Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 15, 2013

Sen. Dan Akaka became the first recipient of the Aloha Award of Merit yesterday and is congratulated by Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
Photo by Shane Tegarden.

A RURAL RESIDENCY PROGRAM for physicians and nurses to train and work at such hospitals as Ka`u is one of the priorities that Mayor Bill Kenoi is taking to the state Legislature when it opens its 2013 session tomorrow. The measure has been adopted by the Neighbor Islands legislative collaborative group, which is asking for $5.6 million over two years for the Hawai`i Health Systems Corp’s primary care training program. The name of the local program is Hawai`i Island Family Medicine Residency. Also on the health front is the plan to invest another $41 million through bonds during the next two years to expand the College of Pharmacy & Health Science in Hilo.

       Both measures are also supported by Sen. Josh Green. Also in the legislative package from the county is money to modernize civil defense warnings, which could lead to the replacement of three dozen sirens on the Big Island.

Rep. Cynthia Thielen

REQUIRING A REASONABLE RATE OF RETURN for electric companies is the goal of Representative Cynthia Thielen, (R-Kailua), who plans to introduce legislation at tomorrow’s opening of the state Legislature that would create a permanent Task Force to determine and periodically revise the reasonable rate of return. The bill also establishes a bipartisan joint legislative oversight committee to determine if the Public Utilities Commission is enforcing the reasonable rate of return.

      Thielen said, “The electricity costs for ratepayers in Hawai`i have increased at a constant and precipitous rate, and these increases have created serious financial hardships for Hawai`i residents. One of the most important functions of the PUC is to approve or deny rate increases proposed by HECO, but in reality, the PUC rarely denies rate increases.
      “HECO, by statute, is guaranteed a reasonable rate of return on its rate base. But what constitutes a reasonable rate of return? The statutory language that created the PUC and gives it its powers does not elaborate. This, in turn, gives the PUC vast powers to deny HECO rate increases, but more importantly gives the PUC the ability to allow HECO rate increases without any concrete standards to review the proposals for ‘reasonableness’” said Thielen.
   The bill’s purpose clause explains that “for over 100 years, Hawaiian Electric Company has had a monopoly on energy production in Hawai`i with the objective of efficiently and adequately fulfilling the energy needs of the state and its residents. In exchange for the privilege of providing non-competitive electrical services within the state, HECO is subject to supervision by the PUC and is required to abide by its regulations."
      Thielen said that requiring a reasonable rate of return for electric utilities “will keep HECO honest and provide more checks and balances, which translates into consumer rate savings for all of us.”

Sen Dan Akaka received the Aloha Award of Merit
yesterday. Photo by Shane Tegarden

WHERE I LIVE, THERE ARE RAINBOWS, sang Sen. Dan Akaka yesterday when he became the first recipient of the state Legislature’s Aloha Award of Merit. The award was established in 1993 to honor those who provide distinguished service to Hawai`i and devote their lives to the people and place of Hawai`i. Gov. Neil Abercrombie and four former governors attended. As a recipient of the award, Akaka may be called on by the governor to serve as an emissary to represent the Aloha State.
      Akaka retired from Congress after the 2012 session, after serving for 22 years in the U.S. Senate and 14 years in the U.S. House. He chaired the Senate’s Indian Affairs Committee and is well known for his Akaka Bill, which attempts to give more self-governance to Native Hawaiians.
      The Aloha Award of Merit ceremony was held in the state House of Representatives chambers. For the music, Akaka’s sons accompanied him on guitars.

MISSING AT SEA is the status of a 67-year-old Pahala man after falling off a South Point cliff while fishing Sunday night. Fire/rescue units responded to a 10:26 p.m. alarm Sunday to Ka Lae for a fisherman who fell into the ocean. Witnesses reported that the man fell about 20 feet into the ocean while fishing and was last seen about 50 yards offshore. They lost sight of the fisherman due to darkness, reports the Hawai`i Police Department. 

