Ka`u News Briefs Monday, Jan. 9, 2017

Stars over the crater on Kilauea. Photographer Eric Einwiller captured the fire of the volcano and the starry night skies.

PROTECTING MEDICARE AND MEDICAID is a top priority for Sen. Mazie Hirono in Washington, D.C. This week, Hirono and Sen. Joe Donnelly, who represents the state of Indiana where Vice-president-elect Mike Pence has served as governor, introduced an amendment to protect Medicare and Medicaid from the budget reconciliation process.
     Said Hirono: “For the past 50 years, seniors and working families have enjoyed the peace of mind of knowing that Medicare and Medicaid will be there for them. This budget resolution would dismantle these critical programs and our social safety net, resulting in too many families losing their health insurance. I will do everything in my power to protect these benefits for families in Hawai`i and across the country. Said Donnelly: “Every day, Hoosier (Indiana) families and seniors rely on Medicare and HIP 2.0, which Governor Mike Pence established and was made possible thanks to the health care law. I have opposed and will continue to oppose privatization of Medicare or turning it into a voucher system. If my colleagues, Republican or Democratic, have constructive ideas that would strengthen Medicare or Medicaid, count me in, but if they want to break promises to our seniors or take away coverage and increase premiums for families, count me out.”
    Hirono explained that the Hirono-Donnelly amendment would create a budget point of order to prevent changes to Medicare that raise the eligibility age, change eligibility requirements, or privatize and voucherize the program. The amendment would also prevent changes to Medicaid that reduce state funding from current levels. Any changes to either program would require a supermajority in Congress. Hirono pointed out that nearly one in three American families depend on Medicare and Medicaid for their health care needs.

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Native Hawaiians interested in participating in films
about Ala Kahakai Trail and other National Parks can
respond to a casting call through Feb. 15.
Photo from NPS

A CASTING CALL FOR NATIVE HAWAIIANS has gone out from the National Park Service on the Island of Hawaiʻi.  Through Feb. 15, Native Hawaiians are invited try out for a variety of roles in four new Visitor Center films, produced in both the Hawaiian and English languages. Participating is the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail which runs through Ka`u. The other parks are Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park and Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park.
     The films are scheduled for release in 2018. From the Native Hawaiian perspective, they are designed to tell rich stories of Hawaiʻi’s past, from 300 A.D to modern times. No acting experience is necessary.
     All parks involved "are dedicated to the preservation, protection, and interpretation of traditional Native Hawaiian culture and natural resources," says a statement from NPS.

     All four NPS sites are located on the western side of the island. Each 15-minute film is being produced, not just for domestic and international visitors, but also for the Hawaiian people themselves. Each will be available for viewing in English and Native Hawaiian languages. The films will include Audio Description in both languages for visitors who are blind or have low vision, and on-screen Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in both languages for visitors who have hearing impairment.
     "The stories of these sacred places are told through on-camera interviews with Hawaiian kūpuna, spiritual leaders and cultural practitioners," says the NPS statement. 

    Also interviewed for the films are Native Hawaiians who work at each park as interpreters, cultural experts, natural resource managers, and historians. "All voices are woven into a 'living' tapestry, revealing each park’s distinct story from a Native Hawaiian perspective. A common thread throughout is the spiritual relationship native Hawaiians have with their gods, their land, and one another. The films honor and celebrate the beauty and deep history of the Hawaiian people – past, present, and future – and the National Park Service sites that help preserve the legacy and spirit of sacred places."
     Great Divide Pictures of Denver, CO, award-winning producers of over 30 films for the National Park Service, is producing the films for the Hawaiʻi parks. To complement the interviews, Great Divide will capture the visual splendor of each park from the ground and air, and will produce cinematic historical recreations that bring Hawaiʻi’s important past alive. 

