Ka`u News Briefs Dec. 27, 2012

Brian Schatz (right) has assumed the U.S. Senate seat of the late Dan Inouye. Schatz came to Pahala Plantation House in 2010 after being elected lieutenant governor and is shown here, left to right, with state agriculture chief Russell Kokubun, state labor chief Dwight Takamine and the man who appointed him to the U.S. Senate, Gov. Neil Abercrombie. Photo by Julia Neal

BRIAN SCHATZ became a U.S. senator this morning, chosen yesterday by Gov. Neil Abercrombie to replace the late Sen. Daniel Inouye. Schatz flew with Pres. Barack Obama overnight on Air Force One to Washington, D.C. and took the oath this morning with Vice Pres. Joe Biden. 

      Schatz, at age 40, will be the second youngest U.S. senator when the 2013 U.S. Congress convenes. He takes the place of Inouye, who became senator at age 38 and served Hawai`i for more than 50 years in Washington. Inouye was 88 years of age when he died last week after a career that led him to chair the most powerful financial committees and to become President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate, third in line to the Presidency.

New U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, 40, rallied the Democrats on Nov. 5, election eve
2012 at Hilo Bandstand.  Photo by Julia Neal

      During the Schatz swearing in ceremony, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Inouye “an institution unto himself.” Sen. Dan Akaka also praised Inouye, saying, “Inouye will always be a legend in Hawai`i. He will never be replaced.” Akaka said Inouye touched people in Hawai`i and across the country. Akaka also welcomed Schatz to the job, saying, “I thank Brian for volunteering for this incredible responsibility. He only learned of his appointment yesterday and did not have any time to spare…. We need him here.” Akaka talked about problems, which he said were created by Congress, “the looming spending cuts and tax increases, known as the fiscal cliff.” Akaka said the problem “must be fixed in the next five days. Thank you, Brian for accepting this challenge.”
      Akaka urged the Hawai`i delegation to pull together, saying that during his 36 years in Congress, the Islands’ senators and members of Congress were always unified.
      Schatz, who has served as Lt. Governor with Gov. Neil Abercrombie, was chosen to replace Inouye by Abercrombie himself after the Hawai`i Democratic Party nominated three contenders, Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa, state Department of Land & Natural Resources deputy director Esther Kia`aina and Schatz. In a statement issued yesterday, the governor said, “I asked how best could we ensure that Hawai`i remains strong in the long run, rebuilding the seniority of our Congressional delegation in Washington…. I made this decision with the full confidence that Brian’s appointment is in the best interest of the party, the state of Hawai`i and the nation.” Political analysts said that Democrats may have wanted to keep Hanabusa in her congressional seat as she has important committee assignments. Another possibility, moving Hanabusa from the U.S. House of Representatives to the Senate, would have led to a special election with her open seat giving Republicans, including former Gov. Linda Lingle and Charles Djou, a chance at taking away a U.S. House seat from the Democrats.

Vice Pres. Joe Biden swore in Sen. Brian Schatz today.
Image from Hawai`i News Now

      Both Akaka and Reid reviewed Schatz’s background after the swearing in. It includes growing up in Hawai`i as the son of Dr. Irwin and Mrs. Barbara Schatz, surfing and graduating from Punahou School (also the alma mater of Obama), as well as serving for eight years as CEO of the human services organization Helping Hands Hawai`i and four terms in the state House of Representatives. Said Reid, Schatz “served until just a few minutes ago,” as lieutenant governor of Hawai`i and will now build on the experience of the five decades that Inouye served in the Senate. Akaka said he welcomes Schatz “with much Aloha Pumehana.”
      Akaka called Schatz “a leader for Hawai`i’s present and future.” He predicted that the young senator “will be an outspoken supporter of our troops and veterans and a defender of our environment.” He predicted that Schatz will be “a strong, progressive voice” on such issues as climate change, expanding renewable energy, protecting Hawai`i’s natural resources and native Hawaiian rights. He urged Schatz to “speak up and seek justice for those who cannot speak up for themselves.”
      On the tarmac of Andrews Air Force Base this morning after Air Force One landed, Schatz, who chaired Obama’s first campaign in Hawai`i for the presidency, told a pool reporter that he looks forward to working with the President. He said that during the flight last night, “We had a brief chat. We’re anxious to get to work and see what we can do to try to avert the fiscal cliff, and I’ll be looking forward to supporting the administration’s priorities.”

