Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015

The rim of Kilauea Volcano's summit caldera, normally clear on trade-wind days, becomes nearly obscured by vog on some non-trade-wind days. Ka`u residents can participate in a vog study by International Volcanic Health Hazards Network in association with Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Photos from USGS

HAWAIIAN TELCOM RESTORED SERVICE to customers from Pahala to Waikoloa who could not make phone calls or access the Internet for nearly 6.5 hours yesterday. At about 1 p.m., alarms triggered in Hawaiian Telcom’s 24/7 Network Operations Center, indicating a service issue in Kona. Upon further investigation, a fiber break was discovered on Mamalahoa Highway near the intersection to Daniel K. Inouye Hwy. A contractor transporting a grader snagged and severed a 36-strand fiber cable.

      The outage affected approximately 20,000 phone and 5,500 Internet customers, Corporate Communications Executive Director Su Shin reported. Some wireless carriers were also impacted.
      Hawaiian Telcom teams from both Hilo and Kona engaged in a restoration plan that required placing more than 500 feet of cable and 72 individual splices.
      Technicians completed splicing cable and restored all services to impacted customers just before 7:30 p.m.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Sen. Josh Green, M.D.

HAWAI`I’S SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE has advanced a bill that would help Ka`u’s Marshallese community pay for health care. Ka`u’s Sens. Josh Green and Russell Ruderman were two introducers of SB 1327 in response to new state rules that eliminate Medicaid coverage for low-income people who aren’t citizens. 

      Due to federal welfare reform in 1996, certain noncitizens, though lawfully present in the United States, were made ineligible for Medicaid. This ineligibility standard covers Hawai`i residents who are present in the state under respective Compacts of Free Association that the United States has with the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Republic of Palau.
      The state recently decided to end Medicaid coverage for most of these migrants and to enroll them in health insurance through Hawai`i Health Connector. This switch means that the federal government, and not the state, will primarily cover the costs of health insurance, saving the state an estimated $27,000,000 per year.
      SB 1327 requires the state to pay costs, including premiums, copays and deductibles, assessed on low-income Compacts of Free Association residents and other lawfully present legal permanent residents who receive health care through Hawai`i Health Connector and would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid except for their citizenship status. It also requires the Department of Human Services to engage in community outreach.
      According to an Associated Press story in West Hawai`i Today by Cathy Bussewitz, Ka`u’s Sen. Josh Green, M.D., chair of the Senate Health Committee, said, “I’ve known for a long time how important it is to provide this care. This is an important piece of legislation because we already have a commitment to those individuals from the compact free states to take care of them. Period.”
      Under current emergency rules, noncitizens who are not aged, blind or disabled and who are currently receiving state-funded medical assistance will continue to receive this assistance through Feb. 28.
      To avoid a gap in coverage and obtain health insurance beginning March 1, those people are required to choose a health plan through Hawai`i Health Connector by Feb. 15.

      For more information and to provide testimony, see capitol.hawaii.gov.

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

Ashton Carter

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO, RANKING MEMBER of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Seapower and member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has voted to confirm Ashton Carter to be next Secretary of Defense. She questioned Carter during an Armed Services Committee hearing and previous meeting with the nominee. 

      “Ashton Carter’s wealth of experience and institutional knowledge will serve him well as he steps into his new role,” Hirono said.
      “As the nation rebalances to the Asia-Pacific, I will continue to remind our leaders, including Dr. Carter, that Hawai`i holds strategic importance for our force structure in the Pacific. Additionally, I will continue to stress to Dr. Carter and my colleagues in the Senate that we should eliminate the sequester, which has negatively impacted our military’s readiness and therefore impacted the overall effectiveness of our military.”
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HAWAI`I COUNTY POLICE reported that no one was injured when a car ran off the highway and broke a utility pole near Ka`u Police Station Tuesday. The road remained open while crews replaced the pole.

