Ka`u News Briefs Friday, Dec. 19, 2014

A decorated Hello Kitty cabin at Kilauea Military Camp sports a bow and blue whiskers, hoping that spectators vote for her
during KMC's Holiday Challenge. Photo by Dave Berry

MAILE MEDEIROS DAVID, KA`U’S NEW member on Hawa`i County Council, followed her predecessor Brenda Ford in voting in favor of a ban on electronic smoking devices this week. Bill 302 prohibits use of the devices in all enclosed and partially enclosed places within the county where use of tobacco products are currently prohibited and also prohibits use of the devices at all county parks and recreational facilities.

      The bill passed its first reading prior to newly elected council members taking office. At that time, the bill passed six to two. On its second reading, the vote was five to four in favor.

     According to a story in the Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, a recent state Department of Health survey found that triple the number of high school students used e-cigarettes at least once from 2011 to 2013, and use quadrupled among middle school students during the same period.
      Opponents of the ban say there is no evidence that e-cigarettes are harmful and that people use them to help quit smoking.

Maile Medeiros David

      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HAWAI`I COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSIONS have given favorable recommendations to changing the approval process for Planned Unit Developments. Following approval with reservations by the Windward Commission on Dec. 4, the Leeward Commission gave approval yesterday. The issue now goes to the County Council.
      Currently, only the Planning director has to approve PUDs, and public notice follows the decisions. Decisions can be overturned by the Board of Appeals and the Third Circuit Court.
      Bill 281 calls for the Planning Commission that holds jurisdiction over the area where properties for which applications are sought to be responsible for review and approval of the application. Public notices and hearings would be required.
      Lands where the famous Moa`ula and Pear Tree Ka`u Coffee farms are located were set up for subdivision as a PUD several years ago, the decision made by the former county Planning director without public hearing or consideration by the Planning Commissions or County Council. The subdivision has not been carried out, but the potential is part of the marketing of the land, which has been put up for sale by Lehman Brothers Holdings, which foreclosed on former developers there. The coffee farmers, who have developed the Ka`u Coffee industry there for nearly two decades, no longer have leases and could lose their farms if the land is subdivided and sold off. The proposed PUD at Moa`ula and Pear Tree calls for many lots smaller than 20 acres for which the property is zoned, leaving the gulches and mountainsides and some other non-coffee land in bigger parcels.
      Chris Manfredi, former manager of owner WWK Holding’s Ka`u lands, recently told The Ka`u Calendar that the company’s subdivision goal “was to create family farms. All exiting tenants were to be offered 50-year terms and purchase options.” He also said, “No one in Ka`u has ever proposed such favorable terms.”
      While the original intent of PUDs was to make for better planning by avoiding simple cookie cutter developments, PUDs are sometimes used by developers to obtain smaller, more desirable lots for estates and houses.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Two fingers of lava are threatening Pahoa Marketplace, as shown by arrows
in regular and thermal photos. Photos from USGS/HVO

MERCHANTS AT PAHOA MARKETPLACE who are closing their businesses in advance of lava that is threatening the area plan to reopen as soon as possible, county Civil Defense Chief Darryl Oliveira told the public at yesterday’s community update meeting. 

      Two fingers of lava are now possible threats to the shopping center, with the closest one .6 miles away as of 9 a.m. this morning. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported that one of the flow fronts is stalled, but the other is still active and could reach the center in five to nine days, depending on the flow rate.
      Gov. David Ige, who visited Pahoa yesterday, said it helps to see the flow with his own eyes. “It does give you a very different perspective to be on the ground and view it from the air and talk to people and actually see the flow itself,” Tom Callis, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, reported Ige saying.
      Ige said the state is prepared to continue working with the county on road access and other issues in the long term. “This is not something that’s going to disappear,” he said.

