Ka`u News Briefs May 9, 2012

The population of nene, the state bird, has recovered enough to bother Volcano chard farmer Richard Lee
and to endanger air traffic on Kaua`i.  Photo by Peter Anderson

SUPPORT FOR PRESERVING ROAD TO THE SEA lands has come from County Council member Brittany Smart, who wrote yesterday to Board of Land and Natural Resources Chair William Aila. She said she favors a Legacy Land Conservation grant “for the protection of the Kahuku Coastal Land.” Smart said she visited the more than 3,100-acre parcel multiple times “to experience this historic area” and received “strong messages of community support for this parcel." 

Council member Brittany Smart submitted supporting
testimony to preserve Road to the Sea lands.
Photo courtesy of Megan Lamson

     Wrote Smart, "District 6 constituents have a common message: They want more access and more protection for coastal resources. The property owner and community residents want this parcel in public hands.” She pointed to a County Council Resolution that allows the county Director of Finance to enter into negotiations for the coastal property. 

VARIANCES FOR THE NEW GYM AND SHELTER to be constructed in Pahala will likely be decided within the next month, according to the county Department of Public Works. The agency is asking Planning Director Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd to allow the main building to be 47.5 feet high, instead of the maximum 35 feet height limit allowed by the county. The reason for the taller building is to allow a plantation style roof and also the height needed for such sports as basketball and volleyball. Players are often distracted in the current gym when the ball hits the ceiling during a game. The other variance would allow grass parking for at least half of the proposed parking stalls. The total parking stalls added to the campus would be 163 of which 88 would be paved and 75 grass. Regulations call for another 122 stalls, but the plan is to use the 122 existing stalls on the property for the overage.

HAWAI`I COUNTY has the second highest number of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders in its population. According the latest U.S. Census Bureau Brief, the City & County of Honolulu leads with 233,637 islanders, followed by Hawai`i County with 62,487 and Los Angeles County with 54,169. The Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population totals 1.2 million nationwide, making up .4 percent of the U.S. population. This population grew 40 percent between the turn of the century and 2010. More than half live in Hawai`i and California, followed by Washington state and Texas. See more at http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-12.pdf.

 Studying the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Photo by Mario Agullera, Scripps Institute of Oceanography

THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH, now the size of Texas, is changing the ecology of the ocean between Hawai`i and California, according to an MSNBC news report today. Insects lay eggs on the floating plastics and fish take up residence in the condominium like structures provided by floating crates, cans and bottles. Plastic trash in this swirling gyre increased 100 times over the last 40 years, creating infrastructure for a floating garbage city of marine life, a study from Scripps Institution of Oceanography concluded. Sea skaters, also called water striders, deposit eggs on top of the gyre and fish lay eggs on the plastics, supporting a population of crabs and other ocean predators that are living in the Garbage Patch. One problem, however, is that marine life ingests the plastics, clogging up their digestive systems, which could lead to a shorter lifespan and population decline.

THE NENE IS RECEIVING attention worldwide in an Associated Press story that names this goose as an example of successful recovery of an endangered species. The population of the State Bird of Hawai`i was lingering at 30 in 1953. However, wildlife management efforts that began in 1949 helped the nene recover to a population of more than 2,000. The rebound has been so successful that populations of nene visit farms on the Big Island and hang out in the manmade lagoons at a resort next to Lihu`e Airport on Kaua`i where they can interfere with air traffic. More than 300 nene were airlifted during the last three months with help from the Coast Guard. These nene were introduced to new homes on the Big Island and Maui – in wild lands protected by fencing from predators such as cats and mongoose, the AP story reports. 