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

INTERESTED KA`U FARMERS AND RANCHERS can attend an energy workshop next week hosted by USDA Rural Development in partnership with Hawai`i County. The primary focus is to notify rural small businesses and agricultural producers of renewable energy loan and grant opportunities and to review new application requirements. Topics to be covered include eligibility requirements, application information and tips for submitting a better proposal. This program does not allow residential use.
      The workshop will be held in the Liquor Conference Room at West Hawai`i Civic Center Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
      For an accurate count on handouts, RSVP to Denise Oda, Business Programs Specialist, at 808-933-8323 or denise.oda@hi.usda.gov.
      More information on the Rural Energy for America Program can be found at http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-program-renewable-energy-systems-energy-efficiency.

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

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park offers more than 150 miles of trails,
including Sulphur Banks. Photo from NPS

KA`U RESIDENTS CAN CELEBRATE Presidents Day Weekend with free admission to 
Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. All fee-charging national parks will offer free admission from Saturday through Monday. The National Park Service will also waive admission fees on five additional days in 2015 – Apr. 18 and 19 (the first weekend of National Park Week), Aug. 25 (the National Park Service’s 99th birthday), Sept. 26 (National Public Lands Day), and Nov. 11 (Veterans Day). 

      An additional fee-free weekend will be offered at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park May 15-16 for the BioBlitz and Biodiversity & Cultural Festival. During this two-day event hosted by National Geographic and the National Park Service, teams of scientists, Hawaiian cultural practitioners, students and the public will join forces to discover, document and celebrate the biodiversity and culture of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      Hawai`i Volcanoes is one of five national park units on the island of Hawai`i. Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park is also free of charge on fee-free 2015 dates. Pu`ukohola Heiau National Historic Site, Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park and Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail do not charge entrance fees.

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

Charlene Asato

KA`U HIGH BOYS BASKETBALL TEAMS hosted Honoka`a yesterday. Varsity led at halftime, but Honoka`a rallied in the second half to beat the Trojans by eight points. Final score was 56-64. 
Brian Gascon scored half of Ka`u’s points.
      Junior varsity also lost, 37-46. Kaliikupapalani Aipia-Dolan scored 17 points.
      The Trojans play more games at home tomorrow against St. Joseph’s.

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

KA`U SCENIC BYWAY COMMITTEE meets today at 5 p.m. at Na`alehu Methodist Church. Public is invited. Email richmorrow@alohabroadband.net for more information.

BOOKBINDING BASICS IS THE TOPIC of a workshop Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. $42 members; $45 nonmembers. Register at 967-8222 or volcanoartcenter.org

KA`U RESIDENTS ARE INVITED to participate in a vog focus group Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Pahala Library. Host Claire Horwell, director of the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network, is studying how people cope with volcanic emissions. To sign up, see https://www.facebook.com/groups/421925067973152/ or call 808-967-8809.

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

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_February2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf or
kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf.

Ka`u News Briefs Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015

Volunteers with Hawai`i Wildlife Fund cleaned a portion of Kaunamano coastline below Na`alehu last Saturday.
HWF photo by Megan Lamson

PA`ULA, AKA LEPANA, AT KAUNAMANO was the site of Hawai`i Wildlife Funds most recent Ka`u Coast Cleanup on Saturday, Feb. 7. HWF partnered up with Kuahiwi Ranch to clean up the area below Na`alehu. In total, 48 participants removed over 2,034 pounds of debris, including at least 500 pounds of derelict fishing nets, 50 pounds of broken glass and over 158 pounds of recyclables. Interesting finds included six tires, a bicycle, an unidentifiable white cone with holes and a hot water dispenser.

      Groups that participated included Surfrider Foundation’s Kona and Hilo chapter members, Hawai`i Community College Service Learning Project students, Buckley’s Bounty and HI Kombucha.
      Since began marine debris removal efforts in southeast Hawai`i in 2003, HWF and volunteers have pulled over 179 tons (358,264 pounds) from the shores of Hawai`i Island. “Continued mahalos go to the NOAA Marine Debris Program for funding the bulk of our marine debris removal efforts since 2005,” said coordinator Megan Lamson. In-kind support this past year also came from Coconut Auto (vehicle donation), JD Services LLC (donations of time and skidsteer to load derelict fishing nets), Moa`ula Cloud Rest Ka`u Coffee (used coffee bags), Ka`u Auto Repair (acceptance of marine debris tires free of charge), HI Kombucha (donations of their Kombucha tea for cleanup volunteers since 2014) and The Ka`u Calendar (promotion volunteer events).