      County fire/rescue crews conducted a water and land search with the assistance of a Coast Guard C-130 plane and Dolphin helicopter searching up to six miles from shore. A Hawai`i National Guard Blackhawk helicopter performed an aerial ocean search up to three miles out. Searchers were not able to find the man. The area is popular for fishing but has high cliffs and strong currents.
      The search was scheduled to resume today with the fire department’s Chopper One helicopter.

The cliffs of Ka Lae at South Point are a popular fishing spot. However, another
 fisherman from Pahala fell into the water Sunday, and the search
resumed today. Photo by Julia Neal

A HILO MAN WAS FOUND DEAD in his vehicle on Hwy 11 in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park Saturday, reports Jessica Ferracane, of the park’s Public Affairs office. A park ranger discovered the lifeless body of Steven L. Elliott in a white 2002 Ford pickup truck parked on the shoulder of the highway near mile marker 35 at 9:34 a.m. The cause of death is unknown, and an investigation is being conducted by the National Park Service. An autopsy by the medical examiner is scheduled for today.

HAWAI`I POLICE DEPARTMENT is hosting its next community access meeting next Friday, Jan. 25 from noon to 2 p.m. at Cooper Center on Wright Road in Volcano Village. The event allows the public to meet the Police Department’s command staff and to discuss police-related concerns with the police chief and commanders who oversee police operations in Volcano and Puna.
      The Volcano event continues district community meetings, which are rotated throughout the eight police districts on the Big Island. To aid police commanders in focusing on specific community concerns, police officers ask that participation in this meeting be limited to persons who live or work in the immediate area.
      Those interested in participating but unable to attend may e-mail their concerns or comments to copsysop@hawaiipolice.com. For more information, call Acting Captain Reed Mahuna at 965-2716.

USGS/HVO geologists Tim Orr, at left, and Matt Patrick
present programs during Volcano Awareness Month.
Photo from USGS/HVO

VOLCANO AWARENESS MONTH CONTINUES with another After Dark in the Park program tonight at 7 p.m. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Matt Patrick presents an overview of Kilauea’s summit eruption, including a survey of the volcanic processes occurring within the vent, at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The program is free, and park entrance fees apply. 

ALSO AT KILAUEA VISITOR CENTER AUDITORIUM, Kai Ho`opi`i, an Aloha Festivals Hawaiian falsetto contest winner, shares music of his `ohana tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. as part of the park’s ongoing Na Leo Manu, Heavenly Voices, presentations. The concert is free, and park entrance fees apply.

VALENTINE VARIETY SHOW AUDITIONS are Thursday at 4 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m. Auditions are open to all ages and talents, and all applicants and performers must be able to make one of the scheduled auditions, one mandatory dress rehearsal on Feb. 7 and 8 and show times, which will be either Feb 9 and 16 or Feb. 10 and 17. Acts for the show to be held at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village should be no longer than five minutes. Acts can be music, dance, drama, comedy, magic, juggling, acrobatics or any other form of entertainment. Solo and group acts encouraged. $15 application fee per act waived for VAC members. For an application or more information, email julie@volcanoartcenter.org. 

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY geologist Tim Orr presents a program at Pahala Plantation House a week from tomorrow on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Orr’s talk includes photos and videos reviewing highlights and recent developments of Kilauea’s 30-year-long east rift zone eruption. The program, which is part of Volcano Awareness Month, begins at 6:30 p.m.

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Ka`u News Briefs Monday, Jan. 14, 2013

Hawai`i's 2013 Legislature opens Wednesday, with four newly elected legislators representing Ka`u.

THE STATE LEGISLATURE OPENS this Wednesday, Jan. 16, with four newly elected legislators representing Ka`u. Incumbent Sen. Josh Green’s district extends to Honu`apo from Kona. Freshman Sen. Russell Ruderman’s district extends from Honu`apo throughout Volcano and Puna. Incumbent Rep. Denny Coffman’s district extends from Kona to Honu`apo, and freshman Rep. Richard Onishi’s district extends from Puna through Volcano to Honu`apo. The number of elected officials who will represent Ka`u in the state Legislature this year is up from two last year. None of them live here, but all promise not to forget this remote district.

