Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014

I CAN CER VIVE is the T-shirt for the fundraiser today at Pahala Community Center to raise money for cancer research and services through the United Way. Many bands are there to play for the public. Organizer is student Kamrie Koi. Photo by Julia Neal

RESTRICTIONS ON PRIVATE SOLAR ELECTRICITY systems imposed by Hawai`i’s electric companies are getting worldwide attention. 

      In Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and Scientific American, stories discuss Hawaiian Electric Co.’s decision to stop connecting solar systems installed by homeowners and businesses to the utility’s power grid. “When you have all this power flowing around with nowhere to go, so to speak, it can cause reliability problems,” said Peter Rosegg, a spokesman for Hawaiian Electric Co., to Al Jazeera.

Donations are being accepted for the United Way fundraiser concert
until 4 p.m. today at Pahala Community Center, with entertainment
 by many local musicians. Photo by Julia Neal

      William Walker, an O`ahu homeowner who installed a rooftop solar system, told Bloomberg, “Everyone is on board with getting solar, and HECO has now put up a wall. The only thing we can see is profit motivation.”
      According to the Bloomberg story, nine percent of the utility’s residential customers on O`ahu are already generating most of their power from the sun, and connections to the grid have doubled yearly since 2008.

      Cully Judd, founder of Inter-Island Solar Supply said, “They (the utilities) are technologically stagnant on being able to handle all of this.”

      While some say the utilities are concerned about their bottom line, Rosegg told Al Jazeera that the utilities’ concerns are about safety and responsibility. “Like every utility across the country, we basically were developed to send electricity one way, from our power plants to our customers. And now we have a situation where 10 percent of our customers are randomly taking or sending power over a system that really wasn’t designed for that,” he said.

Many private solar systems are currently not allowed to tie into
the state utilities' electric grids. Photo from Revolusun

      State Representative Cynthia Thielen told Bloomberg, “This is a company with a drenched-in-oil mentality. They’ve fought from day one on renewables. I look at the company as ultimately becoming obsolete unless it changes its practices.”
      The Bloomberg story talks about the possibility of those who have installed solar sytems that are in limbo going off the grid and tying into battery storage systems. With the possibility that the moratorium in some sections of Hawai`i could go on for two more years, homeowners could make batteries work financially and “cut the cord from the utility altogether,” said Phil Undercuffler, the director of a battery technology company.
      Jeff Davis, a partner in an O`ahu solar company who is known as the Solar Guy on a local talk radio program, told Bloomberg, “All these installers are going to go to batteries. The utility has opened up the genie bottle.”
         In Scientific American, Robert Harris, executive director of Sierra Club Hawai`i, said, “Hawai`i is a crystal ball into what every other state is going to have to look at as they start reaching higher and higher levels of solar activity. There is a national debate about what is the future model of the utility. That is happening in real time in Hawai`i.”
      See america.aljazeera.com, bloomberg.com and scientificamerican.com.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

SMOKING, MERCURY EXPOSURE AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS are topics of studies reported recently in the Hawai`i Journal of Medicine & Public Health.

      Ethnicity, sex, immigration, and acculturation are all significant predictors of smoking among youth in Hawai`i. Girls whose mothers were born in Hawai`i or in another United States state were more likely to smoke than those whose mothers were born in a foreign country. The story found that girls were more likely to smoke than boys. Eleventh- and twelfth-graders were more likely to smoke than ninth-graders. Whites, Filipinos, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and other ethnic groups were more likely to smoke than those who identified themselves as Japanese.

Prescription drugs are responsible for much drug abuse, according
to a report in the Hawai`i Journal of Medicine and Public Health.
Photo from wikipedia

      Men and women are subject to excessive methylmercury exposure in Hawai`i. The highest amounts of mercury found in human hair samples were in men over 45, those living in Hawai`i for more than a decade and those consuming fish more than once a week. “Following safe fish consumption practices allows residents to reap health benefits of fish consumption without excessive toxicant exposure,” the study concludes. Too much mercury subjects men to cardiotoxicity and pregnant women to health risks for their babies. The mercury measurements were on O`ahu.

