Ka`u News Briefs Oct. 26, 2012

Ka`u photographer Peter Anderson captured images of Kilauea Volcano's activity at Halema`uma`u Crater last night.

Light from molten lava lights up the sky.
Photo by Peter Anderson

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY scientists report that the lava level at Halema`uma`u Crater continues to rise. The most recent lava level measurement was made yesterday at the top of a rise/fall event when the lava lake surface was about 89 feet below the floor of the crater. The best viewing site is Jaggar Museum, and observers say the lava may top the vent and pour onto the floor of the larger Halema`uma`u Crater. Photos and webcams at hvo.wr.usgs.gov/activity/kilaueastatus.php show dramatic images of the current activity. 

KAWA WILL BE GUARDED with limited access to the public for about 30 days, following removal yesterday of Abel Simeona Lui, Moses Heanu, Katrina Morgan and several campers, the county reports.
      This morning, retired police officer Bill Door and an active duty police officer from Kona were standing guard. They said that police and police reserve will rotate through Kawa, providing coverage 24 hours a day.

County workers create a road for access to structures at Kawa.
Image from bigislandvideonews.com

      The county is conducting an archaeological and cultural management study, and, according to Lau, there are more than 60 burials – iwi kupuna - and a heiau. He said the county is working with lineal descendents of families who lived in Kawa in generations past to learn the history and plan for its future management. In addition to graves, Lau said, there are more than 100 archaeological and cultural sites at Kawa that will be documented and protected as part of the county plan. He said the county has found that the families with Kawa history want to share the culture in a way that sites will be protected.
      “We ask the people to be very patient with us as the archaeological survey is done,” said Lau. “We want to open up Kawa to the public as soon as we can…. We are not here to keep the public out.”
      Lau said the goal is not to block recreational use of the area, “whether people visit Kawa to surf, ulua fish, or just to come and enjoy the beautiful scenery or look at the green sea turtles…We will get it open as quickly as we can, but it will have some parameters and guidelines.”

County workers disassemble a structure at Kawa to be held
in storage at Na`alehu Police Station.
Image from bigislandvideonews.com

      During the eviction yesterday, Hui Malama Ola Na `Oiwi, a native Hawaiian health care agency, offered help to find housing and other assistance, but the service was turned down, Lau said.
      “The police did a great job in being firm but being very respectful to the situation,” said Lau.
      Sheriffs presented Lui and his companions with a writ of execution yesterday just before 7 a.m. and gave them two hours to gather up their belongings and leave Lui’s house and other structures on the property.
      Lau said Lui’s house, fencing and other structures at Kawa will be dismantled and along with other belongings will be placed in a container in a storage area at the Ka`u Police Station, where owners can pick them up within the next month. Yesterday, the county started filling potholes with dirt and gravel to make it easier for county trucks to reach Lui’s dwelling and other structures to dismantle them.
      Lui told Hawaii Tribune-Herald reporter Erin Miller “Nothing has changed. Ka`u was never conquered. This is my ancestral land. The land belongs to God. God gave the land to the chiefs, to the people to malama.” He told the reporter, “I really don’t know what to do. I will go back to the land.” The story also reports him asking why the county removed him after four years of negotiations, conversations and court actions. “What is the rush that they come and cause this?”

A surf meet was scheduled at Kawa in November. Photo by Julia Neal

      Lui has lived on the property for more than 20 years, at one time with his late wife and two children. He has gone to court numerous times in the face of numerous eviction notices, unsuccessfully claiming title to the land. Four separate owners attempted to evict him. The last is the county, which bought the land with county, state and federal funding to preserve estuaries and archaeological sites in the face of earlier private plans to sell it off.
      Before the county bought the land, one section of the Kawa property, which had been purchased by a hui led by former Ka`u Realtor Marcia Johnson, was the subject of two-page advertising spreads in real estate magazines urging investors to buy the last available bay in Ka`u.
      Kawa is also the most popular surf spot in Ka`u, and Lui has regularly hosted surf meets there. The next meet, promoted by flyers posted around Ka`u, was set for Friday, Nov. 23 and Saturday, Nov. 24. Called Lokahi O Kawa`a, it is posted as a Barrel Riding, Aircatching and Bodysurfing Shootout with men’s and women’s divisions. Entry fee was posted as $10.

