Ka`u News Briefs March 13, 2013

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park ranger Dean Gallagher presents Life on the Edge. The fifth anniversary of continuous
eruption at Halema`uma`u Crater is next Tuesday, March 19. Photo from NPS

KA`U FARM BUREAU is hoping that legislation will pass to help with agricultural irrigation and the coffee berry borer battle. Ka`u Farm Bureau president Chris Manfredi said at this week’s meeting that HB1263 crossed over to the Senate and would provide more funds for fixing up the old Ka`u sugar water system that was originally used to transport sugar cane to the mill but would be used in the future for irrigation for diversified agriculture. He said this morning that coffee berry borer measures passed the Senate agriculture committee yesterday, with $3000,000 for the CBB Task Force and $500,000 for CBB research.
     During Monday's Ka`u Farm Bureau meeting, Manfredi said the Farm Bureau also supports allowing farmers to construct small agricultural buildings without going through the permitting process. Another bill would prevent state agricultural leases from being priced at the “highest and best use” rather than for farming. The Farm Bureau is concerned about House Bill 903 that would consider soil a possible pollutant when it runs off into waterways, he reported.

Ka`u Farm Bureau is hoping that legislation to help fight
the coffee berry borer will pass.

      Statewide Hawai`i Farm Bureau initiatives alive at the 2013 Hawai`i Legislature:

• HB486, HD1 would appropriate funds to the Department of Education and the University of Hawai`i to operate and implement the Future Farmers of America and 4-H programs. 
• HB487 HD2 and SB593 SD2 would expand livestock feed subsidy to include feed for goats, sheep, lambs, fish and crustaceans. It would create a subsidy for qualified feed developers. 
• HB488 HD1 would require valuation of public agricultural or aquacultural land to be based on the land’s agricultural or aquacultural use, economic considerations, relevant risk factors and societal benefits. 
• HB489 HD1 and SB 586 SD1 would provide, under certain circumstances, an exemption from building code and permit requirements for nonresidential buildings or structures on farms. 
• HB1263 HD2 provides, under certain circumstances, an exemption from building code and permit requirements for nonresidential buildings or structures on farms. 

LOCAL FOOD COALITION BILLS supported by the Farm Bureau that are alive in the 2013 Hawai`i Legislature:

• SB5 SD1 would provide several means of compensation in addition to rent reductions when the state withdraws, condemns, or takes public land leased for intensive agricultural or pastoral uses and renders the land unusable for the original purposes of the lease. 
• SB974 SD2 would assist agricultural enterprises in the state by authorizing the state to issue special purpose revenue bonds for their benefit. 
• HB747 HD1 would exempt from the general excise tax amounts received for the slaughter and processing of poultry and livestock. 

HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BILLS supported by the Farm Bureau that are alive at the 2013 Hawai`i Legislature:

• HB857 HD2 would reallocate the Barrel Tax. It would repeal the sunset date of the Barrel Tax and provide appropriations for the anticipated additional revenues. 
• SB991 SD2 HD2 would exempt the purchase of fresh meats and produce and animals and plants by any governmental body from the Hawai`i Public Procurement Code. 
• SB992 SD2 would allow for agricultural loans to be administered for livestock biosecurity projects. 
• SB993 SD2 would modify the new farmer loan program of the Department of Agriculture to promote development of innovative technologies and to assist new farm enterprises. 
• SB995 would allow for an engineering program administrator to oversee the responsibilities mandated by chapter 167, Hawai`i Revised Statutes, for irrigation water development.

      These and other bills being considered by the Legislature can be tracked at hawaii.gov.