Rep. Richard Creagan

      HWF will be hosting another two consecutive anchialine pool restoration workdays this tomorrow and Friday. Volunteers help remove invasive plant species and sediment from these fragile native ecosystems. “Come learn more about these special environments and this wahi pana along the Wai`ohinu coastal strand,” Lamson said. RSVP and more information is available from meg.HWF@gmail.com.
      HWF also sponsors an estuary restoration workday on Thursday, Feb 19, that is also in Ka`u.

      For more information about how to support HWF cleanup efforts, email kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com. 

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

TWO KA`U LAWMAKERS HAVE INTRODUCED bills that would allow terminally ill patients to use drugs and get medical treatments that have not received final approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration.
      Rep. Richard Creagan introduced House Bill 882, and Sen. Russell Ruderman introduced Senate Bill 585.
      Creagan told West Hawai`i Today reporter Carolyn Lucas-Zenk that the effort is being led by the Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based think tank that provides model Right to Try bills that lawmakers can modify as needed.
      Creagan said he likes the idea of offering alternatives to terminally ill patients who can’t get into a clinical study and have no other way to access potentially life-saving experimental drugs or treatments.
      Creagan told Lucas-Zenk, “Our medical care should be patient-centered, not profit-centered” and spoke about the importance of preserving “our personal freedom to decide.”

Sen. Russell Ruderman

      Sen. Ruderman’s bill allows manufacturers to make available investigational drugs, biological products or devices to terminally ill patients under certain conditions beginning Jan. 1, 2016.
      The bills states, “Terminally ill patients have a fundamental right to pursue the preservation of their own lives by accessing available investigational drugs, biological products and devices. The use of available investigational drugs, biological products and devices is a decision that should be made by the patient with a terminal illness in consultation with the patient's health care provider and the patient's health care team, if applicable. The decision to use an investigational drug, biological product or device should be made with full awareness of the potential risks, benefits and consequences to the patient and the patient's family.”      

      Creagan said processes for patients to obtain investigational drugs are complicated and take a long time. He also said only three percent of patients are eligible for clinical trials and that certain populations can be excluded depending on medications being tested. 

      The bills would allow terminally ill patients to try treatments that have successfully completed phase one of FDA’s approval process and are available to patients in clinical trials.
      Creagan recommended that supporters contact House and Senate Health committees to help move the proposed measures forward or to continue the dialogue. More information on the bills and how to testify is available at capitol.hawaii.gov.
      See westhawaiitoday.com.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

A member of International Volcanic Health Hazards
Network is conducting a study of vog in Ka`u.

A NEW STUDY TO EXAMINE HOW PEOPLE who live downwind of Kilauea Volcano cope with vog is currently underway, with one of several upcoming focus groups scheduled at Pahala Public & School Library on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m. 

      Dr. Claire Horwell, Director of the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network and a researcher at Durham University in the United Kingdom, is conducting the study in cooperation with U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. It will reach across multiple agencies, organizations and communities in the state to help ensure that official advice about living with vog incorporates a wide range of experiences and knowledge.
      Horwell said she is investigating how Hawai`i communities use published advice and if they have developed their own strategies for protecting themselves from vog. “We’re working with state and county agencies with the end goal of providing consistent online advice, an informative pamphlet on vog exposure and protection and updated guidance on how to access resources about vog,” she said.
      Knowledge gained from the study funded by the British Council will also be relevant internationally, not only in volcanically active regions but also farther afield, as volcanic gases can travel downwind for many miles. For example, UK government agencies can draw on the Hawai`i study as they prepare for the potential effects of future Icelandic eruptions.
       Ka`u residents are encouraged to record how they cope with vog on Horwell’s Vog Talk Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/421925067973152/. They can also sign up to participate in next week's focus group or others to be held in Ka`u communities on the page or at 808-967-8809.

