Ka`u News Briefs March 3, 2011

Meyer Camp Road is the proposed location for a new refinery for biofuels for power plants and transportation.

`AINA KOA PONO told the County Council yesterday that their lowest paying job will be $22 an hour and that all their jobs will be union at their proposed farm and factory to make biofuels in Pahala. They also plan five biofuel farms and factories across Hawai`i, including another one on this island – in Kamuela. They also stated interest in building their microwave refineries at landfill sites to help the county with its mounting waste disposal problem.
     When asked if there is any place in the world where such a refinery using microwave reactors is operating in a community at a scale proposed for Pahala, engineer Alexander Causey said, “No.”
     Partner Kenton Eldridge said, however, that in order to raise more than $300 million for their project there has to be proof that it works. A consulting company that provides written assurances that new technologies are operable is studying `Aina Koa Pono’s chosen method and is expected to have results within several weeks. A positive result should help the hui to raise the money they need to build the refinery above Pahala.
     When asked whether this is a pilot project, they responded that it is and that once it is in operation, it should make it easier to establish other refineries around the state. They also said that the first refinery will be the most expensive to build and that the cost of the biofuel could be lower with more refineries in operation.
     The company also promised an Environmental Assessment by an outside firm to study the proposed methods, location and impacts on the community and land.
     During the testimony period, Cory Harden asked numerous questions about the effects on the environment, community and land, including whether there would be emissions and the amount of water to be used. `Aina Koa Pono reps said they are considering cultivation of crops that use less water than the sugar cane formerly grown in Ka`u, which was unirrigated. They also said there would be no emissions, except from a power plant that they plan to build for their own use at the factory, which would emit some CO2. The proposed location is 1.7 miles up Wood Valley Road from Pahala, past a macadamia orchard and another four-tenths of a mile up Meyer Camp Road.
     Causey said the group also plans to manufacture fuel for vehicles and possibly for airplanes, and said that the community could support the B10 bill at the Legislature which would require all vehicular fuels to be ten percent biofuels. There has previously been incentives for mixing ethanol with gasoline, but no ethanol is being produced in Hawai`i. He and Eldridge said their goal is to help wean Hawai`i from fossil fuels.
     Council member Brenda Ford said she wants to make sure that the company helps train local workers for the jobs to be provided. Causey said that a training course for operators may be brought to Ka`u, once they have some equipment in place. He also promised to work with the high school and colleges to help train young people to work at the refinery.

This site plan for the proposed Kahuku Village development between Ocean View and South Point
was presented to the public last night at Na`alehu Community Center.

DEVELOPERS OF THE PROPOSED 1,500 to 1,650 unit Nani Kahuku ‘Āina resort told community members at Nā‘ālehu Community Center last night that they plan to donate a campus for an elementary school and set up a non-profit organization for outdoor education on their property between South Point and Ocean View. The oceanfront resort would be on 16,000 acres with hotel rooms, condominiums, golf course, commercial areas as well as a Hawaiian Heritage Center at Pohue Bay, where hawksbill turtles nest. They would need land re-classifications and zoning changes, from Conservation to Urban and Resort. 

Nani Kahuku `Aina partner Katherine
Peroff with Pacific American
Foundation chief Herb Lee.

Nani Kahuku `Aina
project manager
Aaron Eberhardt

     Terms such as No Child Left Indoors and hands-on learning were presented as outreach planned by the developers to involve themselves in the Ka‘ū community. Project manager Aaron Eberhardt introduced Herb Lee, of the Pacific American Foundation, who said he has established outdoor learning centers around the state and wants to work with Ka‘ū youth. Eberhardt said that unlike other developers, his hui plans to provide community benefits upfront by starting the educational programs soon. Once in business the developers could give a percentage of sales to keep the non-profits operating, he said.

     Eberhardt also said his group plans to build some housing that is truly affordable for purchase and rent by Ka`u standards. He also promised as many green building practices as possible and when asked about whether they could use alternative energy on site to power the resort, he said, “I hope so.” For water, they plan a desalinization plant for drinking. For irrigation, they plan to use brackish water, he said.

Miss Ka`u Coffee contestant
Brandy Shibuya

`O KA`U KAKOU HOSTS free bingo and lunch tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Transportation is available for adults 21 years of age and older. Call 937-4773 or 333-2901.

