Ka`u News Briefs Aug. 21, 2012

Big Island Community Coalition's goal is to lower electric rates.

Richard Ha

Michelle Galimba

CHEAP ELECTRICITY is the aim of Big Island Community Coalition. The new organization names its top priority as to “make the Big Island electricity rates the lowest in the state by emphasizing the use of local resources.” The website www.bigislandcommunitycoalition.com says the group is organized to “work together as an island community for the greater good of Hawai`i Island and its people.” It says that “rising electricity and food prices threaten the health of our community. The world is changing, and we must adapt.”

Robert Lindsey

Rockne Freitas

      The website states that lower electricity rates will: “protect Big Island families from rising electric rates; make the Big Island more food secure; raise our standard of living relative to the rest of the world; give working homeless better options; help Big Island businesses become more competitive in the O`ahu market, as well as worldwide; and prevent exporting our children - our most precious resource - by having jobs available here on the Big Island.”

      The steering committee includes two members of the state Board of Agriculture, Richard Ha, of Hamakua Springs Country Farms, and Michelle Galimba, of Kuahiwi Ranch in Ka`u.

Wallace Ishibashi

D. Noelani Kalipi

It also includes Big Island Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee and Ka`u sugar mill site co-owner Robert Lindsey. Other steering committee members are geothermal proponent Ku`ulei Kealoha Cooper, of Kealoha Estate; John E.K. Dill, member of the state Contractors License Board; Rockne Freitas, vice president for student affairs at University of Hawai`i; Wallace Ishibashi, of the ILWU; D. Noelani Kalipi, a former military attorney and advocate of economic and energy development; Ka`iu Kimura, executive director of `Imiloa Astronomy Center; H. “Monty” Richards, of Kahua Ranch; Marcia Sakai, Dean of University of Hawai`i – Hilo School of Business and Economics; Kumu Lehua Veincent, principal of Big Island Kamehameha School; and Bill Walter, president of W.H. Shipman, Ltd.

Ka`iu Kimura

Marcia Sakai

      Advisors to the coalition are state House of Representatives Energy Committee chair Denny Coffman, who is running to represent Ka`u in the November election; Don Thomas, of UH geology schools at Manoa and Hilo; and Robert Rapier, an energy expert who lives in Kamuela.
      Richard Ha wrote yesterday on his Ha Ha Ha! blog that “we have the best combination of renewable resources here on the Big Island and that the coalition “will proactively weigh in wherever electricity rates are involved.” He states that the fundamental problem with the State of Hawai`i’s Clean Energy Initiative is that “it does not require that the electric utility choose lower cost solutions. It does not take into consideration the rubbah slippah folks.”

Kumu Lehua Veincent

Bill Walter

      “Two-thirds of our economy is made up of consumer spending. If in place of expensive electricity we had affordable electricity, businesses would grow, farmers would farm, and we would not be sending our children to the mainland to look for jobs,” writes Ha.
      Regarding Hawai`i Electric Light Co.’s request for a 4.2 percent rate increase, Ha writes: “I’m sure there are reasons and justifications for the rate hike. But when will it end? We need to see a reversal in electricity costs. Why should the Big Island’s electricity rates be among the highest in the whole state, when we have all the resources here?”
      See bigislandcommunitycoalition.com and hahaha.hamakuasprings.com.

TOMORROW IS THE DEADLINE to apply to the Public Utilities Commission for intervention in the contract between `Aina Koa Pono and HELCO. `Aina Koa Pono proposes to sell 16 million gallons of biofuel from plants grown in Ka`u and processed using microwave depolymerization in a refinery to be built on Meyer Camp Road off of Wood Valley Road mauka of Pahala.
      Life of the Land, an environmental and consumer protection agency, said it plans to request intervention. Mayor Billy Kenoi also said the county plans to ask to participate. There is no deadline set for submitting testimony to the PUC.
      The contract is available at puc.hawaii.gov/dockets. Docket number is 2012-0185.

Jamae Kawauchi with her parents, David and Jamie, after
she was named Hawai`i County Clerk in 2010.

