Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, March 23, 2014

The last eruption of Mauna Loa occurred 30 years ago Tuesday, when lava flowed from the Northeast Rift Zone. Photo from USGS/HVO

OPPOSITION TO CONFIRMATION OF RICHARD HA for a second term on the state Board of Agriculture has come from east Ka`u’s Sen. Russell Ruderman. He contended this morning that Ha, who supports use of genetically modified organisms as a tool for farmers, “is openly antagonistic to the organic food industry.”

Sen. Russell Ruderman

      Ruderman said that the state Department of Ag has “supported big ag and biotech for the last decade. It is time for some balance. It is time for the Department of Ag to also support small farms and organic farming.” Ruderman said that “appointing someone who campaigns and pounds the drum for GMO, and with antagonism for organic farming, is inappropriate.” He said that his opposition to Ha for the Board of Agriculture “is not about personal attacks about me. It is about which direction that the Department of Agriculture is going to go. Should it be about supporting GMO and biotech even more or giving some support to organic and small farms also?”
      Ha earlier criticized Ruderman, claiming that Ruderman, who owns organic food stores, has a conflict of interest in making decisions about GMOs. Ruderman said that “it is OK that Ha is not waving flags for the organic industry, but he should be more neutral. If he is going to be antagonistic, it is my place to say this is not the way for the Department of Agriculture."
      Regarding Ha’s pro-GMO stance, Ruderman said, “There is a lot of science worldwide that brings up some serious concerns and at least the need to be cautious.”

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Mayor Billy Kenoi

POTENTIAL PROJECTS THAT WOULD REPLACE the Hilo landfill range from waste-to-energy to recycling, composting and gasification, according to a story in West Hawai`i Today. 

      The landfill is expected to reach full capacity in one-and-a-half to two years, and Mayor Billy Kenoi wants a replacement project working by the end of his term in 2016, reports Nancy Cook Lauer. He also wants the contractor to take on the upfront financial burden and most of the risk.  

      Bidders on the projects toured the landfill facility Friday. The winning bidder would have use of the acreage, scales and sort station.
      Deadline for the first round of proposals is April 15, with a contract signed by April of next year.
      During the tour, county Environmental Management director Bobby Jean Leithead Todd said the best proposal would create energy or fuel as well as reduce waste.
      “If we’re able to use municipal solid waste and produce energy and reduce our reliance on imported fuel, that’s a win for us,” she said.
      She also said county recycling and green waste programs would continue.
      While the type of waste-reduction facility has not been decided upon, Kenoi wants the technology to have at least a three-year track record. “We want something proven,” Cook Lauer reports him saying previously. “We’re not going to be the guinea pigs of the Pacific.”
      See westhawaiitoday.com.

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KA`U NONPROFITS, SCHOOLS, organizations and initiatives that embody Aloha Grown’s philosophy to “Support Local. Sustain the `Aina. Share the Aloha” are invited to apply for five $500 awards to be presented by Aloha Grown Malama Honua Fund. 

      Along with completing an application form, interested parties must write a one-page essay explaining how their organization follows Aloha Grown’s philosophy. Essays must include the organization’s mission and vision, along with the specific project, program and/or effort the $500 award would be used to fund.
      All submissions are due by March 31.
      For more information about Aloha Grown or to see last year’s Malama Honua Fund award winners, see alohagrown.com.

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Humpback whale creates a waterfall in the ocean. Photo from HIHWNMS

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HUMPBACK WHALE NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY is seeking applicants for one primary seat and three alternate seats on its advisory council. The council ensures public input into sanctuary matters and provides advice to sanctuary management. 

      “The members of our advisory council represent an extremely important element of our community,” said Malia Chow, sanctuary superintendent. “Their input, experience and expertise assist sanctuary managers in making informed and timely decisions on how best to protect and conserve our important cultural and natural resources.”
      The sanctuary is currently seeking applicants for the following seats: commercial shipping (alternate), Native Hawaiian (alternate) and youth (primary and alternate).
      Candidates are selected based on their expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying, community and professional affiliations and views regarding the protection and management of marine resources.
      Established in 1996, advisory council provides advice and recommendations on managing and protecting the sanctuary. The council is composed of 53 government and nongovernmental representatives, who serve on a volunteer basis, represent a variety of local user groups, the general public and state and federal governmental jurisdictions.
      Applications are due March 31. To receive an application kit or for further information, contact Emily Gaskin via email at Emily.Gaskin@noaa.gov, by phone at 808-725-5902 or visit the sanctuary website at hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov.
      The sanctuary works to protect humpback whales through research, education, conservation and stewardship.
      The final Sanctuary Whale Count for this year takes place Saturday, March 29, when volunteers gather at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach, Ka Lae and also at Ka`ena Point in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park to tally humpback whale sightings and document the animals’ surface behavior during the survey. To sign up, see sanctuaryoceancount.org or call 808-268-3087.

