Ka`u News Briefs Aug. 27, 2012

EWM Enterprises owns the slope below Honu`apo lookout, is willing to sell the 1,363 coastal acres for preservation.
Photos from Hawai`i Pacific Brokers.

KA `OHANA `O HONU`APO has nominated for county purchase the 1,363-acre Kaunamano Ranch along the Ka`u Coast. If the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission accepts the nomination, it will go to County Council and mayor for final approval. The land includes pasture below Honu`apo scenic lookout on Hwy 11 and extends south four miles along the Ka`u Coast toward Kalae. The property had been listed for $112 million. According to the owner's Realtor Charles Anderson, it was taken off the market pending its possible purchase for preservation.

The land targeted for preservation includes about 4 miles of Ka`u Coast.

      The community group, Ka `Ohana `O Honu`apo, which co-manages the existing Honu`apo preserve and park with the County of Hawai`i, has launched a petition drive to support purchase of Kaunamano, which is owned by EWM Enterprises, LP, which bought it from the old Ka`u sugar company after the plantation shut down. According to Ka `Ohana `O Honu`apo president Ken Sugai, EWM is cooperating with the nonprofit organization and willing to sell for an independent appraisal price. Ka `Ohana is looking to the Two Percent fund that comes from county property taxes for funding. Other federal and state sources may be approached, said Lehua Lopez-Mau, executive director of Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo.

Ka `Ohana hopes the 2% Fund will help pay for the land.

      Sugai said that representatives of the owner met with Lopez-Mau to visit the property and are interested in helping to conserve the view plane from the lookout, as well as the numerous cultural and natural resources on the land that stretchesd along the coastline toward South Point.
      Said Sugai, “We want to keep the rural flavor of Ka`u. This is for our kids and our grandkids. This is the last area in the state of Hawai`i with minimal development along the shore. It really is for everyone statewide and for visitors to enjoy the scenic drive through Ka`u and the rugged unspoiled coastline.”
       See more on Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo at www.honuapopark.org.

Coffee berry borer

KA`U COFFEE FARMERS have an opportunity to meet with Colombian coffee berry borer expert Dr. Luis Aristizabal tomorrow and ask him questions about controlling CBB in English or Spanish. Interested parties are asked to meet at Pahala Shopping Center Tuesday at 9 a.m. Aristizabal, who is currently with University of Florida, has spent his career focusing on control of pests in coffee and has done participatory research with farmers on CBB management for many years. He conducted an integrated pest management workshop in Kealakekua this past Friday and Saturday.

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND sponsors an anchialine pool cleanup on the Ka`u Coast tomorrow. Volunteers can sign up for with Megan Lamson at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

THE NEW QUARTER celebrating Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is the topic of tomorrow’s After Dark in the Park program beginning at 7 p.m. in Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. $2 donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

CEREMONIAL RELEASE of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter takes place Wednesday from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the park’s Kahua Hula south of Kilauea Visitor Center on Crater Rim Drive. HFS Federal Credit Union will provide $10 rolls of the commemorative quarters for exchange. The event is free, and park entrance fees apply.

Ocean view well and water distribution is the topic of a community
meeting Wednesday. Photo from DWS

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO MEET with Department of Water Supply representatives Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center to discuss Ocean View’s well and distribution of water. According to DWS, the meeting is in response to “increased reports of incorrect information in the community.” A report with answers to frequently asked questions is available online at hawaii.dws.org. One of the questions is, “How were the funds expended?” The DWS response is: “A total of $6.415 million was spent on this project. The State of Hawai`i, Department of Accounting and General Services, managed project funds and paid all expenses for this project. Additionally, the Mayor’s Office supplemented another $400,000.00 in County funds to upsize the reservoir from 100,000 gallons of storage capacity to 300,000 gallons. Even further, the County of Hawai`i Fire Department gave approximately $15,000.00 for the installation of a fire hydrant on Lehua Lane for use in emergencies. Lastly, in lieu of the County outsourcing the project administrative services, the DWS administered the project at no additional cost. This resulted in additional savings of approximately 5-10 percent of the total cost.”

WE … A HUI FOR HEALTH brings its health-screening van to Ka`u this Saturday. It will be at Ocean View farmers market from 8 a.m. to noon and at Ka`u Resource & Distance Learning Center in Pahala from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Health screenings include retinal, lung function, glucose, blood pressure, take-home kidney function, women’s health, hepatitis and hearing. Counseling regarding learning disabilities, smoking cessation, family caregiving, organ donating and more is also available. The screenings are free and on a walk-in basis. For more, contact Annie at 808-282-2265 or annie@projectvisionhawaii.com.

