Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016

Kumu Hula Manaiakalani Kalua with Akaunu perform Saturday. See more below. Photo from NPS

KA`U AGRICULTURE IS PART of a study released by Hawai`i Department of Agriculture that provides information on locations of commercial ag activities throughout Hawai`i. The Statewide Agricultural Land Use Baseline 2015 study, which updates a 1980 survey, is intended to help industry, government and the community in making decisions that affect ag land use throughout the state.

Livestock, mac nuts and coffee are major
ag endeavors in Ka`u. Map from SALUB

      “Ka`u is best know for its 4,800 acres of macadamia nut orchards and its 660 acres of coffee,” the report states. It also provides a history of Ka`u Coffee: “Following the closure of Ka`u Agribusiness, former sugar workers pioneered an emerging coffee industry. Workers were offered short-term leases to undivided lands, on which most planted coffee. This group of 40 farmers has held onto their coffee dreams for nearly 20 years, many of them with little or no certainty of their land tenure. Today, there are approximately 60 coffee farmer in the region, and Ka`u Coffee has achieved high standings in recent international cupping contests and is a growing contributor to Hawai`i`s boutique coffee marketplace.

      According to the report, pasture use accounts for 83 percent of all productive agricultural land use in the state, and 73 percent of that use is on Hawai`i Island. The report acknowledges Ka`u’s livestock industry: “Larger ranches, such as Kapapala and Kuahiwi, and a variety of smaller operations produce beef and goats for local consumption. Kuahiwi Ranch worked hard to develop its reputation for the local grass-fee beef it delivers regularly to Whole Foods and Foodland. Ka`u ranches also ship calves to the U.S. mainland.”
      “This baseline study is one of several projects we are working on to lay a foundation for measuring our progress toward increasing agricultural production statewide,” said Scott Enright, Chair of Hawai`i’s Board of Agriculture. “We look forward to using this tool in making informed decisions about current agricultural enterprises and in the planning and promoting of new agricultural investment to increase our food security.”
      The report provides a wide range of maps and graphics depicting the location of 15 crop categories with island-by-island summaries and regional descriptions of some of the factors that drive ongoing agricultural activity around the state. It is a snapshot in time from which to measure change in agricultural land use patterns both historically and for measuring change in the future.
      According to the report, diversified crops are grown on 16,900 acres statewide. In 1980, just 7,490 acres of diversified crops were grown statewide, indicating a substantial increase in local food production, with most occurring on O`ahu, where the market is largest and transportations costs are the lowest.
      The complete report is posted at hdoa.hawaii.gov/salub.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

AREAS AT RISK FOR DENGUE FEVER on Hawai`i Island continue to shrink, with some risk still in Ocean View and Miloli`i. The only high risk area, reported yesterday by Hawai`i Department of Health, is Kona. The total number of confirmed cases remains at 256, with no new cases since DOH’s last update. One of the confirmed cases is potentially infectious to mosquitoes. 

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

THE STATE INTERAGENCY CLIMATE Change Adaptation Committee held its first-ever sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation workshop, recognizing that Hawai`i is the only island state in the U.S. and that the islands will likely be the first and most dramatically impacted by rising ocean levels.
      On Thursday, Feb. 11 ICAC brought together pre-eminent climate change experts, state and county leaders, and other interested people to learn about how Hawai`i is going to be affected by rising seas and to explore adaptation strategies.

      In a keynote address, master navigator Nainoa Thompson, of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, called on the 250 workshop participants to begin creating the map that Hawai`i and other coastal and island locations will need to navigate one of the most scientifically and technically challenging environmental issues the globe will face in coming decades. Thompson implored the audience, “I need you to help explain to my children and all children that what you will accomplish today will not only help protect our shorelines but help protect their homes for tomorrow. Please understand that I am extraordinarily grateful, on behalf of my children, for you being here to help us chart the course and create the map for the future.”