      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Marco Mangelsdorf

HAWAI`I ISLAND’S ROOFTOP PHOTOVOLTAIC industry may be in a state of terminal decline, according to Marco Mangelsdorf, owner of ProVision Solar in Hilo. Richard Ha, owner of Hamakua Springs Country Farms and a proponent of geothermal energy for grid-delivered electricity, reports Mangelsdorf’s findings on his blog at hahaha.hamakuasprings.com. Ha says Mangelsdorf is one of the most credible commentators he knows in the energy industry. 

      “It’s hard to see factors that would lead to a sustainable upswing (in the PV industry) at least in the next several years,” Mangelsdorf says. “With the federal tax credit scheduled to disappear for residential PV as of Jan. 1, 2017 and go down from 30 percent to 10 percent for commercial PV, grid-penetration issues and NextEra’s (the company that is buying Hawaiian Electric Co.’s) apparent preference for utility-scale PV over distributed generation, the skies seem unlikely to brighten in the near-term for the local PV industry. And forget any immediate relief coming from some magic bullet in the form of energy storage. Ain’t gonna happen no matter how much some commentators predict it along with a mass exodus from the grid. Said pundits have likely never spent any time, let along months or years, living off the grid and the considerable energy, time, resources and conscientiousness that off grid living entails.”
      According to Mangelsdorf, PV permits between January and November of this year dropped 51 percent from the same period last year.
      “The number one PV permit puller on the island, Vivint Solar, has seen their numbers take a substantial dive in October and November,” Mangelsdorf said. Their monthly average between January and September of this year was 92 PV permits. In October, they obtained nine permits and pulled 15 last month.

Hawai`i Fire Department has announced sale dates for fireworks permits.
Photo by Kris Brakken

HAWAI`I FIRE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES that fireworks permits will be available for purchase beginning Friday, Dec. 26 and ending at midnight on New Year’s Eve at the following locations for the upcoming New Year’s celebration: 

• Fire Administration Office, Hilo County Building, 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2501, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Dec. 26, 29, 30, and 31; and 
• Kona Fire Prevention Office, West Hawai`i Civic Center, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy, Bldg E, second floor, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Dec. 26, 29, 30, and 31. 

      Fireworks permits will also be sold at the following firecracker vending outlets:

• TNT Tent, Waiakea Center Parking Lot, 325 Maka`ala Street, Hilo; 
• TNT Tent, Kona Crossroads Parking Lot, 75-1027 Henry Street, Kailua-Kona; 
• KTA Puainako, 50 E. Puainako Street, Hilo 
• Pacific Fireworks Kona, 75-5629 Kuakini Hwy, Kailua-Kona; 
• KTA Kona, Kona Coast Shopping Center, 74-5594 Palani Rd. Kailua Kona; 
• Long’s Drug Prince Kuhio Plaza, 111 E. Puainako St., Hilo. 

      Each permit costs $25 and will entitle the holder to purchase 5,000 individual firecrackers. Multiple permit purchases are authorized. Permits shall only be issued to persons 18 years of age or older and are non-transferable and non-refundable. Permits are not required for purchasing novelties and paperless firecrackers. Setting off of fireworks are allowed between the hours of 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and 1 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Permits shall be visibly displayed at the site of use during the time of the firing.
      For more information on purchasing fireworks permits or use of fireworks, call the Fire Prevention Bureau at 932-2912 in Hilo or 323-4760 in Kona.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Sammie Fo performed during Ka`u School of the Arts Christmas concert
at Pahala Plantation House. Photo by Julia Neal

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER hosts holiday events today and tomorrow. 

      Ka`u School of the Arts, which presented a concert at Pahala Plantation House Sunday following the Christmas parade through town, offers another free Christmas concert today at 5 p.m. Featured are Ka`u `Ohana Band, Halau Hula O Ka `Imina Na`auao Kahiko, Hannah’s Makana `Ohana, Sammie Fo and a sing-along with Ka`u Community Chorus. Potluck refreshments are welcome.
      Ocean View Community Association’s annual keiki Christmas party is tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event includes gifts, a visit from Santa Claus, food, fun and celebration. Call 939-7033 to volunteer.

