Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee holds five topic-focused meetings next month. Map from Draft Ka`u CDP

A SERIES OF TOPIC-FOCUSED Steering Committee meetings has been scheduled to review community feedback and make preliminary decisions about revisions to the Draft Ka`u Community Development Plan. 

      On Tuesday, Aug. 11, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center, topics are Town Infill and Agricultural Subdivision.
      At Ocean View Community Center on Saturday, Aug. 15 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Steering Committee will discuss Ocean View Development and Special Permits.

Coastal Development and Management is on the agenda of one of next
month's meetings. Image from Draft Ka`u CDP

      Coastal Development and Management are on the agenda Tuesday, Aug. 18 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center.
       Discovery Harbour Community Center hosts a discussion about development in that area on Tuesday, Aug. 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
      The Steering Committee returns to Na`alehu Community Center on Saturday, Aug. 29 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., when the topic is Economic Development.
       Meeting ending times are approximate, and other meetings may be scheduled as needed. Agendas and more information about the meeting topics and format will be shared as the dates approach. Steering Committee meetings are open to the community, and public testimony is welcome.
       The CDP Planning Team plans to provide materials in advance of each meeting that bring into clear focus public input, critical issues and alternative strategies related to each topic, said Planner Ron Whitmore. Each meeting will be actively facilitated to help the Steering Committee consider trade-offs of different strategies. It is hoped that each meeting will conclude with preliminary decisions by the Steering Committee about CDP revisions.
       A Steering Committee is also scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 22 starting at 5:30 at the Na`alehu Community Center to make final recommendations for CDP revisions and adoption. Before that meeting, a summary of all CDP revisions being considered will be made available.
       Summaries of feedback received during the March-June public review period are available in the CDP Input section of the project website, kaucdp.info.
      Steering Committee members or Community Planning Assistant Nalani Parlin are available to answer questions. Contact information is available on the website.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Gov. David Ige announced members of his Leadership Team on Homelessness.
Photo from Office of the Governor

GOV. DAVID IGE’S NEWLY FORMED Leadership Team on Homelessness is tasked with finding short-term and long-term solutions as state and federal governments work together to address the issue in Hawai`i. 

       The leadership team includes Gov. Ige, state Sen. Jill Tokuda, state Rep. Sylvia Luke and designees of U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono.
       “The underlying issues that lead to homelessness, such as lack of affordable housing, cannot be resolved quickly,” Ige said. “Meanwhile, we cannot wait for a comprehensive, long-term solution. There are measures we can take and will take immediately.”
       The leadership team will identify and assign parcels of land to be used for creation of temporary shelters in one or two communities; implement measures to transfer residents of homeless encampments to shelters; work with service providers to establish protocols to assess shelter residents for financial, physical, mental health and other needs; and determine costs and obtain funding to meet these objectives.
      The leadership team will also consult with law enforcement leaders, nonprofit organizations and other interested parties to assist with implementing short-term objectives.
       In addition, as a result of the team’s discussions and findings, legislation may be introduced in January 2016 to fulfill unmet or unfunded needs and services.
       “The Legislature understands the gravity of the situation and the need to pull all executive and governmental agencies to the table in an effort to execute and implement solutions that can be replicated in communities across the state,” said Tokuda, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
      Ige said, “This isn’t just another committee. This team is making a commitment to work together to find solutions now. There is something important going on. We are the people responsible for the public’s welfare. This team is meeting face to face to address homelessness, and we are going to hold each other accountable.”
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard discussed TPP
on the House floor. Image from C-SPAN

REP. TULSI GABBARD REITERATED her frustration with lack of transparency in the Trans-Pacific Partnership in a speech on the House floor today. TPP trade ministers from the 12 participating nations begin private meetings in Ka`anapali, Maui today, where they are expected to conclude negotiations on the deal that will impact 40 percent of the world economy. Protesters will gather at the Westin Hotel on Maui tomorrow at 12 p.m. to voice objections on the secrecy of this deal and the potential impacts it will have. 

