Ka`u News Briefs July 7, 2012

Fourth of July Rodeo this weekend flies Hawaiian and American flags. Photo by Julia Neal

Anton C. Krucky

KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS, the $7.5 billion trust with a mission to educate Hawaiian youth, has named three finalists — Anton C. Krucky, Robert Kaleo`okalani Witt Nobriga and T. Aulani Wilhelm — for its vacant trustee position formerly held by J. Douglas Ing. Candidates were revealed in a Pacific Business News story yesterday after PBN researched court documents regarding the Kamehameha Schools trust. 

Robert Kaleo`okalani
Witt Nobriga

      Krucky is president and CEO of Tissue Genesis Inc., the tissue engineering and cell therapy solutions company in Honolulu.

      Nobriga, a gradutate of Kamehameha, is chief financial officer and vice president of Hawai`i National Bank.

      Wilhelm, a Kamehameha graduate, is superintendent of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument for the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. 

      The screening committee is looking for a new trustee to complete its five-member board who is a community leader with expertise in business administration, finance and investment, strategic planning and policy setting, education and law or governance, according to a Kamehameha Schools statement. 

T. Aulani Wilhelm

      The screening committee is comprised of Richard Coons, Wendy B. Crabb, George “Keoki” Freeland, Cheryl L. Kauhane Lupenui, Benjamin M. Matsubara, Wesley Park and Michael E. Rawlins.

HEALTH RECORDS are on there way to being completely electronic not only at Ka`u Hospital and Bay Clinic in Na`alehu but also at doctors’ offices and medical facilities throughout the state. According to Hawai`i Health Information Exchange, which the state of Hawai`i helped to create in 2009, a recent summit of Hawai`i physicians revealed progress in electronic health records that can lead to faster diagnoses and better care when the information is shared between health care providers. The electronic records can also lead to fewer errors, lower costs and better provider and patient communication and satisfaction. Health care providers are receiving technical support from Hawai`i Pacific Regional Extension centers, according to Ira Zunin, medical director of Manakai o Malama Integrative Healthcare Group and Rehabilitation Center, which is helping with the transition into electronic records.

Monk seals hunt in areas as large as 500 square
miles. Photo courtesy of NOAA

DO MONK SEALS HURT recreational and commercial fishing? These and other questions are answered in a new paper called Hawaiian Monk Seal Myths vs. Facts. It says one myth is that seals eat too much fish targeted by fishermen and that this could become worse if the seal population grows or if more seals are relocated from the Northwest Hawaiian Islands to the main Hawaiian islands. The article counters that seals hunt in areas as large as 500 square miles and acknowledges that there could be a misperception that seals interfere with human fishing when seals swim to and from resting places on the shore.

      Writers also contend: “Considering what science tells us about monk seal foraging, the overall impact of seals on fishing in Hawai`i is small.” The number of seals is small – about 200 in the main Hawaiian Islands – and seals consume a wide variety of organisms including many species not targeted by fishermen, such as small wrasse, flatfishes and small shrimp. Seals not only forage over a wide area, including many places where there is no fishing by humans, they also hunt in waters as deep as 1,600 feet.

There are about 200 monk seals in the main
Hawaiian Island. Photo courtesy of NOAA

Sometimes seals interact with fishing gear and fish already caught by fishermen, particularly in nearshore waters as they travel to and from shore. To help with this problem, NOAA has developed guidelines to minimize impacts. NOAA is also working with fishermen to identify and count the interactions between seals and recreational and commercial fishing interests.

Monk seals eat two to five percent of their
body weight per day. Photo courtesy of
Lesley Macpearson/NOAA

      Another myth, says the article, is that monk seals can eat 400 or 500 pounds of fish a day. The writers contend that no mammal eats its body weight, and the seals in captivity only eat two to five percent of their body weight. See more on monk seal myths at http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/hawaiian_monk_seal/

myths_vs_facts.php.

GAS PRICES IN HAWAI`I are averaging $4.24 a gallon for regular today, compared with $3.42 nationwide. In Ka`u, prices are both above and below this statewide average. At Ka`u Gas in Pahala and at the 76 station in Na`alehu, regular is $4.30. At Wong Yuen Gas in Wai`ohinu, it’s $4.33. In Ocean View, it’s $4.20 at Spirit Gas, $4.19 at Ocean View Market and $4.14 at Kahuku Country Market.