Sen. Dan Akaka at a Democratic
Party rally in Hilo. Photo by Julia Neal

      Atlantic magazine today outlined some parallels between Obama and Schatz. Both attended Punahou. Both went to college in Los Angeles, Obama to Occidental and Schatz to Pomona. Schatz studied abroad in Kenya, birthplace of Obama’s father. Both worked in community organizing after college. Both entered the U.S. Senate at a young age, Schatz at 40 and Obama at 44. See more of Atlantic’s Schatz analysis at http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/12/who-is-brian-schatz-the-new-us-senator-from-hawaii/266652.

SEN. DAN AKAKA received words of praise from U.S. Senate President Harry Reid this morning after the swearing in of U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz to fill the vacancy left by the late Sen. Dan Inouye. Reid said Akaka, who is retiring from the Senate, is the kindest, gentlest person he has every served with. He said Akaka’s welcoming of Schatz to the Senate was typical. “Never a word about you – always about somebody else,” Reid told Akaka. “You are a wonderful human being and have been a great senator.” Reid encouraged Schatz to follow Akaka’s example.

Kathryn Matayoshi

HAWAI`I STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION will administer college and career readiness assessments to all middle and high school students statewide in grades 8, 9, 10 and 11 beginning in spring. With the testing, DOE will be able to comprehensively collect and examine college and career readiness data in reading, mathematics, science and English. “By 2018, Hawai`i will rank 10th in the nation in jobs requiring postsecondary degrees,” said superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi. “We are setting a high bar for achievement and delivering optimal tools and resources to accelerate our students’ trajectory toward college and career readiness. All high school graduates must complete a rigorous course of study and be prepared to successfully pursue their dreams, aspirations and goals.” 

      Starting in April, more than 50,000 students annually will take the ACT PLAN test in grades 8 and 9, the EXPLORE exam in grade 10 and the ACT assessment in grade 11. The new ACT College and Career Readiness System is benchmarked to both the expectations of higher education institutions and workforce. It is also designed to help students plan for future education opportunities and explore careers based on their skills, interests and ambitions.
      For more information about ACT, visit act.org.

WITH HELP FROM KA`U RESIDENTS, Hawai`i Wildlife fund could win $5,000 to support its Ka`u Coast Cleanup efforts next year. Subaru Hawai`i’s Share the Love Facebook contest continues until Monday, Dec. 31. Log onto facebook.com/SubaruHI and vote for Hawai`i Wildlife Fund by clicking once on HWF’s logo and then another time on the blue VOTE button. 

      HWF’s first Ka`u Beach Cleanup for 2013 is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 12. Sign up with Megan Lamson at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

WITH AN 81 PERCENT INCREASE IN TRAFFIC FATALITIES compared to this time last year, Hawai`i Police Department is continuing DUI roadblocks and patrols islandwide.

      So far this year, there have been 38 traffic fatalities compared with 21 during the same period last year. Twenty-eight of the fatalities were related to drugs, alcohol or a combination of both. During the week of Dec. 17 through Dec. 23, Hawai`i Island police arrested 33 motorists for drunk driving.

HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES CONTINUE at Kilauea Military Camp in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Visitors can vote for their favorite of the decorated cottages through Dec. 31. Ballots for the Holiday Challenge are available at the front desk, café, general store and recreation lodge.
      KMC brings in the New Year with a party from 8 p.m. to midnight Monday at the Lava Lounge. Call 967-8365.
      Crater Rim Café offers New Year’s Day buffet from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Menu items include roast turkey, braised beef, ono picatta, mushroom and leek pot pie, soup, salad bar, desserts and beverages. The price is $24.95 and $12 for children 6 to 11.
      KMC is open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.