      Prescription drugs are responsible for much drug abuse. University of Hawai`i - Hilo School of Pharmacy is taking on the challenge. According to another report in the journal, “unwanted medications in households and patient care facilities expose vulnerable populations, including children, elders and pets to potential harm through inadvertent ingestion, as well as the potential for theft and assault. Hawai`i Administrative Rules prohibit the return of any prescription medications to retail pharmacies after dispensing.

      The Hawai`i Narcotics Enforcement Division partnered with the University of Hawai`i at Hilo Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy in 11 Drug Take-Back events throughout the state. Most participants heard of the events via newspaper and television marketing. The most common methods of medication disposal are via trash or down household drains. Over 8,000 pounds of unused/unwanted medications were collected, identified and logged from 2011 through 2012.

     The majority of returned drugs, 90 percent, were non-controlled substances. Commonly returned medications included prescription cardiac medications such as simvastatin and lisinopril, non-prescription analgesics such as aspirin and ibuprofen, and dietary supplements such as vitamins and iron. Commonly returned controlled substance medications included narcotics such as hydrocodone/acetaminophen combinations and oxycodone, and sedative hypnotics such as zolpidem and lorazepam, the abstract from the study says.
      It also notes that “pharmacological treatment of human health conditions constitutes a major component of contemporary health care in the United States. In 2011, sales of prescription drugs in the U.S. reached $320 billion, over-the-counter medications $17.4 billion, and dietary supplements approximately $30 billion. In 2011, more than 3.76 billion medication prescriptions were filled in retail pharmacies in the U.S.; of these, more than 16.6 million prescriptions were filled in retail pharmacies in Hawai`i. An estimated 1.74 billion over-the-counter products were sold in the U.S., with 6.98 million in Hawai`i. Sales of dietary supplements in Hawai`i were estimated at $120 million for 2011.

Entertainment this morning started with such musicians as Boni
Narito, with volunteer Allan Sebastian looking on.
Photo by Julia Neal

      See more at www.hjmph.org.

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PAHALA COMMUNITY CENTER IS JUMPING, with a concert benefiting United Way going on until 4 p.m. Entertainment includes Just in Case, JR Band, Keaiwa, Boni Narito, Honokua, Hui Okinawa Kobudo Taiko, Ka`u High School ensemble class and more. There are also vendors, games, raffle tickets and prizes. 

      For more information, call producer Kamrie Koi at 430-4964 or Jolene Koi at 936-6249.

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S Colossal Rummage yART Sale is today until 4 p.m. at the Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village.

PARTICIPANTS CAN BRING LUNCH and learn about the vital role of `ohi`a lehua in native Hawaiian forests, the many forms of the `ohi`a lehua tree and its flower tomorrow at the Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The free program begins at 11:30 a.m. Call 985-6011 for more information.

This month's Sunday Walk in the Park explores the summit
area. Photo from FHVNP

NICK SHEMA LEADS AN EXPLORATION of the summit area of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park tomorrow from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Free for Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park; non-members can join the organization in order to attend. Park entrance fees apply.

PATTY JOHNSON OFFERS FREE, AUTHENTIC teachings of Buddha tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. Call 985-7470 for more information.

KA`U HOSPITAL URGES RESIDENTS to complete its Community Health Needs Assessment at surveymonkey.com/s/93HQ5MX. The deadline has been extended to Jan. 31.

SEE THE DIRECTORY from the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce at http://snack.to/fzpfg59c.

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

Ka`u News Briefs Friday, Jan. 10, 2014

Keaiwa, here performing at a National Guard concert in August, returns to the stage tomorrow for a United Way benefit concert at Pahala Community Center. Photo by St. First Class Christian Stasvkow

NA`ALEHU RESIDENT RICHARD CREAGAN is the new state representative for District V. Gov. Neil Abercrombie today announced his appointment of Creagan to the seat recently left vacant by the resignation of Rep. Denny Coffman. The appointment is effective immediately and for the balance of the term. 

