Ka`u News Briefs Dec. 15, 2012

Santa Bobby Gomes and his Jingle Bells during Christmas in Pahala last night. Photos by Julia Neal

A PETITION REQUESTING a public hearing in Pahala regarding the proposed 20-year contract between `Aina Koa Pono and Hawaiian Electric Light Co. for 16 million gallons of biodiesel a year has been sent to Public Utilities Commission chair Mina Morita and was posted this week on the PUC website.

Gifts came from many Ka`u businesses, community groups and residents,
with shave ice from `O Ka`u Kakou.

      The diesel would be manufactured at a proposed refinery off Wood Valley Road from biomass harvested between Pahala and Wai`ohinu. Electric bills on both O`ahu and the Big Island would go up to help the utility buy the diesel. `Aina Koa Pono held public meetings on the issue in 2011 but none in 2012, after its first proposal was denied by the PUC based largely on the proposition of higher electric bills.
       This year, the PUC held public hearings on AKP’s second proposal on O`ahu and the Big Island but none in Ka`u. Jasmine Branco, office manager for state Rep. Richard Onishi, emailed the petition to the PUC on Thursday. Signed by many residents of Ka`u, the petition says, “Although public hearings on this docket were held in Hilo and Kailua-Kona, many individuals in Pahala did not have the opportunity to share their concerns with you and other commissioners, as well as the Consumer Advocate and HELCO about the direct impact of the proposed development/facility in our community. Therefore we the undersigned ask that the commission do not proceed on this application without first providing our community the opportunity to share comments/concerns. Your consideration and understanding of this important request is greatly appreciated.” The petition asks Morita to contact Ka`u Resource & Distance Learning Center at 928-0101 with any questions.
      The petition and other input to the PUC, and the `Aina Koa Pono proposal itself can be read at http://puc.hawaii.gov under “What’s New?” Click on Application for Approval of Biodiesel Supply Contract with `Aina Koa Pono-Ka`u LLC and then click on documents.

Derelict nets are loaded into a Matson
container. Photos from HWF

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND loaded eight tons of nets collected from the Ka`u Coast into a 40-foot Matson container in December. Six volunteers prepared 16,043 pounds of derelict fishing nets for shipping to O`ahu. 

      This is the third 40-foot container in three years that Hawai`i Wildlife Fund contributed to NOAA’s Nets-to-Energy program. The collaboration allows the reuse and recycling of fishing nets collected over the year during beach cleanup events and net recovery coastal runs. Once nets arrive on O`ahu, metal-recycling company Schnitzer Steel cuts the bundles into pieces and delivers them to the H-Power Plant in Kapolei where Covanta Energy Group burns them to turn turbines that generate electricity.
      The collaboration is supported by Matson Navigation and Schnitzer Steel. In Ka`u, donors include Jeff Anderson Sawmill Services of Ocean View, which provides equipment and manpower.
      Hawai`i Wildlife Fund coordinator Megan Lamson said, “The Nets-to-Energy partnership is a great collaboration that allows us to take something that is detrimental to native wildlife and turn it into something functional.”

Derelict nets are shipped to O`ahu
where they are burned to make electricity.

      She noted that the mission of Hawai`i Wildlife Fund is “to protect native plants and animals of Hawai`i nei.” Removing large fishing net bundles helps achieve that goal. Hauling them away from the Ka`u Coast ensures that nets have no chance to re-float and re-endanger marine life, Lamson said..
      For more information on supporting Hawai`i Wildlife Fund through contributing and volunteering, see wildhawaii.org or call Lamson at 769-7629.
      The next volunteer day for a Ka`u Coast cleanup is set for Saturday, Jan. 12.