       “Not only were the American people shut out of this trade deal when Congress passed fast-track authority legislation,” Gabbard said, “these negotiations continue as we speak in a shroud of secrecy, with the American people reliant on sites like WikiLeaks as they seek information about how this agreement will impact us.
      “The people of Hawai`i and all Americans are rightfully concerned about how this trade deal will impact our jobs, our families, our economy, our environment and our nation’s sovereignty. We, the American people, deserve to know what’s in this deal and to have a say in what happens. How can a genuine public debate occur on a deal as monumental as this when no one knows what’s in it? It is hard to imagine a deal more demanding of transparency.
      “People from Hawai`i and around the world are gathering tomorrow on Maui to protest this secret deal. They are sick and tired of multinational corporations benefiting on the broken backs of working-class Americans, and they will not stop until their voices are heard.”
      Gabbard, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, has repeatedly called for transparency in TPP negotiations and voted against granting the Administration “fast-track” Trade Promotion Authority earlier this year. While Congress passed TPA, she has called for increased protections for domestic workers displaced by trade, including Trade Adjustment Assistance.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

TD8E may become a tropical storm before dissipating on its way to Hawai`i.
Map from National Hurricane Center

TROPICAL DEPRESSION 8E continues its voyage toward Hawai`i Island but is expected to dissipate before arrival, according to the National Hurricane Center. Models show no or minimal strengthening, but the official forecast still allows for the system to become a tropical storm sometime during the next 24 hours. 

      North-northwesterly shear that is currently affecting the depression is expected to decrease gradually after 12-24 hours. Then, the cyclone will also be moving into a drier air mass, further limiting its strength.
      A subtropical ridge continues to steer the depression west-northwestward, but the cyclone is expected to turn westward later today and maintain that trajectory.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Susan Scott

OCEAN VIEW RANCHOS SOLAR SUBSTATION, planned by Hawai`i Electric Light Co., is the subject of a steering committee meeting on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. The substation is designed to support solar farms on more than 20 lots in the community. 

AUTHOR AND MARINE BIOLOGIST Susan Scott discusses her adventures sailing on her 37-foot sailing vessel to Palmyra and her work there on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Her experiences are the subject of her book Call Me Captain.
      Scott will also discuss her artwork made from marine debris collected during her work on Midway. Scott said Palmyra and Midway are “book-end” atolls both significant to Hawai`i’s past and present.
      Scott writes a weekly column called Ocean Watch for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and has written six books about nature in Hawai`i.

      Call 967-8222 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/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_July2015.pdf.

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, July 27, 2015

Although a tropical depression tracking toward Hawai`i Island is growing, forecasters expect it to lose strength before arriving.
Map from NHC

RESEARCH IN COFFEE BERRY BORER management is opening new paths in pest control, according to a story in the Economist, and it could be coming from the gut. Researchers have found that, while caffeine is toxic to most insects, coffee berry borers have bacteria that shield them from harmful effects of caffeine by destroying it before it can be absorbed through the bugs’ gut linings.

Unlike other insects, coffee berry borers have a natural
tolerance of caffeine.

      Researchers hope to create bacteriaphages that would kill the bacteria, allowing caffeine to migrate into other parts of CBBs and kill them.
      In one experiment, researchers led by Eoin Brodie, of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Fernando Vega, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sterilized pests’ guts and place them through an entire life cycle lasting 44 days. They reported that population dropped by 95 percent and that those that survived had trouble moving from larva to pupa stages.
      “Many plants use poisons to protect themselves from insects,” researchers said. “Being able to circumvent these natural insecticides is an important part of becoming abundant enough to constitute a pest. It is possible other agronomists who have been seeking to understand how critters do this have been looking in the wrong place – i.e., at the critters themselves, rather than among the bacteria in their guts.”  

      See economist.com.
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Members of a group on Mauna Kea show documents delivered by DLNR.
Image from Na`au News Now

NA`AU NEWS NOW ON FACEBOOK is providing daily updates from the summit of Mauna Loa, where a group is holding vigil in opposition to construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope despite state emergency rules in place that limit camping supplies and access to the summit. On yesterday’s video entry, one person held up a list of rules and pointed out that one of the documents had no official state seal or signatures. The text on the entry states that, “While most of our kia`i were out doing morning pule, DLNR stopped by our aloha `aina checkpoint to serve one of our protectors a couple of frivolous documents while again being reminded of the rights and laws that protect us as kanaka maoli, Hawaiian Nationals, and religious and cultural practicioners here on our sacred Mauna. Mahalo nui for the commited support. We love you guys!”
      According to an entry this morning, DLNR today served a paper along with the emergency rule changes. “Looks like they are incompetently suggesting that a bunch of frivolous state laws may apply to our vigil here to protect our mauna,” the entry states. “If this doesn’t convince you of the level of shear dysfunction the defacto state and its agencies operates at, maybe the fact that they still haven’t addressed the mounting piles of fecal matter, from unaccommodated visitors and tourists, littering our critical mamane habitat will.” 

