Ka'u News Briefs Dec. 14, 2011

Donna Pabre said she hopes the CDP  will result in concrete actions rather than a lot of words. Photo by Julia Neal

PURPOSE AND PROCESS of the Ka`u Community Development Plan was restated and emphasized last night as Steering Committee chair Leina`ala Enos reviewed the history of the planning document that is being created by the county and community to guide Ka`u’s future. The public can follow the evolution of the CDP at http://hawaiicountycdp.info/kau-cdp.
     Hot Topics in Ka`u which have inspired some members of the public to recently dominate meetings in Ocean View and supercede more methodical agendas were off the table last night. “These will not be discussed at the Steering Committee meeting,” Enos said.
     The Hot Topics in Ka`u document listed: 

     The `Aina Koa Pono Biofuels Project. The Hot Topics sheet noted that the Public Utilities Commission recently rejected the contract between the electric company and `Aina Koa Pono, and a Frequently Asked Questions memo about the project is available from the Steering Committee, the Planning Department, public libraries and online the Ka`u CDP website and www.ainakoapono.com.

     The Kawa Drainage Environmental Assessment. Comment period for the Draft EIS continues through Dec. 23. The Draft EIS is available at public libraries and online at the state Department of Health’s Office of Environmental Quality Control website. http://oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov/shared%20Documents/EA_EIS_Online_Library/Hawaii/2010s-2011-11-23-DEA-Mamalahoa-Highway-Drainage.pdf. Comments can be sent to the Department of Transportation’s Hawai`i District Office, 50 Makaala Street, Hilo, HI 96720.

Removing ungulates would
protect native plants.

     Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park Draft Plan/EIS concerns managing non-native ungulates like sheep, goats, wild cattle and pigs. The comment period for the Draft Plan and EIS continues through Jan. 20. The Draft EIS is available on the national park’s website at http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/havo_ecosystem_deis. 

     Kahuku Village – Nani Kahuku `Aina proposed resort development. When the Final EIS is published, more public comment will be invited. No development can begin until the EIS is accepted and several permits are secured, says the Hot Topics info sheet. The next step will likely be amendments to the County General Plan and to the State Land Use Commission boundaries, which require public hearings, says the Hot Topics memo.

     The Ocean View Readjustment Strategy, an idea to encourage some Ocean View residents and future growth to concentrate housing closer to amenities and public services. “The concept is not being pursued any further,” the county’s Hot Topic handout says, as does a memo from county Planning director Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd.

The DLNR is making a plan for the
Ka`u Forest Reserve.

     The Ka`u Forest Reserve Environmental Assessment contact is Ron Terry, of Geometrician Associates, who invites public comment on the Ka`u Forest Reserve Management Plan that is under development. Terry can be reached at 969-7090 or the website www.geometricianassociates.com.
     With the Hot Topics off the table, the CDP Steering Committee agreed to hold off meeting again until April to allow county planner Ron Whitmore and consultants to draft the CDP for Ka`u and bring it back to the community for numerous discussions and review. The next CDP meeting will be April 10 at Pahala Community Center at 5:30 p.m.

A COMMITTEE FROM OCEAN VIEW was introduced by Steering Committee member Loren Heck, who says he has been meeting with more than 40 people each week. He said the meetings have shown that the vision and values developed by the CDP three years ago have endured in the community.
     He said he wants to make sure that ideas from the community can continue to be presented to the county and consultants as the CDP is being written, and planners said that information will still be accepted. 

     Marie Burns presented ideas from the Ocean View group, which has launched a Nani Kahuku Forest resource management committee that plans to record a baseline of the forest at Nani Kahuku. Burns said the committee wants to publish a pamphlet identifying the native flora to raise community awareness. 

     The committee wants a reforestation program to plant 1,000 trees by April 2012 and to make a film on the native plants of Kahuku, said Burns. A committee wants to work on Ala Kahakai Trail mapping.
     A separate committee wants an orchard management program that goes to homeowners and landowners who have trees that are not harvested. The group would take the fruits and nuts to market.   

