Ka`u News Briefs Oct. 12, 2012

Rep. Bob Herkes, who championed the new well in Ocean View, and County Council member Brittany Smart, who is currently
working to reduce the costs of water to residents, at the groundbreaking for the new gym in Pahala. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie 

COMMERCIAL WATER HAULERS are refraining from passing on the savings to customers, even those haulers whose costs are lower with access to the new water well and distribution system at Ocean View, according to complaints coming into the office of County Council member Brittany Smart.

      Those water haulers allowed to use the new Ocean View distribution system save driving some 24 miles since they no longer travel the roundtrip from the Na`alehu water station to Ocean View. According to the councilwoman’s staff, calls are coming in to her office with complaints that the price for hauling water to homes in Ocean View remains high.

      Smart recently introduced a resolution to the County Council asking for an audit on the way the commercial water haulers with access to the new county water were chosen and how their costs relate to the price charged customers.
      The resolution notes that the Ocean View community is “heavily dependent on truck-delivered water service due to the lack of rainfall for refilling their catchment tanks…
      “Through the dedicated efforts of Ocean View residents, the state of Hawai`i and the county of Hawai`i have invested over $6,415,000 in taxpayer money for Ocean View to have a water system station, which includes standpipes and public spigots.”
      The resolution says that residents are “concerned that the Hawaiian Ocean View Water System Standpipe Station meter award process has resulted in inequities in the allocation of standpipe meters which has contributed to the lack of significant drop in the price of water delivery.”
      It says the process that chose the ten water haulers “on a first-come, first-serve basis, may not have been adequate for addressing Ocean View’s unique circumstances and may not have guaranteed that safe, potable water will be delivered to the community at fair, competitive rates.”
      Smart also questions whether the Department of Water Supply’s practice of awarding applicants not regulated by the state Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission, “specifically personal, private or businesses not specializing in hauling water, does not seem to promote the proper use of publicly funded water infrastructure.”
      The first reading on the resolution is scheduled for next Tuesday, Oct. 16 at the West Hawai`i Civic Center before the Agricultural, Water and Energy Sustainability committee. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. and oral testimony can be presented there or from the Hilo, Pahoa or Waimea Council offices. Written testimony is due by 9 a.m. Monday morning if sent by mail to the Office of the County Clerk at 25 Aupuni St, Hilo, HI 96720. Email counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us or fax 961-8912. Written testimony will also be accepted at the meeting.

A large yellow metal object was found on the Ka`u Coast below Na`alehu
on Oct. 3 by a coastal hiking group, and is thought to be related to the
March 2011 tsunami that hit Japan.

ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS is the potential cost of removing the large yellow cylinder from the Waikapuna shore, according to officials from the state Department of Land & Natural Resources. The removal could be from land or sea.
      A Tom Callis report in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune Herald says that “the actual cost remains unknown, but if it reaches that amount, it would double what the state is receiving in federal aid to deal with suspected tsunami debris. It also might be as much as the agency can afford.” The story reports Board of Land & Natural Resources Chair William Aila saying that the DLNR has no budgeted funds to remove tsunami debris and is using a Special Land Development Fund.
      Removal of more objects like the cylinder could create a financial problem for DLNR. Sen. Gil Kahele was reported as saying he will work in the 2013 Legislature for more state funding for tsunami debris. Aila told the Tribune-Herald that “we won’t leave any marine debris out there just because we don’t have the funds to take care of it.” See more at hawaiitribune-herald.com.

Brenda Ford.
Photo from brendaford.org

Debbie Hecht.
Photo from dhecht.com

SIGNS ARE GOING UP around the island for two charter amendments for the Two-Percent land fund, regarding Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources. Proposed by County Council member Brenda Ford and Debbie Hecht, one of the charter amendments raises money set aside from Hawai`i County property taxes from one percent to two percent. It also “contains language that makes sure that these lands will be held for the people of Hawai`i and cannot be sold, traded or mortgaged in any way,” said Hecht, who has been the champion of the Two-Percent cause since its inception.
      Charter amendment #3 provides that .25 percent – a quarter of one percent – of property taxes will go for maintenance of the lands purchased with Open Space funds. Groups like Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo, which helps take care of Honu`apo Park next to Whittington Beach Park, could apply for the funds each year. Open Space funding was recently used to purchase lands between Punalu`u and Kawa Bay for preservation and to create public parklands. Negotiations are underway for lands around Road to the Sea and other parcels along the uninhabited Ka`u Coast.

