Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, Feb. 20, 1014

Moa`ula Coffee lands are in the Lehman Bothers properties that are the subject of negotiations for sale. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

LEHMAN BROTHERS set a deadline of Feb. 14 for interested parties to begin negotiations for the purchase of its 5,800 acres in Ka`u that includes Moa`ula coffee lands, pasture and oceanfront property. Joel LaPinta, who works with Kennedy Wilson real estate management, investment and brokerage company, on behalf of Lehman, said this morning that there are several parties who signed agreements to begin negotiations. Ka`u Coffee farmers said they hope that any buyer will keep them on the land to grow their famous Ka`u Coffee. Mayor Billy Kenoi said that he has encouraged Lehman to make it known to any buyer that the county’s position is to help prevent displacement of the the coffee farmers and that he could cooperate in forming a hui to buy the land for an agricultural park if the coffee lands were to become available for sale as a separate parcel.
     A water cooperative meeting regarding Moa`ula and other farm and ranch lands served by the old plantation water system will be held today at the Royal Hawaiian macadamia conference room at 4 p.m.
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REJECTION OF TWO `AINA KOA PONO contracts with the electric company to sell biofuel that would be manufactured in Ka`u is a key reason why Gov. Neil Abercrombie does not plan to reappoint Mina Morita to the Public Utilities Commission, according to Sen. Roz Baker who was quoted in a Civil Beat story this week.
      Baker, who chairs the committee that oversees the PUC, told reporter Sophie Cocke that the PUC decision was sound. “It was the right decision,” she said. “It was an unproven technology that was going to cost the ratepayers a lot of money.” She also said that it was not the role of the PUC to “do the governor’s bidding.”

Mina Morita, Chair of the PUC

      According to Baker, Abercrombie’s staff told her that Morita wouldn’t be reappointed.” Baker told Civil Beat that the governor “didn’t give me the courtesy of a meeting” regarding the decision.
      Cocke said Abercrombie spokesman Justin Fujioka told her Morita’s reappointment is still “under review” and that Abercrombie “has not made a decision on this matter.”
      Cocke also reported that Morita said she likely won’t be reappointed. “While I acknowledge the governor’s prerogative to appoint members of the commission, I am disappointed that I may not be considered for reappointment,” she said. “Since becoming the chair in March 2011, my mission has been to build a capable, knowledgeable, fair and independent PUC to serve the public interest. Hawai`i’s ratepayers and the utilities that the PUC regulates deserve no less.”
      According to Cocke, Civil Beat also spoke with several energy industry representatives who said Morita won’t be reappointed when her term ends in June.
      Cocke said people involved in energy policy “have said privately that the governor has been frustrated by the PUC’s slow pace in pushing forward his energy agenda. Some have also wondered whether Morita is qualified to tackle the increasingly complicated technical and financial issues associated with Hawai`i’s energy policy.”
      Cocke also wrote that some of the PUC’s decisions “have angered energy developers, some of whom are close to the governor.” One of those she mentioned was William Kaneko, a former lobbyist for `Aina Koa Pono, who chairs Abercrombie’s re-election campaign.  See civilbeat.com.
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VETERANS PURCHASING HOMES IN KA`U with rainwater catchment systems can once again gets loans through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The move comes three years after the VA halted the practice of guaranteeing this type of home loan when it determined private rainwater catchment systems are not regulated by the Hawai`i Department of Health and therefore could not meet the VA’s minimum property requirements.
      U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs who has been working on the issue since early 2012 when island veterans and the Hawai`i Realtors Association first contacted her, applauded the decision. She and her staff worked collaboratively with the VA’s Loan Guarantee Office and the DOH’s Environmental Health Division to help resolve the issue.
      “This announcement is the culmination of hard work and cooperation by the VA and the Hawai`i Department of Health as they were able to come to a resolution that meets the needs of veterans seeking loan guarantees across the state,” said Hirono. “After raising this issue directly with Secretary Shinseki, I would like to thank him for his strong leadership in once again helping pave the way for veterans to buy a home, even in Hawai`i’s deep rural areas that don’t have access to county water lines.”