Ala Kahakai Trail in Ka`u. Photo by Julia Neal

     The historical recreations will be filmed on-site at each park in May 2017. Great Divide and the National Park Service are looking to cast people who will portray Kamehameha the Great and Keōua Kūʻahuʻula. In addition, the producers are looking to cast warriors, kahuna, aliʻi (Hawaiian royalty), and makaʻāinana (commoners). 

      Among the historical scenes planned for production are: the intense personal journey of an escaped warrior who undergoes a spiritual transformation at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau during the 1600s; the 1791 confrontation of rivals, Kamehameha and Keōua Kūʻahuʻula, at Puʻukoholā Heiau; the ingenious methods Hawaiians used to create life-sustaining fishponds at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park; and how ancestral Hawaiians created an extensive network of trails – lifelines – throughout the island, commemorated now by Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail.

     The casting deadline is Feb. 15, 2017. Send email to: gdpcasting@gmail.com. 

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ALLOWING FISH FARMING AS CLOSE AS THREE MILES OFFSHORE is the plan by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Farms in federal waters are seen as an answer to depletion of wild fish stock. An Associated Press story by Caleb Jones describes it like this: "As traditional commercial fishing is threatening fish populations worldwide, U.S. officials are working on a plan to expand fish farming into federal waters around the Pacific Ocean. The government sees the move toward aquaculture as a promising solution to feeding a hungry planet."

Sylvia Earle, former chief scientist for NOAA, questions the federal plan to

allow and manage open ocean aquaculture. Photo by Kip Evans/Mission Blue

     Federally managed fish farms already exist in the Gulf of Mexico. The AP story notes: "Fish farming has been practiced for centuries in Hawai`i and around the world. But modern aquaculture, some environmentalists say, carries pollution risks and the potential for non-native farmed fish to escape and enter the natural ecosystem. Most shellfish consumed in America comes from farms, and their methods are widely considered sustainable. However, some farms that grow carnivorous fish such as salmon have raised concerns about sustainability because they use wild-caught fish to feed the captive species."

     The AP story also quotes Sylvia Earle, a supporter of President Barack Obama's recent expansion of the marine monument area in Hawaiian waters. Earle is NOAA's former chief scientist, a renowned deep ocean explorer, educator, and head of Mission Blue, an international group to protect the world's oceans.

        According to the AP story, Earle said, that "there are more environmentally sustainable and economically viable options than open-ocean aquaculture, which uses floating net-pens or submerged cages. 'We have to make a choice with aquaculture,' she said. 'Is our goal to feed a large number of people? Or is our goal to create or to serve a luxury market?'” 

     The story reports Earle saying that no dollar figure can be attached to keeping the ocean, and, in turn humans, healthy. “We now have recognition of other values of the ocean beyond what we can extract either for food or for products,” she told AP.

     The AP also reports NOAA saying researchers in waters off the Big Island "are studying ways to make open ocean farming safe and efficient. They are studying different techniques and species to better understand problems the industry could face."

     See more on NOAA's aquaculture programs at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture and more on Sylvia Earle at www.mission-blue.org 

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EDDIE KAMAE, A FAVORITE HAWAIIAN MUSICIAN AND LEADER in the 20th century Hawaiian Renaissance, died on Saturday morning at the age of 89. Through the years he distinguished himself as a singer, musician, composer, a documentary film director, and author.
     Kamae helped compose classics like E Ku’u Morning Dew and formed the Sons of Hawai`i with the late Gabby Pahinui. Over the years, the Sons of Hawai`i included musicians with Ka`u connections such as the late Dennis Kamakahi and the recording of his award winning song Wahine `Ilekea. Kamae also performed with Pahala native Ledward Ka`apana and his late brother Nedward. Kamae's recordings of songs about Hawai`i Island include Mary Kawena Pukui`'s Mauna Kea, Kamae's Waipi`o Valley Song and Hualalai.

Eddie Kamae with his palaka shirt and album cover.