Rep. Richard Onishi

      The change comes with the U.S. Census in 2010 and the subsequent redistricting to ensure the one person–one vote promise in the democratic form of government.

Sen. Josh Green

      Committee assignments in the Senate have Green, a physician, returning to chair the Committee on Health. He also sits on the Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection, Energy and Environment, and Human Services. Ruderman sits on the Committees on Energy and Environment, Education, Water and Land, and Ways and Means.
      The committees for the state House of Representatives are yet to be confirmed, as the Speaker of the House has not been finalized. Maui Rep. Joe Souki claims he has the lead and will replace Speaker Calvin Say. His backers are a group of Republicans and Democrats but remain a vote short to be able to set up the committees, according to various news reports.
      The Senate majority, comprised of Democrats, unveiled its priorities last week, promising to be “open, inclusive and collaborative in its decision-making on initiatives impacting the state of Hawai`i,” said Senate president-elect Donna Mercado Kim. The theme of the Senate majority is No Na Mamo, which means “for all generations.”

Rep. Denny Coffman

      The Senate majority announced it would work on Food & Energy Resiliency; Supporting People, Strengthening Communities; and Government Efficiency and Accountability.

SOLAR TAX CREDITS could shave some $139 million off state income tax revenues this year as homeowners and businesses invest more in photovoltaics to wean themselves from expensive electric bills. However, the state wants to reduce the loss in tax revenues by reducing the credits and is taking its argument to the 2013 state Legislature, which opens Wednesday.
      According to a Sophie Cocke story in Civil Beat, Republican state Sen. Mike Gabbard said his main focus this session “is making sure that the tax credit isn’t having too big of an impact on the state’s pocketbook, and not crippling the industry or making it too expensive for residents to install solar panels.” Gabbard chairs the Energy and Environment Committee and looks at a number of bills that would change the laws for solar credits.
      Sen. Russell Ruderman, who represents east Ka`u through Puna, campaigned on removing impediments to more solar. Ruderman said that solar is the obvious solution to Hawai`i’s energy challenge.

Sen. Russell Ruderman

          Ruderman said this morning that the amount the state says it’s losing from solar tax credits is a “little exaggerated.” He described the emerging solar sector of the economy as “the hottest part of the construction industry. It creates a lot of jobs and puts a lot of benefits back into the community,” he said.
      Ruderman said that instead of eliminating tax credits, he supports reducing them over five or six years so people have time to plan and invest in solar.
      He said he will introduce three solar-related pieces of legislation into the 2013 Legislature. One would prevent the utilities from charging customers for an interconnect study.
      Another would set up a loan guarantee for people who can’t afford to put solar on their homes.
      The third would create “community solar, as they call it,” Ruderman said. “You could sign up for energy created by a solar farm, even if it is not in your own neighborhood or your roof,” he said.

      See more at www.civilbeat.com.

MORE MONEY FROM THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY could offset solar credits for homeowners. The state won a case last week that requires online travel reservation firms to pay general excise taxes to the Hawai`i government whenever it books a Hawai`i hotel room. The state sued to collect money from Expedia, hotels.com, Priceline, Hotwire, Orbits and Travelocity. The taxes date back to year 2000 and could be worth some $150 million to the state of Hawai`i.
      The online reservations companies argued that their businesses are outside of Hawai`i, but they lost in the Tax Appeals Court of Judge Gary Chang. Chang did rule earlier that the reservations companies are not responsible for paying the transient accommodations taxes.
      Gov. Neil Abercrombie noted that former Republican Hawai`i Governor Linda Lingle declined to go after collecting these taxes. He said he made the issue a top priority for his governorship.