Veterans will be able to get loans for dwellings with
water catchment. Photo from Waterworks

      After discussions with the VA, the DOH determined that rainwater catchment systems can be made safe for domestic use if certain guidelines are followed. This clarification led to the announcement regarding the VA guaranteed loan policy, which takes effect immediately.
      Hirono’s staff will continue to work with the Veteran Benefits Administration's Honolulu regional office on outreach efforts to help veterans navigate the newly established procedures.
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OPPORTUNITY PLAN IS THE TITLE of legislation being introduced into the U.S. Senate by Hawai`i’s Sen. Brian Schatz, along with New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. This five plank agenda “focuses on the biggest issues facing millions of families across the country who are struggling to succeed in an outdated system,” Schatz said in Civil Beat.
      The plan would create paid family and medical leave insurance, raise the minimum wage, take action on income inequality, expand access to quality affordable child care and establish universal pre-kindergarten classes.
      “As two of only a handful of U.S. senators with young children, we understand what it’s like to be working parents with family responsibilities. It’s not easy. And too many middle-class families around the country are struggling because the system is rigged against them,” Schatz said. Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act would create a self-sustaining paid family medical leave program for up to 12 weeks of paid leave.
      Schatz and Gillibrand are also supporting the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour over the next three years. “If the minimum wage were more livable, millions of families could move into the middle class,” Schatz said.
      The Paycheck Fairness Act would address the gender wage gap. According to Schatz, in 2012, women were, on average, making 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. “If women earned the same amount as men, America’s gross domestic product could grow by as much as four percent,” Schatz said. To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Na`alehu Library celebrates 20 year of service tomorrow.
Photo from State of Hawai`i Libraries

      Regarding child care, the legislation would give families the option of deducting the cost of child care expenses as a business expense, in addition to expanding the Child and Dependent Care Credit to allow low income families with little or no tax liability to have access to a fully refundable tax credit
      The fifth plank of the Opportunity Plan supports Hawai`i Sen. Mazie Hirono’s PRE-K Act, which, calling for universal pre-kindergarten classes, would increase the number of early childhood educators and increase the hours per day a family would have access to education programs.
      “The time is right for our government to change the work environment to accommodate the changes in the workforce. In fact, if we want our middle-class families to succeed, it’s imperative.” Schatz concluded. See civilbeat.com.
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NA`ALEHU PUBLIC LIBRARY'S 20th anniversary celebration is Friday, Feb. 21 from noon to 3 p.m. with entertainment and free refreshments. 939-2442.

VOLCANO ART CENTER OFFERS an introduction to Zentangle on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. Zentangle is an easy-to-learn, relaxing and fun way to create images by drawing structured patterns. Julie Evans and Lois and Earl Stokes, the island’s only certified Zentangle teachers, share a new art form that has ancient connections to universal symbol and pattern making. “At first glance it looks like we are doodling, but, on another level we are manipulating symbols shared across cultures and times. It is a type of yoga for creative expression,” said Evans.  Cost is $35 or $30 for VAC members with $10 supply fee. Call 967-8222 to register.

Learn Zentangle this Saturday.

SPAGHETTI DINNER & SILENT AUCTION to raise money for the Ka`u Hospital ER is this Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. Ka`u Red Hat Ladies and Ka Lae Quilters are the sponsors. Tickets are $9.99 from Pahala Quilting and Ka`u Rural Health Clinic.

SEN. RUSSELL RUDERMAN’S TOWN HALL MEETING will be open to the public next Monday, Feb. 24 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House on the corner of Maile and Pikake Streets. Light refreshments will be served. Call 808-586-6890 or email senruderman@capitol.hawaii.gov.

SEE THE DIRECTORY 2014 ONLINE. For a page-turning version, see www.kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf. For a pdf version, see www.kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.pdf.

Ka`u News Briefs, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014

Justin Kripps named the Canadian bobsleds in the 2014 Olympics for Pele and Poliahu in honor of his childhood home in Ka`u. He
competes for Canada in the four-man on Saturday, Feb. 22, after coming in sixth in the two-man.  Photo from Justin Kripps

NA`ALEHU BORN BOBSLEDDER Justin Kripps is set to captain an Olympic four-man bobsled team this Saturday, Feb. 22 in Sochi. The son of Ka`u residents Libby and Robert Kripps, he is a member of Team Canada but attended first through seventh grade at Na`alehu School. Kripps earned a track and field scholarship at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and was asked to try bobsledding. He made the Olympics team in 2010 and, at age 27, became a bobsled captain and pilot for these Olympics. He drives the two-man sled named for Poliahu- Hawai`i's snow goddess and the four-man sled named for Pele - Hawai`i's fire goddess. Kripps' parents said they plan to watch the competition online from Ka`u. His team took sixth in the two-man. In related news, an online photo of his team in their underwear was blocked by Russian censors.
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Image from justinkripps.com

