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

ILWU pensioners, including retirees and former workers at the sugar plantation, fill Pahala Community Center for their annual
 Christmas party. Photo by Emie Peralta

THREE HAWAI`I ISLAND PLANTS ARE INCLUDED in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Candidate Notice of Review, a yearly status appraisal of plants and animals that are candidates for Endangered Species Act protection. Exocarpos menziesii, Sanicula sandwicensis and Phyllostegia stachyoides are three of 22 species from the state of Hawai`i added to the list, which now has 146 species recognized by the Service as candidates for ESA protection. The 22 species include 18 Hawaiian flowering plants and four ferns found on one or more of the Hawaiian Islands. All are being negatively affected by nonnative animals and plants.

Sanicula sandwicensis is one of three Hawai`i Island
plants being considered as an endangered species.

      The Service is now soliciting additional information on these species and others that may warrant ESA protection to assist in preparing listing documents and future revisions or supplements to the Candidate Notice of Review.
      Candidate species are plants and animals for which the Service has enough information on their status and the threats they face to propose as threatened or endangered, but for which a proposed listing rule is precluded by other, higher priority listing actions. The annual review and identification of candidate species helps landowners and natural resource managers understand which species need most to be conserved, allowing them to address threats and work to preclude ESA listing.
      Although candidate species do not receive ESA protection, the Service works to conserve them and their habitats using several tools: a grants program funds conservation projects by private landowners, states and territories; and two voluntary programs ­– Candidate Conservation Agreements and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances ­– engage participants to implement specific actions that remove or reduce the threats to candidate species, which helps stabilize or restore the species and can preclude ESA listing.
      All candidate species are assigned a listing priority number based on the magnitude and imminence of threats they face. When adding species to the list of threatened or endangered species, the Service addresses species with the highest listing priority first.
      More information can be found online at fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/cnor.html.

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Kupono Palakiko-Leffew, at left, joined other Hawai`i seniors
Patrick Keamoai-Strickland and Preston Dudoit for the Life
Champion Senior Bowl. Photo from Ka`u Trojans

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL’S VERY OWN Kupono Palakiko-Leffew represented the Trojans to play in the inaugural Life Champion Senior Bowl, which was held at Kamehameha’s Paiea Stadium Saturday. 

      The Big Island Interscholastic Federation and state Department of Education played no part in this event. Instead, it was brought together by Hawai`i Football Club president Keala Pule with a goal to land scholarships for seniors across the islands.
      The senior bowl, the state’s only showcase for seniors, was watched by over 200 colleges across the country through scoringlive.com and welcomed by about 1,500 fans across the state.
      The event brought 86 seniors to play from across the state’s five leagues and even a player from Guam. Coaches split the players into two teams. The players of each team were given freedom to choose a name together. Through this, the teams were known as Aztec Coqui Frog Bags and Shmoney Squad.
      Palakiko-Leffew gained yardage in the first quarter alongside quarterback Jordan Taamu. The teams were pretty much tied for the duration. By the end of the fourth quarter, with the score 28-28, a sudden-death overtime decided the final score. Within the first play of overtime, the Aztec Coqui’s Keanan Luis scored the final touchdown, settling the game at 35-28.
As described by one of the players, “The experience was great, and even though we’d only known each other for a few days, we all became a family.” The players were together since Wednesday, staying in the same building, practicing together and getting to know each other. (Story by The Ka`u Calendar newspaper intern Kaweni Ibarra.)

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Jim Robo

THE CHAIR AND CEO OF THE COMPANY that is buying Hawaiian Electric Industries for $4.3 billion prefers large solar installations to rooftop solar, reported Duane Shimogawa in Pacific Business News.

      Jim Robo, of NextEra Energy, said large, utility-scale solar projects are cheaper and more cost-effective than rooftop solar. “This is a scale business, and scale matters, which leads to lower cost,” he said. “Energy costs are very expensive here. It’s important to not be dogmatic about one or the other. What’s in the best interest for customers? That’s what we need to figure out.” 

