Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 2, 2011

NOAA has plotted the possible paths of marine debris from the tsunami, with first year red, second year orange,
third year yellow, fourth year light blue and fifth year violet.  Image from J. Churnside, of NOAA

ONE MILLION DOLLARS to help clean up tsunami debris approaching Hawai`i and the U.S. mainland moved along inside a U.S. Senate bill yesterday. The $1 million insertion into the appropriations bill was made by Sen. Daniel Inouye, according to his staff. The bill passed the Senate with a vote of 69 to 30 and now goes to conference with the House of Representatives. It is the same bill that would provides $4 million to the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration’s marine debris program, according to a report by Sophie Cocke in Civil Beat. 

With Japanese fishing fleets washed away during the
tsunami, nets are expected to reach Ka`u.
Photo from Hawai`i Wildlife Fund

     The Ka`u Coast, where marine debris commonly arrives to wash up on Kamilo and other shores, is expected to be a recipient of some of the 10 to 25 tons of flotsam from the March tsunami, and it could arrive as early as next year. 

     Inouye said that in recent months “federal agencies and scientists in Hawai`i working to track the flow of the tsunami debris have fretted openly about the potential for major marine ecosystem damage and the lack of a plan or money to deal with the debris.”
     “As an island state, Hawai`i is particularly susceptible to the impacts of marine debris and, all the more so, because we are located near the center of a great network of ocean currents in the Pacific that tend to concentrate debris into a wide region known as the “garbage patch,” said Inouye. He noted that Hawai`i is the first state to develop and implement a comprehensive marine debris action plan. 

DRUG TESTING COUNTY COUNCIL members moved toward becoming an item on the 2012 ballot. Initiated by County Council chair Dominic Yagong, the measure passed the council’s Governmental Relations Committee yesterday. The Council’s attorney recommended against the measure, and Council members Brittany Smart, J Yoshimoto, Fresh Onishi and Donald Ikeda agreed.
     However, the measure passed, with six committee members voting for it. Council member Brittany Smart said she voted for the measure “with reservations.” It will now go to a vote before the full Council.

     The bill is aimed at making drug testing for County Council members similar to those already required for many county employees. The county Corporate Counsel’s reason for opposing the drug testing was not revealed as the committee met with the attorney in a closed-door session.

NEW COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICTS, which could split Ka`u and send Brittany Smart into a contest against Brenda Ford during next year’s election, should they both decide to run, are the subject of a meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m. in the County Council chambers in Hilo. Proposed maps can be seen at: http://co.hawaii.hi.us/council/reapp/index.htm. Comments can be sent by email, U.S. mail or delivered in person.

THE 2012 KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL has been set for Saturday, May 12, and Ka`u Coffee Cooperative members and other supporters are welcoming the entire community to get involved and volunteer. This will be the fourth Ka`u Coffee Festival for the growing industry. Those interested in helping can call Ka`u Coffee Co-op president Gloria Camba at 928-8558.

Nani Kahuku `Aina's property is across from the Kahuku
Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

THE DEADLINE FOR NANI KAHUKU `AINA RESORT comments on its Draft Environmental Impact Statement are due Nov. 6. Sen. Gil Kahele is urging residents, pro and con, to send in their questions and comments. The developers want to change a swath of Conservation land along the ocean to Urban. The 16,000 acres where the resort would be located on 1,600 acres is across the highway from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s – Kahuku. 

     See the draft EIS at the state Department of Health website: http://oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov/Shared%20Documents/EA_and_EIS_Online_Library/Oahu/2000s/2008-07-08-DEA-Kahuku-Village.pdf.

HEALTH INSURANCE RATES will go up 3.6 percent for the larger groups with health insurance from Hawai`i Medical Service Association. The proposal is before the state insurance division, which is also considering a hike proposed by Kaiser. The HMSA insurance hike would affect 84,000 HMSA members, which already were affected by a 14.8 percent hike this year and more than 11 percent last year. The additional increase would go into effect Jan. 1. HMSA earned a $5.8 million profit in the second quarter of this year. 

Students size up the soil on Olson Trust land during a Soil
Conservation District contest.  Photo by Julia Neal

SOIL CONSERVATION AWARENESS student winners have been announced by Soil & Water Conservation District. Last week, competition was held in the hills of Keaiwa on Edmund C. Olson Trust lands surrounding the new Ka`u Coffee Mill off Wood Valley Road, above Pahala. 

