Ka`u Calendar Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016

Christmas in the Country continues until Jan. 2 at Volcano Art Center Gallery, Photo from Volcano Art Center.

INTERVENTION IN HELCO'S RATE HIKE is the request filed Friday by Life of the Land and Puna Pono Alliance. The 80-page Joint Motion to Intervene in HELCO’s application for a 6.5 percent rate increase is before the Public Utilities Commission.
      Life of the Land has been admitted into 41 PUC proceedings since 1971. It has also filed a motion to intervene on the side of the complainants in the PUC docket concerning the controversial Ocean View solar farms in Ka’u.
   Life of the Land and Puna Pono Alliance focused their intervention on a variety of rate recovery issues, including climate change, safety, customer`s disconnecting from the grid, cutting out fat from the utility`s operating structure, the potential acquisition of a fossil fuel power plant, and changing from a cost-of-service rate model to a Performance Based Ratemaking using Performance Incentive Metrics.

    “With the exception of the NextEra-HECO merger proceeding, rate cases are without rival, in terms of complexity and numeric intensity,” wrote Life of the Land's Vice President and energy guru, Henry Curtis. 

     Curtis wrote: “Today, we exist on a razor's edge between the past and the future. Technological advances, and on-the-ground conditions, are rapidly evolving. What worked yesterday is significantly different today.
    “The greatest changes are occurring on the grid-edge, or in the realm of what lies beyond the traditional utility-customer metered grid-interface. Hawai`i Rooftop solar, Net Energy Metering, Demand Response, the Internet of All Significant Things, voice-activated Bluetooth home electronic consumer appliances, smart home energy systems, residential energy storage systems including plug-and-play systems that can be installed in any room, and driverless electric vehicles are among the science-fiction things of yesteryear which are the realities of today."

   “Fundamental questions arise. Is the utility seeking ratepayer funds to prop up and perpetuate a past which no longer exists, or is the utility creating a distributed platform which can serve as a building block for the future?"
     Curtis contends that the three main issues in a rate case are: What costs should be passed onto ratepayers? Which costs should not be passed on? What is the appropriate rate of return on equity for the utility?”
     After costs, Curtis said, he is very concerned about safety while producing power on the Big Island – a huge issue for the Puna residents living near the geothermal plant. During the public hearing about the rate case, PUC commissioners were told that there have been 17 declared civil defense emergencies when toxic emissions from the power plant poisoned residents.

     Curtis writes “The HELCO-Puna Geothermal Ventures Power Purchase Contract clearly states that there are three different safety sub-issues: safety for the HELCO grid, safety at the PGV plant, and safety for HELCO customers. The contract binds PGV safety, with HELCO purchase, of geothermal energy.
      “Currently HELCO customers face on-going toxic trespass due to intentional and unintentional emissions by the actions taken at the PGV plant. HELCO has failed to deal with this safety issue," states Curtis.
     "The Commission has the kuleana to deal with safety issues. The Mission Statement of the Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission deals in part with safety.”
     Curtis quotes from the PUC’s mission statement: “The Commission’s mission is to provide effective, proactive, and informed oversight of all regulated entities to ensure that they operate at a high level of performance so as to serve the public fairly, efficiently, safely, and reliably, while addressing the goals and future needs of the State in the most economically, operationally, and environmentally sound manner, and affording the opportunity for regulated entities to achieve and maintain commercial viability.”

Henry Curtis
Photo by Big Island Video News

    Curtis explains: “Tropical Storm Iselle leveled Albizia trees, forcing residents to stay home. The Puna Geothermal Plant did not shut down; the plant was kept operational due to demands by HELCO. Unanticipated toxic emissions blanketed the neighborhood. Trapped residents suffered. Civil Defense told people to leave the area, but they were trapped by fallen trees blocking roads. Ratepayers should not pay utility costs incurred while being trapped in their homes.
    “Customer exit or bypass is a hot button issue. The edge of the grid is becoming less firm. Demand Response and Rooftop Solar enable residents to provide power, as well as frequency and voltage regulation, to the grid. Should customers be allowed to leave the grid?
    “Should the utility give incentives to the ten largest customers? According to HELCO, the 10 largest customers account for 16.4 percent of electric sales by the utility. Furthermore, the ten entities have “demonstrated the ability to self-generate as a number of them have either installed or plan to install PV, wind or hydroelectric systems.
      “Life of the Land and Puna Pono Alliance have a position that customer exit is not the boogeyman, and it may be the optimal solution of the future.
     “The issue of whether the loss of a single customer harms all other customers has never been addressed. Conversely, does unlimited growth benefit everyone, since the utility will gain new customers? Or is it a one-sided equation, where if the utility gains one customer and losses another customer, it is a net loss for everyone, because gains don`t count, but losses do count?
      “If the State goals are to increase the use of renewable energy and decrease greenhouse gases, while maintaining reasonable rates, how does grid connection matter?