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A KA`U HIGH TROJAN WON the long jump yesterday at the state qualifier track meet at Kamehameha School in Kea`au. Esteve Salmo took first with a jump of 20-06.50, putting him in a category to be considered for the state finals on O`ahu. He also took first in the long jump at the season opener on March 15 at Konawaena, with a jump of 18-08.25. Yesterday, the Trojans took fifth in the boys 400-meter relay.

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AN ADULT MEN’S SOCCER TEAM has formed in Ocean View and is playing today at the Old Airport field in Kona. The captain is John Replogle, Jr. Coach is Gregorio Zamudio. Player Jorge Zamudio is helping organize the team. 

      The practice is at Ocean View Park on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. Games are Sundays around the island. Players can be 16 and older. The oldest player is in his 40s, said Jorge Zamudio. Call 939-7080.

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This is the final day of Discovery Harbour Community Association's
rummage sale benefiting its volunteer fire department.
Photo by Ron Johnson

DISCOVERY HARBOUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION’S rummage sale to benefit its volunteer fire department continues today until 1 p.m. Proceeds go toward the purchase of supplies not provided by the county. 

TUESDAY’S AFTER DARK IN THE PARK PROGRAM takes place on the 30th anniversary of the most recent eruption of Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on Earth. Mauna Loa comprises more than half of the surface area of Hawai`i Island, and 95 percent of this volcano is covered with lava flows less than 10,000 years old.
      Since 1843, Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times. It erupts at an average rate of one eruption every five or six years. When it erupts, fast-moving and voluminous lava flows can reach the ocean in a matter of hours, severing roads and utilities, repaving the flanks of the volcano and building new land. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Frank Trusdell talks about the eruptive history and current status of Mauna Loa, an active volcano that will undoubtedly erupt again.
      Recent unprecedented upgrades to HVO’s monitoring capabilities, including seismic equipment and the addition of GPS stations, tiltmeters, gas sensors and Webcams allow better investigation of the complex interactions within and between Mauna Loa and Kilauea volcanoes. The improved capabilities increase understanding of how volcanoes work and enhance the ability to forecast eruptions.
      The program at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes’ National Park begins at 7 p.m. $2 donations support park programs. Park entrance fees apply.

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

Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, March 22, 2014

Miss Ka`u Coffee Tiare-Lee Shibuya dances hula at the regular Friday night fundraiser dinner at Gilligan's Cafe in Discovery Harbour to raise money for a charter school in Ka`u. She is accompanied by Bradley Llanes. Photo by Julia Neal

GATHERINGS AT KA LAE with music and food are being defended by organizers. Tom Anthony, of Manu O Ku based in Hilo, said he works with the group Na Hoku O Ka`u, which, he said, is comprised of some of the Native Hawaiian ranchers and other Hawaiians who are eligible for Hawaiian Home Lands. He said the group of volunteers is helping to keep Ka Lae clean as well as educate people about the archaeology and Hawaiian history of the area. Anthony described pau hana gatherings as “anything but raves.” He was responding to reports of raves at Ka Lae during a police department meeting with the public last week. Anthony described two recent gatherings as mahalos for volunteers and an effort to get young people interested in learning and caring about Ka Lae. He said the effort is not just for Native Hawaiians, but for young people traveling through the area and volunteering, much like woofers volunteer on farms. He said it is good for young local people to work side by side and get to know traveling young people from all over the world and that some of these young wanderers are very enthusiastic to volunteer at Ka Lae and to learn about Hawaiian culture.