      See more at hawaiitribune-herald.com and bigislandvideonews.com.

SUPPORT FOR `AINA KOA PONO’S proposed diesel refinery in Ka`u and contract with Hawai`i Electric Light Co. has been submitted to the state Public Utilities Commission by parties involved with the enterprise. O`ahu resident and retired radiologist Grover J. Liese, MD is a member of the board of advisors for Sennet Capital, a Hawai`i merchant bank led by `Aina Koa Pono chairman Kenton Eldridge. On its website, Sennet Capital lists `Aina Koa Pono as one of its Transactions.

James Cuddihy Image from the
Louisiana-based Sugar Journal

      Liese lists the following as reasons he sees `Aina Koa Pono’s project as a “public benefit. 1) This new industry is a major step in the quest to diminish Hawai`i’s dependence on imported oil. 2) The process can be tailored to each of our islands. There will be no need for inter-island energy transmission lines. 3) It keeps Hawaiian money in Hawai`i. 4) It will create new jobs in a new industry. 5) It supports and expands the agricultural industry. 6) It meets Hawai`i’s Clean Energy objectives. I request support for `Aina Koa Pono’s Application with HELCO as outlined above,” Liese says.

      James A. Cuddihy, Jr., a former superintendent for the sugar plantation in Pahala who lives in Louisiana and has worked in the oil industry, writes, “`Aina Koa Pono is an opportunity, using private funds, to inject life into a depressed area. If successful, the venture will spread to the other islands. It is an almost perfect synergistic industry because it is sustainable, produces a marketable and valuable product with almost no pollution (zero discharge). It would initially take invasive plants and remove them from the ecosystem. It would replace them with a productive, sustainable crop on lands which had been used for sugar cane for close to 100 years— no environmental, ecological or cultural change.
      “It would not only supply jobs directly (agriculture, trucking and industrial), but it also creates jobs associated with production (industrial, equipment parts and service community). Economically, for every dollar spent in production, six dollars of revenue are generated within the community. The direct permanent employment of 200, generating $22 million, will generate another $132 million in direct revenue within the state. This does not include additional revenue generated through the purchase of equipment, parts.”
      Cuddihy has worked as a consultant for `Aina Koa Pono and given presentations at public meetings in Ka`u. He says, “At the meetings I have attended, there is a vocal minority who give culture, esthetics, natural disasters, pollution, fear of new technology, dislike for change and the unwillingness to pay for a way of living as reasons for not continuing the project. Anyone can find fault with any venture, particularly new technology. Perhaps there should be a requirement for those expressing a negative viewpoint, they have to supply an alternative solution. There may be alternative solutions in the future but `Aina Koa Pono is ready today.”

Attorney Ron Self grows olives and other trees and food crops in Wood
Valley. He opposes the refinery.

OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED `AINA KOA PONO DIESEL REFINERY has been submitted to the state Public Utilities Commission by attorney Ron Self, who farms property around his home in Wood Valley. “Clearly, the small number of people, companies, and government interests behind and benefiting from this enterprise believe that the people of Hawai`i are so unsophisticated that all they have to do is use good words to cover-up their bad intentions. These few rich and politically powerful interests have converged to try to take extra money out of Hawai`i residents for the foreseeable future, 20 years, at least, and control and manipulate energy markets in this state for the same period of time….

      “When you break down the proposed project, the facts show that AKP will burn biomass, then refine it, with an old outdated technology in the field of bio-energy. We don’t know what physical dangers will come from such an operation because no Environmental Impact Statement has been done…. 

