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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Ka`u News Briefs Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015

Tropical Storm Nora continues to weaken and track well south of Hawai`i Island. Map from NOAA
OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS APPLAUDED the Circuit Court decision invalidating the Department of Land and Natural Resource’s Mauna Kea emergency rule.
Photo of Mauna Kea emergency rules sign from OHA
      Judge Ibarra last week ruled that the department did not comply with the requirements for rulemaking because it failed to provide its reasoning supporting a finding that the rule was necessary to prevent “imminent peril to the public health, safety, or morals, or to natural resources.”
      “OHA questions whether such ‘imminent peril’ can be demonstrated. For this reason, and our concern that the rule violated constitutionally protected rights of Native Hawaiians to reasonably engage in traditional and customary practices, OHA urges the DLNR to refrain from seeking reinstatement of the rule,” OHA Ka Pouhana and CEO Kamana`opono Crabbe said. “We appreciate the significant efforts of plaintiff Kalani Flores and his attorneys from the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation for their work in calling to the attention of the courts the shortcomings of the Mauna Kea emergency rule.”
      OHA  said it is the key funder of NHLC, a nonprofit law firm that seeks “to perpetuate, through legal and other advocacy, the rights, customs and practices that strengthen Native Hawaiian identity and culture.”
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

Gary Oamilda, of Ocean View, was one of 20
arrested on Mauna Kea in April.
CHARGES HAVE BEEN DROPPED for 20 people who were arrested for violating Department of Land & Natural Resources’ emergency rule limiting access to Mauna Kea. According to Tom Callis, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, Hawai`i County Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth based his decision on Third Circuit Judge Robert Ibarra’s invalidation of the rule. 
      Officers arrested Thirty Meter Telescope opponents at the site twice after Gov. David Ige signed the rule closing the area between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., except for vehicles moving on the road.
      Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. attorney David Kauila Kopper said dropping the charges is the “right thing to do,” Callis reported. “However, it does not make up for the months on Mauna Kea that Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners and the public lost to the state’s invalid rule.”
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

THE NET ENERGY METERING PROGRAM for Hawaiian Electric Companies’ customers “is fully subscribed … and is closed to new participants,” Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission announced in a decision yesterday. Applications submitted after the date of the order are not eligible for the program, which significantly drops electric bills for customers who have rooftop solar and sell excess energy back the utilities.
      According to the commission, it approved revised interconnection standards “to streamline and improve the HECO Companies’ interconnection process.”
      “This Order initiates the first step in an evolution of distributed energy resource policies in the state,” the decision says.
Hawai`i PUC Chair Randy Iwase
      Nothing about the NEM program will change for existing NEM customers or customers who have already applied and are waiting for approval. HECO will continue to process new interconnection applications as they normally would, and new customers will be able to apply for fast-track approval to interconnect their distribute energy resource systems under the self-supply option or standard review for the grid-supply option. 
      “This evolution in DER policies is essential given the extraordinary levels of distributed renewable energy already achieved in Hawai`i and the state’s commitment to meet a 100 percent renewable portfolio standard by 2045,” the PUC stated. 
      Sierra Club of Hawai`i Director Marti Townsend said, “It is not clear why the PUC just threw net metering off the cliff, when it has been so effective at moving people off fossil fuels. All of us need to be off fossil fuels by 2045. To get there, we need to be expanding policies that encourage renewable energy use, not ending them.
      “Without net metering and such a low cap on the amount of energy solar producers can export to the grid, the transition to renewable energy will certainly slow down. It will be even harder for Hawai`i’s poorer residents to make the transition to renewable energy. 