      Marco Mangelsdorf, president of Hilo-based ProVision Solar, told PBN that “NextEra would be buying HEI with the idea of making money, not doing the ‘right thing’ to make this state some kind of renewable energy paradise.”
      Robo said modernizing the grid is another way to lower costs. He said using smart meters is part of NextEra’s plan, similar to what its subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Co., has done.
      Another subsidiary, NextEra Energy Resources, has a track record in developing wind, solar and natural gas projects.

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ILWU pensioners from left: Treasurer Warren Toriano, Advisor Margaret Cabudol, President Clyde Silva, Secretary Emie Peralta, Advisor Pauline Enriques, First Vice President Franco Longakit, Second Vice President Augusto Ballo and Advisor Raymond Kamei.

ILWU PENSIONERS OF PAHALA held their 2014 Christmas Party yesterday at Pahala Community Center. The organization is made up largely of retired and former sugar plantation workers. Officers are President Clyde Silva, First Vice President Franco Longakit, Second Vice President Augusto Ballo, Secretary Emie Peralta and Treasurer Warren Toriano. Advisors are Margaret Cabudol, Pauline Enriques and Raymond Kamei.

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ON FRIDAY, HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND COMPLETED its 2014 marine debris season loading net and line into a container for shipment to Honolulu. The team loaded about 4.5 tons of net into a 40-foot container provided by Matson Navigation’s Ka Ipu `Aina program. Megan Lamson, Marine Debris Project Coordinator for HWF, said most of the net and line was recovered from the southeast Ka`u coast. The container will be shipped to O`ahu, where Schnitzer Steel will chop it into pieces, and then it will be burned at the Covanta H-Power plant. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program arranged this Nets-to-Energy partnership to keep material out of the landfill and create electricity with it. Since 2005, HWF’s tally for these net and line shipments is about 75 tons.

Hawai`i Wildlife Fund loaded 4.5 tons of derelict fishing net found this year
along the Ka`u Coast onto a container for shipment to an O`ahu
waste-to-energy plant. Photo from HWF

      Lamson said, “This container shipment is only a fraction of the total debris we’ve collected from the Hawai`i Island shoreline. This year, winds and currents brought in different proportions of marine debris – less net and line and a higher percentage of other floating debris, including fish traps, buoys, crates, tires, boat pieces and an extensive list of normal household items.”
      While HWF works with other groups on the island gathering debris from multiple sites, their main focus is on the Ka`u Coast, where more debris washes ashore than any other place in the main Hawaiian Islands. The organization began this work in 2003 and in recent years has been removing an annual average of 15-20 tons for a total to date of about 173 tons.
      HWF’s marine debris cleanup work is supported with a grant from NOAA. “We have other local partners that also help with in-kind donations and funding, and we have a large group of volunteers that are critical to the overall effort,” Lamson said. “The container loading, for example, would not be possible without the tractor assistance provided by JD Services, LLC.”
      The next large cleanup event in Ka`u will be held Saturday, Feb. 7. To volunteer or for more information on HWF’s other activities, see wildhawaii.org or contact kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com or 769-7629.

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Dick Hershberger portrays Thomas Jaggar tomorrow and every other Tuesday.
Photo by Ron Johnson

DARREN GOODMAN GLASS EXHIBIT opens today and continues through Saturday, Dec. 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply. 

KA`U FARM BUREAU PRESIDENT RALPH GASTON invites members and prospective members to its meeting today at 6 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation is a nonprofit organization of farming families united for the purpose of analyzing problems and formulating action to ensure the future of agriculture thereby promoting the well-being of farming and the state’s economy.

KA`U RESIDENT DICK HERSHBERGER brings Hawaiian Volcano Observatory founder Thomas Jaggar to life tomorrow and every other Tuesday during A Walk into the Past. Participants meet at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center and walk to Jaggar’s underground workshop new Volcano House in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

A HAWAIIAN `UKULELE DEMONSTRATION takes place Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center lanai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Oral Abihai shares his passion for making `ukulele from discarded or naturally fallen pieces of wood. Free; park entrance fees apply.