      Horwell will also be conducting surveys at Volcano Farmers Market this Sunday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele

DUE TO HIGH DEMAND AND A DELAY in dates originally set for election of delegates from the Roll to serve at the governance convention, the Kana`iolowalu Native Hawaiian Roll is now reopened. Online registration is available and will remain open until a few weeks prior to the election.
      Last March, Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ Board of Trustees made public the agency’s commitment to helping smooth the way for Native Hawaiians to build a government.
      OHA strongly encouraged Native Hawaiians who have not signed up for the Roll to consider doing so. “The Roll will be used as the basis for verifying eligibility to vote or run in the delegate elections and to vote in any referendum on the Native Hawaiian governing entity’s form, scope and principles,” according to OHA.
      Efforts are moving forward with the intent that elections and the `Aha be held this year.
      A Ninau a Pane, Question-and-Answer Session, with longtime nation-building activist Dennis “Bumpy” Kanahele is available at kanaiolowalu.org.
      With more than 122,000 Native Hawaiians already enrolled, the Kana`iolowalu Native Hawaiian Roll is the largest official list of verified Native Hawaiians ready to move forward toward political recognition. Commission Vice-Chair Na`alehu Anthony said, “This may be the first time in more than a century this many Native Hawaiians will come together with a plan for self-governance.”
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

KA`U SCENIC BYWAY COMMITTEE meets tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Na`alehu Methodist Church. Public is invited. Email richmorrow@alohabroadband.net for more information.

CHARLENE ASATO PRESENTS Bookbinding Basics: Taking a Pamphlet Stitch on a Romp Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. $42 members; $45 nonmembers. 967-8222 or volcanoartcenter.org

U.S. SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ will be in Hilo Wednesday, Feb. 18, with a community meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Hilo High School.

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

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015

Efforts continue to try to reverse annual declines in population of monk seals in the Hawaiian archipelago. Photo by Julia Neal

SAVING MONK SEALS FROM EXTINCTION requires more money, according to a report by the Marine Conservation Institute. The environmental group called for National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration to increase its funding request from the current $4 million annually to $7 million by 2017. 

      “If NOAA wants to reverse the long decline of this iconic species, it is going to have to be more aggressive,” said Lance Morgan, the institute’s president.
      According to an Associated Press story in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald by Audrey McAvoy, increased funding would go toward protecting seals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands from hazards including sharks and male seals that attack young females. Only one in five seals born there survives until its first birthday.
      Funding would also be used to hire community liasons who would raise awareness and education Hawai`i residents about the seals’ endangered status. McAvoy said seals on the main Hawaiian Islands, where there population is growing by five percent annually, encounter “hostility from people who mistakenly think they are an introduced species not native to Hawai`i or that they are taking away food from fishermen.”
      If the current loss of four percent per year continues, the group estimates that there will be only 450 to 550 monk seals left in 20 years.
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Seismic Network Manager Wes Thelen Photo from HVO

YESTERDAY’S 4.3-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE near Volcano Village caused no detectable changes on Kilauea or other active volcanoes on Hawai`i Island, according to a report from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The quake could lie on the fault that marks the boundary between Mauna Loa and Kilauea, or it could have occurred on a reactivated fault within the old oceanic crust upon which the island is built. 

      Wes Thelen, HVO’s Seismic Network Manager, said the earthquake was centered about five miles west-southwest of the summit of Kilauea at a depth of approximately eight miles. A map showing its location is posted on HVO’s website.

      During the past 25 years, there have been two earthquakes in this same general area with magnitudes greater than 3.0 and depths of six to 12 miles.
      The USGS “Did you feel it?” website (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/dyfi/) received more than 80 felt reports within two hours of the earthquake. It was felt across the island, but most of the felt reports were from Volcano Village. Residents experienced only weak shaking during the earthquake. At these shaking intensities, damage to buildings or structures is not expected.
      As of 10 a.m. yesterday morning, five aftershocks had been recorded. The strongest was magnitude-one.
      For information on recent earthquakes in Hawai`i and eruption updates, see http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO. AND NEXTERA ENERGY oppose Life of the Land’s motion to intervene in the docket considering NextEra’s purchase of the utility. In their letter to the Public Utilities Commission, the utilities claimed that the community action group’s motion to intervene must “be denied as a matter of law.” According to the utilities, LOL failed to satisfy the requirements and meet the standard to establish intervention as set forth in Hawai`i Administrative Rule 6-61-55.

