Kaʻū News Briefs, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023

Queen Lili'uokalani and Jacki Pualani Johnson. Johnson presents her one woman show on Tuesday on the anniversary of the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The venue is After Dark in the Park at Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium at 7 p.m.
Queen Lili'uokalani image from HVNP. Jackie Pualani Johnson photo by Ku'uehu Mauga

Nexamp estimates about 15 percent in savings
on Hawaiian Electric bills through its
Nāʻālehu Solar program. Image from Nexamp

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

NEXAMP IS AIMING FOR NA'ALEHU SOLAR FARM TO GO ONLINE by June 2025. The project on agricultural land goes to a community meeting from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday Jan. 26 at Nā'alehu Community Center, and requires permitting from the county. On 176 acres west of Nā'alehu and South of Hwy 11, the solar farm would serve about 500 households that would save an average of 15 percent on Hawaiian Electric Bills. At least 60 percent of those served must be low to moderate income households, as established by U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. The remaining customers would be non-profits, including government agencies. Nexamp's Nāʻālehu Solar is one of seven projects recently chosen by Hawaiian Electric for a shared solar program, to offer savings through solar energy for those unable to install solar panels. Nexamp also operates in Illinois, New York, Minnesota, Maine and other locations. Nexamp representatives said the site was chosen to minimize cultural and environmental impacts and visibility.
    Nāʻālehu Solar is planned to be a 3.5 MG plus battery facility.  Nexamp's website says, "Hawai'i is

Location of the planned Nāʻālehu Solar Farm.
Image from Nexamp

 moving away from fossil fuels and into a renewable future. Nāʻālehu Solar is designed to support the island’s goal of being 100% renewable by 2045. The project, located south of Mamalahoa Highway, will generate clean power, build grid reliance, and lower electricity costs..... Nexamp will finance, construct, own and operate the project. We plan to use local labor at prevailing wages for construction and ongoing maintenance and have already established relationships with local contractors."

    Nexamp calls its program the "Utility of the Future" and says, "We’re working with communities, businesses, and municipalities to democratize clean energy and support U.S. energy independence." See more at nexamp.com/naalehu-solar.

Nexamp's plan for community outreach, government approvals and construction.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

HAWAI'I IS ONE OF THE SAFEST STATES FOR DRIVING BUT THE WORST TO DRIVE IN,

according to the latest WalletHub study. The study concludes that Hawai'i is the sixth safest state to drive in. However, when ranking the states on cost of buying and maintaining vehicles, cost of fuel and insurance, repairs, and the condition of roads and bridges, along with other metrics, Hawa'i ranks dead last.
    Hawai'i ranks 50th in Cost of Ownership & Maintenance, 43rd in Traffic & Infrastructure (heavily weighted by conditions on O'ahu), and 38th in Access to Vehicles & Maintenance. Another metric included in the study was days with least and most precipitation. Hawai'i has the second most days with precipitation in the country, according to WalletHub.

    See https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-drive-in/43012.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

A FISHER SAID A FISHING PARTNER WENT OVERBOARD AFTER HOOKING A BIG AHI and

Missing Mark Knittle
Photo from Hawai'i Police Department

police have launched a missing person investigation. A report from Hawai‘i Island police on Monday said that 63-year-old Mark Knittle was fishing on a boat off Hōnaunau on Sunday morning.
    Knittle, of Captain Cook, is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, 185 pounds, with curly brown hair with a white mustache and beard.
    The police announcement says, "It was reported to police that on Sunday, January 15, 2023, at 5 a.m., Knittle and a friend were fishing near the C buoy, four miles outside of the Hōnaunau Boat Ramp, when Knittle hooked an ahi. The friend heard Knittle say, 'the fish is huge,' then saw Knittle go overboard into the water. The friend attempted to grab the line but was unsuccessful. Knittle was seen on the surface and disappeared within seconds. The friend attempted to jump in after Knittle but could not see him anywhere."
    Hawai‘i Fire Department and Coast Guard personnel were called out to conduct a 72-hour search.
    Police ask that anyone with information regarding this incident call the police department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311 or email Officer Melani Cline at melani.cline@hawaiicounty.gov.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