DLNR wants to protect more of the state's watersheds
which include Ka`u Forest Reserve.

PROTECTING THE STATE’S WATERSHEDS is a priority for the Department of Land and Natural Resources, reports Sophie Cocke in today’s Civil Beat. During this year’s state Legislature, the department plans to try to secure $11 million a year over the next decade to double the percentage of land protected. According to the story, DLNR said that it has taken 40 years to protect only 10 percent of the state’s most important watershed areas. 

      At a briefing of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee last Friday, DLNR’s native ecosystem section manager said the revenue would come from a new bag bill that would charge 10 cents each for bags that aren’t banned or from an increase in conveyance taxes.
      The Civil Beat story reports that, according to the department, “more than half of the state’s forests have been lost, in large part due to invasive species such as Christmas berry that have choked out native species.” It also said pigs, cattle and goats trample vegetation.
      The story says protecting Hawai`i’s watersheds has been a major DLNR initiative under the Abercrombie administration. Last year, efforts to gain dedicated funding from the Legislature failed.

      See more at www.civilbeat.com.

THE COFFEE BERRY BORER is the subject of a meeting at 5 p.m. at Pahala Community Center today, co-hosted by Synergistic Hawai`i Agriculture Council, University of Hawai`i College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources and Ka`u Farm Bureau. Ka`u Farm president Chris Manfredi said that all coffee farmers should attend, whether or not they have CBB. He said the education session will focus on control and eradication of the pest which has severely impacted coffee farms on the island. The meeting will be followed by a Farm Bureau directors meeting.

Matt Patrick Photo from USGS

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY geologist Matt Patrick presents an overview of Kilauea’s summit eruption, including a survey of the volcanic processes occurring within the vent, tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The free After Dark in the Park program is part of Volcano Awareness month. Park entrance fees apply. 

KAI HO`OPI`I, an Aloha Festivals Hawaiian falsetto contest winner, shares music of his `ohana Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The free concert is part of the park’s ongoing Na Leo Manu, Heavenly Voices, presentations. Park entrance fees apply.

KA`U AGRICULTURAL WATER COOPERATIVE DISTRICT meets Thursday at 4 p.m. at Royal Hawaiian Orchards’ field office in Pahala. For more information, contact Jeff McCall at 928-6465 or mccalljeffreyw@gmail.com.

IN SPORTS THIS WEEK, grade checks for winter sports athletes are due today. 

      Ka`u High boys and girls soccer teams play at home, with Hilo High coming to Ka`u High tomorrow for games beginning at 2 p.m. On Saturday games with Kohala High begin at 1 p.m.
      Ka`u High girls basketball team travels to Kamehameha Wednesday, then on Friday meet Pahoa High at home.
      In boys basketball, Kea`au comes to Ka`u tomorrow, then Ka`u goes to Kamehameha on Thursday.
      Ka`u High’s wrestlers have a meet in Pahoa on Saturday.

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.

Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 13, 2013

A nonprofit hospital corporation from Arizona has offered to take over management of Ka`u, Hilo, Kona
 and five other state-supported hospitals in Hawai`i. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U HOSPITAL OPERATIONS may be transferred to an Arizona nonprofit hospital group, according to a report on Hawai`i News Now. The shift could include all eight of the Hawai`i Health Systems Corporation facilities, which are Hilo Medical Center; Kona Community Hospital; Ka`u, Kohala and Honoka`a hospitals; Maui Memorial Medical Center; and the small hospitals in Kula on Maui and on Lana`i.
      The nonprofit is called Banner Health, which owns 23 hospitals in seven states. It is making its first venture into Hawai`i with an “initial conceptual offer,” says the Hawai`i News Now story. According to sources reported by Hawai`i News Now, one element of the proposal is that Banner would pay no rent for the state-owned facilities and would be guaranteed an annual management fee.
      Sen. Josh Green, who started his medical career at Ka`u Hospital and now chairs the state Senate Health Committee, told Hawai`i News Now that the Hawai`i Health Systems Corporation “has a very large subsidy, and I think it’s good for us to look at ways to address whether we can control that subsidy or not.”