      “AKP has stated that it will produce and sell 16 millions gallons of bio-diesel a year to Hawai`i Electric Light Co. and another eight million gallons of biodiesel to Mansfield Oil. How are they going to do that on 12,000 acres of Olson and Mallick land in Ka`u, when the standard yields of biomass per acre per year is between 50 and 150 gallons per acre-per year. That will only be 600,000 to 1.8 million gallons a year on 12,000 acres. Where does the other biomass come from? Is AKP planning to haul a massive amount of trash to Ka`u for stock? Where are the disclosures and truth? If so, then Ka`u is in the wrong place to put the diesel refinery. It should be put where the trash is, not a hundred miles away from the sources.”
      Self also addresses the proposed contract between AKP and HELCO that would raise electric bills. “We need electric rates to go down, not up to create an economic advantage. Allowing such a system will crush all hope for alternate energy systems in Hawai`i, and continue the monopoly of energy in Hawai`i held by the HECO Companies. As a farmer who lives within a half mile of the proposed site, that grows koa, ohia, sandalwood, coffee, and olives, I am completely opposed to the whole concept being proposed to harm the treasure of Ka`u and take over $200 million from the pockets of the residents of Hawai`i to build this monstrosity. Don’t allow the people to be the guarantor of this boondoggle so that AKP can get financing for it. The Gods of Hawai`i weep for Ka`u at this proposal.”
      See all the testimony, pro and con, submitted at www.puc.hawaii.gov. Click on the `Aina Koa Pono link under What’s New and on documents.

PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE `AINA KOA PONO CASE before the Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission are next week – Monday, Oct. 29 at Hilo High School cafeteria and Tuesday, Oct. 30 at Kealakehe High School cafeteria, both at 6 p.m. No hearings are scheduled for Ka`u, where `Aina Koa Pono plans to build a refinery near Wood Valley Road.
      According to company officials, `Aina Koa Pono would install some 27 Micro Dee microwave units, each 10 by 15 by 30 feet, to process pellets made from shrubs, trees and grasses harvested between Pahala and Na`alehu. The pellets would be microwaved and sent up a stack, with various grades of diesels manufactured. Sixteen million gallons of the biodiesel would be trucked up Hwy 11 to HELCO’s oil-burning power plant near Kona Airport annually. An additional eight million gallons of diesel would be manufactured per year to sell for transportation through a Georgia-based fuel broker. Hawai`i Electric Light Co. proposes a 20-year contract to purchase the diesel from `Aina Koa Pono at an undisclosed price.

      `Aina Koa Pono plans to install the first module of its refinery independent of Public Utilities Commission approval. According to a statement from the company, the one unit will be able to process 33 tons of biomass per day and one million gallons of biofuel per year and will be for transportation fuel only. The fuel will be shipped by truck, likely one a week, to Hilo.

AUTHOR TOM PEEK debuts his first novel, Daughters of Fire, at Volcano Art Center Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at VAC’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Peek says the book “invites the reader on a journey into the deeper beauty and hidden turmoil of Hawai`i.” For more information, visit daughtersoffire.com and volcanoartcenter.org, or call 967-8222.

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

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

Ka`u News Briefs Oct. 25, 2012

County dump trucks and other county and police vehicles along with an ambulance were stationed along Hwy 11 in front of Kawa
 today, as Abel Simeona Lui and others were evicted from the property in preparation of an archaeological survey.
Photos by Geneveve Fyvie

THE KAWA ARCHEAOLOGICAL SURVEY, organized by Hawai`i County, is set to begin soon as the county takes down unpermitted dwellings and limits public access. Numerous county officials, police and an ambulance were stationed along Hwy 11 this morning as several people were escorted off the property, with at least one woman taken away in a police car.

Lui was escorted from Kawa by Hawai`i
County police this morning.