FREE FOOD

St. Jude's Hot Meals are free to those in need on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until food runs out, no later than noon. Volunteers from the community are welcome to help and can contact Karen at pooch53@gmail.com. Location is 96-8606 Paradise Circle Drive in Ocean View.  Those in need can also take hot showers from 9 a.m. to noon and use the computer lab from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Free Meals Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are served from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Nā'ālehu Hongwanji. Volunteers prepare the food provided by 'O Ka'ū Kākou with fresh produce from its gardens on the farm of Eva Liu, who supports the project. Other community members also make donations and approximately 150 meals are served each day, according to OKK President Wayne Kawachi.

OUTDOOR MARKETS

Volcano Evening Market, Cooper Center, Volcano Village, Thursdays, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., with live music, artisan crafts, ono grinds, and fresh produce. See facebook.com.

Volcano Swap Meet, fourth Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to noon. Large variety of vendors with numerous products. Tools, clothes, books, toys, local made healing extract and creams, antiques, jewelry, gemstones, crystals, food, music, plants, fruits, and vegetables. Also offered are cakes, coffee, and shave ice. Live music.

Volcano Farmers Market, Cooper Center, Volcano Village on Sundays, 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., with local produce, baked goods, food to go, island beef and Ka'ū Coffee. EBT is used for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly Food Stamps. Call 808-967-7800.

'O Ka'ū Kākou Market, Nā'ālehu, Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Contact Nadine Ebert at 808-938-5124 or June Domondon 808-938-4875. See facebook.com/OKauKakouMarket.

Ocean View Community Market, Saturdays and Wednesdays, 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., corner of Kona Drive and Highway 11, where Thai Grindz is located. Masks mandatory. 100-person limit, social distancing required. Gate unlocked for vendors at 5:30 a.m., $15 dollars, no reservations needed. Parking in the upper lot only. Vendors must provide their own sanitizer. Food vendor permits required. Carpooling is encouraged.

Ocean View Swap Meet at Ocean View makai shopping center, near Mālama Market. Hours for patrons are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Vendor set-up time is 5 a.m. Masks required.

The Book Shack is open every Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Kauaha'ao Congregational Church grounds at 95-1642 Pinao St. in Wai'ōhinu.

Kaʻū News Briefs, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023

USGS and University of Hawai'i researchers are proposing to place 1,600 seismic nodes around Pāhala this summer to further study whether there is a channel between lava chambers beneath the village and chambers in Kilauea volcano. The study follow the one last summer and a recent analysis of quakes here by Cal Tech.  Photo by Helen Janiszewski/University of Hawai'i

SEISMOLOGISTS SHED LIGHT ON PROCESSES OCCURRING DEEP BENEATH PAHALA. That is the title of the latest Volcano Watch, written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates:
    Pāhala, a town located in the southeast part of the Island of Hawai‘i, lies above the state’s most seismically active area. In the last five years, the average weekly number of earthquakes has increased from about 60 to 600 earthquakes per week.
These frequent earthquakes occur deep beneath the Pāhala region at approximately 20 to 40 km (12 to 25 miles) depth. Larger events are regularly felt by residents living both within Pāhala and across the island.
In a 2015 study, scientists at USGS located and classified earthquakes in this region into two main groups.
    A more continuous seismic tremor, a type of signal often used to trace the movement of magma within a volcanic system, was identified at approximately 40 km (25 miles) depth,

Temporary Seismic instruments around Pāhala are in
green and blue. Permanent ones are in white.
USGS image