HANA HOU RESTAURANT’S KEIKI Christmas party is Wednesday at 5 p.m. in Na`alehu. The event features gifts for keiki, food for everyone and a visit from Santa. 

HAWAI`I STATE LEGISLATURE’S Public Access Room presents a workshop about the legislative process Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Entitled We the Powerful, the workshop covers how the public can participate in the Legislature. The workshop will consider several questions: Do you want a say in which state laws get passed, or don’t? Do you want to make a difference? Would you like to find information and track activity on the Legislature’s website? Do you want to be part of finding solutions?

      Suzanne Marinelli, coordinator at PAR, leads the presentation. PAR is a division of the non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau.
      For more information, call 974-4000 ext. 7-0478 or email par@capitol.hawaii.gov.

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

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Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, Dec. 7, 2014

Individuals can still sign up to participate in Pahala Christmas Parade a week from today on Sunday, Dec. 14. Pahala Preschool rode in the parade last year. Photo by Julia Neal

CONGRESSWOMAN TULSI GABBARD HAS JOINED a group of bipartisan colleagues to call attention to significant policy provisions that were inserted into the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 without a vote or serious debate. The annual defense bill includes a two-year extension of the authority to equip and train so-called moderate Syrian rebels.


Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

      “It is absolutely unacceptable to include an open-ended policy of arming and training so-called ‘moderate’ Syrian rebels in the NDAA without any serious public debate or a standalone vote,” said Gabbard, a twice-deployed veteran who has repeatedly criticized the strategy to arm Syrian rebels. “Giving weapons and training to these rebels whose stated purpose is to overthrow President Assad will have lengthy and costly consequences because it continues the broken policy of overthrowing regimes and nation-building that has cost so many precious lives and our nation’s treasure, drawing us into another country’s civil war. I voted against this provision on Sept. 17, when the Administration promised Congress would be able to reassess this strategy in December 2014. To the contrary, Congress has had no opportunity to discuss, debate, or vote on this standalone question. There is no reason to bury this issue in a major must-pass annual defense bill that includes critical provisions for our military’s readiness and our troops’ well-being. We must have a standalone vote so the American people’s voice can be heard.

      “Congress cannot continue to offer tacit support for a strategy that does not support achieving our mission of destroying ISIL and the Islamic extremists who seek to harm us. By continuing to funnel weapons to rebels in Syria, whose vetting and loyalties are questionable and untested, we face the likely outcome of our weapons falling into the hands of our enemies yet again, to be used against Americans and innocent civilians.”
      Gabbard joined a bipartisan letter led to Speaker John Boehner reiterating these concerns about the Syria train-and-equip provisions inserted into the NDAA agreement.

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Sen. Mazie Hirono

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES’ merger with NextEra Energy is receiving widespread reaction. In its announced last week, HEI said NextEra is supportive of its plans “to enhance Hawai`i’s energy future by lowering electric bills, giving customers more service options and nearly tripling the amount of distributed solar, while achieving among the nation’s highest levels of renewable energy by 2030.” 

      HEI called NextEra “one of the nation’s largest and most well-respected electric utilities” and “North America’s largest producer of renewable energy from the wind and sun.”
      The announcement is “profound and historic for Hawai`i,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono. “Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. is well established in this community, and the decision to combine with NextEra Energy, Inc. … deserves careful scrutiny on behalf of Hawai`i consumers and residents. I look forward to meeting with HEI and NextEra leaders to hear how Hawai`i can lead in clean energy and protect the interests of the customer.”
      Richard Ha, owner of Hamakua Springs Country Farms and a proponent of geothermal energy, said the merger “will be very good for Hawai`i,” on his blog at hahaha.hamakuasprings.com.
      “NextEra has the balance sheet and other resources to support significant investment in Hawai`i’s transmission and distribution system to enable much higher levels of renewable energy sources,” Ha said. “Most of all, this change in ownership of our electrical utility will finally make much needed new and different approaches possible. What we all want is a lower cost of electricity.
      “We are unique on the Big Island. Beside solar, wind and biofuels, we have proven geothermal. Once it’s developed, geothermal wants to run 100 percent of the time, and the more it runs, the cheaper it is to the ratepayers.