      Among residents asked to leave was Abel Simeona Lui, who has lived at Kawa for more than 20 years and has claimed ownership through family history. However, courts have turned down his claims to the land numerous times. Lui also claims rights to the property through Hawaiian sovereignty.
      According to a press release from the Office of the Mayor, “Kawa, a 784-acre area that came into the stewardship of the County of Hawai`i through the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation program, is a special place that is home to endangered species and contains many cultural resources, historically significant sites, and burials. It is the County’s kuleana, or responsibility as steward of Kawa to protect and preserve this `aina and these special sites.”
      A site visit to Kawa by the state Historic Preservation Division in September of 2012, “confirmed the presence of a large burial complex, numerous smaller burial sites and hundreds of archeological features. Burial and historical sites are afforded protection under law,” the press release states.
      The county statement says that “after many months of listening, learning and developing a greater understanding of the many special sites at Kawa, the time has come for the County of Hawai`i to move forward in fulfilling its role. In order to provide responsible stewardship of Kawa, the County will be conducting an archaeological survey of cultural, historic and burial features on the property.

Lui spoke with ambulance personnel before leaving Kawa.

      “Access to Kawa will be limited while this archaeological survey is conducted. This limited access will be enforced by the Hawai`i County Police Department.
      “Social service agencies will assist anyone staying at Kawa with securing other living arrangements. Any structure on the property will be disassembled by workers from the county’s Department of Public Works.
      “Once the archaeological survey is complete, a management plan will be implemented to protect the cultural, historical and burial features of Kawa while allowing public access to learn about and enjoy this wahi pana, this special place,” the county statement says.

Lui drove himself away from Kawa, unaccompanied, toward Na`alehu. 

      Prior to the disassembling of structures, Hawai`i County Police were seen speaking with Lui and escorting him to a waiting ambulance at the main entrance to Kawa. After more discussion, a paramedic then escorted Lui across Hwy 11 to his car, which had been packed with his personal items, apparently with help from friends. Lui asked to retrieve his chicken and dog and police allowed a member of the public to retrieve them from his house site. Police escorted him to his car and Lui drove away, unaccompanied, toward Na`alehu.
      Once all members of the public were escorted from the Kawa property, County workers proceeded to build a barrier to limit access to the public during the “operation.” Archaeologists will commence with the survey once the property is safe and secure, according to county officials.

Representative image from ainakoapono.com

MORE `AINA KOA PONO TESTIMONY is going to the state Public Utilities Commission. Pahala homeowner and attorney Teresa Tico writes that the proposal for Hawai`i Electric Light Co. to purchase diesel from `Aina Koa Pono at a cost that would increase electric bills “is inconsistent with the public interest.” She points to the utility's profits soaring in the past year and notes that parent company Hawai`i Electric Industries’ CEO Connie Lau is “the highest paid CEO in the State of Hawai`i, higher than Bank of Hawai`i’s CEO. According to Forbes, her combined compensation for 2012 is $5.29 million dollars.
      “In light of the soaring profits to HEI and the unprecedented compensation package it pays its CEO, we must ask ourselves why we tax payers are paying the highest energy rates in the United States and why HEI isn’t footing the bill for the biofuel project.”

Teresa Tico

      She points out that Mayor Billy Kenoi “has gone on record stating that 'We need affordable alternative energy.' HELCO’s proposal is not affordable nor is it reasonable and necessary. It places the burden of an alternative energy that may not be good for the environment, on the ratepayers who can’t afford it, and returns the guaranteed profit to the corporation that is already enjoying soaring profits. `Aina Koa Pono’s goal is apparently to secure a contract with HELCO (and HECO, and HEI) in order to bolster its chances of financing a refinery that would ultimately be used for transportation fuel. This hui should not be allowed to use the customers of the electric company as its security for financing.”
      Tico also writes that approval could set a bad precedent. “The `Aina Koa proposal is to make fuel for one power plant but will result in hiking electric bills for people across the board, even for those not served by the Keahole power plant. How would the PUC handle similar proposals for biofuel contracts for other power plants –contract that would also raise rates across the board to finance them? How could the PUC protect the ratepayer if it sets this precedent.” She asks the PUC to deny the `Aina Koa Pono application.
      See Aina Koa Pono’s presentation at ainakoapono.com and the microwave depolymerization refinery presentation at the company website for Sustainable Biofuel Solutions at biofuels-solutions.com. See more testimony and the `Aina Koa Pono proposal at puc.hawaii.gov.

