Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 11, 2013

At least one burial site at Pahala's school campus is in a lava tube that goes under a road.

KA`U GYMNASIUM & DISASTER SHELTER will likely be held up several more months, as the state Historic Preservation Division is reviewing an Archaeological Inventory Survey on the property where the complex is planned. After the Archaeological Inventory is accepted, a Burial Treatment Plan would be considered for burials on the site and presented to the Hawai`i Island Burial Council for approval.
      Requiring an Archaeological Inventory Survey usually comes up when the Historic Preservation Division reviews permits for construction projects. Last year, the county sent a request for a grading and grubbing permit for the gym and shelter site to the Historic Preservation Division, which triggered the review and requirement for the survey on the shelter and gym site. At least one burial is located on the school campus and is accessed through a lava tube that goes under a road on the school grounds.

      A public notice was published in December in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs newspaper Ka Wai Ola, saying, “Notice is hereby given that a burial site was documented in a lava tube on the Ka`u High School and Pahala Elementary School campus in Pahala. Pa`au`au Ahupua`a, Ka`u, District, Hawai`i Island, Hawai`i.” The notice says that “the lands are associated with Land Grant 2446 to Kamalo. The land was later used for the Pahala High and Elementary School.”
      It also says, “The burial was identified as State Site No. 50-10-69-29501 and is from the late 1800s. Proper treatment and preservation shall occur in accordance with Chapter 6E and Hawai`i Revised Statutes Title 13. The burial site will be preserved in place pending final decision by the Hawai`i Island Burial Council.”
       The notice says, “Individuals responding must be able to adequately demonstrate lineal and/or cultural connection to the burials on the above referenced parcel at Pahala.”
      Consultant for the project Glenn Escott said he is interested in finding out if anyone knows who may be buried on the school grounds.
      Contact him at Scientific Consultant Services Inc., PO Box 155, Kea`au, 96749. Call him at 938-0968 or contact Kauanoe Hoomanawanui, Burial Sites Specialist, DLNR-SHPD at 933-7650, 40 Po`okela Street, Hilo, HI 96720.
      The notice was also published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and the Hawai`i Tribune-Herald.
      The earliest that the Hawai`i Island Burial Council is expected to meet on the issue is March, as there was no quorum for the December meeting, and no quorum could be arranged for the January meeting.
      In the meantime, the $18 million project is stalled, with materials and labor waiting on the sidelines.

CONCERNING THE `AINA KOA PONO proposal, the Public Utilities Commission this week published responses to questions asked by the state Consumer Advocate, Hawai`i County, the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, and Life of the Land. The questions concern the proposed contract for `Aina Koa Pono to annually sell, at a fixed price for 20 years, 16 million gallons of diesel that would be manufactured at a refinery off Wood Valley Road above Pahala. The fuel, produced in 27 microwave units, would be sold to Hawai`i Electric Light and Hawaiian Electric Companies, with most of it trucked up Hwy 11 to a power plant in Kona. It would mean higher electric bills on O`ahu and the Big Island.

      Life of the Land, an intervenor in the case, asked the companies for clarification on 49 points in the contract and other documents. 

      When Life of the Land asked if the contracted price is fixed or if it escalates, HELCO and HECO replied that “the price is a fixed biodiesel price, with a nominal escalation provision that is also fixed. As a result, the price is known for the duration of the twenty-year AKP Biodiesel Supply Contract.”
      The community group asked for information about this statement in the contract: “HELCO estimates that the Biodiesel Supply Contract has the potential to save its customers over $500 million dollars compared to the anticipated cost of diesel over the twenty-year Biodiesel Supply Contract term in the event that oil prices track the Annual Energy Outlook high price forecast.”
     Life of the Land asked the companies how much would be saved over the 20-year contract compared to the Annual Energy Outlook low-price forecast, anticipated cost of Liquified Natural Gas and the cost of Puna Geothermal Venture geothermal Power Purchase Agreement?” The utilities said, “If the AKP biodiesel replaces the use of diesel based on the Annual Energy Outlook low price forecast, the AKP Biodiesel Supply Contract could result in a cost of approximately $976 million over twenty years.” However, the companies “believe that the low HELCO diesel forecast price is unrealistic” based on “consistently underestimated increases in oil prices” in past Annual Energy Outlooks.”

