Ka`u News Briefs July 26, 2012

Jamae Kawauchi grew up in Ka`u and is seen here with her parents David and Jamie when she was sworn in as County Clerk.
Photo by Julia Neal

NEW AND UPDATED ELECTION PRECINCT cards will be mailed to some voters on the Big Island ahead of the Aug. 11 election. County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi said the second mailing is needed for some of the yellow cards since there are some errors following the reassignment of some voters to different polling places in connection with redistricting following the 2010 census. 

      Kawauchi said, “Our goal is 100 percent inclusion in this process.” She said voting “is a very profound thing and a great way to show support for the island. The numbers show how strong we are in our community.” She said the registered voter total reached 101,000 in mid July out of 184,158 people residing permanently on the island.
      The County Clerk said she encourages voting by mail to help foster more participation. The Permanent Absentee Voting by mail applications must be postmarked by Tuesday, Aug. 4 for the Aug. 11 Primary Election. Precinct locations can be found on the county elections website at http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/lb-clerk-elections/. Call 961-8277 or 323-4400.

THE AFTERSCHOOL ALL-STARS program is coming to Ka`u High & Pahala Elementary School and looking to hire energetic and dynamic program leader team members. After-School All-Stars Hawai‘i provides “free structured after-school programming targeting middle school youth – three hours of programming Monday through Friday, which includes academics, enrichment and health/fitness activities,” as explained by Dawn Dunbar.
      Program initiatives include “service learning, sports-based youth development, career exploration and high school transition into the after-school curriculum. Our goal is provide at-risk youth with the opportunities to participate in educational, sports, cultural and community enrichment programs; to build confidence and self-esteem; and to encourage youth to say 'no' to gangs, drugs and violence and 'yes' to hope, learning and life,” Dunbar added.
      From July 30 on, seventh and eighth graders can enroll in the free All-Star program, which, starting Aug. 13, meets at the end of each school day until 5:30 p.m. Registration forms, which must be filled out in order for any child to attend the program, were sent with school registration packets, but parents can also contact All-Star Ka`u Site Coordinator Thu-Tam Doan. Contact Doan at 557-7414 or tdoan@asashawaii.org to register or apply as a part-time team leader.

Hauling garbage to the westside may be less expensive than
H-Power or expanding landfills.
Hilo landfill photo from Geometrician Associates

HAULING TRASH TO THE WESTSIDE is much less expensive than building a new Hilo landfill or an incinerator that would produce electricity, according to a report presented yesterday to the county’s Environmental Management Commission. A story by Nancy Cook Lauer in this morning’s West Hawai`i Today says that Solid Waste Director Greg Goodale plans to present the study to the County Council and mayor before taking it to public meetings. Cook Lauer reports the “the study showed it would cost an average of $52 to $72 per ton to haul all the county’s garbage to the West Hawai`i landfill at Pu`uanahulu. In comparison, a new Hilo landfill would cost $92 to $110 a ton and a waste-to-energy plant would go anywhere from $80 to $210 a ton… Goodale said there have been discussions about expanding the Pu`uanahulu landfill, which still has an estimated 30 years left — if it doesn’t take on any more east-side garbage than it does now. He said the state owns land mauka of the landfill that could be used for expansion and there has also been talk of lowering the sub grade land to allow for greater capacity,” Cook Lauer reported.

Bradley Westervelt hosts Ka`u events on Saturday.
Photo by David Howard Donald

BRADLEY WESTERVELT, County Council candidate for District 6, has announced two meet-the-candidate talk story events this Saturday. One will be at Wai`ohinu Park, noon until 2 p.m. with a family picnic featuring Flyin’ Hawaiian Coffee, pupus and sandwiches. Families are invited to use the playground, join in a field day and enjoy demonstrations of boomerangs, kites, frisbees and electric motor bikes, weather permitting. A Question and Answer session may continue beyond 2 p.m., as needed, he said. The second event is at Discovery Harbour Community Center, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with beverages and desserts. Q&A begins at 7 p.m. No donations will be accepted at either event. Events paid for by B4 Council. Debra Cannoles and Lori Lei Shiriakawa are organizing them. Learn more about Westervelt’s campaign through his website at bradwestervelt.com.

MAILE DAVID, County Council candidate for District 6, will host a talk story session today from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. All are welcome to attend. Community members are invited to meet David and learn more about how she can serve Ka`u if elected to County Council. Supporters Bobby and Phoebe Gomes are organizing the event for David, who is running to take the council seat of Brittany Smart. Smart is running for state House of Representative rather than for re-election in the County Council. Learn more about David’s campaign through her website at mailedavid.com.