Teachers hold union signs near entrance to Pahala's public school
campus. Photo from HSTA members

HAWAI`I STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION plans to hold a rally on Thursday, Jan. 31 at the state Capitol to pressure the Legislature and governor to help settle the labor dispute between the union and the school system, which is a statewide entity with a state school board and administration operating within state government. The teachers are working under a mandate from the governor to keep the schools open after no contract was reached more than two years ago. Some teachers have taken to holding signs after school on chosen days near Na`alehu and Pahala public school campuses. 

      On the table are methods in which teacher and student evaluations are conducted, as well as pay, sick leave and other benefits. The teachers union walked away from what it called “meaningless mediation” in October, according to its website http://contractforthefuture.org. Negotiations were set to resume this weekend with HSTA making a new offer to the state.
      HSTA president Wil Okabe announced on the website: “Over the winter recess, we had the opportunity to meet with our teachers, focus groups and with surveys, which we will be sharing with our teachers and the public as well." Okabe said the new proposal will take into account the arbitration award in which “some United Public Workers members just won a 3.2 percent raise, on top of not having had to take the five-percent pay cut many other unions agreed to in negotiations, and UPW retained a better share of health premium costs.”

The open space on Pahala's school campus will be for public use, a gym
and disaster shelter. Other school campuses may be used by the state to
raise money by allowing commercial construction. Photo by Julia Neal

SCHOOL CAMPUSES may be the next target of state and private partnership development. According to this morning’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser story entitled Lawamakers Covet Land at Schools for Revenue, by Derrick DePledge, “Lawmakers are drafting a bill that would create an education-facilities trust that could lease out underutilized public school land for workforce housing or other commercial projects. The state would use the money from redevelopment to modernize public schools with broadband and other infrastructure that is part of the Information Age,” DePledge reports. 

      Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary School’s major open space is already scheduled for added construction – these buildings for public use, with public money. An $18 million gymnasium to be managed by the county Department of Parks & Recreation and by the schools, and also to serve as a regional disaster shelter, is funded, with permitting nearly signed. The site is fenced, and construction is expected to be completed in the next several years.
      The Star-Advertiser story says that “Gov. Neil Abercrombie has called for schools to be modernized in his ‘New Day’ agenda, and the concept is being driven by many of his key allies, including William Kaneho, his campaign manager and an attorney who leads the Hawai`i Institute for Public Affairs.” Kaneho was also the registered lobbyist hired by `Aina Koa Pono during its 2011 attempt to gain support from the Legislature and permission from the Public Utilities Commission to approve the contract that would help with financing for a diesel refinery it would build off Wood Valley Road above Pahala.
      See more on the development of school lands issue at www.staradvertiser.com.

Robbie Alm

LIQUID NATURAL GAS, imported from the mainland, could cut electricity bills and reduce dependence on foreign oil, according to a proposal from the electric utilities to the Public Utilities Commission. A story in Civil Beat by Sophie Cocke quotes Hawai`i Electric Co. vice president Robbie Alm, the spokesperson for the utility who made a presentation Thursday at the Hawai`i Energy Policy Forum. Alm said that LNG burns cleaner than oil and could save the utilities on O`ahu, Maui and the Big Island up to $1 billion that would otherwise have to be spent upgrading its power plants to meet new Environmental Protection Agency regulations on oil-fired generators. Without switching to LNG, the cost of upgrading old power plants would be passed along to customers, he told attendees of the forum. See more at www.civilbeat.com.