     A committee would focus on creating an Ocean View Charter School.
     Another committee is comprised of a dozen volunteers who want to help provide more public safety in Ocean View – another form of the Neighborhood Watch, said Burns.

Ocean View planning was the center of the public
presentations at last night's CDP meeting.
Image from Nani Kahuku `Aina Draft EIS

     Another committee is called Clean it Up Ka`u. One initiative is to build a sports park with BMX Race tracks for kids, and the group is looking for land for this initiative. A separate committee is looking at the military history in Kahuku and concentrating on unexploded ordnance left over from military training exercises years ago. The group is also helping to create a Ka`u Business Women’s Association. 

     Donna Pabre presented two project ideas. One is development of two community farm markets with certified kitchens like one in Kea`au and two in Honoka`a. These “will go a long way to making us independent,” she said. She suggested two sites, one in Ocean View and the other in Punalu`u, where visitors could be served.
     Pabre also talked about aquaponics as a way to farm with limited water supply. She mentioned a Kohala Food Project where “their goal is to feed their community rather than worry whether the barge is going to get here,” she said.
     Pabre pressed the Steering Committee to make sure the $400,000 Community Development Plan is not just words, but includes concrete plans.
     The Steering Committee chair said, “We are headed in that direction. Thank you for probing and egging us on.”
     Earl Louis, from Pahala, said he hopes that the history and mana`o of the community brought to the planners by kupuna during public meetings on the CDP will be included. “Don’t put it on the side and cross it off,” he said. “Should take the information and study it good,” he said. “Don’t just think about big ideas for Ka`u where people can make a lot of money.” He said Ka`u is “not a big gold mine.”
     During the meeting, it was noted that Donna Ambrose has resigned from the Steering Committee for personal reasons. Her seat will remain vacant, as the process is more than half over, and it would be difficult for a new person to catch up, said the planning director.

THE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY holds a public meeting today at 5:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center to talk about the new well and water filling station. The county is working on the last details of the water supply system, troubleshooting with the electric company and contractor to provide high-voltage power to run the water pumps. The Water Department is also working with the state Department of Health to ensure water quality.

Santa will be at Hana Hou tonight and Ocean View
on Saturday.

THE KEIKI CHRISTMAS PARTY at Hana Hou Restaurant in Na`alehu is today from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free goodie bags and keiki IDs will be offered, along with a free buffet-style dinner. Lucky numbers will be drawn for bicycles, games, books, toys and more. Santa will be there for photos with the keiki.

NA`ALEHU SCHOOL holds its Winterfest tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. Principal Darlene Javar will perform a dance routine as a reward for students selling 1,000 bags of cookies to raise money for prizes for the kids.

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER’S Keiki Christmas Party is on Saturday at 11 a.m. Everyone is invited to this free event, which includes food, music, gifts for every child under 12 and a visit from Santa.
     OVCA asks for donations of new, unwrapped gifts for the keiki. Residents can take ornaments off of Gift trees set up at merchants around Ocean View and buy gifts for children of age groups noted.
     For all donations of time, money and gifts, call 939-7033.

THE CHRISTMAS IN PAHALA celebration takes place Sunday at 5:30 p.m. around a lighted Christmas tree on Kamani Street. Donations are being taken for needy families who otherwise might not be able to afford a happy Christmas. Canned foods, turkeys, toys, gift certificates and beverages can be donated by calling Keala Kailiawa at 928-0500 or Pahala Plantation Cottages at 928-9811, or dropping donations by KAHU community radio station on Maile Street.

Ka'u News Briefs Dec. 13, 2011

Hana Hou Restaurant's Christmas Party for keiki and their families takes place tomorrow afternoon from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Here, Hana Hou employees from past years hand out lucky numbers.