both on- and off-shore of the Pāhala region. This activity was interpreted as the migration of magma from the deep Hawaiian hot spot to more shallow depths.
    Above this deep region of seismic activity, a zone of volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquakes (indicative of rock breaking) was observed extending from this tremor region to deep beneath Kīlauea. Based on the linear trend of this seismicity, USGS scientists suggested that this distribution of earthquakes marked a path of magma migration underground from storage below Pāhala towards Kīlauea summit. However, evidence supporting this hypothesis was limited to one chain of VT events.
    A recently released study by seismologists at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) sheds new light on the processes occurring deep beneath Pāhala. These scientists have employed newly developed machine learning (computer systems that analyze large data sets and identify major patterns within the data) to identify a large number of extremely small earthquakes (microseismicity) occurring beneath the Pāhala region that were previously uncatalogued by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Such microseismicity is too small to be identified using automated methods typically employed to detect earthquakes.
    Many of these events are VT earthquakes located within the zone of deep Pāhala seismicity previously identified by USGS scientists. This large number of newly identified VT events outline what appears to be a region of horizontally layered magma storage deep beneath Pāhala, called a sill complex.
Further supporting this idea, long period earthquakes (indicative of the movement of fluids such as magma) are seen occurring within these sills. Together, these observations demonstrate that deep seismicity beneath Pāhala is consistent with the migration and storage of magma within this sill complex.

Researchers deploy the temporary 
seismic instruments. Photo by Julie Chang/UH

The CalTech study also identified a limited number of VT events extending from the sill complex into the region of magma storage beneath Kīlauea summit. The authors suggested that this distribution of earthquakes may represent a possible magma pathway from the deep Pāhala sill complex into Kīlauea’s magma storage reservoir. However, more evidence is needed to support or refute this hypothesis.
    Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is undertaking two large seismic experiments in the region to better understand seismic and volcanic activity in the Pāhala and Kīlauea regions. In the summer of 2022, 86 temporary seismic instruments were deployed across Pāhala to record earthquakes occurring within this region for three months. In the summer of 2023, approximately 1600 temporary seismic instruments are proposed to be deployed across Kīlauea summit to record seismic signals for six weeks.
    These dense, temporary deployments will record seismic activity across the Kīlauea and Pāhala regions more accurately than HVO’s permanent network of instruments. Seismologists at HVO will analyze these seismic data to understand whether magma stored within Pāhala’s active sill complex is connected to, and therefore a source of magma for Kīlauea volcano.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

 Kaʻū Boys Trojan basketball team has beaten a Division I team and last year's Division II
champion whose only loss this year was to Kaʻū. Home games are Wednesday and Saturday.
Photo by Julia Neal

 Kaʻū Beat Division I Kea'au on
Saturday, plays Waiakea on
Wednesday, HPA Saturday,
all three games at home.
Photo by Julia Neal

KAʻŪ HIGH TROJANS BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM won in both varsity and Junior varsity on Saturday. Junior Varsity beat Division I team Kea'au 49 to 42. Varsity beat Kea'au 44 to 40. Head coach Troy Gacayan said standout Trojan JV players were Triton Blanco who scored 12 points and Jestin Panera who scored 11 points.

    For Varsity, Trojans TJ Faafia and Kaimana Kaupu Manini both scored 11 points.
    There will be another home game this Wednesday with JV at 5 p.m. and Varsity at 6:30 against Waiakea, another  Division I team. The last home game and senior night is this Saturday at 5 p.m. against Hawai'i Preparatory Academy.
     Earlier in the season, Trojan varsity beat the defending Division II champions Kohala who were undefeated.  Gacayan called the win against the Kohala Cowboys "a huge upset." Assistant coach is Joah Gacayan.

     Kaʻū Trojans have already qualified for the Big Island Interscholastic Federation semifinals on Jan. 30, If the Trojans win, they will go to the finals at the Civic Center. 

    This Wednesday, Trojans host Division I Waiakea with JV at 5  p.m. and Varsity at 6:30 p.m. at the Robert Herkes  Kaʻū District Gym. The last home game will be this Saturday against Hawai'i Preparatory Academy with JV at 5 p.m. and Varsity at 6:30 p.m.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

FREE FOOD

St. Jude's Hot Meals are free to those in need on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until food runs out, no later than noon. Volunteers from the community are welcome to help and can contact Karen at pooch53@gmail.com. Location is 96-8606 Paradise Circle Drive in Ocean View.  Those in need can also take hot showers from 9 a.m. to noon and use the computer lab from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Masks and social distancing required.