 
      “This is an unfortunate setback in the battle against climate change. The PUC has an opportunity to salvage this messy shift in local energy policy by establishing well-reasoned ‘time-of-use rates’” that could encourage customers to consume less electricity and actually increase electricity generation to the grid during peak hours of use. 
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

NORA, 400 MILES SOUTHEAST of South Point at 11 a.m., is barely holding on as a tropical cyclone. According to Central Pacific Hurricane Center, Nora will become a shallow post-tropical low and be steered completely by low-level trade winds as it passes well south of the Big Island over the next few days.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

A new book by local historians features the story
of Ka`u in photos.
DISCOVER THE HISTORY OF KA`U in a new book. Images of America: Ka`u District is available for purchase beginning Monday, Nov. 2. The book by historians Dennis and Marge Elwell, of Discovery Harbour, tells a story in pictures, many which have never been published. 
      Chapters include The Discovery of Hawai`i an Fishhooks Revelations; Sugar, Plantations and Population Change; Wai`ohinu and Mark Twain’s Monkeypod Tree; Na`alehu, a Plantation Town; Pahala and the End of the Sugar Industry; Ranching and the Paniolo in Ka`u; Ocean View and Kula Kai Caverns; Coastal Ka`u, a Hidden Treasure; and Life on the Slopes of Mauna Loa.
      “Sometimes, we forget how incredibly fortunate we are to live here,” said Ka`u resident and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando in the foreword. “The remarkable convergence of culture, geology, biology, history and numerous other factors enhancing our quality of life contributes to all that is unique about Ka`u and its rich heritage.”
      The book can be purchases at bookstores, independent and online retailers or through the publisher at 888-313-2665 or arcadiapublishing.com.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

KA`U INSPIRED, A SHOW/FAIR of artists who live and work in Ka`u, takes place Saturday, Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Dee Dee Bodine and Suzanne Dix host the event in conjunction with Ocean View Community Association. All proceeds from the show benefit OVCA.
      A sampling of the artists participating is: Anita Broennimann (Fine Art Prints), Dale Addlesberger (Pastels & Mixed Media), Susan O’Malley (Handmade Books), Hosoi (Mixed Media), Olivia Ling (Ceramics & Fine Jewelry), Dee Dee Bodine (Hawaiian Landscapes & Photos), Sandy Mayville (Abstract Paintings), Don Elwing (Trash Art Sculpture), Suzanne Dix (Hawaiian Landscape Paintings), Ronald Kaliko (Hawaiian Shell Jewelry) and more.
      Don Elwing will have his Trash Art car in the upper parking lot. He will be inviting people to contribute to environmental awareness by working on the art car at the show.
      Mars Cavers will have Wayne Stier’s wood sculptures & books available.  
      There will be a Silent Auction of artworks donated by participating artists.
      For more information, email suzanne@dixstudios.com.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

The Hawaiian Room in New York City is the subject of a film screening tomorrow.
Hula Preservation Society photo from Volcano Art Center
VOLCANO ART CENTER in Volcano Village screens The Hawaiian Room by Ann Marie Kirk tomorrow at 7 p.m. The film documents the Hotel Lexington when young Hawaiian girls wooed New York City with their songs and entertainment. 
      Between 1937 and 1966, hundreds of Hawaiian dancers, singers and musicians from the Hawaiian isles became part of the legacy of the pioneering Hawaiian Room.
      Over the course of three decades, the Hawaiian Room became an incomparable venue through which aloha and Hawaiian culture were shared.
      After the film, several original Hawaiian Room talents appear in person. Sammi Fo, who lived in Ocean View and teaches hula there, is a former Lexi Girl.
      VAC appreciates $5 donations.
      For more information, see volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222.

HAPA HAOLE HULA WORKSHOP takes place Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Participants learn how to hula with TeMoana Makolo, one of the Lexi Girls who performed at the Hawaiian Room in New York City’s Hotel Lexington. $15 members; $18 non-members. 967-8222

People of Japanese ancestry were detained at Kilauea Military
Camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Photo from NPS 
THE UNTOLD STORY: Internment of Japanese Americans in Hawai`i is the title of one of several films to be screened during Ka`u Plantation Days on Saturday. Within hours of the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941, people of Japanese ancestry in Hawai`i were rounded up, arrested and kept in holding cells and local jails before being transferred to camps across the islands. Mainly male leaders of the immigrant community, a handful of women and some Nisei, including about 100 local Germans and Italians, were interned. This abrupt aftermath diminished the quality of life for many local Japanese, stripping dignity and separating families. Children often had minimal contact with their fathers, and many people didn’t even know if their loved ones were alive long after they were taken away.
      Kilauea Military Camp was one of several sites where detention occurred.
      Ka`u Plantation Days takes place at Pahala Plantation House Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.