      Well-known Ocean View hula dancer and long time entertainer, Sammi Fo, remembers Kamae from the late 60’s. At that time Kamae was friends with her late husband, Buddy Fo, also a top Hawaiian musician, and dated Buddy’s beautiful aunt. “Eddie was among the very best `ukulele players in the Hawai’i, she said on Sunday. “I remember him wearing checked shirts, which we called Palaka Shirts, and workers’ bib coveralls and then he would tie a handkerchief around his head like a sweatband. It was like a trademark look for him.”
     Kamae’s professional career began in 1948 as part of The `Ukulele Rascals duo with Shoi Ikemi. He would later play Spanish music, show tunes, and the classics as a soloist at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
     In 1959, Kamae met Gabby Pahinui and formed The Sons of Hawai`i. Their 1971 album The Folk Music of Hawai`i was a crucial part of the overall rediscovery of the Native Hawaiian culture, also reviving interest in the elegant music of the monarchy era.
     Together with Joe Marshall and David “Feets” Rogers, Kamae and Pahinui brought to life an amazing repertoire of authentic Hawaiian music that might otherwise have been lost to the ages, including songs that were written by Queen Lili‘uokalani during her incarceration in Iolani Palace after the U.S. Marines overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893. Kamae found them in the Bishop Museum archives, arranged the scores and began playing them.

Led Ka`apana, who grew up in Pahala, played with Eddie Kamae at
numerous performances. Photo by John Berger

According to the Hawaiian Legacy Foundation, Kamae received nearly 50 awards, honor and tributes, including Master of Traditional Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Hawai`i for "a lifetime of achievements in preserving Hawaiian language and culture through music and film." He was also recognized in 1979 as a Living Treasure of Hawai`i by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii`, and in 2007 he was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.
     A statement from the Kamaes’ Hawaiian Legacy Foundation on Kamae's death read: “Eddie Kamae passed peacefully this morning with his wife Myrna by his side, a smile on his face and ‘E Ku’u Morning Dew playing in the background. His legacy will continue through the Hawaiian Legacy Foundation.”

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INFRASOUND, THE ATMOSPHERIC SOUND and vibration below the threshold of human hearing, is the After Dark in the Park presentation on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. at Kīlauea Visitor Center auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Milton Garces explains how infrasound can provide early warning of manmade and natural disasters, through “listening” to Kīlauea, Mauna Loa, and Hualālai volcanoes through one of the most advanced infrasound networks in the world. Entry is free;  $2 donation helps with park programs. Park Fees apply.

Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017

Hōkūleʻa will soon return to Pacific waters after its around the world voyage through Indian and
Atlantic Oceans. Photo from Polynesian Voyaging Society

A HOMECOMING DATE FOR HAWAI`I'S LEGENDARY SAILING CANOE has been set. Hōkūleʻa will soon sail through the Panama Canal and return to the Pacific Ocean for the first time in nearly two years. Since May of 2014, she has visited 150 ports in 27 nations to create a symbolic “lei of hope” around the globe. Hōkūleʻa is due to make her historic arrival at Magic Island on O`ahu on Saturday, June 17. The landing will include a homecoming ceremony and celebration. Eventually, shorter sailing voyages to Hawai`i and the other Hawaiian islands will also welcome her home.

Hōkūleʻa will soon reenter the Pacific after sailing

 the Indian and Atlantic Oceans for nearly two years.

Photo from Polynesian Voyaging Society

     Hōkūleʻa stopped in Ka`u several times in her preparation for the international sailing adventure, the crew meeting with community and school children to show them the preparation and share the enthusiasm for the long adventure at sea.

     The title of her Malama Honua Worldwide voyage can be translated as “to care for our Island Earth.” A primary mission of the voyage is to grow the global movement toward a more sustainable world.   
      Hōkūleʻa sailed the Pacific from Hawai`i to Tahiti, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand and Australia. In the Indian Ocean, she visited Bali, Maritius and South Africa. Rounding the southern tip of Africa, she entered the Atlantic Ocean, stopping at the island of Saint Helena, then Brazil, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maine.     
     After spending several months sailing up and then down the East Coast, Hōkūleʻa left U.S. waters in Key West, Florida. The crew spent Christmas and New Years in the Caribbean, sailing to the west of Cuba on their way south. In Panama, the crew will engage with local communities in marine activities.