Dr. Chip Fletcher Photo from University of Hawai`i

      Sam Lemmo, co-chair of ICAC and administrator of the DLNR Office of Conservation and Coastal Resources, said, “We want to have maximum public outreach, and this workshop achieves one of our objectives of having maximum public participation. We’re going to take the feedback and comments from events like this and others and incorporate them into our report to the Hawai`i State Legislature.” Act 83 established the ICAC and requires development of a report on sea level rise and adaptation strategies to lawmakers by the end of 2017.
      Sea level rise is expected to have significant impacts on coastal areas. Dr. Chip Fletcher leads a team of researchers at the University of Hawai`i School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. The team is well known for the models it creates that predict how certain low lying coastal plains will be inundated by ocean water, when and to what depths.
      Fletcher told participants, “2015 broke all records as the hottest year in the last 130 years. Climate change is highly variable and has no uniformity. The science associated with it demands the very best research possible.” Fletcher focused on climate change impacts: heat waves, changing precipitation patterns, food impacts, rain in Hawai`i, ecosystem threats, changing storminess, optimism about climate change, and sea level rise.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

A COUNTY COMMUNITY SERVICE WORKER position is available in Ocean View. The job is with the Elderly Activities Division of the Department of Parks and Recreation. Applicants can review qualifications and submit applications at hawaiicounty.gov/humanresources. Look for CSWIII.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Participants learn hula and `oli tomorrow. Photo from VAC

ALOHA FRIDAY TOMORROW from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Volcano Art Center Gallery's porch in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park features hula and `oli with Moses Kaho`okele Crabbe. Kumu hula of Hālau Ke Ola o Ka Lani, Crabbe shares his extensive knowledge to teach the basics of hula, language and chant.

      Free; park entrance fees apply.

HULA KAHIKO SATURDAY at 10:30 a.m. on the hula platform near Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park features Kumu Hula Manaiakalani Kalua with Akaunu.

Volcano Art Center Gallery presents
All Things Hula tomorrow.
Photo from VAC

      Born and raised in Keaukaha, Kalua graduated from Kamehameha School in 1996 and received a BA in Hawaiian Studies in 2002 from Ka Haka `Ula `o Ke`elikolani at UH-Hilo. He has been an instructor at Hawai`i Community College in the Hawaiian Life Styles-program, since 2003. His halau, Akaunu opened in 2012 and is closely tied to the traditions of UNUKUPUKUPU and Halau O Kekuhi, which has held several retreats and workshops at Pahala Plantation House.

      Na Mea Hula takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the gallery lanai with Kumu Hula Ab Valencia and members of Halau Hula Kalehuaki`eki`eika`iu sharing all things hula. Free; park entrance fees apply.

ALASKA DAYS IN HAWAI`I Potluck Picnic is this Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Honu`apo and Whittington Beach Park, sponsored by families who live in both Ka`u and Alaska. Salmon and other Alaska foods are encouraged. Bring instruments to join the entertainment. 

      Call Tim Childs at 907-388-8546.

NA`ALEHU PUBLIC LIBRARY HOSTS a free program about Korean Natural Farming on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. Mike DuPonte, of UH College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources, discusses how to use beneficial local microorganisms instead of pesticides and herbicides. The event kicks off the Library Container Garden project.

      For more information, call 939-2442.

SEN. RUSSELL RUDERMAN MEETS with his Ka`u constituents Tuesday, March 1 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. Ka`u residents are invited to an evening of legislative insight and an opportunity to provide input on legislation introduced in 2016.

      For more information, call 808-586-6890 or email senruderman@capitol.hawaii.gov.

A GRANT-WRITING WORKSHOP is set for Saturday, March 12 at Ka`u Rural Health Community Association’s Resource and Distance Learning Center in Pahala. Grant Writing I, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., is a free class on basic techniques and strategies and becoming familiar with key parts of grant applications. Participants receive a list of upcoming grant opportunities. Grant Writing II, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., is also free and for those who want to increase their skills through a hands-on approach. Participants prepare an actual grant application for submittal. 

      For more information, call Jennifer at 808-596-8990, extension 1013, or email jenniferc@hiilei.org.
      Registration, due by Monday, March 7, is available at hiilei.org.