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

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

FIND MORE OF OUR DECEMBER 2012 EVENT PHOTOS ON OUR FLICKR ACCOUNT. 

Ka`u News Briefs Dec. 26, 2012

Fencing is up around the new gym and shelter construction site , but an underground human burial site has delayed permitting.
 Photo by Julia Neal

A BURIAL SITE NEAR THE KA`U GYM & DISASTER SHELTER site has delayed construction of the project, as the state, county, contractor, archaeologists and the Burial Council work out a plan to protect it.
      Access to the burials is next to the Pahala tennis courts, through a storm drain blocked by a heavy metal grate, and requires using a ladder. The underground site was recently studied by an archaeologist working on the project by climbing and walking through a series of lava tubes. The burial site location is high up on shelf in the cave, above storm drain water flow, but deep underground, below the surface next to one of the existing school buildings. The underground location is across the street from the open area where the gym and shelter will be constructed.
      Glenn Escott, the project archaeologist, said he is working on a burial treatment plan for state and county review. The protection plan may involve abandoning use of the storm drain.

      The plan is expected to be presented to the Burial Council the third Thursday in January. The Council planned to take up the issue in late December, but there was no quorum of Burial Council members to vote on a solution. Construction of the gym and shelter is expected to lie idle until the plan is accepted.
      About 95 percent of the time, the Burial Council recommends protecting graves onsite. On some occasions, the Council allows the graves to be moved.
      The cave was noted in state records several years ago when a dry well was installed to accommodate a septic system for the elementary, intermediate and high school on what is now the gym and disaster shelter project site.
      When the county sought a grading permit for the new gym and disaster shelter, the Hawai`i State Historic Preservation Division reviewed the plan and brought up the lava tubes and cave, as they are common burial sites. The lava tubes are partially located under the school’s main access road, which could be used by heavy equipment to build the 40,000-square-foot gym, shelter and activity center.
      The archaeologist said those working on the project have concluded that the nine- to 12-foot thick walls of the lava tubes are strong enough to handle the traffic.

Colleen Hanabusa

HAWAI`I DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S central committee today chose its three candidates from a list of 14 people who applied to replace the late U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye. The committee is presenting its choices to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who will make the final decision and appoint the new senator. Whoever replaces Inouye will be up for election in 2014. The candidates are U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, state Department of Land & Natural Resources deputy director Esther Kia`aina and Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz.

Esther Kia`aina

      Colleen Hanabusa is Inouye’s choice to replace him. The late senator sent a letter to Gov. Abercrombie stating his request the day before he died. Hanabusa was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010 and serves on House Natural Resources and Armed Services Committees. She formerly served as president of Hawai`i State Senate.

      Esther Kia`aina was recently appointed by Gov. Abercrombie as deputy director of DLNR. She was one of eight candidates who ran this year for Hawai`is 2nd Congressional seat vacated by Mazie Hirono. She served as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Ed Case and U.S. Rep. Robert Underwood, of Guam.

Brian Schatz

      Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz was elected in 2010. Schatz was also a candidate to succeed U.S. Rep. Ed Case in 2006. He was in Hawai`i’s state House of Representatives for eight years.
      In alphabetical order, here are the other 11 who applied:

• Former U.S. Rep. Ed Case ran for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination this year but lost to U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono.
• State Sen. Will Espero is Majority Floor Leader and chair of the Senate Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee.
• U.S. Rep.-elect Tulsi Gabbard is a former Honolulu Council member.
• Tony Gill, a Honolulu attorney, is son of Hawai`i’s late Lt. Gov. Tom Gill. 
• Antonio Gimbernat was one of 11 candidates who ran for U.S. Senate this year in the race to replace retiring Sen. Dan Akaka.
• Timothy Hogan, a Honolulu attorney, specializes in commercial litigation.
• Sen. Donna Mercado Kim is vice president of the state Senate. She chairs the Committee on Tourism and Government Operations and the Committee on Accountability.
• Kurt Lajala is an instructor pilot for a defense contractor at Hickam Air Force Base.
• Blake Oshiro is Gov. Abercrombie’s deputy chief of staff and a former state legislator.
• David Tarnas represented North Kona and South Kohala in the state Legislature for four years and currently works for a Waimea-based forestry and renewable energy company.
• Earl Winfree is a commercial pilot and owner of Winfree Aviation Co. on O`ahu. He has been a candidate for Honolulu City Council. 

      A memorial service for Sen. Inouye takes place tomorrow at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
      Memorial books are available for the public to sign at the mayor’s offices in Hilo and Kona today through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The books will be sent to the Inouye family.

The biggest registered Manele is in
Bird Park. Photos from DLNR

CAN KA`U TOP THESE TREES? The Biggest Tree registry is open for applications for 2013. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is coordinating Hawai`i’s participation in the national documentation that measures height, width of crown and circumference of the nation’s biggest trees. Hawai`i has already registered the biggest trees for some of the more tropical species. Some of these trees are found only in Hawai`i. 

      One of the tallest natives trees of its species was found in Ka`u. It is the Manele, also called the Soapberry. The tallest that was registered so far is a tree at Kipuka Puaulu Bird Park in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. It is 73 feet tall, with a circumference of 29.6 inches and crown spread of 57.2 inches.
      In the Koa Category, Hawai`i ranks first with a South Kona tree that is 115 feet tall, with a circumference of 343.3 inches and a crown spread of 93.3 feet. It is located in Kona Hema Preserve, managed by The Nature Conservancy on the slopes of Mauna Loa.
      In the Hau Category, Hawai`i ranks first with a tree at Hulihe`e Palace in Kona with a circumference of 110 inches, a height of 20 feet and a crown spread of 25.2 feet.

This koa tree at Kona Hema, managed
by The Nature Conservancy, has a
circumference of 343.3 inches.

      In the Coconut Category, Hawai`i ranks first with a height of 103 feet with a tree on Moloka`i. It has a circumference of 14 inches and crown spread of 20 feet. The tree was planted by King Kamehameha V.
      In the `A`ali`i Category, Hawai`i ranks first with a 16-foot, 7-inch tree at Maui Nui Botanical Garden. It has a circumference of 23 inches and a crown spread of 16 feet 2 inches.
      The DLNR is looking for the biggest trees in 21 categories. They are: koa, lama, wiliwili, `ohi`a ha, Malaysian apple, White hibiscus, Hibiscus, Red Kaua`i Hibiscus, Hawaiian holly, Koela lau nui, Hawaiian olive, papala kepau, Hawaiian Sumach, Soapberry, Mamane, O`ahu prickly-ash, Paper Mulberrry, Coconut, Sea Hibiscus, Soapberry Wingleaf and Hopbush.
      To register a tree, take photos and measure its circumference and crown and estimate its height. GPS its location or write down specific directions to locate the tree. Send to Sheri Mann, Cooperative Resource Management Forester
, DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife
,1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 325
, Honolulu, HI 96813; or email Sheri.S.Mann@hawaii.gov.
      A Big Tree map for Hawai`i can be seen at https://arcgisonline.com/apps/OnePane/basicviewer/index.html?appid=49274160c80f4ffc8f2f2c9db7ec3915.

This 103-foot-high coconut tree was planted
on Moloka`i by King Kamehameha V.

      The American Forests Big Trees program with photos of big trees across the country can be seen at http://www.americanforests.org/our-programs/bigtree.

VOLCANO ART CENTER PRESENTS variable hula art offerings of hula lessons, lei making, storytelling, lauhala weaving or `ukulele lessons each Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the front porch of the gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Everyone is welcome to the free programs, and park entrance fees apply.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM 

AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. 

KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

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

FIND MORE OF OUR DECEMBER 2012 EVENT PHOTOS ON OUR FLICKR ACCOUNT. 

Ka`u News Briefs Dec. 25, 2012

Berta Miranda clutched her Bible as she and other coffee growers waited below the raging fires in June
after escaping from coffee farms at Pear Tree. Photo by William Neal

HERE ARE THE KA`U CALENDAR’S TOP TEN STORIES FOR KA`U IN 2012:

`Aina Koa Pono biofuel project would change the face of Ka`u.

NO. 1:  `AINA KOA PONO refinery, tree harvesting and biofuel idea would change the face of Ka`u more than any other development since the proposed 2,000-unit resort concept died at Punalu`u. The `Aina Koa Pono project, turned down in 2011, was proposed again to the Public Utilities Commission in 2012. The plan is to build a refinery off Wood Valley Road. It would harvest existing trees and shrubs. It would plant grasses on some 11,000 acres to be used for biomass to make pellets that would run through a microwave refinery to manufacture diesel for a Kona power plant. The operation would raise electric bills on O`ahu and the Big Island and lock Hawaiian Electric Light Co. into a 20-year fixed price for the diesel. The partners promise 400 union construction jobs and 200 permanent mill and farm jobs. The county, state and Life of the Land, in a legal proceeding before the PUC, are asking about the impact of using land to grow biofuel instead of food, the displacement of cattle ranchers, the impact on the environment and the lifestyle in Ka`u, and proof that the microwave process will work. The case is expected to be decided in 2013.

Redistricting divided Ka`u in half, giving it representation by two
state senators and two state representatives.

NO. 2:  CHANGING POLITICAL DISTRICT LINES with reapportionment in 2012 led to Ka`u representation by two state senators and two members of the state House of Representatives, as well as electing a member to the County Council who serves a constituency from Volcano into Kona. The redistricting came with the U.S. Census showing growth and shifts in population and the required adjustment of political districts to live up to the one-man, one-vote requirement. 

      While it may be perceived that having more people representing Ka`u could mean more help for the district, all of those elected live somewhere else. While Ka`u’s latest senator, Gil Kahele, traveled regularly from Hilo through Ka`u to his second home in Miloli`i, west Ka`u’s new senator, Josh Green, lives in Kona, and east Ka`u’s new senator, Russell Ruderman, is deeply rooted in Puna. While Ka`u’s latest member of the state House of Representatives, Bob Herkes lives in Ka`u and was deeply involved with obtaining potable water for Ocean View, saving the South Kona Wilderness Area, and funding the regional disaster shelter for Ka`u, the new west Ka`u representative, Denny Coffman, is a Kona resident, and the east Ka`u representative, Richard Onishi, lives in Hilo. While the last member of the County Council, Brittany Smart, lived in Discovery Harbour in Ka`u, the new County Council member, Brenda Ford, is a South Kona resident. All have promised to keep Ka`u in mind, but it may be up to Ka`u residents to keep in touch with them.

A visitor center for Ka`u Coffee opened in 2012.

NO. 3:  KA`U COFFEE reached new success in 2012 with demand outstripping supply. More than 50 Ka`u Coffee growers own their own homes, have their own small businesses and work in coffee orchards on the slope of Mauna Loa. Their marketing and quality have reached some of the finest gourmet coffee stores and restaurants in the world, as well as popular coffee shops like Starbucks. In 2012, Ka`u Coffee Mill opened to service local farmers who would not have to drive their coffee to Hilo or Kona for processing and to also serve as a Ka`u Coffee visitor center. In 2013, the farmers are expected to seek more land security for their existing farms and more land to expand their coffee orchards. At the end of the year, Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative president Gloria Camba thanked the late Sen. Daniel Inouye for helping the coffee growers, many of them displaced sugar workers, through a federal grant that helped them to create the new industry after the last sugar company on the island shut down in Ka`u in 1996.