     It will take the crew about two days to make their way from Colon, through the 48-mile Panama Canal, to Balboa to re-enter the Pacific Ocean and sail to the Polynesian Triangle for the final leg of the voyage. She will make stops in the Galapagos Islands, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and French Polynesia.

     Her sister canoe, Hikianalia, returned to the islands last year.

     Hōkūleʻa is the Polynesian name for Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation Bootes. She is a performance-accurate full-scale replica of a waʻa kaulua, a Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe. She was launched on 8 March 1975 by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, and is best known for her 1976 Hawaiʻi to Tahiti voyage completed with exclusively Polynesian navigation techniques.

     See more and keep track of the voyage at www.hokulea.com
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A voyage for the worldwide sustainability movement continues on the Hōkūleʻa, the Polynesian Voyaging Canoe.
Map from Polynesian Voyaging Society

PEACEMAKING BETWEEN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE was the focus of a statement released Friday by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who was sworn into the 115th Congress last week and serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Gabbard supported a UN resolution opposing continued Israeli settlement activity in areas claimed by Palestinians. She voted against U.S. House Resolution 11 that condemns UN opposition to the Israeli settlements.  The U.S. Congress passed its resolution supporting the settlements last week with a vote of 342 to 80.  The House resolution also condemns UN Ambassador Samantha Power's and the Obama Administration's decision to refrain from blocking the UN resolution against the settlements.

United States Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, who declined

 to block the UN resolution condemning Israel settlements in territory

 claimed by Palestinians. Hawai`i Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard 

supported the UN resolution and voted against a

resolution in Congress that condemns it. Photo from the UN

    Gabbard explained her vote: "While the UN resolution was one-sided and problematic in many respects, it recognized that the continued expansion of Israeli settlements undermines the path to peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
     "On Jan. 5, 2017 the U.S. House of Representatives considered H.Res.11 which condemns the UN’s actions, as well as the U.S. government’s decision not to block the UN Resolution. I voted against H.Res.11 because it represents a one-sided view of the current situation, and undermines a long history of bipartisan U.S. efforts to work through bilateral and multilateral forums toward a two-state solution.
     “I know how important our enduring alliance with Israel is. My vote upholds my commitment to maintaining and strengthening this alliance, as well as my long-held position that the most viable path to peace between Israel and Palestine can be found through both sides negotiating a two-state solution.

Tulsi Gabbard sworn into the 115th Congress with
 Republican leader Paul Ryan. Photo from Tulsi Gabbard

     "While I remain concerned about aspects of the UN Resolution, I share the Obama Administration’s reservation about the harmful impact Israeli settlement activity has on the prospects for peace.
      “Ultimately, a negotiated solution must come from Israelis and Palestinians themselves, and can only happen when both parties are committed to peace, where they alone determine the terms of the settlement. I co-sponsored H.Res.23 which reaffirms the U.S. commitment to Israel, and a negotiated settlement leading to a sustainable two-state solution that re-affirms Israel’s right to exist as a democratic, Jewish state and establishes a demilitarized democratic Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to support bilateral negotiations between Israel and Palestine in order to bring an end to this enduring conflict.”

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THE COST OF CLEARING OF ALBIZIA TREES is one of the justifications presented by Hawai`i Electric Light Co. in its proposal to raise its customers' electricity rates.
     Albizias, cousins to the monkeypod tree, were introduced to Hawai`i in 1917 from the Molucca Islands in Indonesia and have spread across the islands. Thinly rooted and top heavy, they often fall during storms, taking out power lines and poles and crashing into vehicles and homes.
     According to the rate case filed by HELCO before the Public Utilities Commission, the utility wants ratepayers to help finance the cutting and trimming of albizia. The rate hike would be 6.5 percent to accommodate albizia cutting and many other costs. The rate hike could be as high as 12.5 percent, if HELCO is able to purchase a fossil-fuel power generating plant in Hamakua.