One month after the vent within Halema`uma`u Crater opened in 2008,
it was about 115 feet in diameter. Photos from USGS

KILAUEA VOLCANO’S SUMMIT ERUPTION within Halema`uma`u Crater marks its fifth year of continuous activity on Tuesday, March 19. Rangers at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park will offer Life on the Edge talks at Jaggar Museum observation deck overlooking the fuming, enlarging summit vent. The 20-minute talks at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. encompass the dramatic geological and mythological history of Halema`uma`u Crater.
      Kilauea’s summit vent opened at 2:58 a.m., HST, on March 19, 2008, when an explosive eruption created a gaping hole about 115 feet wide on the south wall of Halema`uma`u Crater. Nighttime glow from this hole suggested the presence of molten lava, but it wasn’t until six months later that a lake of roiling lava deep within the vent was definitively observed by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists.
      With the opening of Halema`uma`u vent, already high summit sulfur dioxide gas emission rates increased even more, resulting in increased vog downwind. Although the summit SO2 emissions have declined since 2008, they are still averaging 800-1,200 tons per day, creating hazardous conditions along closed sections of the park’s Crater Rim Drive and intermittent poor air quality farther downwind of the vent.

As of this month, the vent is more than 500 feet across.

      Since 2008, rock collapses within the vent have enlarged its opening on the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater. The vent is now about 520 feet by 700 feet (the area of about 21 Olympic-sized pools), and, according to HVO scientist-in-charge Jim Kauahikaua, is likely to continue growing through further collapses of overhung sections of the vent rim.
      Kauahikaua described the lava within the vent as a continuously circulating gas-rich “foam” that rises and falls depending on changes in Kilauea’s subsurface magma pressure. The lava lake reached its highest level to date on Oct. 26, 2012, when the lava surface rose to within 72 feet of the vent rim.
      While the actual lava lake is not visible from safe viewing areas, its glow — the diffusion of incandescent lava light within the gas plume rising from the vent — is easily observed from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park overlooks on clear nights. When the lava lake level is especially high, park visitors can sometimes hear sharp sounds as rocks in the vent wall expand and crack due to increased heat.
      “The amazing beauty of this eruption, and the ease of viewing opportunities within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, provide both visitors and residents with unforgettable experiences,” said park superintendent Cindy Orlando. “Where else in the world can you park your car and walk just a few feet to behold the spectacle of one of the world’s most active volcanoes?”
      Jaggar Museum and the overlook are wheelchair- and stroller-accessible. Other vantage points for viewing Halema`uma`u within the park include Kilauea Overlook, Kilauea Iki Overlook and Keanakako`i Overlook.
      The summit eruption, Kilauea’s second longest since the early 1900s, can also be experienced through photos, videos, and webcam images posted on HVO’s website at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov.

Funds raised at this weekend's rummage sale will be used
to purchase equipment for volunteer firefighters.

DONATIONS ARE BEING TAKEN today and Thursday for Discovery Harbour Community Center’s rummage sale this Friday through Sunday that raises money to support the local volunteer fire department. 

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND holds another Ka`u Coast Cleanup this Saturday. Sign up with Megan Lamson at kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com or 769-7629.

ALOHA BLUEGRASS BAND and Keoki Kahumoku present a piligrass concert Saturday at Pahala Plantation House. Bluegrass meets Hawaiian music at 7:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $15 - $20. For more information, call 938-6582.

Julie Dobbs presents two one-act plays by Tennessee
Williams at Pahala Plantation House Sunday, March 24.

TWO BY TENN WITH TEA, an afternoon performance of two rarely performed one-act plays written by Tennessee Williams, takes place at Pahala Plantation House Sunday, March 24 at 3 p.m. In what director Julie Dobbs describes as a “fragile mood piece” entitled Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen, Arlene Araki and Dick Hershberger, of Ocean View, portray a man and woman rooted hopelessly in an unchanging present. I Can’t Imagine Tomorrow, the second play, also features Araki and Hershberger in what Dobbs calls “a variation on the theme of the passage toward death; of endured, but unendurable, pain.”
      Tea and cookies will be served. Suggested donation is $5 per person.

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 March 12, 2013

Aloha Bluegrass Band, with Tyson Alteri, performs Saturday evening at Pahala Plantation House.

TRANSPARENCY IN ENERGY CONTRACTS between the utilities and providers of fuel, wind, geothermal and other energy sources is the aim of House Bill 1405 in the state House of Representatives that goes to public hearing on Thursday. An amended bill, HB1405 HD2, would provide transparency only through listing contract prices for the previous year in the annual reports of the Public Utilities Commission.

      Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land, the energy, environmental and community action group, said his organization submits testimony in it mission “to preserve and protect the life of the land through sound energy and land use policies and to promote open government through research, education, advocacy and, when necessary, litigation.”
      The organization is an intervener in the `Aina Koa Pono proposal that would raise electric rates on the Big Island and O`ahu. `Aina Koa Pono proposes to use more than 10,000 acres between Pahala and Na`alehu to harvest trees, brush and grasses for a microwave refinery it would build off Wood Valley Road. The company declines to reveal details of pricing and projections of how much money it would make if the PUC approves a 20-year, fixed-price contract between Hawai`i Electric Light Co. and Hawaiian Electric Co. and AKP. The projected price of the diesel would be about $200 a barrel, according to estimates from the County of Hawai`i, which is also arguing the case, saying it does not want a hike in electric bills.
      Here is Life of the Land’s testimony on the transparency bill before the Legislature:
      “Imagine walking into an auto dealership and falling in love with a car. You ask: How much does that car cost? The salesman says: ‘I can’t tell you, but compared to your other choices, over the lifetime of the vehicle, based on my assumptions, you are getting a heck of a deal!’

      “Sounds kind of crazy, huh? But that is the scam in the recent rise in electricity rates. In 2011 HECO-HELCO-`Aina Koa Pono proposed a biofuel supply contract to the Public Utilities Commission. AKP didn’t know what crop they were going to grow. HECO was unwilling to publicly say when the commencement date was. AKP planned to use non-commercialized experimental microwave technology. The proposal redacted (blacked out) AKP’s management skills. And the price was secret.
      “It turned out that HECO/HELCO were asking O`ahu and Big Island residents to pay the highest rate for energy ever proposed in this state. HECO/HELCO wanted to give AKP a quarter of a billion dollars ($250,000,000.00) over HELCO’s avoided cost.
      “The reason that HECO wanted to keep the price secret was, so they claim, so that ratepayers would get the best deal. Some deal! It was more than any other biofuel supplier would get. It was a great deal for the politically connected AKP.

Chart from Life of the Land

      “The PUC rejected the proposed contract. Now HECO-HELCO-AKP have proposed a new and improved contract with a new and improved secret price. HECO has requested that the PUC keep the price confidential.
      “Well guess what? We live in a democracy. Sure, while negotiations are going on, we think the prices should be made public. But, okay, we can live with secret prices during the regulatory phase. But once the Public Utilities Commission has approved the contract we should be able to see the prices we will pay, and to see if the PUC has protected our interests.

      “HB1405 would have made the prices public after the contract was approved. HB1405 HD2 would only require the PUC to add a new piece of information to their seldom read annual report, namely “a summary of power purchase agreements, including pricing, in effect during the fiscal year.”
      “Thus if in 2013 the PUC approves a biofuel contract, but it doesn’t take affect until 2019, the PUC could file a half-dozen annual reports saying their is no ratepayer impact, and then in 2019 when the rates take off, the new PUC could say, it wasn’t us.
      “On March 7, 2013 at an energy stakeholder meeting, the PUC chair (Mina Morita) opened the meeting: ‘As many of you know with our invitation you also received a survey, and here’s what I learned from the survey. If you appear to be a practitioner before the PUC, the general thought was that we were making improvements, but lacked the resources.
      ‘On the other hand, those who were not regular practitioners before the PUC thought we were incompetent, a rubber stamp for HECO, didn’t listen to the public, opaque, operating in a black box. So no doubt, the largest stakeholder group – the one that the PUC decisions affect the most, the general public, or the ratepayer – does not hold the agency in very high regard.
      ‘So as the PUC enters its 100th year of public service, it is a good time for re-examination of the PUC, and work towards a common understanding of its role and purpose. And it’s extremely important to make the PUC’s core values transparent, and its work and its decisions understandable to the general public, and today’s discussion is the first step in that direction.’
      Life of the Land completed its testimony by urging the Legislature to let ratepayers know what they are paying for different energy sources. “Please require the PUC to post the full pricing scheme after the contract has been approved.”

