Ka`u News Briefs, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016

State Rep. Clift Tsuji, a friend to Kaʻū Coffee farmers and other local agriculturalists, died unexpectedly yesterday.
Photo from Big island Video News

         A PUBLIC HEARING TONIGHT ON PRESERVING ENDANGERED SPECIES near Volcano, through a Safe Harbor agreement between Kamehameha Schools, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the state Department of Land & Natural Resources, will be held at Volcano School of the Arts and Sciences at 6 p.m.

ʻAlalā or Hawaiian Crow is one of the species to be
protected by the Safe Harbor agreement.
Photo from San Diego Zoo program at Volcano

      The agreement involves 32,280 acres owned by Kamehameha Schools near Volcano Village, bordering Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, Kapapala Forest Reserve, Kipuka Ainahou Nēnē Sanctuary and Pu`u Maka`ala Natural Area Reserve.

      Volcano School is located at 19-4024 Haunani Road. The hearing concerns approval from the DLNR's Division of Forestry and Wildlife, for a 50-year Incidental Take License, part of the Safe Harbor agreement.     

      The safe harbor agreement is voluntary, intended to promote recovery of endangered species. It covers eight animal and 25 plant species. Included are the endangered Hawaiʻi Creeper (Loxops mana), Hawaiʻi ʻĀkepa (Loxops coccineus), ʻAkiapōlāʻau (Hemignathus wilsoni), ʻIʻiwi (Vestiaria coccinea), ʻIo or Hawaiian Hawk (Buteo solitarius), Nēnē or Hawaiian Goose (Branta sandvicensis), ʻAlalā or Hawaiian Crow (Corvus hawaiiensis), and ʻŌpeʻapeʻa or Hawaiian Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus). Comments can be sent to katherine.cullison@hawaii.gov by Dec. 22. Copies of the safe harbor agreement will be available at the public hearing and http://oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov/Shared%20Documents/Environmental_Notice/Archives/2010s/2016-10-23.pdf.
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STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MEMBER CLIFT TSUJI DIED YESTERDAY. Tsuji, 75, chaired the House Agriculture Committee. While he represented Keaukaha, Hilo, Panaewa, and Waiakea, he supported numerous aspects of Kaʻū agriculture. Tsuji was a keynote speaker at the Kaʻū Farm Bureau annual meeting in 2012. In the same year, he proposed funding for dogs to be trained to sniff out invasive species coming to Hawaiʻi in air and ocean shipments.

Clift Tsuji (left) visits a new Hawaiʻi Island dairy.
Photo from state House of Representatives blog

     Tsuji came to Kaʻū numerous times. Over the years, he supported coffee industry initiatives to fight the coffee berry borer. In September of 2015, Tsuji attended a meeting on Kaʻū Coffee farmer land security, listening to a proposal for the state to buy their land that was being sold to a real estate investment company, the state proposing to lease it back to farmers at low rates. He said he would support farmer land security.
    In 2014 Tsuji supported state legislation to prevent the counties from banning the growing of GMOs – Genetically Modified Organisms. In 2015, Tsuji opposed legislation that would allow the planting of industrial hemp in Hawaiʻi. He also opposed pesticide buffer zones around schools. He was named Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau Legislator of the Year.

    In her message yesterday, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard called Tusji a “dedicated public servant,” and said he “helped champion legislation to fight invasive species and strengthen our biosecurity.” U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono wrote, “his drive to build a

Rep. Clift Tsuji

better future was evident by his actions. Clift brought a wealth of experience and over 30 years of business acumen to the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives. His voice on behalf of agriculture across the state will be missed.” 

     Gov. David Ige said Tsuji “was a quiet man with a big heart and had the courage to stand for his convictions.” State Sen. Kaiali`i Kahele wrote that Tsuji “proudly wore our nation’s uniform in the 442nd Infantry and was recognized as the Hawai‘i Farm Bureau’s Legislator of the Year in 2015.” Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui called Tsuji a “staunch advocate for Hawaiʻi’s agriculture community.”