     Close to 30 contestants participated in this County of Hawai`i Conservation Awareness Contest designed to show off student skills in analyzing soil conditions. Pahoa High School scored 662 points, Kamehameha 436, and Konawaena 317. Ka`u Soil & Water Conservation District chair Brenda Iokepa-Moses said she hopes “that in the near future, our own Ka`u High will participate. It’s a shame with our district being the largest agricultural belt that we don’t have this kind of program intact for our future farmers,” she said.
     Olson Trust donated time and equipment for Frank Lorenzo to prepare several pits that were used in the soil evaluation portion of the competition.

SEN. GIL KAHELE co-sponsors public Listening Sessions with representatives of the Department of Land & Natural Resources this Friday and Saturday. The DLNR administration team, including chairperson William J. Aila, Jr., first deputy and Volcano resident Guy H. Kaulukukui, and Water deputy Bill M. Tam, is visiting Hawai`i Island to hear community comments, questions, and concerns regarding topics under the department’s jurisdiction.
     Also attending will be members of the state Senate Committee on Water, Land and Housing, including chair Donovan Dela Cruz and vice chair Malama Solomon.
     The Hilo meeting will be Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Waiakea High School Cafeteria, and the Kona meeting will be Saturday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Konawaena High School Cafeteria in Kealakekua.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS, the Day of the Dead, will be celebrated this evening to remember those who have passed away. Art and creative writing pieces have been submitted to Volcano Art Center, and participants vote for the most impactful, inspirational and festive submissions. Art and jewelry will also be available for purchase at the event, which begins at 5 p.m. and includes dinner and dancing. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door at the Niualani Campus of Volcano Art Center on Old Volcano Hwy. 

KEOKI KAHUMOKU’S annual music workshop starts this Saturday at Pahala Plantation House and runs through next week. A Veterans Day concert for the public will be held on Friday, Nov. 11 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
     Masters of guitar and `ukulele who will teach all week and perform at the concert include Dennis and David Kamakahi; Sonny Lim; John and Hope Keawe; George, Keoki and Moses Kahumoku; Herb Ohta, Jr.; Brittany Paiva; and James Hill. For last-minute sign-ups and scholarships for local youth, call Kahumoku at 938-6582.

Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 1, 2011

`Aina Koa Pono plans to build a refinery above Pahala and a biofuel farm on 13,000 acres between Pahala and Na`alehu
and ship the biofuel to the mainland.

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO. is “re-negotiating certain terms and conditions of the contract” with `Aina Koa Pono, which plans a refinery just off Wood Valley Road and a 13,000-acre biofuel farm between Pahala and Na`alehu. According to attorneys for the utility, if negotiations are successful, HECO “will be submitting a new contract, or possibly an amended contract, for approval with the Commission.” 

     The filing last week, now posted on the PUC website, indicates that the utility will not request by the Nov. 10 deadline, any reconsideration or further clarification of the PUC’s rejection of the AKP contract. 

     HECO lawyers wrote to the PUC, saying: “Hawaiian Electric Light Company, Inc., Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and Maui Electric Company, Ltd. respectfully inform the Commission that the Companies have decided not to file a motion for reconsideration and/or clarification of the Decision and Order filed Sept. 29.” 

     The utilities said they used the time granted by the PUC to decide whether to appeal, in order to “analyze the impact of the Decision” and to open new contract discussions with `Aina Koa Pono-Ka`u.”
     `Aina Koa Pono has publicly stated that if it does not land a contract approved by the PUC for the electric company, it would attempt to establish its biofuel farm, build its refinery and sell the biofuel to a company in California for a higher price that HECO offered.

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC is asking the PUC for approval of another biofuel contract – this one to continue importing biofuel from Renewable Energy Group, of Iowa. A press release yesterday from HECO says Renewable Energy Group is the nation’s largest biofuel producer. The biodiesel is made from animal fat waste and used cooking oil. The contract calls for importing three to seven million gallons a year for electricity on O`ahu. Renewable Energy Group sold about 68 million gallons of biofuel last year. 

     HECO is negotiating with a number of Hawai`i-based biofuel companies and has three proposals before the PUC, awaiting approval.
     “We are committed to beating the legal requirement of 40 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030,” said Robbie Alm, Hawaiian Electric executive vice president. “We need to bring as much clean energy online as soon as possible.” 

HEALTH INSURANCE RATES from Kaiser Permanente would increase on Jan. 1 by 8.8 percent for some of its subscribers and 9.1 percent for others, according to its proposal to the state health insurance regulator. Kaiser raised its rates 12.6 percent at the beginning of this year and 10.7 percent last year. Kaiser recently extended its services to Ka`u for individuals and businesses.