      If the AKP biodiesel replaces the use of Liquefied Natural Gas, the contract could result in a “cost of approximately $389 million over the twenty years when using the High LNG Price Forecast used in the Integrated Resource Planning process.” The companies say other considerations regarding LNG are that it may not be available by 2015 for use at Keahole, it would not contribute to the Renewable Portfolio Standards and would not be a locally produced fuel.
      The companies said that since the AKP contract would not replace the existing Puna Geothermal Venture Power Purchase Agreement, there would be no cost or savings to compare.
      Regarding the contract’s statement that “the AKP biodiesel fixed price is expected to fall below the price of petroleum diesel before the expiration of the Biodiesel Supply Contract,” Life of the Land asked, “In what year of the 20-year contract is this anticipated to occur?” The companies replied, “Based on HELCO’s high petroleum diesel price forecast derived from the Annual Energy Outlook 2012 high oil price case, the AKP biodiesel price adjusted for heating content is expected to fall below the price of HELCO’s petroleum diesel by the earliest of AKP biodiesel deliveries beginning in 2015.” When the companies use figures based on HELCO’s reference petroleum diesel price forecast derived from the Annual Energy Outlook 2012 reference oil price case, the date when the biodiesel price falls below the petroleum-diesel price is later and is confidential and available only to the Public Utilities Commission and other parties and participants in the docket.
      “If the Annual Energy Outlook low price forecast proves accurate, what year would the cross-over occur in?” Life of the Land asked. “When based on HELCO’s low petroleum diesel price forecast derived from the AEO2012 low oil price case,” the companies replied, “the AKP biodiesel price … does not fall below the price of HELCO’s petroleum diesel during the AKP Biodiesel Supply Contract’s twenty-year term through 2035.” However, the HELCO low petroleum diesel price forecast for 2013 is $2.25 per gallon and reaches $2.90 per gallon by 2034, which are amounts that are less than the current cost of petroleum diesel.”

      Regarding `Aina Koa Pono’s proposal to do a voluntary Environmental Assessment for the propose biofuel farm between Pahala and Wai`ohinu and the proposed diesel refinery off Wood Valley Road, Life of the Land asked, “What is the legal authority to issue a Voluntary Environmental Assessment?” The companies said, “According to AKP, because the EA is voluntary and designed to show ‘good faith’ in working with the community, there are no legal or regulatory controls over the production of the EA.”
      Life of the Land asked if HECO expects the voluntary EA to be complete before the PUC issues its order in this docket. “According to AKP, AKP is continuing to make progress towards completing the voluntary EA but is uncertain of its completion date,” the companies replied. “In the event there is a finding in the EA, the finding would trigger further action to require an Environmental Impact Statement. In the event of an EIS trigger, the EIS environmental assessment would no longer be voluntary, and AKP would follow all applicable laws or legal requirements for the EA or EIS. In addition, AKP believes that completion of the EA is not necessary in order for the Commission to issue its Decision and Order in this docket. AKP is committed to completing the voluntary EA but must secure additional financing for the AKP project to proceed accordingly.”
      Life of the Land quotes the statement in the contract that “one of the key elements of Hawai`i’s energy policy is the desire for fixed-price, indigenous, renewable resources,” and asked, “Is another key element to have low electricity prices?” HELCO and HECO replied, “It is the companies’ goal to provide electricity at a reasonable cost while meeting all required objectives of providing safe and reliable electricity compliant with all Federal and States laws.”
      More of HELCO and HECO’s responses to Life of the Land’s information requests will be covered in future Ka`u News Briefs.
      Complete responses to the Life of the Land’s questions are online at puc.hawaii.gov. Docket number is 2012-0185.

KA`U GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAMS hosted Waiakea Tuesday evening. Ka`u junior varsity racked up 34 points. Kerrilyn Domondon was high-point scorer with 22 points. Waiakea, however, won with 47 points. Waiakea varsity also dominated, scoring 57 points to Ka`u’s 19. Casey Koi, Denisha Navarro and Piilani Peralta scored three points each. 