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

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_February2016.pdf.

Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016

Spaghetti dinner fundraisers for Ka`u Hospital are tradition in Ka`u. Another one is set for Feb. 27. See more below.
  Photo by Julia Neal

HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL’S Environmental Management Committee put a bill that would ban styrofoam food containers on the back burner yesterday. Nancy Cook Lauer, of West Hawai`i Today, reported that the committee voted 6-1 to have the Environmental Management Commission review the measure before considering it.

Punalu`u Bake Shop owner Derek Kurisu, at right, testified
against a bill that would ban styrofoam containers.
Photo by Julia Neal

      According to Cook Lauer, testifiers supporting the bill included students and scientists concerned about styrofoam’s harmful effects on animals that ingest broken pieces of it.
      Megan Lamson, Hawai`i Wildlife Fund’s Hawai`i Island program director and organizer of Ka`u Coast Cleanups, testified that “plastic pollution and marine debris are a very serious and global problem, but they are people problems and can be resolved by the steadfast commitment of people.”
      Business owners who use polystyrene containers testified against the measure. Cook Lauer quoted Derek Kurisu, owner of Punalu`u Bake Shop, executive vice president of KTA Super Stores and chair of Hawai`i Food Industry: “Supermarkets and take-out restaurants are dependent on polystyrene for plate lunches and polystyrene meat trays. We tried paper or recyclable trays in our deli, but it doesn’t work like polystyrene.”
      See westhawaiitoday.com.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

I OLA NA `AINA MOMONA NONPROFIT hosted a discussion in Honolulu yesterday regarding Ka`u coffee farmers’ land security. Attendancing were Ka`u’s state Reps. Richard Creagan and Richard Onishi, Department of Agriculture Chair Scott Enright, Bishop Estates’ Ka`u Land Manager Kama Dancil, Kohala Center Rural Cooperative Business Development Specialist Teresa Young, Trust for Public Land Project Manager Stephen Rafferty and Native Lands Project Manager Laura Kaakua, IONAM President Malian Lahey and Ka`u community members Manuel Marques, a Ka`u Coffee farmer, and John Replogle, as a private citizen. State Sen. Russell Ruderman hosted the meeting.

Ka`u Coffee growers' land security was the topic of a meeting
in Honolulu yesterday. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

      Ka`u Coffee farmers have created their industry largely on former sugar plantation lands, which have been sold several times and now belong to Resource Land Holdings, of Colorado. The coffee lands at Pear Tree and Moa`ula were set up by a former owner to be subdivided into estates. Farmers said they fear such estates would be beyond their financial means and late last year voted to ask the state to acquire and help make their farmland into an agricultural park with long-term leases. The farmers are now operating under 15-year leases with RLH that allow RLH to withdraw house sites from each coffee farm.
      According to Lahey, it was reported at yesterday’s meeting that Ka`u Coffee Growers’ Cooperative voted earlier to support acquisition of the Moa`ula coffee lands by the state. According to Lahey, while Reps. Onishi and Creagan both expressed support for the farmers to own the land, financial gains from the coffee farms probably would need to increase before large mortgages could be sustainable for a majority of farmers.
      Lahey said consensus at the meeting was that the cooperative should again express its support to state legislators for the Moa`ula coffee lands to become a state agriculture park. The legislators would introduce an acquisition bill that would likely enjoy widespread support, she said. The state would negotiate with Resource Land Holdings, owners of the properties.
      Last year, the co-op sent a letter to legislators stating, “There is some interest within the state Department of Agriculture in acquiring an approximate 500 acres of this property and possibly providing the coffee farmers with 35-year leases and options to renew at farmable rates. This would eliminate the risk of the land being subdivided and sold off in the real estate market, as well as open up the possibility of more favorable leases for our farming community.”
      Lahey said Enright cautioned yesterday that the process is only in the beginning stages and that the farmers must make it a priority to see that the bill be approved by the Legislature.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Gov. David Ige

GOV. DAVID IGE JOINED with a bipartisan group of 17 governors to announce the Governors’ Accord for a New Energy Future, a joint commitment to take action to promote clean energy, clean transportation choices and a modern electrical grid.