Inside Kipuka`akihi. Photo from nps.gov

HA`AO SPRINGS/MOUNTAIN HOUSE AGRICULTURAL WATER COOPERATIVE meets today at 2:30 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park. Everyone interested in seeing an ag. water system for the area is invited to attend.

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP. meets tonight, 5:30 p.m., in the Community Center.

KIPUKA`AKIHI HIKE is offered this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Participants explore an isolated refuge of rare plants in a remnant old-growth forest. Pre-registration required, call 985-6011.

INSPIRED BY LIGHT, a Volcano Arts Center workshop taught by Robert Frutos on creating photo images in the surroundings of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, takes place Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Participants are asked to bring camera, hat, tripod, jacket and water bottle. The class, including a picnic dinner, costs $150 for visitors and $125 for VAC members and kama`aina. Call 967-8222 for more.

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

Ka`u News Briefs July 25, 2012

Fishermen like Guy Sesson, of Pahala, and other operators of boats with engines over 10HP may have to take
classes and pass tests if the Board of Land & Natural Resources approves new rules on Friday. Photo by Julia Neal

POWER BOAT OPERATORS would be required to pass a safety course if new rules are adopted by the state Board of Land & Natural Resources on Friday. The proposal would go into effect two years after being signed off by the governor. Rules would require operators to successfully complete a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and state-approved boating safety course to legally operate a motor vessel. The rules would set a minimum age for operating a vessel unsupervised. They would establish a fine between $50 and $1,000 for violators.
        New rules would exempt those possessing a valid license to operate a vessel issued for maritime personnel by the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as operators of vessels in Hawai`i’s waters who voyage here from outside the state and remain in state waters less than 60 calendar days. It would also exempt those vessel renters for the contract period who receive a safety briefing from the boat livery operator that is approved by the state.
       Rules could also exempt vessels with motors under 10 horsepower.
       Board of Land & Natural Resources chair William Aila, Jr. posted on the BLNR website, saying new rules are necessary because “our oceans are no longer the wide open spaces we remember. It is increasingly more crowded as people are diving and paddling farther from shore. We are experiencing more and more fatal accidents in our waters.”
      The BLNR chief said, “It’s the right time to raise awareness about the growth of the number of people using our waters to recreate and make sure everyone operating a vessel understands the rules of the road. The department is working diligently to create an education requirement that improves safety for the entire ocean-user community yet is simple and reasonable for all boaters to comply with.”
      Testimony can be sent to the BLNR board by tomorrow by emailing dlnr@hawaii.gov or adaline.f.cummings@hawaii.gov; by faxing 808-587-0390 or by mailing DLNR at 115 Punchbowl St., Room 130, Honolulu, HI 96813.

Ka`u Coffee took half the top ten commercial spots at
HCA's cupping event. Photo from kaucoffeefest.com

KA`U TOOK HALF OF THE TOP TEN SPOTS in the statewide Commercial Division of the Hawai`i Coffee Association’s fourth annual cupping event last Saturday. Rusty’s Hawaiian placed in the top ten in all three divisions of competition. More details released Tuesday noted that 62 percent of the 51 Commercial Division entries and 68 percent of the 66 Creative Division entries achieved a cupping score of 80.0 or higher. 

      In the Commercial Division, Wood Valley Coffee Co. took first and second with its Wet Process Peaberry and its Wet Process #18 Screen. R&A Coffee Co., from the Javar family, took seventh. Rusty’s Hawaiian took eighth with its Wet Process Typica, and Ka`u Coffee Mill took tenth with its Natural Process Typica.
      In the Ka`u District Division, Wood Valley Coffee Farm took first and second, followed by Rusty’s Hawaiian.

Ka`u Coffee Bag from kaucoffeemill.com.

      In the statewide Creative Division, Rusty’s Hawaiian took third with its Guatemalan Typica/Bourbon Wet Process. JN Coffee Farm, owned by the Leo Norberte family, took fifth with its Guatemalan Washed. Will and Grace Tabios took tenth with their Rising Sun coffee.

      Lead judges for this year’s cupping panel were Shawn Hamilton of Java City Roasters, Warren Muller of Inter American Coffee, and Paul Thornton of Coffee Bean International. “This event seems to be creating more interest in learning and improving,” said Thornton, who also serves as president of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. “There are more, better coffees than ever.”
      The new Hawai`i Coffee Association president Greg Stille said, “New farms and the improvement and expansion of existing farms are combining to raise the bar on innovation and quality for the benefit of the entire Hawai`i coffee industry and the drinking enjoyment of the specialty coffee consumer.”
      Stille and his wife Suzie operate the small Piliani Coffee farm on Maui where their motto is “Sustainable Farming Practices, from Seed to Cup.” To grow its coffee, Piliani employs worm propagation; organic compost; cinnamon/clove oil weed control; mazi injected compost tea; good bug blend plants and nitrogen fixing ground cover.