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER’S remote testimony site will be available to Ka`u residents during next week’s committee and County Council meetings held at West Hawai`i Civic Center. Committee meetings begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, and County Council meets at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

IMPLEMENTATION OF HAWAI`I TEEN OUTREACH PROGRAM in Hawai`i County is on the agenda at Wednesday’s County Council meeting. District 6 Council member Brenda Ford introduced the resolution. HITOP’s goal is to develop the positive potential of teens with the intended results of less risk-taking behaviors such as violence, school failure and teen pregnancy. The resolution says the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, under Mitch Roth, has agreed to implement the project throughout the county. For more information about the program, visit hawaiihealthmatters.org.

Hundreds of gifts around the Christmas tree went
to children and adults at Christmas in Pahala.

CHRISTMAS IN PAHALA drew hundreds of keiki, parents and kupuna to the corner of Ohia and Kamani Streets in Pahala last night for food, music and gifting for the event founded by Keala Kailiawa. Bobby Gomes was Santa Claus and Ty Chun emceed and sang with Sheldon Salmo. `O Ka`u Kakou set up the event and provided food on the grounds of Pahala Plantation Cottages, where Olson Trust put up a lighted Christmas tree. Many Ka`u businesses and community members contributed gifts to this second annual event, from Ka`u Coffee Mill to Punalu`u Bake Shop and `O Ka`u Kakou; CU Hawai`i Federal Credit Union; Island Market; Hana Hou; Shaka’s Restaurant; B&E Propane; John Masters; Grandma's Closet: contractor Mike Munnerlyn; Pahala Quilting; Volcano Art Center; Lynn Hamilton; Kobe, Cameron and Chloe Moses; Guy Sesson; Tutu & Me; The Ka`u Calendar and Ka`u Community Radio. Donors reached out from as far away as Creative Arts in Hilo.

THY WORD MINISTRIES HOSTS Christmas in Ka`u today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Na`alehu Hongwanji Hall with a craft fair, live entertainment by various church groups and free lunch while supplies last. 

KEIKI CHRISTMAS PARTY at Ocean View Community Center takes place today at 11 a.m. with food, face painting, storytelling, games and prizes. Each child receives a photo with Santa and a gift.

Mrs. Claus is at Island Market today.
Photo from Island Market

MRS. CLAUS WILL BE AT ISLAND MARKET in Na`alehu today until 1 p.m., offering free baked goods samples and recipes from her kitchen. In light of the holiday season and Christmas, Island Market is having a Baking Sale and has ingredients on sale including flour, eggs, sugar, butter, and margarine. Last week Mrs. Claus was at International House of Pancakes and the Prince Kuhio Mall in Hilo, where photos were taken by families. Island Market invites Ka`u families to bring cameras and enjoy time with Mrs. Claus who wishes everyone “Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas.”

HO, HO, HO! VOLCANO COMEDY SHOW! is today at 6:30 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. Tickets are $12, or $10 for Volcano Art Center members. Call 967-8222.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

FIND MORE OF OUR DECEMBER 2012 EVENT PHOTOS ON OUR FLICKR ACCOUNT. 

Ka`u News Briefs Dec. 14, 2012

Na`alehu School teachers joined public school teachers around the state, waving signs for a "fair deal."
The Na`alehu teachers stood along Hwy 11. Photo by Simeona Aina III

A LINE OF NA`ALEHU SCHOOL TEACHERS stood along Hwy 11 yesterday with signs saying, “Fair Deal for Teachers & Students,” “Honk if You Love Teachers,” “Support to Teachers Equals Support to Students” and other slogans. 

      Na`alehu School counselor Deborah Lynn Dickerson proclaimed: “Na`alehu Elementary Faculty proudly joins over a 100 Hawai`i Public schools in sending a message to Governor Abercrombie. We ask that he begin to bargain in good faith and treat the teachers of this state fairly by giving us a contract that shows he values our worth in our communities.”