Kamilo Beach in Ka`u will likely be a draw for tsunami
debris from Japan.  Photo from Center for a Livable Future

TSUNAMI DEBRIS drifting toward Kamilo Beach here in Ka`u and to other Hawaiian shores is difficult to track and plan for removal, due to lack of planning and funding, according to a Sophie Cocke story this morning in Civil Beat. The story reports scientists and federal officials conducting meetings concerning five to 25 million tons of “potential disastrous debris from the Japanese tsunami headed for the shores of Hawai`i and the West Coast.” According to Cocke, “they have been unable to come up with a cleanup plan, and no money appears to have been made available for the problem.” 

     The lead University of Hawai`i researcher on the problem, Nikolai Maximenko, said: “This is an emergency situation, and the problem is that we don’t have emergency funds,” Civil Beat reports.
     The STS Pallada ship out of Russia found debris weeks ago near Midway Island, and researchers predict that some of it could reach here next year, the story says. See more at civilbeat.com.

SEN. GIL KAHELE co-sponsors public Listening Sessions with representatives of the Department of Land & Natural Resources this Friday and Saturday. The DLNR Administration team, including chairperson William J. Aila, Jr., first deputy and Volcano resident Guy H. Kaulukukui, and Water deputy Bill M. Tam, is visiting Hawai`i Island to hear community comments, questions, and concerns regarding topics under the department's jurisdiction.
     Also attending will be members of the state Senate Committee on Water, Land and Housing, including chair Donovan Dela Cruz and vice chair Malama Solomon.
     The Hilo meeting will be Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Waiakea High School Cafeteria, and the Kona meeting will be Saturday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Konawaena High School Cafeteria in Kealakekua.

KAHELE ENCOURAGES public comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Nani Kahuku `Aina resort proposal for land makai of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park – Kahuku between South Point and Hawai`i Ocean View Ranchos. The plan calls for state Land Use Commission reclassification of Conservation land near the ocean to Urban for hotel, condominium, estate, housing, golf course and commercial development. The resort would be set on the coastal section of 16,000 acres. The document is available online at the state Department of Health website and in hard copy at Na`alehu Library. Click on this link: http://oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov/Shared%20Documents/EA_and_EIS_Online_Library/Oahu/2000s/2008-07-08-DEA-Kahuku-Village.pdf.

Dennis Kamakahi

David Kamakahi

KEOKI KAHUMOKU’S annual music workshop starts this Saturday at Pahala Plantation House and runs through next week. A Veterans Day concert for the public will be held on Friday, Nov. 11 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

     Masters of guitar and `ukulele who will teach all week and perform at the concert include Dennis and David Kamakahi; Sonny Lim; John and Hope Keawe; George, Keoki and Moses Kahumoku; Herb Ohta, Jr.; Brittany Paiva; and James Hill. For last-minute sign ups and scholarships for local youth, call Kahumoku at 938-6582.

HAWAIIAN TELCOM service will not be interrupted if its workers walk off the job, the telephone company reports. The International Brotherhood of Electric Workers local 1357 announced yesterday that its 708 workers employed by Hawaiian Telcom voted to strike. Management wants workers to pay for ten percent of their health care premiums – the company now pays 100 percent. It wants to reduce full-pay sick leave from 26 weeks a year to eight weeks. The company promised a wage increase of one percent a year and a $500-a-year ratification bonus.
     The union said it had proposed other cost saving measures. 

THE KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL is organizing for next year and welcomes volunteers to help the farmers with their fourth annual event in Pahala. The festival is open to everyone. The season begins with a Miss Ka`u Coffee pageant, followed by a two-day ho`olaule`a and education session with coffee tasting, a recipe contest, music, and coffee sales at Pahala Community Center. The meeting is at 5 p.m. tonight at Pahala Community Center.

The Housing Preservation Grant program
provides funds to repair health and
safety defects of homes in Ka`u.

THE HAWAI`I COUNTY ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COUNCIL is taking applications from Ka`u homeowners for its Housing Preservation Grant program. The program removes health and safety defects from homes and makes accessibility improvements for handicapped family members. Applicants must have clear title to their homes and must have owned and occupied the home for at least one year. There are income limits, and applicants must have sufficient equity in their homes. 

     Homes must be complete and have health and safety defects such as leaky roofs, plumbing leaks, foundation and electrical hazards, wood-rot, insect damage or faulty catchment systems. Also, solar hot water systems may be installed.
     Repairs are done by licensed general contractors hired by the homeowners.
     The HPG program is funded by USDA Rural Development to improve the lives of rural communities and by the County of Hawai`i Office of Housing and Community Development to support affordable housing.
     HCEOC, a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting poverty, has been carrying out HPG and other low-income housing programs for over 18 years. By the end of this year, HCEOC will have facilitated the removal of health and safety defects from 129 homes. Funding for 108 of these projects came from USDA Rural Development and the County and State of Hawai`i.