ABOUT 100 PEOPLE turned out to talk with Council member Brittany Smart at last night’s Ocean View Community Association meeting. Smart brought along with her Planning director Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd, who assured Ocean View residents that incentives to encourage people to move to a more centralized town core with amenities, utilities and other public service would not be pursued. This followed CDP meetings in which numerous people said they choose to live remotely and would not be forced down the hill to a more densely populated town core.
     Todd said that if people in Ocean View could not come up with specific plans for their community during the CDP process, broad planning principles would be adopted which could allow more specific plans later. Several small community groups are meeting in Ocean View to study the CDP and make recommendations.

Ocean View residents currently use temporary rubbish bins
until the transfer station gets built.

     Greg Goodale, the new county Solid Waste chief, updated the community on the Ocean View Transfer Station. He said the county is working on a design for the site on the newly purchased 21.65 acres just off Hwy 11 at the 79- mile marker. The county is working with the state Department of Transportation to design turn lanes and increase the width of the highway. The transfer station could open within a year and a half. A community committee will help work on the design and land use, Goodale said. He said $3.1 million has been allocated for the project through the floating of a bond.

THE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY will hold a public meeting on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center to talk about the well and water filling station. The county is working on the last details of the water supply system, troubleshooting with the electric company and contractor to provide high-voltage power to run the water pumps. The Water Department is also working with the state Department of Health to ensure water quality. In addition to the spigots for the general public, metered water will be available at the water filling station for businesses and nonprofit organizations.

BRITTANY SMART spends a lot of her time as a County Council member working on the new building code for Hawai`i Island, she told The Ka`u Calendar yesterday. She said, during an interview, that her goal is to help make owner-built housing more affordable and to assist homeowners in bringing unpermitted housing up to code without being subject to fines or criminal charges that can make them afraid to upgrade their homes. The county is in the middle of updating the building code, following the state adopting a new building code. Debate has centered over whether the county code can be less strict than the state code. 

Brittany Smart

     Smart said that she has also worked to take suggestions from the public for farmers and ranchers to be allowed larger and additional unpermitted farm buildings on ag land. The Council has revised the new code to allow non-residential, one-story buildings no larger than 600 square feet on ag land and one-story buildings on residential properties no larger than 120 square feet. The proposed change is being reviewed by the Planning Department.
     Another building code issue is determining where houses must have safe rooms or be made hurricane-proof. She said that the new code will most likely limit this requirement to specific places close to the ocean.
     Another initiative that Smart says she is working on is using old tires to make paving materials for roads. She said she doesn’t want the county to be put in the position of having to import chipped tires, but that using tires discarded on this island would save a lot of tires from landfills and avoid the cost of shipping them off-island for disposal. Smart said she is not sure whether the initiative will be for a “mind set, public policy or legislative change.”
     Smart met with Ocean View Community Association last night.

THE REDISTRICTING COMMISSION for County Council seats will hold a meeting this Friday at 1:30 p.m. in Hilo Council chambers to address concerns of gerrymandering. A story by Jason Armstrong in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune Herald says the claims center around Council member Dennis Onishi sending emails stating that new redistricting would put him and J Yoshimoto in the same Council district that could have them running against one another. The emails apparently drew responses to the Commission. Commissioner Rene Siracusa called such emails an ethics violation, as the Council member is not allowed to lobby to influence the redistricting lines. Onishi told Armstrong he was simply stating the facts to 40 to 50 friends, explaining how the district boundaries could change. The meeting is set to clear the air, said Siracusa.

Alapaki Nahale-a with Gov. Neil Abercrombie

HAWAIIANS ON THE HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS waiting list for more than 40 years are invited to meet with Hawaiian Homes Commission chair Alapaki Nahale-a regarding a new Kauhale project. The Kauhale project goal is to put people in housing as early as 2012. He said in old Hawai`i people lived together with large kitchens and outlying sleeping areas. He described a modern possibility to Hawai`i Tribune Herald reporter Jason Armstrong: “You might have multiple structures or a larger structure designed in an appropriate way that can house multiple families on one lot. Anywhere from three, four, even five families on one lot. And it’s still within building code. We can oversize the kitchen, oversize the laundry, make sure there’s appropriate parking, but the goal is to serve more families on one homestead award.” 