Chevron tang (pictured) is one of the ten most popular
tropical fish collected in West Hawai`i waters for aquariums,
according to DLNR.
Photo from animal-world.com

EARTHJUSTICE, THE CONSERVATION COUNCIL, THE CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY and the Humane Society of the United States filed suit yesterday in state court.
      They were joined by Willie and Kaimi Kaupiko, of Miloli`i, and other individuals. The suit contends that the state Department of Land & Natural Resources should have refrained from issuing aquarium fish collecting permits until environmental studies were completed. The suit points to the Hawai`i Environmental Policy Act, saying the DLNR should have examined impacts of fish and invertebrate collection permits under HEPA, particularly since the agency stated as early as 1998 that “studies to characterize the effects of removal of reef fish on the coral reef ecosystem are necessary if this activity is to continue.”
      Those filing the suit say they hope the court will suspend aquarium fish collecting until a study can be conducted. The complaint says that aquarium collecting on the west side of Hawai`i has increased more than 800 percent over the last 30 years and that “aquarium collectors had significant effects on the populations of seven of the ten aquarium collection fish species examined.”

Axis deer hunting could be allowed on
the Big Island.
Photo from eliteoutfitter.com

FIVE YEARS OF AXIS DEER hunting on the Big Island may be allowed by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources, no licensing, no bag limit. The issue comes up at this Friday’s Board of Land & Natural Resources meeting. DLNR estimates there are only about 100 of the illegally introduced axis deer here. They were shipped in by air/and or boat by people trying to improve hunting on the Big Island. Such activity, however, is a felony.
      The Big Island Invasive Species Committee sends out hunters five days a week and have come up with three deer so far. Anyone seeing the deer can call 443-4036.

WOLD HERITAGE ANNIVERSARY ROUNDTABLE today from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fairmont Orchid to celebrate Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s 25th year as a World Heritage Site and the 40th anniversary of the international World Heritage Convention. Admission and parking is free. RSVP online at eventbrite.com, or contact Jessica Ferracane at 985-6018 or jessica_ferracane@nps.gov.

GOURD WORKSHOPS WITH JELENA CLAY are offered Saturday, Oct. 27, at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. Fees apply. For more, call 967-8222.

KA`OHANA O HONU`APO IS POSTPONING its free family music event, Kanikapila 2, that was scheduled for this Sunday, Oct. 28, at Honu`apo Park, according to the organization's executive director Lehua Lopez-Mau. “This event will be re-scheduled for early next year.”

PAU HANA WITH RICHARD ONISHI, a talk story meet and greet session is held at the Pahala Community Center on Sunday, Oct. 28, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. For more visit friendsforrichardonishi.com.

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

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

Ka`u News Briefs Oct. 24, 2012

An arial view of the forest in Ka`u between Pahala and Na`alehu, mauka of the Cane Haul Road. Photo by Rob Schallenberger

THE FINAL KA`U FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN Environmental Impact Statement is now posted online with comments from land and resource managers, hunters, recreational users and scientists oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov.

      The state Office of Environmental Quality Control posted the document yesterday, with a letter from state Department of Land & Natural Resources Chairperson William Aila Jr., stating that the DLNR “has determined that this project will not have significant negative effect on the environment.”