      See facebook.com/pages/NAAU-News-Now.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HAWAI`I IS FACING OF SHORTAGE of translators who speak English and languages of Compact of Free Association nations, including the Marshall Island, Palau and Micronesia. According to an Associated Press story by Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, court requests for translation services “have soared due to an influx of migrants” from these nations. 

      On Hawai`i Island, a case is currently delayed because of a defendant’s right to hear the proceedings “in the Marshall Island’s tongue,” Sinco Kelleher said. The man is accused of shooting a woman and a police officer.
      “The Pacific Island languages are a really hard one,” Debi Tulang-De Silva, program director of the state Judiciary’s Office on Equality and Access to the Courts, told Sinco Kelleher. “It’s really difficult to find qualified interpreters in those languages.”
      The story states that Republic of Marshall Islands Consulate in Honolulu estimates that 3,000 to 4,000 people in the state speak Marshallese. The total number of COFA citizens is estimated at 20,000.
      For more information about translation opportunities, see http://www.courts.state.hi.us/services/court_interpreting/court_interpreting.html.
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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A LOW-PRESSURE SYSTEM MORE THAN 1,900 miles east-southeast of Hilo has acquired enough persistent deep convection near the center to be upgraded to a tropical depression, according to the National Hurricane Center. TD Eight-E has a well defined circulation center and inner-core wind field. Although the depression is a sheared tropical cyclone, a Dvorak satellite classification also justifies upgrading the low to a tropical depression at this time.
      The NHC model guidance expects the tropical cyclone to move toward the west-northwest for the next 72 hours or so due to a strong deep-layer ridge locate to its north.
      The cyclone is not expected to intensify much due to persistent moderate northwesterly vertical wind shear and the cyclone moving over marginal sea-surface temperatures after 72 hours.
      There will also likely be occasional intrusions of drier and more stable air, which lies just to the north of the forecast track, into the cyclone. However, the well-established southerly low-level inflow of unstable air should help to maintain enough convection to keep this system as a tropical cyclone throughout the forecast period.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

ONE IN EIGHT CHILDREN IN HAWAI`I LIVE in poverty, according to KIDS COUNT data. University of Hawai`i reported Ivette Rodriguez Stern, of the University of Hawai`i at Manoa Center on the Family, saying, “We have more children in poverty now, more children living in high-poverty neighborhoods, and over a quarter of our children living in families where parents lack secure employment.” That’s over 40,000 children – worse than in 2008, at the height of the recession. The mainland is also seeing worsening child poverty. 

      UH’s numbers are from the 2015 KIDS COUNT Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which presents data on education, health and family and community as well as economic well-being.
      Stern said that three of the four economic conditions tracked have worsened since 2008. The only one that improved was the share of children living in households with a high housing burden, where more than 30 percent of household income goes for housing. Despite this improvement, Hawai`i still has the fifth-worst high housing burden rate in the nation. In general, Hawai`i’s high cost of living makes the poverty burden worse.
      Living in poverty can also worsen other outcomes for kids, UH reported. “Research shows that growing up in poor and low-income households can have long-lasting effects on children’s learning, health and earning potential as adults,” said Marianne Berry, director of UH's Center on the Family.
      Income boosters can help change outcomes for children. “The good news,” Berry pointed out, “is that when we invest in the right strategies and policies, we can make a difference for kids.” Stern said, “Studies show that boosting low family income by just a few thousand dollars can really make a difference in changing outcomes for children, especially early in childhood.” She suggests that a state Earned Income Tax Credit would bolster effects of the successful federal EITC to provide those critical dollars.
      High-quality and reliable early care and education programs targeting low-income families can also minimize achievement gaps caused by poverty.
      The Data Book, which ranks each state on overall child well-being, shows Hawai`i is right in the middle, 24 out of 50. There have been some gains in education, with steady improvements in reading and math proficiency rates and in on-time high school graduation. However, Hawai`i is still near the bottom third among states in education. Health conditions – percent of low-birthweight babies, children without health insurance, child and teen deaths and percent of teens who abuse substances – have remained somewhat stable since 2008, and Hawai`i has the second-smallest share of children without health insurance. Hawai`i is also relatively high among states in the area of family and community well-being, 11 out of 50.
      See aecf.org/resources/the-2015-kids-count-data-book and hawaii.edu.news.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