HERE IS MORE ON THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION’S publication of responses to questions asked by Life of the Land regarding the `Aina Koa Pono proposal to sell, at a fixed, undisclosed price for 20 years, 16 million gallons of diesel per year to be made in a refinery off Wood Valley Road above Pahala. Diesel would be extracted from biomass in 27 microwave units and sold to Hawai`i Electric Light and Hawaiian Electric Companies, most of it trucked to the power plant near Kona airport. The proposal calls for higher electric bills on O`ahu and the Big Island.
      Life of the Land compared the current `Aina Koa Pono proposal (AKP2) that offers the diesel at a lower price and the `Aina Koa Pono proposal (AKP1) rejected by the PUC in Sept. 2011: “The ratepayer impact for AKP2 over AKP1 appears to be around $100 million over 20 years.” Life of the Land asked, “Is this very roughly correct, that is, is it in the right ballpark? The electric companies said, “The ratepayer impact assumption … is close; it is approximately $124 million less for AKP2 compared to AKP1 over the 20-year term.”

      Life of the Land asked how this reduction was achieved. “That is, was it pulled out of the air by HECO or AKP, was it the result of savings in some input, was it the ability to get financing at a lower rate?” The utilities said the reduction is “primarily due to the AKP2 biodiesel price reduction over the AKP1 biodiesel price.” The utilities referred Life of the Land to Exhibit A of the application, which it said contains a section regarding contract and price negotiations that discusses the reasons AKP was able to offer a lower biodiesel price, but that exhibit is confidential and only available to the PUC and other parties and participants in the docket. It is not available to utility customers or the general public.

  

      Life of the Land also asked if pricing could go lower and still make the contract viable. “AKP is in early phases of the project development and, with the AKP Biodiesel Supply
      Contract’s fixed biodiesel price structure, AKP is taking a degree of risk on the economic viability of the project,” contended the utilities. “During AKP2 negotiations, AKP asserted that they could not further reduce the price and maintain the viability of the project.”
      Life of the Land asked what added due diligence the HECO Companies engaged in when they realized that AKP was willing to “shave such a large amount off the AKP1 contract costs? That is, did HECO come to the conclusion that perhaps the first contract was overpriced, and therefore did HECO set out to conduct further due diligence and analysis on the pricing?” The electric companies replied that they set out to renegotiate with AKP after the Commission did not approve AKP1, and a discussion of the AKP2 negotiations is in the confidential Exhibit A.
      When Life of the Land asked if publicly revealing the prices offered by each respondent to the biofuel RFP could put added pressure on individual companies to compete against each other and drive the cost down, the utilities said that publicly revealing fuel contract prices may or may not work in favor of negotiating lower fuel prices.
      “How can the Commission feel confident about biofuel pricing when the AKP1 and AKP2 pricing data are so far apart?” asked Life of the Land. The electric companies said they “believe the AKP2 biodiesel price is reasonable for the reasons set forth in their Application.”

      Complete responses to the Life of the Land’s questions, as well as other documents regarding the proposed contract, are online at puc.hawaii.gov. Docket number is 2012-0185.

Kai Ho`opi`i performs Wednesday evening.

KAI HO`OPI`I PRESENTS An Evening of Hawaiian Music Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Ho`opi`i, an Aloha Festivals Hawaiian falsetto contest winner, shares music of his `ohana from Kahakuloa, Maui. The free concert is part of Hawai`i Volcanoes’ ongoing Na Leo Manu, Heavenly Voices, presentations. Park entrance fees apply. 

VALENTINE VARIETY SHOW AUDITIONS are Thursday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 19 at 10 a.m. Open to all ages and talents, and all applicants and performers must be able to make one of the scheduled auditions, one mandatory dress rehearsal on Feb. 7 and 8 and show times, which will be either Feb 9 and 16 or Feb. 10 and 17. Acts for the show to be held at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village should be no longer than five minutes. Acts can be music, dance, drama, comedy, magic, juggling, acrobatics or any other form of entertainment. Solo and group acts encouraged. $15 application fee per act waived for VAC members. For an application or more information, email julie@volcanoartcenter.org.

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.