     The meetings are open to the public and will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec. 14 at the Hawaiian Home Lands Kuhio Hale, 64-756 Mamalahoa Highway in Waimea, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursday, Dec. 15 at Keaukaha Elementary School Cafeteria, 240 Desha Ave. in Hilo from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

DISCOUNTED INTERISLAND AIRLINE TICKETS, in bulk, will soon be available from Hawaiian Airlines, the carrier states. However, the company is still considering whether to give kama`aina rates to local individuals. According to Hawaiian, its fuel cost is expected to go up by $200 million this year, and fuel costs are unpredictable. If kama`aina tickets become available, Hawaiian Air will make the announcement when they are available. 

     Sen. Malama Solomon has joined a group of people signing a petition online asking for kama`aina rates again to allow local residents to fly more to see families and help the economy. The online petition is at http://signon.org/sign/hawaiian-air-price-fixing. It says, “Interisland travel is essential for keeping Hawai`i families connected. Hawaiian Air doubled the price of interisland tickets since Aloha Airlines and the ferry was forced out of business. There are no longer discounted kama`aina, senior, or youth rates, and no more coupon books for frequent travelers, so it is prohibitive for people to visit their children, grandchildren and family. We are calling on our government to take action.”

THE KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN’S Steering Committee meets tonight at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. According to the agenda, discussion will be limited to the roles of the Steering Committee and the community in the CDP production process. For more information, contact planner Ron Whitmore at 961-8137 or rwhitmore@co.hawaii.hi.us.

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL HOSTS a schoolwide Science Fair tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Students have been putting in extra effort and hours to develop original projects, which will be judged by local science and technology experts. Winning projects will be entered into the East Hawai`i Science Fair. From there, top projects will move on to the State Science and Engineering Fair. Students’ experiments will be on display in the High School science rooms, M-101 and M-102.

Jeff Scofield

AFTER THE SCIENCE FAIR, Jeff Scofield, former president of Pacific Financial Aid Association, will present vital information on college financial aid in the Band Room at 6 p.m. 

THE KUAHIWIS PERFORM LIVE IN CONCERT at After Dark in the Park tonight at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Copies of their debut CD, Kuahiwis, Hawaiian Music, which was nominated for traditional Hawaiian music CD of the year, will be available for sale.

THE FRONT ROW OF COTTAGES at Kilauea Military Camp have been decorated for KMC’s third annual Holiday Challenge. The public can vote for their favorite display and receive a Holiday Dollar redeemable at several KMC venues. Park entrance fees may apply.

THE KEIKI CHRISTMAS PARTY at Hana Hou Restaurant in Na`alehu is tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free goodie bags and keiki IDs will be offered, along with a free buffet-style dinner. Lucky numbers will be drawn for bicycles, games, books, toys and more. Santa will be there for photos with the keiki.

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER’S Keiki Christmas Party is on Saturday at 11 a.m. Everyone is invited to this free event, which includes food, music, gifts for every child under 12 and a visit from Santa.
     OVCA asks for donations of new, unwrapped gifts for the keiki. Residents can take ornaments off of Gift trees set up at merchants around Ocean View and buy gifts for children of age groups noted.
     For all donations of time, money and gifts, call 939-7033.

THE CHRISTMAS IN PAHALA celebration takes place Sunday around a lighted Christmas tree on Kamani Street. Donations are being taken for needy families who otherwise might not be able to afford a happy Christmas. Canned foods, turkeys, toys, gift certificates and beverages can be donated by calling Keala Kailiawa at 928-0500 or Pahala Plantation Cottages at 928-9811, or dropping donations by KAHU community radio station on Maile Street.