Cartoon from Hawai`i State
Ethics Commission

      HCA promises complete rankings and scores for the cupping event will soon be published on its website at www.hawaiicoffeeassoc.org.

FINES FOR FAILING TO FILE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS will be levied on 22 state House and Senate candidates, according to the state Ethics Commission. The fines which will be collected from several incumbents and other candidates will be $25 each. The paperwork filed by candidates discloses sources of income, property and business ownership and other financial interests. The commission is yet to release the names of those who failed to make the filing deadline.

County Council candidate Maile David visits Pahala
Community Center this Thursday. Photo by David Howard Donald

FRIENDS OF MAILE DAVID host a talk story session this Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Supporters Bobby and Phoebe Gomes are organizing the event for David, who is running to take the District 6 County Council seat of Brittany Smart, who is running for state House of Representative rather than for re-election.

HOSPICE, WHICH SERVES KA`U, is providing training for volunteers willing to be a part of its team, providing compassionate end-of-life care and support. Volunteer training sessions are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18 and Saturday, Aug. 25 through Hospice of Hilo. Volunteer manager Pearl Lyman said Hospice volunteers perform supportive services, including patient care and feeding, respite care, bereavement care, transportation, companionship, shopping, errands, active listening and reading, as well as office administrative support, community education and public relations.

Training for Hospice will be given at the new Hospice of Hilo center,
which serves Ka`u. Photo from Hospice of Hilo

      Volunteers can serve locally or travel to Hilo to the new Pohai Malama Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Care Center “where there will be a need for cooking, gardening and even playing the piano,” Lyman said. “Our volunteers give so much, and ask for so little. They meet the families where they’re at, and they journey with them through the unknown. I am so lucky to work among these wonderful people.”
      Volunteer Nancy Molitor said it’s all about, “caring for all humanity.”
      Hospice periodically offers retreats for bereaved teens at Pahala Plantation House.
      To find out more about becoming a Hospice volunteer, contact Lyman at 969-1733 or email pearl@hospiceofhilo.org.

Ka`u Scenic Byway extends from
Manuka State Park to Hawai`i
Volcanoes National Park.

KA`U `OHANA BAND rehearses today and every Wednesday and Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. The band is looking for flute and clarinet players. Instruments are provided, and no experience is necessary. Call 929-7544.

KA`U SCENIC BYWAY committee invites the public to meet today at 4:30 p.m. at Punalu`u Bake Shop’s upper pavilion. Agenda items include a GIS training proposal, federal funding and project status.

HA`AO SPRINGS/MOUNTAIN HOUSE AGRICULTURAL WATER COOPERATIVE meets tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park. Everyone interested in seeing an ag water system for the area is invited to attend.

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

Ka`u News Briefs July 24, 2012

The remaining trees along the property line between Pahala Community Center and River of Life
Assembly of God Church are being cut down by county crews today. Photo by Julia Neal

A SHADE TREE CRASHED TO THE GROUND early this morning at Pahala Community Center as the county cut the last in a row of trees that adorned the park and provided shade for generations. A county tree cutter said they were told that the community approved of cutting the giant trees. The plan stemmed from the adjacent River of Life Assembly of God Church complaining to the county that leaves were falling on the building the church built next to the county park line and that the church feared branches could fall and hurt someone. At least eight large shade trees were cut down in spring of 2010.
      One Pahala-born man said he grew up playing under the trees and that he saw it as a tragedy as the trees were heavily pruned at great expense last year and did not seem to pose any danger.
      In December 2010, Jen Knippling, of County Council member Brittany Smart’s office, said the Department of Parks and Recreation has determined that the remaining shade trees were well trimmed and in good health. Brittany Smart said that she was told today that the county safety officer had determined that the branches high in the tree constituted a safety risk.

The latest Hawai`i drought monitor shows areas of drought.

HAWAI`I COUNTY IS A DISASTER AREA FOR DROUGHT, and Ka`u has suffered some of the driest conditions on the island. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated the Big Island and Honolulu County as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by ongoing drought. The designation makes all qualified farm operators eligible for low-interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. 

      Farmers have until March 12, 2013 to apply for loans to help cover part of actual losses. Farm Service Agency will take into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.
      The USDA also has other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.
      Interested farmers may contact USDA Service Center in Hilo at 933-8381. Find out more at 
fsa.usda.gov/hi and disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

Deep-sea coral is collected through NOAA's Pisces IV three-person, battery-powered submersible with a
maximum operating depth of 6,280 feet. Scientists observe the deep sea through multiple view ports,
 video records, instrument placement, sample collecting and environmental monitoring. Photo from NOAA

THE FEDERAL ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST may include more corals found in Hawaiian waters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration invites public review through July 31 of reports on corals that could be nominated for the list this December. In the Status Review Report, NOAA examines biology, threat and extinction risk of 82 coral species. In the Management Report, NOAA describes regulatory mechanisms and conservation efforts to manage corals.