Albizia trees that towered over Bull Kailiawa's Ka`u coffee
plantings in Moa`ula. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

    The felling of albizias could be funded by turning the harvested trees into electricity, according to the managers of several projects on the north end of the state. On Kaua`i, a Green Energy Team was founded to develop biomass-to-energy, with albizia as one of the main sources of fuel. The company is selling the electricity to the Kaua`i Island Utility Cooperative. During a blessing for the project last April, Gov. David Ige remarked,  “In addition to producing energy, we have found a use for albizia, described as an invasive species, the scourge of the islands during the last hurricane.”
     The plant was funded, in part, with a $72.9 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service. The budget for the facility was $90 million.
     Eric Knutzen, of Green Energy Hawai`i, asserted, “It’s been about 12 years since we first talked about this. It’s been a long road, but it’s operating, now — producing on an average of 12.4 percent of Kaua`i’s energy needs being provided through Kaua`i Island Utility Cooperative.”
     Jim Kelly, of the Kaua`i Island Utility Cooperative, said, “This plant is sustainable, renewable, and independent of local and foreign oil supply.”
    Reports from The Garden Island newspaper on Kaua`i stated that more than albizia will be burned to make electricity at Green Energy Hawai`i. 

Albizia treated with herbicide.
Photo from Big Island Invasive Species Council

     “In addition to contracts to clear invasive albizia trees from several locations around the island, GET is in negotiations with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to purchase up to 15,000 tons of eucalyptus and pine trees that were scorched in Koke`e during fires in the summer of 2012. Those trees are being cut down and removed as part of a major reforestation project on 700 acres of forest reserve land,” reported The Garden Island.

      Concerning a separate proposal that has not come to fruition by another company on Kaua`i, Life of the Land made comments on the use of albizia. Life of the Land noted that one problem with albizia is that the chopping down of the “mature plant will decrease the invasive population. However, invasive trees are difficult to cut down and chop up, so they are left standing and saplings are used instead. This does not eliminate the invasive problem.” 

      During the time when `Aina Koa Pono was proposing a biofuel plant in Wood Valley, the managers also proposed using albizia, monkeypod, Christmas berry and all other non-native trees to fuel their microwave refinery. `Aina Koa Pono also proposed to grow biofuel crops on lands between Pahala and Na`alehu to make fuel for electricity to be sold to HELCO. The proposed site of the `Aina Koa Pono plant is now being used for growing coffee.

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MEDICINE FOR THE MIND. Buddhist healing meditation teaching for beginners through advanced, Volcano Art Center, Sunday, Jan. 8 at 4 p.m. Free. 985-7470.

SENIOR ID's available, Monday, Jan. 9 from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Pahala Housing Center and 11 a.m. to noon at Na`alehu Community Center. For residents 60 and older. 928-3100.

INFRASOUND, THE ATMOSPHERIC SOUND and vibration below the threshold of human hearing, is the After Dark in the Park presentation on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. at Kīlauea Visitor Center auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

Milton Garces presents a talk Tuesdy on sounds below threshold of
human hearing that can provide early warning of manmade and natural
disasters. Photo from infrasound Laboratory University of Hawai`i

     These low-frequency sounds are generated by large-scale fluid flow and can propagate for thousands of kilometers to provide early warning of natural or man-made hazards. Active open-vent volcanoes, such as Kīlauea, are exceptionally good sound emitters, and scientists are steadily building a continuous baseline of volcano-acoustic activity, including infrasonic tremor from Halemaʻumaʻu and Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.  