Hawai`i Sierra Club logo

      The Sierra Club also supports HB1405, “allowing ratepayers to know the terms by which their electrical prices are set. Transparency ensures greater competition, greater accountability, and the ability to ensure smart decisions are being made. Publishing documents that dictate how millions of dollars of ratepayer funds are spent is not just smart policy, but a core principle of a democratic society.”
      Blue Planet Foundation also submitted testimony on the transparency bill and requested an amendment “to promote transparency for all power purchase agreements, rather than just to agreements for the purchase of energy from non-fossil fuel sources.
      States Blue Planet, “Public energy utilities in Hawai`i are a regulated monopoly. Thus, utilities gain no competitive advantage from keeping their costs proprietary, and the public has an important interest in disclosure of those costs. As a result, there is no justifiable reason for power purchase agreements to remain hidden from the rate-paying public. Indeed, increased market transparency will allow our energy market to operate more efficiently, leading to fairer opportunities for power producers, and leading to better rates for consumers. For this reason, Blue Planet supports HB1405.

      “However, we believe that power purchase agreements should be transparent irrespective of whether they are for the purchase of clean power, or whether they relate to the existing agreements for fossil fuel-generated power,” testifies Blue Planet.
      The state Consumer Advocate, the PUC chair, the chair of the Department of Business, Tourism & Economic Development and Hawaiian Electric Co. all testify that they either support or appreciate the intent of the bill but would allow some of the pricing information to remain private to allow competition for lower prices during negotiations.
      Testimony from citizens, groups and businesses can be submitted by going to http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/ and search for HB1405 HD2. Testimony from all parties is posted there.

WALK-IN REGISTRATION will be available for the Food Business Basics workshop tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pahala Community Center when value-added and specialty foods consultant Lou Cooperhouse provides information to farmers who want to sell a product to the public, entrepreneurs and restaurateurs interested in diversifying their revenue streams with specialty food products and established producers looking to take their food businesses to the next level. See laulimacenter.org/foodbasics.html.

Rion Schmidt on banjo.

Katy Rexford on fiddle.

DONATIONS ARE BEING TAKEN tomorrow and Thursday for a huge rummage sale Friday through Sunday at Discovery Harbour Community Center. The bi-annual sale raises money to support the local volunteer fire department.

A PILIGRASS CONCERT takes place Saturday at Pahala Plantation House. Bluegrass meets Hawaiian Music when Keoki Kahumoku and Aloha Bluegrass Band perform at 7:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $15 - $20. For more information, call 938-6582.

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 March 11, 2013

On the second anniversary of the Japan tsunami, Hawai`i Wildlife Fund, which has a Ka`u Coast Cleanup this Saturday, points out that marine debris has been a serious problem for decades. Photo from Hawai`i Wildlife Fund

CNN IS AIRING ITS KA`U STORY during hourly news cycles today, using Kamilo Beach on the east side of South Point to illustrate how the world’s plastic waste reaches the most isolated beaches. “Slamming the shores of one of Hawai`i’s remote beaches, debris, big and small, covering every inch of the Kamilo Beach coastline, foreign markings tell where some of it comes from,” reports CNN correspondent Kyung Lah.
      The CNN news crew visited Kamilo last week with volunteers and Hawai`i Wildlife Fund’s Megan Lamson, who pointed to the lid of a pickle jar, saying, “This is definitely from Japan.” Debris has been coming to Hawai`i shores at a growing rate since 1.5 million tons of destruction in Japan was sucked into the Pacific by the tsunami after the March 11, 2011 earthquake, the story says. Lamson, who grew up in Ka`u, is shown in the CNN news story cleaning up the beach and saying, “It’s disheartening to come out here and see all this marine debris in this area that is otherwise so remote, debris that is washing out from other countries.”

      The CNN reporter states,“This is not just a litter problem.”  The story illustrates the marine debris problem by showing the necropsies of seabirds and fish, with scientists cutting open their stomachs full of indigestible plastics.