Jim Williams

      She said that faculty members have had meetings to discuss working to the rule, “which means only working during school hours instead of giving hundreds of extra hours to our children and our classroom we all do each and every year, and we are uniting with teachers across the state to ask for a fair contract every Thursday through sign waving.”
      Department of Education Board member Jim Williams wrote to the union, the Hawai`i State Teachers Association, on Wednesday, asking why the HSTA has made no proposal or counter proposal to address the state’s proposal? He also asked why the union refuses to meet until Jan. 11, 2013. He said the state negotiators have offered to meet numerous times since late October but the union only agreed to meet on Dec. 5 and Dec. 10 and made no counter offer to the state’s proposal discussed during those meetings. Williams also said that union leader Wil Okabe did not stay for the duration of negotiations on Dec. 5 and 10. 

Wil Okabe

      Okabe responded today that he will be addressing the questions during a press conference. He said “it was unfortunate that this (the letter to him) was pushed through the press like we are in some sort of game. We will not be bullied and forced into hastily agreeing to a contract that directly affects the lives of Hawai`i’s teachers. Okabe also invites Gov. Neil Abercrombie to the bargaining tables. “In his A New Day in Hawai`i, the governor states that he would make education his personal responsibility,” Obake said.
      See more at doe.k12.hi.us and contractforthefuture.org.

SURVEYING OF ROUTES FOR Ka`u Agriculture Water Cooperative District’s pipelines is scheduled for February, according to Scott Enright, deputy director of the state Department of Agriculture. Enright said the contract should be signed this week and that surveyors are “ready to be on the ground” in a few weeks. He also assured co-op members at yesterday’s KAWC meeting that delays that have occurred will not affect funding released for the project to revamp water sources and piping left over from the sugar cane era in the mountains between Kapapala Ranch and Wai`ohinu.
      KAWCD also took Ha`ao Springs & Mountain House Ag Water Co-op’s application for membership under consideration and, barring unforeseen issues, will accept the co-op as the district’s newest member at next month’s meeting.

      Moa`ula Ag Water Co-op members plan to replace and relocate pipes along the Punalu`u side of Moa`ula Gulch from the tunnel area to the cane haul road, said Randy Cabral. They are also investigating adding other tunnels to the system. Chris Manfredi reported that he and other members hiked to tunnels and found Tunnel Number One to be viable and accessible since it is close to a water supply used by homesteaders in the area. He said Tunnel Number 17 seemed to be too far away.
      Manfredi, who is president of Ka`u Farm Bureau, also said that, “as in years past, Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation is lobbying for funding” from various sources for the Ka`u irrigation projects.
      KAWCD’s January meeting date will be announced on Ka`u News Briefs when it is determined.

Sen. Daniel Inouye

HAWAI`I’S U.S. SENATORS will have important leadership positions in 2013. Sen. Daniel Inouye will remain Senate president pro tempore with the responsibility of being third in line to become U.S President, should President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden be unable to serve. Inouye is the highest ranking Asian American public officeholder in U.S. history. He will also keep the chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The newly elected senator for suburban and rural Hawai`i, Mazie Hirono, has been named to the Energy & Natural Resources Committee, as well as committees for veterans affairs and the judiciary. 

THE SECOND ESCAPEE from Hawai`i Community Correctional Center has been arrested. A Task Force found Ryan Jeffries-Hamar at a residence in the Hawaiian Beaches subdivision of Puna. He had been at large since Wednesday, Dec. 5, when he and Jarvis Higa overpowered and assaulted a corrections officer and took off in the jail librarian’s car. Higa was arrested two days later in Ocean View.

A 3.3 earthquake struck north of Ka`ena Point yesterday.

AN EARTHQUAKE WITH A MAGNITUDE of 3.3 shook Hawai`i island yesterday at 4:24 p.m. about 10 miles southeast of Volcano on Kilauea’s south flank faults. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that seismic activity is low, and this was one of five earthquakes strong enough to be located beneath Kilauea yesterday. 