JAMAE KAWAUCHI, the County Clerk, and her staff helped clean up 26,000 voter addresses in less than 30 days, sent out more than 90,000 absentee voter registration forms and helped raise voting participation through 20,000 permanent absentee ballot voters, according to
      County Council member Brenda Ford. Ford praised Kawauchi and her staff at yesterday’s meeting of the County Council. She said this morning they helped to achieve a more than 200 percent increase in absentee voter participation. “Jamae needs to be commended for the very hard work she and her staff have done,” said Ford.
      Ford pointed out the Kawauchi achieved an excellent return on sending out absentee voting registration forms in the mail. “With Direct Mail, Direct Response, the average return is only about two percent,” said Ford. Some industries are a little less; some are a little more. Jamae sent those out, and she got back over 14,000 – that is 14 percent response rate. This is unheard of – she is to be commended, both she and her staff,” said Ford.

Brenda Ford

      Ford said that the County Council, which has been mulling over precincts opening late and other primary election day issues, should stay out of managing the elections. “Every one of us, as a candidate, is conflicted,” she said.
      Ford attributed the election-day problems to the recent redistricting, which went to court and held up preparations for the elections. She also said there were personnel issues and that most of the problems should be worked out by the general election in November. Ford pointed to comments by longtime county elections worker Ed Kuzo Hara, who spoke at the County Council meeting yesterday. He said that in order to have a smooth election, workers have to follow the plan, and everyone involved needs the support of their superiors, subordinates and the state office of elections.

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF PAHALA invites all interested parties to a community stakeholders event at Pahala Community Center tomorrow at 6 p.m. to talk about problems facing youth and how to share resources and create partnerships to better serve youth. “This event serves as an opportunity for the Boys & Girls Club to discuss the needs that we have with community members and connect with the resources that we need to function at a higher level,” said Dolly Kailiawa. RSVP by calling Kailiawa at 756-5285.

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Ka`u News Briefs Aug. 20, 2012

While limited food service is now being offered, Volcano House restaurant, with the view of Halema`uma`u, will be renovated and employees hired under the new concessioner's contract. Photo from hawaiivolcanohouse.com

OPERATORS OF VOLCANO HOUSE held a soft opening over the weekend, with limited food service and shopping at Volcano House and overnight stays available at the Namakanipaio Campground cabins.
      Hawai`i Volcanoes Lodge Company, the partnership between Aqua Resorts, LLC and Ortega National Parks, LLC, has a website at hawaiivolcanohouse.com. It offers the following links for contact and employment opportunities: managementjobs@hawaiivolcanohouse.com; retailjobs@hawaiivolcanohouse.com; restaurantjobs@hawaiivolcanohouse.com and maintenance jobs@hawaiivolcanohouse.com.
      The website also sends out a call to local artists and craftspersons who may want their work considered for Volcano House retail or display, asking artists for website, resume, biography and wholesale price list to be sent to retail@hawaiivolcanohouse.com.
      For those interested in offering cultural activities and entertainment, Tanya Ortega, of Ortega Family Enterprises, asks that website, resume and biography be sent to culture@hawaiivolcanohouse.com. For local farmers, ranchers and food suppliers, she says on the website that “our goal is to source as locally and as organic as possible. If this is your Kuleana, please contact us at: food@hawaiivolcanohouse.com.”
      Licensed contractors can be considered for Volcano House historic renovations by emailing information to contractors@hawaiivolcanohouse.com, the website says.

Namakanipaio is open for overnight stays under management of the new
concessioner for Volcano House. Photo from hawaiivolcanohouse.com

      Hours for Volcano House are daily from 7:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The ten A-frame cabins at Namakanipaio will open gradually. Registration for a cabin can be made by calling 756-9625. Reservations are being taken by the centralized reservation service of Aqua Resorts in Honolulu. According to reservations, six cabins are currently available. Each has one double bed and a bunk bed, and maximum occupancy is four people. While there are no bathrooms or electric outlets in the cabin, there is one light in each cabin and outside opportunities for barbecuing and building fires in a firepit. There are separate men and women’s community bathrooms and shower stalls on the grounds. Linens and towels are provided. The cost per cabin is $55 per night plus tax.