      The Accord provides participating governors representing 127 million Americans with a platform through which their states will collaborate, learn from one another and leverage partnerships in energy planning and policymaking.
      “Hawai`i is the most oil-dependent state in the nation, and we are committed to reaching 100 percent renewable energy use in the electricity sector by the year 2045,” Ige said. “This accord allows us to share information about our clean energy transformation with other states and to collaborate with them on issues that are important to all of us, like strengthening energy security, reducing carbon emissions and promoting smart growth.”
      Signatories commit that their states will continue to diversify energy generation and expand clean energy sources, modernize energy infrastructure and encourage clean transportation options. The seventeen participating governors represent states that vary considerably in their energy mix and policy portfolios. However, these governors have committed to working together to make transformational policy changes to secure a stronger energy future for their states and the nation.
      Senior advisors to participating governors will convene shortly to discuss initial steps to pursue their shared priorities and commitments contained in the Accord.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Sen. Brian Schatz

SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ DISAPPROVES of Republicans’ plans to thwart any nomination by President Obama to replace U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died Saturday.

      “Sen. Mitch McConnell’s impulsive and reckless threat to automatically reject any Supreme Court nominee advanced by President Obama undermines our democracy and underscores that Senate Republicans refuse to responsibly govern,” Schatz said. “President Obama has the constitutional obligation to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, allowing the Court to continue to effectively function as the third branch of government.
      “After creating chaos in the legislative branch for years, the GOP is now attempting to spread their dysfunction to the highest court in the land. Republicans are now brazenly threatening to destabilize the judiciary by leaving it without a ninth justice for at least two Court terms. They should stop playing political games with the judicial nomination process and honor their constitutional responsibility to provide a prompt and fair hearing to President Obama’s nominee.”
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

A FUNDRAISER FOR KA`U HOSPITAL is coming up 10 days from today, on Saturday, Feb. 27 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. A spaghetti dinner, silent auction, bake and craft sale, entertainment and much more will be offered. 

      Funds raised will be used to purchase several items: display case – $200; medication station to be built around the new Pyxis system, an automated medication dispensing system that supports decentralized medication management with various features for safety and efficiency – $450; signage for display on Hwy 11 indicating what services are available at the hospital – $1,200; new chairs for the clinic staff – $1,000; additional computer work station, including computer, two monitors and a printer – $1,500; new laptop computer– $1,500; kitchen range for Dietary Department – $8,000; and van or SUV for transporting patients to medical appointments – $35,000.
      Cash donations are now being accepted toward the goal of $48,850. Mail to Ka`u Hospital Charitable Foundation, PO Box 773, Pahala, HI 96777.
      For more information, call Ursula D’Angelo at 896-2624.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Ka`u High students can enter a contest in which winners' art
is displayed at the U.S. Capitol.

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL ARTISTS have until this Tuesday, Feb. 23 to enter the 2016 Kaha Ki`i Congressional Art Competition hosted by the U.S. House of Representatives. The competition is open to all high school students in Hawai`i’s Second Congressional District.

      The overall winner of the district’s competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol, along with winning artwork from other districts around the nation.
      Artworks entered in the contest may be up to 28 inches by 28 inches, including the frame, and may be up to four inches in depth. Artwork may be paintings, drawings, two-dimensional collage, prints, mixed media, computer-generated and photography.
      Interested applicants can obtain complete details regarding the competition at 1.usa.gov/1LMuKxu.

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

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_February2016.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016

Cynthia Lehua Nani Ho`omanawanui-Akimseu, at left, and her cousin Deborah Li`ikapeka Lee hold a maile lei to be placed at `Opukaha`ia Memorial Chapel at Punalu`u Beach during a history tour yesterday. Photo by Chris Cook

AN ESTIMATED 80 OCEAN VIEW residents attended Public Utilities Commission’s hearing yesterday to voice their opinions on a 69-kilovolt transmission line that Hawai`i Electric Light Co. wants to construct for a substation to support a proposed solar project. David Corrigan, of Big Island Video News, recorded the meeting.