See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.
See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.







Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015

Central Pacific Hurricane Center forecasters say Tropical Storm Nora, 515 miles southeast of South Point, will weaken and pass south of Hawai`i. Map from NOAA
SOUTH POINT IS IN THE CENTRAL PACIFIC Hurricane Center’s cone of uncertainty for Tropical Storm Nora. CPHC’s 11 a.m. updated map shows the storm, 515 miles southeast of South Point, heading toward Hawai`i Island. The storm is expected to weaken steadily, turn west and pass south of South Point on Saturday, but its track could change and head further north or south, bringing heavy rain.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park monitors petrels from the air.
Photo courtesy of Jim Denny/hawaiianendangeredseabirds.org
HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK has announced flight plans for this month. Management of the park requires the use of aircraft to monitor and research volcanic activity, conduct search-and-rescue missions and law enforcement operations, support management of natural and cultural resources and to maintain backcountry facilities. Dates and times are subject to change based on aircraft availability and weather. 
      Dates, times and reasons are:
  • Each Tuesday, depending on weather and project needs, between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. for ungulate surveys and control work in Kahuku between 3,000 and 7,000 ft. elevation; 
  • Mondays, Oct. 19 and 26 between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. for petrel monitoring from the summit of Kilauea to Mauna Loa at about 9,000 ft. elevation; 
  • Monday, Oct. 19 between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. from the Volcano agricultural station into `Ola`a Tract to transport supplies to support ungulate control work; 
  • Tuesday-Thursday, Oct. 27-29 between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. to transport fence materials to the boundary of Kahuku and Kapapala Forest Reserve; and 
  • Thursday and Friday, Oct. 29 and 30 between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. for ungulate surveys in Kahuku between 3,000 and 7,000 ft. elevation. 
      The park said in a statement that it regrets any noise impact to residents and park visitors.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD, vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, will not be attending the first Democratic presidential candidates’ debate today. Gabbard told Wolf Blitzer, of CNN, that DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz asked her not to attend because she disagrees with the number of debates the DNC has scheduled. Only six debates are currently on the calendar, but Gabbard has called for more.
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was promoted to major.
Photo from Office of Rep. Gabbar
      “The issue here is one of democracy, of freedom of speech and defending that which so many have sacrificed and given their lives for,” Gabbard said. 
      Wasserman Schultz’s office later said Gabbard was not disinvited but asked to focus on the participating candidates. 
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD WAS PROMOTED in rank by the Hawai`i Army National Guard from Captain to Major in a ceremony at at Punchbowl, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. She was joined by her family, friends and fellow service members and veterans. Former U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka led Gabbard in reciting her Oath of Office.
      “Standing here today amongst veterans at the Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery, I’m again reminded of what aloha truly means,” Gabbard said. “Ultimately, aloha means respect, love and caring. Some people think love and caring means weakness, but I assure you that the exact opposite is true. The truth is, nothing is as strong as love. It was their love for liberty and freedom that gave our country’s founders the courage and strength to fight for independence.
       “It is that love for country that motivates our men and women in uniform to be ready and willing to put their lives on the line for the freedom and liberty that is the foundation upon which America stands. Punchbowl Cemetery is sacred. It exudes the aloha of those who have given their lives for America. I am humbled, honored, and inspired to be here with them – and with all of you.” 
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz
TSUNAMI DETECTION AND WARNING systems legislation unanimously passed the U.S. Senate last week. The bill reauthorizes and enhances tsunami preparedness and increases investment in research to protect coastal communities.
       The Tsunami Warning, Education and Research Act of 2015 would strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s tsunami warning system and advance new research related to improving tsunami detection, forecasting, notification and response.
      