MONEY TO FIGHT COFFEE BERRY BORER is on the line at the state legislature. The state House Finance Committee will hear the bill tomorrow at 11 a.m. The bill would provide $3 million to the state Department of Agriculture. Its chair, Scott Enright, submitted testimony: “Invasive species are a primary threat to Hawai`i’s agriculture and economy. The coffee berry borer poses a significant problem for coffee farmers in Hawai`i, and the additional funds will help the Department in its effort to contain the infestation.”
     UH Chancellor and Agriculture Dean at Manoa both weighed in, supporting the funding to include their partnership and work on the problem with the state ag department.
     Department of Land & Natural Resources chair William Aila pointed out that management of feral coffee trees is part of the solution. He said the DLNR supports the spending of $3 million “provided that this appropriation does not replace or adversely impact appropriations for other priority invasive species projects across the State.”

Coffee berry borers live inside the coffee bean, wasting its value.

     Hawai`i Farm Bureau Pres. Chris Manfredi testified that “Coffee is one of Hawai`i’s signature crops; one that helps bring fame and tourists to Hawai`i. Coffee Berry Borer threatens the entire Hawaiian coffee industry. While the full tally is yet to be made, farms on Hawai`i Island have experienced deep losses. Some have failed. Moreover, large quantities of coffee have been downgraded due to insect damage, reducing the value of the remaining crop. CBB is a serious threat to Hawai`i's agriculture industry and the state's economy. While CBB is battled worldwide, no other coffee growing origin shares Hawai`i's high labor costs and restrictions on pesticides that may be used elsewhere to fight this destructive pest. This places the industry at a competitive disadvantage when compared to the rest of the coffee-growing world.”
    Hawai`i Coffee Association, Kona Coffee Farmers Association, Kona Coffee Council and Hawai`i Farmers Union United submitted supportive testimony. Jim Wayman, of the Coffee Association, called it “an emergency situation.” He wrote, “It is like putting out a forest fire in that it all most be contained or it will continue to spread.”
     Testimony came not only from Big Island coffee growers who are plagued by the pest. It came from growers on Kaua`i, Maui, Moloka`i and O`ahu who are afraid it will reach their orchards.
     East Ka`u member of the state House of Representatives, Dennis Onish was one of the authors of the bill.
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KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL & HAWAI`I TOURISM AUTHORITY. The annual report of the Hawai`i Tourism Authority has been sent to the state legislature and includes a section of the Ka`u Coffee Festival. The HTA reports that “Chris Manfredi has been organizing this festival since its inaugural event five years ago. He is in charge of everything from planning and budgeting to promotion, marketing and fundraising. Chris has helped to grow the festival from a weekend event to a week-long celebration, providing more opportunities for local businesses to participate and more visitors, including a Japanese tour group, to experience this unique festival.”

     The report quotes Manfredi: “Our Ka`u Coffee Festival has grown over the past few years to incorporate one-of-a kind events including a mountain hike, stargazing, farmer’s table locavore events and other sustainability excursions to educate our attendee. We aspire to create an environment in which everyone can experience the people, place and coffee firsthand.”
    Hawai`i Tourism Authority states in its report that the agency “is proud to support Chris and the entire team a the Ka`u Coffee Festival through the County Product Enrichment Program. Visitor experiences such as these, give Hawai`i the opportunity to share the story behind the various products, and the people who work hard to share Hawai`i’s unique culture with the rest of the world.”
     The Ka`u Coffee Festival is scheduled for May 2 – 11. The next organizing meeting for volunteers is this coming Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. To donate or volunteer, call Manfredi at 929-9550.
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Mike Wilson was named to the state Supreme Court yesterday by Gov. Neil Abercrombie
Photo from Gov. Neil Abercrombie