TICKETS ARE ON SALE for the Miss Ka`u Coffee Pageant for Saturday, April 23rd. They are $12 each and include a free pageant program. The third annual pageant will be at the Ka`u High School gym at 5:30 p.m. Contestants are selling the tickets to support their pageant.

Ka`u News Briefs March 2, 2011

Mayor Billy Kenoi

MAYOR BILLY KENOI announced yesterday that he will end all county worker furloughs except for those of the mayor and his immediate staff. He will do this even though he is proposing a budget that is nearly $40 million less than the county operating budget when he first took office. This is the “third consecutive year of our program to reduce the size and cost of government in a strategic, responsible manner that maintains critical infrastructure and public services,” said the mayor.
     According to Kenoi, “the lingering effects of the national recession of 2007 through 2009 will once again reduce county tax collections and other revenues in the year ahead. He said property taxes are expected to total $207 million this year - a drop from $226 million. At the same time employee health care and retirement costs as well as utilities and fuel are going up.
     The mayor said the budget shortfalls are unprecedented in county of Hawai`i history. It is expected to be $38.1 million short this year, $44.8 million in the upcoming fiscal year and $38.8 million the following year.
     To reduce county spending the county reduced consulting contracts by 48 percent, cut overtime by 22 percent, eliminated purchasing police fleet vehicles, cut out-of-state travel and golf outings. It also cut funding to the Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Repairs for county parks – such as the roof at Pahala Community Center – have been delayed.
     For the next year there will be a payroll lag that will put the last payroll into the next fiscal year, for a one-time savings of $6 million.
     One expense that is returning is the $4.1 million from tax collections that will go into the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Fund to fund continuing acquisition of open space and coastal areas. Another area where spending will increase is for public safety, the mayor said.
     The mayor thanked county employees for becoming more efficient with fewer resources.
     The County Council will take up the budget, and debate is expected before it is finalized.

Yellow tang living in an aquarium.

BANNING TROPICAL FISH aquarium collecting failed to pass the state Legislature this year. Instead, a bill that would establish two marine life conservation districts on Maui is still alive. The Humane Society, Snorkel Bob Foundation and Hawai`i Reef Wildlife Advocates said they would go to Gov. Neil Abercrombie to ask him to make an executive order to ban commercial aquarium collecting. This has become a national issue for the Humane Society of the United States, which reports that earlier this year 551 yellow tang were found rotting in a dumpster at Honokohau Harbor – apparently the work gone wrong of a fish collector. Hawai`i Humane Society Executive Director Inga Gibson said, “Death is the cost of doing business.” Collectors take in an average of $4 a fish, and many of the fish die, she said. 

COFFEE FARMERS will be trained on using a coffee berry borer spray this afternoon at 3 p.m. at Yano Hall in Captain Cook. The spray, which has a live fungus as its active ingredient, was recently approved by the state Board of Agriculture on an emergency basis as coffee borers devastated some coffee farms in Kona. Ka`u coffee farmers are also under a quarantine to prevent the spread of the borer to other islands. To sell green beans to other Hawaiian island buyers, the coffee must be treated at a facility in Kona. Ka`u coffee farmers are also hoping for the Department of Agriculture to fill vacant agricultural inspector positions to make it easier for treatment and certification.

THE PROPOSED BIOFUELS REFINERY and energy farm for Ka`u goes before the County Council this afternoon in committee sessions. The informational presentation by `Aina Koa Pono takes place at 2 p.m. in County Council chambers. The public is welcome.

Hawksbill turtles nest
at Pohue Bay.

THE NANI KAHUKU `AINA proposed resort project for the coast between South Point and Ocean View will be presented to the public at a meeting at 6 p.m. tonight at the Na`alehu Community Center. The proposal includes land classification and zoning changes from conservation and agriculture. The developers promise to preserve the turtle-nesting sites at Pohue Bay. 

THE REGULAR `O KA`U KAKOU meeting tonight has been postponed until next Wednesday, March 9. The group will discuss its New Family Fest, involving running races and sports tournaments, on June 11. The monthly meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Aspen Center at Punalu`u – that’s next Wednesday. OKK also hosts bingo this Friday at Pahala Community Center from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

ACCESS to ranches and farms for hunting, hiking and gathering will be the subject of a community meeting tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. The meeting on land use will involve landowners, hunters, hikers, bikers and other people exchanging information on lands that are fenced for ranching, farming, forestry and nature and the laws regarding access to mauka forests.

