Ka`u News Briefs Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014

Horseback riders, walkers, trucks and floats are invited to participate in next month's Ka`u Plantation Days Parade. Photo by Julia Neal

TIM ORR, OF USGS HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY, described last night at a community meeting in Puna how scientists predict where lava may go. He used a topographical map to show Puna residents possible routes that lava from Kilauea Volcano may take as it progresses toward Hwy 130 near Pahoa. He said lava may reach the highway in 16 to 18 days, based on its current flow rate.

Blue lines represent low-lying sections along which lava could flow.
Map from USGS/HVO

      Flow routes are generally downhill and follow low areas such as gulches or dropped-down spots that are lower than surrounding areas. Blue lines on the map show such possible routes of lava flow.
      Orr said the maps are useful in predicting flow routes but do not show all possibilities. “Uncertainty in base data” translates into a broader downslope path, where lava covers a wider area than just the blue lines.

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KA`U PLANTATION DAYS, which held an organizing meeting this week, is welcoming more representatives of ranches, farms and dairies to participate in the annual pa`u parade on horseback, foot, car, truck or float. The event, sponsored by the Ka`u Multicultural Society and chaired by Darlyne Vierra and Liz Kuluwaimaka, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 11 along the streets of Pahala and on the grounds of the old sugar company manager’s manor – Pahala Plantation House – beginning at 9 a.m.
      Ethnic foods and dances will be presented, including Japanese, Filipino and Hawaiian offerings. Historic displays from plantation days will be presented by families and heritage groups. Emcee is Clyde Siva.
      Vierra said Ka`u Multicultural Society invites families and sugar, farm, ranch and dairy retirees and employees to bring historic photos of life in Ka`u to be copied for the organization’s collection which is displayed at various community events and places in Ka`u.
      Participants include Pahala Filipino Association, Aikane Plantation Coffee, Na`alehu Hongwanji, Pahala Karate Dojo, Wong Yuen Chinese family, Kauaha`ao Church, Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo, The Nature Conservancy, Friends of Ka`u Libraries, Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, Halau Hula O Leionalani, Keoki Kahumoku and the Center for Hawaiian Music Education, `O Ka`u Kakou and several nutrition and health organizations.
      The final two organizing meetings will be Monday, Sept. 22 and Monday, Oct. 6 at Pahala Community Center at 6:30 p.m.
      For more information, call Vierra at 640-8740.

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Henry Curtis

ELECTRICITY STORAGE IS A TOPIC Henry Curtis, Executive Director of Life of the Land, discusses on his blog at ililanimedia.blogspot.com. He says new energy storage facilities are needed to integrate intermittent wind and solar onto transmission grids and for conversion of fossil-fuel based transportation to electric-powered vehicles.
      Batteries are old. The design and use of reusable batteries predates the electric grid. Thomas Alva Edison was about 12 years old when Raymond Gaston Planté produced the first lead acid battery, which has become the most widely used rechargeable battery in world history.
      But batteries are not the primary storage mechanism for electric grids. Practically all transmission grid-connected energy storage is composed of water and dams. Pumped storage hydro involves pumping water uphill from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir and dropping it when power is needed. Pumped storage hydro accounts for over 95 percent of all storage on the grid. The use of commercial-scale pumped storage hydro in the United States is at least 80 years old.
      Batteries represent a mere 1.3 percent of energy storage on the U.S. grid. Other niche players are Thermal Storage, Compressed Air and Flywheels.
      Many energy players believe that batteries will play a major role in future storage technology.
      Just as car tires used for the Indy 500 are very different than snow tires, grid-connected batteries are not of one flavor. There are multiple designs, which serve multiple purposes.

