Ka'u News Briefs Nov. 28, 2011

Public ownership of Kawa for recreation and wildlife protection is opposed by Abel Simeona Lui,
 who goes to court tomorrow. Photo by Julia Neal

KAWA RESIDENT and Hawaiian sovereignty supporter Abel Simeona Lui goes to Third Circuit Court in Kona tomorrow. He is making claims that the county cannot hold onto land it purchased to create a park and restore wildlife and the estuaries at Kawa. Lui, who has lived at Kawa for more than 20 years and has welcomed traveling and more permanent residents to stay there in tents and other self-built housing, said he is the caretaker of Kawa land and beyond. However, the land has been sold several times, most recently to the county, which plans to keep it in the public domain. 

CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES that were cut in Ka`u will be restored, according to a statement from the state Department of Human Services. The programs are managed by Kapi`olani Child Protection Center, which provides counseling and treatment to parents with substance abuse problems. An estimated 160 children and 100 parents received services last year. Kapi`olani has been operating for more than 15 years and employs five people, including three part-time counselors. 

     It receives funding from Child Welfare Services under the state Department of Human Services, which suffered a $5.8 million cut in funding from the federal government in October.
     Child Welfare Services help with child protection, foster care, adoption, independent living and licensing of resource family homes, group homes and child-placing organizations.
     DHS director Patricia McManaman said that, “After listening to community concerns about limited service options and the fact that other Kona-based service providers will be unable to fill the gaps, the DHS reconsidered service reductions in the Ka`u area.”
     She said a new stream of federal funding will enable the department to sustain Ka`u-area services.

Final draft map of Hawai`i County
Council districts.

THE COUNTY REDISTRICTING COMMISSION meets on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Hilo Council chambers to finalize its redistricting plan, which changes District 6 boundaries. The plan removes Kurtistown and Mountain View from District 6 and adds Napo`opo`o, Captain Cook and Kealakekua. 

     The new boundaries put Council members Brittany Smart and Brenda Ford in the same district. Neither has announced candidacy for next year’s election, but Ford has said she will not move, setting up a possibility that two incumbents may run for the same County Council seat. Ford is eligible for one more term on the Council.
     If Ford and Smart decide to run, they would face a challenge from Lee McIntosh, of Discovery Harbour, who recently announced his candidacy.

GASOLINE PRICES statewide were the highest ever over any Thanksgiving weekend, but they dropped .7 cents from the previous week, according to hawaiigasprices.com. Statewide, gas prices yesterday were $4.12 a gallon, while the national average was down 4.1 cents to $3.32 a gallon. Prices statewide were 59.6 cents a gallon higher than last year here in Hawai`i.
     Prices this morning in Ocean View were $4.32 at Kahuku Country Market's Flying K Gasoline; Ocean View market declined to give out its price; Kahala Gas across the street was $4.36; the 76 station in Na`alehu was selling for $4.37 a gallon; and Ka`u gas in Pahala was $4.40 a gallon.

Alexandre Ribeiro

Amber Monforte

THE ULTRAMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS concluded yesterday. The three-day event which passed through Ka`u with a grueling bicycle race crowned 46-year-old Alexandre Ribeiro, of Brazil, as its winner after leader Jonas Colting, of Sweden, pulled out of the race with injuries. Amber Monforte, of Reno, NV, who works as a nurse, was the first woman across the finish line. Ultraman, considered one of the toughest multi-sport events in the world, is comprised of a 6.2-mile swim, a 90-mile bike ride through Ka`u from Keauhou Bay to Volcano, a second day 171.4-mile bike ride from Volcano, through Puna and Hilo to Hawi, and a third day double marathon – 52.4-mile run from Hawi past Kawaihae to Old Airport State Park in Kailua-Kona. 

Moses Espaniola III

THE NA`ALEHU THEATRE will present `Ukulele Classes with Moses Espaniola III from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sunday mornings in the Old Pahala Community Clubhouse. Free lessons for persons of all ages will be on Dec. 4, 11 and 18, and on Sundays, Jan. 1, 8, 15 and 22. Snacks will be included. The lessons are sponsored in part by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts through mentor Cyril Pahinui. The venue is provided by the Edmund C. Olson Trust. To attend, please come by and bring an `ukulele. 

     For more information contact Espaniola at ekolu23@yahoo.com or 345-6917 or Chelle Pahinui at chelle@cyrilpahinui.com.

RED FLAG WARNINGS remain, as windy conditions are expected to create a severe fire hazard today with 15 to 20 mph winds and 25 mph gusts until 6 p.m. Most in danger is the west side of Ka`u from South Point to South Kona, as drought conditions remain, and the air is very dry. 

