Kaʻū News Briefs Jan. 9, 2024

Glycine vines are killing the Norfolk pines in "Pine Tree Lane" leading into the village of Pāhala, plus trees in numerous
places throughout Kaʻū and beyond. Some volunteers, including Sophia Ottofaro and Traven Apiki have started to work on
the project, many with the GIVE organization shown above. Photo by Julia Neal

GLYCINE VINES CAN BE SEEN KILLING TREES ACROSS KAʻŪ and beyond. Two of the most noticeable places are the Norfolk pine tree lane coming into Pāhala from Hwy 11 and up Wood Valley Road. On the pine tree lane, many glycine vines with rope-sized bases coming out of the ground have strangled and killed the lower branches of the Norfolk Pines. Up Wood Valley Road, near the main water

Clearing glycine along the pine tree lane
coming into Pāhala. Photo by Julia Neal

crossing, many Norfolk Pines have died. There are also reports of farmers fighting glycine in Kaʻū Coffee fields and of some unkept coffee orchards covered with them. Along roads and highways, palms, fruit trees, shade trees, fences and outbuildings can be seen covered with vine.

    GIVE volunteer college students and leaders, who visit  Kaʻū to assist with coastal stewardship, farms and other projects, helped this week. They filled truckloads of glycine vines from the pine tree lane. Leader Traven Apiki said the volunteers dug out roots and pulled vines from the trees and matted tangles covering the ground. They were assisted by the Eder family in Pāhala and Pāhala Plantation Cottages. 

   GIVE plans to make it a regular practice to help get rid of glycine when volunteering in Kaʻū, said Apiki.

   Glycine was brought to Hawai‘i as animal feed after kukui grass was in decline, but has become an invasive species.

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DR. KIMO ALAMEDA MADE HIS RUN FOR MAYOR OFFICIAL ON TUESDAY.  After six months of consideration, he said he will hold his first official campaign rally at 5:30 p.m. this Saturday, Jan. 13 at Wailoa State Park, to publicly declare his candidacy. He held a pre-race event at Nāʻālehu on Dec. 30.       

    The former State and County administrator and non-profit health care chief said that after listening and speaking with communities around the island, "one thing is absolutely clear: our island is at a

Dr. Kimo Alameda, candidate for Hawai'i County
Mayor. Photo from Alameda campaign.

crossroads.”           

     Alameda said, “Without thoughtful and decisive leaders who understand the people of our County and the problems we face, we will continue to lose thousands of families every year because of the high cost of living, lack of quality job opportunities, and ongoing crisis of unattainable housing. These are the same issues we’ve been talking about every election for the past eight years.” 

    The candidate has produced a three-part Live-Work-Play platform, saying it is designed to focus on the real needs of local families so that future generations can continue to call Hawaiʻi Island their home. “We need to get back to the basics of providing for all our residents. Whether it's building infrastructure, diversifying our economy beyond tourism, or creating more recreation opportunities for our keiki and kūpuna, our County needs to keep the interests of the people we’re supposed to serve first.” 

     A statement from his team said, "The entry of Dr. Kimo, as he is commonly known, is expected to be a major shake-up for the Big Island mayor’s race, in which incumbent Mayor Mitch Roth is running for re-election. The 54-year-old Alameda brings a wealth of experience, both in the private sector and public service. After 15 years at the state Department of Health as a mental health specialist and later as an administrator, Dr. Kimo served as the Executive of the County Office of Aging under two Mayors Billy Kenoi and Harry Kim. 

    "In 2019, he became the CEO of Bay Clinic Health Center and helped manage its merger with West

Hawaiʻi Community Health Center during the pandemic to form the new Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center, the largest non-profit healthcare provider in the County, for which he also worked as the vice president for business development. 

    Regarding his experience that would make him an effective mayor, Alameda said, “As a psychologist, administrator for a number of government offices, and as the CEO for a major non-profit, my career has always focused on solutions and problem-solving. As the Executive of the Hawai‘i County Office of Aging, I understand County government and I know the various departments, their roles, and their needs. At the end of the day, that is what this election is about—the people. And that is where my experience lies. We need a Mayor who can put forth his vision, who has the courage to defend it, and who has the ability to engage with everybody in our County, not just certain folks.” 

    The statement from his campaign organization said, "Dr. Kimo also has a wide range of other experiences under his belt, including as a consultant specializing in conflict resolution, cultural competency, and interpersonal skill-building; a university instructor; popular keynote speaker; former chair of the County planning commission; and host of a public access program on Nā Leo TV. 

    Most recently, he volunteered as head of Hawai‘i Island Fentanyl Task Force where he "helped advocate changes to state law to make life-saving fentanyl test strips legally accessible."