PARTICIPANTS BRING LUNCH AND 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 during a free program Sunday at 9:30 a.m. at the Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. 985-6011

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 Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014

Colorful cabins at Kilauea Military Camp continue the Holiday Challenge tradition, where spectators can vote for their favorites.
Photo by Dave Berry

IN TESTIMONY SUPPORTING AN APPEAL of federal judge Barry Kurren’s decision invalidating Hawai`i County’s partial ban on genetically modified crops, east Ka`u’s Sen. Russell Ruderman said, “I urge you to stand up to bullies, to stand up for our right to a democracy that’s free of corporate control.”
      While most of the more than six hours of public testimony favored an appeal, University of Hawai`i scientists in Hilo and Manoa opposed one.

Sen. Russell Ruderman

      David Christopher, of the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, said, “We need to hold Hawai`i state law and the federal Plant Protection Act as primary principles to follow.”
      In his decision last month, Kurren said state law pre-empts county law on the issue and that lawmakers intended the state to have extensive oversight of agricultural issues. “Clearly, the state Legislature intended this network of the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture, the Hawai`i Board of Agriculture and the advisory committee to have extensive and broad responsibilities over agricultural problems spanning the various counties to form a coherent and comprehensive statewide agricultural policy,” he wrote.
      According to a story in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, Paul Achitoff, managing attorney for Earthjustice’s mid-Pacific regional office, said there was no legislative intent to cover GMOs because the state law the judge referred to was written before GMOs came to the state.
      Ka`u’s County Council member Maile Medeiros David was one of five who voted to appeal the judge’s decision.
      Regarding the council’s vote to appeal, Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille, who wrote the bill partially banning GMOs, said, “This is an important decision with far-reaching impact on home rule. It’s not just about GMOs.”
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Photos show activity at flow front heading toward Pahoa Marketplace.
Photos from USGS/HVO

GOV. DAVID IGE IS IN PUNA today to get updates on the June 27 lava flow that is once again threatening Pahoa. His schedule includes a briefing with county Civil Defense Chief Darryl Olivera and a meeting with teachers at Kea`au High School, where students from some closed Pahoa-area schools are now going. Ige will visit the site of the lava flow and also speak with evacuating merchants at Pahoa Marketplace. He will also attend tonight’s weekly community update meeting at Pahoa High School cafeteria.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

WITH LAVA WITHIN ONE MILE of Hwy 130 and Pahoa Village Road, two webcams are in place to show activity as the flow front moves toward Pahoa Marketplace. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff pointed one of the cameras onto the shopping center, and the other is directed upslope. Images from the cameras are available at hvo.wr.usgs.gov.

      Merchants at the shopping center are preparing for lava to reach the area within a few days. Malama Market and ACE Hardware announced that they will close today. According to Big Island Video News, Lex Brodie’s closed yesterday. The service station is removing gas from tanks and filling them with water and foam that is used to fight fires in order to prevent explosions.

      CU Hawai`i Federal Credit Union, which has branches in Na`alehu and Pahala, has closed its Pahoa branch at the marketplace, Marketing Manager Cheryl Weaver announced.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Researchers have discovered how El Nino fuels intense hurricanes. Image from NOAA

FOLLOWING A BUSY HURRICANE SEASON, climate researchers have discovered El Nino’s fueling effect on intense hurricanes. Fei-Fei Jin and Julien Boucharel, at the UH Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, and I-I Lin, at the National Taiwan University, have published a paper in Nature that uncovers what’s behind El Nino’s influence on hurricanes via its remote ability to alter atmospheric conditions such as stability and vertical wind shear rather than the local oceanic environment.
      While El Nino peaks in winter and its surface ocean warming occurs mostly along the equator, Jin and colleagues uncovered an oceanic pathway that brings El Nino’s heat into the Northeastern Pacific basin two or three seasons after its winter peak – right in time to directly fuel intense hurricanes in that region.
      El Nino develops as the equatorial Pacific Ocean builds up a huge amount of heat underneath the surface, and it turns into La Nina when this heat is discharged out of the equatorial region. “This recharge/discharge of heat makes El Nino/La Nina evolve somewhat like a swing,” said Jin, lead author of the study.