The awe-inspiring ice/snow sculptures at Sapporo Snow Festival
are now more accessible from Hawai`i as Hawaiian Airlines
has announced direct flights from Honolulu.
Photo by Chris Spackman

A FOURTH CITY IN JAPAN will receive a new Hawaiian Airlines route, with flights three times a week between Honolulu and Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. Hawaiian already serves Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka – all of these flights launched within the last two years. Hawaiian Airlines President Mark Dunkerly said the new route gives Japanese visitors direct flights from three major Japan islands to the Aloha State. He said Hawai`i residents will appreciate direct flights to the Sapporo area, with its Alpine landscape, ski resorts and Snow Festival. The new service adds more than 40,000 seats a year between Japan and Hawai`i.

A CREDIT CARD SCAM is reported on the Big Island and police encourage residents to hang up on callers who claim questionable expenses on their credit cards and ask for the security code. Hawai`i police said the scammers are sophisticated, with the person’s credit card number already and name of the bank and cardholder’s address on hand. Giving them the code will allow them to fraudulently use the credit card and police urge residents to end the call and dial the credit card company directly. 

Coffee tastings will be available at the Ka`u Coffee Festival
this Saturday in Pahala. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

FREE SHUTTLE BUSES will travel between Hilo Hattie in Hilo and Pahala Community Center this Saturday during the annual Ka`u Coffee Festival. Hilo Hattie is one of the events sponsors, creating a Ka`u Coffee display in its store and giving away free postcards at the event. Another sponsor, Big Island Toyota, will display vehicles at the community center. The Edmund C. Olson Trust, and its Ka`u Coffee Mill, is a major financial sponsor and will open the mill on Wood Valley Road all day. Tours from Pahala Community Center to coffee farms and the mill will also be offered all day Saturday for a small donation. The festival begins at 9 a.m., with entertainment and coffee tastings at farmer booths and during the Ka`u Coffee Experience event. It will be broadcast live on KAHU Radio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The festival ends around 4:30 p.m.

Photo from American Red Cross

LESSONS ON MAKING CONTAINER GARDENS are held tonight at 5 p.m. in Ocean View at the community center by Arroyah Rivas. Rivas helps teach Na`alehu Elementary students about the importance of gardening and composting through the Sewing Seeds program. For more, call Rivas at 939-2413.

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO WALK THROUGH Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary Schools tomorrow. To reserve a spot, call 928-2088. 

RED CROSS VOLUNTEERS meet tomorrow night, 7 p.m., at H.O.V.E. Road Maintenance Corp. office in Ocean View. Current volunteers and those interested in becoming volunteers are welcome. For more, call Hannah Uribes at 929-9953.

Ka`u News Briefs May 8, 2012

The beach at the end of Road to the Sea would be preserved with a 3,000-acre purchase using Legacy Land funds.

ROAD TO THE SEA land, some 3,000 acres at Kahuku in Ka`u, could be purchased by the county with the help of state Legacy Land funds. The proposal comes up before the state Board of Land and Natural Resources next week. Community members like Jamie Kawauchi and Megan Lamson are encouraging community members to weigh in on the issue. In her letter to the BLNR, Lamson says “the parcel exists in the middle of an 80-mile stretch of coastline that has been limited to no development. This claim is unheard of elsewhere in the state. Protecting this parcel is a step toward preserving the invaluable natural and cultural resources and history that are represented in this region. I adamantly believe that Legacy Land Funds would be well spent funding this purchase, and I urge you to support this decision.”

The property in Kahuku, makai of Ocean View, is up for
funding by the state next week.

      Lands have been purchased along the Ka`u Coast for preservation next to Punalu`u, at Kawa and Honu`apo ahead of development to make the largest coastal preserve in Hawai`i. The Ka`u Coast is considered a resource for Hawai`i residents statewide as well as an attraction for visitors interested in seeing wild coastal areas. The purchases were possible because land is still less expensive to buy in Ka`u than in other more developed areas.
      Interested parties can write to the Board of Land & Natural Resources, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Suite 130, Honolulu, HI 96813. Fax 808-587-0390. Send email to Adaline Cummings, Board secretary at Adaline.F.Cummings@hawaii.gov.

THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT for the Ka`u District Gym & Shelter is now available for public review. The complex consists of two buildings, the gymnasium with main gym floor surrounded by rooms for various purposes and an ancillary building with a multi-purpose room. An exterior courtyard connects the two buildings.
      The Final EA shows increased capacity as a shelter, expanding total shelter space by 1,575 square feet. The Draft EA called for shelter for 1,500 people, while the Final EA says the complex will serve 1,928 people during such emergencies as hurricanes.

The Final Environmental Assessment for the Ka`u District Gym & Shelter
has been released for public viewing.

      The Final EA also shows increased capacity as a vog shelter. The Draft EA called for the air-conditioned multi-purpose room to be 2,000 square feet with a capacity to hold 120 people. The Final EA increases the size to 2,894 square feet with a capacity to shelter 192 people. Along with this room, the Final EA also calls for the recreation room within the main structure to have an air filtration system that would provide shelter from vog for another 125 people. Total capacity as a vog shelter is 317 persons. The Final EA says “the gym main floor area may not meet the true requirements of a vog mitigated room, however any entrance into the gym has at minimum a vestibule to help keep vog out of the gym area and may serve as an area for people to go who do not have severe reactions to the vog.”
      The Final EA calls for four more parking spaces than the Draft EA, for a total of 163 spaces. It also states that a zoning variance has been submitted to reduce the number of paved parking spaces and to allow grass parking.
      Noelani Whittington, of the county Department of Public Works, said bids will be solicited from contractors later this month.
      The Final EA can be viewed online at oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov. Click on current issue.

AIR QUALITY MONITORING inside Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park has earned a national Safety and Health Group Award from the National Park Service. The park uses seven monitors and updates information online every 15 minutes to inform the public and employees about particulates and S02 levels. 

      Kilauea’s two active locations at Halema`uma`u and Pu`u `O`o influence air quality with their emissions. The findings are monitored and shared in real time at http://www.hawaiiso2network.com.

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park ecologist David Benitez checks the SO2
monitor at Steam Vents. Photo from NPS

      The site also reports on other air quality findings, weather conditions and wind direction with links to other sites for the state and Hawai`i Island, and the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory webcams and updates.
      The team also established an Air Quality Policy to guide corrective actions within the park, including temporary area closures to protect visitors and staff from fumes. Mobile hand-held
monitors, or gas badges, are used by field crews.
      “Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park has the highest average SO2 levels in the National Park Service due to ongoing volcanic activity, a natural event,” said Park superintendent Cindy Orlando. “Our air quality program is a model for naturally occurring SO2 emission management nationally. With a solid communications system in place, visitors can safely visit our fascinating World Heritage Site on Hawai`i Island,” she said.
      Park visitors, staff and the public are also alerted by mobile electronic road signs programmed to convey real time AQ conditions. Monitors displaying the AQ website are also available for the public and staff inside Kilauea Visitor Center on the visitor center lanai (accessible 24 hours a day), and at Jaggar Museum.
      The AQ team is comprised of staff from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, Air Resources Division of the National Park Service, Hawai`i Pacific Parks Association and USGS.

TONIGHT’S AFTER DARK IN THE PARK program features UH-Hilo’s vocal ensemble, Kapili Choir, performing an eclectic blend of gospel, early American and contemporary Hawaiian choral arrangements. The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Two-dollar donations support park programs. Park entrance fees apply.

Oral Abihai

ORAL ABIHAI shares his passion for creating `ukulele from discarded or naturally fallen pieces of wood tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Kilauea Visitor Center’s lanai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The event is free, and park entrance fees apply. 

A FULL LINEUP of entertainment is set for the Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a this Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. with Emcee Skylark, Ka`u `Ukulele Band,
Keoki & Moses Kahumoku, Ben Kaili, Kaneala Aukahi Pride, One Journey, The Bamboo & Water Dance of the Miss Peaberry Court, Halau Hula O Leionalani, Cyril Pahinui & Moses Espaniola, Bruddah Waltah & Sammi Fo,
Keaiwa with Demetrius Oliveira, Riki Masaoka and Hands of Time.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.