Life of the Land Executive
Director Henry Curtis

      One section of the rule requires applicants to explain their statutory or other right to participate. The utilities argued that LOL failed to do so. “The only ‘right’ LOL alleges for intervention is as a ratepayer,” the utilities claim. “Specifically, LOL contends that it ‘may have a statutory right to intervene as . . . a ratepayer that will be directly impacted by short-term rate hikes.’ Ratepayers, however, are statutorily represented by the Consumer Advocate. Being a ratepayer does not provide a statutory or other basis for intervention.”
      Another requirement of the rule is that applicants adequately set forth the nature and extent of their property, financial and other interest in the pending matter. According to the utilities, “LOL fails to describe its particular interest in this docket. … Instead, LOL explains that because its ‘members live, work and recreate in Hawai`i,’ LOL ‘is concerned with the impacts, externalities and unintended side-effects of energy projects and programs.’”
      To the rule’s requirement of addressing the effect of the pending order as to the applicant’s interest, LOL Executive Director Henry Curtis wrote, “Life of the Land has major concerns and interest including Externalities, Smart Grids, Inter-Island Cables and Liquefied Natural Gas. We have filed motions to intervene listing these specific interests and been admitted as a party in several dockets.” The utilities considered this to be unresponsive. “Participation in other dockets (each with their own differing subject matters and issues) is irrelevant to whether LOL’s intervention and participation in this transfer of control docket is warranted,” they wrote.
      LOL’s motion claims that there are no other means available to protect its interests. “There is no other avenue for LOL to impact the decisions made in this docket,” Curtis wrote. The utilities responded, “LOL’s interests are represented and statutorily protected by the Consumer Advocate. Additionally, the governor has indicated that he will have special counsel appointed to this docket as an additional means of seeing that the interests of the public as it pertains to the subject transfer of control are addressed and protected.”
      The utilities concluded, “We find that LOL failed to, among other things, satisfactorily demonstrate that its interests are reasonably pertinent to the matters presented. Moreover, LOL failed to substantiate how it will assist in the development of a sound record and refrain from unreasonably broadening the issues already presented.”
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Applications for Kamehameha Schools summer programs are due Saturday.

APPLICATIONS FOR KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS Hawai`i campus summer school programs are due this Saturday, Feb. 14. There are several new courses. The K-8 program is hands-on, experiential learning both inside and outside of the classroom. The High School program offers both dual credit courses where students can earn college credit and blended online courses where students can build valuable distance learning skills.
      Applications and additional information can be downloaded at ksbe.edu/admissions. They are also available at and can be turned in to KS Resource Centers. See http://apps.ksbe.edu/resourcecenters/ to find the nearest location.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

THE 2015 TASTE AWARDS PRESENTED by Hawai`i Food Manufacturers Association is now accepting nominations, HFMA President Byron Goo announced. Each award, except the Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, is based on performance in the previous calendar year. Finalists and winners will be determined by member voting. Winners will be announced at the TASTE Awards gala on June 6.

HFMA President Byron Goo 

      The categories are Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Manufacturer of the Year - Large company (50 or more employees), Manufacturer of the Year - Small company (49 or fewer employees), Start-up Manufacturer of the Year, Product of the Year, Advocate of the Year, Supplier of the Year, Community Service Award and Innovative Marketing Award.
      Deadline to submit nominations is Feb. 27. 2015. See foodsofhawaii.com.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED to Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee’s meeting today at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. The committee will discuss plans for community review of the draft CDP and ways to help members prepare for it and decision-making that will follow. Public feedback on these agenda items is welcome.  

      The agenda, draft CDP and other information is available at kaucdp.info.

PARK RANGER NOAH GOMES DEMONSTRATES `ohe kapala, traditional Hawaiian bamboo stamping, tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center’s lanai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
     Free. Park entrance fees apply.

KA`U SCENIC BYWAY COMMITTEE meets Thursday at 5 p.m. at Na`alehu Methodist Church. Public is invited. Email richmorrow@alohabroadband.net for more information.

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

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_February2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf and
kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.