Richard Ha

      “What if we guaranteed the geothermal developer, say, 25 megawatts, and put no restriction on generating electricity for hydrogen manufacturing over and above the 25 megawatts. If, for instance, the geothermal company installed a 30-megawatt generator, they could sell 25 megawatts to the utility and sell the excess five megawatts cheap to make hydrogen. That would solve our liquid transportation problem, via hydrogen fuel cells, and we could make nitrogen fertilizer so as not to be dependent on petroleum byproducts. That’s only one example of what we could do with new thinking.
      “This sale is an unexpected but very interesting turn of events. We welcome NextEra.”
      Henry Curtis, director of Life of the Land, which promotes sound energy and land use, expresses skepticism. On his blog at ililanimedia.blogspot.com, he says NextEra’s subsidiary, Florida Power and Light, “is not a renewable, energy-efficiency paradise.”
      Curtis cites FPL’s Ten-Year Power Plant Site Plan 2014-2023, which shows 0.139 percent of its power being generated by solar in 2013, with that increasing to 0.145 percent by 2023.
      He also cites an article in the current issue of Sierra Club Magazine claiming that FPL “recently petitioned its state’s public service commission to reduce its efficiency goal to two one-thousandths of one percent.” 

Henry Curtis

      While FPL’s 10-year plan includes “a number of conservation/energy efficiency and load management initiatives,” David Guest, managing attorney for Florida’s Earthjustice office, said in the Tampa Tribune that “this summer, FPL abruptly yanked its rebate program that offered $1,000 back to customers who installed solar water heaters.”
      Guest said the energy-efficiency programs that the utilities do offer “unfairly apply to high-end homeowners. The majority of low-income people, who are most in need of a break on their monthly power bills, don’t get affordable incentives to make their homes more energy efficient.”
      According to Curtis, Robert Harris, Hawai`i representative of The Alliance for Solar Choic, said, “NextEra is very supportive of renewable energy that they own, they control and they can sell.”

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HAWAIIAN VALUES, CULTURE, TALENT AND FOOD are celebrated today at the annual Makahiki held at Punalu`u Beach Park with everyone invited. Local bands volunteer, and free food is served up both days, with many people camping out.

DARREN GOODMAN GLASS EXHIBIT opens tomorrow and continues through Saturday, Dec. 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

KA`U FARM BUREAU PRESIDENT RALPH GASTON invites members and prospective member to it meeting tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation is a nonprofit organization of farming families united for the purpose of analyzing problems and formulating action to ensure the future of agriculture thereby promoting the well-being of farming and the state’s economy. 

      On its website at hfbf.org, the organization states, “Our guiding policies originate at the grassroots County Farm Bureau level with the ideas, opinions and contributions of our concerned membership. We encourage the participation of every member and try to have open communication with them through our annual convention, county meetings and our monthly newsletter. Policies are adopted after discussion at our county and state meetings.”

Santa returns to Hana Hou for the annual Keiki Christmas
Party Wednesday. Photo by Julia Neal

HANA HOU RESTAURANT’S KEIKI CHRISTMAS party is coming up Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. in Na`alehu. The event features gifts for keiki, food for everyone and a visit from Santa. 

PAHALA CHRISTMAS PARADE IS A WEEK from today on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 1 p.m. Floats, walking groups, tractors and classic cars, choirs, public officials, schools and more wind their way through Pahala from the armory to the hospital and to Holy Rosary Church for refreshments. Everyone is welcome. To sign up, call 928-0808.

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS OFFERS a free Christmas Concert after Pahala Christmas Parade. The concert begins at 3 p.m. Sunday Dec. 14 at Pahala Plantation House, featuring Ka`u `Ohana Band, Halau Hula O Ka `Imina Na`auao Kahiko and a sing-along with Ka`u Community Chorus. Potluck refreshments are welcome.