LOL, LADIES OUT LOUD, is an evening of comedy Saturday at 7 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Scheduled to perform are Ki MiChele, Kathleen Butler, shena Jungle Queen, Katie Schuerch and Karen Blue, Angie Libadisos, Jenny Chin, Jennifer Wharton, Tanya Aynessazian and Sherri Carden. Admission is $10. For more information, call 967-8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

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

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND YOUTUBE.COM/KAUNEWS.

Ka`u News Briefs Aug. 26, 2012

Terrain around the Mars rover Opportunity created from 817 images taken by a panoramic camera. Scientists
 involved with the mission, including Dr. Ray Arvidson, come to Ka`u to study similar landscapes. Photo from NASA

Neil Armstrong trained in Hawai`i Volcanoes
National Park.

NEIL ARMSTRONG TRAINED AT HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK for his Apollo 11 mission, where he became the first human to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, calling it “one giant leap for mankind.” On their return to Earth, Armstrong and astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins landed in Hawaiian waters.

      Armstrong, who died yesterday at the age of 82, was one of many engineers and scientists who come to the park and Ka`u Desert to become familiar with unusual landscapes before spacecrafts journey to other planets. The local volcanic landscapes show similarities to moonscapes and terrains of other planets like Mars, where scientists discovered that most Martian lava is basalt, much like Hawaiian volcanoes.

Dr. Ray Arvidson, a Mars rover scientist, brings researchers
and students to Ka`u each year to study the landscape.

      Annually, Dr. Ray Arvidson, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University St. Louis, brings researchers and students to Ka`u, making Pahala Plantation House their base station and conducting research in the Ka`u Desert and national park.

Apollo 13 astronauts Fred Haise and Jim Lovell studied
the surface of volcanoes in Hawai`i Volcanoes National
Park.  Photo from NASA

      Arvidson was a leader in the Spirit rover mission on Mars. He currently works as mission deputy scientist for Opportunity, a Mars rover studying Martian soils and traveling far beyond its expected abilities. In its eighth year on Mars, Opportunity recently discovered minerals formed from water flowing out of volcanic rocks, the best evidence yet of liquid on the Red Planet. 

      While Opportunity lost its rover partner when Spirit quit communicating with Earth, Arvidson recently told the Associated Press, “We’re going on eight years, but we’re not done yet.”
      NASA’s newer and larger rover, Curiosity, recently traveled 352 million miles to land on Mars on Aug. 6. Along with Opportunity, it is sending amazing images and data.
      See NASA’s Curiosity mission link at http://www.nasa.gov/mis-sion_pages/msl/index.html and a You Tube video on Spirit and Opportunity at http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/24098.aspx.

THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES and Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust urge Hawai`i residents to report wildlife crimes, including illegal wild animal transport or abandonment. In January, HSUS set up a confidential, toll-free tip line for the Department of Land and Natural Resource’s Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement, 1-855-DLNR-TIP, to report information on wildlife crimes. Callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for these crimes.

Report illegal wild animal transport or abandonment at
1-855-DLNR-TIP. 

      In June, Gov. Neil Abercrombie enacted Senate Bill 3001; Act 144, sponsored by Sen. Gil Kahele and supported by HSUS, DLNR and others, to explicitly prohibit the possession, transport or release of wild deer. Under the new state law, first time violators face a misdemeanor charge with a mandatory fine of not less than $10,000 and payment of any costs incurred in the eradication of any deer and the deer’s progeny who has been possessed, transferred, transported, or released after transport, or by imprisonment of not more than one year, or both.
      Under the federal Lacey Act, violators can face either a misdemeanor charge with up to one year in jail and a $100,0000 fine or a felony charge with a maximum fine of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years, or both, and civil penalties of up to $10,000.
      Big Island residents are asked to report deer sightings at 443-4036.

The 3.9 quake is in blue in the ocean, between
underwater volcano Lo`ihi and Punalu`u.
Map from USGS

THREE EARTHQUAKES registered around Ka`u yesterday. The largest was a 3.9, out in the ocean between Punalu`u and the underwater volcano Lo`ihi. The quake struck about 11 miles east-southeast of Na`alehu and woke up some residents in the night at 2:55 a.m. The others were barely felt by anyone, a 2.0 at the same location as the larger one, and a 2.7 five miles northwest of Pahala. No damage reported.

THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS to install photovoltaic systems so far this year has already surpassed the total for 2011. Public Works Department has received almost 1,100 permit applications this year, compared to 972 for all of last year, reports Tom Callis in today’s Hawai`i Tribune Herald. Callis quotes director Warren Lee saying, “We expect a big surge at the end of the year for tax credits.”
      Callis reports that it is also taking longer for permits to be approved. Along with an electrical permit, Hawai`i County now requires a building permit to install solar electric and water heating systems.
      Lee says the county is working to improve the permitting process with an online tracking system as well as online submission of application available beginning next month.