Po`o Wai U is the contest that winds up with a steer held by a forked post that a paniolo might find out in the wilds.
Photo by Julia Neal

NA`ALEHU RODEO ARENA is the site of the 34th annual Fourth of July Rodeo sponsored by the Ka`u Roping & Riding Association today and tomorrow. Slack roping starts at 8 a.m., with the show starting at noon. New events to this year’s rodeo include Chute Dogging and Rescue Race. Other events include Open Dally, Team 90’s, Double Mugging, Ranch Mugging and Wahine Mugging. Entry to the rodeo is $6 before the event and $7 at the gate. 

AUDITIONS FOR WOMEN IN COMEDY are held tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. This audition is to fill an all-woman comedy show being held over Labor Day weekend. For more information, call 967-8222.

BUDDHIST HEALING MEDITATION is the topic tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Chapel in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. For more information, call 985-7470 or email joyfulpath@aol.com.

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

Ka`u News Briefs July 6, 2012

Ocean View Water Well blessing drew public officials and long time advocates to the new filling station yesterday.
Photo by the Charles Tobias

WATER FOR OCEAN VIEW became a reality yesterday with a celebration and a dedication of the new well and spigots mauka of Hwy 11 on Lehua Lane. The mayor, county council members and Rep. Bob Herkes, who long lobbied for the funding were on hand along with Ocean View residents who have worked towards potable water for the community for several decades.

Ted Blanco, Department of Water Supply Chief Quirino Antonio
and Harvey Galapir will operate the Ocean View Water Station.
Photo by Julia Neal

     County water department officials and the workers who will operate the system showed off the water filling station to the hundred people who attended the ceremony.
      The $6 million project establishes a basic drinking water system complete with a well, storage tank, transmission pipeline, and fill station for the Ocean View community.

SEN. JOSH GREEN is applauding Gov. Neil Abercrombie for signing a bill that will require private hospitals to pay up to 3 percent of their receipts to the state, which will allow more Medicaid funding to come to Hawai`i from the federal government. The money is expected to help such remote facilities as Ka`u Hospital.

      The hospitals could pay some $42 million in provider fees and bring in $77 million from the fed.
      Green, a physician who serves Kona, is running in the Aug. 11 primary for a Senate District that will extend from Honu`apo to Kona. He told the Honolulu Star Advertiser: "This was the Health Committee's most important bill. It brings in millions of federal dollars to keep our hospitals across Hawai`i open and to help us hire needed new physicians. The governor stepped up and did the right thing for our health care system."

DISPARATE TREATMENT OF NATIVE HAWAIIANS is the subject of meetings held by the Native Hawaiian Justice Task Force tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the West Hawai`i Civic Center and next Saturday, July 14, at the Department of Education annex on Wainuenue Ave. in Hilo. A statement from the task force says the meeting will give voice to residents on neighbor islands who have longstanding concerns about “the disproportionate number of Native Hawaiians who are in prison in Hawai`i and the U.S. mainland.”
      Task Force Chair Michael Broderick said the task force “is working hard to fully understand why Native Hawaiians are over-represented in the criminal justice system.” Broderick, who is also CEO of the YMCA of Honolulu, said “The numbers are clear, undisputable, compelling and disturbing. Less clear are the reasons for this tragedy.”
      The Office of Hawaiian Affairs issued a report titled: The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System.

PRESERVATION OF COASTAL PARCELS in Kahuku and South Kona made progress in the County Council this week. In a measure introduced by County Council member Brittany Smart, the council voted and authorized the county finance Director to enter into negotiations to acquire access and a portion of the 16,000 acres around Pohue Bay at Kahuku. The report says that the acquisition of this parcel “would benefit the island community as well as nearby towns by allowing access to Pohue Bay, which is currently under private ownership.”

Pohue Bay may open to the public with purchase of the surrounding
lands by the county. Photo from gladtravel.com

     A separate proposal, initiated by council member Brenda Ford, was also approved for the acquisition of three forest parcels in the ahupua`a of Waikaku`u South Kona. Waikaku`u, is an old growth rainforest on the southern slopes of Mauna Loa. It is considered a critical watershed for Miloi`i and for the springs that support the ulua fishery. It is a home to a thousand year-old `ohi`a and kopiko forest. 

A BILL TO GIVE THE HAWAI`I COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION more opportunity for review and input passed the first reading at the County Council. Initiated by council member Brittany Smart, the bill states that the environmental management commission shall advise the department on solid waste and wastewater programs and include any pilot projector program. The bill is in reaction to the county conducting a pilot program that delivered some 80 percent of the island’s trash to the Westside landfill, without notification to the council or committee.