Ka'u News Briefs Dec. 12, 2011

Frosty the Snowman greeted keiki during the Pahala Christmas Parade yesterday. Photo by Julia Neal

FIVE HAWAI`I RESIDENTS have gone to the U.S. Supreme Court to ask for the same property tax exemptions given to people living on Hawaiian Home Lands, and Supreme Court Justices are expected to announce today whether they will hear the case.
     According to a story by Ken Kobayashi in this morning’s Honolulu Star Advertiser, the suit was filed by five non-Hawaiians who claim the Hawai`i State Constitution shows favoritism to Hawaiians. Their brief says, “Only this court can resolve the racial divide confronting Hawai`i citizens because the state Supreme Court has proven itself completely unwilling to address any issue involving the Hawai`i Constitution’s favoritism toward Native Hawaiians as a race.” The case, if heard, would determine whether the Hawai`i State Constitution and laws that provide such exemptions are allowable under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment section on equal protection.
     Hawai`i County, along with the state and other counties in Hawai`i, oppose the Supreme Court taking on the issue. The Advertiser story says, “Many Native Hawaiians are concerned that a ruling could jeopardize the state’s notion that Native Hawaiians deserve the benefits based on Hawai`i’s unique history and their socioeconomic status,” Kobayashi reports.
     The story says that “Native Hawaiian supporters still fear that a review could open the door for the court to deliver a setback to government programs for those with Hawaiian blood.”
     The case came about after the non-Hawaiians paid their “property taxes under protest and sought refunds for amounts above the exemptions” granted to Hawaiians on Hawaiian Home Lands. The state Tax Appeal Court denied refunds, the State Supreme court threw out their case and their attorney H. William Burgess asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling.

The Filipino Community Association joined the
Pahala Christmas Parade. Photo by Julia Neal

DEBRIS HEADED TOWARD HAWAI`I from the Japan tsunami could make first landfall in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands as early as January or February. A webinar today will examine how U.S. and Hawaiian resource managers and partners are preparing for impacts of the debris. The webinar will allow the public to interact directly with panelists via computer or phone. 

     It will focus on the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, which are home to 23 endangered or threatened species, including the Hawaiian monk seal and sea turtles. The ecosystem also provides habitat for 14 million sea birds.
     Lessons from the NWHI tsunami debris response, including on the nature and quantity of debris encountered, will inform responses should debris come here. Panelists for the webinar will include managers from NOAA, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Papa-hanau-moku-akea Marine National Monuments and Blue Ocean Sciences.
     The webinar is open to everyone and was set for 10 a.m. Hawai`i time. To register, go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/864409841.

THE DESCENDANTS, the George Clooney film set in Hawai`i and winner for Best Film, announced yesterday by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, features musicians who teach in Ka`u. The soundtrack includes Pua Hone by Dennis Kamakahi, who comes to Pahala once a year to share his slack key and songwriting skills with students at Keoki Kahumoku’s workshop. Kamakahi plans to move to Na`alehu next year, he announced during the workshop in November.
     Another instructor at the workshops whose music is featured on The Descendants soundtrack is Jeff Peterson, with his tune Hawaiian Skies.
     Also on The Descendants album is Cyril Pahinui, who performs two songs, Ka Makani Ka `Ili Aloha and He`eia. Pahinui and the Na`alehu Theatre organization are sponsoring free `ukulele lessons each Sunday morning at 11 a.m. at the Old Pahala Clubhouse, taught by Moses Espaniola III.
     Many of the other songs on the soundtrack are recordings by the late Gabby Pahinui.

HAWAI`I ISLAND’S HOTEL OCCUPANCY rate dipped in October to 56.2 percent, which is lower than in any of the other counties. Average room rate dropped 3.6 percent to $165.34 per night.
     David Uchiyama, vice president of brand management for the Hawai`i Tourism Authority, said his organization is working to cultivate “the higher-yielding visitor.” He said the Tourism Authority will “have to put more emphasis on the experiential side of the vacation in Hawai`i.”
     Statewide, hotel occupancy increased this year to 73.7 percent, and statewide average room rates rose to $186.93.