      The plan is for the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife to manage the 61,641 acres Ka`u Forest Reserve “to maintain and restore key watershed, preserve a unique ecosystem with critically endangered plants and animals, perpetuate natural resources vital to Hawaiian culture and practices, find suitable sites to reintroduce the `Alala or Hawaiian Crow into the wild, and provide for continued and expanded public use,” says the project summary. It proposes to fence some of the higher elevation lands in the center of the Reserve “in which ungulates will be removed and the native forest protected.” The plan promises walkovers and gates along the fencing “to ensure public access into the management units… Alignment would avoid impacts to botanical, faunal and archaeological resources.” Trails for hunters and hikers would be improved and rare Hawaiian plant species would be reintroduced in selected areas. “Impacts to pig hunting, which is considered by many to be a cultural practice, would occur but be less than significant because of the proposed locations of the management areas,” which would be at higher elevations than where most pig hunters travel.
      The statement says the agency “seeks to balance providing public hunting opportunities in the Reserve with the protection of native ecosystems and watersheds, and the Plan includes actions to substantially facilitate public hunting in the Reserve.”

      Comments include hunters saying they are concerned about more land being cut off from their hunting grounds and resource managers saying that the balance is needed.
      One hunter wrote about the planned release of the Hawaiian crow into the wild: “I think that the bird is good, but they should not eradicate the pig. Hunting is a lifestyle and a source of food, and a culture. I no think the pig make the bird go way cuz before had choke bird and plant but still had choke pig, now no more bird but no more pig either so if the pig affect the bird, wouldn’t have pig and would have bird.”
      Another person wrote: “I support fencing to allow some areas to be kept free from feral pigs and the damage they cause. Pig free walking trails are a desirable future of the forest reserve.”

Rep. Bob Herkes and Sen. Gil Kahele. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

LEGISLATOR OF THE YEAR FOR GIL KAHELE is the award recently bestowed by the Hawai`i Psychological Association. The state senator for South Kona, Ka`u through Volcano and into Puna was lauded for “his outstanding contributions to psychology and mental health services in the state and for advocating for the care of the medically underserved,” says a statement from the organization.
      “I am truly humbled with the award that the Hawai`i Psychological Association has given me and for recognizing the work that I have done in support of its mission,” said Kahele. “I will continue promoting medical care for those in need.”
      According to a statement from the organization, along with his work in helping to advance medical care, Kahele has made preserving agriculture land a top priority as vice chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.
      The mission of the Hawai`i Psychological Association is to enhance the quality of life for the people of Hawai`i by encouraging, integrating, applying, and communicating the contributions of psychology in all its branches.
      With redistricting, Kahele is unable to run for the senate seat he holds and is running for a district that includes the site of his home in Hilo. Kahele also has a home in Miloli`i. Redistricting put incumbent Josh Green in the position to run for that Senate seat.

STRYKER ARMORED VEHICLES may be coming to the Big Island as the U.S. military plans to move more defense weapons, planes, ships and personnel to Hawai`i. The U.S. Defense Department is looking for a security front facing Asia with more of it based on U.S. soil, meaning Hawai`i and possibly Alaska. A story in this morning’s Honolulu Star Advertiser says that more equipment could come to the Big Island as the U.S. pulls out of Afghanistan in 2014. “The Army said it is considering basing Stryker armored vehicles at the Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawai`i Island as part of a larger plan to pre-position equipment, on land or on ships, around Asia and the Pacific to improve training, engagement and response times and to keep costs down,” the William Cole story says. See more at staradvertiser.com.

Kameron Moses

Kobe Moses

Nai`a Makuakane

TWO KA`U RUNNERS TOOK FIRST PLACE in the first annual Keiki Triathlon in Kailua-Kona last Saturday. Nai`a Makuakane, of Na`alehu, came in first in the 13 to 14 year old group, with a time of 21:33:24 minutes. Kameron Moses, of Pahala, took first place for the 11-12 year old group with a time of 20:13:08 minutes. Kameron’s brother, Kobe Moses, of Pahala, competed in the 9-10 age group, and earned an Honorable Mention with a time of 26:49:39 minutes. The event hosted more than 70 participants beginning with a 100-yard swim, followed by a 3.2-mile cycle and finishing with a 1-mile run. 