      “Richard’s diverse experience as a physician, researcher, farmer, Peace Corps volunteer and educator will contribute greatly to his service to the people of Hawai`i,” Abercrombie said.

Dr. Richard Creagan
replaces Denny Coffman

     Creagan first came to Hawai`i in 1966 and trained for the Peace Corps on Moloka`i for two months. He then served as a health care worker in the Marshall Islands for two years. He speaks fluent Marshallese. Creagan is vice president of Kiolaka`a Mountain Farms.
      As a physician, Creagan worked for 10 years in California prior to moving to Hawai`i full-time 23 years ago. Since then, he has worked in the Emergency Department and served as vice-chief of staff at Kona Community Hospital, monitored disease outbreaks for the state Department of Health and helped found and run Hualalai Urgent Care.
      As an educator, Creagan has taught junior scientists at Yale and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He taught English as a Peace Corps volunteer, seventh- and eighth-grade math and science in Pittsburgh, PA and tutored students in English at Na`alehu Elementary School.
      Creagan graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and then with an M.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He also has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of Hawai`i – Hilo, where he also studied agriculture.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Expanding early education is one of Gov. Neil Abercrombie's priorities.
Photo from Office of the Governor

PAHALA AND NA`ALEHU SCHOOL CAMPUSES are among the 30 statewide that would offer prekindergarten classes next year if the plan is approved by the state Legislature. 

      The program is intended to serve 640 children who qualify based on income and age requirements. Children must be four years old by July 31, which follows the new kindergarten age requirement beginning in the 2014-2015 school year. Department of Education teachers and educational assistants will staff the classrooms.
      The program is being modeled after prekindergarten classrooms established with Race to the Top funds in the Ka`u-Kea`au-Pahoa complex. “These classrooms were successful due to the leadership of Complex Area Superintendent Mary Correa, the professional development support provided through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded P-3 grant to ensure quality, and the understanding of the importance of early learning by the principals,” said Dr. GG Weisenfeld, Executive Office on Early Learning director. “Our partnership with DOE in creating this program is a critical step to providing more of our children access to a high-quality prekindergarten program.”
      Selection of the 32 classrooms was based on Title I status, in which 35 percent or more of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, limitations of preschools in the community such as in rural areas, available space at schools, currently operating DOE prekindergarten classrooms with federal money that is about to end and the interest and willingness of principals to work with EOEL on implementing a quality program.
      “It’s really the beginning of something that we can be very optimistic about,” Gov. Neil Abercrombie said. "We’re creating access for children statewide.”
      Mountain View School, which serves Volcano families, would also offer the program.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HAWAI`I STATE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION is currently investigating state electric utilities’ rate-setting practice know as decoupling, which separates the utilities’ revenue from changes in energy sales. Decoupling, as asserted by its proponents, has the benefits of encouraging the substitution of renewable resources, distributed generation and energy efficiency for the utility’s fossil fuels production by reducing a utilities’ disincentive to promote these types of resources and programs, while simultaneously protecting a utilities’ financial health from erosion as these types of programs go into effect. 

      Hawai`i County sees it differently. It says decoupling “is glowingly described as beneficial in transferring all revenue risk from the utilities to ratepayers. For a $3.1 billion business that is essentially a ‘hyper-monopoly’ (given physical isolation of the Islands and lack of interconnecting grids), with at least some level of community service obligation, how much risk are ratepayers expected to assume, all? Is it the obligation of ratepayers to support a business organization whose pay and benefits are so high that the average citizen can only dream of attaining?”
      The County says it is “appropriately concerned about shifting ever more financial risks to ratepayers, as well as the consequences of decoupling regarding incentives to control costs.”
      Hawai`i County questions the need for decoupling. “Having already achieved 46.7 percent renewable energy generation, the focus now for the Island of Hawai`i (and going forward for the state) is on energy projects that provide cost reduction benefits to ratepayers (whether directly or indirectly) and that improve and maximize integration of additional lower cost renewable energy.” It refers to a statement made by the PUC in its recent denial of the proposed contract between `Aina Koa Pono and Hawaiian Electric Light Co. that supports this view.