Free Meals Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are served from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Nā'ālehu Hongwanji. Volunteers prepare the food provided by 'O Ka'ū Kākou with fresh produce from its gardens on the farm of Eva Liu, who supports the project. Other community members also make donations and approximately 150 meals are served each day, according to OKK President Wayne Kawachi.

OUTDOOR MARKETS

Volcano Evening Market, Cooper Center, Volcano Village, Thursdays, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., with live music, artisan crafts, ono grinds, and fresh produce. See facebook.com.

Volcano Swap Meet, fourth Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to noon. Large variety of vendors with numerous products. Tools, clothes, books, toys, local made healing extract and creams, antiques, jewelry, gemstones, crystals, food, music, plants, fruits, and vegetables. Also offered are cakes, coffee, and shave ice. Live music.

Volcano Farmers Market, Cooper Center, Volcano Village on Sundays, 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., with local produce, baked goods, food to go, island beef and Ka'ū Coffee. EBT is used for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly Food Stamps. Call 808-967-7800.

'O Ka'ū Kākou Market, Nā'ālehu, Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Contact Nadine Ebert at 808-938-5124 or June Domondon 808-938-4875. See facebook.com/OKauKakouMarket.

Ocean View Community Market, Saturdays and Wednesdays, 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., corner of Kona Drive and Highway 11, where Thai Grindz is located. Masks mandatory. 100-person limit, social distancing required. Gate unlocked for vendors at 5:30 a.m., $15 dollars, no reservations needed. Parking in the upper lot only. Vendors must provide their own sanitizer. Food vendor permits required. Carpooling is encouraged.

Ocean View Swap Meet at Ocean View makai shopping center, near Mālama Market. Hours for patrons are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Vendor set-up time is 5 a.m. Masks required.

The Book Shack is open every Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Kauaha'ao Congregational Church grounds at 95-1642 Pinao St. in Wai'ōhinu.

Kaʻū News Briefs, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023

Megan Tayaman assembles a robot during Amelia Earhart Girls in Engineering Day. Photo from Zonta

THE FREE AMEILA EARHART GIRLS IN ENGINEERING DAY invites Ka'u's female fourth through eighth graders to apply. Girls in Engineering Day is Saturday, Jan. 28 and registration just opened for the first 50 girls from Hawai'i Island who sign up. They are invited to spend a fun day engaged in STEM projects on Jan. 28 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Waiakea High School in Hilo. This free program is underwritten by the Zonta Club of Hilo, dedicated to empowering women and girls.

    Held annually, the Amelia Earhart Girls in Engineering Day supports girls to continue STEM curriculum throughout middle school and high school, then pursue college degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).
    This annual event was first launched in 2012. Instrumental in the program's success are organizers Dale Olive and Eric Hagiwara, talented and caring science educators at Waiakea High School, and supported by their robotics high school team. Each year the day features a different science theme and attendees participate in hands-on science activities.
    At Amelia Earhart Girls in Engineering Day, women professionals who excel in STEM fields, like this year's Brittany Zimmerman, CEO of Yummet.com, speak to and encourage all students, especially girls, to continue their STEM pathway.
    "Parents and girls sign up today as we celebrate the legacy of Amelia Earhart," says the statement from organizers. To download the registration form, visit https://zontahilo.org/event/amelia-earhart-girls-in-engineering-day/ or email Dale Olive at scienceguyme@yahoo.com.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

THE PROMOTION OF MEADOW GOLD DAIRIES AS HAWAIIAN is being tested in federal court with Hawai'i Food Service Alliance claiming deceptive practices and U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Kobayashi ruling this week that the claim can move forward. The suit also names mainland companies working with Meadow Gold in shipping mainland dairy products to Hawai'i under the Meadow Gold name. Meadow Gold uses such icons as Hawaiian cow Lani Moo and such slogans as Made with Aloha

Lani Moo, the Hawaiian dairy cow of
Meadow Gold, is embroiled in a lawsuit
claiming she misrepresents the origin of milk and 
other dairy products sold in Hawai'i.