Life of the Land and Puna Pono state that residents have been blanketed by toxic
emissions from the geothermal plant. Photo from Puna Pono Alliance

     “Life of the Land and Puna Pono Alliance firmly believe that grid parity has been achieved on the Neighbor Islands. HELCO proposes to raise rates in the near term, and then add additional expenses with implementing the Smart Grid and for adding redundant layers of cybersecurity. On the other hand, battery prices will fall while their reliability will increase. Thus, there will be increasing cost justification for leaving the grid.
      “Life of the Land and Puna Pono Alliance believe that those exiting the system should not be penalized. A true unbundled price comparison should be made between the different options for the future.
      “The Hawai`i Legislature passed SB 120 SD1 in 2013. The governor signed the bill as Act 37. The bill encourages the Commission to replace the traditional cost-of-service rate model with one based on Performance Incentive Metrics. The use of the carrot-and-stick approach will be examined in this rate case. Life of the Land and Puna Pono Alliance support the idea that PIMs should be addressed holistically as part of a broad incentives and penalties analysis. This is the approach suggested by Blue Planet Foundation and Hawai`i Solar Energy Association in the Commission`s decoupling proceeding.
      “The Public Utilities Commission informed HELCO that it had to do a better job cutting costs. If the utility has cut fat from its system, it has done a poor job explaining it. This docket will examine ways of reducing utility costs. Unbundling rates is key, so everyone can understand what the cost of different services are, and so customers can pay only for those services that they want to get from the utility.
      “HELCO asserted that greenhouse gas emissions can be discussed in future rate cases. Other utilities are not waiting for future rate cases. Life of the Land and Puna Pono Alliance believe that the issue of global warming, climate change and greenhouse gas emissions should be part of every utility docket. But ultimately, that is a policy decision to be made by the Commission.

Marco Mangelsdorf

     “The issue of climate change is not going away. It will be up to the States to take the necessary regulatory actions. The rise in ocean temperatures will result in a greater number of increasingly intense, tropical storms and hurricanes. As has been recently demonstrated, the Big Island is the most likely place to be hit.
     “Life of the Land and Puna Pono Alliance support the idea that separate and independent companies should own generation and energy delivery systems. HELCO should not be allowed to purchase a fossil fuel plant in Honoka`a.”
     Tuesday is the last day to file a Motion to Intervene or to Participate.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

A NEW NON-PROFIT UTILITY FOR THE BIG ISLAND recently received approval from the Internal Revenue Service, which gave Hawai`i Island Energy Cooperative  its 501(c)(12) status. It joins more than 900 member-owned, community based utilities in the USA, which serve an estimated 42 million energy consumers.
     Marco Mangelsdorf, HIEC director and spokesperson, stated. “Receiving this official approval is fantastic news. This sets the stage for HIEC to be an operating non-profit utility serving the Big Island. This is particularly important as both Hawai`i Electric Light Co and Hawaiian Electric Co. roll out new electric rate increases. Cost control and efficiency are core to a cooperative, not shareholder profits.”

     The new status for a new player in the energy field comes after the PUC failed to approve the Next Era takeover of Hawaiian Electric Industries and its subsidiaries HECO, HELCO and Maui Electric Co. These subsidiaries are about to unveil their latest Power Supply Improvement Plans and rate increases are pending.
     “The consideration of the cooperative ownership structure is timely, relevant and presents an opportunity to make critically important decisions about how Hawai`i Island will meet our state’s clean energy objectives in the most cost effective way possible” adds Mangelsdorf.
    “We first sought to get a seat at the table in early 2015 as the docket on the HEI-NextEra was opened,” noted HIEC president Richard Ha. “Those of us who founded HIEC were convinced that the tumblers had fallen into place for us to do all that we could to try and replicate the success that Kaua`i Island Utility Cooperative has been achieving on the Garden Island. We got our seat and are excited about the future.” 