     Alameda previewed his announcement and the coming race by saying, “This election goes beyond ideas. I think that as the campaign season continues, voters will be able to see how I am different from the other candidates, in terms of my approach, my vision, and my leadership style. Our campaign is an opportunity to bring the spirit of aloha back to public service, and I hope to earn the support of everyone who wants to see County government start working for all of us again.” 

    Born and raised in Hilo, Alameda graduated from St. Joseph’s High School and earned his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Nebraska. He and his wife Star live in Hilo with their seven children and one grandchild. More information on Alameda and his candidacy can be found at www.kimoformayor.com.

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THE FINANCIAL COST OF SMOKING IN HAWAI‘I IS LOWER THAN ALMOST EVERY OTHER STATE, according to a WalletHub report on Tuesday. The eight states with the lowest cost of smoking are

New York with the least cost, followed by District of Columbia, Maryland, Connecticut, Road Island, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Hawai‘i. The eight states with the highest cost of smoking are Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama, North Carolina, North Dakota, Louisiana,  Georgia and South Carolina.

    In Hawai‘i the Out-of-Pocket Cost per Smoker is $190,092 (Rank: 8th). Financial-Opportunity Cost per Smoker is $3,386,006 (Rank: 8th). Health-Care Cost per Smoker is $210,470 (Rank: 16th). Income Loss per Smoker –is $760,363 (Rank: 5th). Total Cost Over Lifetime per Smoker is $4,562,773. Total Cost per Year per Smoker is $95,058.

     WalletHub reports that "Smoking doesn’t just ruin your health. It can also burn a nasty hole through your wallet. Tobacco use accounts for nearly half a million deaths in the U.S. each year and is the leading cause of lung cancer, according to the American Lung Association. In addition, even those around tobacco smokers aren’t safe from its harmful effects. Since 1964, smoking-related illnesses have claimed over 20 million lives in the U.S., 2.5 million of which belonged to nonsmokers who developed diseases merely from secondhand-smoke exposure."

    

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A DELUGE IN KAʻŪ on Tuesday blocked Wood Valley and Kalaiki Roads, flooded spots on Hwy 11, and sent home students early on buses from public schools to avoid Kawa Flats and other other places where the only road around the island travels through the district. Sporting and numerous other activities were canceled. The storm lifted on Tuesday night.

Kaʻū News Briefs Jan. 8, 2024

Near-infrared sensor is an example of engineering and manufacturing planned for the new development center at University
 of Hawai‘i at Hilo, giving local students a career path to well-paid jobs. Photo from James Webb Telescope

INVESTING IN HIGH-PAYING PLACE-BASED CAREERS ON THIS ISLAND with an academic pathway into engineering is the goal of a new University of Hawai‘i-Hilo program. “We are on the verge of investing in place-based research and training of our students and faculty on Hawaiʻi Island, where space engineering and advanced manufacturing are at the forefront of a high-tech industry that can support a locally based, well-educated and highly paid workforce,” said U.H. Vice President of Research & Innovation Vassilis L. Surmos.    

    The space engineering and instrument development center is planned for development at the UH Institute for Astronomy where $3 million has already been budgeted by the state to begin design. The facility will cost $20 to $30 million and is set for completion in 2030. However, associated academic programming will begin in the 2024 fall semester. UH Hilo will begin an initial offering of pre-engineering courses while the new high-tech manufacturing center is developed.
   A statement from U.H. says, "Ground observatories, including those based in Hawaiʻi, spend tens of millions of dollars on a recurring basis to upgrade equipment and build instrumentation. That engineering effort typically occurs outside of the state and the planned facility will be designed to bring a larger fraction of that activity to Hawaiʻi. The additive manufacturing and precision machining capabilities of the center and its personnel will also be able to support the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and other Department of Defense entities as well as aerospace and private sector partners."

    Syrmos said, “The components of a successful center of this type already exist at UH, and this new initiative is helping to cohesively and effectively bring them together.” 

    The center is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the UH Institute for Astronomy (IfA), UH Hilo and the UH Mānoa College of Engineering (COE), which is among the 15% of engineering schools in the country that have dedicated aerospace or related programs. IfA astronomers and engineers are already developing some of the most advanced astronomical instruments in the world including:
• Near-infrared sensors on the James Webb Space Telescope,
• Adaptive secondary mirrors with broad applications in telescopes
• Software for the NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to process thousands of observations of supernovae or exploding stars.
• A new instrument that provides adaptive optics correction using objects invisible to the naked eye
    “This is a natural fit as Hawaiʻi is home to the best astronomy sites in the world and one of the world’s best research universities,” said UH Mānoa COE Dean Brennon Morioka, one of the champions of the program. “UH is now among just a handful of universities developing an on-campus, astronomical manufacturing center and it will have a far-reaching impact on our students, our state and beyond.”
    “The launch of the Space Sciences Initiative will provide valuable opportunities for UH Hilo and our students thanks to this collaboration with UH Mānoa and the UH system,” said UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin. “It expands our academic offerings that will in turn create more career opportunities for our students, especially those from Hawaiʻi Island.”
 