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 Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014

Ka`u residents can participate in Palm Trail Hike at Kahuku tomorrow morning. The guided hike crosses the 1868 lava flow and provides one of the most panoramic views Kahuku has to offer. Photo from NPS

SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ HAS CO-AUTHORED a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to immediately submit a proposed Authorization for the Use of Military Force for Congressional consideration regarding military actions against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Sen. Brian Schatz

      “While we must take action to combat the threat posed by ISIL, we do not believe that you possess sufficient authority to undertake the current U.S. military campaign against ISIL,” the letter states. “In addition, we are extremely concerned that the current operation lacks measurable goals, benchmarks of success and a clear scope.
      “We were encouraged by your recent statements welcoming a new AUMF for the conflict with ISIL. However, we also believe you have the responsibility to make a case to the American people for war, and a vital step in this process is the submission of a formal AUMF to Congress. This action allows Congress to properly evaluate a President’s vision and strategy for combat operations and fosters the critical debate that the American public deserves. You last submitted a draft AUMF in 2013 when you sought authority to launch airstrikes in connection with the conflict in Syria, which provoked an important debate in Congress and gave the American people the opportunity to voice their concerns.
      “Additionally, taking military action without an AUMF tailored to ISIL puts the United States at risk of repeating the mistakes of the past and becoming bogged down in an open-ended conflict… .
      “ISIL is a group of barbaric terrorists, and their extreme tactics, like the abhorrent and tragic beheadings of innocent Americans, display a shocking brutality that must be confronted. That is why we do support you using American leadership to help build an international coalition that both provides military assistance to confront this terrorist threat and helps build an inclusive and unified Iraqi government that has the capacity to be a strong partner in counterterrorism efforts against this terrorist group. However, U.S. military operations must be authorized by Congress. We are hopeful that we can work together to uphold our responsibility to the American people and have a more serious debate about America's military operations against ISIL.”
      The full letter is available at http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/senators-baldwin-schatz-call-for-isil-aumf.

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Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

REP. TULSI GABBARD PRAISED unanimous passage of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Reauthorization Act of 2014 (H.R. 4329). The bill seeks to empower Native communities by assisting low-income families with affordable housing. 

      “Over 1,400 low-income families in Hawai`i have benefited from these services and, in many cases, homeownership would not have been possible given the $640,000 median price of a single-family home on the island of O`ahu,” Gabbard said in a speech to the House of Representatives.
      “Nationwide, passage of this legislation also would represent an important step toward removing roadblocks to economic success in Native communities, and would reaffirm the House’s long-standing commitment to tribal sovereignty and self-determination.”
      NAHASDA-supported activities include home construction, roads, sewers, street lighting and utilities; direct loans to income-eligible families; subsidies for home rehabilitation; home repair training; financial counseling; and support for nonprofits who provide self-help home construction.
      The Department of Hawaiian Homelands uses the NAHASDA funds to manage a trust established by Congress to support Native Hawaiians through homesteading.

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KILAUEA IS A MOODY VOLCANO, report Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists is the current issue of Volcano Watch. The issue describes the effusive and explosive nature of Kilauea. “One mood is violent and explosive, the other relentless and effusive — almost a dual personality,” the article states. “The explosive mood caused the fatalities in 1790, and the effusive mood produced lava flows that disrupted society in the 15th, 19th, 20th and now the 21st centuries.

Kilauea Caldera, currently about 400 feet deep,
has been at least 2,000 feet deep in the past.
Photo by Peter Anderson

      “How can Kilauea experience such different moods? Its behavior has to do with the presence of a deep depression — a caldera — at the summit. Visitors today peer into the caldera, not realizing its importance in determining whether Kilauea erupts explosively or effusively. They can be excused, because the caldera today is only a shadow of its former self. At a depth of 400 feet, it is only 20 percent or less of its past depth of at least 2,000 feet.
      “At its deepest, the floor of Kilauea Caldera intersects the water table, and groundwater can interact with hot magma and rocks forming the walls of the magma conduit. Water can’t get in when the conduit is filled with magma. But when the conduit has emptied for some reason, water can flow into it, flash to steam, build pressure if the conduit becomes temporarily plugged by wall collapse, and finally explode. Explosions can also occur if magma erupts through a lake on the floor of the caldera. 