        Energy guru and commentator Henry Curtis wrote a blog item entitled, Should HELCO be Sold to a Non-Profit? Curtis states that being recognized as a non-profit utility by the IRS will enable the new entity to pursue one of three courses.
       A top-down approach would involve buying HELCO from its parent company Hawaiian Electric Company, through a deal with the shareholders of Hawaiian Electric Industries, and the approval of the Public Utilities Commission. HIEC would borrow a billion dollars and spent a year or two in regulatory arenas.
     A bottom-up approach would involve establishing a micro-grid within HELCO`s geographic footprint, perhaps in conjunction with Parker Ranch, and gradually increasing its size, until it rivalled or displaced HELCO.
     A third approach would involve threatening one of the above, forcing HELCO to lower its rates, and to become more responsive to its customers.

Richard Ha has been a longtime advocate of an alternative
to HELCO. Photo from Richard Ha

     Curtis also explains how HEI may see the sale as a poor proposition: “Some have speculated that HEI would resist selling HELCO to HIEC. If such action resulted in lower rates, then MECO and HECO would be next. If the sale resulted in worse conditions for Big Island residents, then HEI would be blamed for agreeing to the sale. To overcome this resistance, the price tag to HEI shareholders would have to be substantial.”

     Curtis asks what, if anything, would change when he writes “One issue that would have to be resolved is whether the transfer of assets would simply involve replacing the owners and restructuring taxes, or if the sale would actually change policies, such as the role of geothermal and the possible use of LNG.”      Discussing the history of such acquisitions, Curtis writes:

     “There have been several successful and unsuccessful efforts to acquire electric utilities in Hawai`i beyond NextEra`s recent failure to acquire the Hawaiian Electric Companies.
     The top-down successes included Hawaiian Electric Co. purchase of Maui Electric Co. in 1968 and Hawai`i Electric Light Company in 1970, Kaua`i Island Utility Cooperative  purchase of Citizens Utility Corp.'s Kaua`i Electric Division in 2002, and Larry Ellison`s purchase of Lana`i utilities.
    “An alternative top-down approach was the creation of Hawaiian Electric Industries holding company by HECO in 1981-83. “Top down failures to date included the first proposal by KIUC to acquire Citizens Kaua`i Electric Division in 2000, the proposal by Ku`oko`a to acquire the HECO Companies and Puna Geothermal Ventures , and the failed proposal by Princeton Energy Group to create Ikehu Moloka`i.
    “Hawai`i Island Energy Cooperative is currently proposing to acquire HELCO, and Parker Ranch is currently proposing to develop a Waimea Microgrid.
     “Bottom up efforts have included the establishment Camp Smith's Inner and Outer Microgrid in Aiea, the creation of a small-scale microgrid at the VERGE Energy conference held in Honolulu last June, and Hickam Air Force Base`s proposed microgrid.
    “There have been proposals for several other microgrids at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority  on the Big Island, a Maui Community College microgrid, and the effort by Larry Ellison’s Lanai Resorts LLC to hire Byron Washom to develop a Lana`i microgrid.”
     “Some utilities have considered acquiring other utilities. At one point HECO considered acquiring the Kaua`i utility before KIUC succeeded. The Gas Company considered acquiring the HECO Companies,”added Curtis.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY is ongoing through the holidays at Volcano Art Center in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

VOTE FOR THE BEST DECORATED Kilauea Military Camp through the holidays.

  
        

Ka`u News Briefs Friday, Dec. 23, 2016

Jules Tavernier painted a Full Moon over Kīlauea in 1887 and created a Panorama of Kīlauea, which was
employed to promote visitors coming to the volcano. See story below in Volcano Watch.

“RECOMMIT TO THE VALUES OF ALOHA – treating others with respect, care and love,” is the recommendation of U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard in a holiday message to constituents. “Right now, our politics are undergoing a fundamental shift that requires all of us” to focus on aloha, she said.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard asks for re-commitment
to aloha.