Ka'u News Briefs Nov. 27, 2011

Loved ones were remembered at a floating lantern ceremony yesterday at Punalu`u. Photos by Julia Neal

Two kinds of floating lanterns
were decorated.

THE FIRST FLOATING LANTERN CEREMONY in recent times drew many Ka`u residents to the Medicine Pond at Punalu`u yesterday. Loved ones were remembered with messages and art drawn on the paper of lanterns placed on miniature boats that were carried by the onshore breeze during the late afternoon and the offshore breeze as evening fell. The messages were placed in a community bonfire on the beach at the end of the ceremony. It was sponsored by the Ka`u Rural Health Community Association, HMSA and the American Cancer Society. 

EDUCATORS AROUND THE STATE are worried about parents keeping children home from preschool. A story in this morning’s Honolulu Star Advertiser says that children without preschool experience are more likely to enter school far behind their peers, a handicap that could be carried with them into their working years. Statewide, only about 58 percent of keiki entering kindergarten this year had preschool experience. 

     The Advertiser story points out that Hawai`i is one of ten states with no state-funded preschool program. Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s administration, however, is hoping that within a few years the state will be able to provide all young children access to quality child care services. The state applied for $50 million in federal funding from the Race to the Top Early Learning competition and will find out if the money is approved in December.
     Officials are also working to expand preschool to include those children born too late in the year to qualify for regular kindergarten.

The U.S. Department of Education
offers Race to the Top grants.

     According to the Advertiser story, about 37 percent of kindergarten teachers reported that at least three-quarters of their incoming students had “attitudes and habits that facilitate learning.” Being prepared is shown when keiki have “eagerness to observe and ask questions, try hard and appear interested in the world around them,” states the article. Only 25 percent of teachers said at least three-quarters of Kindergartners started the school year knowing math concepts like simple counting. Preschools also teach literacy skills, needed to start the process of learning to read in kindergarten.
     The story says that a poor economy has made it difficult for many low- and moderate-income families to pay for preschool. Instead, they place young children “with relatives or unlicensed practitioners during the day rather than in more expensive licensed preschool centers.”
     The story quotes Diane Young, an early childhood education specialist with the state Department of Education: “With the economy how it is, I think it’s really difficult for many parents. There’s a bigger movement toward letting relatives watch (children),” she said. 

     Declines in preschool attendance are also blamed on families receiving less preschool tuition since January 2010, when the state cut funding for childcare, eliminating 28 percent of families with preschoolers, affecting thousands of pre-school age children.
     The problem has intensified with the percentage of children living in poverty increasing, as shown by the number qualifying for a free or reduced-cost lunch at public schools. Fifty-two percent of 16,038 incoming kindergartners qualified for lunch subsidies, up from 45 percent in 2008, according to the recent readiness assessment report by the DOE.
     In Ka`u there are several preschools, and early education is assisted by such programs as Tutu & Me Traveling Preschool, involving parents, aunties, uncles, grandparents and other kupuna to help teach the keiki.

A RED FLAG WARNING is up for South Point and all the leeward sections of Ka`u and north toward Kona. The National Weather Service expects a dry, windy day with gusts up to 35 mph and moisture only 40 percent, which is likely to create critical fire weather conditions with rapid fire-growth potential. The Fire Department always warns motorists to refrain from throwing cigarette butts from vehicles, which could spark a fire. It is also advisable to refrain from parking trucks and cars on dry grassy areas and leaving them before engines cool, as their heat could also spark a fire. 

     High winds could also cause trees and branches to fall on electrical lines today, causing outages. Drivers are advised to look out for debris on roadways.

PRIVATE ARTIST STUDIOS are open today in the once a year event sponsored by the Volcano Village Artists Hui. This is the 25th Annual Art Studio Tour & Sale, and it runs until 4 p.m. Seven studios provide tours and a chance to meet painters, potters, sculptors, woodworkers, photographers and other creators of fine art and crafts. Maps are at volcanovillageartistshui.com and local businesses. Many items will be on sale.

THE UTRAMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, which blasted through Ka`u on Friday during a 90-mile bike ride, wraps up with a 52.4-mile, double marathon today from Hawi to Kona. Previous winner Jonas Colting, of Sweden, was still in the lead this morning. The race started with a 6.2-mile swim in Keauhou and is considered one of the toughest endurance events on the planet.

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY at Volcano Art Center Gallery finishes its weekend of opening events with the wreath competition, book signings and holiday displays. The gallery is open until 5 p.m.

Ka'u News Briefs Nov. 26, 2011

Funding to purchase Kawa came from government agencies to protect it for wildlife and recreation. Photos by Julia Neal

KAWA RESIDENT ABEL SIMEONA LUI is going to Third Circuit Court Tuesday, hoping to pre-empt any possible eviction by the County of Hawai`i, now that the county has purchased the property for public use. Lui claims the property belongs to his family. He has lived there for more than 20 years. He and friends built a small wooden house with solar. Others live in various tent-like structures. 