Ka`u Farm Bureau meets Monday to elect Board of Directors.
Photo of Taro by Shalan Crysdale

THE ANNUAL KA`U FARM BUREAU MEETING will take place next Monday, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Special guests are Rep. Clift Tsuji, chair of the committee on Agriculture for the state House of Representatives, and Scott Enright, deputy director of Hawai`i Department of Agriculture. The meeting will include election of the Board of Directors and a potluck dinner. For more information, call Ka`u Farm Bureau President Chris Manfredi at 929-9550.

KA`U TROJANS play a home football game tonight versus Konawaena at 7 p.m. Tomorrow, girls volleyball team plays Kohala at Pahoa at 10 a.m., and an air riflery match is set at Waiakea.

KA`U LIONS, of Pop Warner Football, play Keaukaha Warriors in Pahala this Sunday.

KUMU LEILEHUA YUEN AND MANU JOSIAH present a 50-minute narrated demonstration of the preparation, protocol and offering of traditional hula and chant tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. on the hula platform in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Hands-on cultural demonstrations take place 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the Volcano Art Center Gallery porch. Donations are welcome, and park entrance fees apply.


VOLCANO ART CENTER presents Story Flow tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. The show features up to ten six-minute stories, told by community members, relating the theme of The First Time. Those interested in telling a story can sign up at 6:45 p.m. Entrance fee is $6. For more, call 967-8222.

COOPER CENTER’S MONGOLIAN BBQ offers over 20 choices of vegetables plus chicken, beef, pork, fish and tofu tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Seventy cents per ounce includes dessert and beverage. Visit thecoopercenter.org or call 936-9705 for more information.

ALSO AT COOPER CENTER, League of Women Voters sponsors a candidate forum Monday. State Rep. for District 3 candidates Fred Fogel, Marlene Hapai, and Richard Onishi meet the public at 5:30 p.m., followed by Prosecuting Attorney candidates Lincoln Ashida and Mitch Roth at 6:45 p.m. For more, visit lwv.org.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

Ka`u News Briefs Oct. 11, 2012

Last night, community members protested AKP's private meeting with select individuals, asking for the meetings to be
 open to the public. 

`AINA KOA PONO moved its private meeting with select community members to the Ka`u Coffee Mill last night, after being told to find another venue by management of the KAHU radio station. The meeting remained closed to the public and media. Some of those invited to the meeting stood with signs on Wood Valley Road, saying “Where is the transparency, people?,” “Keep Ka`u Ka`u” and “AKP Not Pono.”

Chris Eldridge, AKP partner

      The meeting was originally scheduled for KAHU Radio station, by its co-founder Wendell Ke`ahu`ae`a, but volunteers at the station and members of the public called for the community radio station to be “neutral ground” on the issue of building a refinery just off Wood Valley Road. The project also involves a proposal before the state Public Utilities Commission to allow `Aina Koa Pono to sign a contract with Hawaiian Electric Light Co. that would lock the utility into a 20-year set price for purchasing biofuel from `Aina Koa Pono. The contract would also cause electric bills to go up once the refinery is producing diesel. The diesel would be trucked up Hwy 11 to the oil-burning power plant next to Keahole Airport in Kona.

      Dorothy Kalua, who grew up in Pahala, had a career in accounting with an airline and moved back to the village to live with her mother, was invited but declined to come to the closed meeting. She sent the following letter, which she asked the hosts of the meeting to read:
      “I am opposed to putting a microwave polymerization refinery in our town. I am not only opposed because of the effect it will have on our community, our roads, our land, and our people. I am also opposed to it for the State of Hawai`i. To place our state in a contract for the next 20 years with a process that has not been commercially used, expending our resources on this process with a company having no history of success, ignoring the other energy sources on this island... is unwise in the very least. 

Eldridge stated at the meeting that AKP would bring individual
MicroDee units to the property to test them rather than
initially building a large refinery. Photo from biofuels-solutions.com

      “To grow sterile grasses to create fuel to feed an old (power plant) refinery rather than the people is not the best use of our land. One only needs to explore the results of such behavior in other parts of the world.