 Gabbard promises that when she returns to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 3, she will continue “the movement for change that we’ve created together. We will continue our efforts to end the counterproductive regime change war in Syria, rein in corruption on Wall Street, safeguard our environment from greedy corporations, and protect working families by stopping bad trade deal like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”
     “As we head into 2017, we must focus on putting forward solutions and our plan to serve all Americans. That means pursuing a vision of this country where the ultra rich cannot game our political and economic systems for their own benefit, on the backs of struggling working families. It means ensuring that our government is one that protects and values our civil liberties, diversity, justice, and equality. It means fighting to pass the Stop Arming Terrorists Act that I introduced to end our government’s absurd policy of providing direct and indirect support to those allied with al Qaeda and ISIS, as they fight to overthrow the Syrian government, stated the Congresswoman.
     “It means an agenda that says the mass incarceration policies that have afflicted our country for far too long are unacceptable and must be reformed. It means raising our voices to protect our most precious resource - water - essential to our ability to live and thrive. It means working to raise the minimum wage so working people don’t have to choose between putting food on the table or paying rent—and a movement that ensures the LGBT community has the same rights and freedoms as all Americans. Now is a time for us to lead a new generation of progressive politics into the future,” stated Gabbard. To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

AN ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE WAS CAST FOR TULSI GABBARD FOR VICE PRESIDENT this week, but was disallowed by the Secretary of State of Minnesota, according to the publication Minnesota Lawyer this morning. The story says that "Muhammad Abdurrahman, the 'Faithless Elector,' wants to protest a Minnesota law that requires members of the Electoral College to follow the statewide vote," which went to Clinton. When the elector "disregarded a pledge he made to vote for the Hillary Clinton/Timothy Kaine ticket and cast his vote for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president and U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawai`i, for vice president," Minnesota Secretary of State "Steve Simon promptly nullified it and substituted a Clinton elector, the procedure required by the Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act, Minn. Stat. sec. 208.40.," reports the publication.  The elector said he plans to sue to have his vote reinstated.

     To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

PROTECT FAMILY PLANNING is the aim of Sen. Mazie Hirono and 33 Senate Democrats who sent a letter  to President-elect Donald Trump today, urging him to oppose any efforts by Republicans to restrict federal funding from supporting Title X family planning centers. The letter says:

Sen. Mazie Hirono

   “President-elect Trump, women across the country have reason to be deeply concerned about the impact your administration could have on their health, their access to care, and therefore their economic security,” wrote the Senators. “We urge you to take clear position in favor of women’s health by supporting access to birth control and family planning services at Planned Parenthood and other Title X clinics nationwide.”

Hirono and 33 Senators wrote to President-elect
Donald Trump this month concerning women's
health care and his upcoming administration.
Photo from Planned Parenthood

     The Senators call on President-elect Trump to implement the final Title X rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) on Dec. 14. This final rule reinforces existing protections in the Title X program to ensure no qualified health care provider, such as Planned Parenthood, is excluded from eligibility for federal funding. The final Title X rule strengthens protections for women and LGBT individuals to ensure they can continue to access safe and affordable health care, said a statement from Hirono.
     The Title X family planning provider network is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services. Four out of ten women who received care at health centers funded by Title X consider it to be their only source of health care, said Hirono. 

     The letter to Trump begins by saying, "We write to express our great concern regarding the protection of our nation’s family planning centers in the next Congress and under your Administration. The economic security of women and their families is directly tied to a woman’s access to reproductive health care, including birth control and counseling."

     To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Tosanoides Obama was named after the U.S. President Barack Obama recently after he helped make the Northern Hawaiian
Islands into the largest marine preserve on Earth. Photo from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

TOSANOIDES OBAMA is the name of a newly identified fish living in Hawaiian waters. This week, scientists from Bishop Museum, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Association for Marine Exploration published a description of the coral reef fish they named after President Barack Obama. Tosanoides obama, was discovered during a June 2016 NOAA research expedition to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The study is published in the open-access scientific journal ZooKeys.

Obama receives photo of his namesake fish from
marine biologist Sylvis Earle.
Photo from Papahānaumokuākea  Monument

    "We named this fish after President Obama to recognize his efforts to protect and preserve the natural environment, including the expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea," said Richard Pyle, Bishop Museum scientist and lead author of the study.
    "This expansion adds a layer of protection to one of the last great wilderness areas on Earth."
     On Aug. 26, at the urging of Sen. Brian Schatz, Native Hawaiian leaders, conservationists, and many marine scientists, Obama expanded Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. At 582,578 square miles, it is the largest permanent marine protected area on Earth. On Sept. 1, the president was given a picture of the fish that now bears his name during his trip to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge within the Monument. The photograph was presented to Obama by famed undersea explorer Sylvia Earle, and the exchange will be featured in the National Geographic film, Sea of Hope: America's Underwater Treasures, to be released Jan. 15.