CHRISTMAS IN PAHALA features holiday music, food and gifts today at 5:30 p.m. around the Christmas tree at Pahala Plantation Cottages at the corner of Kamani and Ohia Streets. Many donors from the Ka`u community include `O Ka`u Kakou, Olson Trust, Punalu`u Bake Shop and contractor Mike Munnerlyn.

THY WORD MINISTRIES HOSTS Christmas in Ka`u tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Na`alehu Hongwanji Hall with a craft fair, live entertainment by various church groups and free lunch while supplies last.

KEIKI CHRISTMAS PARTY at Ocean View Community Center takes place tomorrow at 11 a.m. with food, face painting, storytelling, games and prizes. Each child receives a photo with Santa and a gift.

Flag-flying snowman welcomes visitors to
Kilauea Military Camp for holiday
activities. Photo by Julia Neal

VOLCANO ART CENTER GALLERY presents a hula kahiko performance with Kahula `O Nawahine Noho Pu`ukapu, under the direction of kumu hula Ana Nawahine Kahoopii, tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. on the hula platform in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Hands-on cultural demonstrations take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the gallery porch. Donations are welcome, and park entrance fees apply.

HO, HO, HO! VOLCANO COMEDY SHOW! is tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. The shows are expected to sell out. Tickets are $12, or $10 for Volcano Art Center members, and can be purchased in person or by calling 967-8222. 

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP’S Holiday Challenge continues through the end of the month, with the front row of cabins decorated by employees. The public is invited to vote for their choice of best decorated cabin.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

FIND MORE OF OUR DECEMBER 2012 EVENT PHOTOS ON OUR FLICKR ACCOUNT.

Ka`u News Briefs Dec. 13, 2012

Hana Hou Restaurant owner Drake Fujimoto organizes the children's Christmas giving and community feed each year.
Photo by Julia Neal

SEVERAL TEACHERS at Pahala School Campus picketed for the first time this week as part of the statewide union display of discontent with negotiations between the administration and the Hawai`i State Teachers Association.

Patty McTighe after dishwashing for the annual Hana Hou Christmas
dinner for the community last night. Photo by Julia Neal

      Angie Miyashiro is the union leader on campus. According to teacher David Berry, the teachers plan to resume sign waving in Pahala after winter break. “We are just asking for what we are supposed to have, a contract and respect.”

      Teachers around the state are picketing before and after school and are protesting by declining to do extra work outside of school hours. Signs held at the Pahala campus included: “Teachers Taking A Stand,” “Ka`u Teachers: Governor Give Us Some Respect,” “Go Teachers;” and “Support H.S.T.A. Support Ka`u Teachers!”
      The teachers have launched a website at www.ContractfortheFuture.org “to follow the struggle of Hawai`i teachers.” The HSTA website says, “Hawai`i teachers are taking the lead for a future where our children will succeed.”

Teachers from Pahala School Campus picketed for the first time this week.

      HSTA this week rejected the most recent settlement offer from the state. Wil Okabe, president of the union, said there were many points of agreement in the offer, but the state required “all or nothing” acceptance and was not willing to negotiate.
      Board of Education member Jim Williams said, “We are disappointed since the offer included more compensation and was also in line with proposals that HSTA leaders have previously approved.”
See more at hawaii.doe and contractforthefuture.org.

THIS WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19 is the deadline for public input on rule changes proposed by the state Division of Aquatic Resources affecting a 147-mile area including the western Ka`u Coast from South Point and stretching up to Upolu Point in Kohala. The rules propose a SCUBA spearfishing prohibition, closing a 1,500-foot section of Kaohe Bay in South Kona to aquarium collecting, establishment of a list of 40 fish species permitted for aquarium take with size and bag limits on three of these species, prohibition on take or possession of nine species of inshore sharks and rays and two invertebrate crown-of-thorns predators, and several other rule changes to enhance enforcement of aquarium collecting regulations and to clarify existing rule provisions. Amendments include restrictions to nighttime aquarium collecting, labeling requirements and net and length clarifications.
      “The overall goals of these changes are to ensure continued resource sustainability, to enhance nearshore resources and to minimize user conflicts in the West Hawai`i Regional Fishery Management Area,” the DAR proposal states. Similar no SCUBA rules have been implemented throughout the South Pacific.
      See the proposed rules at hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar.