VOLUNTEERS ARE INVITED to remove sediment from an anchialine pool on the Ka`u Coast Tuesday. Sign up with Megan Lamson at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park U.S. Mint quarter.

TUESDAY’S AFTER DARK IN THE PARK celebrates the release of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter. The program begins at 7 p.m. in Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. Two-dollar donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

CEREMONIAL RELEASE of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter takes place Wednesday from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the park’s Kahua Hula south of Kilauea Visitor Center on Crater Rim Drive. HFS Federal Credit Union will provide $10 rolls of the commemorative quarters for exchange. The event is free, and park entrance fees apply.

DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY meets with the public Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center to discuss Ocean View’s well and distribution of water. According to DWS, the meeting is in response to “increased reports of incorrect information in the community.”

Vision and other screenings come to Ka`u Saturday.

MOBILE OUTREACH HEALTH SCREENINGS are available in Ka`u this coming Saturday. WE … a Hui for Health brings its van to Ocean View farmers market from 8 a.m. to noon, then to Ka`u Resource & Distance Learning Center in Pahala from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Health screenings include retinal, lung function, glucose, blood pressure, take-home kidney function, women’s health, hepatitis and hearing. Counseling regarding learning disabilities, smoking cessation, family caregiving, organ donating and more is also available. The screenings are free and on a walk-in basis. For more, contact Annie at 808-282-2265 or annie@projectvisionhawaii.com. 

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

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND YOUTUBE.COM/KAUNEWS.

Ka`u News Briefs Aug. 25, 2012

Hawai`i Youth ChalleNGe may have to find a new home if a prison is reinstated at Kulani between
Volcano and Hilo. Photo from Hawai`i Youth ChalleNGe Academy

REOPENING KULANI PRISON, which shut down in 2009, is under study by the state with Gov. Neil Abercrombie releasing $248,177 for environmental studies and planning on Friday. While the prison would hold only about 200 inmates and likely remain minimum security with vocational training, Kulani would be part of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative that would help bring back inmates sentenced by the Hawai`i justice system but imprisoned on the mainland. Advocates say the funding spent on housing inmates in mainland prisons would be better spent here with prisoners having a better chance of being rehabilitated in Hawai`i, closer to families and culturally appropriate social services.

The mentoring pyramid from Hawai`i
Youth ChalleNGe Academy

HAWAI`I YOUTH CHALLENGE ACADEMY may have to find a new place or share the 640-acre Kulani Prison site, should the prison reopen. Hawai`i Youth ChalleNGe Academy is run by the Hawai`i National Guard with help from volunteer mentors. The academy is an alternative school with the mission “to provide opportunities for at-risk, non-traditional students to learn life skills, to become productive, responsible and successful citizens while working toward their high school diplomas.” In addition to classroom learning, Youth ChalleNGe has helped students achieve such outside skills as lifeguard training and robotics. See more at ngycp.org/site/state/hi.

STATE CONSUMER ADVOCATE Jeffrey T. Ono has “questions and concerns regarding the reasonableness” of the proposed contract for `Aina Koa Pono to sell biodiesel at a fixed rate for 20 years to Hawai`i Electric Light Co. In his Division of Consumer Advocacy Preliminary Statement Position, Ono wrote to the PUC on Aug. 22, saying the Consumer Advocate will determine whether HELCO and `Aina Koa Pono have sufficiently addressed concerns raised by the PUC in its Decision and Order rejecting a similar HELCO/ `Aina Koa Pono biofuel contract in 2011, as well as issues put forth by the Commission on Aug. 9, 2012.

Consumer Advocate Jeffrey T. Ono

      Concerns of the PUC include tying up the cost of purchasing the biofuel for 20 years and the impact on other renewable energies. “As a result of these and other concerns, the Consumer Advocate is unable to presently state its position on the merits of the application and cannot offer its recommendation to the Commission regarding whether the application should be approved or denied,” Ono wrote. The Consumer advocate said he will soon issue information requests to further study the `Aina Koa Pono – HELCO proposal.
      Last year the Consumer Advocate took the position of opposing the intervention of consumer and environmental group Life of the Land into the proceeding. However, for this year’s proposal, Ono wrote to the PUC on Thursday, saying, “The Division of Consumer Advocacy, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (‘Consumer Advocate’) respectfully represents that the Consumer Advocate is not taking a position on the Life of the Land’s Motion to Intervene.”  The proposal involves using pasture and other lands between Na`alehu and Pahala to clear and plant biofuel crops and building a refinery off Wood Valley Road, above Pahala, providing 400 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs, according to `Aina Koa Pono.

