Ka`u News Briefs June 10, 2012

Monk seal hauls out at Punalu`u, in front of green sea turtle. Photo by Susan Field

WATERS OF KA`U are included in the U.S. Navy Environmental Impact Study on the use of sonar and explosives for war games and testing weapons. A report in this morning’s Honolulu Star Advertiser says the EIS reports that the testing “might unintentionally cause more than 1,600 instances of hearing loss and other injuries to marine mammals yearly.” A map included in the EIS shows testing grounds including waters west, south and east of Ka`u, as well as the rest of Hawai`i and on to California. The EIS is for Navy activities planned through 2019.
      The Navy states that mitigation measures can reduce damage to marine mammals. Marine mammals living in the testing ground waters are whales, seals and dolphins.
      The Star Advertiser also reports the opinion of an environmental group: “National Resources Defense Council says the Navy’s new plan fails to adequately identify and assess alternatives, including ways to reduce the effects of explosives and sonar on marine mammals.” The Navy responded that it has no recorded deaths of marine mammals from sonar. See the EIS at hstteis.com.
      A meeting will be sponsored by the Navy this Thursday at 5 p.m. at East Hawai`i Cultural Center. Deadline for comments on the EIS is July 10. They can be filed throughout the EIS website or mailed to Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, Attn: HSTT EIS/OEIS Project Manager-EV21.CS; 1220 Pacific Highway, Building 1, Floor 3, San Diego, CA 92132-5190.

Turtle together with monk seal at Punalu`u
yesterday. Photo by Donna Masaniai

A MONK SEAL hauled out on Punalu`u Beach yesterday just east of the pavilion. The seal basked near one of six turtles that were also resting on the beach. The seal took off before dark after many people photographed and stared at it. The Hawai`i Police Department placed cautionary tape around the area where the seal was sleeping. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration requests that sightings be reported to 808-220-7802 or pifsc.monksealsighting@noaa.gov. 

HAWAI`I RANKS 30TH in the latest report on the transparency of lobbying government officials. The study was conducted by the State Integrity Investigation project and recommends that “Hawai`i could do more to improve the transparency surrounding lobbying by posting more lobbying disclosure records online,” according to a story in Friday’s Civil Beat.
      Lobbyist spending by special interest organizations is reported online, but individual lobbyist reports can only be viewed at offices of the Hawai`i State Ethics Commission. With one third of Hawaiians living on Neighbor Islands, making access difficult, “the posting of all lobbyists’ disclosure records online would go a long way toward increase transparency” says Civil Beat. See more at civilbeat.com and stateintegrity.org.

Phil Becker and Day Day Hopkins study CTAHR's
blueberry crop. Photo by Ann Fontes

CROP DIVERSIFICATION was the topic at a field tour presented by UH-Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources on Friday. The tour started at Volcano Research Station’s tea fields and greenhouse filled with blueberry trials. Participants learned about different varieties of Camellia sinensis, the plant used to make tea, and trials being conducted by CTAHR regarding selection, propagation, planting density, yield, pruning and harvesting. 

      Another crop being studied by CTAHR is blueberries, a potentially high-value niche-market crop, according to CTAHR. Blueberries can be marketed locally as well as shipped from Hawai`i to the mainland year-round. CTAHR is studying varieties, potting media, irrigation, fertilizer, pests, harvesting and quality.
      Volcano Winery was the next stop for a tour of their vineyards, tea fields and wine processing room. The winery grows and sells tea and uses it in their Infusion, a macadamia nut honey wine blended from 100 percent Hawai`i Island ingredients.

MISS KA`U COFFEE BRANDY SHIBUYA made it into the top ten in the Miss Hawai`i contest last night. Broadcast statewide on OC16, the program presented Shibuya in a stunning white evening gown with feathers. The daughter of Dane and Terry Lee Shibuya, of Wai`ohinu, she is 2011 Miss Ka`u Coffee and 2012 Miss Aloha Hawai`i. She plans to become an educator.