Fireweed has a new enemy from its home island of Madagascar, a
moth that will be introduced to the Big Island.
Photo from hawaiiinvasivespecies.org

FIREWEED, THE SCOURGE of Ka`u ranches and also neighborhoods of Ocean View, has a new enemy – funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sen. Dan Inouye announced yesterday that the USDA will release a moth in Hawai`i and Maui Counties. The moth eats fireweed on their native island of Madagascar. With chemical spraying and hand-pulling by volunteers in such neighborhoods as Ocean View being overcome by the rapid reproduction of fireweed, the new approach is welcomed, said Kapapala ranch manager Lani Petrie. 

      She said the problem with fireweed is that it germinates and “grows right through good stands of good grass. The soil doesn’t even have to be disturbed for it to germinate.” She said cattle won’t eat it unless they are very hungry, but when they do, it can lead to liver failure. She said that fireweed is a problem on the 34,000-acre Kapapala Ranch and that it spreads much faster than Christmas berry and guava, two other invasives that can take over pasturelands.
      Rancher David Ka`awa said that fireweed was introduced locally in Waimea, by accident, and has spread islandwide. The bright yellow flowers can create carpets looking like fields of daisies but are noxious to livestock.

Santa and a family at last night's Christmas event in Na`alehu.

HANA HOU RESTAURANT in Na`alehu fed some 400 community people and provided gifts to all of the children who joined in the celebration, which included meeting Santa (Bobby Gomes) and receiving free keiki IDs from police officer Dane Shibuya. Hana Hou owners Patty McTighe and Drake Fujimoto said that their own workers did most of the cooking.

      `O Ka`u Kakou community organization rallied many volunteers. “The whole community participated by organizing, volunteering and enjoying the event,” said McTighe. Thirty-nine bicycles, large stuffed animals and many more children’s gifts were given during the 10th annual Hana Hou Keiki Christmas event.

KA`U AG WATER CO-OP meets today at 4 p.m. at Royal Hawaiian Orchards field office in Pahala. For more information, contact Jeff McCall at 928-6456.

Officer Dane Shibuya helped with keiki IDs at last
night's Hana Hou Christmas party.
Photo by Julia Neal

AT A WORKSHOP tonight at 6 p.m. at Na`alehu School Cafeteria, Suzanne Marinelli teaches how to follow legislation being considered during the 2013 session and how to give input. Marinelli is Public Access coordinator for Hawai`i State Legislature’s non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau. See more at hawaii.gov/lrb/par. 

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED to Christmas In Pahala with holiday music, food and gifts tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. around the Christmas tree at Pahala Plantation Cottages at the corner of Kamani and Ohia Streets. Many donors from the Ka`u community include `O Ka`u Kakou, Olson Trust, Punalu`u Bake Shop and contractor Mike Munnerlyn.

NA`ALEHU HONGWANJI HALL is the site for Christmas in Ka`u on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hosted by Thy Word Ministries, the event features a craft fair, live entertainment by various church groups and free lunch while supplies last.

KEIKI CHRISTMAS PARTY at Ocean View Community Center is Saturday at 11 a.m. with food, face painting, storytelling, games and prizes. Each child receives a photo with Santa and a gift.

KAHULA `O NAWAHINE NOHO PU`UKAPU, under the direction of kumu hula Ana Nawahine Kahoopii, performs Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on the hula platform near Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Hands-on cultural demonstrations take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the gallery porch. The event is free. Donations are welcome, and park entrance fees apply.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

FIND MORE OF OUR DECEMBER 2012 EVENT PHOTOS ON OUR FLICKR ACCOUNT.