Bamboo coral in Hawaiian waters.

      The proposal to add the corals began in 2009 when the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to list 83 corals as threatened or endangered, predicting decline in habitat with anthropogenic climate change and ocean acidification as lead stressors on corals. Research was conducted on 82 of the coral species and found a strong likelihood that most of them would fall below critical risk threshold by 2100 without additional conservation measures. The public can view the studies and weigh in on the proposal at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stor-ies/2012/04/4_13_12corals_petition.html.

NOAA HAS GATHERED GARBAGE in Hawaiian waters over the last month, concentrating on the Northern Hawaiian Islands at the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. The crew of the NOAA ship Oscar Elton Sette collected nearly 50 metric tons of marine debris, which threatens monk seals, sea turtles and other marine life in the coral reef ecosystem.

NOAA ship Oscar Elton Sette Photo from NOAA

      NOAA has conducted annual removal missions of marine debris in the NWHI since 1996 as part of a coral restoration effort. “What surprises us is that after many years of marine debris removal in Papahanaumokuakea and more than 700 metric tons of debris later, we are still collecting a significant amount of derelict fishing gear from the shallow coral reefs and shorelines,” said Kyle Koyanagi, marine debris operations manager at NOAA Fisheries’ Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and chief scientist for the mission. “The ship was at maximum capacity, and we did not have any space for more debris.”
      As part of this year’s mission, the NOAA team checked but didn’t find debris from the 2011 tsunami in Japan. Scientists monitored marine debris for radiation in partnership with the Hawai`i Department of Health and gathered baseline data from the NWHI.
      Marine debris removed will be used to create electricity through Hawai`i’s Nets to Energy Program, a public-private partnership also used for disposal of debris found along the Ka`u Coast. Since 2002, more than 730 metric tons of derelict nets have been used to create electricity— enough to power nearly 350 Hawai`i homes for a year.

County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi

THE ELECTIONS OFFICE in Hilo went through an audit yesterday, overseen by County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi. According to a Nancy Cook Lauer story in this morning’s West Hawai`i Today, Kawauchi, who shut down the office during the audit, said “she wanted to give the list a good review before sending the poll books out to the printer. ‘We’re looking at the list to make sure it’s clean and accurate,’ Kawauchi said. ‘We’re trying to be as thorough as possible to run a fair and well-run election.… This is part of us making sure we’re doing everything we can to make that happen.’” 

      Among changes, according to the story, is the number of people registered to vote by mail, increasing by 167 percent, from 6,400 to 17,085, since the last election.
      The West Hawai`i Today article also reports that “Hilo Councilman Dennis Onishi, who has taken his concerns about the readiness of the office to conduct an election all the way to the state Elections Commission, questioned why Kawauchi would conduct an audit so close to an election. He also questioned whether 10,000 new voters have been added to the list since Kawauchi became clerk in late 2010.” The story quotes Onishi: “The clerk is appointed by the (County Council) chairman. The staff is also appointed,” Onishi said. “It just sounds fishy to me.” See more at westhawaiitoday.com.

Pahala Public & School Library will be open one day per week beginning
in August. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U’S LIBRARIES WILL HAVE CHANGES in schedules beginning next month due to staff shortages. Pahala Public & School Library will be open only on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. until further notice, and Na`alehu Public Library will have intermittent closures. Announcements of closed days will be posted on the library bulletin board and on recorded messages to be left on the library answering machine. 

      The book drop will remain open at both libraries for returns. Patrons may call any library for help with renewals or call the telephone renewal number at 1-800-820-7368.
      “With only one permanent staff member managing both libraries in Ka`u, when that staff needs to take time off, and with no other permanent staff to cover the libraries, both libraries will be affected until permanent staff are hired to fill the positions,” states the press release from Debbie Wong Yuen, temporary branch manager of both libraries.
      For more information, contact Wong Yuen at 939-2442.

Hawaiian quilting is the topic at After Dark in the Park.

ROBERTA MULLER DISCUSSES the art of Hawaiian quilting at After Dark in the Park tonight at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Two-dollar donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED to a meeting of the Ka`u Scenic Byway Committee tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. at Punalu`u Bake Shop’s upper pavilion. Agenda items include a GIS training proposal, federal funding and project status.

HA`AO/SOUTH POINT AG WATER CO-OP meets Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park. Everyone interested in seeing an ag water system for the area is invited to attend.

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