Peter Pan is one of KDEN's productions. Photo from KDEN

KDEN CELEBRATED its tenth anniversary yesterday. The theater group’s mission is to provide and promote top quality community theater in East Hawai`i, seeking to enrich and unite the community through participation in the performing arts. To date, KDEN has produced four Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, nine more musicals, two Agatha Christie murder mysteries and two comedy-dramas. Many of its productions are staged at Kilauea Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

      KDEN has a Living History program at the park and has been active in developing a theater arts program at Volcano School of the Arts and Sciences. It also sponsors the Volcano Festival Chorus.
      For more information, call 982-7344.

Embossed metal work will be one of the activities at
Summer Creations tomorrow. Photo from Suzshi Lang

THE FOURTH ANNUAL Volcano Pottery Sale continues today with eleven Big Island potters and ceramicists displaying and selling their works from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Call 985-8530 or visit http://ryhpottery.com/volcano_pottery_sale. 

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS Summer Creations event for all ages happens tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. All ages are invited to participate in guided art activities with Alma Gorali, Jym Duncan, Terri Chapot, Bobbie Beebe, Suzshi Lang, Suzanne Dix Kaliko, Pops Hosoi, Kepi Davis, Kirsi Klein. The event is free; some of the activities may have a modest materials fee. Call 929-7544 for more information.

      KSA aims to introduce and practice Aloha, `Ohana, Ho`olaulima, Lokahi, Malama and Kokua in an active art setting and provide a safe, encouraging environment for creativity within the community. For more about the organization, visit kauarts.org.

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

Ka`u News Briefs June 9, 2012

Hale Ho`omana, at Volcano Art Center's Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village, is the site of the fourth annual
Volcano Pottery Sale. Photo from ryhpottery.com

THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH has approved drinking water from Ocean View’s well, according to a press release from the Department of Water Supply. However, acceptance of the project by DWS is delayed pending ongoing pump tests. In preparation of the facility being put into service, the pump tripped off while attempting to re-fill the reservoir. The contractor, DWS and the pump manufacturer are running tests and analyzing results through the weekend and into next week. These tests will determine any deficiencies in the system and the effects, if any, on the equipment. The outcome of the performance analysis should be available within a week, DWS said.

Youth are engaging in less risky behavior according to the
2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Photo from CDC.gov

RISKY BEHAVIORS by Hawai`i middle and high school students have declined dramatically, according to the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Suicide attempts dropped from 13 percent in 2009 to nine percent. The number of high school students who drink alcohol is lower, and the number of those who have had sex is less that the national percentage. The survey also shows improvements in diet and exercise. 

      The survey is taken every two years and is used to target prevention and treatment efforts. It is available online at cdc.gov/healthyyouth.

RETIREE PRE-PAYMENTS got preliminary approval from the County Council yesterday. Annual payments to the county employee retirement fund have been deferred to balance the county’s previous and current operating budgets.
      Council chair Dominic Yagong introduced the bill that requires a minimum payment to be made to the GASB 45 fund if, at the end of the fiscal year, the operating budget has in excess of $5 million, which would be applied toward GASB 45 obligations unless the county includes at least 50 percent of the actuary’s recommended payment in the operating budget.
      The Council must pass the bill a second time before sending it to Mayor Billy Kenoi for his signature or veto.

CTAHR offers many programs in Ka`u, such as this one held at coffee
farms above Pahala. Photo from CTAHR

KA`U COFFEE FARMERS are taking part in a workshop sponsored by UH – Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources in Pahala today. Topics include Understanding and Managing Agricultural Risk, Preparing for the Four D’s, High Risk Areas for Ka`u Producers, Applicability of Crop Insurance to CBB & How to File a Claim, Grower Panel Discussion about Crop Insurance, Reimbursement Transportation Cost Program for Farms, Hawai`i County Ag Programs and Marketing, Value Adding and Ag Tourism. 

      A trade show features agricultural chemical companies, agricultural government agencies and various CTAHR extension programs.

IMAGES FROM THE EDGE can be seen today through next Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The exhibit includes photography of multiple finalists who submitted work to Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s first annual photo contest. The exhibit is free, and park entrance fees apply.