      Most climate models predict a slowdown of the tropical atmospheric circulation as the mean global climate warms up. This will result in extra heat stored underneath the Northeastern Pacific and thus greatly increase the probability for this region to experience more frequent intense hurricanes, according to the researchers.
      The authors also point out that their findings may provide a skillful method to anticipate the activeness of the coming hurricane season by monitoring the El Nino conditions two to three seasons ahead of potentially powerful hurricanes that may result.

      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HAWAI`I ISLAND POLICE continue islandwide DUI checkpoints through through January 1. The effort is part of a national and statewide campaign called “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

      Police remind the public that an arrest and conviction of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant are $500 minimum bail for release from jail, $200 for installation of an interlock system plus $92.56 per month, loss of driver’s license, possible cancellation of insurance policy or a premium increase of up to $100 per month, alcohol assessment classes, community service, criminal probation, court fines and possible jail time.
      To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Hula dancers with Hannah's Makana `Ohana performed at Ka`u School of the Arts'
Christmas concert at Pahala Plantation House. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, which presented a concert at Pahala Plantation House Sunday following the Christmas parade through town, offers another free Christmas concert tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center Featured are Ka`u `Ohana Band, Halau Hula O Ka `Imina Na`auao Kahiko, Hannah’s Makana `Ohana, Sammie Fo and a sing-along with Ka`u Community Chorus. Potluck refreshments are welcome.

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER’S annual keiki Christmas party is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event includes gifts, a visit from Santa Claus, food, fun and celebration. Call 939-7033 to volunteer.

PARTICIPANTS BRING LUNCH AND 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 during a free program Sunday at 9:30 a.m. at the Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. 985-6011 

KILAUEA DRAMA & ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK’S presentations of Amahl and the Night Visitors begin a week from tomorrow. Performances are scheduled for Dec. 26, 27 and 28 and Jan. 2, 3 and 4 at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays. 

      Amahl, a disabled boy who can walk only with a crutch, has a problem with telling tall tales, and his mother does not believe him when he tells her there is an amazing star “as big as a window” outside over their roof. His mother gets even angrier when Amahl tells her that a knock at the door is three kings come to visit them. The kings enter and tell them that they have come to find a king. Amahl’s mother sends him to fetch the shepherds to bring food for the kings as there is none in the house. Later that night, when Amahl’s mother tries to steal some of the kings’ gold to use to help her child, she is caught. When the kings offer to let her keep the gold, explaining that the king they seek will need nothing but love to rule his kingdom, she returns it. Amahl offers his staff as an additional gift, and suddenly finds that he can walk. He leaves with the kings to pay homage to the child who has healed him.
     Tickets are $15 general, $12 seniors 60+ and students and $10 for children 12 and under. Presale tickets are available at Kilauea General Store, Kea`au Natural Foods and the Most Irresistible Shop in downtown Hilo. Tickets will also be available at the door.
     For more information or to make reservations, call 982-7344 or email kden73@aol.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 Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014

Kamehame on the Ka'u Coast is a preserve for hawksbill turtles protected by The Nature Conservancy. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

KA `OHANA O HONU`APO has responded to a statement by its boardmember Chris Manfredi who provided testimony to the Ka`u Community Development Plan steering committee last Saturday. Manfredi said that a proposed quarter-mile development setback along the Ka`u Coast, as proposed in the Ka`u CDP Draft, "would have a significant impact on the wetland restoration plan being contemplated for Honu`apo Park."

   Ka `Ohana Vice President Ken Sugai said this morning that Manfredi’s statement does not reflect the opinion of the Ka `Ohana organization. Ka `Ohana plans to study proposed setback regulations and their relationship to the restoration of the Honu`apo estuary, Sugai said. 