Workers remove a tree knocked over by strong winds at the
ML Macadamia offices in Pahala. Photo by Julia Neal 

KA`U CAUGHT A LOT OF WIND over the weekend, knocking down some trees including a Flamboyant Tree, the Royal Poinciana that landed on the ML Macadamia building in Pahala. Snow covered the upper slopes of Mauna Loa. It rained heavily Hilo way and at higher elevations, but not enough to ease the drought in Ka`u. 

COUNCIL MEMBER BRITTANY SMART meets with the Ocean View Community Association this evening. The meeting is open to the public at the community center beginning at 6:30 p.m.

THE KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN’S Steering Committee meets tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. The agenda states that discussion will be limited to the roles of the Steering Committee and the community in the CDP production process. For more information, contact planner Ron Whitmore at 961-8137 or rwhitmore@co.hawaii.hi.us.

Elijah Navarro (back row, right) tied with another girls high
school volleyball coach as BIIF coach of the year.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL AT KA`U HIGH has taken two islandwide awards. Marley Strand-Nicolaisen has been named top girls high school volleyball player for the Red League by the Big Island Interscholastic Federation. Coach Elijah Navarro shares the honor of top coach. Nicolaisen, a junior, is also a track star who finished eighth in the state in the triple jump. Her goal is to play volleyball at the collegiate level.               Nicolaisen is participating in off-season competition in Kona with the Ho`opa Volleyball Club, along with two other Ka`u High volleyball players, Toni Beck and Kamalani Fujikawa.

They are fundraising to go to a Las Vegas tournament in February, where college coaches will be recruiting. Call 928-2006 or 938-0214 to make a donation. 

Marley Strand Nicolaisen was selected as
top BIIF girls volleyball player of the year.

PAHALA CHRISTMAS PARADE yesterday kicked off many activities this week in Ka`u celebrating the holidays. The 33-year-old event featured Ka`u Coffee floats and beauty queens, representatives of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Thy Word Ministries, Ka`u Hospital patients riding in their bus, Pahala Preschool, Santa Claus and many more. 

THE KUAHIWIS PERFORM LIVE IN CONCERT at After Dark in the Park tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Copies of their debut CD, Kuahiwis, Hawaiian Music, which was nominated for traditional Hawaiian music CD of the year, will be available for sale.

THE FRONT ROW OF COTTAGES at Kilauea Military Camp have been decorated for KMC’s third annual Holiday Challenge. The public can vote for their favorite display and receive a Holiday Dollar redeemable at several KMC venues. Park entrance fees may apply.

THE KEIKI CHRISTMAS PARTY at Hana Hou Restaurant in Na`alehu is this Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free goodie bags and keiki IDs will be offered, along with a free buffet-style dinner. Lucky numbers will be drawn for bicycles, games, books, toys and more. Santa will be there for photos with the keiki. 

The Pahala Holy Rosary Youth Choir brought harmonies
to the Pahala Christmas Parade. Photo by Julia Neal

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER’S Keiki Christmas Party is on Saturday at 11 a.m. Everyone is invited to this free event, which includes food, music, gifts for every child under 12 and a visit from Santa. 

     OVCA asks for donations of new, unwrapped gifts for the keiki. Residents can take ornaments off of Gift trees set up at merchants around Ocean View and buy gifts for children of age groups noted.
     For all donations of time, money and gifts, call 939-7033.

THE CHRISTMAS IN PAHALA celebration takes place Sunday around a lighted Christmas tree on Kamani Street. Donations are being taken for needy families who otherwise might not be able to afford a happy Christmas. Canned foods, turkeys, toys, gift certificates and beverages can be donated by calling Keala Kailiawa at 928-0500 or Pahala Plantation Cottages at 928-9811, or dropping donations by KAHU community radio station on Maile Street.