      “I am opposed to this for my town, my state... and for the world.

      “We need to lower energy costs. Lower energy costs will create more jobs for this island and this state than any one company can promise.

      “It is realized that the people involved in this proposal are putting themselves in position to make money. It may be good for those few people in the short term, but not for the future of all the people. I decline your offer.”
      Kalua wrote as a post script, “There are even those who say ...besides being financially unsound and environmentally damaging this undertaking is immoral.”

     According to several people attending the meeting, the hosts did not read the letter to those attending.

      `Aina Koa Pono has stated that it will create 400 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs for its refinery, harvesting and biofuel growing operations. Its contract proposal before the Public Utilities Commission says it will be selling 18 million gallons a year of biofuel to Hawai`i Electric Light Co.
      However, according to people who attended the meeting, `Aina Koa Pono partner Chris Eldridge put forth that the hui would not build a large refinery initially, but would first bring individual MicroDee, microwave depolymerization units to the property to test them. According to several people attending the meeting, the `Aina Koa Pono representative also talked about the reason for having the private meetings with small groups of people, saying that small private sessions are being conducted so that people would feel comfortable listening and answering questions. 

AKP promised at last night's meeting that there would be no clear cutting of
trees between Pahala and Na`alehu to feed the biofuel refinery.
Photo by Julia Neal

      According to people attending the meeting, Eldridge also stated that the company is not going to be clear cutting the trees between Pahala and Na`alehu for biomass for its refinery.

      Company representatives have said in the past, however, that they will be cutting brush and trees for the first several years of operation before growing crops for the refinery.
      People attending the meeting also said that during the scale up to the big refinery, `Aina Koa Pono promised, only about one truck a week would be going up the highway.  Eldridge also said that the refinery would not be adding trucks on the highway, even when operating at full scale, since trucks are already going along the highway after imported fuel is unloaded at the harbor. `Aina Koa Pono would be replacing rather than adding trucks, he said, according to meeting attendees. 

      Mike Munnerlyn, a contractor living in Pahala, who attended the meeting, said he has some concerns about the small amount of SO2 and the high amount of moisture that would be emitted by the cooling stack at the refinery. He said he worries that the combination of high moisture, vog that often blankets the Wood Valley area, and the additional SO2 could be trapped in the valley making vog conditions worse and damaging crops. 

      Public hearings on the issue of whether to allow Hawai`i Electric Light Co. to buy the diesel at a fixed rate for 20 years are set for Oct. 29 at Hilo High School Cafeteria at 6 p.m. and Oct. 30 at Konawaena High School at 6 p.m. Public testimony is due Nov. 30.
      For more, see ainakoapono.com. See the presentation on the proposed microwave refinery technology at biofuels-solutions.com. See public testimony and the proposed HELCO contract and the `Aina Koa Pono and HELCO position at puc.hawaii.gov.

RED CROSS VOLUNTEERS MEET tonight at 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 TROJANS SPORTS LINE-UP FOR THE WEEK includes a home football game tomorrow versus Konawaena at 7 p.m. On Saturday, girls volleyball plays Kohala at Pahoa at 10 a.m. and an air riflery match is set at Waiakea.

Kumu Leilehua Yuen and Mau Josiah demonstrate at Hawai`i Volcanoes
 National Park Saturday. Photo by Kenji Kuroshima 

HULA INFORMANCE, Hula Arts At Kilauea, is performed Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on the hula platform in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Kumu Leilehua Yuen and Manu Josiah present a 50 minute narrated demonstration of the preparation, protocol and offering of traditional hula and chant. A hands-on cultural demonstration is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the Volcano Art Center Gallery porch. The event is free – donations welcome – but park entrance fees apply.


STORY FLOW is Saturday at 7 p.m. in Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. The show features up to ten six-minute stories, told by community members, relating the theme of the month: The First Time. Those interested in telling a story can sign up at 6:45 p.m. Entrance fee is $6. For more, call 967-8222.

KA`U LIONS, of Pop Warner Football, play Keaukaha Warriors in Pahala this Sunday. 