Honu`apo estuary where Ka 'Ohana plans a restoration project.
Photo by Teresa Tico

    Manfredi stated in an email to The Ka`u Calendar that the opinions in his testimony are his own. Ron Whitmore, the planner for the county working on the Ka`u Community Development Plan, said the agency will also write a response to Manfredi’s statements about the CDP.

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY’s Hawai`i Board of Trustees has named Christopher J. Benjamin, president and chief operating officer of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., to its chairmanship. The Nature Conservancy’s headquarters for the Big Island are located in Ka`u where the organization manages the hawksbill turtle preserve at Kamehame, makai of Pahala, as well as preserves of pristine forest lands between Pahala and Wai`ohinu.

   Benjamin succeeds Kenton Eldridge, who chaired the Board for three years. Eldridge, who remains on The Nature Conservancy Board, also leads the `Aina Koa Pono project, which sought to build a refinery at the mouth of Wood Valley near Ka`u Cofffee Mill and to plant biofuel crops on ranch and farmlands owned by Olson Trust and the Mallick family between Pahala and Na`alehu.

     The project was turned down twice by the state Public Utilities Commission and opposed by Hawai`i County, which estimated that AKP would have obligated Hawaiian Electric Co. through a 20 year contract to buy oil at $200 a barrel. Oil is now selling for under $80 a barrel. 

A green sea turtle basks on the shore at what appears to be an abandoned
 hawksbill turtle nest at Kamehame, managed by The Nature Conservancy.
Photo by Will Olsen/Hawksbill Recovery Project

      Joining the Conservancy’s Board of Trustees is Olson Trust board member and attorney and `Aina Koa Pono advisor Paul Alston of the Honolulu-based law firm Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing. 

    The Nature Conservancy states that Alston has worked as an attorney in Hawaiʻi for more than 40 years, starting in 1972 as a staff attorney for Legal Aid Society of Hawaiʻi. 

      Alston has served as President of the Hawaiʻi State Bar Association and the Hawaiʻi Justice Foundation. He has been named Hawaiʻi Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America® four times: in 2014 and 2009 for Bet-the-Company Litigation; in 2013 for Appellate Practice; and in 2012 for Real Estate Litigation. He serves as counsel to many non-profit organizations, including the Mental Health Association and Kokua Kalihi Valley.
       He and his wife Tanya also own and operate an organic fruit and berry farm in Volcano, HawaiʻI, The Nature Conservancy reports.
      The Nature Conservancy issued a press release saying that its new Chair Benjamin has served on the Hawaiʻi Board since 2007 and “has worked closely with Conservancy staff to develop the 10-year vision and current three-year plan for forest and marine conservation. He is focused on ensuring financial stability, sound measures of conservation success and effective partnerships with agency and community partners, business leaders, resource managers, decision-makers and other supporters.”
     The Nature Consevancy’s Hawai`i Executive Director, Suzanne Case, stated: “The Nature Conservancy has been fortunate throughout its history to have board chairs who are deeply committed to conservation and to the overall betterment of Hawaiʻ. Chris Benjamin continues that tradition.”
     According to the press release, Alexander & Baldwin has been a lead corporate sponsor of the Conservancy’s Hawaiʻi work for decades. Last April, the East Maui Irrigation Company, an A&B subsidiary, donated a conservation easement over 3,721 acres of East Maui rainforest to The Nature Conservancy. The new parcel lies adjacent to the Conservancy’s Waikamoi Preserve and expanded its size to almost 9,000 acres, making it the largest private nature preserve in the state. 