 According to Hawai`i County, HELCO, which operates Keahole Power Plant in Kona,
recognizes that clean energy is "cost-competitive."

      “With so much renewable power already produced/utilized on the Island of Hawai`i, there is no longer a need to automatically penalize one form of energy against others,” the county states. “Given that renewable energy sources in Hawai`i are often lower cost than fossil-fuel generation, transparent and accurate pricing that is accessible to power generation investors/entrepreneurs and ratepayers can be more effective than current mechanisms, especially decoupling.”
      The county states that, “when alternative energy is available at competitive prices, decoupling is not needed as further incentive to adopt it, nor will decoupling be an effective incentive for consumers when compared to reduced pricing. The county says Hawai`i Electric Co. “recognizes that clean energy is –‘cost-competitive’ in Hawai`i” and that the utility describes multiple renewable projects that promise lower production costs.
      “Utility markets and their regulators have long struggled with challenges of how to emulate a competitive market and obtain market-based benefits in regulated, monopoly utility conditions, especially in conditions as insulated as Hawai`i,” the county states. It says it supports mechanisms that can automatically adjust electricity pricing in a fair, economically effective and timely manner, as well as based on verifiable data.
      “The county encourages all efforts to move Hawai`i’s electricity system closer to a more market- and performance-driven approach, with pricing mechanisms that accurately reflect underlying cost structures, marginal production costs, proper dispatch, and appropriate operations and maintenance expenditures,” the county says. “Further, ratepayers’ interests versus shareholder interests should be given more balance.”
      “Decoupling revenues from actual volumes of electricity sold … fails to provide correct economic incentives/signals to drive new energy sources and energy efficiency,” the county states. “Decoupling is particularly pernicious for price-based economic responses because neither customers nor investors will know the final price of electricity in one year until either the Revenue Adjustment Mechanism or a rate case is settled the following year.
      The County questions “why an ever-expanding list of business risks should be transferred from the utility to its customers.”
      The county says more attention is needed on current avoided-cost contracts and system efficiencies, dispatch and demand-response, rather than on decoupling.
      The County notes that creating “’financial indifference’ is a weak incentive for, and quite possibly irrelevant to, encouraging increased availability of lower cost and/or renewably sourced energy.”
      More about the PUC’s investigation is available at puc.hawaii.gov. Docket number is 2013-0141.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.   

Ka`u High senior Kamrie Koi is producing tomorrow's concert
at Pahala Community Center.

A CONCERT BENEFITING UNITED WAY takes place tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Entertainment includes Just in Case, JR Band, Keaiwa, Boni Narito, Honokua, Hui Okinawa Kobudo Taiko, Ka`u High School ensemble class and more. There will be vendors, games, raffle tickets and prizes. For more information, call producer Kamrie Koi at 430-4964 or Jolene Koi at 936-6249. 

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S Colossal Rummage yART Sale is tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village.

THE COLOR OF SACRED, Christina Skaggs’ exhibit of new art, opens tomorrow with a reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Park entrance fees apply. Call 967-7565 for more information.

KA`U HOSPITAL URGES RESIDENTS to complete its Community Health Needs Assessment atsurveymonkey.com/s/93HQ5MX. The deadline has been extended to Jan. 31.
CORRECTION: KA`U NEWS BRIEFS’ Jan. 7 story about Ka`u Council member Brenda Ford’s Bill 109 regarding genetically modified organisms contained an error. The bill would ban all GMO crops and require their removal within 30 months, rather than 30 days.

SEE THE DIRECTORY from the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce at http://snack.to/fzpfg59c.