      While almost all testifiers told PUC Chair Randy Iwase that they oppose the line, they also expressed their opposition to the solar project itself. Concerns include safety, property values, views and quality of life.
      Peter Bosted received applause from attendees when he told Iwase, “I do not believe we need the overhead line because we don’t need the substation because we don’t need the 30 thousand panels.”

Ann Bosted Image from Big
Island Video News

      Ann Bosted said she and her neighbors would have no choice but to pack up and move if the solar project is built.

      Phil Sharkey said residents are opposed to the overhead line because they want to “break the chain,” which would bring to project to a halt. “We don’t need it,” he said.
      Bobbi Wood, a Planning Director on the Hawaiian Ranchos Community Association, talked about the feed-in-tariff program, under which the project is being constructed.
      “This program was designed for ‘shovel ready’ projects, as it was in the interests of all Hawaiians to take advantage of renewable energy as soon as possible,” she said. “However, instead of working on unencumbered land to create farms that would save Hawai`i burning fossil fuels, the developer chose sites with huge infrastructure problems – problems that have so far taken HELCO five years to fix.
      “This is a boondoggle project, purely and simply. After five years, the project is still not shovel ready.”
      Wood also said HELCO wants to build a substation on land where an easement is under question. Hawaiian Ranchos Road Maintenance Corporation has its office on the land, which Wood said has never been subdivided. HRRMC board voted to not sell to HELCO and to not subdivide and will take legal action to set aside the easement, if necessary, Wood said.

Phil Sharkey testifies as solar project
representative Ian Craig listens.
Image from Big Island Video News.

      Don Nitsche told Iwase that “coming into a residential area is ridiculous.” He said the developer is taking advantage of available infrastructure, including roads and overhead lines that are already in place, rather than having to build their own.
      Ralph Roland said, “This is a really major dilemma for every reason imaginable.” He said the problem is a result of dysfuntional government, with elected and appointed officials who “don’t know how to make rational decisions.”
      Michael Last was the only testifier in favor of the overhead line. He said it is required for equal distribution of electricity to all utility customers on the island. He pointed out that the 69kV line would be the same as those already along the highway.
      Ka`u’s state Rep. said, “There is a statute moving through the Legislature that would make this type of installation illegal going forward and not allow this to expand. The governor strongly supports that legislation and actually suggested that it be done.”
      Creagan referred to the Ranchos solar project as an “unintended consequence” of current law. “We are hoping that with your help, or at least the help of the Consumer Advocate, that it can be stopped now,” Creagan said.
      While Iwase restated that the focus of the meeting was only the overhead power line, he assured attendees that their comments about the solar project “have not fallen on deaf ears.”
      See bigislandvideonews.com.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Kaiali`i Kahele Photo from Office of Gov. Ige

KAIALI`I KAHELE SUCCEEDS his late father in his position at the state Legislature, with Gov. David Ige announcing the appointment today. Sen. Gil Kahele represented Senate District One, which encompasses the greater Hilo area, when he died on Jan. 26. He also served Ka`u in 2011 and 2012 before reapportionment changed district boundaries.