The Nature Conservancy manages Kaiholena with its spectacular pristine forests
and views of vast Ka`u. Photo by John Replogle

      The Conservancy also has two preserves on Kauaʻi established through conservation agreements with Alexander & Baldwin: the 80-acre Kanaele Bog, located in the mountains above Kalaheo town on the island’s south side; and the 7,050-acre Wainiha Valley, located above Ha`ena on Kauai’s scenic windward coast. “Kanaele is one of the islands’ last remaining low-elevation bogs, while Wainiha Valley includes one of Kaua`i’s largest river systems, magnificent mountain cliffs and portions of the famed Alaka‘i wilderness and Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale summit region, one of the wettest spot on Earth,” states The Nature Conservancy.
     Joining Benjamin on the Conservancy’s Hawaiʻi leadership team are conservation committee chair Peter Tomozawa, fundraising committee chair Dustin Sellers, outreach committee chairs James Wei and Nate Smith, nominating and governance chair Crystal Rose, field engagement liaison Scott Rolles, treasurer Eric Yeaman and global ambassador Eiichiro Kuwana.
See more on the Nature Conservancy at www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/

northamerica/unitedstates/hawaii/

HAWAI`I PUBLIC RADIO will likely move its transmitter from Pahala to Kulani between Volcano and Kea`au in early 2015. The transmitter is located inside the former KAHU community radio buildng in Pahala. The antennae is outside. HPR may keep some equipment in Pahala, Michael Titterton, HPR’s president and general manager told The Ka`u Calendar this morning.
     The license for KAHU was sold to HPR, local broadcasting shut down and HPR-2 statewide programming installed. Titterton said there may be some possibility of local origin programming resuming in the future.
    HPR also today announced a major gift from the McInerny Foundation of $40,000 in support of its capital campaign to provide coverage of HPR-2 for all of East Hawai‘i. This grassroots campaign launched in November 2013 with a total fundraising goal of $150,000 to cover projected costs of state-of-the-art equipment (a transmitter and an antenna), engineering and legal services, and the first year of overhead. 

Civil Defense provided funding to help KAHU establish an antenna in 2011
for communication around the district for emergency messages.
Photo by Julia Neal

   In the ensuing year, $134,594 in contributions has been collected from 248 individual charter members, with lead gifts pledged by the Atherton Family Foundation ($20,000), Hawai‘i Electric Light Company ($10,000), and a matching gift received from KTA Super Stores ($20,000 in memory of Koichi and Taniyo Taniguchi, founders of KTA Super Stores and K. Taniguchi, Ltd.). The recent $40,000 grant from the McInerny Foundation brings the start-up capital still needed to $15,406.
     “We’ve been hearing for many years from East Hawai‘i residents of their desire for the ‘full HPR experience’ and that’s come to mean two distinct program streams. We’re closer than ever to being able to fulfill their wishes. Legal preparations are completed, preliminary equipment orders placed, and lease negotiations for tower space at the antenna farm at Kulani Cone are in progress,” Titterton said.
      “The conclusion of this East Hawai‘i campaign and the completion of HPR’s statewide network is in sight. To that end, we’ve committed additional station resources to raising the remaining approximately $15,000, including a recent direct mail piece sent to nearly 8,000 households in Hilo and Kea‘au. It’s all been a grassroots effort, of which the community should be immensely proud. With the support of a few more charter members, we can look forward to a sign-on date for KAHU 91.7 (HPR-2) in early 2015.”
   Donations to the East Hawai‘i transmitter project are accepted on HPR's secure website, http://tinyurl.com/EastHawaiiHPR2, or by calling (808) 955-8821 during business hours.
   Titterton noted that KAHU’s radio signal is currently heard in Hawai‘i Island’s southernmost districts, where it carries HPR-2, as well as providing critical access to emergency broadcasts. Once the station’s coverage is extended to East Hawai‘i, area residents will be able to hear HPR-2 programs – world news, locally produced talk shows, diverse music from contemporary Hawaiian to Latin Jazz – over the air, such as in their cars. Both HPR-1 and HPR-2 are already available to Hawai‘i Island listeners, as to those throughout the world, via web live streaming and mobile applications.