The Obama fish loves coral and is endemic to Hawai`i.

Photo from Papahānaumokuākea Marine Monument

   The small pink and yellow fish is a kind of basslet, a group that includes many colorful reef fishes popular in the marine aquarium fish trade. There are two other species in the genus Tosanoides, both from the tropical northwestern Pacific Ocean, including southern Japan. Males of the new species have a distinctive spot on the dorsal fin near the tail, which is blue around the edge and red with yellow stripes in the center.
     The new fish is also unusual in that it is the only known species of coral reef fish endemic to the Monument (meaning that this species is not found anywhere else on Earth). All other reef fish species found within Papahānaumokuākea also occur either in the main Hawaiian Islands or Japan.
     "Endemic species are unique contributions to global biodiversity," said NOAA scientist Randall Kosaki, chief scientist of the research cruise and co-author of the study. "With the onslaught of climate change, we are at risk of losing some of these undiscovered species before we even know they exist."

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is the largest
 marine reserve on Earth.

     The new fish was first seen and collected on a dive to 300 feet at Kure Atoll, 1200 miles northwest of Honolulu. Kure Atoll is the northernmost emergent land of the Hawaiian Islands, and is the highest latitude coral atoll in the world. Deep coral reefs at depths of 150 to 500 feet, also known as mesophotic coral ecosystems, or the "coral reef twilight zone," are among the most poorly explored of all marine ecosystems. Deeper than divers using conventional scuba gear can safely venture, these reefs represent a new frontier for coral-reef research. Using advanced mixed-gas diving systems known as closed-circuit rebreathers, scientists like Pyle and co-authors Brian Greene and Randall Kosaki have been characterizing previously unexplored deep reefs throughout Hawai'i and the insular Pacific.
     This is the second new species of fish named from Papahānaumokuākea this year. In August, Pyle and Kosaki published the description of a new species of butterflyfish Prognathodes basabei; based on specimens collected at Pearl and Hermes Atoll earlier this year. Elsewhere, Obama also has a trapdoor spider, a speckled freshwater darter (fish), and an extinct lizard named after him.
     The study on the Obama fish was published on Dec. 21\in the peer-reviewed scientific journal ZooKeys, and is available online at http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=11500. On the web: http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/news/obama_fish.html To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Kīlauea Cyclorama at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, with a statue of Madame Pele, above the entrance, standing
on a lava flow and holding a flame. See https://chicagology.com/columbiaexpo/fair052/.

NINETEENTH CENTURY VIRTUAL REALTY BRINGS HAWAI`I VOLCANO TO LIFE, says this week's Volcano Watch, issued by scientists at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
The scientists point out: "The simulation of real and imaginary worlds for video games, movies, and other purposes has become big business in the 21st century. Virtual reality technology is improving rapidly, but the basic concept is not new.

Jules Tavernier

   "In the late 19th century, several artists were perfecting the portrayal of the fiery hues and breathtaking spattering of Kīlauea’s lava lake. The most prominent of these painters was Jules Tavernier, who was trained in France and already well known in California before he moved to Hawaiʻi in 1884. Inspired by the active lava lake within Kīlauea Crater, Tavernier created several paintings of various sizes that have remained iconic views of the lava lake’s activity during that period.
     In 1888, Tavernier went one step further and created what we would now call a virtual reality depiction of Kīlauea volcano— the Panorama of Kīlauea, an 11-foot tall canvas arranged in a circle with a 90-foot circumference
     "The Daily Bulletin (a Honolulu newspaper) described the viewer’s experience: “On reaching the platform [at the center surrounded by the canvas] from which the visitor gazes, the scene becomes impressive. Standing in the very center of the crater, with Halemaumau … and the Volcano House in their proper positions they appear as realistic as can be. The longer the visitor gazes, the stronger becomes the impression, until he fancies that he is actually in Kilauea.”
    "The Panorama of Kīlauea was exhibited in the Hawaiian Kingdom for a while before being shipped to the United States. It eventually ended up in Washington, D.C., for public exhibition. Unfortunately, neither this valuable canvas nor any photos of it have ever been found.
     "A few years later, Lorrin A. Thurston, a rising political leader of American missionary descendants and expatriates in the Hawaiian Kingdom, was looking for ways to accelerate tourism and to encourage Americans to settle in Hawaiʻi. He proposed a Hawaiʻi exhibit at the Chicago World’s Fair to open in 1893.
     "After the success of Tavernier’s Panorama of Kīlauea, Thurston thought that a larger cyclorama of Kīlauea “could be used advantageously to advertise Hawaii.” Thurston’s cyclorama was 50 feet high with a circumference of 400 feet—more than four times the size of Tavernier’s panorama.

