Ka'u News Briefs Feb. 5, 2012

The Directory 2012 cover detail from the Ka`u Coffee Mill mural Akebono Ka`u by Kathleen Kam.

DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AT SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS and other state buildings, as well as upgrading facilities with alternative energy capabilities, are targeted with $500 million in funds from floating state bonds. The entire effort is promoted by Gov. Neil Abercrombie and his administration as an economic stimulus package. 

Calvin Say

      To make these projects go faster, the 2012 Legislature is considering a measure to allow fast-tracking permits and procurements, exempting these projects from county permits when construction meets county, state and federal codes. The Senate Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing this coming Friday on the legislation, called Bill 2012.
      According to a story in this morning’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “The dash toward streamlining has given some regulators and environmentalists pause, however, since permitting and procurement requirements are safeguards against substandard work and favoritism.”
      However, “senators have described the procurement process as lengthy and complicated, which can add considerable time to completing state construction. Their objective is to address smaller repairs and upgrades, such as painting a school or rewiring the electricity in a hospital wing, rather than build a new highway or public housing complex, – projects that would demand greater regulatory scrutiny,” the story by Derrick DePledge points out.

Robert Harris

       Robert Harris, director of the Sierra Club Hawai`i chapter, told the Star-Advertiser that he “recognizes that the Senate is targeting relatively minor construction projects but believes the exemptions may be too broad.” Harris told DePledge that “governmental oversight is intended to try and prevent bad projects from occurring. This may be too big of a blanket sweep, with a massive amount of money potentially,” Harris said.

Gary Hooser

      According to the Star-Advertiser, House Speaker Calvin Say proposed exempting some state and county projects from the state environmental review law. Gary Hooser, director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control, told the Star-Advertiser that the proposal is “ill-advised and unnecessary.”

BANK OF HAWAI`I IN KA`U is not scheduled to close. The rumor was fueled by the bank’s planned closure of Kohala – not Pahala, as Bankoh will shut down three community banks in April, in Kohala on the Big Island and Laie and Aikahi on O`ahu. The bank has been shifting to more online and mobile phone transactions and instore branches, such as those in KTA and Safeway.

ROAD IMPROVEMENTS CONTINUE in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, and visitors are advised to drive with caution and anticipate road closures and delays up to 15 minutes in construction areas.
      Intermittent closures of the entrance station lanes can be expected as crews repave the area. Visitors can also expect parking lot and partial road closures along Chain of Craters Road and along Crater Rim Drive between Kilauea Military Camp and Hwy 11. The west half of the steam vents parking lot is closed, but should re-open next week. Expect some delays on Mauna Loa Road.
      On Feb.13 and 14, Mauna Loa Road will be closed during the day. Hilina Pali Road from Kulanaokuaiki campground to the lower end near Hilina Pali Overlook will be closed between Feb. 13 and 17. All planned construction projects are dependent on weather conditions.
      Park superintendent Cindy Orlando said, “Please continue to pardon our dust as we make these necessary improvements to your National Park.” For updates, check www.nps.gov/havo.
      The improvements serve an increasing number of visitors to the park. Orlando reports that visitations have increased 8.8 percent since 2009, with a 3.6 percent rise in the last year.

CARNEVALE DI VENEZIA: Under a Hawaiian Moon is the theme of Volcano Art Center’s eighth annual Love the Arts benefit gala next Saturday, Feb. 11, with tickets available for purchase online at www.volcanolovethearts.org. For one memorable evening, guests will be transported to Venice, Italy, through food, artwork and installations by some of Hawai`i’s most gifted artisans. Each year the Love the Arts silent and live auctions grow in size and reputation through the generosity of local artists and community sponsors. Fine arts, goods and services will be among the auctioned items. Auction proceeds benefit arts, cultural and environmental programs in and around the Volcano community. Tickets are $50 and are available at VAC Gallery, the Niaulani Campus, www.volcanoartcenter.org and 967-8222. At the door, tickets are $60.

THE DIRECTORY, the annual publication of the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, is being circulated throughout the district. The 80-page guide to businesses, services and community activities in Ka`u features an essay by one of Ka`u’s top students, now studying engineering at University of Hawai`i, feature photos of the beauty and community life in Ka`u, and listings and phone numbers of Chamber members, along with details about businesses in Ka`u to help the community buy local. 

Ka'u News Briefs Feb. 4, 2012

While mauka rains have greened up the tabletop mountains of Ka`u, makai ranches still suffer from drought.
Photo by Julia Neal

THE KA`U IRRIGATION SYSTEM has received $500,000 in funding, released this week by Gov. Neil Abercrombie. Russell Kokubun, who chairs the Hawai`i Board of Agriculture, which will oversee the expenditures through the state Department of Agriculture, applauded the funding. “Much of the state’s agricultural infrastructure is decades old, and it is important to maintain and upgrade them and keep them in service to Hawai`i’s farmers, growers and ranchers, now and for the future,” Kokubun said. The water system to be upgraded and repaired includes tunnels dug into the side of Mauna Loa to collect water for sugar plantations in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Russell Kokubun

      Cooperatives are being formed to determine how the funds will be used to install and manage the irrigation systems. Anyone interested in irrigation water or joining one of the co-ops can call Jeff McCall at 928-6456 or Malian Lahey at 808-280-2851.