UNMANNED DRONES may be in the future for monitoring drought, finding livestock, checking waterlines and the health of native forests. A bill in the state legislature, however, would prevent police from monitoring people with drones, without due process. One version would limit drones to police and has drawn a lot of testimony from hobbyists and those wanting to use small drones for agriculture, conservation and sports. The DLNR wants to use them to manage wildfires and to map coral reefs. Sen. Clayton Hee said he will amend Senate Bill 2606 SD1 to allow these uses, according to an Associated Press story by Sam Eifling.
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STATE SUPREME COURT NOMINEE is Mike Wilson. Gov. Neil Abercrombie made the announcement yesterday. Before working in state government as Consumer Advocate and director of DLNR, and becoming a judge, Wilson practiced civil rights and criminal law. He was a leader in the environmental groups Protect Sandy Beach and Hawai`i’s Thousand Friends.
     Abercrombie quoted Wilson who told the governor, “The Supreme Court is our public conscience.” The appointment will require a vote by the state Senate. To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL EDUCATION THROUGH IMMERSION received a boost yesterday. The state Board of Education voted to create an Office of Hawaiian Education under the statewide school superintendent to administer Ka Papahana Kalpuni Hawai`i. The new written policy of the DOE is to “create and implement appropriate curricula, standards, performance assessment tools and professional development.”
     Testimony supporting the new policy came from students who wrote in the Hawaiian language as well as parents and educators.
     Cheryl Lupenui, sho chairs the student achievement committed for the BOE, told Nanea Kalane, a reporter for the Honolulu Star Advertiser, that the policy change “is really long overdue, to be able to take a look at truly the best public education system that we can have for our students … and the need to ensure that there is an ability to learn through our Hawaiian language, our Hawaiian content, our Hawaiian context in service to preparing all of our students for college, career and community success." 
     The school with the most Hawaiian language education closest to Ka`u is at Miloli`ihipu`u Virtual Academy. South Kona and Ka`u are considered to have high populations of Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians with families having been rooted in these lands for many generations. To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Students at the Hawaiian immersion charter school in Miloli`i were joined by members
of the Hokule`a voyaging canoe who sailed in last summer.
Photo from Polynesian Voyaging Society

NA`ALEHU PUBLIC LIBRARY'S 20th anniversary celebration is Friday, Feb. 21 from noon to 3 p.m. with entertainment and free refreshments. 939-2442.]

SPAGHETTI DINNER & SILENT AUCTION to raise money for the Ka`u Hospital ER is this Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. Ka`u Red Hat Ladies and Ka Lae Quilters are the sponsors. Tickets are $9.99 from Pahala Quilting and Ka`u Rural Health Clinic.

SEN. RUSSELL RUDERMAN’S TOWN HALL MEETING will be open to the public next Monday, Feb. 24 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House on the corner of Maile and Pikake Streets. Light refreshments will be served. Call 808-586-6890 or email senruderman@capitol.hawaii.gov.


SEE THE DIRECTORY 2014 ONLINE. For a page-turning version, see www.kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf. For a pdf version, see www.kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.pdf.

The Ka`u Calendar, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014

Anyone seeing this Kamehameha butterfly is asked to log onto kamehamehabutterfly.com and upload reports and photos. This is a male.
Photo by Nathan Yuen  from kamehamehabutterfly.com

GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM LABELING IS FAVORED by the majority of those interviewed in a recent poll conducted by Ward Research Inc. for Hawai`i News Now and the Honolulu Star Advertiser. Derrick DePledge reported the polling this morning in the Advertiser, quoting Rep. Jessica Wooley, who chairs the state House of Representatives Agriculture Committee. She supports labeling and stated “I think it’s easy to see the importance of transparency, especially in the marketplace. It's easy. It's not a difficult choice. It's something we should have done a long time ago," the Advertiser reported her saying.
     DePledge reported that “the poll found that only a quarter of voters consider themselves very familiar with GMOs. Yet those with the most knowledge about GMOs tend to be the most concerned about the issue.” The story pointed out that west Ka`u state Sen. Josh Green, who chairs the Senate Health Committee, “has moved two bills that would require GMO labeling by January. But the legislation now sits before the Senate Ways and Means and the Commerce and Consumer Protection committees and — for one of the bills — the Senate Agriculture Committee, where there is resistance among senators.”
    DePledge wrote that “Hawai`i has been a flash point in the anti-GMO movement because several large biotechnology companies, including Monsanto, have experimental seed crops in the islands. Kaua`i County passed a law last year that regulates GMO and pesticide use which is being challenged by biotech companies in federal court. Hawai`i County approved a law that prohibits new GMO crops.”
     He also pointed out that “Lauren Zirbel, executive director of the Hawai`i Food Industry Association, has warned state lawmakers that a GMO labeling requirement would likely drive up Hawai`i's already high food prices. Mainland and foreign manufacturers, if forced to label, may also choose not to ship products to Hawai`i given the state's relatively small consumer market.”
See more at www.staradvertiser.com
     The Hawai`i County Council was expected to take up a proposed resolution today to give the counties home rule in regulating GMOs.
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Mayor Billy Kenoi
Photo by Julia Neal