      Tomorrow, the teams travel to Kea`au.
      Also tomorrow, boys and girls soccer teams travel to Kealakehe, and wrestling matches take place at Hilo.

MEDICINE FOR THE MIND, a free Buddhist healing meditation for beginning and advanced participants, takes place Sunday at 4 p.m. at
      Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. For more information, call instructor Patty Johnson at 985-7470.

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 Jan. 10, 2013

Humpback whales will be studied in an EIS on Hawaiian sanctuary waters.
Photo by Geoff Grow, National Marine Sanctuaries.

KA`U IS A DROUGHT DISASTER AREA, proclaimed the U.S. Department of Agriculture yesterday. Ka`u is included with other parts of the island that led to Hawai`i County becoming one of 597 counties in 14 states nationwide named as drought disaster areas. This is the seventh consecutive year that the Big Island has suffered this distinction, following a minimum of eight consecutive weeks of severe drought measured by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
      Dianne Ley, director of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Hawai`i, said the most damaging droughts are in Ka`u, North Kona and South Kohala.
      Those interested in low-interest emergency loans can contact Miki Miyasato, manager of the USDA Farm Service Agency Farm Loan Programs on this island. She said this morning that she works with Ka`u Coffee farmers and ranchers on operating loans. She said that the interest rate is low for the operating loans as well as the emergency loans. Her office is in Hilo, and she can be contacted at 933-8344. Interested persons can also go to usda.gov/drought.

Extreme drought is shown at South Point, with a band of severe drought
inland and moderate drought through the rest of Ka`u, in the most
recent U.S. Drought map.

      U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack promised to “partner with producers to see them through longer-term recovery, while taking the swift actions needed to help farmers and ranchers prepare their land and operations for the upcoming planting season.” He said he will go to Congress to “encourage passage of a Food, Farm and Jobs bill that gives rural America the long-term certainty they need, including a strong and defensible safety net.”
      The USDA has authorized up to $5 million in grants to evaluate and demonstrate ag practices to help farmers and ranchers adapt to drought and put $14 million into the Emergency Conservation Program to help farmers and ranchers rehabilitate farmland and implement water conservation.

CONCERNING THE `AINA KOA PONO proposal, the Public Utilities Commission this week published responses to questions asked by the state Consumer Advocate, Hawai`i County, the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, and Life of the Land. The questions concern the proposed contract for `Aina Koa Pono to annually sell, at a fixed price for 20 years, 16 million gallons of diesel that would be manufactured at a refinery off Wood Valley Road above Pahala. The fuel, produced in 27 microwave units, would be sold to Hawai`i Electric Light and Hawaiian Electric Companies, with most of it trucked up Hwy 11 to a power plant in Kona. It would mean higher electric bills on O`ahu and the Big Island.
      The state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism asked HELCO and HECO for clarification on their statement that “the fixed Biodiesel price, with a nominal escalation provision, is reasonable and is projected to fall below the price of petroleum diesel during the term of the Biodiesel Supply Contract.’ DBEDT asked the utilities to provide analysis and justification for how AKP arrived at this contract’s price per gallon of biodiesel supplied compared with the price in the contract that was previously denied.

     HELCO and HECO replied that, “according to AKP, pricing for AKP’s biodiesel was based on a per gallon price that would provide a reasonable rate of return to project investors so as to attract the necessary project financing. Following AECOM’s work and testing at the demonstration plant, AKP was able to receive more concrete numbers regarding the output of the process. The test results were better than expected, which allowed AKP to adjust the price downward and still provide a reasonable return to project investors.”
      DBEDT also asked the companies to provide analysis and justification for how AKP arrived at the annual escalator. The companies’ response is confidential and available only to the Public Utilities Commission, parties and participants in the docket.
      When DBEDT asked if alternatives were considered in the pricing and escalator formulas, the companies responded that “much of the negotiations following the denial of the first AKP contract centered around lowering the initial fixed per gallon price of AKP’s biodiesel.” HELCO and HECO said “alternatives in the pricing and annual escalator were not negotiable, according to AKP.”
      DBEDT asked the utilities to provide the cost per gallon to produce the biodiesel and the approximate rate of return earned on each gallon of biodiesel, but, according to HELCO and HECO, “AKP is not willing to share their proprietary information regarding the cost per gallon to produce the biodiesel and the approximate rate of return earned on each gallon of biodiesel.”
      Regarding the companies’ statement in the contract that “utilizing biofuel in existing generating units is expected to achieve cleaner air emissions and facilitate compliance with new and revised environmental regulations,” DBEDT asked, “How will AKP’s biofuels contribute to meeting air emissions in compliance with Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and National Ambient Air Quality Standards or other environmental regulations? The companies replied, “AKP’s biodiesel will meet current environmental regulations applicable to the Keahole Power Plant and will also meet the maximum 15 ppm sulfur requirements to comply with upcoming May 2013 Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants requirements.” They also said Keahole Power Plant is already in compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and that Mercury and Air Toxics Standards do not apply to the units at Keahole.
      The companies also stated that there are no additional costs to achieve environmental compliance at Keahole using AKP’s biodiesel.