Pottery by Jamie Stokes. Photo from ryhpottery.com

ELEVEN BIG ISLAND potters and ceramicists display and sell their works at the fourth annual Volcano Pottery Sale today and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Call 985-8530 or visit http://ryhpottery.com/volcano_pottery_sale.

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS celebrates King Kamehameha Day on Monday with Summer Creations. The free event at Pahala Plantation House is held from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. All ages are invited to engage in guided activities in a safe, encouraging environment. Alma Gorali, Jym Duncan, Terri Chapot, Bobbie Beebe, Suzshi Lang, Suzanne Dix Kaliko, Pops Hosoi, Kepi Davis, Kirsi Klein and others will guide participants in art activities during the event. Some activities may have a modest materials fee. Call 929-7544 for more information.

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

Ka`u News Briefs June 8, 2012

Photographer Robert Frutos teaches a course on the healing power of light, color and sound tomorrow in Volcano.
Waipio, New Dawn by Robert Frutos

COUNTY COUNCIL CANDIDATE Bradley Westervelt submitted testimony this week opposing the proposal for the County Corporation Counsel - the county attorney - to become an elected official with a four-year term. He wrote to council members: "The County Council has its very own pilot comprehensive funding program designed to provide an alternative to money influenced elections. Some of you helped create this 'clean elections' program.”

Bradley Westervelt, District 6 County
 Council Candidate.
Photo from Bradley Westervelt

     He also testified that, "Opening the position of lead Corporation Counsel to the influence of election money from private donors will have a detrimental effect on the overall team of attorneys who must work to defend all county agencies, year round and not only between election cycles." Westervelt said, "Making this an elected position would also certainly create enormous friction or even chaos among the staff of Hawai`i County Corporation Counsel, if not immediately, certainly in the future." He added that, "it costs the taxpayers of the County to add this race to the election ballot."
     Westervelt contended that it is "highly disingenuous for three-term veteran council member Brenda Ford, who has served during these recent years of County Charter Commission review, to introduce this proposal of Bill 211 so recently after she approved the completion of the once every 10 year Charter review project." He called the move "political posturing at its heart, and adopting Bill 211 will bring changes to the County Charter which will make our County Government less efficient, and also make our defense attorneys far more open to financial manipulation and corruption."
     Westervelt is running against Ford and others for the County Council in the newly redrawn District 6 from Volcano to South Kona.
     The proposal to put the corporate counsel bill on the ballot as a Charter Amendment goes before the council today for a final vote.

EcoTipBlog suggests locating hidden leaks by shutting off all taps,
take the reading, wait overnight and take it again to see if there are leaks.
If there is a leak, look for wet soil along the water line going
from the meter to the house. If a leak is in a pipe in its slab foundation,
 the water could cause the floor to deteriorate and start an escalation of
 mold and rot in the house. Photo from EcoTipBlog

THE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY will no longer warn homeowners when their water use is higher than normal. From June 8, according to a message in the latest water bills: “Important Notice - We will no longer issue courtesy abnormal reading notices. All customers are responsible for monitoring and maintaining all plumbing on their side of the meter.” The water department will still allow for overage in water use when their private water lines break or leak, crediting the user a portion of the higher bill when they make immediate repairs. Such credits are allowed once in every three years.
     In the past, overage notices were sent out after the meter was read, only a few days before the bill was mailed. Now the consumer needs to look at the bill to see if there is an unusually high use of water.
     The water department has also steadily increased fees over the last year and a half as the cost of electricity it uses to pump water has soared. In February 2011, the water department posted on its bills a power cost charge increase from $1.66 to $1.75 per thousand gallons, retroactively charging consumers from Jan. 1.
     On May 1, 2011, the power charge rose to $1.89; on August 19, bills stated that the power charges rose to $2.23 retroactive to June 1. On Dec. 16, 2011 bills, it was announced power charge increase to $2.31, retroactive to Sept. 1. On April 13, 2012, power bills notified customers of an increase to $2.35 per 1,000 gallons retroactive to March 1.
     Electric bills go up with little notice from Hawai`i Electric Light Co., a water department employee explained. The water bill includes increases only from the date of the increased power charge, not for the entire water-billing period, she explained.
     Questions can be addressed to the water department at 961-8060.