Young Miss Ka`u Coffee contender Dayse Andrade

THE KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL is open for those who want to sign up for food, craft and coffee booths. The event will be held on May 14 and 15, and Miss Ka`u Coffee, Miss Peaberry and Young Miss Ka`u Coffee will reign following their pageant on April 23. See contestants and coffee farmers to help out.

Ka`u News Briefs March 1, 2011

Peter Anderson's image of windmills and pasture at South Point.

A PETITION initiated by government retirees in Ka`u opposes legislation to tax pension income. Some retirees are going door to door in Pahala and Na`alehu to collect signatures, and the opposition seems to be working. A version of the bill that passed the Finance Committee of the state House of Representatives yesterday exempts many middle class and all lower income retirees. For pensions to be taxed, the adjusted gross income of the retiree would have to reach at least $100,000. For those with dependent and surviving spouses, an income of $150,000 would trigger the tax. Retired couples would have to make $200,000 a year before their pensions would be taxed. The tax would apply to less than one percent of taxpayers but would generate $17.2 million a year, the committee report said. A separate bill making its way through the Senate calls for a lower income threshold and would raise more than $56 million a year.

THE STATE INCOME TAX DEDUCTION is also the target for bringing in more money for the state budget. Incomes of $100,000 for singles, $150,000 for heads of households and surviving spouses, and $200,000 for couples will result in loss of the state income tax deduction. 

MEDICARE PART B REIMBURSEMENTS for retirees would also be eliminated in Hawai`i, but for future rather than current public employee retirees. AARP has opposed the changes that tax retiree pensions and benefits, saying that retirees worked their entire careers for their benefits and should not have to pay for the problems with the current state budget. 

MAYOR BILLY KENOI presents his budget to the public at a press conference today. He will propose his plan to deal with a $44 million budget gap. One of the expected results is a small fee to be charged to ride the Hele-On Bus.

`O KA`U KAKOU is planning a new event for Ka`u called the Ka`u Family Fest. It is planned for Saturday, June 11 and will include a half marathon, 10K race, and a 5K race, along with a basketball tournament, ping-pong tournament, Jung Ken Po tournament and many other activities. A planning meeting will be held next Wednesday, March 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the old Aspen Center in Punalu`u. `O Ka`u Kakou is also sponsoring a bingo luncheon this Friday at Pahala Community Center from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bring one non-perishable food item for the food drive.
     The monthly `O Ka`u Kakou meeting has been changed from tomorrow, March 2, to next Wednesday, March 9. Again that is at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Aspen Center at Punalu`u.

Panos Prevedouros

THE CONSERVATIVE FORUM held last weekend on the Big Island heard from U.H. professor Panos Prevedouros, who said that geothermal is the optimum technology for Hawai`i’s energy needs. According to a story by Jason Armstrong in the Hawai`i Tribune Herald, the professor said that wind is too intermittent, and crops used for biofuels should be reserved for producing food. Puna Geothermal plant manager Mike Kaleikini said that geothermal already provides 17 percent of the island’s power needs and will increase its production by eight megawatts, making the total 38 megawatts, which powers up 24,700 homes. All of Ka`u and Puna’s energy needs are met by the windmills at South Point and the geothermal. 

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC LIGHT CO., however, says it needs an alternative fixed energy source, and it is partnering with `Aina Koa Pono to make a biofuels farm between Pahala and Na`alehu and a refinery above Pahala. They will present their plan to a county council committee tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the County Council chambers in Hilo. The public is invited to attend and to comment.

THE PUBLIC PRESENTATION about a proposed resort development between Ocean View and South Point on 16,000 acres will be given at Na`alehu Community Center tomorrow at 6 p.m. The development along the Ka`u Coast would include a golf course, hotel, condominiums, oceanfront estates, and a heritage park around Pohue Bay.

Miss Peaberry contestant
Tatiana Ka`awa

MISS KA`U COFFEE CANDIDATES are receiving runway and talent training twice a week, leading up to the pageant on Saturday, April 23rd at 5:30 p.m. at Ka`u High School Gym. They are seeking support for the event from community members.