In pumped storage hydro, water is pumped uphill at low-demand times and
released into turbines to create electricity during high-demand times.
Image from wikipedia

      There are at least twenty-six major types of reusable batteries. Most battery types have sub-types.
      Some energy storage systems provide voltage support or frequency stability, while others provide smoothing out of micro-second disturbances, smoothing out of multi-minute disturbances and transferring blocks of day-time power to serve evening demand.
      A given energy storage system might be very effective for one area of the grid and ineffective for another area. Some energy storage systems may be more effective in large-scale grid applications while others would better serve individual buildings on the customer’s side of the meter.
      Grid-connected energy storage in Hawai`i includes advanced lead-acid batteries, zinc-bromide flow batteries and a variety of lithium batteries including Lithium Ion Titinate (Li4Ti5O12), Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum (NI-CO-Al) and Lithium Iron Phosphate (Li-Fe-PO4).
      The U.S. Department of Energy December 2013 publication Grid Energy Storage notes that “there are four challenges related to the widespread deployment of energy storage: cost competitive energy storage technologies (including manufacturing and grid integration), validated reliability and safety, equitable regulatory environment and industry acceptance.”
      Battery research is taking off. But before widespread deployment occurs, we must decide what the future energy delivery system will look like.

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Ka`u keiki can explore the natural world during an `Imiloa
program next month. Photo from Imiloa Astronomy Center

`IMILOA ASTRONOMY CENTER IS LOOKING for keen-eyed Ka`u keiki who enjoy observing the natural world for the next Camp `IMI-Possible fall intersession program, Fun-novations of the Sky, slated for Oct, 6 – 10, 2014. Students will be immersed in a weeklong adventure of science experiments and activities relating to native birds and insects and their unique adaptations to Hawai`i. 

      The camp runs Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Drop off is available as early as 7:30 a.m. with pick up by 4:15 p.m. Lunch and snacks are not included, so participants should pack a snack and healthy lunch to keep up with each day of exploration.
      Enrollment for the intersession program is open, but space is limited. Tuition for the program is $225 for members and $250 for nonmembers.
      A limited number of need-based scholarships are available. Applications and scholarship information can be found at www.imiloahawaii.org/183. Submit completed applications and payment at front desk.

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IN SPORTS, KA`U HIGH GIRLS VOLLEYBALL teams won their home matches against East Pac yesterday. Junior varsity scores were 25 – 14 and 25 – 12. Varsity won in three straight sets, 25 – 18, 25 – 12 and 25 – 17.
      The teams host Konawaena Saturday at 10 a.m.
      After returning from Maui where they played a game against Seabury Hall, the Trojans’ eight-man football team hosts Pahoa Friday at 6:30 p.m.
      Ka`u High bowlers meet Kea`au at Kilauea Military Camp today.

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Ka`u photographer Peter Anderson caught this image of last night's supermoon
just before midnight, when skies cleared after being cloudy all evening.

THE LAST OF THREE CONSECUTIVE SUPERMOONS traveled across the sky last night. According to Wikipedia, “a supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The term supermoon is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology. The association of the moon with both oceanic and crustal tides has led to claims that the supermoon phenomenon may be associated with increased risk of events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but the evidence of such a link is widely held to be unconvincing.”

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FOUR MORE DAYS REMAIN TO GET DISCOUNTED RATES for Ka`u Coffee Trail Run. After Saturday, Sept. 13, fees increase by $20 for the 5K, 10K and Half Marathon coming up on Saturday, Sept. 20.
      Register online at race360.com/21357.

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO KA`U SCENIC BYWAY Committee’s meeting tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Na`alehu Methodist Church. On the agenda is finishing design of the Na`alehu Park kiosk, and this is the last chance for input. For more information, email richmorrow@alohabroadband.net.

LIGHT REFRESHMENTS FOR CURRENT and new members will be served at Friends of Ka`u Libraries’ member meeting tomorrow from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House.
      Call Doris Davis at 928- 0919 or Ann Fontes at 987-7448 for more information.

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

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014

Ka`u's aspiring farmers, ranchers, high school students and recent graduates can apply for agricultural training programs through The Kohala Center. Photos from The Kohala Center

BIOTECH COFFEE COULD POSSIBLY SOLVE the coffee berry borer problem, statewide Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation President Chris Manfredi said in a video posted yesterday by Big Island Video News. Manfredi, who is described by the American Farm Bureau as a coffee farmer and by Big Island Video News as “active in Ka`u coffee farming,” was speaking to Hawai`i Coffee Association at its annual meeting in July. He said that research in other parts of the world is ongoing to create biotech coffee that could stand up to the pest that is devastating the industry.

Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation President Chris Manfredi told Hawai`i
Coffee Association that biotech coffee could "make our CBB crisis
go away." Photo from Big Island Video News

      Manfredi said HFBF is also “pretty active at the (state) Capitol.” He said the organization has a full-time lobbyist on O`ahu and works in partnership with HCA and state Department of Agriculture “on legislative issues that are important to agriculture.”
      Manfredi also talked about a Farm Bureau public relations campaign called Small Farmers, Big Stories, which he described as “a virtual farm tour in the media.” He contended that those promoting GMO restrictions and further regulating pesticides are against biotech. “Of late, non-farmers have been trying to impose their will on farmers and set food and farm policy,” he said.
      He told the audience that HFBF had gotten about $150,000 pledged for the campaign, which has an annual budget of $400,000.
      Manfredi also announced at the conference that he had recently traveled to Washington, D.C. and discussed the campaign with Hawai`i’s congressional delegation.
      See bigislandvideonews.com.

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TWO PROGRAMS AIMED AT INTRODUCING high school students and aspiring farmers on Hawai`i Island to agricultural careers are seeking applicants for upcoming cohorts in October.
      Ku I Ka Mana, a beginning farmer and rancher training program administered by The Kohala Center, is accepting applications from prospective students for its fourth cohort. The 30-session course begins on Friday, Oct. 17 and is conducted in Honoka`a on Friday evenings from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Ku I Ka Mana's fourth cohort begins in October. Photo from The Kohala Center

      Although no previous farming experience is required, preference is given to U.S. veterans and to applicants who have taken steps to become agricultural producers but would benefit from a comprehensive, hands-on curriculum. The course covers a wide range of critical subject areas such as soil management, irrigation, composting, cover cropping and pest management, as well as the business side of farming—marketing, accounting, budgeting, and record-keeping. Students who successfully complete the course and create viable farm and business plans will be able to work with program staff to obtain leasable farmland, should they not already have land on which to farm or ranch.
      The deadline to apply is Friday, Oct. 10.
      The second program is open to Hawai`i Island high school students and recent graduates. The fourth cohort of The Center’s weeklong High School Agriculture Internship Program runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from Oct. 6 through Oct. 10.
      With the `aina serving as their classroom, interns are introduced to various aspects of agriculture in Hawai`i through site visits to Waipi`o, Kohala, Hamakua, Kona and Hilo. Participants gain hands-on experience in sustainable agriculture, learn about island food systems and receive a $125 stipend upon completion. The High School Agriculture Internship Program is co-sponsored by Kamehameha Schools’ `Aina Ulu Program.
      The deadline to apply is Wednesday, Oct. 1.
      “These programs were designed in an effort to move Hawai`i toward greater food self-reliance by training and motivating the next generations of local food producers,” said Derrick Kiyabu, director of The Kohala Center’s Ku I Ka Mana Beginning Farmer-Rancher Development Program. “We and our partners are dedicated to training and supporting new farming families on Hawai`i Island and inspiring island youth to consider careers in agriculture in an effort to increase local food production, decrease dependency on imports, diversify our rural economy and create meaningful jobs.”
      More information and application materials are available at kohalacenter.org or by calling 887-6411.

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Among others, Tango is one product to battle
little fire ant colonies.

FACULTY AND STAFF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I’S College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources and the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture have tips for identifying and controlling little fire ants. Wasmannia auropunctata is a serious pest because this tiny ant can easily spread undetected into yards and homes, parks, landscapes, vacant properties and forests. LFA deliver very painful stings similar to electric shocks to people, pets, livestock and even marine wildlife such as sea turtles and ground-nesting birds. LFA are attracted to eye fluids and typically sting near animals’ eyes, which can lead to blindness due to clouding of the cornea, or keratopathy.
      Areas where LFA are commonly found are in trees and shrubs, especially any fork at bases of trunks, in crotches of branches and under moss growing on trees or shrubs; in stamens and pistils of flowers; near edges of building foundations and concrete slabs; in cracks in concrete; in electrical outlets; in fallen logs and piles of plant debris; under potted plants; in dumpsters, trash cans and rubbish piles; and in stockpiles of seldom-used flower pots, lumber, hollow tiles, rocks, etc.
      Ka`u residents can use peanut butter as an attractant for detection of LFA. Check for ants by smearing a thin layer of peanut butter on one end of a chopstick or any wooden or plastic stake. Place a stake on the ground every 10 to 12 paces, including in potted plants and at the base and in branch crotches of trees. The best times are in the morning or on overcast days, avoiding heavy rain or mid-day sun and heat.