KA`U DIRECTORY COVER CONTEST reception to view all the winners and greet the artists will be 9 a.m. to 11a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, with light refreshments at the CU Hawai`i credit union office in Na`alehu.
      The show will be open to the public beginning Oct. 1, Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Entries will be accepted on Friday, Sept. 28, from noon until 5 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 29, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Lorilee Lorenzo won third place in last year's Directory art contest. This
year's contest features a separate Keiki Division.

      Categories are Graphic, Sculpture, Wood, Photography and Craft, and all pieces must have been completed in the last 12 months. The fee is $5 for each artwork. “We request that all pieces be for sale for the usual price, Keiki exhibits excepted,” said Ka`u Chamber of Commerce president Dallas Decker.
      The Keiki Division is for children in grades one through six, one entry per keiki. Keiki categories are graphics and photos, no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, including frames, if any. The entry fee is $1, and these entries are not eligible for the cover of The Directory. Only the first 60 Keiki exhibits will be accepted.
      Each day during the showing, Oct. 1 - 6, the public may sign in and receive a ballot to vote for their favorite exhibit. The adult winner of the popular vote will be featured on the cover of the 2013 Ka`u Directory, with appropriate credit being given inside.
      The ballot, a numbered ticket, will also be entered into a drawing for door prizes to be held each hour, and the winner does not need to be present to win. Prizes are being donated by various Ka`u merchants.
      This year, a panel of local artists will judge all exhibits and award prizes in each category, including Best in Show. Each category will be rewarded with first, second, and third prizes and, if appropriate, as many as two honorable mentions. Ribbons will be given for each of the prizes, and all first-prize winners will appear in the 2013 Ka`u Directory.
      Entry forms will be made available at local schools and merchants and will be available at the door on Sept. 28 and 29. All entries must be picked up from the building by the artist between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6 or between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 8.
      To donate door prizes or to help with expenses, call Karen Ingraham at 929-8484.

John Cruz performs tonight.

AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH JOHN CRUZ is tonight. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus. For more, contact Dave Wallerstein at 967-822 or volcanoartcenter.org.

A GUIDED HIKE AT THE KAHUKU UNIT of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is set for tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The two-mile hike explores pastures, a quarry, an airstrip and the vast Kahuku lands, with a focus on the areas human history from the earliest Hawaiians through today. Participants meet at the visitor contact tent near the ranch buildings. Bring boots, rain gear, long pants, water and a snack.

SCIENCE SUNDAY AT HONU`APO PARK is tomorrow. Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo and Hawai`i Wildlife Fund host Science Sunday in the Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Marine ecologists from Hawai`i Wildlife Fund will join natural resource managers from `Imi Pono No Ka `Aina, The Nature Conservancy, Big Island Invasive Species Council and the Division of Aquatic Resources to present information about ocean species, watershed and water quality and Japanese tsunami debris. There will be hands-on activities for keiki, prize giveaways, and Hawaiian Civic Club of Ka`u will be providing free hot dogs.

IN ADVANCE OF THE U.S. MINT’S ceremonial release of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter on Wednesday, U.S. Mint representatives and coin enthusiasts discuss American currency and the new quarter Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. Two-dollar donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED to the U.S. Mint’s ceremonial release of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park quarter on Wednesday from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. HFS Federal Credit Union will provide $10 rolls of the commemorative quarters for exchange. 

      The new quarter is part of the Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The coin features an engraved image of an eruption on Kilauea’s East Rift Zone on its reverse side and inscriptions that read Hawai`i Volcanoes, Hawaii 2012 and E Pluribus Unum. It was designed and sculpted by U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver Charles L. Vickers.
      The Hawai`i Volcanoes quarter is the fourth quarter to be launched in 2012 and the 14th in a series of 56 circulating America the Beautiful quarters. The reverse side designs are symbolic of a national park or other national site in each state, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories.
      All coins in the program have a common heads side featuring a portrait of George Washington and the inscriptions United States of America, Liberty, In God We Trust and Quarter Dollar.
      “This highly collectible quarter is a significant milestone for Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, for the residents of Hawai`i and for the Hawai`i Island destination,” said park superintendent Cindy Orlando. “Now everyone will carry a reminder of Hawai`i’s first World Heritage Site in their pocket.”
      County of Hawai`i Tourism specialist Stephanie Donoho will serve as master of ceremonies, and representatives from the U.S. Mint, the governor’s office and the state delegation will participate.
      The ceremony takes place at the park’s Kahua Hula south of Kilauea Visitor Center on Crater Rim Drive. The event is free, and park entrance fees apply.

GIRLS TROJAN VOLLEYBALL starts its season on Tuesday night with a home game at 6 p.m. against Waiakea.

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

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND YOUTUBE.COM/KAUNEWS.