      Tsuji served with the U.S. Army Reserve, 442nd Infantry, Company B, Hilo, from 1959 to 1965. He was a speaker at the Kīlauea Military Camp Memorial Day services in 2011.
     Tsuji was born in Papaikou. He graduated from Hilo High School and the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa where he earned a degree in communications. He studied banking and economics at the University of Washington. For 34 years, he worked as a banker at Central Pacific Bank. A Democrat, he served in the state House of Representatives for more than a dozen years. After his reelection in the August primary with a wide margin, Tsuji planned once again to chair the House Agriculture Committee. The governor will appoint his replacement. Services are pending.

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Federal money funded during Republican and Democratic presidencies and
Congresses helped increase conservation of large swaths of Kaʻū land, such
as Kahuku Unit of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
  NPS Photo by Jessica Ferracane

HAWAIʻI UNDER TRUMP: U.S. Sen. “Dan Inouye is dead, Barack Obama is on his way out and Donald Trump will be our next president.” That’s how Civil Beat reporter Nick Grube introduced his story yesterday on potential political clout for Hawaiʻi under a Donald Trump presidency.
    “Add to that a Republican-controlled House and Senate and things sure don’t look good for Hawaiʻi’s left-leaning congressional delegation,” Grube writes.
     He quotes Colin Moore, a University of Hawaiʻi political science professor and director of the school’s Public Policy Center, who said: “I don’t think Hawaiʻi can expect any favors from the federal government anytime soon. We have a liberal, junior delegation that will be in Congress with a Republican president and a Republican Congress. They’re not going to have a lot of influence.
     “Hawaiʻi’s congressional clout has been fading ever since Inouye’s death in December 2012. Inouye was the most senior member of the U.S. Senate when he died, and was chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, which dishes out federal dollars,” Grube reminds the readers.

The new Kaʻū District Gym & Shelter received federal construction
funding for its role as a regional disaster shelter. Photo by Julia Neal

     In remote Kaʻū however, under both Republican and Democratic presidencies and U.S. Congresses, millions of dollars from the federal government increased the size of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park by a third and helped purchase coastal lands to place in the stewardship of the County of Hawaiʻi and community groups. Sen. Mazie Hirono continues to reach across the aisle, successfully advocating for preservation of lands around the Great Crack and Pohue Bay.
      Offshore to the north, the signature of Pres. George W. Bush established Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Under Barack Obama, its size increased, making it the world’s second largest protected area.
    The new Kaʻū District Gym & Shelter received federal funding. Highways and roads throughout Kaʻū are improved with federal money.
    The jobs of many scientists at the National Park, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the weather station on Mauna Loa are
dependent on federal funding. The weather station, NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory, located at 3,392 meters above sea level (11,129 feet), was one of the first places on the planet to register climate changes that led to identifying global warming. However, President-elect Trump has questioned whether climate change and global warming are real.

Federally funded Mauna Loa Observatory, in Ka`u, recorded the
evidence of climate change and global warming.
Photo from NOAA

     The Civil Beat writer declares that “it’s a new world under President-elect Trump, who doesn’t have many connections to the island outside of having his name stamped on a 38-story luxury hotel and condominium building in Waikīkī.”
    Grube points out that “Obama’s presidency brought additional standing to the Aloha State, however, if only because he’s from here and has a better understanding of Hawaiʻi’s issues than many politicians in Washington. Under his administration, the U.S. Department of Interior laid out a pathway for government-to-government relations with Native Hawaiians and quadrupled the size of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Honolulu also hosted the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which brought global attention to the islands as Obama laid out his vision for a U.S. pivot to Asia.”
     Grube notes that Trump “claimed to believe, until recently, that Obama had lied about being born in Hawaiʻi."
     Grube does write that Trump appears to be softening on some campaign promises like “deporting millions of undocumented workers, dismantling Obamacare, revamping America’s infrastructure and building a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border and making our southern neighbor pay for it.”