      DBEDT asked the utilities to provide the total and cost to the ratepayer for HELCO to achieve air emissions in compliance with Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and National Ambient Air Quality Standards or other environmental regulations without AKP’s biofuel. The utilities said the approximate total cost to install air emissions equipment this year is $250,000. “Operating Keahole Power Plant with AKP biodiesel does not offset any cost of environmental compliance associated with fossil diesel,” the utilities said, “because the infrastructure changes required for Keahole Power Plant to achieve compliance … will have been completed by May 2013.” They also said no infrastructure changes are required for Keahole Power Plant’s compliance to Mercury and Air Toxics Standards or National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
      DBEDT asked the companies to provide assumptions and sources for data regarding the Incremental Cost of Biodiesel Supply Contract and to provide the incremental cost of the Biodiesel Supply Contract for each year of the Contract. The companies’ responses to these requests are confidential. Complete responses to the DBEDT’s questions are online at puc.hawaii.gov. Docket number is 2012-0185.


HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HUMPBACK WHALE NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY will be studied for an Environmental Impact Statement. According to a notice filed with the state Office of Environmental Quality Control, the EIS will involve revising a management plan completed for the sanctuary in 1992 and previously revised in 2002.

Humpback whales will be studied in a new EIS for the National
Marine Sanctuary in Hawai`i.

The state Department of Land & Natural Resources and the federal National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration co-manage the sanctuary and have been hosting public meetings on the new management plan over the past two years. The public can weigh in on the plan for an EIS. Recommendations for the new managment plan already include education about entanglement of whales in fishing  lines and other debris, as well as management of ocean-going vessels and their speeds around whales, to include the military, cruise ships, and fishing, tour and family recreational boats. The state of Hawai`i has jurisdiction over the nearshore jurisdiction over the nearshore waters with submerged lands and other resources. The notice regarding the EIS was filed by William Aila, Jr., chair of the DLNR. Comments may be emailed to dlnrsanctuary@hawaii.gov or sent to: Sanctuary Management, Department of Land & Natural Resources, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, 1151 Punchbowl St., Room 330, Honolulu, HI 96813 or faxed to 808-587-0115. 

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HUMPBACK WHALE National Marine Sanctuary is seeking volunteers in Ka`u for its 2013 Sanctuary Ocean Count. The project offers the community a chance to monitor humpback whales and provide important population and distribution information. Site leaders and general volunteers are needed for events on Jan. 26, Feb. 23 and March 30. For more information and to register, visit hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov.

Cleaning up Kamilo Beach is on the agenda this Saturday.
Photo from Hawai`i Wildlife Fund

RESIDENTS LOOKING for more community involvement and to spend more time at the beach caRESIDENTS LOOKING for more community involvement and to spend more time at the beach caWai`ohinuWai`ohinu Park to carpool to Kamilo Point. Sign up with Megan Lamson at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

FRIENDS OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK offers its Sunday Walk in the Park on Jan. 13 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Nick Shema leads this easy to moderate 3.5-mile round-trip walk exploring the summit area of the park. Free to members, and memberships are available at event. Call 985-7373 or email admin@fhvnp.org. Park entrance fees apply.
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 Jan. 9, 2013

Ancient Dreams is part of Boone Morrison's exhibit Silver Magic opening Saturday at Volcano Art Center Gallery.