TODAY, U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD commemorated National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, marking the anniversary of the Korean War ceasefire agreement signed on July 27, 1953.
       “Today our nation honors the 5.7 million American men and women who served during the Korean War era,” Gabbard said. “We pay tribute to 407 service members from Hawai`i who made the ultimate sacrifice. The service and sacrifice of our Korean War veterans will never be forgotten.”
      Gabbard is a cosponsor of H.R. 1475, the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance Act, and H.Con.Res. 50, a bill that would establish a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery for service members who died or who are missing in action, unaccounted for or died on the Korean peninsula after the Korean War armistice was signed.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HOVE ROAD MAINTENANCE board of directors meets tomorrow at 10 a.m. at St. Jude’s Church. Call 929-9910 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/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_July2015.pdf.

 

Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, July 26, 2015

Ka`u's County Council member Maile Medeiros David presented `O Ka`u Kakou with a Certificate of Merit. Photos from OKK

`O KA`U KAKOU RECEIVED A CERTIFICATE OF MERIT from Hawai`i County Council on Friday. Council member Maile Medeiros David listed OKK’s many accomplishments and activities, including student scholarships, an annual keiki fishing tournament, quarterly senior bingo luncheons, provision of portable restrooms at South Point and Punalu`u boat ramp, maintenance of six miles of Hwy 11 and Ninole Loop Road, invasive species cleanup at Punalu`u lagoon, restoration activities, yard maintenance, home repairs, installation of safety equipment for Ka`u senior citizens, maintenance of eight historical cemeteries, assistance to other nonprofits, schools and community organizations with fundraising events, and manpower for the Ka`u Coffee Festival and Hana Hou Restaurant’s annual keiki Christmas party.

OKK members received lei from Hawai`i County Council.

      “You folks do a lot!” David said. “Quoting from a grateful recipient, ‘I was so touched by the generosity and kindness of your organization. In a world where only bad news captures the headlines, it’s good to be reminded that there are such beautiful souls who give selflessly of their time and energy to help others.’
      “So your mission to improve the quality of life in rural Ka`u, your spirit of volunteerism and aloha, in giving of yourselves through leadership, collaboration, hard work and fostering economic development opportunities exemplifies those important components for building healthy communities through unity and working together.
      “On behalf of Hawai`i County Council, we express our heartfelt appreciation for your unselfish acts of kindness and extraordinary contributions to your community and the people of Hawai`i.
      OKK President Wayne Kawachi said, “I am honored; I am proud to receive this award. More so, I am proud of our members who unselfishly spend many, many hours working in the community.”
      Secretary Nadine Ebert said, “I want to thank the county for all the support we receive, and it is through the support of the community, and of course all of our wonderful members, that we are able to do the things that we do.” OKK also received $15,000 from the council for its continuing efforts.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Kathryn Matayoshi

TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE PROGRAM makes sense in Hawai`i, the state Department of Education is implementing a U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot program this school year that allows all students at seven public schools to receive free meal service. The Community Eligibility Provision program allows a school district, a group of schools or a single school to serve free meals to everyone even if they do not qualify for the free or reduced lunch reimbursement. DOE will look at a range of costs and benefits associated with the program, including financial and administrative costs and savings and impact for schools and students. Based on its evaluation, DOE could expand the program to more schools, including those in Ka`u. 