      After about 40 to 45 minutes, check for LFA on the stake. LFA are red-orange, slow-moving and less than 1/16 of an inch long (thickness of a penny). If LFA are on the chopstick, place the chopstick with ants into a zip-top bag and place it in the freezer for at least 24 hours to kill the ants.
      Bring bagged ant samples to one of the following locations for confirmation: UH-CTAHR Komohana Research and Extension Center, 875 Komohana Street, Hilo or Hawai`i Department of Agriculture, 16 East Lanikaula Street, Hilo.

      If an agency positively identifies LFA, treat with ant bait insecticide. Ant food bait mixed with a slow-acting insecticide is the only effective way to kill and eliminate an LFA colony because it allows worker ants to carry poison to queens. A free publications entitled Little Fire Ant Products Available for Homeowner Use is available online at ctahr.hawaii.edu/haraa/arthropod.asp (click on first publication), at UH-CTAHR’s Extension Office in Hilo or by calling 981-5199.

      One product mentioned is Tango. Information about how to use it is available at littlefireants.com.

Ka`u High's cross county team plans to participate in and volunteer at `Ohana Day
and the Ka`u Coffee Trail Run, which crosses scenic pastures.
Photo from `O Ka`u Kakou

      “Check, treat, recheck, repeat,” is UH’s advice. It may take several reapplications of bait over a six- to 12-month period to kill an LFA colony. Recheck with peanut butter regularly and treat with insecticidal bait when necessary. It is critical that infested plants, building materials, trash, etc. be treated on-site and not moved or dumped, which will further spread the ants.
      The Nature Conservancy also offers assistance to Ka`u residents with LFA infestations. Contact John Replogle at 939-7171.

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KA`U HIGH’S CROSS-COUNTRY ATHLETES are doing great, reports Head Coach Erin Cole. At Hawai`i Preparatory Academy on Aug. 30, the fastest Ka`u boy was Chadwick Pajimola with a time of 27:25.66, and the fastest Ka`u girl was Chloe Gan with a time of 29:36.55. The race is three miles long, “and HPA has a grueling hill the athletes have to run up twice,” Cole said. “All team members came in strong, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s times improve over the season, as the team is training hard.”
      Team members will be volunteering and/or running in the Ka`u Coffee Trail Run on Saturday, Sept. 20 instead of running in the meet at Waiakea. The team did not participate in the race at Kamehameha on Sept. 6 due to a schedule conflict.
      Another meet at HPA is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27.

KA`OHU MONFORT SHARES HER KNOWLEDGE and love of the island’s native plants and their medicinal uses during a la`au lapa`au demonstration tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center lanai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

THE NEXT MEETING OF THE KA`U SCENIC BYWAY Task Force will be Thursday at 5 p.m. at Na`alehu Methodist Church. The task force is about to finish design on the Na`alehu Park kiosk, and this is the last chance for input. The public is invited.
      For more information, email richmorrow@alohabroadband.net.

LIGHT REFRESHMENTS FOR CURRENT and new members will be served at Friends of Ka`u Libraries’ member meeting Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House.
      Call Doris Davis at 928- 0919 or Ann Fontes at 987-7448 for more information.

HAWAI`I FARMERS UNION UNITED’S KA`U CHAPTER holds its next potluck meeting at Na`alehu Community Center on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 5 p.m. Farmers can drop off homegrown items and pick up something that neighbors are growing at the swap table.
      HFUU state President Vincent Mina will talk about his recent trip to Washington for the National Farmer’s Union Fly-In event.
      Voter registration forms will be available. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 6 for the Nov. 4 general election.
      For more information, email Malian Lahey at malian@kauspecialtycoffee.com.