 

Coastal lands from Honuʻapo to Punaluʻu are in public stewardship with the
help of federal government funding. Photo by Julia Neal

    He concludes, however, that “there seems to be little common ground between Trump and deep-blue, multicultural Hawaiʻi, where Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton won 61 percent of the vote compared to Trump’s 29 percent.”
     One area of possible federal funding stability that Grube thinks likely is the military: “One thing Hawaiʻi has going for it is its geographical importance to the U.S. military. That means federal dollars should continue to flow, especially if Trump follows through on his promises to boost military spending.” See more at www.civilbeat.org.

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VOTE TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY FOR THE DIRECTORY COVER IMAGE for the 2017 business and resource guide, published by the Kaʻū Chamber of Commerce. The annual Beauty of Kaʻū Art Show is open to the public at  through this Friday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Naʻalehu Hongwanji Breezeway.

     A popular vote will determine the cover of The Directory. All entries are eligible to win the popular vote (the cover) including youth and keiki art, with the exception of previous cover winners for The Directory. Prizes will be given for: photography, sculpture, woodworking, quilting, jewelry, lei, graphics, painting and weaving.

    During the show, works of art for sale are priced on a list available from art show volunteers. The results of judging and the selection for The Directory cover will be announced this Saturday, Nov. 19 at 11 a.m. at Naʻalehu Hongwanji, with artists invited to a reception and awards ceremony. The Directory is published in January.

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JUMP ROPE CHALLENGE, today, Wednesday, Nov. 16,  from 2:15 to  3:15 p.m. at Kahuku County Park. Children ages 6 – 12 are invited to take part. 929-9113

Shai Lopez-Castaneda helped with the food
drive in 2013. Trojans girls basketball
 team hosts it again this weekend.
Photo by Julia Neal

HALAU O AKAUNU PRESENTS HULA tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 16 from 6:30 – 8 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Ancient traditionscome to life through chant and dance of Hālau o Akaunu. Hailing from Hilo, Hawai‘i, and under the instruction of Mānaiakalani Kalua, Akaunu strives to perpetuate the ‘aiha‘a style of hula borne of this volcanic landscape. Free; park entrance fees apply.

 CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY begins this Friday, Nov. 18 – Jan 1, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., at  Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The holiday event kicks off with a members-only reception, 5:30 p.m., opening day. Featured at Christmas in the Country is the 17th Annual Invitational Wreath Exhibit, with prizes awarded for the best wreaths. To participate, contact Emily Weiss at 967-8222 or gallery@volcanoartcenter.org. Free; park entrance fees apply.

A FOOD DRIVE AND TROJAN BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT begins at 5:15 p.m. this Friday, Nov. 18. To enter the first official high school competition played at the new Kaʻū District Gym, bring canned food instead of money. At least one can of food required to enter. After three games on Friday, Trojan wahine play again on Saturday starting at 9 a.m. The tournament is expected to last all day against Keaʻau, Pahoa and Kealakehe high schools. Big Island Interscholastic competition begins at the gym in December.
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Kaʻū News Briefs, Tuesday, Nov. 15

The newly acquired Kahuku makai lands, totaling 3,128 acres, preserves a mile of Kaʻū Coast. 

ANOTHER MILE OF KAʻŪ COAST AND 3,128 ACRES are preserved. On Nov. 4, the County of Hawaiʻi closed on the Kahuku makai, Kanohina lava flow land below the Hawaiian Ranchos subdivision in Ocean View, with public access through Road to the Sea. Ocean View residents have long waited for easier legal access from their homes to the Kaʻū Coast. This property’s shoreline includes critical Hawksbill sea turtle breneding beaches while the land hosts one of the largest fields of Hawaiian archeology in the state. It borders on the makai boundaries of the Kona Gardens and Kula Kai subdivisions, as well as most of Hawaiian Ranchos.
     Acquisition by the County of the Kahuku makai lands follows purchase of more than 1,000 acres between Punaluʻu and Honuʻapo, which were also placed under County and community stewardship. 