     Milton Garces, Director of the University of Hawaiʻi Infrasound Laboratory, talks about “listening” to Kīlauea, Mauna Loa, and Hualālai volcanoes through one of the most advanced infrasound networks in the world. Entry is free but $2 donation. Park Fees apply.

www.kaucalendar.com

Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017

Coffee berry borers have gone beyond Ka`u and Kona. They were recently found on Maui and the
state Department of Agriculture is encouraging all farmers to use safe practices to prevent further
spread of the pest. See story below. Photo by Peggy Greb/USDA

THE NEW CONSUMER ADVOCATE for the state of Hawai`i is Dean Nishina. His official title is executive director for Department of Commerce and Consumer Affair’s Division of Consumer Advocacy.
     The state Consumer Advocate has been involved in such Ka`u issues as the `Aina Koa Pono biofuel plant for producing electricity that was planned for Wood Valley, the ongoing controversy over industrial scale solar installations planned for Ocean View neighborhoods, and the proposed rate hikes by Hawai`i Electric Light Co. All three were proposed to the state Public Utilities Commission where Nishina gives his testimony on behalf of the public.
     Nishina has been serving as acting executive director since Sept. 1, following the departure of Jeffrey Ono, who returned to private practice.

Dean Nishina will be working on the industrial solar installation
proposals issue in Ocean View and the proposed HELCO
rate hike. Photo from state Department of Commerce

     As the Consumer Advocate, Nishina oversees the division’s representation of consumer interests before the PUC and other local and federal agencies. Nishina previously served in the role from December 2009 to January 2011.
     “We are extremely pleased that Dean has agreed to return as the state’s Consumer Advocate,” said Catherine Awakuni Colón, director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. “He has been with the department for nearly 25 years, and has a wealth of experience in the area of public utilities. His depth of knowledge would truly be a benefit to protect the interests of Hawai`i’s consumers. ”
     Nishina has recently served as public utilities/transportation administrator for the Division of Consumer Advocacy. He has filled various roles of increasing responsibility within the division since 1992. Earlier, Nishina worked as an audit and financial consulting senior for Arthur Andersen & Co, LLP, where he specialized in auditing and accounting of electric and gas utilities, government and telecommunications industries.
     “I look forward to continuing to advocate on behalf of the state’s consumers in this dynamic period,” said Nishina. “Hawai`i’s energy environment has seen significant changes over recent years. Going forward, we remain committed to balancing the demands of Hawai`i’s energy landscape to promote renewable energies to achieve the state’s goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2045. Nishina received his undergraduate degree in economics and psychology from Northwestern University, and his M.S. degree in professional accountancy from DePaul University.
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ELLISON ONIZUKA KONA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AT KEAHOLE is Kona Airport's new name. Gov. David Ige signed the name change into law in July and it became official Jan. 1.

    Onizuka, the Hawai`i Island astronaut who lost his life on the space shuttle Challenger, was tied to Ka`u through his wife Lorna Leiko Yoshida. She was originally from Na`alehu, where her father Susumu worked for Hutchinson Sugar Co.

Ellison Onizuka is honored in the new name for the Kona Airport.

     Lorna Onizuka's mother Anna grew up in Na`alehu and later moved to Houston to be with the Onizuka family. Ellison and Lorna had two daughters, Janelle Onizuka-Gillilan and Darien Lei Shizue Onizuka-Morgan. Lorna has worked for NASA and as a liaison with Japan’s space agency.  

     Ellison Onizuka graduated from Konawaena High School in 1964. He entered Air Force ROTC and received an aerospace engineering bachelor's and master's degrees from University of Colorado at Boulder.
     For the Big Island, Ellison Onizuka was a champion of science and space, giving inspiring presentations at schools and other venues, on tour as the first Asian-American astronaut. He died, along with six other crew members, when the space shuttle Challenger exploded upon lift off on Jan. 28, 1986. 

     With the re-establishment of a U.S. customs station in the airport last month, Hawaiian Airlines launched service between Haneda and Kona International Airports, bringing flights from Japan back to the Big Island for the first time since 2010.
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COFFEE BERRY BORERS, the scourge of Ka`u and Kona coffee farms, have made their way to Maui, according to the state Department of Agriculture. Scott Enright, chair of the state Board of Agriculture, urges all Ka`u, Kona and other coffee farmers with CBB in their fields to “continue to be vigilant and learn about CBB and how infestations can be detected and managed.”
     “Despite strict quarantine rules that have been established on the interisland movement of coffee plants and plant parts from Hawai`i Island, CBB infestations have been extremely difficult to contain,” said Enright.