THE INTERAGENCY HAWAI`I INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL has approved a $1.8 million annual budget for fiscal year 2013 to support statewide programs promoting invasive species prevention, control and outreach. HISC also provided two awards this year relating to axis deer. The first was to the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, a partnership working with Department of Land  and Natural Resources to eradicate axis deer from Hawai`i Island. A BIISC hunter killed its first axis deer on the Big Island last April, above South Point. The second award will help Maui reduce the number of axis deer.

In April, A BIISC hunter killed its first axis deer on the Big Island above
South Point. Photo from BIISC

      “Invasive species pose real threats to our agriculture, environment, economy and public health,” said state Department of Agriculture chair and Volcano resident Russell Kokubun. “We need to make sure that we spend the available funds on programs that have the greatest impact on the most serious threats to our community.”
      DLNR chair William Aila, Jr., also HISC co-chair, said, “Hawai`i’s environment is the backbone of our visitor industry and way of life. The recipients of this year’s HISC funds are experts in assessing and managing environmental threats. We will continue to look for ways to support their critical efforts.”
      Funding awarded for fiscal year 2013 includes support for Hawai`i Ant Lab for research and response to infestations of aggressive fire ant species, research on biological control methods for the highly destructive Miconia and Christmas berry, a statewide coordinator to monitor for aquatic invasive species that may arrive in ballast water and the island-based Invasive Species Committees, which monitor and control a variety of harmful species.
      HISC was created in 2003, when the Hawai`i State Legislature declared invasive species “the single greatest threat to Hawai`i’s economy and natural environment and to the health and lifestyle of Hawai`i’s people.”
      Since 2009, however, a reduction in general fund appropriations has decreased the total funds available annually from $4 million to $1.8 million.
      “Council members agree that more funds are needed to protect Hawai`i from the impacts of invasive species. As an interagency initiative, the HISC seeks to fill gaps between agencies and respond to annual priorities, but with limited funding, it will become more difficult to get the job done,” Aila said.

Latte is missing from her home on South Point Road.

LATTE, A THREE-YEAR-OLD FILLY, has been reported as missing from her pasture on South Point Road near the satellite tower. Owner Susan Watson described her as very friendly, all black with a white star on her forehead, one white hoof and an outer piko. A reward is being offered with no questions asked. Call Watson at 936-9791 or Robyn Baglow at 929-7541. 

ALL INTERESTED KA`U ORGANIZATIONS are welcome to attend East Hawai`i Chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster’s quarterly general meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the county Civil Defense, 920 Ululani Street.
      Members of VOAD form a coalition of nonprofit organizations that respond to disasters as part of their overall mission.
      For more information, call Suzi Bond at 982-7344 or Bill Hanson, of Hawai`i County Civil Defense, at 935-0031.

HAWAI`I POLICE CHIEF HARRY KUBOJIRI and commanders who oversee police operations in Ka`u invite the public to a community meeting tomorrow from noon to 2 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center to discuss police-related concerns. Those interested in participating but unable to attend may email their concerns or comments to copsysop@hawaiipolice.com. For more information, call Captain Andrew Burian at 939-2520.

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF PAHALA holds a community stakeholders event at Pahala Community Center Wednesday at 6 p.m. All interested parties are invited to talk about problems facing youth and how to share resources and create partnerships to better serve youth. “This event will help us to create a plan for the future that is sensitive to community concerns,” said Dolly Kailiawa. RSVP by calling Kailiawa at 756-5285. 

AN INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT workshop about the coffee berry borer takes place Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kona Hongwanji in Kealakekua, with classroom and field lectures covering effective control of CBB. Dr. Luis Aristizabal, from Colombia and currently with University of Florida, discusses topics including what has been successful internationally, what is different in Hawai`i, when CBB swarms, when it moves into trees, proper times to spray and trap as well as effective harvest techniques. Two days of
      Aristizabal has spent his career focusing on control of pests in coffee and has done participatory research with farmers on CBB management for many years. While with the coffee research organization Cenicafe, he taught farmer workshops on IPM for CBB, as well as published a number of studies on biological control.
      $25 registration fee includes lunch on Friday. Register online at kohalacenter.org/cbbworkshop/registration.html or contact Cortney Hoffman at 887-6411 or choffman@kohalacenter.org.