Megan Lamson and CNN reporter Kyung Lah identify Japanese debris
at Kamilo Beach. Image from cnn.com

      The CNN crew filmed the inside of a dead two-month old baby albatross from the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. 

      About 80 percent of the baby bird’s stomach contained indigestible plastics, fed by its parents who confused it for food. Professor David Hyrenbach, of Hawai`i Pacific University, who conducted the necropsy, says in the news story,  “Morally, this is terrible. How is this possible? I mean majestic, far ranging beautiful birds in a pristine place of the North Pacific. And then you open them up and this is what you find.” He says every single bird he’s opened up has plastics.
      “It goes way beyond the albatross,” Hyrenbach proclaims. The CNN story turned to NOAA fisheries biologist Lesley Jantz, who studies lancet fish, a major component of the diet of tuna. About half the fish she opens up have plastics in their stomachs. The next step is to measure how much of the plastics are absorbed into the flesh of the fish and passed onto humans who eat tuna.
      Plastics found in fish and birds included lighters, hairbrushes, toys, garbage bags and many other items.
      The story concludes by saying there is something consumers can do to help environmentalists. “Consumers can simply use less plastic.”
      See the film at http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/us/2013/03/11/pkg-lah-japan-tsunami-debris.cnn.

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND ISSUED A STATEMENT regarding today’s second anniversary of the Japan tsunami, saying the organization “would again like to express our deepest sympathy to the victims and victims’ families of this natural disaster. First and foremost, this event was a human tragedy. Thousands of people died, and yes indeed, tons of debris were also released into the ocean. While we are thankful for the amount of attention this event has caused for marine debris awareness around the globe, we want all of our volunteers to recognize that marine debris has been a serious problem for decades (basically since the invention of plastic). Hawai`i Wildlife Fund has picked up international debris from shorelines throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago since 1998 and realizes that marine debris is a people problem, not solely the result of a single tsunami event or country of origin.
       “Let us not forget that each of us contributes to this problem daily by using (and improperly disposing of) single-use throwaway and non-recyclable plastic products. In turn, we can each be part of the solution and choose to re-use, reduce, recycle, and refuse (excess packaging, single-use items, etc.) and participate in local cleanup events. While CNN was setting up shop, Hawai`i Wildlife Fund and volunteers quickly removed over 200 pounds of marine debris from the coastline with an hour’s effort. And until there is a better solution, Hawai`i Wildlife Fund staff and volunteers will continue to pick up the pieces here in Hawai`i nei.”
      Volunteers can join Hawai`i Wildlife Fund’s Ka`u Coast Cleanup this Saturday. Sign up with Lamson at kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com or 769-7629.

Hawai`i's U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard appeared on Meet the Press yesterday.
Images from nbc.com

U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD, who represents Ka`u, joined Meet the Press host David Gregory  in a panel discussion with former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough from Florida who hosts MSNBC’s Morning Joe; former governor and now Democratic senator from Virginia, Tim Kaine; Republican senator from Oklahoma, Tom Coburn, who he was one of the 11 Republican senators who dined with President Barack Obama last week; and freshman Republican Congressman Cory Gardner of Colorado. Gregory described Gabbard as a Democrat and one of the first female combat veterans in Congress. 

      Gregory asked Gabbard: In this “slightly cooler atmosphere where we’re not in the middle of fiscal crisis, do you sense more inclination to get something done?”
      Gabbard replied, “Absolutely. I really see great opportunity here – for a few reasons. One is because you don’t have these kind of created crises that are constantly happening. It creates an opportunity for those of us who have come here with a very clear mandate from people in our districts, both Republicans and Democrats, that we want to see action. We want to see you guys sit down, spend some time together, and talk through things. And in order for that to happen, there has to be a basic level of respect, sincere discussion, listening, and consideration. And there will be things of course we disagree on, but there will be things that we can agree on. And that’s really where the opportunity I see that lies ahead.”
       Regarding the nation’s budget, Gabbard said, “I think that’s why it’s important that the – first of all – these conversations are happening. I think frustration by the American people and frustration by members of Congress of – as well have stemmed from the fact that a lot of these debates have taken place on TV or on the House floor and not had – very meaningful discussion so we can figure out areas we can agree on."