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

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, Sept. 8, 2014

Members of Halau Hula O Leionalani, of Pahala, under Kumu Hula Debbir Ryder, traveled to Hilo over the
weekend to participate in the Queen Lili`uokalani Birthday celebration where halau joined to together at the
queen's park to honor her life amd the dance tradition. Photo by Demetrius Oliviera

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO IS URGING ELIGIBLE small, nonfarm businesses in Hawai`i County that suffered economic damage due to Tropical Storm Iselle to apply for federal emergency loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. This SBA support follows the announcement from U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides access to emergency loans for affected area farmers.

      “Tropical Storm Iselle caused extensive damage to Hawai`i Island companies. Numerous small businesses, not just farmers, are in the rebuilding process. Affected nonfarm business owners now have available low-interest, emergency loans from the SBA,” Hirono said. “The announcements by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Small Business Administration give businesses in Hawai`i County access to financial resources that will help them recover.”
      SBA is required by law to make low-interest Economic Injury Disaster Loans available once the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture designates an affected area an agricultural disaster. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack issued such a declaration for Hawai`i County last week.
      According to the SBA, small, nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private, nonprofit organizations of any size may qualify for EIDLs of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred.
      Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

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KA`U VOTERS CAN CHOOSE AMONG SIX candidates, all from Honolulu, to fill three at-large Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee seats in the upcoming, general election. The candidates answered questions asked in OHA’s newspaper, Ka Wai Ola. One question was, “How will your skills and experiences enhance the policy-making role of the OHA Board of Trustees?”

Lei Ahu Isa Photos
from Ka Wai Ola

LEI AHU ISA answered, “My experiences range from being raised in public housing, living with my Hawaiian grandparents who spoke only Hawaiian, prayed in Hawaiian, but forbade their mo`opuna to speak the language. I was only allowed to speak the Queen’s English! It was forbidden to speak Hawaiian in school. That’s why I value education! Being a Professor at Hawai`i Pacific University gave me the opportunity to work with students from all over the world. I studied very hard to obtain my Ph.D. while raising my two children at Kamehameha Schools as a single parent. I was responsible for the bill which first funded our Hawaiian Immersion Schools. I also served eight years on the state Board of Education as the Vice Chair and got to visit our 285 public schools, helped set up Charter Schools and even privileged to visit Ni`ihau graduation. I bring all of this to OHA and intend to add Value for all of you.”

Rowena Akana

ROWENA AKANA has been an OHA trustee since 1990. “The institutional knowledge I bring to OHA as the longest-serving Trustee allows me to provide the board with much needed context regarding the many issues that we continue to face,” Akana said. “My decades of experience working with OHA’s many investment managers allows me to serve as a steadfast and knowledgeable steward of OHA’s Trust assets. When I was first elected in 1990, OHA was struggling just to exist. OHA had very little money in the Native Hawaiian Trust Fund, no land assets, OHA Trustees received no salaries and OHA was in the midst of contentious negotiations with the state on receiving its fair share of ceded land revenues. After OHA finally received its first settlement of $129 million, we prudently invested it in the stock market and by the year 2000, OHA’s Trust Fund had grown to $400 million.”

Keli`i Akina

KELI`I AKINA said, “A Trustee must be a statesman who can make wise, ethical decisions for the good of the public being served. I have three decades of experience as a trustee and director of local, regional and national boards in which I have helped guide the nonprofit humanitarian work of thousands of employees across the United States and several foreign countries. What has enhanced my work is the ability to understand relationships between different cultures, something which is essential for OHA to chart the course for Hawaiians. My cultural understanding comes from a Hawaiian background that includes training by Nona Beamer as chanter for her hula halau, education at Kamehameha Schools and University of Hawai`i, and several years living and working on the Wai`anae Coast ministering to Hawaiian youth. My Western education includes college at Northwestern University and advanced academic degrees, including the Ph.D. in Philosophy with an emphasis on both Western and non-Western ethics. I will bring to the OHA Board my combined experiences in board decision-making and my careers as a ministry leader, a college educator and now head of a public policy think tank that focuses on improving Hawai`i’s economy, government and society.”