Nancy Grace, Mother of the Hubble, is also the namesake for a NASA telescope
 that is supported by software developed by UH Institute of Astronomy, which is
 planning to train more local students in the space engineering sciences at UH Hilo.
Photo from NASA 

  Ten new full-time faculty are now being recruited to teach the prerequisite engineering courses at UH Hilo and serve as the core engineering team for the new center. Five of the new faculty will be located at IFA’s Hilo facility and the rest at the COE at UH Mānoa. UH Hilo students can transfer those credits to UH Mānoa where they can go on and complete their engineering degrees. There are approximately 500 jobs at observatories on Maunakea and Haleakalā that are held by engineers and technicians who specialize in optics, software, data science, materials, mechanics, systems and cryogenics.
    "UH Hilo students are predominantly from Hawaiʻi Island and now they will have an academic pathway into engineering and ultimately careers that support Hawaiʻi observatories,” said UH IfA Director Doug Simons, another champion of the program. “Right now, these well-paying jobs too often go to non-residents, who are more likely to leave after a few years. We want these jobs to go to local kids. That will not only be good for them and their families, but it will also increase stability in the astronomy sector and broadly benefit our community.”
    A UH Economic Research Organization report on astronomy in Hawaiʻi found the industry in 2019 supported the employment of 1,313 residents and had a total economic impact (output of goods and services) of $221 million.

    See more at https://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/.

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Palmyra Atoll, some thousand miles southwest of Kaʻū, has a new manger, Ryan Wagner,
who works for The Nature Conservancy. Photo from TNC

THE NEW PALMYRA STATION DIRECTOR IS RYAN WAGNER. Palmyra is an atoll managed by The Nature Conservancy within a National Wildlife Refuge and further protected—out to 50 nautical miles—by a national monument, the largest collection of ocean and islands protected under a single jurisdiction in the world. It is located about 1,000 miles southwest of Kaʻū. 

     TNC also manages land in Kaʻū, including Kamehame turtle preserve and native forests between Pāhala and Nāʻālehu. 

Ryan Wagner, new TNC Director
at Palmyra. Photo from TNC

    With most local threats managed, Palmyra’s atoll ecosystem is well-positioned for adaptation and resilience in response to climate impacts. The Nature Conservancy Hawai‘i and Palmyra reported that Wagner brings extensive experience as a mariner and captain leading complex operations at sea and on land in Hawai‘i and across the Pacific. He has worked within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument at Midway, Kure and Johnston Atolls and served as TNC's chief of marine operations at Palmyra from 2008 to 2009.
   "Ryan's extensive experience managing complex operations, strong leadership skills and meticulous attention to detail will be a tremendous asset to our Palmyra program," says Trevor Taylor, TNC's director of conservation. "His leadership will improve operational efficiencies at TNC's research station at Palmyra Atoll, enabling the smooth execution of globally important science projects as well as ensuring safe and effective facilities operations.”
   Wagner's past experience includes conducting coral repairs after vessel groundings, maintaining large wave energy buoys and supporting remote offshore research projects. He has worked from Alaska to Canada, was a fisherman in the Bering Sea, captained commercial diving and mapping projects with Sea Engineering and, most recently, managed a fleet of modern harbor tugboats.
    "I'm honored and thrilled to rejoin the TNC family," said Wagner. "Palmyra left an impression on me, and 14 years after my rotation, many of my contacts and friendships remain in place. I can't wait to get

=

started."”

Diving for crown of thorn starfish in order to protect Palmyra's
 reefs. Photo from Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge

    The Nature Conservancy states that it "is a global non-profit organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Informed by science and guided by traditional values and practices, we apply innovative, nature-based solutions to our world's toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive. TNC has forged partnerships to manage 14 preserves and other sites in Hawai‘i and Palmyra Atoll, working with government, private parties and communities to protect Hawai‘i's and Palmyra's forests and coral reefs for their ecological value and for the many benefits they provide to people." Visit nature.org/HawaiiPalmyra.

AN EVENING OF OPERA & SONG, featuring students of the Garcia School, will be presented to the public at Pāhala Plantation Managers House at 96-3209 Maile Street at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Students, who are also music professors and performers from as far away as China, Mexico and New York will sing. The event is organized by Hawai‘i International Music Festival. See more at https://www.himusicfestival.com/. 