 The bill “strengthens the national tsunami forecasting program and stabilizes funding available for tsunami warnings and preparedness,” Sen. Brian Schatz said. “It also gives communities the ability to focus on the particular risks they face. In Hawai`i, that means securing our ports, preparing for the specific impacts to areas with a concentration of high rise buildings and looking to Hawai`i’s geological past to identify possible tsunami threats in the future. The earthquake in Chile last month underlines the importance of strengthening tsunami forecasting and preparedness for Hawai`i.”
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

Keone Young
WE THE POWERFUL WORKSHOPS are coming to Ka`u on Friday, Oct. 23 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center and from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Keanu Young, assistant coordinator of Hawai`i State Legislature’s Public Access Room, explains how to influence state laws. 
      PAR is the Legislature’s non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau. Providing testimony and keeping up with the bills before the legislature can be done online, with Hawai`i having one of the best interactive systems in the country, particularly for remote communities like those in Ka`u.
      Topics include tips and techniques on effective lobbying, testimony and communicating with legislators. Young explains the legislative process, deadlines and power dynamics. He also describes easy to use tools available on the Legislature’s website, capitol.hawaii.gov.
      For more information and to register (helpful but not required), call 974-4000, ext. 7-0478, or email par@capitol.hawaii.gov.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN Steering Committee is scheduled to make final recommendations to the county two weeks from today, on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The committee will be acting on its preliminary decisions about CDP revisions based on community feedback. Those preliminary decisions were made during the committee’s August and September meetings. Minutes from each of those meetings are available in the Steering Committee folder at www.kaucdp.info.
Ka`u CDP Steering Committee is nearing the end of its work.
      During its Sept. 24 meeting, the committee agreed that it would only consider additional CDP revisions if they are presented with new, verifiable information. In those cases, the committee agreed to address any major issues at a follow-up meeting so that the public is given proper notice.
      Once the committee makes its final CDP recommendations to the county, next steps include: Planning Director and agency review ( less than 60 days); Planning Commission public hearings and recommendation (60 days); County Council public hearings and action;
Mayor’s signature; and Action Committee appointed to guide CDP implementation.
      The Oct. 27 meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. The meeting is open to the public, and comment on agenda items is welcome.
      Ka`u residents can contact Steering Committee members, Community Planning Assistant Nalani Parlin or Project Manager Ron Whitmore with questions. Contact information is available at the kaucdp.info.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

Japanese immigrants sang hole hole bushi as they worked in Hawai`i's
sugar fields. Image from PBS Hawai`i
CANEFIELD SONGS: HOLE HOLE BUSHI is the title of a film to be screened Saturday during Ka`u Plantation Days. In the PBS Hawai`i film, narrator Jake Shimabukuro refers to the songs as Japanese American Blues. He defines hole hole as a Native Hawaiian word for dry cane leaves and bushi as a Japanese term for melody or tune. Issei immigrants brought their music from Japan and changed lyrics to reflect life in Hawai`i. 
      Shimabukuro compares the music to the `ukulele, which has only four strings, “and because of this, it has a kind of power,” he says. “Traditional hole hole bushi has just four lines of verse, but they tell powerful stories.”
      Ka`u Plantation Days is this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House.

Experts share Hawai`i's fossil history at After Dark in the Park.
Image from NPS
KA`U PLANTATION DAYS final organizing meeting is today at 6:30 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. 
      For more information, call Darlyne Vierra at 640-8740.

FOSSIL HISTORY OF HAWAI`I is the topic at After Dark in the Park today at 7 p.m. Fossil expert Joe Iacuzzo, of Ka`u Learning Academy, and anthropologist Mark Sledziewski share their expertise on this and other fossil discoveries from around the world. 
      The program takes place at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $2 donations support park programs. Park entrance fees apply.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.