Ka'u News Briefs Oct. 31, 2011

Redistricting map with Volcano separated from Ka'u and South Kona, could pit Council members Smart and Ford against one another.

COUNTY COUNCIL REDISTRICTING decisions will be considered again this Thursday at 10 a.m. in Council chambers in Hilo. A final decision before public hearings will likely be made by Nov. 10, a tentative date set by the redistricting commission.

Map showing Volcano as part of Ka'u County Council district.

     The group is concentrating on two maps. One would keep Volcano Village with Pahala and the rest of Ka`u in a County Council district now represented by council member Brittany Smart. The other would draw the line in the desert of Ka`u. Volcano would be included in a district that would be mostly Puna. Ka`u would be included with South Kona all the way to Keauhou. This could pit council member Brenda Ford against Brittany Smart should both candidates decide to run in next year’s election. The commission has to change the district lines throughout the island since the population grew 25 percent in ten years and each elected official must represent approximately the same number of residents.
     Comments are being taken by email, letter or in person this Thursday at 10 a.m. in the County Council chambers in Hilo.
     Proposed maps can be seen at: http://co.hawaii.hi.us/council/reapp/index.htm.

KA`U VETERANS OF THE 442ND Regiment from World War II have arrived in Washington, D.C. to receive a Congressional Gold Medal at the Capitol this Wednesday. Tokuichi Nakano and Iwao Yonemitsu are accompanied by family members. Yonemitsu served in the 442nd, Third Battalion, Company L, while Nakano served with Headquarters of the 442nd. The slogan for the members of the 442nd is “Go for Broke.”

Dwight Takamine runs the state
unemployment fund.

THE STATE UNEMPLOYMENT FUND is operating in the black again, according to Dwight Takamini, director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The unemployment fund borrowed money from the federal government to keep operating last December and could have ended up owing $1 million in interest. However, the Legislature crafted a mechanism, signed off by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, allowing the state to pay interest on the money borrowed for the unemployment fund. The Legislature also passed tax savings for businesses. The unemployment fund reserves have improved as the economy has slightly improved, with businesses paying into the fund.

IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY, HAWAI`I IS 12th in the nation, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. Hawai`i earned two extra points for its second straight year in 12th place. The 2011 rankings measure utility, public benefits programs and transportation policies, energy codes for buildings, combined heat and power, state initiatives and appliance-efficiency standards. Hawai`i earned 26.5 out of 50 possible points. See http://aceee.org/research-report/e115.

ML MACADAMIA Orchards, LP has been doing well in the stock market lately. At closing last Friday ML led Hawai`i stocks with a three-percent gain. ML leases and owns macadamia orchards around Pahala and operates a macadamia husking plant just mauka of Hwy 11. The company sells its nuts to Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp., which is owned by The Hershey Company.

Bull Kailiawa and Roast, Inc. owner Brad Wood
meet in Houston. Photo by Julia Neal

KAILIAWA COFFEE from Bull and Jamie Kailiawa was celebrated in Nashville this past weekend with promotions by Roast, Inc., which purchased the Ka'u coffee in a fundraiser called Grounds for Health.
      The purchase by Roast, Inc. for $45 a pound came after Kailiawa was rated one of the top ten coffees in the world at the 2011 Specialty Coffee Association of America annual convention in Houston. Roast, Inc., which operates a roastery and single-cup café, is selling Kailiawa coffee for $7.50 a cup, with $5 going to the Grounds for Health program that offers women’s health care in poor coffee growing regions around the world.

SPOOK NIGHT came early, before sunset last night at
Na`ohulelua Historical Gardens, with characters including
Bishop Desmond Tutu and the ghost of Bob Marley.

HALLOWEEN DAY is a time to be careful when driving through neighborhoods with trick-or-treaters. The HPD has issued tips for trick-or-treat walks around neighborhoods: Supervise children crossing streets; exit cars curbside instead of traffic side; drive slower than the speed limit during trick-or-treat time; watch more closely for children on streets and medians; and be extra careful at driveways and alleyways.

THE KA`U DIRECTORY DEADLINE for listings and ads for the 2012 edition is today. Published by the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, The Directory provides information on businesses, community organizations, important phone numbers, an events calendar, maps of Ka`u, and many photographs as well as art from winners of the latest cover art contest.
       For an application, visit kauchamber.org or call Ron at 928-6471.