KA`U ATTORNEY RON SELF will appeal the decision by Judge Greg Nakamura to deny compensation to Ocean View residents Leiloni O’Grady and Michael Patrick O’Grady for injuries suffered when a 160-ton boulder fell from the side of Hwy 11 and crushed their car. Since the accident on March 8, 2007, Leiloni O’Grady has been unable to return to work at the state Department of Education. According to a story in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, the judge concluded the non-jury trial by writing that “plaintiffs failed to prove ... that any breach of duty on the part of the state was a proximate cause of the harm suffered by plaintiffs.” However, the judge also wrote that the state “owes a duty to maintain its highways so they are reasonably safe for their intended uses,” and that the state is bound to “exercise ordinary care to maintain the areas adjacent to the highways and shoulders so they are reasonably safe from rockfalls.
      Self described the O’Grady’s as “devastated” following the judge’s decision and said he and his co-counsel, Peter Bersin were “shocked and stunned.” Self told The Ka`u Calendar that the state knew about the potential for the rockfall for years and that the condition was obvious following a separate rockfall there during a 1999 earthquake and by a 2004 study that specified the site as a dangerous rockfall condition. “This accident could have happened to any innocent driver or school bus,” Self said, noting that after the O’Grady’s accident, the state removed the other dangerous rocks for $1,500 paid to a consultant and using state maintenance workers to remove them.
      The state argued that there are more than 100 such rockfall sites along state highways on the Big Island and that the one that hit the O’Grady’s car was not one of the top ten most dangerous.
      O’Grady’s are seeking millions of dollars in medical expenses, wages and future lost wages. She is a speech pathologist, and he is a social worker.
      They claim the state Department of Transportation was negligent when it cut the road through the mountain, leaving rocks and a giant boulder with no place to fall but the highway.

Most Ka`u Coffee farms have been free
of the coffee borer. Photo by Julia Neal

COFFEE FARMERS ARE PROPOSING a tax of a penny a pound on green coffee beans to create a fund to fight the coffee berry borer. The plan would include ridding the island of feral coffee where the borer population could grow untreated. Farmers said they need funding to strip trees, sanitize the farms and apply the fungicide that kills the borers. However, the state Department of Agriculture has warned that the bill could be unconstitutional and could be unenforceable, given lack of funding for policing the situation. The proposal for the tax is coming out of Kona, where farms are hard-hit by the borer.

KA`U, ALONG WITH THE REST of Hawai`i County, has been designated as a primary natural disaster area by the U.S. Department of Agriculture due to ongoing drought conditions, Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced. Last month, Abercrombie applied for the designation, which sets the path for Hawai`i Island ranchers and farmers to apply for available federal relief. 

      Abercrombie said, “by designating Hawai`i County a natural disaster area, President Barack Obama and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack have recognized that the island’s farmers and ranchers have endured enough. Even today, Big Island residents continue to experience drought conditions ranging from severe to extreme. The USDA’s assistance will help hard working families recover losses and see it through until conditions improve.”
      Russell Kokubun, chairperson of the Hawai`i Board of Agriculture, said, “a drought can be as catastrophic as a hurricane or flood to a farmer or rancher. This disaster assistance is a lifeline for many of our agriculture producers who have been dealing with severe drought conditions for over six years. We truly appreciate this support from the USDA.”

Recent rains in Ka`u are helpful, but drought
remains. Photo by Julia Neal

      The formal designation was made on Jan. 18. Qualified farm operators in Ka`u and other parts of Hawai`i County can apply for low interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency to cover losses due to the drought. Eligible individuals must apply within eight months from the date of the declaration. FSA considers each loan application on its own merits. Additional information is available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
      According to the National Weather Service, Ka`u remains within severe drought parameters, while parts of South Kona District remain within moderate drought conditions.

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village hosts two public events tomorrow. From 10 a.m. to noon, VAC holds a reception for the exhibit Masquerade: The Art of Illusion, available to the public by appointment from today through Feb. 11. For more information or to make an appointment, call 967-8222 or email community@volcanoartcenter.org.
      Tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., VAC invites everyone to join Patty Johnson’s free lesson, Medicine for the Mind, on Buddhist healing meditation. For more information, call 985-7470.

A SUPERBOWL TAILGATE PARTY is set for tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp’s Lava Lounge in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The event is open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests, and park entrance fees apply. For more information call 967-8351.

DUI CHECKPOINTS will be conducted this weekend by Hawai`i Police Department. The movement is part of a national campaign, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

Ka`u News Briefs Feb. 3, 2012

Solar water heaters could be paid for through the electric company. Illustration from Green by Design Hawai`i

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO. is disappointed that the state Public Utilities Commission has suspended its Simply Solar proposal to allow the electric company to finance solar water heating panels for customers, who would pay back HECO over time. HECO spokesman Darren Pai said, "the program could help renters and other customers who have not been able to afford to pay for the upfront costs of solar water heating." He said that he is glad that regulators, while initially turning away the HECO program, are willing to consider an on-bill payment program. The PUC deferred any decision on the program saying it did not appear "cost-effective to ratepayers," and that the program requires adjustment.