Tom Anthony Image from Big Island Video News

      Anthony pointed out that Ka Lae and Green Sands Beach are becoming more and more popular with visitors, now that a paved road has been completed to the boat ramp area. He said latrines and other facilities are needed to reduce liability and improve sanitation and that the cottage industry of Hawaiians acting as guides for the visitors could be somehow supported to help develop this entrepreneurship.

      He said that Na Hoku O Ka`u helped to clean up an old military site at Ka Lae after a group of native Hawaiians were evicted from there years ago and that the group maintains the grounds, including mowing, and provides a composting latrine on site for the public. He called the group an “unincorporated action alliance.” He said volunteers in the cleanup include members of the John Kalua`u and Kuahiwinui familes.

      Anthony said that the liability and sanitation concerns are pre-exisiting to the volunteer group sponsoring gatherings at Ka Lae. “Hotels and the state encourage people to visit Ka Lae and Green Sand Beach. Visitors to the area, whether from Hawai`i or afar, “are defecating all over the place. Toilet paper competes with the pa`u o hi`iaka and the `ilima and other native plants,” he contended.

Eunice Longakit and Moses Espaniola, Jr. performed
at Gilligan's Cafe. Photo by Julia Neal

      He said there is increased erosion on the unpaved road to Green Sand Beach with more visitors going there. The beginning of the trail has no latrine. He said the growing popularity of Ka Lae and Green Sand Beach is an opportunity for Hawaiians and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to work together to solve the problem. He said he could envision an impact fee charged to visitors that would help provide funding to take care of the place.
      Anthony said his group will visit with Department of Hawaiian Home Lands representatives soon and that DHHL staff members have come to lunch with the Hoku O Ka`u group at Ka Lae. “They know who we are. This rave stuff; this is not us.” He also said that the group is not affiliated with the “Rainbow gathering” promoters who have held camping and music events on other lands near Ka Lae.
      Anthony said Na Hoku O Ka`u is not aiming to be exclusive and invites people of all ethnicities, and from all places, including visitors, to volunteer. He said a major goal is to protect the archaeological sites of the area and to solve the sanitation problem.
      Anthony can be reached 494-9699. John Kalua`u, of Na Hoku O Ka`u, one of the volunteers who is also a rancher on Hawaiian Home Lands there, can be reached at 854-3057.

CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDRAISING continues Friday and Saturday nights at Gilligan’s Cafe in the Discovery Harbour golf course clubhouse from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant and bar opened to raise money for the Ka`u Learning Academy and is providing a stage for young local talent with Miss Ka`u Coffee Tiare-Lee Shibuya, Bradley Llanes, Moses Espaniola, Jr. and Eunice Longakit performing last night. The menu includes Ka`u Coffee, beer and wine, pizza, lasagna, pasta dishes and desserts. The sponsors said they hope to soon start a Sunday brunch service and that they have been working hard on a state-approved charter for their school. 

      See bigislandgilligans.com and kaulearning.com.

Ka`u's U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard supports funding to fight the coffee berry borer.
Photo by Peggy Greb/USDA Ag Research Service

DAVE CHUN, REP. TULSI GABBARD’S LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT, is asking Ka`u coffee growers for information that would be used to support funding at the Office of Management and Budget level for coffee berry borer research and development of an Integrated Pest Management plan. “If successful, annual funding challenges could drastically be decreased,” Chun said. 

      Chun asks: How has the CBB changed your bottom line? Percent change from 2010 to present would be helpful. Have you had to curtail your workforce, and if so, by what percentage? How many workers? How much in extra funds have you had to use to address CBB related impacts? Have your purchases of supplies from local vendors decreased/increased because of the CBB? If so, what percent and dollar amount? What percentage and dollar amount per acre per month are you expensing for CBB control? Have exports been reduced? Have you experienced reduced value (lower-grade coffee)?
      Chun asks growers to add other data/information/thoughts that they may feel comfortable in providing.
      For more information and to provide answers, contact Chun at 202-225-4906 or dave.chun@mail.house.gov.

Dr. Doede Donaugh, left, Charleen Roddy and Cindy Cohen open
Mango Medical this Monday. Photo by Ron Johnson

DELAYED ONE WEEK, MANGO MEDICAL opens its Ocean View clinic Monday. Dr. Doede Donaugh, APRN Cindy Cohen and case coordinator Charleen Roddy held a public reception yesterday amid last-minute construction work. The clinic features a mango-colored wall in the reception area, and even the staff’s electronic notebooks are mango. The website, mangomed.org, asks and answers the question, “Can a mango a day keep the doctor away?” 