Lorrin A. Thurston took a volcano
display to the Chicago World's
Fair in 1893

     "The Chicago Times newspaper described the cyclorama viewer’s experience: “The observation platform … places the visitor in the same position that he would occupy if he stood on the brink of the [Halemaʻumaʻu] pit in the vast crater of the volcano [Kīlauea]. … The horizon will present the outlines of … [Mauna Loa’s] snow-capped summit, from which issue delicate clouds of smoke, telling of the slumbering fires beneath her crest. Further along the eye meets Mauna Kea, the volcano house, and the blue sea. In the middle distance is the ragged side walls of the first great breakdown, seamed and furrowed with cracks and jagged edges, where the rocks have been rent by many an earthquake. Beneath his foot will be the lakes of fire, liquid lava, foaming, dashing, leaping in the wildest confusion. The floor will be a facsimile of the floor of the crater in every detail, built up of lava, and the fire effects secured by the use of electricity in the most ingenious and complicated contrivances. The observer will stand on lava rock brought from Kilauea.”
     "The Kīlauea cyclorama, accompanied by agricultural exhibits and a Hawaiian village, including musicians and hula dancers, was later exhibited at the San Francisco Midwinter Fair in 1894–1895, and at several more mainland expositions into the early 20th century.

    " It is unknown how effective these exhibits were at attracting American visitors to Hawaiʻi, but Thurston’s cyclorama certainly provided an inexpensive way for thousands to experience 

Kīlauea Volcano.

     Visit the HVO website (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for past Volcano Watch articles, Kīlauea daily eruption updates, Mauna Loa weekly updates, volcano photos, recent earthquakes info, and more.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY is ongoing through the holidays at Volcano Art Center in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

VOTE FOR THE BEST DECORATED Kilauea Military Camp through the holidays.

www/kaucalendar.com

Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016

Olson Trust donated this Christmas tree from Ed Olson's Wood Valley farm to stand along the main road into Pahala near fishing boats,
trucks and residents going to work at dawn today, with snow in the background on Mauna Loa. Photo by Julia Neal

KEOKI KAHUMOKU, well known in Ka`u for more than a decade teaching Hawaiian music to students from pre-school to high school at public and charter schools and clubs, hosting music camps and performing at many venues and festivals, was arrested at Hilo Hospital on Tuesday night and pleaded not-guilty yesterday to sexual assault.

Keoki Kahumoku

     A warrant for his arrest was issued after a Kona grand jury charged him on Dec. 13 with sexual assault and kidnapping for an alleged incident in May of 2015 in Ka`u. Both Kahumoku and the alleged victim earlier received restraining orders against one another.
     According to a report in this morning's Hawai`i Tribune Herald, Kahumoku's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Patrick Monez, asked Hilo Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hara for supervised release or a bail reduction from $150,000 to $50,000, noting that Kahumoku is without a criminal record and that his home is with his wife and mother in Hilo.
     Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Munoz asked the judge to keep the bail at $150,000, with the bail report noting that Kahumoku reported that he has been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, is receiving medical treatment and has completed a drug treatment program. Hara said he believed that Kahumoku remains a risk to the public and maintained a bail amount of $150,000. A trial is set for April 11.
    Kahumoku is known for his `ukulele building workshops for keiki in Ka`u. He also collaborated with many of the classic Hawaiian slack key players and composers and brought many of them to Ka`u to teach and give free concerts, from his father George Kahumuku, Jr. and uncle Moses Kahumoku, to the late Dennis Kamakahi, John Keawe, Sonny Lim, Ka`u-raised Ledward Ka`apana,  Jeff Peterson, Daniel Ho, and many more. Five Hawaiian music albums on which he performed with the masters won Grammy Awards. See more at www.hawaiitribune-herald.com.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

George Szgetti, President & CEO of Hawaii Tourism Authority, with
Sen. Mazie HIrono and Mayor Harry Kim

