A PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED GRADING STANDARDS for Ka`u, Kona and other locally grown coffees will be held at Pahala Community Center at 5 p.m. on Feb. 23, the state Department of Agriculture has announced. Proposed new rules can be read at
http://bit.ly/2j9lSKd.
The standards, with certification by state inspectors, determine the grading of coffee and can impact the perceived quality of the brands. One consideration is infestation of coffee berry borers in Ka`u, Kona and other farms on the Big Island, and more recently, on Maui. The number of defects in the coffee beans, including CBB damage, help to determine the grading by agricultural inspectors.
Temporary rules, allowing more damage to coffee and still maintain prime and other grades, were set up in 2014, to give farmers time to get the CBB pest under control. Now that many farms are managing the problem and reducing damage, some farmers are calling for the grading to be upgraded, returning to pre-CBB standards, which allowed 15 percent damage for a Prime rating. The current, temporary rules allow 20 percent damage for a Prime grade.
Hawai`i Coffee Association President Chris Manfredi, of Discovery Harbour, reviewed the situation in a letter to members: "Hawai`i's farmers and mills have worked hard to adapt to a post-CBB environment. Government has played a vital role in responding to the needs of the industry. It has been especially hard in Hawai`i due to relatively high labor costs and environmental regulations that make us less competitive with the rest of the coffee-producing world. Since these costs are so high, our coffee must command a high price in order for the industry to remain viable. To command the requisite high price, our quality must be exceptional.
"As the storm passes, the industry is taking another hard look at voluntary certification and rules relating to grade standards. The first request is to extend the sunset date on the grade standard rules for three more years, taking us to 2020.
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Men and women marched in Kona and Hilo and in many cities
around the nation. Photo by Barry Fackler |
"We're committed to using that time to revisit both the minimum grade standards and fully utilizing the best methods and technologies available to battle the beetle throughout the supply chain. If you have strong feelings about any other these issues, please get in touch. We need to hear form you. We're committed to coffee quality to help protect Hawai`i's incredibly valuable origins. This is at the core of sustainability for the industry and all those who depend on it. It's time to walk the talk."
See www.hawaiicoffeeassociation.org.
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MARCHES IN HILO AND KONA DREW THOUSANDS yesterday as women and men walked in support of equal rights and other causes.
Big Island Video News reported that in Hilo, "thousands gathered at the Mo’oheau Bandstand at 10 a.m., rallying around music and speeches before taking to the street. The streets were blocked to vehicular traffic only at certain crosswalks. For the most part, the marchers stuck to the sidewalks. The Hawai`i County Police provided some assistance.
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"Build Bridges Not Walls" was one of the many signs at the Hilo
march. Photo by David Berry |
"The crowd was large; some called it the biggest they had ever seen gathered for a demonstration in Hilo. The line was continuous, stretching along the route from the start at the bandstand, down Mamo Street, across Keawe Street, makai on Wainuenue and back down Kamehameha Avenue. Participants were finishing the march before everyone had even started.
"The Kona march, estimated to have drawn about 3,000, started at Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway just south of Henry Street and headeded north, down Palani Road to the Edible Institute where the march came to an end, and a rally began."
The Kona organizers' facebook page said that “the rhetoric of the past election cycle has insulted, demonized, and threatened many of us – women, immigrants of all statuses, those with diverse religious faiths particularly Muslim, people who identify as LGBTQIA, Native and Indigenous people, Black and Brown people, people with disabilities, the economically impoverished and survivors of sexual assault. We are confronted with the question of how to move forward in the face of national and international concern and fear.
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Marchers vowed to work on their issues.
Photo by Barry Fackler |
“In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore,” the statement continues.
“The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.”
Marches were held in many U.S. and foreign cities. See more at
www.bigislandvideonews.com.
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"Women's Rights are Human Rights," said a Hilo
march sign. Photo by David Berry |
A FATAL ACCIDENT ON HWY 11 at the Nāmakanipaio Campground intersection in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on Saturday afternoon, prompting National Park Service rangers to seek witnesses. Witnesses to the fatal two-vehicle accident are asked to call Park Dispatch at (808) 985-6170, and may remain anonymous.
Rangers reported that a white Hyundai Elantra and a blue Toyota Scion were involved in the traffic accident about 1 p.m. The driver of the Hyundai, a 65-year-old man from New Jersey, was fatally injured. The other driver, a 33-year-old local male, was transported to Hilo Medical Center by ambulance.
Rangers and bystanders performed CPR on the 65-year-old male, then a medic unit from the Hawai'i County Fire Department arrived and took over patient care. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.
Both men were the sole occupants of their vehicles.