Hikers (left) walk along a canyon in the newly acquired 3,128 acres of
pristine Kahuku makai land. Photo by Ann Bosted

      The $2.6 million cost for Kahuku makai was shared among three government entities. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service contributed $1,214,000 through a Recovery Land Acquisition Grant. The County added $764,745 through its Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Fund, derived from 2 percent of countywide property tax income. The state Legacy Land Conservaiton Program provided $621,245.
     In a 2012 letter to the state Board of Land & Natural Resources, which controls Legacy Land funding, Megan Lamson, of Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund and Ka ʻOhana O Honuʻapo, wrote: “The parcel exists in the middle of an 80-mile stretch of coastline that has been limited to no development. This claim is unheard of elsewhere in the state. Protecting this parcel is a step toward preserving the invaluable natural and cultural resources and history that are represented in this region.”
       In its testimony, Sierra Club stated that a low price ($831 per acre) made it “by far the most cost effective purchase the Legacy Land Conservation could make, and would secure a prized recreational and natural resource for the residents of the Big Island, where recreational resources are generally access-restricted by private land owners.
      “The site contains many high-quality natural and cultural resources, including anchialine ponds, nesting sites for the endangered Hawksbill turtle, prominent geologic features, one of the state’s largest petroglyph fields, a highly complex cave system with endemic organisms and unique archaeological features. Over 3,127 acres of land, including miles of coastline, are relatively unchanged since pre-western contact in the late 1700s,” said Sierra Club testimony. 

Road to the Sea runs along the western edge of the the property and to the ocean.

     Numerous individuals supported the measure, including Native Hawaiian sites preservation advocate Jamie Kawauchi and then County Council member Brittany Smart. The BLNR approved the Legacy Land funding without opposition.
    The overall effort, required six long years of planning, negotiating, reports, inspections, presentations and agreements. Mayor Billy Kenoi and his administration threw in their support. At the County, Alexandra Kelepolo, Property Management Technician for the County’s Department of Finance in Hilo, coordinated the work.

The land with yellow boundary line is the Kahuku makai property just purchased
 by the County of Hawai`i below Ocean View with a mile of Ka`u Coast.
Map from County of Hawai`i

     Kelepolo recently explained that the public will have easier access to the coast since the County “has an easement along the Road to the Sea.” She said the County has “a budget for maintenance, but we won’t be able to improve the road to where regular cars can drive on it. It will still be a four-wheel-drive road, but hopefully better maintained.” The County’s acquisition will preserve many undisturbed coastal views for many Ocean View residents.
    Regarding the Hawksbills, Kelepolo said, “I am thrilled that we can preserve the two small beaches on the property as nesting grounds for the critically endangered Hawksbill turtle.” She praised the Hawaiʻi Island Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project volunteers and their coordinator Lauren Kurpita. She said they  hike miles along this coastline, checking for turtles and nests.
    “Every year groups of volunteers from the Hawksbill project camp at Pohoe Bay and guard the nests from predators (like feral cats and mongooses), and each day they hike to these beaches to check on nests there.”

     The new county owned-land
 features many petroglyphs.

   Kelepolo was personally involved in a rescue when a turtle was saved by the volunteers: “In September, a large female turtle was stuck in one of the anchialine cracks. She was wedged in about 12-feet down. Lauren contacted me and several others to help rescue the turtle. We think that perhaps a vehicle spooked her and she fell in while trying to evade it. Although she weighed about 200 pounds, we were able to rescue her. We put a net under her and a group of about five volunteers and myself, pulling hard, were able to get her out. If we had not seen her, she would have died. Now that we own this land, we can protect it more actively.”
   The new County property does not include Pohue Bay, which is about two miles to the east. It is, however, traversed by the treasured, Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail along the shore, in use for nearly 2,000 years. This trail is about 175 miles long and runs from ‘Upolu Point on the north end of the island, along the western coast through Kohala, Kona and Kaʻū then east and north along Kaʻū’s coast to Puna and ends at the Wahaʻula Heiau site near Kalapana.
     The Kahuku makai land also contains a rock quarry and many geological features. The Kanohina flow, which is estimated to be about 750 to 1500 years old, covers most of the property, but on the eastern side, makai of Ranchos, the lava is estimated to be 2,400 to 3,000 years old. A very prominent lava trench lies makai of the Kula Kai subdivision. The trench, which obviously funneled vast amounts of lava towars the ocean, is about 2.5 miles long and about 30 to 50 feet deep. It has an abundance of undisturbed lava features, such as lava falls, and lava balls.
     Aside from the two lava flows, the property has cinder cones, a green sand beach and lava tubes, all of which will need to be investigated and documented as a resource worthy of closer study. The County will work with those who have done field work in the area while it was privately owned, and develop a management plan to balance recreational needs with preservation responsibilities, said Kelepolo. 