THE HONOLULU FIRE DEPARTMENT has donated equipment to the Big Island fire departments. To fight wildfires and or backup for the county, Hawai`i County will receive two 1,500 water tankers and three Class A Pumpers, which the County Council voted to accept this week.

ON THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FRONT, the County Council voted to allow the FBI to use office space in the Hilo Police Department in order to share resources to enhance investigations and cooperation between county, state and federal law enforcement.

THE GAME MANAGEMENT BILL will go on the ballot this fall. The measure, initiated by County Council Chair Dominic Yagong, would set up a Game Management Commission appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council consisting of nine members. It would “advise County, State and Federal agencies on matters relating to the preservation of subsistence hunting and fishing, as well as protecting traditional and cultural gathering rights.”

Royden Okinishi hunts with Bow and Arrow in Ka`u.
Photo from Royden Okinishi

      Meetings like the ones coming up in Hilo and Kona will also be held on other islands and follow a two-day summit on the issue held at the Hawai`i State Capitol in June.

THREE HYDROGEN POWERED buses are on their way to the Big Island, two for use in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and a third for the county Hele On Bus system. According to a Peter Sur report in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune Herald, the Hawai`i Natural Energy Institute of the University of Hawai`i helped organize $5 million in funding from government agencies and fuel taxes. An electrolyzer-based hydrogen production system at Puna Geothermal Venture will be installed, along with a filling station at the National Park and at the county bus base yard.

SHIZUNO NASU TEACHES DANCING IN THE EARTH, an all-level class on creative flow and dance – including warm-up and expressive dance movements based on Hara Tanden chi energy. Classes are tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., $45 for general public and $40 for Volcano Arts members. For more, call 967-8222 or email julie@volcanoartcenter.org.

A BARRY FLANAGAN CONCERT is tomorrow at Volcano Art Center's Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village, starting at 7 p.m. The singer-songwriter, musician and founder of HAPA has composed some of Hawai`i's popular songs of the last three decades. Call 967-8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org for more.

NA MEA HAWAI`I HULA KAHIKO will bring traditional hula, chant and cultural demonstrations to Volcano Art Center tomorrow, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Audience is encouraged to bring mats for sitting on the grass and be prepared for variable weather conditions. Hawaiian arts and craft demonstrations will also be held on the front porch of the Volcano Art Center Gallery from 9:30am to 1:30pm.
      As park entrance fees apply and parking is limited, carpooling is strongly recommended. For more information, visit www.volcanoartcenter.org or contact Julie at 967-8222 or julie@volcanoartcenter.org.

THE 34th ANNUAL FOURTH OF JULY RODEO, by The Ka`u Roping & Riding Association, is tomorrow and Sunday at Na`alehu Rodeo Arena. Slack roping starts at 8 a.m., with the show kicking off at noon. New events to this year's rodeo include: Chute Dogging and Rescue Race. Other events include Open Dally, Team 90’s, Double Mugging, Ranch Mugging and Wahine Mugging. Entry to the rodeo is $6 before the event and $7 at the gate.

The 34th annual Fourth of July Rodeo, Saturday and Sunday in Na`alehu.
Photo by Julia Neal

SUNDAY WALK IN THE PARK is this weekend from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. This three-mile round-trip hike visits Pu`u Huluhulu. Participants meet at Mauna Ulu parking lot. The event is free for Friends members; non-members welcome to join Friends in order to attend. Park entrances fees apply. For more, call 985-7373 or email admin@fhvnp.org.

AUDITIONS FOR WOMEN IN COMEDY are this Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Open to all women and “wanna-be” women. This audition is to fill an all-woman comedy show being held over Labor Day weekend.

MEDICINE FOR THE MIND will be held Sunday, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at Kilauea Military Camp Chapel in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Buddhist healing meditation topic: Island of Jewels – Our Precious Human Life. Fee. For more, call 985-7470 or email joyfulpath@aol.com.

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

Ka`u News Briefs July 5, 2012

Gov. Neil Abercrombie tells loyal Democrats that the Senate and possibly Pres. Barack Obama's future are at stake.
Photo Julia Neal

GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE came to the Big Island yesterday and urged voters in the August primary to elect Democrats to the U.S. Senate. Speaking at the annual Fourth of July picnic hosted by the Democratic Party, Abercrombie said that Hawai`i could be the state where the country will be waiting to see if the Republicans take over the Senate. 