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






Monday, October 12, 2015

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, Oct. 12, 2015

Fossilized lava trees in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park are part of Hawai`i's fossil history, the topic of tomorrow's After Dark in the Park program. See details below. NPS Photo by Janice Wei
HOW MUCH SHOULD THE STATE PROVIDE to Department of Hawaiian Homelands for their administrative and operational costs? That’s the subject of a story by Sophie Cocke in Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Cocke reports that, according to Hawai`i Attorney General Doug Shin, the amount is $5 million per year. She said Shin based his figure on estimates provided by state Constitutional Convention delegates in 1978, adjusted for inflation.
Doug Chin
      DHHL, however, asked for $28 million per year. According to Cocke, the agency said $5 million doesn’t even cover staffing, and DHHL’s needs have increase since the convention.
      DHHL Director Jobie Masagatani said, “We, as a state, not just DHHL, we as a state accepted this responsibility to administer this program in the best interest of beneficiaries.”
      In Ka`u, DHHL administers lands at Punalu`u mauka, Wai`ohinu and Ka Lae, as well as more than 40 lots in Discovery Harbour. The department is also working on water for South Point residents and ranchers, management of Ka Lae’s archaeological and historic sites as well as recreational areas and environmentally sensitive coastal areas.
      There are currently more than 27,000 Native Hawaiians waiting for homestead plots that include residential, agricultural and pastoral parcels, according to DHHL.
      See staradvertiser.com.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

KA`U’S STATE REP. RICHARD ONISHI, vice chair of the House Agriculture Committee, is one of two lawmakers who rejected Hawai`i Center for Food Safety’s request for correspondence between them and biotech companies or groups representing their interests, Anita Hofschneider reported in Civil Beat.
Rep. Richard Onishi
      According to Hofschneider, Onishi and Ag Committee Chair Clift Tsuji both said they didn’t release the files in part because the “documents are part of legislator’s personal files and/or predecisional in nature.”
      The story says three other lawmakers have supplied such requested communications to the nonprofit, but did not name them.
      See civilbeat.com.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY scientists review earthquakes and earthquake safety in the current issue of Volcano Watch. Thursday, Oct. 15 marks the ninth anniversary of Hawai`i’s two most recent damaging earthquakes. That day also is the third annual Great Hawaii ShakeOut.
      “On Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006 at 7:07 a.m., Hawaiian Standard Time,” the article states, “a magnitude-6.7 earthquake, centered deep beneath Kiholo Bay off the northwest coast of the Island of Hawai`i, shook many residents awake. It was followed minutes later by a magnitude-6.0 earthquake centered nine kilometers (5.6 mi) off the island’s North Kohala coast.
      “Damage from these earthquakes was heaviest in the North Kona and Kohala Districts on Hawai`i Island, but impacts were felt across the state, notably with an extended power outage on O`ahu.
      “Fortunately, no lives were lost as a result of these earthquakes. Had the earthquakes occurred on a different day of the week, when many people would have been on their way to —or already at — work or school, the outcome might have been much different.
      “From a financial viewpoint, estimated damages from post-earthquake assessments amounted to at least $200 million. Though the October 2006 earthquakes were not the largest ever experienced in Hawai`i, they resulted in the greatest earthquake-related financial losses in Hawai`i’s history by far. With continued development and population growth, we can expect future earthquake losses to escalate.
      “As we learned in 2006, moderately large earthquakes can be very costly and seriously impact much, if not all, of the state.
An HVO staff member demonstrates earthquake safety. Photo from USGS
      “At a societal level, we brace against damaging earthquakes with zoning, building codes and building practices. We use experiences and observations from historical events, combined with the best available technical tools and capabilities, to avoid catastrophic structural failures resulting from earthquakes. Over the years, building codes in the United States have been modernized and upgraded to the point that the likelihood of structural collapse is now considered quite low.
      “The collective experiences from 2006 highlighted the particular vulnerability of the post-and-pier type construction that is quite common in Hawai`i’s communities. Inspections that were conducted to determine if homes were safe to reoccupy after the earthquakes led to a series of projects that focused on the seismic performance of post-and-pier construction.
      “After an inventory was compiled, a structural engineering team developed retrofit strategies and specifications for strengthening post-and-pier homes. With this engineering information, a software team created a “Retrofit Expert System” (hilo.hawaii.edu/~nathazexpert/expertsystem/flash_path_fix.php) for homeowners to develop appropriate retrofit designs and procure materials and hardware for their home seismic retrofits.
      “Home retrofits are an example of what can be done at an individual level, well in advance of an earthquake, to protect our families during strong earthquakes. It is also important to know exactly what to do when the shaking starts.
      “Emergency managers, planners and researchers now largely agree that ‘Drop! Cover! Hold On!’ is the appropriate strategy to reduce injury, or prevent death, during large, damaging earthquakes. This was borne out in 2006 by the extent of nonstructural damage, like fallen ceiling panels and fixtures and toppled cabinets and shelves, noted in the post-Kiholo Bay earthquake damage surveys.
      “Because we cannot know how strong an earthquake will be at its onset, DROP to the ground any time you feel shaking. COVER your head and neck, and take shelter under a sturdy object, like a desk or table. Then HOLD ON to your shelter until the shaking stops. If there is no nearby sturdy shelter, drop to the floor and protect your head and neck. If possible, crawl to an inside corner of the room and be ready to move, if necessary.
      “ShakeOut, first conducted in California in 2008, is now a global earthquake awareness and preparedness exercise. As of this week, almost 40 million participants are registered in worldwide events.
      “There’s still time to join the more than 240,000 Hawai`i residents now registered for the Great Hawai`i ShakeOut that takes place at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15. In your home and workplace, identify sturdy objects that you can shelter under and then practice Drop! Cover! and Hold on! This will speed up your reaction time when the need to protect yourself during an earthquake is real.”
      See hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

