuel for the electric utility and transportation are part of the Edmund C. Olson Trust II plan. Photo by Julia Neal

EDMUND C. OLSON TRUST II has renewed its commitment with `Aina Koa Pono to lease some 3,000 acres and a location for a test site for a biofuel refinery near the corner of Wood Valley Road and Meyer Camp Road. Olson said this morning that the biofuel processor will be a test plant and much smaller than earlier planned and would allow trial runs for the new technology.

Along with offering land for a biofuel project,
Edmund C. Olson plans to restore the old Keaiwa Reservoir
for irrigation and a hydroelectri plant. Photo by Julia Neal

      `Aina Koa Pono plans to work with the company offering a new microwave processing technology. A test plant will be moved from North Carolina to the land above Pahala, Olson said. He said he is not an investor in the venture but offered to lease land in his quest to help provide green energy for the state. He is also working on a small hydroelectric plant for his coffee mill and macadamia husking plant on Wood Valley Road. He said that the local hydroelectric plant could power up more than 300 homes in Pahala. On O`ahu, some of his land is planned for windmills. 

      `Aina Koa Pono has retained the public relations firm Hastings & Pleadwell to make its case to the community. The Public Utilities Commission turned down a proposal from `Aina Koa Pono last year to sell biofuel to Hawaiian Electric Co., a plan that would have raised electric rates on the Big Island, Maui, Moloka`i, Lana`i, and O`ahu. Electric rates are the highest in the country. `Aina Koa Pono has also said it wants to make biofuel for transportation.

Rep. Mazie Hirono.
Photo from mauidemocrats.org

Mufi Hannemann.
Photo from hgea.org

WHILE PUBLIC WORKERS WERE “on the public dime,” Ka`u County Council candidate Bradley Westervelt, Mayor Billy Kenoi, congressional candidate Mufi Hannemann and a spokesperson for U.S. Senate candidate Mazie Hirono gave campaign speeches, according to a story in this morning’s West Hawai`i Today. One of the venues was in Ka`u, at Na`alehu gym.
      The Nancy Cook –Lauer article says only those candidates endorsed by the United Public Workers union were invited to speak during two-hour “educational and information meetings” to which state and county workers were sent, during their work time. The meetings were scheduled around the island, July 2, 3, 23, and 24.

      “Section 2-83 of Article 15 of the Hawai`i County Code of Ethics prohibits county employees from using county time, equipment or facilities for campaign purposes,” the story reports.
      Les Kondo, Executive Director of the state Ethics Commission, told West Hawai`i Today, “It’s inappropriate to use state resources, including state time, for campaign purposes.”
      West Hawai`i Today estimated the cost of the meetings to county taxpayers: “anywhere from $15,978.60 to $28,695.28 in salaries alone,” plus travel time to the venues. In addition to Na`alehu, sessions were held at West Hawai`i Civic Center, North Kohala Public Library, Waimea Civic Center, Honoka`a High School Cafeteria and Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, the newspaper reported.

Bradley Westervelt.
Photo from Bradley Westervelt

      Cook-Lauer wrote that when District 6 County Council Candidate Bradley Westervelt was asked “whether he thought campaign forums are an appropriate use of taxpayer money, he broke the connection and did not call back.” Westervelt said he did call back and left a message. He said he doesn't know if it is inappropriate to campaign to public workers while they are on the job as he is unfamiliar with their UPW contract. He said he did give speeches to government workers at West Hawai`i Civic Center and Na`alehu gym, which are located in areas connected with the district where he is attempting to win the County Council seat.
      According to West Hawai`i Today, council member Brenda Ford, who is running against Westervelt for the District 6 council seat, said the following: “As a former union steward on the mainland, I absolutely support the right of the unions to take two hours or whatever to talk to their union employees. I absolutely disagree with any electioneering by union management or by candidates on county property and on county time … It should be flat-out illegal for anyone to campaign like this … what’s next? Bring in your ballot to the meeting and let them fill it out for you?”

Mayor Billy Kenoi.
Photo from
hawaiicountymayor.com

      The story reports union members saying that blue sheets with the names of endorsed candidates were given out by the UPW during the meetings.

      According to Cook-Lauer, state UPW Director Dayton Nakanelua said the practice of having such meetings during work is protected in the union contract and has been upheld in court.
      Mayor Billy Kenoi told West Hawai`i Today that he was not campaigning. “I was invited by the UPW leadership,” Kenoi said. “I went there to thank the workers for all their hard work and to promise that I would continue to work hard and to work fairly.”
      See more at westhawaiitoday.com.

COUNTY CLERK JAMAE KAWAUCHI plans a press conference today to go over her reasons for conducting, July 21 through 23, an audit of the Hawai`i County registered voters database. According to a Nancy Cook-Lauer story in this morning’s West Hawai`i Today, Kawauchi examined the register, understanding that Hawai`i county’s 101,728 registered voters represent a relatively high percentage – 71.2 percent of the island’s 18-years-and-older population, reported by the 2010 census. The story said “she found that several Hawai`i County voters voted twice in the 2010 elections and some people were registered more than once in the county elections office database.”
      The Associated Press is reporting that Kawauchi found that four people voted twice and that between 50 and 60 people were registered more than once. Kawauchi has discussed the situation with the Attorney General’s office and the state Office of Elections and is expected to explain more today, the story says.
      According to West Hawai`i Today, “The problems she revealed predate her tenure as County Clerk.” Kawauchi became County Clerk in 2011.County Council Chair Dominic Yagong told West Hawai`i Today: “All Jamae was trying to do was be thorough. When everything does come out, people will understand why she did what she did.”