Meet the Press host David Gregory described U.S. Congress freshmen Tulsi
Gabbard (D) and Cory Gardner (R)  as  "two fresh voices."

      She talked about areas in the budget discussed by Republican Sen. Coburn: “Waste within Medicare that we can agree needs to be cut. Issues like prescription drug negotiations from Medicare to bring the cost down. I think everyone agrees that the rising cost of healthcare is the driver,” said Gabbard.
      She said, “We really have to be creative and talk through what are the options that are out there. When we talk about – making it so that Medicare can negotiate with these prescription drug companies, that right there is on average around $14 billion a year. We look at some of the major tax loopholes that exist. Again, I appreciate the work that Senator Coburn has done and – and read a lot of it to see where are these areas that we can agree that we can cut back.”
      Gregory also asked Gabbard what she thinks of the president having authority to use drones in the U.S. to kill Americans suspected of being terrorists.
      She again agreed with the Republican: “Cory and I agree. We have a great responsibility in Congress. And from my background and my experience, I obviously come in with a first-hand perspective on the value of these counterterrorism tactics and strategies – during a time of war overseas in enemy territory, and that being the appropriate place for them, not here on American soil. And it is our responsibility to hold hearings, because it’s an important discussion that the American people are very concerned about, as are we. And we have to set the parameters for what the measures will be,” said Gabbard. See the full roundtable discussion at www.meetthepress.com.

Ocean View Community Center offers videoconferencing for tomorrow's
 committee meetings and Wednesday's County Council meeting.

KAHUKU PARK IMPROVEMENTS are on the agenda of Hawai`i County Council’s Finance Committee meeting to be held tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Council Chambers in Hilo. In addition to a previous bill calling for water system improvements at the park in Ocean View, Council member Brenda Ford introduces more measures funding ramps to comply with the American Disability Act; playground equipment, matting, a gazebo and barbeque apparatus; and a senior center, gymnasium and emergency shelter.
      Other committees meeting tomorrow are Governmental Relations and Economic Development at 9 a.m., Public Safety and Mass Transit at 9:15 a.m., Environmental Management at 9:45 a.m. and Planning at 10:45 a.m.
      The full Council meets Wednesday at 9 a.m. at Council Chambers in Hilo.
      Meeting agendas, along with information on how to submit testimony, can be viewed at hawaiicounty.gov.
      Ka`u residents can now participate in committee and Council meetings via videoconference at Ocean View Community Center, 92-8924 Leilani Circle. The system is available until 3 p.m. or later if public witness testimony has not been completed.
      For more information, call 961-8536 or edistrict6@co.hawaii.hi.us.

WALK-IN REGISTRATION will be available for the Food Business Basics workshop on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Some of the topics are Understanding the food marketplace and distribution channels; identifying target consumers and developing product niche; business planning and food processing options; local state and federal regulations, product development and funding. See laulimacenter.org/foodbasics.html.

A HUGE RUMMAGE SALE is planned for Friday through Sunday at Discovery Harbour Community Center. The bi-annual sale raises money to support the local volunteer fire department. Donations for the sale will be taken Wednesday and Thursday. “We are looking for anything you want to get rid of that is clean and in working condition,” said rummage sale organizer Elizabeth Girard. The sale typically has good deals including CDs, DVDs, jewelry, artwork, electronics, exercise equipment, furniture and clothes. Discovery Harbour Social Committee will be selling $5 hot dog lunches. Girard said proper firefighting gear is expensive; a good pair of boots costs $300. Using fundraiser money, Discovery Harbour volunteer fire brigade was able to purchase seven 3M full-face respirator masks.

BLUEGRASS MEETS HAWAIIAN MUSIC this Saturday at Pahala Plantation House. Keoki Kahumoku and Aloha Bluegrass Band present the Piligrass concert at 7:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $15 to $20. For more information, call 938-6582.

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.