Ka`u News Briefs May 7, 2012

Aia Ke Ola i Malama Wao Kele o Ka`u - Life is in Caring for the Wilderness of Ka`u - is the new Kathleen Kam mural
unveiled at the grand opening of the Ka`u Coffee Mill yesterday, which has set hours for its visitor center from 8 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Photo by Julia Neal

THE STATE’S HAWAI`I OCEAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN goes to public meetings this month in Hilo and Kona. The plan directs the state’s Coastal Zone Management Program, adopted in 1994 and updated in 1998 and 2006. The plan covers shoreline and ocean resource protection, management and economic development. It not only involves keeping water clean and protection of endangered species and cultural sites, but also recreational use of the shoreline as well as coastal development.

      The responsible entity is the state Office of Planning’s Coastal Zone Management Program, which is taking public input with a 5:30 p.m. open house and 6:30 p.m. presentation on Wednesday, May 16 at West Hawai`i Civic Center and Thursday, May 17 at Hilo High School cafeteria. While no meetings are planned in Ka`u, residents from this part of the island are invited to give their input in person or by mail and online. Ka`u has the longest uninhabited coastline in Hawai`i, and planners say they are looking for increased community and government agency collaboration. For more see www.state.hi.us/dbedt/czm/ormp/ormp.php. Email ORMP_Update@dbedt.hawaii.gov. Send hard copies to Office of Planning, Coastal Zone Management Program, PO Box 2359, Honolulu, HI 96804. For more information, call 808-587-2846.

Carl Okuyama, of Island Market and Wiki-Wiki Mart in
Na`alehu, judges Cookies, Candies and Crackers in the
Triple C Recipe Contest during the first weekend of the
Ka`u Coffee Festival. Photo by Rachael Sauerman

HISTORIC PRESERVATION efforts by the state of Hawai`i are underfunded and could lose another big chunk of money if the state Office of Historic Preservation fails to retain its federal certification, a story in the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports this morning. Hawai`i could become the first state to lose its certification, says University of Hawai`i-Hilo professor of archaeology Peter Mills, and that would lead to a pullback in federal funding. 

       The story by Rob Perez says the federal government put the agency on a high risk status, pointing to lack of state funding and sufficient staff to do the job, failure to produce an adequate, searchable data base on historic and cultural sites, and failure to update the statewide historic preservation plan.

       The agency has unfilled positions for lead archaeologist on this island, Maui and O`ahu; three deputy archaeologists; a specialist on geographic information systems; and three other workers. The shortages have led to backlogs in reviewing proposed development plans and lack of an overall state plan to protect resources into the future. 

      According to the Honolulu Star Advertiser report, state Department of Land and Natural Resources chair William Aila, whose agency oversees the State Historic Preservation Division, said the DLNR plans to fill the positions and work toward federal requirements by next February, when the federal government plans to review progress in preserving historic sites in Hawai`i.
      Ka`u, with its vast open landscape, larger than any of the other islands and lacking intensive agriculture or development on its coastal lands, is considered to have the most number of archaeological and cultural sites in the state, with most of them unprotected.

EXEMPTION FROM COUNTY oversight for State of Hawai`i construction and development projects failed to pass the 2012 Legislature, which came to an end last week. Touted as an economic stimulus to fast-track and provide jobs for the construction industry, the initiative was met with opposition by agencies and community groups with long-term environmental, health and historic preservation concerns. 

CREATING A STATE BANK OF HAWAI`I also failed to make it through this year’s Legislature. The idea, based on the state bank of North Dakota formed in 1919 by farmers to help them with agricultural and home financing, was considered a threat to private institutions. The state bank legislation was co-introduced by Ka`u’s state Rep. Bob Herkes. Herkes joined four other state House of Representatives members to introduce House Bill 2103 to establish the state bank. Herkes said that the mission is to work with other banks, not against them. Its profits in North Dakota help fund the state budget and guarantee student loans.