A 3.1 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE struck as a sharp jolt at 4:51 a.m. today. It was located in the ocean, 10 miles east, southeast of Na`alehu, 12 miles south, southeast of Pahala and 14 miles northeast of the Lo`ihi Seamont, the underwater volcano off the coast of Ka`u.

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS announced a recess from language classes during August. Spanish Circulo will resume on Monday, September 10 at 10 a.m. Hawaiian Pohai starts Tuesday, September 11 at 6 pm, followed by Community Singers rehearsal at 7:30 pm. All three of these weekly activities will take place at Discovery Harbour Community Hall. For more information, call 929-7544.

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

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

Ka`u News Briefs July 31, 2012

New boaters must now take classes and pass an exam in order to operate boats with engines larger than ten horsepower.
Photo from edhiker on Flickr

SEASONED BOATERS will be able to take equivalency exams instead of safety courses in order to captain those boats that have engines larger than ten horsepower. The state Board of Land and Natural Resources approved the measure on Friday in Honolulu along with a new rule that requires new boaters to take classes and pass an exam. 

      BLNR Chair William Aila said that more crowding on the ocean and a need to understand appropriate behavior around protected marine life prompted the rule change. He noted more fatal accidents in the ocean in recent years and boat groundings that damage reefs. “The department is working diligently to create an education requirement that improves safety for the entire ocean-use community yet is simple and reasonable for all boaters to comply with,” said Aila. 

     Online courses certified through the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators provide up to four hours of instruction. Some are free and some cost money. Other sources for classes include the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and local U.S. Power Squadron, which offer 12-hours of instruction.
      The new rule also prohibits anyone under the age of 16 from operating a boat without supervision by a certified boat operator of at least 21 years of age. Fines for breaking the rules will range from $50 to $1,000.

No boat thefts were reported in
Hawai`i in 2011.
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

NO BOAT THEFTS IN KA`U OR THE REST OF HAWAI`I last year. That is the story from a national survey on stollen watercraft. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which released 2011 statistics on Monday, more than 6,000 boats were stolen in the United States. Hawai`i stood out as the only state with no reports of stollen boats. The reporting data used came from the National Crime Information Center database, which gathers information from the 50 states and Washington, D.C.
      Nationwide, the study showed 6,070 reports of stolen watercraft, a 9 percent decrease from 2010. Florida suffered 1,322 watercraft thefts, followed by California with 550, Texas with 437, Washington with 224 and North Carolina with 205. The most commonly reported stolen watercraft was the Jet-Ski. To prevent boat thefts, the organization recommends the following: Chain and lock detachable motors to the boat; do not leave title or registration papers in the craft; disable the craft by shutting fuel lines or removing batteries; use a trailer hitch lock after parking a boat on its trailer; install a kill switch in the ignition system.
      See more in theft prevention at nicb.org. 

PARENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS can weigh in through Aug. 17 on a new way to measure progress in Hawai`i’s public schools. The draft on the proposed accountability system can be read at hawaiidoe.org. Citizens can give their input online.
      According to the state Department of education, the new management structure would:
 •Support ongoing efforts to raise expectations for students and better support educators;
• More accurately and fairly identify schools’ strengths and areas for improvement;
• Target interventions and support strategies to reward high-performing schools and address areas for school improvement;
• Support effective instruction and leadership; and
• Be implemented for school year 2013-14.
      Under the new plan, labeling schools with “restructuring” and other titles under Race to the Top would be fazed out.

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park U.S. Mint quarter.

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES inspired the U.S. Mint to issue a new 25 cent silver coin to be unveiled at a ceremony at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park on Aug. 29. The Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter depicts an eruption on the east rift of Kilauea Volcano. It was both designed and sculpted by Charles L. Vickers.
      The ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. at the hula platform, just south of the Kilauea Visitor Center.
      A coin forum is scheduled for the evening prior to the ceremony. A coin exchange will take place after the ceremony with attendees swapping cash for rolls of the new quarters at face value.
      The Hawai`i Volcanoes event is one in a series of America the Beautiful Quarter releases and the U.S. Mint and the National Park Service will co-host the ceremony. The Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter is the fourteenth issued in the America the Beautiful Quarters series and the fourth in 2012. Beginning on Aug. 27, 2012, Philadelphia and Denver minted Hawai`i quarters will be available in bags and rolls directly from the U.S. Mint at http://www.usmint.gov. That is the same day the quarter is set to enter circulation.

A FATAL CRASH ON SOUTH POINT ROAD has led police to ask for information about the cause of the accident about 5.5 miles south of Kamaoa Road. The 25-year-old victim from Hilo was driving a 2001 Mercury sedan and was driving without a seatbelt mauka when he lost control, and crashed into a utility pole. The car overturned several times. He was airlifted to Kona Community Hospital. The accident happened after 8 a.m., July 23. The young man died at 9:25 a.m. this Sunday, July 29. Anyone with information on the victim and the circumstances of the crash can call Police Officer Larry Flowers at 326-4646, extension 229.

WALK-IN EARLY VOTING FOR THE PRIMARY ELECTION began yesterday on all islands with the exception of Lana`i and Ni`iahu. On the Big Island, the state elections division will no longer host early voting at Pahala Community Center. Registered voters can stop in with a valid photo ID between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Hilo Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi St.; West Hawai`i Civic Center, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building G; or Waimea Community Center, 65-1260 Kawaihae Road, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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

OCEAN VIEW NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH meets Thursday starting at 7 p.m. at the Community Center. Call 939-7033 for more.

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