      “Kai has extensive community support and is committed to completing the work of his father,” Ige said. “He has a broad vision for the future of this district and for all of Hawai`i Island that will serve his constituents well.
      “I thank the high quality candidates who were willing to serve and the Senate District One Nominating Committee for working so quickly to get the names to me.”
      “My father led by example, and community service was part of my life for as long as I can remember,” Kahele said. “I am honored to carry on his legislative initiatives. In addition, I intend to focus on job creation by strengthening workforce opportunities and small business in Hilo and the state, and I will continue to be a strong advocate for Hawai`i Community College and UH-Hilo.”
      Kahele lives in Hilo, where he is a Major in Hawai`i Air National Guard and a combat veteran C-17 instructor pilot. He has been honored many times for his military service. In 2005, he was awarded a National Defense Service Medal and a USAF Air Medal for combat missions flown in Afghanistan. Most recently, Kahele received the Guard Officer of the Year award at Hickam Air Force Base.
      He is also a pilot with Hawaiian Airlines, a UH-Hilo adjunct faculty member and the executive director of the nonprofit Pa`a Pono Miloli`i.
      In 2015, Kahele was a crew member on the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s canoe Hikianalia.
      Kahele is a graduate of Hilo High School and UH-Manoa, where he earned a B.A. in education while playing on the men’s volleyball team as an outside hitter. He was named Most Inspirational Player in 1997.
      Kahele will take office once the state Senate qualifies him and administers the oath of office.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Henrei `Opukaha`ia is the topic
of a new book

A HISTORY TOUR THIS WEEK STOPPED in Ka`u as it retraced the steps of Ninole-born Henrei `Opukaha`ia. Members of the tour group of 24 flew in from across the mainland. 

      On Monday morning, Feb. 15, the group stopped at Henry `Opukaha`ia Memorial Chapel on a rise overlooking Punalu`u Beach. Tour leader Dave Buehring, who has worked with Youth with a Mission training ministry, said, “When I learned the story of Henry `Opukaha`ia and his impact on the people of these islands, it touched something deep inside me.”
      Chris Cook, author of the recently released book The Providential Life & Heritage of Henry Obookiah, also joined the group. 

      `Opukaha`ia left Ka`u at age 10 in about 1796 following his father, who fought against Kamehameha in the battle of Kaipalaoa in Hilo. Following the battle, the family was hunted down by warriors of Kamehameha and killed, all except for young `Opukaha`ia. His name was anglicized to Henry Obookiah, and Connecticut minister Samuel Mills, Sr. and his family adopted him.
      Upon `Opukaha`ia’s death in 1818, his school principal Edwin Dwight published a palm-size memorial to Henry, The Memoirs of Henry Obookiah, which is credited with sparking interest in sending missionaries to Hawai`i from New England.
      The tour group also visited Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park to hear the story of ali`i Kapi`olani’s challenge to the goddess Pele made in 1824 on the rim of Halema`uma`u Crater as told by Kupuna Mary Kamahele Boyd, of Hilo.
      See www.obookiah.com for additional information.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Luis Salaveria

HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, Economic Development and Tourism’s first quarter 2016 Statistical and Economic Report keeps economic growth rates unchanged from the previous forecast, with Hawai`i Gross Domestic Product growth at 2.3 percent in 2016 and 2.4 percent in 2017. These growth rates are similar to the U.S. economic growth as forecast by the 50 top economic forecast organizations and published in Blue Chip Economic Indicators.

      “We are pleased that Hawai`i ended 2015 with the historical high levels for labor force, employment and job count, and are excited to see the trend continue in 2016,” DBEDT Director Luis P. Salaveria said. “The state’s unemployment rate was the sixth lowest in the nation, and the economic fundamentals remain positive.”
      Hawai`i’s unemployment rate in 2015 averaged 3.7 percent and was the lowest level since 2007. Unemployment rates for all the counties in the state fell under five percent in 2015, and the gaps between neighbor island counties and Honolulu are getting smaller. Though Hawai`i County had annual average unemployment rates above four percent, the county experienced a significant improvement in unemployment during the year. The unemployment rate in Hawai`i County was 5.2 percent in January 2015 and dropped to 3.7 percent in December 2015.
      The report contains more than 100 tables of the most recent quarterly data on Hawai`i’s economy as well as narrative explanations of the trends in these data. The full report is available at dbedt.hawaii.gov/economic/qser/.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

ADVOCATS OFFERS A FREE SPAY & Neuter Clinic tomorrow from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center.
      Call 939-7033.

HALAU KE `OLU MAKANI o Maunaloa performs hula tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

      See nps.gov/havo.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ATPAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COMAND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_February2016.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.