Keoki Kahumoku has been teaching children `ukulele
for years in Ka`u. This session was in 2007 with Boys &
 Girls Club. Today free classes start in Na`alehu.
Photo by Julia Neal

FREE `UKULELE & SLACK-KEY GUITAR LESSONS are offered by Grammy Award Winner Keoki Kahumoku today in Na`alehu at the Methodist Church Social Hall. Beginner `Ukulele from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., Advanced `Ukulele from 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., and Slack-key Guitar from 3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. The same class schedule is available on Wednesdays in Pahala at the Olson Trust Building on Maile & Pikake Streets. The classes are sponsored and made possible by the Center for Hawaiian Music Studies, Inc. For more info or to register, call 938-6582.

KEOKI KAUMOKU plays at Hana Hou Restaurant in Na`alehu tonight. Call 929-9717 for more.

KEAIWA plays at Shaka Bar & Restaurant in Na`alehu tonight. Call 929-7404 for more.

VOLCANO ART CENTER POETRY SLAM is held at the Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village tonight, starting at 8 p.m. Up to 15 poets, chosen at random, compete for prizes awarded to the top three finishers chosen by judges. $6 per person; drinks and snacks available for purchase. For more, contact Dave Wallerstein at 967-8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

ENTRANCE FEES ARE WAIVED at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park tomorrow in celebration of Get Outdoors Day. Kilauea Military Camp, within the park, hosts an Open House, in which the facilities and services are available to the general public. Call 967-8371.

IMAGES FROM THE EDGE are displayed tomorrow at Volcano Art Center Gallery within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The finalist photographs from the Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park photo contest will be displayed everyday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Sunday, June 17. An opening reception is held tonight from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Park entrance fees apply.

THE HEALING POWER OF LIGHT, COLOR AND SOUND, taught by Robert Frutos, is tomorrow, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus. The course teaches principles used to promote openness, clarity and radiant well-being that are effective in supporting energy balance, inner calmness and deep relaxation. Includes a simple art project; no artistic experience necessary. $55 for the general public and $49.50 for VAC members. Call 967-8222 for more. 

RECYCLABLES ARE ACCEPTED in Ocean View tomorrow, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Atlas Recycling at South Point U-Cart. 

Pottery by Emily Herb. Photo from Ryh Pottery

THE FOURTH ANNUAL VOLCANO POTTERY SALE takes place tomorrow and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani. Eleven Big Island potters and ceramicists will present their art for this annual show and sale: Clayton Amemiya, TR Andrews, Jan Bovard, Birgitta Frazier, Ron Hanatani, Emily Herb, Shannon Hickey, Timothy Johnson, Chiu Leong, Jamie Stokes and Carol Yamashita. The sale will be in Hale Ho`omana, the VAC education building at 19-4074 Old Volcano Road. More information is available by calling 985-8530 or visiting the website, http://ryhpottery.com/volcano_pottery_sale. 

SUNDAY WALK IN THE PARK is led by Nick Shema from Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park this weekend from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This five-mile hike explores Kilauea Iki, Na Huku, Escape Road, Crater Rim, and Byron Ledge trails. Free to Friends members; non-members are welcome to join the nonprofit in order to attend. Park entrance fees apply. For more, call 985-7373 or email admin@fhvnp.org.

Alma Gorali learned knotting and macrame as a child in the
Philippines. Photo from Ka`u School of the Arts

SUMMER CREATIONS is hosted on Monday, King Kamehameha Day on Monday, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., on the grounds of the Pahala Plantation House. This Ka`u School of the Arts’ free event is for all ages to engage in guided activities in a safe encouraging environment. The artists Alma Gorali, Jym Duncan, Betina Wajar, Terri Chapot, Bobbie Beebe, Suzshi Lang Iris Bishoff and others will guide participants in art activities during the event. Some activities may have a modest materials fee. For more, call 929-7544.