Kawa has been a gathering place for families for generations.

     Lui has hosted surf meets at Kawa, put up outhouses for visitors, and has been called “Uncle” by a generation of surfers and beachgoers. He says he considers himself the caretaker of Kawa and often shows historic sites and wetlands to tourists and other passersby. In recent years, however, his narrative has increasingly concentrated on his claims of ownership to the land there, and some reports say he and his supporters pick and choose whom they welcome to Kawa.
     Kawa is a popular fishing and surfing beach along the Ka`u Coast. In the 1970s local residents went to court to make sure the access stayed open. In the last decade community groups and government agencies have been raising money to buy the land along the shore to conserve it for wildlife and recreation. 

Kawa is a popular surf meet location.

     Lui, however, opposes public ownership, claiming the land was unfairly acquired from his family years ago. The land, according to state records, was owned by local macadamia farmer Thomas Okuna, who sold part of it to former Ka`u realtor Marcia Johnson and investors who put Kawa up for sale, advertising it in real estate magazines. The county first purchased the section of Kawa being advertised by Johnson to prevent it from being sold for real estate development.
     The other section of Kawa was purchased by the Edmund C. Olson Trust, which also helped with funding to preserve nearby Honu`apo. The Olson purchase also included land toward Punalu`u, and Olson held all the coastal parcels until the county, state and federal government came up with $3.9 million to buy it and place it in the public domain. 

Hawaiian flags of sovereignty have flown at Kawa for years.

     More than 1,000 acres between Punalu`u and Honu`apo, the land closest to Hwy 11 in all of Ka`u, are now under county ownership, with many other acres under state ownership.
     Lui told The Ka`u Calendar that he will stay at Kawa and has gone to court to avoid eviction even though the new owner – the county - has not attempted to evict him.
     A report by Nancy Cook Lauer in this morning’s West Hawai`i Today and the Hawai`i Tribune Herald reports Lui saying “the property is allodial land, sovereign to Native Hawaiians with no obligation to government.” Sovereignty flags, banners and posters line Hwy 11 at Kawa.
     County Deputy Corporation Counsel Joseph Kamelamela is quoted in the daily newspapers as saying he will go to the court hearing on Tuesday. “We’re ensuring the public can use the property without being threatened, without being stopped,” Kamelamela said. “The county purchased it for use by the public.”
     The newspaper also reported that Judge Andy Wilson recused himself from the Kawa case that is set for Tuesday. Wilson and his partner, Stan Roehrig, have represented various Hawaiian families in their quest for settlements in court regarding land that they said was unfairly acquired by the sugar companies generations ago. Some of those suits involved land in Ka`u and resulted in monetary and land settlements. Wilson is also a former county deputy prosecutor.

Ultraman competitor Amber Monforte, of Reno, NV, on her way
to Volcano. Photo from Team Monforte

ULTRAMAN COMPETITORS ZOOMED through Ka`u yesterday on their bicycles. All 38 Ultraman competitors completed the 6.2-mile swim in Keauhou Bay successfully before riding to Volcano. Jonas Colting crushed the day with a total time of 7 hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds. Mike Coughlin posted the fastest bike split with a time of 4 hours, 50 minutes and 19 seconds, riding from Keauhou to Volcano. Ultraman travels from Volcano to Hawi today, with a detour through Puna. The race ends tomorrow in Kona.

THE MEDICINE POND at Punalu`u will be the site of the lantern ceremony today to honor loved ones who have passed away. Organizer Jesse Marques said people will start signing in for their floating lanterns this morning before noon. A potluck lunch, taiko drums, chanting and prayer are part of the daylong celebration at Punalu`u Beach Park pavilions. The sponsors are the Ka`u Rural Health Community Association, HMSA and the American Cancer Society. The actual launching of the floating lanterns will be at 5 p.m.

Joey Wells' Lehua Nani wreath

HOLIDAY WREATHS created from locally collected foliage, fabric and many other materials are part of a competition at Volcano Art Center Gallery. Décor, activities and presentations celebrate Christmas in the Country, all day today and tomorrow, Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

THIS IS THE SECOND DAY of a three-day opportunity to visit the private studios of Volcano artists. Volcano Village Artists Hui’s 25th Annual Art Studio Tour & Sale is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and tomorrow. Seven studios open up, providing a chance to meeting painters, potters, sculptors, woodworkers, photographers and other creators of fine art and crafts and to purchase their creations. Maps are at volcanovillageartistshui.com and at local businesses.