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ALOHA GROWN’S MALAMA HONUA FUND is offering $500 awards to local non-profits, schools, organizations and initiatives on Hawaiʻi Island that embody the Aloha Grown philosophy: “Support Local. Sustain the ʻAina. Share the Aloha.” The deadline to submit an entry is Dec. 31. Five awards will be provided by Jan. 31. 

Kalu Oyama (r) received an award for
 Naʻalehu School from Aloha Grown's
Tyler Owens. Photo from alohagrown.com

     A sample Aloha Grown project, winning the $500 award in 2014, was Naʻalehu School’s Aquaponics Garden Unit.
     Aloha Grown is a retail entity and division of Creative Arts, the custom T-shirt, banner, and screenprinting company based in Hilo and a regular sponsor of the Kaʻū Coffee Festival. Online, Aloha Grown sells local logo-theme items including T-shirts and water bottles. It operates two local retail stores, one in downtown Hilo, one at Parker Ranch Center. Two-percent of every Aloha Grown sale is set aside for the Malama Honua Fund.

Lorie Obra is featured on Aloha Grown for sustainability efforts.
Photo from alohagrown.com     

      Featured on alohagrown.com, is internationally award-winning Kaʻū Coffee grower Lorie Obra, the co-founder of Rusty’s Hawaiian coffee farm in Pahala. She has helped bring success to Kaʻū Farmer and has been featured in media, including Sunset and numerous other magazine and newspapers.     

     Aloha Grown describes the Obras as a family who embodies the Aloha Grown philosophy. It presents their history: “Like coffee itself, the story of the success of Rusty’s Hawaiian coffee is bittersweet. When Rusty and Lorie Obra moved from New Jersey to Ka‘ū with a dream to coax a coffee farm out of old sugarcane land, they had no idea that seven years later, after Rusty’s untimely death, Lorie would be left on her own with a big farm and a big dream. For months after Rusty’s death Lorie worked and grieved, watering the soil with her tears, channeling her grief into the hard work of running the farm.
     “Lorie and Rusty both had scientific backgrounds, and it was this skill that gave Rusty’s Hawaiian its competitive edge. Applying herself single-mindedly to her task of making some of the best coffee in the world.” Aloha Grown reviews many of Rusty’s Hawaiian awards, including those from Specialty Coffee Association of America and the Roaster’s Guild.
     For more information on Aloha Grown, an application, to apply for an award, and to see previous Malama Honua Fund award winners, visit http://alohagrown.com/malama-honua-fund.html.