      The triathlon was held in conjunction with Mayor Billy Kenoi's 2nd Annual Health Fest, designed to promote public health and wellness. County of Hawai`i Dept of Parks and Recreation, Hawai`i Isle Police Activities League, and Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii sponsored the event.

      PATH, founded in 1986, is a grassroots, community-based, non-profit public access advocacy organization serving the County of Hawai`i. The organizations website, pathhawaii.org, states their mission is “to safely connect people and places on Hawai`i Island with pathways and bikeways.”

TO COMMEMORATE THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY of its World Heritage Site status and the 40th anniversary of the international World Heritage Convention, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is offering two events this week, one at the park and one at the Fairmont Orchid.

      A special World Heritage After Dark in the Park presentation takes place tonight at 7 p.m. in Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. This event is free, and park entrance fees apply.

      World Heritage Anniversary Roundtable is tomorrow from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fairmont Orchid. Admission and parking is free. RSVP online at eventbrite.com, or contact Jessica Ferracane at 985-6018 or jessica_ferracane@nps.gov.

Pahala Open Air Market across the street from Ka`u Community Radio station, Wed. 7 a.m. to noon.
Photo by Julia Neal

PAHALA OPEN AIR FARMERS MARKET is open every Wednesday from 7 a.m. to noon across the street from Ka`u Community Radio on the old Pahala Theatre parking lot on Olson Trust Land. Participants this morning, in its third week of operation, include Ellis and Sokkah Hester with their fresh vegetables grown on the hillside above Pahala; Lisa Dacalio with her Moa`ula Coffee and hand painted gourds; Steve Roscoe with his fresh baked Island Valley Delights, jams, jellies and fresh eggs; Joy Okinisi from McCall’s Flower Farm; Malian Lahey with her edible treats, chai tea and Ka`u Specialty Coffee; and Brenda Iokepa-Moses with coffee, art cards and gifts from Ka`u Coffee Mill. The market is organized by Ka`u Community Radio, Inc.

KA`OHANA O HONU`APO IS POSTPONING its free family music event, Kanikapila 2, that was scheduled for this Sunday, Oct. 28, at Honu`apo Park, according to the organizations executive director Lehua Lopez-Mau. “This event will be re-scheduled for early next year.”

Ceasare 'Chaz' D.K. Moses

MAKUA LEGEND HUNTING TOURNAMENT has set a signup deadline for Nov. 24. Organizer Ty Chun said, “Mauka Legend Hunting Tournament Dec. 8 is a memorial in loving memory of our brother Ceasare ‘Chaz’ D.K. Moses, to honor his favorite pastime – hog hunting. In addition to honoring our brother, we plan on raising awareness in the community about Hunter and Ocean Safety.” Moses passed away on June 4 in a fishing accident at South Point.

      The event headquarters where hunters will bring their prey will be Old Pahala Clubhouse on Maile Street in Pahala. Weigh-ins will be held from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. There will be three categories: Biggest Boar, Biggest Sow, and Longest Tusk. Entry fee is $40 per team.
       The event also includes live entertainment by local bands. “We are also in the process of working with the DLNR to have an educational booth there,” said Chun. There will also be a food booth run by the Moses `Ohana. “This is a family friendly event, so we invite everyone, participating or not, to come on down and enjoy the music and `ono food.” For entry forms and sponsorships, contact Chun at 985-9056, 557-8594 or tikeytai@aol.com.

KA`U HIGH GIRLS VOLLEYBALL took first on the island and will compete in the finals on O`ahu next week, starting Wednesday.

POP WARNER FOOTBALL KA`U LIONS play Waiakea Na Koa at Malama Field in Hilo on Sunday, first game starts at 8 a.m.

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

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