Gov. Neil Abercrombie
Photo by Julia Neal

If former Gov. Linda Lingle wins her bid for retiring Sen. Dan Akaka’s senate seat, the Democrats could lose the Senate. The Republicans, should they win the House of Representatives again, could control both houses in the U.S. Congress. Abercrombie said that Republican control could mean trouble for the re-election of Pres. Barack Obama as the congress would try to roll back his initiatives including his health care legislation. 

THE COUNTY PROSECUTORS OFFICE shut down a drug house in Ocean View recently, according to Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth. He said a rarely used nuisance abatement injunction was issued by Judge Glenn Hara to allow eviction of everyone living on the property.
     With the belief that dangerous drugs were being promoted in the area, the prosecutors office asked and received and eviction order for 90 days. The prosecutors are also asking the judge to keep them not only off the drug house property permanently, but also to ban them from the four block area around the property, Roth said. The Deputy Prosecutor said that "Since we kicked them off the property, burglaries have gone down" in the neighborhood.

Mitch Roth, running for
Prosecuting Attorney
Photo by Julia Neal

    He also said that prior to the eviction, police raided the property and found stolen goods and drugs, including meth amphetamine. Roth said that the out of town owner was apparently oblivious to the crimes and “did not know what was going on.” He described the property as having a makeshift structure that the people evicted tore down before they left. According to Roth, neighbors said they were being “threatened by drug dealers and had just about given up on their property and are totally happy that the situation has changed.”
     According to Roth, some of those who hung out at the property are out on bail, some are still incarcerated and some are awaiting trials.
 
VOLCANO CELEBRATED INDEPENDENCE DAY during its annual parade yesterday, the largest ever and filled with candidates for the primary election on Aug. 11. The parade down Old Volcano Road saw sunny skies and wrapped up with food and entertainment including songs from the upcoming Kilauea Drama and Entertainment Network production of the Rogers & Hammerstein musical Cinderella, which opens July 13 at Kilauea Military Camp Theatre.

Akira Yamamoto, Grand Marshall of Volcano Fourth of July Parade.
Photo by David Howard Donald

KUMU MAILE YAMANAKA shares history, legends and songs of Hilo tomorrow at Volcano Art Center's Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village at 11 a.m. Call 937-4249 for more.

DANCING IN THE EARTH, an all level class on creative flow and dance taught by Shizuno Nasu from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The class includes warm-up and expressive dance movements based on Hara Tanden chi energy. Classes are $45 for general public and $40 for Volcano Arts members. For more, call 967-8222 or email julie@volcanoartcenter.org.

AN INTIMATE EVENING IN CONCERT WITH BARRY FLANAGAN is Saturday at Volcano Art Center's Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village, starting at 7 p.m. The singer-songwriter, musician and founder of HAPA has composed some of Hawai`i's popular songs of the last three decades. Call 967-8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org for more.

Barry Flanagan

NA MEA HAWAI`I HULA KAHIKO will bring traditional hula, chant and cultural demonstrations to Volcano Art Center Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Halau Na Pua ‘O Uluhaimalama performs Hula Kahiko under the direction of kumu hula Emery Aceret. Audience is encouraged to bring mats for sitting on the grass and be prepared for variable weather conditions. Hawaiian arts and craft demonstrations will also be held on the front porch of the Volcano Art Center Gallery from 9:30am to 1:30pm. Demonstrations include hands-on displays and lessons where all ages are invited to meet, learn from and talk story with friendly and knowledgeable locals.
      Na Mea Hawai`i Hula Kahiko is a free community event presented in cooperation with Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and supported in part by the County of Hawai`i's Department of Research and Development and the Hawai`i Tourism Authority. As park entrance fees apply and parking is limited, carpooling is strongly recommended. For more information, visit www.volcanoartcenter.org or contact Julie at 967-8222 or julie@volcanoartcenter.org.

The 34th Annual Fourth of July Rodeo is Saturday and Sunday in Na`alehu
Photo Julia Neal

THE 34th ANNUAL FOURTH OF JULY RODEO, by The Ka`u Roping & Riding Association, happens Saturday and Sunday at Na`alehu Rodeo Arena. Slack roping starts at 8 a.m., with the show kicking off at noon. New events to this year's rodeo include: Chute Dogging - wrestling a steer charging out of a chute to the ground - and Rescue Race - paniolo race across the arena, lift partner up onto the back of the horse and race back. Other events include Open Dally, Team 90’s (both partners’ cumulative age must be 90 and above), Double Mugging, Ranch Mugging and Wahine Mugging. Entry to the rodeo is $6 before the event and $7 at the gate.

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