MEDICINE FOR THE MIND, a Buddhist healing meditation for beginners and the advanced, is offered Sunday, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at Kilauea Military Camp Chapel in HVNP. The event is free, however park entrance fees may apply. For more, call 985-7470.

FRIENDS OF LINCOLN ASHIDA host a meet and greet this Sunday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at the Pahala Community Center. For more visit ashidaforprosector.com.

A CANDIDATE FORUM, sponsored by League of Women Voters, will be hosted Monday, Oct. 15, at the Cooper Center in Volcano Village. State Rep. for District 3 candidates Fred Fogel, Marlene Hapai, and Richard Onishi meet the public at 5:30 p.m. followed by Prosecuting Attorney candidates Lincoln Ashida and Mitch Roth at 6:45 p.m. For more visit lwv.org.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

Ka`u News Briefs Oct. 10, 2012

Hester's Farm is now selling its premium produce in front of KAHU Radio in Pahala on Wednesdays from 7 a.m. until noon at the new Pahala Open Air Farmers Market.  Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

PAHALA OPEN AIR FARMERS MARKET opened today from 7 a.m. to noon on the grounds of KAHU Radio on Maile Street.

Amery Silva represents
Ka`u Coffee Mill.
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

Lisa Dacalio with a
decorative gourd.
Photo by Julia Neal

      Vendors for the first day are Hester Farms, Lisa Dacalio with her and Jimmy Dacalio's Moa`ula Cloud Rest Ka`u Coffee and her decorative gourds, and Ka`u Coffee Mill, represented by Amery Silva and Brenda Iokepa Moses. The new market is a shift for Sokha and Ellis Hester who have been famous for years with their colorful produce every Wednesday morning at the farmers markets in Na`alehu. The drive to the Pahala market saves time and travel for the Hesters whose farm is located just above Pahala village. The market is being organized by the Hesters and KAHU public radio. Station manager Christine Ka`ehu`ae`a said she is open to a variety of vendors joining the Pahala Open Air Farmers Market every Wednesday morning. 

KAHU manager Christine Ka`ehu`ae`a grabs a cup of hot coffee from
Lisa Dacalio's Moa`ula Ka`u Cloud Rest Coffee stand.
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

KAHU RADIO will not be the venue for an `Aina Koa Pono private meeting of select Ka`u residents this evening. KAHU public radio manager Christine Ka`ehu`ae`a said the radio station wants to remain neutral on the issue and said the decision was made after radio station management received input from community members who wanted the meetings to be open to the public.
      `Aina Koa Pono seeks to build a refinery along Wood Valley Road and to clear brush and trees between Pahala and Na`alehu to grind and dry into pellets to be processed in 27 large microwave units to manufacture diesel that would be trucked to Kailua-Kona for Hawai`i Electric Light Co.’s oil-burning power plant. HELCO and `Aina Koa Pono are asking the state Public Utilities Commission for permission to sign a contract that would tie up the price of the diesel for 20 years. Last year the PUC turned down a similar proposal from HELCO and `Aina Koa Pono, saying it was unfair to the electric ratepayers. The PUC also stated concerns about a fixed price for biodiesel setting back the evolution of other technologies that could make electricity cheaper in the near future.

A representative photo from ainakoapono.com.

      The new proposal, like the one last year, would raise electric bills across O`ahu and the Big Island to help pay for the new microwave refinery. `Aina Koa Pono says building the refinery would make 400 construction jobs over three years and 200 permanent jobs to run the factory, harvesting and biofuel crop enterprise. It contends that its approach of using trees and shrubs and growing grasses for biofuel is one cornerstone of Hawai`i’s goal of becoming independent from fossil fuel.
      The public hearings on the issue are at Hilo High School Cafeteria, Monday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. and at Kealakahe High School cafeteria in Kona on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. Public testimony deadline is Nov. 30. See `Aina Koa Pono’s presentation at ainakoapono.com. See the presentation of the yet-to-be patented new microwave refinery process at the website of Sustainable Biofuels Solutions, a recently organized company established by former `Aina Koa Pono chair and SBS managing partner Melvin Chiogioji at biofuels-solutions.com. See public testimony and the proposed HELCO contract and justification at puc.hawaii.gov.

Representative image from hnei.hawaii.edu.