LORI-LEE LORENZO WON the local division competition of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Patriot's Pen Youth Scholarship Competition for 2014-15. Her essay: Why I Appreciate America’s Veterans. The  Pahala 8th grader attends the online Myron B. Thompson Academy and earned $25 and a certificate naming her Outstanding Young Spokesperson Of The Future. Her essay will move on to state and national competition, with the possibility of a $5,000 award. Lorenzo said she thanks her English teacher for "making writing fun and pushing us to perfection!" Here is the essay by Lorenzo:

Lori-Lee Lorenzo, seen here during Plantation Days,
wins an essay contest about veterans.
Photo by Julia Neal

   Veterans are amazing! They have done so much to help the citizens of the United States. Imagine what American life would be like if it weren’t for their service to our country. We wouldn’t have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Veterans have risked their lives, and some have been severely injured or killed to protect us. They fought for our freedom.    Veterans have gone to many scary wars, knowing that they could die, yet still going to protect our country. They leave their friends and families, travelling to unknown lands, risking their lives for us. I think we should respect every person who goes into war, man or woman. We should also respect every child whose parent or parents are in the war, because they are sacrificing their lives, growing up without their parents there to see their daily achievements. We should all realize how lucky we are to have people who do that for us!
   Imagine waking up one morning and finding that you have been stripped of your rights. You are locked up in a prison camp and have to work all day without stopping, just for a bowl of rice at the end of the day. This really happened to an elderly friend of mine, when she was living in Cambodia in the 1970s. She risked her life to get away from this horrible torture and was lucky to escape with her children to America. This is what could happen in America if no one was defending our human rights. The veterans prevent this tyranny from happening.
   Another event we should think about is the bombing of Pearl Harbor. If Japan had overcome Hawaii, we may not have had the personal freedoms we enjoy today! 

   America’s veterans fought and made sure everyone was safe. They fought until they won so this wouldn’t happen again.
   Every time I hear “The Star Spangled Banner,” I take off my hat, stand up, and listen carefully, thinking about what an honor it is to be a part of this great country, The United States of America, and to have freedom! Thank you, America’s veterans! YOU ARE MY HEROES!

TREECYCLING IS AVAILABLE to all Ka`u residents through the county Solid Waste Division of the Department of Environmental Management between Dec. 26 and Jan. 17, holiday trees can be left in designated areas (not in the trash chutes) at any of the County Solid Waste Division Facilities during normal business hours except for the Miloli‘i and Ocean View Transfer Stations. 

   Trees should be free from all decorations, stands, lights, tinsel and ornaments. Please do not drop off artificial or flocked trees in the designated areas. Any flocked trees, artificial trees or trees with tinsel are not recyclable and maybe disposed of in the regular trash chutes. 

     Solid Waste Facility Attendants will direct the public to the proper drop-off point. For more information or a map and directions to drop-off locations, go tohttp://www.hawaiizerowaste.org/facilities/
   Kadomatsu decorations which are normally a combination of bamboo, pine and flowers can also be recycled. Kadomatsu is a tradition that began 600 years ago in Japan as a way of offering luck in the New Year. For more information on Recycling in Hawai‘i County, visitwww.hawaiizerowaste.org or call our Solid Waste Division Office at 961-8270. 

KENNETH MAKUAKANE PRESENTS A CONCERT tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The award-winning singer, songwriter and producer shares songs from his latest albums, The Dash, White Bath Tub, Makuakane and other compositions. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Sammie Fo performs at Ka`u School of the Arts Christmas
concerts. Photo by Julia Neal

PUBLIC ACCESS ROOM, a division of the non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau of Hawai`i’s state Legislature, presents a workshop about the legislative process tonight 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.
     Suzanne Marinelli, coordinator at PAR, leads the presentation. For more information, call 974-4000 ext. 7-0478 or emailpar@capitol.hawaii.gov.

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS OFFERS a free Christmas concert Friday at 5 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center featuring Ka`u `Ohana Band, Halau Hula O Ka `Imina Na`auao Kahiko, Hannah’s Makana `Ohana, Sammie Fo and a sing-along with Ka`u Community Chorus. KSA also presented a concert at Pahala Plantation House Sunday following the Christmas parade through town. Potluck refreshments are welcome.

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER’S annual keiki Christmas party is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event includes gifts, a visit from Santa Claus, food, fun and celebration. Call 939-7033 to volunteer.

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