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Ka`u News Briefs Aug. 19, 2012

Life of the Land plans to file to intervene in the PUC case concerning `Aina Koa Pono's contract to provide HELCO with biofuel it proposes to make by processing brush, trees and crops from lands between Pahala and Na`alehu. Photo by Julia Neal

 THE `AINA KOA PONO PROPOSAL before the state Public Utilities Commission is the target of the environmental and consumer protection organization Life of the Land. Life of the Land plans to file on Monday to intervene in the case before the PUC to determine whether to allow Hawai`i Electric Light Co. to sign a contract with `Aina Koa Pono at a fixed rate for 20 years to purchase biofuel. The proposal would allow a rate increase of an average of $1 per every 600 kilowatt hours used by residential customers on O`ahu and the Big Island.
       `Aina Koa Pono says it would cut brush and non-native trees on land between Pahala and Na`alehu and grow biofuel crops to feed its proposed microwave depolymerization Micro Dee refinery that would be constructed at the mouth of Wood Valley. The fuel would be trucked to the HELCO plant near Kona Airport.

Life of the Land's Vice President of
Consumer Affairs Henry Curtis

      Regarding `Aina Koa Pono's promise to conduct a voluntary Environmental Assessment of the project, Life of the land, in its motion to the PUC, says, “Life of the Land opposes efforts by some to issue false interpretations of state environmental law. Voluntary Environmental Assessments have no legal basis under Hawai`i law and regulation.”
       Life of the Land’s motion also takes issue with the `Aina Koa Pono and HELCO proposal to allow rate increases on the Big Island and O`ahu, which its sister company services, in order to pay for the `Aina Koa Pono fuel for the Keahole electric plant.
       Life of the Land points to a PUC ruling on March 4, 2011 disallowing charging customers for cost of electricity they do not actually use. However, following the PUC order, Hawai`i Electric Co and `Aina Kona Pono “essentially ‘ambushed’ the public,” to change state law and bypass the commission’s ruling, Life of the Land contends. According to Life of the Land, HECO and `Aina Koa Pono worked to insert an amendment to a housekeeping bill in the state Legislature that was titled and aimed at allowing electronic reporting to the PUC. According to Life of the Land, `Aina Koa Pono and HECO pushed for an amendment to the bill in order to establish new law allowing HECO to charge customers on O`ahu for cost of fuel used only on the Big Island.
       Says Life of the Land: “The House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce held a public hearing on the bill on March 14, 2011; most testifiers assumed that the bill would deal only with electronic filings.”

Chris Eldridge, second from left, is a partner of `Aina Koa Pono.

           `Aina Koa Pono testified at the hearing in favor of the amendment that said: “The purpose of this amendment is to clarify the legislative intent that the renewable portfolio costs of an electric utility and its affiliates may be aggregated and allocated among the customers of the utilities when the electric utility and its affiliates are aggregating their renewable portfolios in order to achieve the renewable portfolio standard.”
       The `Aina Koa Pono testimony given by partner Chris Eldridge said: “In January, 2011, AKP and HELCO entered into a contract for AKP to supply HELCO with up to 16 million gallons of biofuel per year. This contract is the cornerstone on which AKP is financing and developing this project (and) any short-term rate increases in utility rates as a result of this project should be allocated across the state. During these tough economic times, the HELCO-AKP project – and other similar projects – offer a way to achieve substantial economic growth at no cost to the state’s own coffers, all while helping Hawai`i achieve its goals of clean and independent energy.”

       The state House of Representatives’ Consumer Protection Committee allowed the amendment. When the Finance Committee heard the bill on March 28, 2011, HECO testified: “Renewable energy facilities generally exist at specific locations based on the resource involved and are geographically constrained. Currently, facilities utilizing Hawai`i’s renewable resources, such as geothermal, wind and biomass, are more easily developed and are often only available on the neighbor islands. There are far fewer suitable sites for substantial renewable resources on some islands, such as O`ahu, even though O`ahu contributes most to the total kilowatt-hour sales against which the consolidated Renewable Portfolio Standards energy targets must be measured. Thus, O`ahu benefits from the neighbor islands’ implementation of renewable energy projects without the associated cost, as the costs associated with such renewable energy projects are absorbed by the utilities’ respective customers on those neighbor islands.”