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

Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014

Panoramas of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument are now live on Google Maps after operators used Google Street
View Trekker equipment to record them. Photo from PMNM

HAWAI`I FARM BUREAU HAS ANNOUNCED its 2014 legislative priority list for lobbying the state Legislature. According to Chris Manfredi, acting Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation president, Government Affairs Committee chair and Ka`u Farm Bureau president, the list was “developed and confirmed through a rigorous democratic process that is representative of Farm Bureau Counties from across the state.” Proposals on the list include:

HFBF wants to create a farmers market vendor policy within the
state Department of Health. Photo from hfbf.org

• Strengthen Hawai`i’s agricultural policy to support and promote its agricultural industry. 
• Continue the appropriation for the Hawai`i Association of Conservation Districts. Each of the Districts receives $2,360 annually to cover expenses for administering duties of the volunteer directors. 
• Appropriate funding for capital improvement projects to various irrigation systems statewide. 
• Seek funding for mitigation of the coffee berry borer. 
• Continue to fund the livestock revitalization program to administer and disburse funds to qualified sheep, goat, cattle, dairy, hog, and poultry, fish and crustacean farms. 
• Seek funding for research and mitigation of the macadamia felted coccid, which HFBF says could devastate the macadamia nut industry. 
• Seek funding for research into alternative, less burdensome methods by which Hawai`i’s farmers can satisfy the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act, and to demonstrate to the FDA that such methods are acceptably safe. 
• Seek additional resources that HFBF says are needed to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture in controlling invasive species. 
• Seek dedicated resources for better enforcement of crimes against agriculture. 
• Request for state budget allocation of $150,000 to help fund 4H and FFA programs. 
• Provide agricultural rates for electricity, which HFB says are needed for farmers to be competitive and self-sustaining. 
• Appropriate $8 million for infrastructure improvements and other agricultural development of Galbraith Estate lands. 
• Create a farmers market vendor policy within Department of Health. 
• Convene a task force to explore mobile slaughterhouses.

      For more information about Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation, see hfbf.org.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Chris Manfredi is known in Ka`u for promoting Ka`u Coffee
and is a broker who sells Ka`u Coffee to Starbucks
and other buyers.

HAWAI`I WILL BE REPRESENTED by Chris Manfredi at the American Farm Bureau annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas. He is serving as acting president of Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation since Dean Okimoto’s recent resignation. AFBF aims to help shape agricultural policy at a national level. 

      AFBF’s convention has many workshops scheduled. Topics include Viewing Ag from a Media Perspective, Drones: Turning Technological Controversy into Profit, Ensuring our Access to Biotechnology, Creative Leadership, Apps for Agriculture: Technology that Helps Your Bottom Line and Building Consumer Trust.
      Keynote speakers are Alan Robertson, of Duck Dynasty, and Gen. Stan McChrystal, former commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

RIMPAC IS SAILING INTO NEW WATERS this summer, with China participating for the first time. China’s People’s Liberation Army accepted an invitation from former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to join the Rim of the Pacific war games scheduled for Hawaiian waters this summer. According to a Reuters story by Phil Stewart, U.S. law prohibits the Pentagon from any military contacts with the PLA if it could “create a national security risk due to an inappropriate exposure” to activities including joint combat operations.
      “U.S.-China military-to-military engagements can include a range of activities in areas of mutual interest including maritime security, military medicine and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief,” Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Catherine Wilkinson told Stewart. “The U.S. Navy has operational security safeguards to protect U.S. technology and tactics, techniques and procedures from disclosure.”
      Dean Cheng, of Washington’s conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, told Stewart, “If they (China) have a frigate, or even a hospital ship, in the middle of that exercise, the hospital ship is going to be staffed by intelligence officers.” He noted that if the drills were designed in a way that was unhelpful to the Chinese, they would also be unhelpful to allies, according to Stewart.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

A view of Pearl and Hermes Atoll captured using Google Street
View Trekker. Image from maps.google.com