Harvey McInerny

HARVEY MCINERNY responded, “I have served Lunalilo Trust as a Trustee for the last six years. In 2008 Lunalilo Trust only had a few policies to govern the organization. With a team effort, my fellow Trustees and our executive team have added numerous policies that have guided us in our efforts to turn a struggling, challenged and isolated organization into a Home for kupuna that is vibrant, at full capacity and operating in the black. We have dramatically increased the subsidies that we provide to the kupuna, grown the investment portfolio by almost 65 percent and collaborated with, and benefited from, partnerships within our community that have been initiated and strengthened over the past six years. These experiences, and my expertise in the financial field and capital markets, have prepared me well to take on this kuleana at OHA.”

Mililani Trask

MILILANI TRASK said, “OHA needs an attorney on its board acting as a Trustee. The Trustees often do not understand what their fiduciary obligations are or what they are required to do as Trustees. 

      “One example of this is the recent legal case brought by Trustee Rowena Akana against the Board of Trustees for conducting public business in ‘Executive Session.’ This questionable practice is often used at OHA to facilitate private discussions, avoid beneficiary and public disclosure of information and avoid transparency. In reality, the OHA Trustees have a fiduciary duty to keep beneficiaries informed and to provide regular accounting to beneficiaries. Hawai`i law allows for Executive Session discussions only in limited instances.
      “In some cases the BOT have been manipulated or misled by advice of their In-House Counsel, who are supposed to advise the BOT but often act to support the Chair of the OHA Committees or Board. This has also been used by Trustees, in the past, to avoid liability because ‘we were just following our attorney’s advice.’
      “My legal skills and experience will be of great use at OHA and hopefully will prevent problems like the Kaka`ako Settlement fiasco from recurring and negate the necessity of future Trustee litigation against the BOT.”

John Waihe`e

JOHN WAIHE`E has been an OHA Trustee since 2000. “I believe that the experience and contacts I’ve built up as an OHA Trustee for the past 13 years have put me in a position to effectively advocate on behalf of our beneficiaries,” Waihe`e said. “My learned knowledge of how OHA works and fits into the bigger community has allowed me to prudently manage the Native Hawaiian Trust Fund and successfully protect our beneficiaries’ equitable proprietary interest in it, while fulfilling my mandate to them. 

      “Most recently I’ve had the honor of chairing OHA’s Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment. Through this experience I have been able to cultivate important relationships in Hawai`i and abroad and personally advocate on behalf of our beneficiaries. More importantly, I’ve gotten to work closely with OHA’s own advocacy staff members and learn how the Board of Trustees can best empower them to advocate effectively. I believe that these relationships have helped lead to some of OHA’s most successful Legislative sessions ever in terms of bills passed.
      “Finally, I realize that I am a Trustee and not a supreme authority over a polity. My duties, first and foremost, are to defend the Native Hawaiian Trust Fund and be loyal to, and administer in the best interest of, our beneficiaries.”
      See oha.org.

MEMBERS OF HALAU HULA O LEIONALANI, of Pahala, traveled to Hilo over the weekend to participate in the Queen Lili`uokalani celebration where halau joined to together to honor the queen and the dance tradition.

KA`U ECO-ARTIST DON ELWING TOOK FIRST PLACE in Hawai`i Museum of Contemporary Art’s 25th Trash Art show with his sculpture entitled Kamilo Men in Black. Elwing made the sculpture from plastic marine debris gathered at south Big Island beaches.

Ka`u eco-artist Don Elwing with his Kamilo Men in Black.
Photo from the artist

      The exhibit continues through Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 141 Kalakaua Street in Hilo. Hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

THE NEXT MEETING OF THE KA`U SCENIC BYWAY Task Force will be this Thursday, instead of today, at 5 p.m. at Na`alehu Methodist Church. The task force is about to finish design on the Na`alehu Park kiosk, and this is the last chance for input. The public is invited.

      For more information, email richmorrow@alohabroadband.net.

A KA`U PLANTATION DAYS PLANNING MEETING takes place today at 6:30 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. Residents continue planning for the Saturday, Oct. 11 event.
      For more information, call Darlyne Vierra at 640-8740.

KA`OHU MONFORT SHARES HER KNOWLEDGE and love of the island’s native plants and their medicinal uses during a la`au lapa`au demonstration, Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center lanai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

FRIENDS OF KA`U LIBRARIES HOLD a member meeting Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House with light refreshments for current and new members. Call Doris Davis at 928- 0919 or Ann Fontes at 987-7448 for more information.

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

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.