       In its motion, Life of the Land also takes issue with the contention that electric customers on other islands should be charged for the `Aina Koa Pono biofuel based on the idea that O`ahu is “resource poor” when it comes to renewable energy. Life of the Land asserts: “There is nothing in the record to indicate that O`ahu lacks renewable energy resources to be energy self-sufficient.” The organization points to a recent U.S. Department of Energy report that estimates O`ahu’s recoverable wave energy resource as eight times the state electricity demand. Life of the Land also states that “O`ahu can get nearly 1,000 MW of photovoltaic energy from rooftop solar.”
       Life of the Land also takes issue with the technicalities of the bill passing the Legislature. “Despite the fact that the Hawai`i State Constitution, Article III, mandates that ‘Each law shall embrace but one subject,’ and that ‘No bill shall become law unless it shall pass three readings in each house on separate days,’ the provision authorizing the Commission to allow HECO ratepayers to subsidize HELCO ratepayers passed the Senate with a single reading; on May 31, 2011 SB1347 was signed by the Governor and became Act 69.”
       Despite the change in the law, the PUC turned down `Aina Koa Pono’s first contract on Sept. 29, 2011. The PUC noted that Life of the Land estimated the total amount of subsidy to be paid by ratepayers for the `Aina Koa Pono biofuel would have been $26.553 million per year, notes the Life of the Land motion to intervene.
      Regarding the recent `Aina Koa Pono proposal, Life of the Land also mentions technology proposed by `Aina Koa Pono. Life of the Land states: “AKP enthusiastically believes in its non-commercially tested biofuel process” and points to `Aina Koa Pono statements:
       “This does not put more carbon into the atmosphere. But it reduces the overall carbon put into the atmosphere. In fact, it’s carbon negative;”
       “The Micro Dee process is a self-contained, closed loop system – with effectively zero emissions;” and “The AKP process produces more than five times the biofuel per acre of feedstock than other liquid fuel technologies and the BTU quality is substantially higher than ethanol and other biodiesel.”
       In regard to overall cost to ratepayers, Life of the Land contends: “The first HECO-`Aina Koa Pono Biofuel Supply Contract was rejected by the Commission, in part because it would have been the most expensive fuel contract ever entered into by the HECO family of utilities. It would have allowed HECO to transfer $250 million of O`ahu ratepayer money to the Big Island over a 20-year period to subsidize a very expensive, unproven solution.
       “By way of comparison, fueling HELCO’s Keahole Power Generation Station with `Aina Koa Pono biofuel will be significantly more expensive than replacing the Keahole Power Generation Station with new geothermal facilities,” states Life of the Land.
       The PUC will decide on whether to allow Life of the Land to intervene in the case. The County of Hawai`i plans to ask to participate in the case, according to Mayor Billy Kenoi, who said the county is looking for cheaper renewable energies rather than more renewable energy.

Baron Kwai Fong Kaho`ola Ching Photo by B. Sanchez

BARON KWAI FONG KAHO`OLA CHING’S Aha `Aina `Uniki was held on the grounds of Pahala Plantation House recently. He is a graduate as Ho`opa`a (chanter) and `Olapa (dancer) of Halau Hula Kalehuaki`eki`eika`iu (ma Honolulu a me Kilauea) under the direction of Ab Kawainohoikala`i Valencia.

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI AND FRIENDS’ invite all Ka`u grads, former students and friends to their annual potluck reunion today until 3 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.


BIG ISLAND POLICE are increasing enforcement of drunken driving laws beginning today and running through Sept. 5 as part of a national campaign called “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” Already this year, Big Island police have made more than 800 DUI arrests, and 12 of 24 traffic fatalities this year involved drugs, alcohol or both.

HAWAI`I POLICE DEPARTMENT holds a community meeting on Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. The public can meet the Police Department’s command staff and discuss police-related concerns with the police chief and commanders who oversee police operations in Ka`u. Those interested in participating but unable to attend may email their concerns or comments to copsysop@hawaiipolice.com. For more information, call Captain Andrew Burian at 939-2520.

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