AN ETHICS PROPOSAL BY MAYOR BILLY KENOI is another item on the County Council agenda today, this one at the Finance Committee meeting. Kenoi’s proposal would prevent county contracts from going to companies owned by those who work for the county or serve on its boards and commissions, and their spouses and dependent children. The restriction would kick in for contracts with a set value, the minimum value yet to be determined. Ka`u Rep. Brenda Ford voted for such ethics restrictions in the past. Hilo council man Dennis Onishi voted against a similar bill in the past.
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BETTER PUBLIC ACCESS TO A NEW $4.7 MILLION INFORMATION SYSTEM installed by the State of Hawai`i administration could come as early as next year, according to Sonny Bhagowala, Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s chief technology advisor. Bhagowala was quoted in Civil Beat this morning in a story by Sophie Cocke, who pointed out that “The state’s technology office is in the process of rolling out a half-million dollar system that allows the governor’s office to better manage thousands of communications from constituents and track bills that are moving through the Legislature.”

Sonny Bhagowala
Photo from hawaii.gov

      She said the state Office of Information Management & Technology has paid Lockheed Martin $474,544 over the last year and a half for an Intranet Quorum system and training. “Even though the public is paying for the system, which is expected to be expanded to other state departments in the coming months, it’s strictly for internal government use,” Cocke wrote, quoting Bhagowala. She stated, however, that Bhagowala “who described himself as a ‘big open government advocate,’ said that in general the public should have much easier access to government records.” She said he noted the intense amount of work needed to overhaul the state's information technology system. Civil Beat pointed to the promise of the technology office’s website, which states the “need for greater government transparency and accountability.” See more at www.civilbeat.com. To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

THE PULELEHUA PROJECT IS SEEKING help from Ka`u residents in tracking Kamehameha butterflies, vanessa tameamea. Although the butterfly is historically known from all the main Hawaiian Islands, it is no longer found in some areas where it used to be common, and it appears to be declining. Anyone who sees a Kamehameha butterfly, caterpillar, egg or chrysalis can submit photos and observations to kamehamehabutterfly.com. The data will be used to map the current distribution of Kamehameha butterflies and help determine how and why its population has declined.
      The website has information about how to find and identify the different life stages and host plants of the Kamehameha butterfly.

Moist forests like those in the highlands of Ka`u where mamaki tea plants grow wild
 are a perfect home for Kamehameha butterfly. Photo from kamehamehabutterfly.org

    The Kamehameha butterfly is related to painted ladies and admirals, a group of butterflies that is found all over the world. However, the Kamehameha butterfly, found only in Hawai`i, evolved here after a species of butterfly somehow dispersed across the ocean and colonized the islands, according to the website. Over millions of years of isolation, it diverged from its ancestors enough to be considered a different species. It is one of only two native species of butterflies in Hawai`i; the other is Blackburn’s blue butterfly, Udara blackburni.
      Hawai`i has several species of orange and black butterflies that might be mistaken for the Kamehameha butterfly. Before submitting photos, participants can visit the “common lookalikes” page on the website to confirm that an observation is really a Kamehameha butterfly.
      The Kamehameha butterfly, like all native wildlife, is protected, and it is illegal to collect specimens without a permit, even on private land. Participants should use photographs to document observations of the butterfly and its immature stages (egg, caterpillar, and chrysalis).
      Adult butterflies are the most conspicuous life stage to the casual observers, but they are fast flyers and notoriously difficult to photograph. The website suggests looking for them in places where their host plants are common.
      The Kamehameha butterfly is highly specific to the plant family Urticaceae (nettle relatives), and its caterpillars are found only on the Hawaiian species in this family. The most common host plant is mamaki. Others are olona, opuhe and `akolea. These plants are typically found in areas with native vegetation and moderate to heavy rainfall, often in shady areas or gulches. Most of them are shrubs or small trees, with broad, papery leaves and prominent veins.
To comment on or “like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

THE MEDITATIVE DRAWING PRACTICE of Zentagle will be taught this Saturday, Feb. 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Nia`ulani Campus of Volcano Art Center on Old Volcano Road. “Zentangle is a method for creating beautiful images using structured patterns. It’s easy to do and enjoyed by a wide range of ages and skill levels.” It supports relaxation, focus, inspiration and a sense of well-being, says a statement from Volcano Art Center. Cost is $35, $30 for members, and $10 supply fee. Call 967-8222.

TOWN HALL MEETING with state SEN. RUSSELL RUDERMAN will be open to the public next Monday, Feb. 24 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House on the corner of Maile and Pikake Streets. Light refreshments will be served. Call 808-586-6890 or email senruderman@capitol.hawaii.gov.

SEE THE DIRECTORY 2014 ONLINE. For a page-turning version, see www.kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf. For a pdf version, see www.kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.pdf.

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