UTILITY-BILLED SOLAR PANELS at home may be in the future, further cutting Hawai`i’s dependence on fossil fuel. A study commissioned by the Public Utilities Commission shows that “on-bill financing, which allows residents to pay for systems through their electricity bills over a period of years, could work well in Hawai`i,” says a story in Civil Beat.

Utility-billed solar panels may be in the future.

      The Sophie Cocke story notes that “Blue Planet Foundation, a renewable energy advocacy group that has lobbied hard for the program," offers an overview on its website blueplanetfoundation.org:
      “This solution removes two major hurdles to participation: cost and complexity. Many folks who want to adopt clean energy don’t have an extra few thousand extra dollars to purchase a solar water heater or upgrade their old appliances. The existing sea of financing options, cluttered with differing terms and interest rates, requires credit checks and considerable effort to navigate. On-bill streamlines this process, removing the guesswork and applying the payment directly to the reduced electric bill. The financing is worked out between the program administrator and a local bank, removing the customer’s burden of negotiating the transaction. 

Think about it this way. How many people would pay $2,400 for an iPhone? Probably not many. Mobile service providers realize this. They provide a discounted phone and require customers to sign a multi-year contract—spreading out usage payments instead of requiring it all upfront. Similarly, if the electric company required payment for 10 years of power upfront ($22,000 for most families), who would be able to afford electricity? Yet that’s what the current system requires of residents who want to purchase clean energy. If we want to achieve energy self-sufficiency, we need to stop getting in our own way and make it easy to do the right thing.”
     See more at www.civilbeat.com and blueplanetfoundation.org.

CONCERNING THE `AINA KOA PONO proposal, the Public Utilities Commission this week published responses to questions asked by the state Consumer Advocate, Hawai`i County, the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, and Life of the Land. The questions concern the proposed contract for `Aina Koa Pono to annually sell, at a fixed price for 20 years, 16 million gallons of diesel that would be manufactured at a refinery off Wood Valley Road above Pahala. The fuel, produced in 27 microwave units, would be sold to Hawai`i Electric Light and Hawaiian Electric Companies, with most of it trucked up Hwy 11 to a power plant in Kona. It would mean higher electric bills on O`ahu and the Big Island.

      Hawai`i County asked the utilities for clarification on several points of the contract.
      The county asked if AKP would provide year-round, reliable production of biofuel. The utilities replied that, according to AKP, it would, because crops would be grown in “sequential maturation plots to allow for sequential harvesting.”
      Regarding the county’s question of price stability, the utilities contended that the price would be “relatively stable because the starting price of the biodiesel is fixed for the first year and, in subsequent years, the fixed price is adjusted only once per year in accordance with the fixed annual escalator. Therefore, the price is known for the life of the AKP Biodiesel Supply Contract, and fluctuation in the biodiesel price is very minimal.”

Pellets are put into the system to be microwaved into gas that is turned
into diesel. See a film of the operation at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4cfQGeW2mMn 

      Performance of the microwave catalytic depolymerization technology was questioned by the county. HELCO and HECO’s response was that AKP’s plant in North Carolina is “running at 2.15 tons per day using pine wood pellets and has successfully produced biofuel capable of being distilled to meet the AKP Biodiesel Supply Contract fuel specification.” The utilities also contended that the single pilot unit ccould be scaled up to run at 33 tons per day and that, prior to construction of the larger Ka`u facility, a single 33 tons per day unit would be constructed and tested “prior to completing the remainder of the units at Ka`u to achieve commercial scale.”
      The utilities report that AKP has a target date of March 1, 2013 to reach final confirmation of commercialization scale capabilities. Also, regarding energy balance, or the ratio of energy used to energy created, AKP expects data to be available by the end of this month and that “AKP will be able to provide the data at that time.” 