Hawai`i County's completed its purchases for parklands between
Honu`apo and Punalu`u in 2012. Photo by Julia Neal

NO. 4:  KA`U COAST PRESERVATION made great strides in 2012 with the completion of the county purchase of the last segment of 1,000 acres between Punalu`u and Honu`apo pier. The decade-long campaign involves county, state, federal and private funding and conserves shoreline property that is the closest to the main Hwy 11 that travels through Ka`u. Additional proposals were launched and are likely, with more than 3,000 acres to be purchased for conservation surrounding Road to the Sea on the west side of Ka`u, a Ka Ohana O Honu`apo proposal for the county to purchase the slope below Honu`apo scenic lookout with the land extending southward along the shore, and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s attempt to secure land along the Great Crack, makai of Hwy 11 between Volcano and Pahala as well as land extending to the shore below the Kahuku Unit of the park. 

      The preservation movement is seen as conserving a resource for all the people of Hawai`i and the nation as Ka`u has the longest uninhabited coastline in all of Hawai`i. It is also considered an economic engine for the future when people will stay in accommodations owned by local residents, visit local farms, frequent local stores and restaurants and explore the Ka`u Coast.
      In the words of Sen. Daniel Inouye: “As the urban sprawl continues to spread beyond O`ahu and into our Neighbor Islands, I think all of us will agree that we must be very vigilant in setting aside that which must be protected.”

Ocean View water well blessing drew public officials and longtime
advocates to the new filling station in July. Photo by Charles Tobias

NO. 5:  POTABLE WATER FOR OCEAN VIEW became available to the community after a 20-year struggle for funding from the state that was led by a band of citizens that marched on the state Capitol and lobbied incessantly. Rep. Bob Herkes helped secure the funding. The well was completed, storage tanks installed and spigots opened to private and commercial water haulers. Ocean View residents hauled water for many decades from South Kona and Wai`ohinu but are now able to access free water for domestic use from the site just mauka of Hwy 11. The achievement is another example of the pioneering spirit of Ocean View residents who built a community with no previous infrastructure, volunteering and raising money for their roads, water system, park, community center and ambulance, amenities that have existed since plantation days in Na`alehu and Pahala. Next, they say, is a school.

Several key politicians and community members helped break ground for
the Ka`u Gym & Disaster Shelter in October. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

NO. 6:  A REGIONAL DISASTER SHELTER & GYMNASIUM for Ka`u was funded and ground broken in the most expensive capital improvement project in Ka`u history. Costing some $18 million, the Ka`u Gymnasium & Disaster Shelter will be a sports and events venue for Ka`u High School and the community. Its hurricane-hardened buildings will become the region’s disaster shelter with activity rooms equipped with air-cleaning devices for heavy vog events. The disaster shelter was championed by Rep. Bob Herkes, the gym by former County Council member Guy Enriques, Ka`u High Principal Sharon Beck, Mayor Billy Kenoi and Gov. Neil Abercrombie, along with help from Ka`u’s last Council member Brittany Smart. Construction is expected to get underway in early 2013 with completion in 2014 on the grounds between Pahala tennis courts and the school cafeteria.

Ka`u Coffee Grower Co-op Pres. Gloria Camba checks on
singed farms after the fire in June. Photo by William Neal

NO. 7:  DROUGHT AND FIRES hit Ka`u agriculture hard in 2012, and the rains on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were a welcome relief to ranchers, macadamia, coffee, flower and vegetable growers. Fires surrounded Pahala this summer, burning through macadamia orchards and some coffee and eucalyptus farms, leaving millions of dollars in damage. Flames marched up the main entrance to Pahala and threatened Ka`u Hospital, where patients were evacuated to Na`alehu. Fires burned along the coast and threatened The Nature Conservancy’s Kamehame hawksbill turtle preserve but did no damage to the nesting grounds. With dry weather continuing, more than a month of intense dust storms blew through Pahala and across farms and pastures between Pahala and Na`alehu after the fires ended their path of destruction.