Safe rooms are required for some houses. Photo from Rhinovault

THE NEW COUNTY BUILDING CODE passed the County Council last night, with council members Brenda Ford and Dominic Yagong voting against the measure. Ford said she wanted more time to help explain the code to those in the public who fear it. She said she would have been open to possibly adding more amendments to make it fit better with needs on this island.  Ford said one of the biggest problems was fear that the penalty section would make violating the building code a full misdemeanor and include jail and fines, versus a petty misdemeanor, which is less drastic.  She said some people were afraid they could be evicted from homes and the county would start a campaign to look for violations. “This is just not going to happen.” Ford noted that the Department of Public Works helps people bring homes up to code. She said about 30 percent of homes on the Big Island are not up to code, either because they are old – some of them built before there were codes - or because some homes and additions to houses were built more recently, sub-code, without permits.
     Ford said she wanted to make sure the penalty section of the building code was for egregious violations. She gave the example of poorly built water tank leaning toward the neighbor’s home. An earthquake could cause the water tank to break and flood the neighbor’s house and possibly kill someone.

The IBC has been considered too
strict by some for Hawai`i's mild
climate.

     Ford said another issue is fear of having to build a safe room designed for protection against hurricanes. She said that under the new code, fewer than 2 percent of new structures would likely require a safe room and these would mostly be expensive indoor-outdoor type houses with floor to ceiling glass doors. The safe room is not required for houses already built, Ford noted.
     Ford said she has been hearing for many months that the International Building Code is incompatible with Hawai`i County and that the council has been struggling to make amendments. She said that Ka`u’s Council member Brittany Smart “did 90 percent of the work to help make it better for the public.” Smart voted for the bill.
     According to a Nancy Cook Lauer story in West Hawai`i Today, testifier Bob Petricci contended that the new code will create more homelessness. “These building codes are a very big part of the reason we have so many foreclosures right now. They have driven the cost of homes so high the people have to borrow money beyond their means just to have what you call an affordable home.”
     The council, however, is required to approve its own building code for Hawai`i County or the statewide building code would go into effect with no amendments tailored to the island’s needs. The council passed the code last night.

RAISING MONEY FOR THE MAYORAL election sees incumbent Billy Kenoi with a big lead over challenger and County Council chair Dominc Yagong. According to campaign finance reports filed with the state, Kenoi raised $328,133 in 2011 while Yagong’s total showed $500. Yagong said, however, his campaigning has never been about how much money he could raise, acknowledging that the mayor raised more in six months than he raised in a dozen years as a member of the County Council. The third candidate for mayor, Ann Marsh, of Honoka`a, just announced and is yet to file a report.
     According to a story by Peter Sur in the Hawai`i Tribune Herald, Kenoi took in a lot of funds from developers, banking, legal and real estate, including representatives from the MacNaughton Group, the Kobayashi Group, Bank of Hawai`i, First Hawaiian Bank and Banc West Corp. Renewable energy companies also contributed, including Big Island Carbon, Puna Geothermal Venture and BioEnergy Hawai`i. Yagong had one donation of $500 that came from Hilo-based Kavana Homes founder Peter Vana.

KA`U HOSPITAL’S MAIN ENTRANCE DOORS have been a problem for years, leaking vog into the building. They are heavy, hard slamming and difficult to open, according to kupuna like Anna Carriaga, who have been complaining directly to state legislators. Sen. Gil Kahele said yesterday that the problem will be fixed soon, that a contract has been signed to install new, vog proof, room sealing doors by June.

Masquerade illustration.

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village hosts two public events this weekend. On Sunday, from 10 a.m. to noon, VAC holds a reception for the exhibit Masquerade: The Art of Illusion, available to the public by appointment from Feb. 4 to Feb. 11. For more information or to make an appointment, call 967-8222 or email community@volcanoartcenter.org.
     This Sunday, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., VAC invites everyone to join Patty Johnson’s lesson, Medicine for the Mind, on Buddhist healing meditation. It’s free. For more info, call 985-7470.

AWARD-WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER and wildlife biologist Jack Jeffrey offers sessions of photographing Hawai`i’s natural environment in Volcano Village this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The class entitled Hawai`i Nature Photography: Field-Work, Instructions, and Critique is limited to 10 participants each day. Sponsored by Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, the class is open to both members and non-members. Members are charged $70 for one day or $125 for both days. Non-members are charged $100 for one day or $175 for both days. Students (K through college) can join at half-price. For more call 985-7373 or email institite@fhvnp.org.

A SUPERBOWL TAILGATE PARTY is set for Sunday, from 4 p.m. to 5:30p.m., at Kilauea Military Camp’s Lava Lounge in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The event is open to authorized KMC patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. For more call 967-8351.