Kaʻū News Briefs Jan. 7, 2024

The Navy's permit to conduct war games in Hawaiian and California waters is up for renewal. The exercises involve use of sonar and explosives. Environmental groups attempt to mitigate the impact on whales, dolphins and other marine life.
Photo from Natural Resources Defense Council

A DEADLINE FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE NAVY'S WAR GAMES PERMIT FOR HAWAIIAN WATERS is Jan. 29. The military training exercises hosted by the U.S. Navy and involving military vessels and crews from other countries, include use of sonar and testing weapons, such as mines and underwater missiles that sometimes injure and kill marine animals. The Navy must renew its permit for the activities every five years. The renewal will be in 2025 but the environmental review is underway. The Navy is cooperating with the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army, and U.S. Air Force for the environmental review. All of these branches of the military join in the war games.
    The Navy is hosting a virtual open house presentation on the project website during the scoping period through Jan. 29. The presentation provides information about the Proposed Action, its purpose and need, environmental resource areas to be analyzed in the EIS/OEIS, the NEPA process, the NHPA Section 106 process, and public involvement opportunities. The public can view the virtual open house presentation and submit comments at www.nepa.navy.mil/hctteis/ anytime during the scoping period.

Military war games in Hawaiian and California waters are up for
environmental review and the public can weigh in. U.S. Navy photo

  The Navy's operating permit allows it to unintentionally kill up to three whales a year in the training area covering waters in Hawai‘i and California. The limit was reached in 2023 and in other years. The "incidental take" is reviewed to determine how to reduce the number of marine animals killed and injured during the war games. Sometimes an incidental take can go unnoticed by crews on a Navy ship. That happened in 2022 when dead fin whales were found attached to the hull of an Australian navy vessel participating in the war games. The discovery was made after the ship sailed into port. Another consideration is the effect of sonar on whales, and the impact of the Navy sinking decommissioned ships during its training exercises.
    The Navy states that the training area is important for the following reasons: "Navy training and testing areas within the Study Area provide a safe and realistic environment for training sailors and testing systems. The proximity of these areas to naval homeports allows for: Greater efficiencies during training and testing; shorter transit times; reduced fuel use, cost, and emissions; reduced wear and tear on vessels, submarines, and aircraft; increased safety with closer proximity to airfields and medical facilities on land; access to established at-sea and shore training and testing infrastructure, such as instrumented range; and maximizing sailors' training time and reducing time away from their families."
    The Conservation Council for Hawai‘i has sued the Navy and National Marine Fisheries Service to reduce the impact of the naval exercises on marine life. Conservation Council contended that "The U.S. Navy’s use of sonar and explosives can kill, injure, and disturb whales and other marine mammals that rely on

Navy war games in Hawaiian waters. Image from Stars & Stripes

their hearing to survive." In 2015, when the Navy planned "to substantially increase its activities and projected an unprecedented level of harm to marine mammals: 155 deaths, more than 2,000 permanent injuries, and nearly 9.6 million instances of temporary hearing loss and significant disruptions of vital behaviors," according to Conservation Council, the organization sued. It noted that National Marine Fisheries Service concluded that the navy’s activities would have a “negligible impact” on marine mammal species and stocks.
    In 2015, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai‘i ruled for Conservation Council, saying the Fisheries Service’s analysis was flawed. "Following the ruling, Natural Resources Defense Council and our partners achieved a landmark settlement with the navy that placed important habitat for vulnerable whale and other marine mammal species off-limits to dangerous activities, like the use of midfrequency active sonar and explosives," reported Conservation Council for Hawai‘i.
    See more on the issue pertaining to the renewal of the Navy's permits at the U.S. Navy NEPA Projects website at https://www.nepa.navy.mil/Completed-Projects/At-Sea-Ranges/Hawaii-Southern-California-Training-and-Testing-Environmental-Planning/Training-and-Testing/. See more and the portal for delivering public testimony at www.nepa.navy.mil/hctteis/.

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HPD DETECTIVES AND HFD INVESTIGATORS ARE ON THE CASE OF A "SEVERELY BURNT BODY" found in a home that went up in flames in the 92-1600 block of Ocean View on Saturday morning. Hawai‘i Police Department and Hawai‘i Fire Department arrived at 2:13 a.m. after the dwelling was reported on fire and engulfed in flames. The resident, an elderly man, was missing but later found in the remains of the house. Officials have ordered an autopsy to confirm the identity of the victim. They reported the building as a total loss with a value of $150,000.
    Anyone with info is asked to contact Detective Donovan Kohara at 808-960-3118 or donovan.kohara@hawaiicounty.gov, or call HPD’s non-emergency number at 808-935-3311.
    Citizens who wish to remain anonymous can make an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300 and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers does not record any calls or subscribe to caller ID.

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AN EVENING OF OPERA & SONG, featuring students of the Garcia School, will be presented to the public at Pāhala Plantation Managers House at 96-3209 Maile Street at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Students, who are also music professors and performers from as far away as China, Mexico and New York will perform. The event is organized by Hawai‘i International Music Festival. See more at https://www.himusicfestival.com/. 

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