After turning north, Nora is forecast to again head west and remain
south of Hawai`i Island. Map from NOAA
TROPICAL STORM NORA is zigzagging its way across the Central Pacific. At 11 a.m., it was 735 miles southeast of South Point. While this morning’s forecast shows a turn toward the south of Hawai`i by Friday morning, it also predicts that the storm will continue to lose strength before arriving in the vicinity of Hawai`i.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

BONE UP ON THE FASCINATING fossil history of Hawai`i for National Fossil Day. Although Hawai`i didn’t have dinosaurs, the fossils of Hawai`i are protected in its national parks and include human footprints in volcanic ash, extinct birds and trees entombed by lava flows. Fossil expert Joe Iacuzzo, of the Ka`u Learning Academy, and anthropologist Mark Sledziewski share their expertise on the fossils of Hawai`i and other incredible fossil discoveries from around the world – including dinosaurs. Bring the keiki.
      The free program, part of Hawai`i Volcanoes’ ongoing After Dark in the Park series begins at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium.
      Park entrance fees apply. Call 985-6011 for more information.

The final day of sugar in Ka`u is the subject of a film to be screened
at Pahala Plantation Days. Image fro `ulu`ulu
KA`U SUGAR: A TOWN REMEMBERS is one of several films to be screened during Ka`u Plantation Days this Saturday at Pahala Plantation House. The film, which aired on PBS Hawai`i after the mill closed on March 27, 1996, chronicles the last day of work in Pahala. It features interviews with former sugar workers Eddie Andrade, Iwao Yonemitsu and many, many others.

KA`U RESIDENTS CAN TAKE A Walk into the Past tomorrow and every other Tuesday. Ka`u resident Dick Hershberger brings Hawaiian Volcano Observatory founder Thomas Jaggar to life at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. The programs begin at Kilauea Visitor Center and travel to Whitney Vault near Volcano House in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      Free; park entrance fees apply. For more information, call 985-6011.

KA`U PLANTATION DAYS final organizing meeting is tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House.
      For more information, call Darlyne Vierra at 640-8740.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.





See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directo4\ry2015.pdf.
See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.