THE NEW DIRECT FLIGHT BETWEEN JAPAN AND HAWAI`I ISLAND was met with great fanfare by Sen. Mazie Hirono, Gov. David Ige and Mayor Harry Kim yesterday.
    The direct flights are expected to attract more people to Ka`u in their travels from Kona to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
    Hawaiian Airlines’ inaugural flight is a new direct route from Haneda Aiport in Tokyo to Kona International Airport. It replaces the Japan Airlines direct route that stopped flying years ago, leading to the shutdown of the international part of the Kona terminal with its federal inspections  in 2010.
        “Today’s flight is the culmination of years of effort to reestablish international flights outside of North America to Kona, which is important for the Hawai`i Island economy,” said Hirono.  “The visitors we welcomed today will only be the first to experience our unique culture and everything that makes Hawai`i a special place.”
     Hirono wrote to Secretary of Transportation Anthony Fox to urge him to approve Hawaiian Airlines’ application for the direct route. The U.S. Department of Transportation approved Hawaiian Airlines’ application on May 13, 2016.

Gov. David Ige and Sen. Mazie Hirono welcome the first direct
flight between Haeda and Kona on Hawaiian Airlines.

    Hirono also toured the new Federal Inspection Services facility at Kona International Airport, which will process international visitors who fly directly to and from Kona. After the FIS facility closed in 2010, Hirono worked with federal, state, and County officials, and community and business leaders to reestablish the facility.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

HAWAI`I IS HEALTHIEST STATE FOR FIFTH YEAR in a row, according to a rating this month  by America's Health Rankings.
     The state is in the top three for such healthy attributes as people having health insurance, public health funding, clinical care, using seatbelts and eating vegetables. Hawai`i has a lower heart attack, heart disease, obesity, cancer, and mental distress rate than most other states. Income disparity is not as extreme as in most states.
      Where Hawai`i ranks low, however - in the bottom ten - is in lack of water fluoridation, people not getting enough sleep, salmonella infections, and chronic, excessing and binge drinking of alcohol. There is also a possible underreporting of diabetes and pre-diabetes, the report states.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

A WARNING ABOUT DRUGS AND ADDICTION was issued yesterday by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. She stated that, "Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that heroin deaths now exceed gun homicides. The same data also found that opioids cause almost two-thirds of all drug-related overdoses in the U.S. Let that sink in," declared Gabbard. "At the heart of this problem is the fact that prescription drug companies like Purdue Pharma are lying about how dangerously addictive these drugs are,  just to increase their bottom line. They must be held accountable," the Congresswoman urged.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

NA`ALEHU FRUIT STAND has gone on the market for $625,000. Once the recommendation of many Big Island guide books in English and Japanese , the former fresh food grocery, pizzeria, bakery and snack store featured plantation days memorabilia, and various pizza, health food and take out meals. 

Na`alehu Fruit Stand in its hey day, as featured in the Momona
Japanese guide book. Historic photos from Momona

Na`alehu Fruit Stand featured fresh
island foods.

Current state of Na`alehu Fruit Stand
Photo from Diana Prentess

However, it shut down years ago and the building sits empty and deteriorated on 1.94 acres that is zoned RS-7.
    The site also includes a structure that was formerly a real estate office, school library and windsurfing shop. Over a half acre is zoned Commercial on the the lot that borders Highway 11. Almost one and a half acres is zoned Residential. There are 11 buildings of record and all are unoccupied.
    The real estate listing says, “The value is in the zoning and its perfect location in the beautiful quaint town of Na`alehu with heavy traffic daily. Tour buses and visitors are passing through to see the volcano and also sample Ka`u’s delicious award winning coffee.”

Jars with specialties lined the shelves.
Photos from Momona

    The listing realtor is Diana Prentess. She said that “Hopefully someone would be able to purchase it to turn it into a cultural center, coffee stop, or health food store.”
     It was opened and operated by John Santangelo, a former County Council member. Several other operators followed.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

FIREWORK PERMITS BECOME AVAILABLE THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, according to a statement from the Hawai`i Fire Department. The closest location is J. Hara Store in Kurtistown. Each permit is $25 and entitles the permittee to purchase 5,000 individual firecrackers. Setting off firecrackers with permits is allowed only between the hours of 9 p.m. and 1 a.m.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY is ongoing through the holidays at Volcano Art Center in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

VOTE FOR THE BEST DECORATED Kilauea Military Camp through the holidays.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

www.kaucalendar.com