      Herkes supported the idea particularly to help people who are facing foreclosure. The state bank would offer lower interest rates and monthly payments than original mortgages. He proposed the state bank purchasing troubled loans from Bank of America and other mortgage holders, whom Herkes claims conducted unfair mortgage practices.

Ka`u music ambassadors Kona Bob Stouffer, Keoki Kahumoku and students Derek Valez, Alysha Gustaffson-Sciivella,
Jamal Buyuon, Trevor Taylor, Altthea Ramones, Gabriel Santos and Kun Mongkya.

WAIKOLOA BOWL was the stage for Ka`u students on Saturday who performed for a huge audience during the annual hula and cultural celebration that attracts halau and Hawaiian musicians from around the world. They were led by Keoki Kahumoku with the help of Kona Bob Stouffer. The Ka`u students performing were Derek Valez, Alysha Gustaffson-Sciivella, Jamal Buyuon, Trevor Taylor, Altthea Ramones, Gabriel Santos and Kun Mongkya.

Ed Olson congratulates Triple C Recipe Contest Grand
Prize winner Chelsea Lynn Kauionalani Rosario with
a $500 check. Photo by Julia Neal

THIS IS KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL WEEK, and it began yesterday with the Triple C Recipe Contest for Cookies, Candies & Crackers during the Grand Opening of the Ka`u Coffee Mill on Wood Valley Road. Grand Prize winner, taking home $500, was Chelsea Lynn Kauionalani Rosario, of Ocean View, with her Biscotti, which took first in the Amateur Cracker category. Ka`u Coffee farmer Trinidad Marques, of Pahala, took first in the Professional Cookie competition, using her coffee that ranked in the top ten in the world during the recent Specialty Coffee Association of America competition. The name of her entry? Ka`u Kope Mocha Cookies. First in the Amateur Cookie category with her Ka`u John Bull Cookies was Ka`u Coffee farmer Lisa Dacalio, of Pahala. First in Amateur Candy was Gwen Edwards, of Kona, with her Ka`u Coffee Brigadeiros. 

      Malie Ibarra, of Pahala, won first in the student division with her Ka`u Coffee Toffee. All first place winners took home $150. Second place winners took home $100, and third place winners earned $50.
      Local chef Brad Hirata, of Ka`u Hospital; foodie Carl Okuyama, owner of Wiki-Wiki Mart and Island Market in Na`alehu; and Ka`u Coffee Mill founder Ed Olson served as judges. For more about the Ka`u Coffee Festival, see kaucoffeefest.com.

Ka`u Coffee farmer Trini Marques took first in the
Professional Cookie Competition, flanked by judge
Brat Hirata and Ka`u Coffee Mill manager
John Cross. Photo by Julia Neal

      The grand opening included entertainment with slack key and vocals by Moses and Keoki Kahumoku, cello and guitar by Andy Rising and Stephen Cline, the Ka`u `Ukulele Kids, and Ka`u School of the Arts’ Ka`u `Ohana Band and Ka`u Community Chorus. During the opening, Kathleen Kam’s new mural at Ka`u Coffee Mill was unveiled and named Aia Ke Ola I Malama Wao Kele o Ka`u, which translates to “Life is in Caring for the Wilderness of Ka`u.” The Ka`u Coffee Mill Visitor Center is now open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. View the milling, drying and roasting operations and visit the retail store. See kaucoffeemill.com.

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK tomorrow features UH-Hilo’s vocal ensemble, Kapili Choir, performing an eclectic blend of gospel, early American and contemporary Hawaiian choral arrangements. The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Two-dollar donations support park programs. Park entrance fees apply.

ORAL ABIHAI shares his passion for creating `ukulele from discarded or naturally fallen pieces of wood Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Kilauea Visitor Center’s lanai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The event is free, and park entrance fees apply.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.