HYDROGEN FUELED buses are in the works for Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and Hawai`i County, with the sources coming from the Puna geothermal plant. Hydrogen is a byproduct of geothermal energy. Hawai`i Natural Energy Institute next to Kona Airport will study hydrogen “as a potential energy storage technology with the side benefit of providing hydrogen for fuel cells to power one of the public buses on the Big Island,” according to a story in Pacific Business News. “In a draft environmental assessment published Monday by the state Office of Environmental Quality Control, the Hawai`i Natural Energy Institute said that the more energy storage available on the electricity grid, the more intermittent renewables such as wind and solar can be added to the grid. Currently, grids use backup, fast-start generators that, according to the Hawai`i Natural Energy Institute, is a system that is both inefficient and expensive,” reports PBN writer Duane Shimogawa. “The Hawai`i Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawai`i has a mandate to develop alternatives to imported fossil fuels for electricity and transportation and has established a major hydrogen fuel research and development program... Hawai`i Electric Light Co. has said that it needs energy storage technologies to support the large and growing share of power produced by intermittent renewable energy sources.

       The Hawai`i Natural Energy Institute project is funded by the US Department of Energy and the Hawai`i Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. Project elements include hydrogen production at the Puna Geothermal Venture plant, hydrogen transport to a dispensing station at the Kilauea Military Camp, located within the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, and fueling of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle shuttle buses used for visitors to the park. "Important benefits of this project are the validation of fuel cell vehicle operation and help in reducing barriers to the introduction of hydrogen infrastructure," says the Hawai`i Natural Energy Institute website at hnei.hawaii.edu. See more at bizjournals.com/pacific/news.
      Read the EIS at the state Department of Health Office of Environmental Quality Control website at hawaii.gov.

RED CROSS VOLUNTEERS MEET tomorrow at 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 TROJANS SPORTS LINE-UP FOR THE WEEK includes a home football game Friday versus Konawaena at 7 p.m. On Saturday, girls volleyball plays Kohala at Pahoa at 10 a.m. and an air riflery match is set at Waiakea.

KA`U LIONS, of Pop Warner Football, play Keaukaha Warriors in Pahala this Sunday.

COOPER CENTER in Volcano Village hosts a Mongolian BBQ Saturday. For more call 985-9508 or visit volcanocommunity.org.

ATLAS RECYCLING AT SOUTH POINT U-CART in Ocean View, accepts recyclables Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

THREE GUIDED HIKES ARE OFFERED THIS WEEKEND, within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park – one Saturday and two Sunday.

PALM TRAIL HIKE is offered Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Kahuku Unit of HVNP. This relatively easy, guided 2.6 mile loop crosses scenic pasture along an ancient cinder cone with some of the best panoramic views Kahuku has to offer. The hike will be offered again on Sunday, Oct. 28. For more and to sign up, call 985-6011.

PEOPLE AND LAND OF KAHUKU, also in the Kahuku Unit, is offered Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This 2.5 mile hike is moderately difficult and takes participants over rugged terrain while the guide tells a story of the area’s human history. This hike is also offered Saturday, Oct. 27. For more and to sign up, call 985-6011.

Lincoln Ashida comes to Ka`u to
talk story with residents this Sunday.
Photo from Lincoln Ashida

SUNDAY WALK IN THE PARK, offered by Friends of HVNP, is this Sunday. The guide will take participants from the Mauna Loa Lookout (in the Kilauea Unit) on a four-hour, four-mile roundtrip hike to explore scenery, plants, birds and geology of the sub-alpine zone of the Mauna Loa Trail. The hike is free to Friends members and non-members are welcome to join in order to attend. For more or to sign-up, call 985-7373, email programs@fhvnp.org or visit fhvnp.org.

FRIENDS OF LINCOLN ASHIDA host a meet and greet this Sunday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at the Pahala Community Center. For more visit ashidaforprosector.com.

A CANDIDATE FORUM, sponsored by League of Women Voters, will be hosted Monday, Oct. 15, at the Cooper Center in Volcano Village. State Rep. for District 3 candidates Fred Fogel, Marlene Hapai, and Richard Onishi meet the public at 5:30 p.m. followed by Prosecuting Attorney candidates Lincoln Ashida and Mitch Roth at 6:45 p.m. For more visit lwv.org.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.