The accident caused a complete closure of Highway 11 between mile markers 32 and 34 for several hours Saturday afternoon while officials investigated the scene. Both lanes of the highway were open by 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Hawai'i County Police Department is aiding the NPS in the investigation. The identification of the victims is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
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Mount Shasta, a steep-sided Cascade Range stratovolcano in Northern California,
loomsabove Little Glass Mountain, a thick obsidian flow erupted from the
Medicine Lake shield volcano about 1,000 years ago. They are two of 19 young
volcanic areas monitored by the USGS California Volcano Observatory. Also
shown is the observatory’s operations center in Menlo Park, CA, with Margaret
Mangan (far right), who worked at the USGS HawaiianVolcano Observatory
in 1990-1998. She is now CalVO’s Scientist-in-Charge. Dave Hill, who worked at
HVO from 1964-1966, was Scientist-in-Charge at LVO in 1982-2009. USGS photos.
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HAWAI`I VOLCANO OBSERVATORY WRITES ABOUT ITS CALIFORNIA SISTER OBSERVATORY in this week's Volcano Watch, as the scientists focus on January being Volcano Awareness Month:
"The USGS California Volcano Observatory, with its staff and data center based in Menlo Park, California, is relatively young. But it grew from strong parentage through what was known as the Long Valley Observatory. Long Valley Caldera in eastern California formed as the result of a huge eruption 760,000 years ago. That event was followed by many smaller eruptions ever since. The caldera is at the southern edge of the Mono-Inyo Craters chain of lava flows and domes, which were active as recently as 300 years ago.
"In 1980, seismic unrest in Long Valley Caldera, near the resort town of Mammoth Lakes, motivated the USGS to begin intensive study and monitoring of the region. This led to the establishment of the Long Valley Observatory (LVO) in 1982.
"LVO leaned heavily on techniques that were pioneered at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, including laser ranging, which was further refined in Long Valley to produce an extensive and high-resolution time series of how the caldera inflated and deflated. In fact, Dave Hill, the LVO Scientist-in-Charge from 1982 until 2009, was on staff at HVO in 1964–1966.
"Although the caldera was the focus of LVO’s monitoring efforts, most LVO staff worked from offices in Menlo Park. They made site visits to the caldera as needed to conduct research and to work with local residents and emergency managers to help them understand the volcanic activity and its potential hazards.
"However, Long Valley Caldera is just one of 19 young volcanic areas in California. Recognizing the value of a local authority responsive to state emergency managers and residents, LVO was reorganized and renamed the USGS California Volcano Observatory (CalVO) in 2012. CalVO is now responsible for researching and tracking volcanic activity throughout California and neighboring Nevada (
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/calvo/calvo_about.html).
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| Red Cones in Long Valley Caldera in California. USGS Photo |
Having a formal USGS volcano observatory focused on California has many benefits. These range from better coordination with emergency managers during a crisis, to increased potential for improving awareness of and preparedness for volcanic hazards within local communities.
"CalVO has spent its first years of existence supporting a flurry of new research into California’s volcanoes. Among the more significant results has been the discovery that the Salton Buttes, a volcanic area in southern California, are much younger than previously thought—the most recent eruption was only 2,000 years ago!
"USGS-CalVO scientists have continued their work in the Long Valley region, where they have documented hazardous gas emissions from Mammoth Mountain, seismic swarms associated with magmatic intrusions, and the general swelling of the caldera due to subsurface magma accumulation.
"As the youngest USGS volcano observatory, CalVO has drawn much from the experience of HVO. As was the case for LVO, the current CalVO Scientist-in-Charge, Margaret Mangan, is an HVO alumnus. Many other CalVO staff have also been based in Hawaiʻi at some point in their careers or have conducted research on Hawaiian volcanoes.
"CalVO continues to grow. There are big plans to enhance monitoring and research at numerous California volcanoes in the coming years, including the volcanoes in the state’s northern mountains—Lassen Peak, Mount Shasta, and Medicine Lake.
Next week, the SGS volcano observatory series concludes with a visit to the largest volcanic system in the United States—Yellowstone.
Visit HVO's 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; call for summary updates at 808-967-8862 (Kīlauea) or 808-967-8866 (Mauna Loa); email questions to
askHVO@usgs.gov.
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HOVE ROAD MAINTENANCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING. Tuesday, Jan. 24, 10 a.m. at St. Jude's Church 929-9910.
HOW DO HVO GEOLOGISTS TRACK LAVA FLOWS AND LAVA LAKES? A Volcano Awareness Month presentation at
After Dark in the Park on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Matt Patrick explains the toolkit he uses and describes how scientists continuously improve their methods of tracking volcanic activity. Free; park entrance fees apply.
HO`OKANE UKULELE - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Learn the basics of the beloved and iconic part of Hawaiian music culture. Free; park entrance fees apply.