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TODAY IS HAWAI‘I RECYCLES DAY and many people are taking the “I Recycle pledge” at http://americarecyclesday.org/pledge/. For more information on where to recycle on this island,
morre information, go to www.hawaiizerowaste.org and www.recyclehawaii.org.
     The County of Hawaiʻi declares every Nov. 15 a Hawaiʻi Recycles Day and suggests the following tips to residents:Visit the Hawai‘i Zero Waste Tip webpage (Tips). Find simple & easy to do things to increase recycling in the community.
     Use the easy 2-Bin recycling system at the nearest Recycling & Transfer Station. Sort household recyclables into the recycling containers at home. Sort non-HI-5 glass in one bin and mixed recyclables such as most types of paper; cardboard; #1, #2 and #5 plastics; and non-HI-5 aluminum and tin cans (rinse clean) into another bin. Take recyclables to the 2-Bin recycling roll-offs at Recycling & Transfer Stations.
     Compost household greenwaste or take it to the collection sites at the Recycling & Transfer Stations in Hilo, Kea‘au, Pāhoa, Kealakehe (Kailua-Kona) or the West Hawai‘i Organics Facility in Pu‘uanahulu. Backyard composting is easy and there are year-round workshops to help you get started. The greenwaste at the East and West Hawai‘i Organics Facilities is ground into mulch and is free for the public to pick up.
     Take Household Hazardous Waste to the next collection event in the area. Collection days happen twice a year in Hilo and Kona and once a year in Pāhoa and Waimea. The collected waste is packed and shipped to a processing facility for safe and environmentally friendly treatment or disposal. The next HHW events are scheduled for the first Saturday in December in Hilo at the Hilo Recycling & Transfer Station and the second Saturday in December at the Kealakehe (Kailua-Kona) Recycling & Transfer Station.
Purchase products made from recycled materials. Close the loop.
     Reduce waste by buying products with less packaging or recyclable packaging.
     Reuse items and donate gently used items that still have life to a charity thrift shop or a Reuse Center.

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JUMP ROPE CHALLENGE is today, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2:15 – 3:15 p.m., Kahuku County Park. Kids ages 6 – 12 are invited to join in fun jump rope exercise. 929-9113

Embracing the new museum. Park staff gather at the entrance to the 1932 

Administration Building, formerly a lodging facility called the ‘Ōhi‘a Wing, 

soon to be a new park museum. Photo from NPS

ʻŌHIʻA WING: OUR NEW MUSEUM is the topic of After Dark in the Park, tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Visitors to the new museum will view documents and other items from the park’s vast museum collection of more than 1.5 million objects. At After Dark in the Park, park’s Chief of Cultural Resources, Laura Carter Schuster, will reveal the history and highlights of the collection, and tell of plans for exhibiting the objects in the original 1932 park Administration Building, formally a lodging facility called the ‘Ōhi‘a Wing. Free; park entrance fees apply.

HULA BY HALAU O AKAUNU is this Wednesday, Nov. 16 from 6:30 – 8 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Experience the ancient traditions of Hawai‘i come to life through the chant and dance of Hālau o Akaunu. Hailing from Hilo, Hawai‘i, and under the instruction of Mānaiakalani Kalua, Akaunu strives to perpetuate the ‘aiha‘a style of hula borne of this volcanic landscape. Free; park entrance fees apply.

 CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY begins this Friday, Nov. 18 – Jan 1, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., at  Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The holiday event kicks off with a members-only reception, 5:30 p.m., opening day. Featured at Christmas in the Country is the 17th Annual Invitational Wreath Exhibit, with prizes awarded for the best wreaths. To participate, contact Emily Weiss at 967-8222 or gallery@volcanoartcenter.org. Free; park entrance fees apply.

 HORN OF PLENTY, Friday, Nov. 18, 1 – 2 p.m., Kahuku County Park. Ages 6 – 12 register Nov. 14 – 17. 929-9113.

HIʻIAKA & PELE, Saturday, Nov. 19, 9:30 – 11 a.m., Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The famous myth of the volcano goddess Pele and her companion Hiʻiaka is the focus of this free, moderate, one-mile walk. Participants discover the Hawaiian goddesses and the natural phenomena that reveal their story on this free, moderate, one-mile walk. nps.gov/havo

 CENTENNIAL WALK: ‘Ōhi‘a Wing – Our New Museum, Saturday, Nov. 19, 10 a.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Following up on her After Dark in the Park talk on Tuesday, Nov. 15, Chief of Cultural Resources Laura Carter Schuster is leading an easy walk from Kīlauea Visitor Center to the park’s new museum site. She’ll reveal the history and highlights of the park’s original 1932 park Administration Building and share exhibit plans that will highlight the park’s museum collection.