In April, a Big Island Invasive Species Committee hunter
killed its first axis deer on the Big Island -- above
South Point. Photo from BIISC

NO. 8:  THE KA`U FOREST, with both conservation and hunting traditions, became a huge issue in 2012 as the state cracked down on the introduction of game animals, like the axis deer, and also made a plan to manage Ka`u Forest Reserve. The first axis deer to be shot on the island was taken down in Ka`u by a marksman from Big Island Invasive Species Committee. The helicopter pilot who brought the first axis deer to Hawai`i Island to create a herd for recreational and subsistence hunting was sentenced and fined, along with his cohorts. Licensed hunters are encouraged to assist in the effort to protect Hawai`i Island’s natural resources and farms by harvesting any deer encountered in public hunting areas without restrictions for season or bag limit.

Ka`u Forest Management Plan calls for fencing 12,000 acres of forest.
Photo by Rob Shallenberger

      The state Department of Land & Natural Resources released its plan for public comment on its efforts to exclude invasive species, including goats, pigs and sheep, from a portion of Ka`u Forest Reserve in order to protect and propagate native plants and to reintroduce the endangered Hawaiian crow, the `Alala, to the wild. A small band of hunters backed by the Pele Defense fund filed a lawsuit, while the state explained that it would provide hunter walk-over stairs to allow continued access to traditional hunting grounds.

Ka`u Hospital received many upgrades in 2012. Photo by Julia Neal

NO. 9:  IMPROVED MEDICAL FACILITIES were funded in 2012 for expansion of Bay Clinic in Na`alehu and upgrades at Ka`u Hospital in Pahala. Bay Clinic’s new Ka`u Family Health & Dental Center will have the capacity to see 3,400 new patients with 8,500 new appointments. It will be constructed in front of the current Bay Clinic, which is located in an old two-story building from plantation days. 

     “In addition to expanding access to affordable medical care, the new clinic will provide dental and family counseling services and fully incorporate Bay Clinic’s evolving care model known as the ‘Patient Centered Medical Home,’” said Paul Strauss, who said there is a “new day for health care in Ka`u.”
      Ka`u Hospital received funding for air treatment and air conditioning to protect patients and long-term residents from the affects of vog from Kilauea volcano. New windows, doors, ceilings and other upgrades were funded by the state for this Critical Access Care hospital.

With reduced hours, Pahala Library is only open Mondays from
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

NO. 10:  THE FUTURE OF KA`U LIBRARIES became a serious question in 2012 when Pahala Library was reduced to opening one afternoon a week. Pahala Library was open only 64 days of the 121 days that were scheduled between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31 – and even less frequently during the last quarter of the year. Staff shortages and lack of use appear to have put the libraries into a downward spiral, particularly if students are unable to go there regularly before and after school and if libraries are not open when the working public can check out books. County and state elected officials have vowed to follow the issue and help out in 2013, particularly with plans to make the libraries into technology and information centers.

A memorial service for Sen. Dan Inouye
takes place in Hilo Thursday.
Photo from DHHL

A MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR SEN. DAN INOUYE takes place Thursday at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo. Viewing of the koa box with his ashes begins at noon, with a service from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
      Memorial books are available for the public to sign at the mayor’s offices in Hilo and Kona tomorrow through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The books will be sent to the Inouye family.

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP’S CRATER RIM CAFÉ offers buffets today from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and on New Year’s Day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The price of $24.95 and $12 for children 6 to 11 includes entrees, side dishes, desserts and beverages. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.

KMC ALSO PLANS A NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY for Monday in the Lava Lounge. Call 967-8365 or 967-8371for more information.

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

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

FIND MORE OF OUR DECEMBER 2012 EVENT PHOTOS ON OUR FLICKR ACCOUNT.