      “In Kilauea’s past 2,500 years, such a deep caldera has apparently existed about 60 percent of the time, leading to two long periods of sporadic violent explosions. One lasted 1,200 years, ending in about 1000 CE; the other lasted 300 years between 1500 and 1800 CE. Tragedies such as that in 1790 can occur during these periods.
      “Studies show that a deep caldera forms and persists when the magma supply rate to the volcano drops to only a few percent of its value during times of effusive activity. Frequent explosions are the ultimate result. Eventually magma supply picks up, the caldera fills, and effusive eruptions dominate, as they have for 40 percent of the past 2,500 years, most recently for the past 200 years.
      “Both of Kilauea’s moods have good and bad sides. In the explosive mood, the explosions take place in the caldera and can threaten life within a radius of several kilometers. The hazard is severe but local to the summit. However, falling ash can be disagreeable many kilometers away, and airborne ash from future large explosive eruptions will threaten air traffic. Such explosive periods last decades to centuries and could create economic hardship around the summit and beyond. On the other hand, ash falls contribute to soil fertility. Former settlements on Kilauea’s barren south coast were made possible by pockets of fertile ash.
      “In the effusive mood, the eruptions take place in the summit region and along the two rift zones. Potentially, lava flows can destroy or damage communities anywhere on the volcano. With few exceptions (for example, methane explosions and lava-delta collapses), the flows are not life-threatening but can be life-changing. Kilauea is in an effusive mood now, and people know that it can be unpleasant.
      “Active volcanoes are inherently unstable, uncertain places to live. Whether in an explosive or effusive mood, Kilauea will always present hazards to the populace. We should be realistic, but not fatalistic, about the situation. We can’t command Kilauea, but we can control our actions in the face of its hazards.”

      The full article and daily updates on Kilauea’s activity are available at hvo.wr.usgs.gov.

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The Goddess Festival at Tiki Mama continues until 5 p.m. today.
Photo from hovefun.com

THE ANNUAL MAKAHIKI that celebrates Hawaiian values, culture, talent and food continues today and tomorrow at Punalu`u Beach Park with everyone invited. Local bands volunteer, and free food is served up both days, with many people camping out. 

TIKI MAMA AND FRIENDS present the first annual Goddess Festival, a family fun event today until 5 p.m. The event features art, music, food, dance, vendors and craft activities for children. Entrance fee is a can of food for the food bank. Call 939-9817 for more information.

VOLCANO ART CENTER PRESENTS a visual sound movement performance and art collaboration today at 6:30 p.m. at its Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Dance performers are Shizuno Nasu, Jenn Eng and Rieko Inoue. Sound and music is by Joe Okuda. Art includes painting by Susumu Sakaguchi and sculpture by Stephen Freedman.
      Tickets are $12 for VAC members and $15 for non-members. Call 967-8222.

VOLCANO FESTIVAL CHORUS OFFERS its annual gift to the community today at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. KDEN presents old favorites and modern arrangements. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Volcano Art Center presents an exhibit of glass by Darren Goodman
beginning Monday. Photo from VAC

PALM TRAIL HIKE AT KAHUKU UNIT of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This moderately difficult 2.6-mile loop trail provides one of the best panoramic views Kahuku has to offer. 985-6011 or nps.gov/havo 

DARREN GOODMAN GLASS EXHIBIT opens Monday and continues through Saturday, Dec. 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

KA`U FARM BUREAU MEETS MONDAY at 6 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.

HANA HOU RESTAURANT’S KEIKI CHRISTMAS party is coming up Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. in Na`alehu. The event features gifts for keiki, food for everyone and a visit from Santa.

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

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.