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

Ka`u Calendar Monday, Nov. 14, 2016

Supermoon sets, as seen from Ka Lae in Kaʻū yesterday morning. Photo by Richard Taylor

A SUPER FULL MOON SHONE OVER KAʻŪ YESTERDAY, the closest the moon has passed planet Earth in more than 68 years - since Jan. 26, 1948.
     Scientists call the supermoon a perigree moon which occurs when the moon becomes full at the same time it passes nearest Earth during its monthly elliptical orbit, making it look exceptionally large. That path is some 31,000 miles closer to Earth than when the moon passes on the other side of Earth, a path called the apogee.

Supermoon over Kaʻū
Photo by Peter Anderson

Supermoon over Punaluʻu.
Photo by Peter Anderson     

     A supermoon passes less than 223,694 miles from Earth and appears particularly big when seen near the horizon. The next super full moon will be Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017 and again, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. The next supermoon to be closer to Earth than the recent event will be on Nov. 25, 2034. To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

THE FIRST OFFICIAL COMPETITION AT THE NEW KAʻŪ HIGH GYM is this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18 and 19, drawing high schools from Keaʻau, Pahoa and Kealakehe. It’s the Trojan Girls Annual Food Drive Basketball Tournament.

      The first three games are Friday, Nov. 18, starting at 5:15 p.m. The tournament resumes all day Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m.

    The ticket required to watch the action is the offering of canned food, at least one can per person, to be distributed to needy families.
     Coach Cy Lopez said he and the team are excited to inaugurate the gym with girls basketball and for the tournament to be for such a good cause. It will also show off the new $18 million, 43,300- square-foot Kaʻū District Gym & Shelter, which opened in October. The gym is expected to also host volleyball tournaments and a camp this summer, organized by Kamehameha School Volleyball Coach Guy Enriques.
     Lopez said that Trojan girls are “looking forward to a great season because most of these players have been on our Hokulele Club basketball team. They’ve been working hard off season throughout the year. They are also very excited to be the first high school team to play in our brand new gym.”
     The new certified kitchen at the gym will be employed for this weekend’s tournament and the food on sale will include kalua pork bowl, laulau bowl, chili, hot dog, nacho salad, Pahala pops and laulau kalua combo.

Kaʻū High Trojans Girls Basketball Team invites the public to be the first to see a high school sports competition in the new Kaʻū District Gym this Friday and Saturday. The team asks the public to donate to their food drive in exchange for free entrance to the Annual Food Drive Basketball Tournament, beginning at 5:15 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. Saturday.
Photo by Jen Makuakane

      The coaching staff for the Trojans is comprised of Lopez, Jen Makuakane and Bridgette Pasion. Trojan team members are listed by grade. Seniors are: Alysha Gustafson-Savella, Zaylee Pascubillo, Charisma Felipe and Tristan Davis. Juniors are: Analei Emmsley, Junially Manantan and Dacy Andrade-Davis. Sophomores are Reisha Kekoa-Jara, Mei Lin Galban-Kinin, Kianie Medeiros-Dancel, and Malia Corpuz. The Freshman is Marilou Manantan.
     Teams competing in the weekend tournament are Kaʻū Varsity and JV, Keaʻau Varsity and JV, and Pahoa and Kealakehe JV teams.

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A new species of butterfly fish can be seen in Hilo at Mokupāpapa 

Discovery Center. The photo was taken at a depth of 180 feet off

 Pearl and Hermes Atoll, in the northwest Hawaiian Islands.