      Ocean View resident Laura Riblett said, “This is the best medical staff there is.” She said that, while at Bay Clinic, Donaugh helped her family more than any other doctor she’s known, and she knows many people who are waiting for the doctor to open her new office."
      The clinic is next to Solar Works at 92-8691 Lotus Blossom Lane, #6. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 939-8100 for appointments.

NA`ALEHU ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is receiving $50,000 through a grant to Hawai`i County Economic Opportunity Council. Gov. Neil Abercrombie approved allotment of funds for planning, design and construction for emergency repairs and access improvements, as identified by members of the state Legislature.

      “This money will be used to improve accessibility for our kupuna and the disabled, particularly those living in remote communities,” Abercrombie said. “These funds represent an investment in community and nonprofit efforts that will have significant impacts in the lives of local individuals and families they serve.”

Noel Eberz prepared hot dog lunches at
Discovery Harbour rummage sale.
Photo by Ron Johnson 

      Repairs will facilitate outreach and services (transportation, energy and education programs) to disadvantaged residents. A popular program is the federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which subsidizes electricity or gas bills of qualified disadvantaged households.
      Each June, HCEOC provides outreach for the energy assistance program administered by the state Department of Human Services and local utility companies.

DISCOVERY HARBOUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION’S rummage sale to benefit its volunteer fire department goes until 4 p.m. today and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hot dog lunches are available today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Proceeds go toward the purchase of supplies not provided by the county.

DURING A FREE PROGRAM AT THE KAHUKU UNIT of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park tomorrow, participants learn about the vital role of `ohi`a lehua in native Hawaiian forests, the many forms of the `ohi`a lehua tree and its flower. The one-hour long program begins at 9:30 a.m. 

THE FINAL SANCTUARY WHALE COUNT for this year takes place a week from today, on Saturday, March 29. Volunteers gather at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach, Ka Lae and also at Ka`ena Point in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park to tally humpback whale sightings and document the animals’ surface behavior during the survey. To sign up, see sanctuaryoceancount.org or call 808-268-3087.

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

Ka`u News Briefs Friday, March 21, 2014

Matthew Koi and Samson Iona learn the craft at the `ukulele building workshop sponsored by Keoki Kahumoku and KuAloha `Ukulele
 this morning at Pahala Plantaation House. The workshop is followed by a concert next Wednesday evening. Photo by Julia Neal

MORE POLICE OFFICERS FOR KA`U were announced at the police meeting in Na`alehu this week. Representatives of the Hawai`i Police Department met with Ka`u residents. Deputy Police Chief Paul Ferreira, Ka`u Captain Burt Shimabukuro, Ka`u police and other officers from Area II Operations Bureau answered questions.
      Ferreira reported that staffing of additional Ka`u police officer positions approved by the County Council is expected to take place by the beginning of next year. Two classes of recruits will be graduating, and a second class starts, in July. The time period from recruiting to hiring is 18 months, Ferreira said. That includes six months of classroom training, three months in the field, written tests, physical tests and background screening. To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar

Ka Lae is usually known for its beauty, fishing and archaeology, but Department of
Hawaiian Home Lands is asking for help to stop rave parties there.
Photo by Peter Anderson

RAVE PARTIES AT SOUTH POINT were brought up by representatives from Department of Hawaiian Home Lands who asked for help to squelch them. During a meeting between police and the public this week in Ka`u, DHHL representatives said they are concerned about liability, health, sanitation, drug use and damage to archaeological and cultural sites.
     Capt. Burt Shimabukuro suggested notifying the police ahead of time, as well as perhaps placing signs, fences and gates at the site. When asked if the police have authority there, they said they already have permission.
     Reports are that hundreds of people, including high school and college age youth are attending and that the rave parties include drinking and other possibly illegal activities.
 To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar

THE OCEAN VIEW POLICE SUBSTATION was discussed this week at the police meeting in Ka`u. An Ocean View resident asked about manning a substation there. Deputy Police Chief Paul Ferreira said that although the public has an expectation that substations are to be manned, they are actually places where officers who are out in the field can go to file paperwork rather than go to the main office. Another officer said that with technology such as laptop computers, “officers are now mobile, roaming substations” which reduces the need for actual substations.
      The public can call Ka`u Police Station at 939-2520 with questions and concerns. See hawaiipolice.com. To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar

MALIAN LAHEY IS DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRESIDENT FOR DISTRICT THREE. She is precinct leader for Pahala. District elections were held in early March. District Three includes precincts with voting at Ka'u High School in Pahala, Cooper Center in Volcano, Mountain View Elementary School, and AJA Memorial Hall in Hilo.
     Lahey owns a Wood Valley home and farm and is working to found a Ka`u chapter of Hawai`i Farmers Union United. She advocates for the Ka`u Coffee trade name to be held by the state Department of Agriculture “in order to

Malian Lahey, new Democratic
 Party President for District Three

protect our international reputation in the coffee industry,” she said. Through her nonprofit, I Ola Nā ʻĀina Momona, she articulates “a vision for Ka`u's future in which farmers will stay on their land with long term leases and reasonable terms.”
     Lahey owns the brokerage Ka`u Specialty, LLC, which works with local coffee farmers to deliver 100% Ka`u coffee to market “while upholding principles of fairness, transparency, and sustainability,” she said. She sells Ka`u Coffee wholesale and said that she will soon be launching online retail at kauspecialtycoffee.com.
    Lahey said that Saturday, April 5 is the deadline for Democratic Party Draft Resolutions and Rules, or Platform revisions. April 12 is the meeting to elect delegates to the County Convention and May 3 is the County Convention.
      She encouraged all Democrats to “Submit your ideas and comments, or volunteer as a Democratic Party delegate by emailing HawaiiCountyDistrict3@gmail.com.”
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GMO FOOD LABELING died in the state House of Representatives yesterday. Agriculture Committee Chair Jessica Wooley added the labeling requirement to Senate Bill 2435, an existing bill to, bring the effort back to life but she deferred it after a contentious discussion among committee members. Common Cause and League of Women Voters opposed the process - not necessarily the content - for the measure being revived through a “gut and replace”  procedure that gives the public little notice to weigh in on the measure.

Chris Manfredi, President of the
Hawai`i Farm Bureau

     GMO labeling is supported by Ka`u’s state Senators Russell Ruderman and Josh Green, as well as Ka`u's County Council member Brenda Ford. The state Department of Health, state Department of Agriculture, the Times Supermarkets and Big Save grocery store chain, the Hawai`i Food Industry Association, and statewide Hawa`i Farm Bureau oppose the labeling. The majority of individual testimonies support the labeling.
      Hawai`i Farm Bureau’s president Chris Manfredi, who lives in Na`alehu, testified against a state requirement for GMO labeling, saying: “we strongly believe that food labeling should be regulated at a federal level. Because the proposed draft bill has no basis in science and does not apply equitably to all foods, the passage and implementation of this bill will result in Hawai`i consumers being less informed than they are currently.”
     He further stated that “We oppose false, misleading, negative or deceptive labeling. We support voluntary labeling using statements that are truthful and not misleading.” He contended that there “are not credible studies, much less a consensus among researchers and the medical community, that crops produced with GMO technology are unsafe. In fact the opposite is true. Independent reviews of thousands of studies have to come to the consensus conclusion that GMO crops are safe,” Manfredi claimed.