and Hawai'i's Dairy, even for products shipped in from the mainland. On its website Meadow Gold notes that it has provided milk, ice cream and juice to Hawai'i “with aloha” for over 120 years. It began as O'ahu Dairymen’s Association in 1897. However, the lawsuit claims that Meadow Gold currently has no cows producing milk in Hawai'i.
    Last November, Meadow Gold released a statement saying, "We have never claimed that all our milk is local, but we do consider ourselves Hawai'i's Dairy because we are committed to Hawai'i and its community and will continue to be while we work toward building a more sustainable operation."
   Hawai'i Food Service Alliance is a local food distributor that claims that the promotions of Meadow Gold products as local and Hawaiian violates the federal Lanham Act. The Lanham Act permits civil suits against those who deceive consumers and influence their purchasing choices. The judge also stated that Hawai'i state law also applies when labels and statements lead consumers to believe the products come from Hawai'i.
    A statement from Chad Buck, CEO of Hawai'i Food Service Alliance, said, “We believe that Hawai'i farmers and ranchers need to be protected from mainland agricultural products masquerading as local. No

farmer will invest in local production if imported counterfeits, masquerading as local products, are allowed to compete against them. We believe that this type of deceptive packaging and marketing harms

our state’s efforts to become more sustainable and food secure.” Buck also contended that Meadow Gold is charging a premium, as if the products were all local and more expensive to make here.
    The lawsuit targets Bahman Sadeghi, a dairy farmer, who bought Meadow Gold and saved it from going under in 2020. It notes that Sadeghi, who is based in Kea'au, sells California-produced dairy products from Hollandia Dairy, Heritage Distributing Co. and Saputo Dairy Foods USA. It says he sells them with labeling and claims that indicate an origin in Hawai'i.
   Hawai'i Public Radio noted last year that Kings Hawaiian, a sweetbread bakery, was sued for using slogans like Established 1950 and Hilo, Hawai'i, even though their rolls and breads are baked in California. U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton said the labeling says that the product is made in California and that a geographic reference like Hilo does not deceive customers.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

FREE FOOD

St. Jude's Hot Meals are free to those in need on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until food runs out, no later than noon. Volunteers from the community are welcome to help and can contact Karen at pooch53@gmail.com. Location is 96-8606 Paradise Circle Drive in Ocean View.  Those in need can also take hot showers from 9 a.m. to noon and use the computer lab from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Masks and social distancing required.

Free Meals Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are served from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Nā'ālehu Hongwanji. Volunteers prepare the food provided by 'O Ka'ū Kākou with fresh produce from its gardens on the farm of Eva Liu, who supports the project. Other community members also make donations and approximately 150 meals are served each day, according to OKK President Wayne Kawachi.

OUTDOOR MARKETS

Volcano Evening Market, Cooper Center, Volcano Village, Thursdays, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., with live music, artisan crafts, ono grinds, and fresh produce. See facebook.com.

Volcano Swap Meet, fourth Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to noon. Large variety of vendors with numerous products. Tools, clothes, books, toys, local made healing extract and creams, antiques, jewelry, gemstones, crystals, food, music, plants, fruits, and vegetables. Also offered are cakes, coffee, and shave ice. Live music.

Volcano Farmers Market, Cooper Center, Volcano Village on Sundays, 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., with local produce, baked goods, food to go, island beef and Ka'ū Coffee. EBT is used for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly Food Stamps. Call 808-967-7800.

'O Ka'ū Kākou Market, Nā'ālehu, Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Contact Nadine Ebert at 808-938-5124 or June Domondon 808-938-4875. See facebook.com/OKauKakouMarket.

Ocean View Community Market, Saturdays and Wednesdays, 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., corner of Kona Drive and Highway 11, where Thai Grindz is located. Masks mandatory. 100-person limit, social distancing required. Gate unlocked for vendors at 5:30 a.m., $15 dollars, no reservations needed. Parking in the upper lot only. Vendors must provide their own sanitizer. Food vendor permits required. Carpooling is encouraged.

Ocean View Swap Meet at Ocean View makai shopping center, near Mālama Market. Hours for patrons are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Vendor set-up time is 5 a.m. Masks required.

The Book Shack is open every Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Kauaha'ao Congregational Church grounds at 95-1642 Pinao St. in Wai'ōhinu.