Photo by Craig McFall/NOAA

A NEWLY IDENTIFIED FISH SPECIES found in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands was unveiled for the public on this island last week after being discovered in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
    The presentation was made at Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo by Randall Kosaki, Ph.D., NOAA’s deputy superintendent for field and research at Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument; Tim Brown, aquarist, Mokupāpapa Discovery Center and Virginia Branco, educator and interim manager, Mokupāpapa Discovery Center.
     The new species on display is a butterflyfish called Prognothodes basabei, which can be seen in the Mokupāpapa aquariums.
     The scientists explained that the butterflyfish was found living in some of the most unexplored ocean environments, a mesophotic coral ecosystem called “the coral-reef twilight zone.” These are deep coral reefs living at depths of 150 to 600 feet.
    “Discoveries such as this underscore how poorly explored and how little we know about our deep coral reefs,” said Kosaki. “Virtually every deep dive we do takes place on a reef that no human being has ever seen.”

A 200-foot dive to study ocean life came up with
a new deep water butterflyfish species.
Photo by Greg McFall/NOAA

     This butterfly fish was first seen from a deepwater manned submersible more than 20 years ago at a depth as great as 600 feet. It was only in recent years that divers with advanced electronic closed-cirecuit rebreathers were able to dive to 330 feet and collect and preserve specimens of the fish to identify it as a new species.
      The new butterflyfish was named after Pete Basabe, a veteran Kona deep diver who has provided support for deep dives for many years for scientific studies on reef fishes.
   “This new discovery illustrates the conservation value of very large marine protected areas,” said Kosaki. “Not only do they protect the biodiversity that we already know about, they also protect the diversity we’ve yet to discover. And there’s a lot left to discover.”
    Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is the largest marine preserve in the world. 
    Mokupāpapa Discovery Center is at 76 Kamehameha Ave. in the historic Koehnen Building in Hilo and is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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TODAY IS ART CONTEST SUBMISSION DAY for every kind of art and for the competition for the annual Kaʻū Chamber of Commerce cover for The Directory, the business and community resource guide for 2017. Bring in art illustrating The Beauty of Kaʻū to Naʻalehu Hongwanji between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. today, Nov. 14. The show opens to the public Tuesday with free entry through Friday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Naʻalehu Hongwanji Breezeway.

     A popular vote will determine the cover of The Directory. All entries are eligible to win the popular vote (the cover) including youth and keiki art, with the exception of previous cover winners for The Directory. Registration is $5 per adult entry, $2.50 per youth entry and $1 per keiki entry. Prizes will be given for: photography, sculpture, woodworking, quilting, jewelry, lei, graphics, painting and weaving.

    During the show, works of art for sale will be priced on a list available from art show volunteers. The results of judging and the selection for The Directory cover will be announced Saturday, Nov. 19 at 11 a.m. at Naʻalehu Hongwanji, with artists invited to a reception and awards ceremony.  Entry forms are available at local schools and from merchants, on the Chamber website and at the door during art drop-off hours. The Directory is published in January.

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PAINTING WITH PEGGY, Monday, Nov. 14, 12 – 3 p.m., Volcano Art Center acrylic workshop returns. $20/$15 VAC members. Students bring supplies. 967-8222

JUMP ROPE CHALLENGE, Monday and Wednesday, Nov. 14 and 16, 2:15 – 3:15 p.m., Kahuku County Park. Ages 6 – 12. 929-9113

Halau O Akaunu shares hula at Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium

this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ʻŌHIʻA WING: OUR NEW MUSEUM is the topic of After Dark in the Park, tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The new museum will house items from the park’s vast museum collection of more than 1.5 million objects. The park’s Chief of Cultural Resources, Laura Carter Schuster, reveals the history and highlights of the collection and plans for exhibiting the objects in the original 1932 park Administration Building, formally a lodging facility called the ‘Ōhi‘a Wing. Free; park entrance fees apply.

HULA BY HALAU O AKAUNU is this Wednesday, Nov. 16 from 6:30 – 8 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Experience the ancient traditions of Hawai‘i come to life through the chant and dance of Hālau o Akaunu. Hailing from Hilo, Hawai‘i, and under the instruction of Mānaiakalani Kalua, Akaunu strives to perpetuate the ‘aiha‘a style of hula borne of this volcanic landscape. Free; park entrance fees apply.

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