      The CEP program has been adopted by jurisdictions around the country. “One major factor in the future of the program is the high cost of a meal in Hawai`i compared with much lower rates around the country,” Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said. “We’re grateful for this opportunity to participate in this pilot that could undoubtedly benefit families in need.”
      To qualify for CEP, a district, grouping or school must have a minimum of 40 percent or more of its students eligible for free or reduced meal through the National School Lunch Program.
      Currently, DOE pays an average of $5.50 a meal, including food costs, labor, utilities, etc. The USDA reimburses the state $3.85 for students who qualify for a free meal and $0.40 for those paying for a meal. DOE charges $2.50 for elementary school meals for a total of $2.90 in recouped cost for the state.
      Under the program, all students in CEP school would qualify for the higher $3.85 reimbursement. While the seven schools will no longer be collecting meal monies and ensuring accounts have sufficient funds, families will be required to provide information for data collection.
      “The schools were chosen so that the Department can analyze how families and students in a single island community … respond to the program, while also giving officials the chance to study the impact of individual schools in separate and distinct districts on O`ahu and Hawai`i Island,” Office of School Facilities and Support Services Assistant Superintendent Dann Carlson said.
      For more information about CEP, see bit.ly/HawaiiCEP.
      DOE’s School Food Services Branch has a web-based site that provides families at schools that are not in the CEP program with the option to submit applications for Free and Reduced-Price Meal Benefits online. For more information, see HawaiiPublicSchools.org.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Michael Champley

HAWAI`I PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSIONER Michael Champley detailed recent energy efficiency trends in Hawai`i during the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners conference in New York City. 

      According to Henry Curtis, Executive Director of Life of the Land, Champley said, “In 2004 the average residential use ... was around 700 kilowatt-hours ... per month. In 2014 that was down to 500. So it dropped around 30 percent in energy use per customer.” 

      Champley stated that renewable energy use has “dropped oil use with respect to generation by about 23-24 percent.”
      Curtis reported that rooftop solar energy accounts for 22 percent of average renewable energy produced but can account for 42 percent of renewable energy production during specific parts of the day.
      Champley said that for Hawai`i to achieve its goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2045 will require technology changes and a fair amount of storage.
      Champley also gave his thoughts on the status of rooftop solar in Hawai`i.
      “Exponential growth in customer solar PV installations occurred without fully understanding consequences,” Champley said, pointing out that high electricity rates, state tax policy, solar leasing and declining solar costs drove growth.
      “Demand for rooftop solar outpaced utilities’ ability to effectively manage customer PV interconnection queue and integration issues, created a boom-bust cycle for PV,” Champley said.
      He said the current approach to distributed solar PV “is not sustainable nor market-based.”
      He also said the utilities must “harmonize needs of two distinctive groups of utility customers” by providing customer choice and enabling utilities to serve non-distributed energy resource customers at reasonable costs.
      Champley conluded that utilities, customers and solar industry will need to adopt new business models.
      See ililanimedia.blogspot.com.
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TO CELEBRATE THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz co-introduced the Stop Errors in Credit Use and Reporting Act that would make it easier for consumers to identify and correct errors in their credit reports and hold credit reporting agencies accountable.

      “At every opportunity, Republicans have tried to dismantle the historic consumer protections that Dodd-Frank created, but consumers deserve better,” Schatz said. “We should do more to protect consumers – starting with their credit reports. Credit reports are used for everything from buying a home to getting a job. But today millions of consumers have damaging errors in their reports which can be difficult to correct. Our bill will help people correct errors on their credit reports and hold reporting agencies and data furnishers accountable for their mistakes.”
      Credit report errors can lower consumers’ credit scores, leading to higher interest rates and costs for consumers. In addition to financing, credit reports are increasingly used by employers and can determine whether or not someone can get a job. In 2012, the Federal Trade Commission found that one in five consumers had an error on at least one of their credit reports, and one in twenty had an error that was significant enough to downgrade them into a lower credit tier.
      The SECURE Act would make changes to the credit reporting industry that would make credit reports more accurate, give consumers information they need, protect children from identity theft, give regulators better tools for enforcement and give consumers legal remedies.
      The legislation is supported by Consumers Union, the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), the National Association of Consumer Advocates, U.S. PIRG and Consumer Action.

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

KDEN’S FINAL PERFORMANCE of The King and I is this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Call 982-7344 for reservations or more information.

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

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

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_July2015.pdf.