Coffee berry borers and ride from one farm to another
on burlap bags used in picking and storing coffee.
Photo from konacoffeefarmers.org

     The statement describes coffee berry borer as “a serious pest of coffee that was first detected in the state in Kona in 2010.”
       Speculation is that it arrived in bags of imported coffee used to mix with Kona coffee for blended brands. From Kona, the borer made its way to Ka`u, possibly on coffee bags, on the clothing of coffee pickers and on vehicles going back and forth between coffee farms in Ka`u and milling and roasting operations and farms in Kona.
     The spread to Maui was suspected when coffee berry borer was detected in December on a coffee farm in Kipahulu. A neighbor of the 13-acre farm reported possible CBB to an extension agent at the University of Hawai`i, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources on Maui. Entomologists at the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture confirmed that it was coffee berry borer.
     UH-CTAHR reports that the entire Maui farm where the borer was detected has been found to be infested with CBB, which indicates the infestation has been there for some time.
     Earlier in November, 2016, a resident in Hana contacted HDOA about CBB in two backyard coffee trees. Those backyard trees were stripped of all coffee berries and fallen cherries have been collected and frozen to kill CBB. HDOA continues to monitor CBB traps at that site. Although the Kipahulu farm and the Hana residence are about 12 miles apart; it is not known if the two infestations are related.
     The state Department of Agriculture surveys have been conducted in West Maui, Iao Valley and Waikapu, and CBB has not been detected in those areas. Its Plant Quarantine Branch is also working on expanding quarantine protocol for movement of coffee plants and plant parts from Maui to uninfested areas.
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Republican Paul Cook and Democrat Tulsi Gabbard both
introduced the HIRE Vets Act this week.

THE HIRE VETS ACT OF 2017 was introduced into Congress this week by the Democrat, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and the Republican, Paul Cook. The bipartisan bill was previously introduced and passed the House with unanimous support in November 2016, but the Senate was unable to pass it before the end of the year.
      The legislation would promote private sector recruiting, hiring, and retaining of men and women who served honorably in the U.S. military through a voluntary and effective program. It would create an award program recognizing the meaningful, verifiable efforts undertaken by employers – both large and small – to hire and retain veterans. Cook and Gabbard designed the program to be self-funded.
       Through the U.S. Department of Labor, the HIRE Vets Act would allow businesses to display “HIRE Vets Medallions” on products and marketing materials. These medallions would be awarded as part of a four-tiered system – Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum – associated with specific hiring and retention goals each year.   
     The program also establishes similar tiered awards for small and mid-sized businesses with less than 500 employees. To ensure proper oversight, the Secretary of Labor would be required to provide Congress with annual reports on the success of the program with regard to veteran employment and retention results.        

     Said Gabbard, “Roughly 500 veterans return to civilian life every single day, joining the more than 2.9 million veterans that have returned home since 9/11. While we’ve taken some important steps to encourage employers to hire more veterans, more than 400,000 veterans across the country are still unemployed today. Through their service, veterans develop unique skills, experiences, and leadership training that make them especially valuable to employers. The HIRE Vets Act incentivizes employers to hire veterans, and recognizes employers that provide a supportive work environment to retain veteran employees. I encourage our colleagues to join us in passing this bill unanimously again to move this support for our veterans and employers forward.”
       Gabbard's Republican partner for introducing the bill, Paul Cook, said, “The HIRE Vets Act is an opportunity for Americans to see which companies truly live up to the employment promises they make to veterans. Veterans who serve this country honorably shouldn’t struggle to find employment, and this bill creates an innovative system to encourage and recognize employers who make veterans a priority in their hiring practices.”
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