Mitsoku Hayakawa supports
GMO labeling

     Michael Klungness, of Mountain View, testified: “The State could have made an effort to simplify the whole controversy, by agreeing to mandate that products containing GMO's be so labeled. I think the Industry is shooting itself in the foot by fighting so hard to keep the public from knowing what products are genetically engineered. The net result is that there is a lot of fear generated, that might otherwise not be the case. We consume foods all the time that we know have been tested to have legally allowable quantities of pesticides, herbicides, drugs, etc. But the people buy them because the government says they are safe. GMO on the other hand, has seemed to have been slipped in under the radar, so to speak. That makes the public nervous, and enhances the controversy.”
     He also wrote about heavier pesticide use associated with GMO use. “My greatest fear is that there is too little regulation in the field of bioengineering. Who approved the idea of breeding a herbicide resistant crop just so more herbicides could be used to kill weeds? Scientists already know that the net effect will be to select for resistant weeds. Thus the herbicide application will have to increase, and the health risks along with it. We learned this with insecticides. Plants mutate more slowly than insects, but they have mechanisms, other than genetic selection, to adapt. Just because a particular strategy is lucrative, does not mean that it has no long term consequences. We need to be more about studying the long term effects and less about the short term profits.”
      Mitsuko Hayakawa, of Food Sovereignty Now, testified that “GMOs have never been proven safe for long term consumption and many independent studies indicate cause for concern for our health and environment. I believe it is only fair and just that consumers be given the right to know and the right to choose for themselves whether they would like to put their hard earned money into a patented technology that may be detrimental to our health. I also strongly support the contingency clause that would allow this bill to take effect after three other states pass similar legislation.”
     Pamela Burrell testified that “We as consumers of food have a right to know what we are eating! There is no reason for this to increase the price of food. None. Think about it. If you had a peanut allergy, you would want to know. If you were avoiding too much salt or the quality of fats or if you were avoiding gluten, you would want to know. It is simple. Just label it. Be bold Hawaiians. Listen to the people that live here, not the corporations who are worried about their bottom line...they aren't worried about food prices...just their profits.”

Bruce Tagama of KuAloha `Ukulele teaches Ka`u
students how to build an `ukulele. Photo by Julia Neal

     University of Hawai`i Professor Steven Businger, of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, testified in support o the bill. He said it “maintains the proper balance between FDA regulations and allowed state labeling, respect First Amendment rights, and is now consistent with the commerce Clause.” He stated that “Other states have passed such a law and it is only a matter of time before states like California passes GMO labeling. Presently, Hawai`i sources most of its food via distribution from California, so the GMO Labeling requirement should not add new cost to that distribution channel…. Give the people of Hawai`i the informed choice of knowing what they are teaching, that three quarters of Hawai`i residents have indicated they want.”
     Hawai`i Department of Agriculture Chair Scott Enright, who recently spoke on other subjects at the Ka`u Farm Bureau annual meeting, testified against the labeling requirement, saying that the United States Food & Drug Administration “rigorously tests all the foods that are grown for human consumption and have not found any difference between the safety of genetically engineered foods and other foods. The HDOA works closely with its federal partners and relies on their science-based conclusions to guide policy decisions.” He said any labeling for GMO should be handled at the federal level.
    State Department of Health Director Linda Rosen, M.D, M.P.H., submitted testimony saying the DOH “does not object in principle to a labeling policy to enhance public awareness of the absence or presence of genetically engineered food or food ingredients in Hawai`i markets.” However, she said her department is not in a position to enforce such legislation and that “testing for common markers could easily be evaded.” She said the state lacks the scientific expertise, capacity, equipment and experience” for the testing. She also contended that “there is no conclusive scientific evidence of negative health effects associated with the consumption of genetically engineered food….”
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AN `UKULELE BUILDING WORKSHOP, student music retreat and concert next week kicked off at Pahala Plantation House today, directed by Keoki Kahumoku and his Center for Hawaiian Music Studies, with assistance from Bruce Tagama of KuAloha `Ukulele, based on O`ahu.  In residence, teaching are Tagama, Kahumoku and members of the Aloha Bluegrass Band who will host a concert this coming Wednesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. Donations are welcome.

Discover Harbour Volunteer Fire Department is raising money today, tomorrow
and Sunday. Photo by Christine Kaehuaea

DISCOVERY HARBOUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION’S rummage sale to benefit its volunteer fire department goes until 4 p.m. today, Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hot dog lunches are $5 on Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Proceeds go toward the purchase of supplies not provided by the county.

PICK-UP OF DINNERS TO RAISE FUNDS for Ka`u Summer Fun programs is today from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center.

HALAU HULA Kalehuaki`eki 'eika`iu holds its garage sale tomorrow, Saturday, March 22, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 99-2035 Pukeawe Circle, in the Volcano Golf Course Subdivision. There will be a hālau "Bake Sale" of home-baked goodies by hālau members, including nā mea ono from "Aunty Pua". Treasures and trinkets, clothing, books, magazines, household items.

CHARLENE ASATO TEACHES traditional styles of Japanese Book Binding, including Tortoise Shell and Noble Binding, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. Advanced registration is required. Fees are $36 or $32 for VAC members, plus a $10 materials fee. Call 967-8222 or see volcanoartcenter.org.

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