      “A concern that arises from the proposed contract is the twenty-year commitment to providing biodiesel at a price based on parity with oil at above $200 per barrel, with escalation,” the county said in its information request. “Please explain your rationale for burdening the ratepayers with this level of commitment to an early-stage technology.” In its reply, the utilities said that the “forecast price of petroleum diesel exceeds the AKP biodiesel price several years before the AKP Biodiesel Supply Contract term ends. The AKP biodiesel price reaches parity with the forecast diesel price during the AKP Biodiesel Supply Contract term and succeeds in displacing fossil fuel with a lower cost, locally sustainable, renewable fuel.”
      To the county’s question as to whether it would be “worthwhile to investigate more alternatives before making a long-term commitment to one particular approach, especially one that is at the very early stages,” the electric companies replied that AKP’s biodiesel price is competitive with commercially available biodiesel. It said that biofuel pricing is often based on the price of fossil fuel. “The AKP biodiesel price is intentionally delinked from oil to provide price stability to the Companies and their customers,” the utilities stated. “There are no provisions in the AKP Biodiesel Supply Contract to adjust the biodiesel price based on the cost of other energy or fuel options. AKP did not base the biodiesel price on market economics of other fuels or on other energy options that may be available to the Companies. The AKP biodiesel price is based on the AKP project economics and financing while providing the Companies with a stable and competitive biodiesel price.” They also pointed out that the contract with AKP is the result of a competitive bidding process.

Mansfield Oil would transport biofuel from Wood Valley
to Kona's Keahole Power Plant in 34 trucks per week.
Photo from mansfieldoil.com

      The county asked for information about the transportation of fuel from Ka`u to Keahole Power Plant. The utilities replied that, according to AKP, Mansfield Oil would handle all ground transportation and related logistics. According to the utilities, AKP estimates that 34 trucks per week would each transport 9,000 gallons of biodiesel. They also noted that “AKP is only replacing fuel that is currently being imported to the Big Island and already being transported via truck to Keahole, so there should not be an increase in the amount of vehicles used.”
      The utilities said that AKP is preparing a Traffic Impact Assessment and that AKP “intends to propose as required improvements to maintain safety of the traveling public.”
      When asked about adverse impacts on quality of life and the visitor industry, the utilities replied that, “according to AKP, AKP plans to work closely with the residents of Pahala and Na`alehu to minimize or eliminate any adverse effects on these communities. AKP also intends to minimize any adverse effects on tourism.”
      Hawai`i County asked if AKP has an engineering-procurement-construction contract that guarantees the cost of the AKP plant, the schedule for completion of the AKP plant and the performance specifications of the AKP plant. The utilities response was that AKP requires an engineering-procurement-construction contract with all those guarantees. “AKP requires a performance guarantee in order to secure financing for the large scale project,” the utilities said.

      When the county asked if AKP’s engineering-procurement-construction contract contains liquidated damages if the project is late or does not perform as expected, the electric companies replied that AECOM, AKP’s engineering, procurement and construction management partner, would provide a performance guarantee for the plant to be built in Ka`u.

SHARY CROCKER, OF MARK TWAIN ESTATES, offers classes in Compassionate Communication beginning tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. Crocker has been practicing and facilitating groups for five years. All levels are invited. For more information and to register, contact her at 929-7647 or grantcrocker@aol.com.

Boone Morrison Photo by James Hawkins

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S FIRST EXHIBIT of the New Year, a collection of landscape photographs by Boone Morrison, begins Saturday, Jan. 12. Hours at the gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. An opening reception takes place Saturday at 5 p.m.
 

      “We are honored to feature Boone as our first artist of 2013,” said gallery manager Emily Catey. “More than a friend, neighbor and longtime supporter, we affectionately refer to him as our Founding Father. This exhibition will be a welcome homecoming nearly 40 years in the making and sets the standard for the rest of the year.”
      Ansel Adams mentored Morrison from 1966 to until 1971, and his photographs have since been widely exhibited across the U.S. and Hawai`i. He has taught fine arts photography for University of Hawai`i in Manoa and Hilo, as well as for Volcano Art Center.
 In addition to awards received in the field of architecture, Morrison has been repeatedly recognized for his fine arts photography, arts advocacy and entrepreneurship in Hawai`i.
      The exhibit, entitled Silver Magic, is free to the public, and park entrance fees apply. For more information, visit www.volcanoartcenter.org or contact Emily Catey at 967-7565 or gallery@volcanoartcenter.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.