THE FIRST 360-DEGREE PANORAMIC IMAGES from five new locations within Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument are now live on Google Maps. Internet users can virtually visit Tern Island and East Island at French Frigate Shoals, Laysan Island, Lisianski Island, and Pearl and Hermes Atoll.
      During July 2013, PMNM staff from NOAA and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service spent a week capturing thousands of new panoramas of features in the monument, covering 20 miles on foot using the Google Street View Trekker. This effort focused on five of the primary emergent land masses in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which are also part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
      PMNM has collaborated with Google to use digital imagery and Web technology to bring Papahanaumokuakea to a broader audience and expand PMNM’s efforts to “bring the place to the people.” In 2012, Google Street View went live with imagery of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. In total, more than ten thousand images across 41 miles have been captured from within the monument.
      “The goal of collecting this imagery was to show the world how special and important the remote islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are, in turn inspiring the next generation of conservationists and supporters,” said Kalewa Correa, NOAA’s Mokupapapa Discovery Center manager and project leader. “We hope that bringing the monument to the people through Google Street View will reach a larger audience but with minimal environmental impact, helping to preserve this amazing place for the future.”
      Monument managers also plan to use the imagery as an assessment tool to capture the present conditions and health of the NWHI. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Specialist Ty J. Benally, who took part in this year’s mapping expedition, said, “This imagery enables resource managers to initiate discussion and planning, without actual access to the islands, and helps locate conservation sites where efforts are most needed. In fact, turtle biologists have already utilized Google Street View imagery of Midway Atoll to determine where to look for turtles and see which beaches were closed in preparation for their research.”
      For more information, see papahanaumokuakea.gov.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Ka`u Plantation Days is featured on Na Leo O Hawai`i Channel 54 today and
throughout the month. Ka`u's Sen. Russell Ruderman and the band El Leo
performed there in October. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U IS FEATURED on Na Leo O Hawai`i Channel 54 this month in films by Wendell Kaehuaea.

      One show covers Keoki Kahumoku’s music concert at the end of his annual Hawaiian Music and Lifestyles workshop in November 2013 for local students and people from afar.
      Air dates are: Friday, Jan. 10, 1 p.m.; Monday, Jan. 13, 9 p.m.; and Tuesday, Jan. 14, 3:50 p.m.
      The next Kahumoku workshop is set for November of this year.
      A show about Ka`u Plantation Days, held in Oct. 2013, can be seen today, Thursday, Jan. 9, 6 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 11, 3 p.m.; Monday, Jan. 13, 4 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 18, 12:30 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 19, 12 p.m.; and Tuesday, Jan. 21, 6:30 p.m.
      Ka`u Class Reunion/Gathering of Class of 1958 airs Friday, Jan. 10, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 11, 6 p.m.; Monday, Jan. 13, 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Jan. 15, 7 p.m.; Thursday, Jan. 23, 5:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Jan. 25, 6:30 p.m.

KA`U HIGH GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAMS hosted Kohala yesterday. Junior varsity lost 18 – 28, with Deisha Gascon scoring 7 points. Varsity also lost, 64 – 77. Denisha Navarro was high scorer with 35 points.

ITEMS FOR VOLCANO ART CENTER’S Colossal Rummage yART Sale are being accepted at the Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village today for the event this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
      Call 967-8222 for more information.

Appointments are still available for Tuesday's
spay and neuter clinic.

A CONCERT BENEFITING UNITED WAY takes place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Entertainment includes Just in Case, JR Band, Keaiwa, Boni Narito, Honokua, Hui Okinawa Kobudo Taiko, Ka`u High School ensemble class and more. There will be vendors, games, raffle tickets and prizes. For more information, call producer Kamrie Koi at 430-4964 or Jolene Koi at 936-6249.

KARES (Kohala Animal Relocation and Education Service) is having a Spay/Neuter Clinic on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The free clinic will be held at St. Jude's church in Ocean View. There are still some available slots.  Anyone interested in bringing their dogs can call 328-8455 to schedule a time.

KA`U HOSPITAL URGES RESIDENTS to complete its Community Health Needs Assessment atsurveymonkey.com/s/93HQ5MX. The deadline has been extended to Jan. 31.

SEE THE DIRECTORY from the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce at http://snack.to/fzpfg59c.

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